Headline Roundup – Public Relations in the News for September
backAs a summer winds to a close, marketers, communicators, and public relations practitioners turn their attention to pumpkin spice season and the sprint to the end of the year. This month we’re continuing to look at updates in influencer marketing and how to navigate politics and AI, as well as the increased scrutiny on marketers’ false sustainability claims.
Brands Love Influencers (Until Politics Get Involved)
As we gear up to the US election, brands are especially cautious about not partnering with influencers that express political views online that could come back to haunt them. Marketing agencies are even selling clients on tools that rate social media influencers based on political views expressed and even use artificial intelligence to predict the influencer’s likelihood of expressing political beliefs in the future, which is starting to sound a bit 1984-ish.
Generative AI is changing how influencer marketing is practiced. Brands can use AI to monitor influencer content and even create their own AI influencers to promote their products. This shift means that influencers are increasingly becoming worried that brands will use their likeness without permission and are relooking at their contracts to ensure they are protected.
Those Keurig Coffee Pods? They’re Not So Recyclable, the S.E.C. Says.
The S.E.C. has signalled that it is going to be looking more closely at marketers’ recycling claims and handed a fine to Keurig Dr Pepper, saying the company had made inaccurate claims concerning how recyclable their plastic pods were. The S.E.C. charged the company with not disclosing that two major recycling companies wouldn’t accept the pods. For companies looking to promote their products’ sustainability, the S.E.C. creates Green Guides to help marketers navigate environmental claims and avoid greenwashing.
