PRDecoded: Day two. PRWeek’s virtual conference on Wednesday featured sessions from comms leaders on how to articulate your authentic purpose; purpose as a corporate compass; how purpose-driven creative can shape human experiences and society; prioritizing worker wellness amid heightened stress; and how to power purpose for maximum business, brand and societal impact. There was even a mindful meditation break led by Therese Caruso, Zeno Group’s MD of global strategy and insights. Today is the final day of this year’s PRDecoded conference. Go here for more information about the event and here to re-watch any of the sessions.
Looking for more purposeful inspiration? The PRWeek Purpose Awards 2020 took place yesterday afternoon, recognizing activations that use creative ideas to genuinely further positive causes and acknowledging the organizations and individuals behind them. Some highlights: Weber Shandwick was named Agency of the Year and zero waste packaging platform Loop took home the Brand of the Year award. Check out the full list of this year’s Purpose Awards honorees.
Cereal characters Count Chocula, Boo Berry and Franken Berry have been brought to life. Well, not for real – just as very cool 20-inch tall busts that will be given away to three lucky winners. To nab one of the three busts, consumers need to visit General Mills’ Instagram account, like the official sweepstakes post featuring the three monsters, name their favorite Monster Cereal in a comment and use the hashtag #MonsterCerealSweepstakes. General Mills published a blog post late Wednesday night promoting the campaign.
Twitter has explained its actions around yesterday’s New York Post stories. Twitter blocked users from sharing the articles, which made unconfirmed allegations of influence peddling by Hunter Biden with a Ukrainian energy company. In a series of tweets, Twitter explained that in addition to violating its hacked materials policy, “The images contained in the articles include personal and private information — like email addresses and phone numbers — which violate our rules.” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted that the company’s communications about what was happening was “not great” and that blocking URLs without explaining why was “unacceptable.” Facebook also blocked the stories from being shared. Its policy comms director Andy Stone tweeted that blocking the Post link was “part of our standard process to reduce the spread of misinformation."
Happening tonight: Dueling Trump-Biden town halls. At 8 p.m. ET, President Donald Trump will take questions from voters on NBC, while Joe Biden will do the same on ABC. Trump will be pressed on his approach to COVID-19 and personal bout with the virus; and both will weigh in on Capitol Hill's stimulus fight; and the Supreme Court and healthcare will also be addressed. Trump wants to use his NBC event to embarrass his rival in TV ratings numbers, the Daily Beast reported. NBC staffers are worried the network is playing directly into his hands.
