Jul
03
The Russian Election Interference Playbook

I love America with all of my heart. That’s why I am very concerned (and angry) about foreign interference in our elections and our way of life.

Currently, the Russian government led by Vladimir Putin is meddling in our society, having weaponized social media in 2016 to affect the outcome of that year’s presidential election.

I feel bad for the Russian people, who’ve been victimized by their own sham election this week. Election officials there confirmed almost 78 percent of the voters supposedly backed constitutional amendments, one of which will see presidential term limits reset, allowing Putin to run for the job again in 2024 and in 2030 if he so chooses. Independent observers have cried foul, claiming the results are obviously rigged. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who urged citizens to boycott the referendum and not take part in legitimizing the outcome, called the results “a fake and huge lie.”
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Apr
29
A New Hope, Hopefully

Will April 29, 2020 go down as the day that we turned a corner? Or a temporary blip on a long timeline of misery?

As I write this, there is reason to feel some optimism after a couple of months of bleak headlines about death and economic collapse. Like those first rays of warm sunshine after a cold and wet winter, I crave a true, real springtime with the social component it brings.

A New Hope

There’s a drug called Remdesivir made by Gilead Sciences Inc. that has shown some effectiveness in treating the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. Gilead said Covid-19 patients taking its drug Remdesivir had a speedier recovery than patients taking placebo in a large U.S. government-funded study. The company didn’t release detailed data showing the magnitude of the benefit, saying federal researchers would do so later.

Remdesivir, by the way, is a nucleotide analog, specifically an adenosine analogue, which inserts into viral RNA chains, causing their premature termination. In 2015, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) announced preclinical results that Remdesivir had blocked the Ebola virus in Rhesus monkeys. The drug was rapidly pushed through clinical trials due to the West African Ebola virus epidemic of 2013–2016, eventually being used in people with the disease.

Dr. Anthony Fauci from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was so impressed by the study results that he touted the effectiveness of the drug.

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Apr
25
Lessons in Political Spin from One Insane Week in America

Political spin fascinates me. In 2013, I earned my Master’s degree in strategic communications, plus I’ve always had a keen interest in politics. I’ve attempted to stay out of most discussions of politics because I end up losing friends because people don’t realize they’ve brought a knife to a gunfight when they attempt to influence me with rhetoric that doesn’t ring true.

I try to dig a little deeper and be a skeptic of all sides. The conservatives have given me a lot more digging here lately.

My purpose for writing is not to suggest who you should cast your vote for in November. I won’t insult your intelligence with any suggestion that you lack the cognitive ability to reach your own conclusions once you have all of the information. I know you are smart; you’re reading my blog, after all!

In my blogging, I merely offer insight as a professional marketer and strategic communicator. And, oh boy, this week in political rhetoric sure offered powerful and rare insights into how the machine works.

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Jun
08
The Crisis Communication Plan Process

Crisis communications planning is all about anticipating the things that keep you awake in the middle of the night. Like the lifeboats on a cruise ship, it’s a tool you may hope you never have to use – but one that can salvage your organization in the toughest of situations.

An unexpected public relations crisis can strike even the best-managed businesses, large or small. These can be recalls of dangerous or contaminated products, a civil product liability lawsuit, or some other unforeseen disaster that may hurt sales, the bottom line, and/or reflect badly on a company’s image.

Your best bet in these instances is to defuse problems and resolve them favorably with an honest, vigorous damage control effort that converts the public into allies and paves the foundation for rebuilding the public perception of your brand. A Crisis Communications Plan lies at the core of such a public relations effort. Stiefel Creative can help you weather the storm.

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