Amanda Cecil

Time and time again, we see social media influencer campaigns promoting healthcare topics or brands miss the mark 🤦‍♀️ but as a mom [and millennial swiftie...IYKYK 💁‍♀️], this one hits different.   At Inizio Evoke Comms, we pride ourselves in developing authentic and compliant activations that tap into the power of influencers to help improve health and wellbeing. Being a mom, I empathize with Brittany and the parents of kids with life-threatening food allergies. In this case, she deserved better counsel and her followers deserve complete and accurate health information – especially when it comes to their kids.   This feels like another missed opportunity. When #InfluencerMarketing in healthcare is done well, you can change the trajectory of someone’s life for the better. You can help someone learn about a new community where they finally feel seen, give them the confidence to have a difficult conversation, or direct them to learn more about a potential medicine or reach a diagnosis they’ve been searching for. We can do better! What healthcare influencer campaigns have you seen flop, or even better, which ones have you seen hit the mark?   Here’s the story 👇

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CALIFORNIA

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As omnichannel marketing becomes real in pharma, inclusive of influencer engagement, the dual challenge of being compliant without defaulting to ‘pharma-speak’ can’t be understated. It’s a process challenge I work on regularly. #pharma #biopharma #communications

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Tech companies keep missing the mark on what human beings want tech to enable them to do -- and what we want to keep human. That raises troubling questions not just for their AI, but for their overall view of both their technology and humanity as a whole.

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REMOTE

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This was a vulnerable episode of Data Driven Leadership to record, but it felt like an important one. Cancer is increasing in people younger than 50—and experts still aren’t sure why. So Jess Carter and I decided to talk about our own diagnoses and treatments, and how they have impacted our leadership and lives.  Going through cancer taught me that you can’t blindly move through life. You often need to stop, reassess, and make sure that the decisions you’re making are aligned with your values, your health, and your priorities.  That’s true whether you’re managing a team or managing your own recovery.  Catch our full conversation here:  https://hubs.ly/Q02RSYfh0

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Things to learn from that YesMadam campaign: 1. Hire an EXPERIENCED comms team. 2. Nope, that's it.
 Turns out, firing stressed employees (or pretending to) isn’t quite the genius viral marketing play someone thought it was. 
 Pro tip: If your ‘campaign’ sparks nationwide outrage and trends for all the wrong reasons, you’ve officially entered the 'What were they thinking?' Hall of Fame. Sometimes, the only takeaway is what not to do. #letstalkreal #letstalkbrand #brand #communications #marketing #nomadam #yesmadam #viral #stopthisnonsense

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BOSTON

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#truth Communications is most valuable when treated as strategic and collaborative, not prescriptive and an after-thought. It's about informing the path to outCOMES, not churning outPUT.

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Excited to introduce impact.com/advocate, announced today! The new technology helps brands transform satisfied customers into brand advocates. At a time when consumer trust is at an all time low, brands need more than a good advertising campaign to drive sales - they need to build trust by meeting consumers where they go to make decisions. Both personal recommendations and influencers are trusted more highly than advertising and represent huge opportunities for smart advertisers.   With this in mind, impact.com's new customer referral and advocacy technology helps brands build authentic trust with new audiences. Advocate is a fully customizable solution to streamline customer referral marketing. This combined with our affiliate and creator offerings now gives brands the ability to manage all their partnerships in one single, unified platform. Check out the details here: https://lnkd.in/g5zPCkfX #ImpactAdvocate #PowerYourPartnerships #ReferralMarketing

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🚨👇𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄: **CCOs are getting a seat at the C-suite table** Elevating the role of communicators is something many of us have been focused on for years. As Dustin Siggins shares in this article that has been happening more frequently, which is a very good thing. However, elevating the role of chief communication officers also comes with new expectations for how those leaders operate within an organization and deliver results. I added my perspective on this topic along with Stephanie Roberts, Jeremy Tunis, Jeff Berkowitz and Nick Lagalante, MPS. Check it out! #communications #pr

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You know you’re in PR when… Your boss or client sends you back edits in a press release or blog post like this: - Uppercasing job titles after names, e.g., "John Smith, Director of Sales & Marketing." - Adding a comma before "and," e.g., "apples, oranges, and bananas." Neither of these follows AP style, the guidelines from The Associated Press Stylebook. According to AP, it should be "John Smith, director of sales & marketing" and “apples, oranges and bananas.” Using AP style in PR is important because it is the standard used by most journalists. You’re essentially writing for the news, and adhering to these guidelines makes it easier for journalists to pick up your stories without additional edits. This not only shows respect for their time but also increases the likelihood of your message being conveyed accurately and efficiently. Neglecting AP style can irritate reporters and hurt your media relations. In college, I had to memorize the entire AP Stylebook in order to pass the class. And for that, I’m thankful! P.S. What kind of errors in writing do you see all the time? Share in the comments below. #PublicRelations #APStyle #PRLife

