THIS WEEK IN PR NEWS | APRIL 10, 2015
Each week PRLab scours the internet to bring you the latest stories in public relations news. This week,the NFL strives to clean up their reputation, Target launches a new app, and Meerkat interferes with political journalism. Read the full stories below.
NFL HIRES A NEW REF
The Story: The NFL recently confirmed rumors that they would hire their first full-time female referee as a line judge for the 2015 season.
What Happened? Sarah Thomas, age 42, was appointed on Wednesday as the first female full time referee. The NFL recently received a C- for gender hiring practices, this is the worst any professional sports league has ever received.
Why is this important? Thomas’s appointment comes after Dawn Hudson joined last September as the chief marketing officers and Anna Isaacson became the first VP of social responsibility, a position that aims to fix the league’s domestic violence policies. It will be interesting to see if these hirings will change the public view of the NFL with regards to women.
TARGET’S NEW APP
The Story: Target recently launched a new app to showcase their collaboration with Lilly Pulitzer.
What Happened? The app showcasing the affordable Lilly Pulitzer collection has received some criticism since being released. The app is said to be a glorified advertisement for their new collection rather than doing anything useful.
Why is this important? When it comes to Target’s mobile strategy, there are already an abundant amount of apps that a shopper can download. Target currently has 9 apps available on the app store, which leaves consumers confused about which they should download. It does not seem practical to have 9 apps on your phone for one store, and the reviews for these apps vary greatly. Target would probably do well to create one app with the different desired components to streamline the consumer experience.
NEW SOCIAL MEDIA LIVESTREAM
The Story: A new app was announced at SXSW that allows users to stream live videos directly to social media.
What Happened? Politicians have quickly adopted this app, called Meerkat, and have begun livestreaming videos of their whereabouts. People are already predicting that this will be prevalent and a pivotal source of information during the 2016 election.
Why is this important? This could affect the amount that journalists have to cover during the elections. Now that there are no more boundaries of privacy, investigative journalism will become far more transparent.
FUN READS
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK
