PR Roundup – Feb. 11

11 Feb PR Roundup – Feb. 11

Our PR roundup is a collection of the week’s top stories in PR and communications. The roundup is published on Fridays and written by Joe, Chad and our team of rockstar interns.

 1. Kellyanne Conway

In the wake of Nordstrom dropping Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, President Trump took to Twitter to defend his daughter and attack the retailer. Kellyanne Conway followed suit, but took it too far on an appearance on Fox News, complimenting Ivanka’s brand and telling viewers to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff.” With the months of speculation on Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest, it may not be a great PR move to actively promote his daughter’s business. It is also likely against the law.

2. New York Knicks

The New York Knicks made headlines this week after fan-favorite and former Knick Charles Oakley was removed from a game after an altercation with Madison Square Garden security. The Knicks PR team released a comment quickly and showed the world why sometimes it’s better to take your time when crafting a statement for a crisis. The Knicks ended the statement with “we hope he gets some help soon,” prompting widespread backlash. Oakley later told his side of the story, insinuating that security approached him and tried to remove him with no justification, and witness accounts seemed to back this. With growing support for Oakley, the Knicks released another statement, giving an opposite account of the incident and calling their former player’s story “pure fiction.” Oakley and the team’s owner, James Dolan, have been at odds for years. These statements will not help that relationship, or the one between fans and the team.

3. Under Armour

Under Armour’s CEO, Kevin Plank, has found himself between a Rock and a hard place. After praising Donald Trump earlier this week, Plank received backlash from multiple Under Armour-sponsored athletes – Steph Curry, ballerina Misty Copeland and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Copeland and Johnson specifically called Plank’s comments divisive, with Johnson saying the comments “lacked perspective,” and Copeland stating that Plank and Under Armour should “take public action to clearly communicate and reflect our common values.” If Plank (or anyone else in charge of a large organization) learns anything from this, it may be to understand the diversity of your customers and that endorsing or criticizing the president could create more trouble than it’s worth.