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State of play: A recent Memo report found that 56% of CCOs are reporting to the CEO — an increase of 34 percentage points since last year. I loved seeing insights like that in Eleanor Hawkins's Axios Communicators Newsletter this week. It's a topic that is becoming increasingly important as the look of C-Suites continues to change each year. A separate report by the Observatory of Corporate Reputation found that CCO+ roles have increased by roughly 88% within the Fortune 1000 since 2019, outnumbering traditional CCO roles for the first time. I have been a long-time advocate of the CCO reporting to the CEO, indicating the importance of the role as well as its differentiating the position from the CMO which is complimentary but has a different lens to the brand. This hasn't historically been the case but I love to see this shift and its continued trend upwards! https://lnkd.in/gwEeuKxu

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Do y'all think that this makes exclusivity for social media campaigns unenforceable? I'm curious what y'all think. My thoughts: Exclusivity deals typically restrict influencers from working with competing brands for the duration of the contract, which is distinct from prohibiting all employment in a field. Therefore, this new FTC ruling is unlikely to impact the enforceability of exclusivity agreements directly in influencer partnerships. #socialmedia #contentcreator #influencer

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Kudos to Eleanor Hawkins and the Axios Communicators team for their "1 big thing" visual of the day. Yes, it's reductive guidance on when to speak out and when not to, and yes, you should think through it with more nuance and specificity to a situation at hand, but these are great questions to start with when you're wondering how to communicate through murky or uncomfortable events. Some other questions to consider: ▶ Do we know enough about this situation? If not, do we have a sense of timing for more information to come through? ▶ Can we meaningfully influence the situation by speaking out? ▶ If we are communicating about this, who is the right person to serve as our voice?

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Nice article from Bloomberg that explores Capital One’s customer-centric #banking journey; and how it’s using #technology and #data to deliver the consumer products, services, and #premium #experiences needed to compete and win at the top of the market. #financialservices #Rewards

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Another day, another headline of a brand cutting its DE&I initiatives. The onslaught of these stories is scary. It’s so disappointing to see companies bow down to hate, scaling back their support for the LGBTQ+ community in response to pressure from a vocal minority. These decisions not only empower harmful voices but also send a troubling message to employees and customers alike. Data consistently shows that supporting the LGBTQ+ community is not just the right thing to do, it’s good for business. Companies with strong DE&I programs see 19% higher innovation revenue and 35% higher performance. Yet, some brands are turning their backs on inclusivity, risking long-term damage. When businesses scale back DE&I efforts, they create an environment where employees can no longer bring their authentic selves to work. No one should feel they have to hide who they are. Ending these programs signals that inclusivity is no longer a priority, and the impact will be felt in employee wellbeing, customer loyalty and ultimately, business success. We cannot allow these short-sighted decisions to define the future of corporate culture. Let’s continue to champion diversity and inclusivity—because fostering a space where everyone feels seen, valued, and respected isn’t just good business; it’s the right thing to do. #DEI #LGBTQ #InclusionMatters #AuthenticityAtWork

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SAN FRANCISCO

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A great PR case study unfolded this week with Intuit's CCO asking The Verge to delete part of their CEO's interview. Time for some real talk about 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 👇 As PR folks, we often talk about narrative control. But here's what that really means: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. That's it. We can't force the public to feel or think a certain way. We can only provide the information necessary for informed opinions. What's NOT Narrative Control: ❌ Calling media questions "inappropriate" & "egregious" ❌ Demanding deletion of interview segments ❌ Trying to suppress already-recorded content ❌ Creating a bigger story than the original one What IS Narrative Control: ✅ Deep prep before interviews ✅ Clear messaging frameworks ✅ Authentic responses to tough questions ✅ Building relationships with media ✅ Owning your story - even the complicated parts The irony here? A standard CEO interview about AI and business strategy transformed into a story about attempted censorship and made headlines. The original exchange wasn't even all that newsworthy: ▶️ CEO got pressed about TurboTax's free filing ▶️ He defended their position ▶️ It was tense but professional 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯. The lesson? Control isn't about suppression. It's about preparation, authenticity, and strategic navigation. Your comms strategy should guide the conversation, not try to erase it. #PR #Communications #Marketing #Leadership

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