Author: Brian Heffron

  • Another PR Headache: Tylenol Faces a New Crisis

    When seven people died from cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in 1982, Johnson & Johnson immediately recalled 31 million bottles, halted production, and pulled all advertising. The $100 million hit was staggering at the time, but the quick action demonstrated its priority of safety over profit, saved the brand and set the standard for crisis response. That…

  • No Hoodie Can Cover a PR Breakdown Like This

    Belichick’s Worst Call: No Hoodie Can Cover a PR Breakdown Like This   Bill Belichick has never been a media darling. Ornery, unhelpful, bored, antagonistic are better ways to describe his relationship with the media.   But his recent CBS Sunday Morning interview even caught the attention of people who don’t follow sports. And it…

  • Brands Speaking Up: 5 Considerations Before Wading Into Thorny Issues

    My brother’s friend was waiting in a long line to grab a donut and a coffee at a popular Cape Cod bakery when a man loudly pushed through the door, and cut past everyone. “Sorry but I’m in a rush. I just need two blueberry muffins.” Unmoved, the employee at the counter sent him to…

  • Manage the Crisis Before it Hits

    A crisis can hit organizations of any size, and like a spark that escapes a campfire and finds dry brush, you can be surrounded by an uncontrollable inferno in an instant. Here are six steps to take before trouble strikes.

  • Brands can’t fake purpose

    When hundreds of medical appointments led Marissa Hughes to the painful conclusion that she couldn’t give birth, she and her husband decided to adopt. Months later, they got the call that would change their lives. Their new baby was born prematurely and in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at a hospital nine hours from…

  • Stung by the writing bug

    CTP’s uber-talented associate creative director Kevin MacKenzie was an aspiring musician and songwriter before he jumped into the ad business. We’re lucky he made the move. But music, TV anthems and ad copy quench only part of his writing bug. He recently published a children’s book, inspired by a painful encounter with an insect and…

  • CTPerspectives: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

    There are few jobs in communications with as much pressure and scrutiny as the White House Press Secretary. As Jen Psaki steps into the role, she’ll do so with the country fiercely divided by politics and a media landscape that blurs facts, opinion and lies. The toughest job in the business has never been tougher.…

  • The art of political advertising: 5 questions with BU advertising professor Tobe Berkovitz

    With a week before one of the most anticipated presidential elections in modern U.S. history, we wanted to take a look at the art and science of marketing a political candidate. With daily barrage of ads on social media and on TV, we wanted to better understand how political campaigns view the role of advertising.…

  • Uncertainty on campus keeps communications in overdrive: 5 questions with Curry College’s Michelle Adams O’Regan

    Even as many businesses are beginning to open, colleges and universities are stuck in a prolonged state of uncertainty as they try to forecast many months down the road. They are balancing health, education and financial stability. We talked about the challenges with Michelle Adams O’Regan, Curry College’s Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications, who believes…

  • Time to take responsibility

    There have been many tragic murders before it. Outrage and protests and hand-wringing followed. But this one spurred something in millions unlike any other example of police brutality. With the death of George Floyd, something snapped us to attention. It may be driven by the shocking video or his plea for life. But this time…