I admit it: I am one of those girls with a Pinterest wedding board – and I am not engaged. I love Pinterest, and I am not alone. Pinterest has, on average, thirty million monthly visitors. According to Nielsen’s 2012 social media report, Pinterest’s number of monthly PC users grew by 1,047 percent between 2011 and 2012. The number of monthly mobile app and mobile web users add an additional five and 14 million, respectively, and the...

A version of this article originally appeared on PR Breakfast Club on August 15, 2012. Digital marketing expert Mitch Joel wrote an interesting blog post last year called “The Art of Fake Familiarity.” In it, Joel criticized a public relations pitch he recently received that used information from his blog and Twitter feed in an attempt to garner a feeling of familiarity and get his attention. Instead, the pitch came off as creepy and...

The past several months have been trying for the $2 billion-a-year compounding pharmacy industry. First, it was a multi-state meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated steroid injections from the New England Compounding Center (NECC). The outbreak, due to unsanitary conditions at NECC, has sickened 730 people, killing more than 50 – and six months later, people continue to fall ill. Investigators examined foreign materials from unopened...

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...

Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny – all brand promises gone awry.  But our parents had it right. These major disappointments were merely preparation for the big stage; preparation for our move into the real world where companies and their brand promises often disappoint. Broken promises, whether expressed or implied, can destroy confidence and loyalty. Worse, it can create general apathy. Take the current Washington debacle...