WellRed News & Insights

WellRed is The Pollack Group’s blog on public relations, marketing and communications. Drawing on four decades of agency work, our team writes about what’s changing in media, AI search, crisis communications, thought leadership and brand storytelling, and what it means for the organizations we serve.

In the Red: practical guidance and our read on industry trends
Red All About It: agency news and the work we’re doing for clients
Strategies & Musings: essays from founder Noemi Pollack

Looking for something specific? Browse every post in the WellRed archive.

Latest

PR and marketing experts at The Pollack Group share their predictions on AI search visibility, brand reputation management, and communications trends.

| In The Red

Looking Ahead to 2027: Our Predictions for PR and Marketing

What's ahead for PR and marketing in 2027? The Pollack Group shares predictions on AI search, brand reputation, discoverability and communications trends.

Public relations professionals develop communications and media relations strategies for brands to connect with their target audiences and foster lasting relationships with the media.

| In The Red

How to Choose a PR and Marketing Agency for Your Industry: A Buyer’s Guide

How to choose a PR agency for crisis, nonprofit, B2B tech, fintech, consumer, food and beverage or startup needs: criteria, proof and pitch questions.

The Pollack Group is a partner agency of the Worldcom Public Relations Group

| Red All About It

Back-to-Back Perfect Marks: What Our Latest Worldcom Peer Review Taught Us

The Pollack Group earns perfect marks in its Worldcom peer review for the second consecutive cycle.

The Pollack Group’s Sited Visibility Index explores major streaming platforms’ AI search visibility during the Halloween season

| In The Red

Sited Visibility Index: Which Streaming Platform “Owns” Halloween in AI Search?

Which streaming platform wins Halloween? Our Sited Visibility Index reveals how Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and others rank in AI search results.

Cyber security is important for brand websites and business operations

| In The Red

PHP2Shell and Your Website: Build More, Patch Less

Learn what the PHP2Shell vulnerability means for WordPress security and how managed platforms like Webflow can reduce maintenance and security risks.

Business leaders rely on audience research to understand the market and inform strategic decision-making.

| In The Red

The Most Dangerous Sentence in 2027: “We Know Our Audience”

Here’s why static audience personas are no longer enough and how AI-powered audience research can help brands test messaging and adapt in 2027.

Worldcom 2026 North America meeting

| In The Red

Elevated: Reflections on the Worldcom Public Relations Group’s North American Regional Meeting in Park City, Utah

Stefan Pollack reflects on the Worldcom Public Relations Group's North American Region meeting in Park City, Utah.

Happy shoppers carry shopping bags at a shopping mall

| In The Red

Consumers Don’t Want Ads. They Want a Reason to Show Up.

Marketers chase attention. The challenge is figuring out how to earn it when consumers can scroll past a brand in a fraction of a second.

AI Search Visibility Report - Fall Coffee Season

| In The Red

Sited Visibility Index: Who’s Brewing Up the Best Fall?

The Pumpkin Spice Latte season is here, and we examined the AI search visibility of some of the nation's leading coffee brands.

Jason and Tyler Ritter at KTLA for John Ritter Foundation

| Red All About It

How We Helped Turn John Ritter’s Legacy Into a National Conversation

Here's our media strategy centered on John's legacy, his family, the Wings reunion and the foundation's work in aortic health.

A mason jar of coins with a small plant growing out of the top against a wooden background.

| In The Red

How To Lighten A Nonprofit Director’s Load: 18 Marketing Investments

Wise nonprofit directors look at communications not just as campaigns but as part of their organization's foundational infrastructure.

Stefan Pollack on PR Review Podcast

| In The Red

Why Most Brand Messaging Fails Before the Campaign Even Launches

When that message is unclear, inconsistent or disconnected from the audience, even great creative has a difficult job to do.

Muck Rack World Cup AI Visibility Report

| In The Red

What FIFA’s Stadium Name Problem Teaches Us About Brand Messaging in the AI Era

The World Cup was exciting, but for PR and marketing professionals, it was also incredibly informative: the playing field is getting larger.

Museum of Tolerance Social Lab

| Red All About It

The Pollack Group Expands Its Role with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance, Moriah Media, and Mobile Museums of Tolerance

We're adding organic social media, content production, and community management to our role as SWC's Agency of Record (AOR).

The Pollack Group Brand Visibility Index Powered by Sited

| In The Red

Sited Visibility Index: Back to School

We selected 6 retailers and analyzed their AI search visibility on the topic of dorm room essentials, ahead of the Back to School season.

