On March 9, 2013, my husband and I sailed on the Carnival Dream as we celebrated our honeymoon. We were treated to the usual cruise luxuries—hot meals, unlimited soft drinks and beautiful ocean views. Carnival treats its customers well, and we were confident that the company had learned from the Carnival Triumph engine room fire. Unfortunately, our high hopes were dashed as we found ourselves stuck in port with more than 5,000 passengers...

Not only does January mark the New Year, it also marks the beginning of my second year at Cookerly Public Relations. With that in mind, I thought I would take the time to reveal my resolutions for the New Year – and for improving as a PR professional. I resolve to keep track of new trends. This is, perhaps, my easiest resolution. I am a data nerd, a blog geek and a knowledgephile. I spend part of my days reading PR and marketing blogs...

A recent survey by TolunaQuick showed that 45 percent of consumers say that they enjoy interacting with brands on social media. Increasingly, consumers are turning to online resources over an 800-number for customer service. The instantaneous, crowd-sourcing nature of social media makes it a perfect tool for customers who are looking for an answer now. According to a separate survey by The Social Habit, 42 percent of consumers who attempt...

Public relations professionals are storytellers. But for all the mission statements, press releases and company credos, we have a tough time telling our own stories. Even my own parents have cornered me at a family outing to ask, “What do you do at work?” What do PR professionals do? What do they really think about PR issues? What goes on behind the scenes? Television series like Mad Men and The Newsroom have painted a fantastic picture...

Coined by Marshall McLuhan, the phrase “the medium is the message” is a staple in communications 101 courses. The idea is that the way a message is transmitted plays an integral role in how the message will be perceived now and in the future – how news is reported reflects societal changes like a mirror, and may even be causing some of those changes. Twitter is a great example of McLuhan’s concept in action. From the spread of...