A 2026 calendar propped up on a wooden desk with a window in the background.

| In The Red

H2 2026: Five Bold Bets for the Back Half

As we head into the second half of 2026, these are the trends I believe communicators and business leaders should be paying the closest attention to.

A blank, red, and white nametag sticker on the breast of a black pinstripe suit with a golden tie.

| In The Red

Forbes: 15 Of The Smartest Ways To Test A New Business Name

Founders need to do their due diligence to understand whether a business’s name will do its job in the real world.

A magnifying glass sitting on top of an open dictionary.

| In The Red

Why Your Brand’s Words Are Its Most Underrated Asset — And How Message DNA Fixes That

Message DNA can create a unified framework that organizations can use across every audience, channel, and platform.

Sited by The Pollack Group

| Red All About It

Turns Out AI Has Opinions About Your Brand. With Sited, We Can Help Shape Them

We’re delighted to announce a partnership with Brandi AI, the industry’s leading platform for AI visibility and GEO, to take Sited further.

CCW 2026 Rebecca Jarvis and Lisa Vanderpump on stage

| Red All About It

Behind the Success of CCW 2026: An Integrated Communications Approach

Our partnership with CCW has helped make the event a newsworthy, attention-grabbing industry moment. 2026 was no exception.

Retail shop opening

| In The Red

How To Build The Pre-Launch Buzz A New Local Retailer Needs To Grow

The difference often comes down to how well a retailer builds interest and anticipation before opening its doors.

An open hardcover book resting on top of other hardcover books against a yellow background.

| In The Red

AI and the Creative Process: Enhancing Storytelling in PR

The real question isn’t whether communications professionals should use AI; it’s whether we know how to use it strategically.

Puzzles of personas

| In The Red

Stop Believing Your Own Personas

Most marketing teams don’t actually know their audiences. They know a story they’ve told themselves so many times that it has become fact.​

Pollack Group named one of the Top 100 Inspiring Workplaces in North America

| Red All About It

The Pollack Group Named a 2026 Top 100 Inspiring Workplace in North America

The Pollack Group was named a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace in North America for 2026, ranking #67 and earning Top Small Workplace recognition.

A website URL in white text on a black screen with a computer mouse hovering over it.

| In The Red

Your Website Isn’t Underperforming. It’s Failing the Credibility Test.

Most brands don’t have a traffic problem in 2026. They have a credibility problem. And their website is where it’s being exposed.

Headset leaning against microphone with brown background.

| In The Red

Five Things Brands Get Wrong When Launching a Podcast

If you want to capitalize on the popularity of podcasting, continue reading to avoid the top mistakes brands make when first starting out.

Worldcom AGM 2026 in Paris

| In The Red

What Global Intelligence Actually Looks Like When the Ground Is Shifting

Brands are operating in a constant state of ambient risk, where reputational threats can emerge from any direction.

A hand solving a rubik's cube against an orange background.

| In The Red

When the Client Topic Is “Hard to Pitch”: Strategies That Actually Work

The challenge isn’t convincing a reporter to care; it’s earning the right framing, at the right moment, with the right messenger.

Project Petals 2026 Big Red Grant Winner

| Red All About It

Purpose-Driven PR in Action: The Pollack Group Awards the 2026 Big Red Grant to Project Petals

We are pleased to announce Project Petals as the recipient of our 2026 Big Red Grant.

Website development and structure design for SEO

| In The Red

In 2026, Marketers Can’t Treat Their Website Like a Project. It’s Your Verification Engine.

Treat your website as an active, living architecture of credibility, not a project you launch and revisit annually.

A magnifying glass hovering over an animated silhouette of a man, with two more silhouettes on either side.

| In The Red

5 Questions Smart Leaders Ask Before Hiring a PR Agency (And What the Answers Reveal)

If you’ve thought about issuing an RFP or cold-pitching local agencies to acquire more information, you’ve stumbled upon the right article.

Event attendees walking around a convention center floor with company logos and booths spread around them.

| Red All About It

Why Events Must Evolve in 2026

Attendees expect to learn, be inspired, and create connections that justify stepping away from work and life.

Logo from Inspiring Workplaces Group

| Red All About It

The Pollack Group Named a 2026 Inspiring Workplaces Finalist

The Pollack Group has been named a finalist for the 2026 North American Inspiring Workplaces Awards.

USC Annenberg Global Communication Report 2026

| In The Red

The USC Annenberg 2026 Global Communication Report: The Quiet Shift Reshaping PR

See our takeaways from USC Annenberg's 2026 Global Communication Report: A Quiet Shift.

Using AI to Empower Communications

| In The Red

The Communications Role Is Changing: 5 Shifts That Matter Most

When AI becomes the front door, communications becomes the function that makes an organization understandable.

A wired rotary telephone laying next to a smartphone with wired earbuds plugged into it.

| In The Red

When Generations Collide and Why That’s Good for PR

Right or not, “kids these days” represents the inevitable clash between generations that grew up in two different eras. 

Red balloon floating above a large group of gray balloons.

| In The Red

Breaking Through in Crowded News Cycles: How Brands Stay Visible When the Headlines Work Against Them

In this landscape, a pitch that isn’t carefully timed or tailored risks being ignored, or worse, appearing tone-deaf.

Costly scams warning

| In The Red

The Hidden Traps in PR: How to Protect Your Brand from Costly Scams

As PR and marketing scams are becoming increasingly widespread, we have outlined common ones to look out for.

Athlete gripping hex dumbbells during strength training workout at gym with Crossfit logo on top of image

| Red All About It

CrossFit Selects The Pollack Group to Engage the Next Generation of Fitness

CrossFit selected The Pollack Group (TPG) as its national public relations partner to improve brand perception.

A headset and microphone crossing wires against a red background.

| In The Red

What Podcasting Taught Us in 2025 and What to Expect in 2026

As we watch the trends, let’s look at what podcasting taught us about marketing in 2025 and predictions for what’s to come in the new year.

Tower Cancer Research Foundation

| Red All About It

The Pollack Group Named Agency of Record for Tower Cancer Research Foundation

Tower selected TPG for its ability to translate complex, mission-driven work into credible national visibility.

Daniel Chou and John Cheng

| Red All About It

Welcoming John Cheng and Daniel Chou to The Pollack Group

We’re thrilled to welcome John Cheng and Daniel Chou to the agency.

AES 2026 Rose Parade

| Red All About It

Reputation Isn’t Built When Everything Goes Right -- It’s Built When Pressure First Shows Up

For Artistic Entertainment Services (AES), the 2026 Rose Parade® demanded real leadership in real time. d

LDC US Latino GDP Report 2025

| Red All About It

The Growth Story Too Many Brands Still Miss

Through The Pollack Group’s work supporting the Latino Donor Collaborative, we see every day how far public narratives still trail the data.

Worldcom predictions for 2026

| In The Red

Navigating The Future of PR and Communications: Expert Predictions for 2026

As AI continues to expand its impact across industries, how should PR professionals get ready for all the challenges it brings to the table?

Stefan Pollack Inspiring Leader

| Red All About It

Celebrating People-First Leadership: Stefan Pollack Named a 2025 Inspiring Leader by Inspiring Workplaces

Stefan Pollack has been recognized as one of the 2025 Inspiring Leaders by the Inspiring Workplaces Group (IWG).

2026 Predictions - PR Industry

| In The Red

The Biggest Challenge for Public Relations in 2026

Public relations in 2026 will demand a new operational mindset: one that pairs the precision of data with the intuition of human judgment.

Me and You Day 2025 The Pollack Group

| Red All About It

“Me and You Days”: Celebrating 40 Years Through Service

In celebration of our agency's 40th anniversary, each of us spent a day volunteering for a cause we care, in our local communities.

Solutions

Some communications challenges call for a more focused approach. The Pollack Group’s proprietary solutions combine decades of communications experience with specialized methodologies, technology and audience intelligence to help organizations solve specific business and reputation challenges. From strengthening messaging and preparing for a crisis to understanding audiences, elevating leaders and measuring how brands appear in AI-driven search, our solutions give organizations practical tools and insights they can put to work.

Connect to Lead

We believe in creating transformational value - not just transactional.

Leadership Now

Creating leadership platforms that are essential to building audience trust and confidence.

Outmaneuver

Count on us to find ways to overcome the barriers - and out-think the competition.

Message DNA

Because words matter, period.

Activate Now

We help you prioritize and focus on the sources of influence who will drive ROI.

CrisisGuard 365

Your ‘always on’ crisis communications partner available 24/7/365

Audience IQ

You’ll learn what resonates, what doesn’t, and what to do next.

Sited

Your brand. In every AI answer.