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Note: This episode continues our experiment with a streamlined format: two guest co-hosts instead of three panelists and fewer stories. We were able to shave even more time off the show this week and will aim for further slimming next week. Please let us know how you like the format — and the length — by sending an email to fircomments@gmail.com. 

Doug Haslam and Augie Ray join Shel Holtz for this week’s episode, which covered these stories…

• An Accenture report found that loyalty programs aren’t working, with millions of reward points lingering unused while consumers have different criteria for what makes them loyal.
• Listener Tim Watt asked about our discussion in episode #73 about Volkswagen overcoming its emissions crisis to become the world’s top automaker. We discuss whether it would have mattered had the crisis been characterized as a public health issue rather than an environmental one.
• PewDie Pie was dropped as a paid influencer for Disney and Google dropped him from its premium ad program after he shared anti-Semitic videos. It’s a challenge for brands hold influencers accountable for their content.
• It’s also impossible to distinguish real rogue Twitter accounts created by disgruntled government employees from fake ones. Meanwhile, several media outlets nearly fell for a fake press release claiming McDonald’s was trying to acquire Chipotle, and a movie company launched a fake news campaign to promote a new film. With so much fakery everywhere, will consumers start distrusting everything they see?
• Dan York reports on social media passwords.
• The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer calls for companies to put employees first, but new data from Gallup suggests most organizations aren’t heeding that advice.

Connect with guest co-hosts on Twitter at @dough and @augieray.

Links to the source material for this episode are on Contentle.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

FIR was recorded using Zencastr.

About today’s guest co-hosts:

Doug Haslam’s  career has spanned a variety of disciplines within the communications field: radio technology, editorial production, public relations, marketing, social media and digital. Currently a senior consultant with Stone Temple Consulting, Doug began with public radio, producing news and thoughtful sports programs, moving into technology public relations, and currently to social media and content strategy for brands of all sizes and industries. Doug’s love of media has come full circle, as his most recent positions have seen him taking full advantage of his content creation skills, managing social media and brand publishing programs for a wide variety of clients.

Augie Ray is a Research Director covering customer experience for marketing leaders at Gartner. He has had a diverse career, including leading a digital experiential agency, directing social business at USAA and managing a global customer experience team at American Express. In his present role, Augie researches and advises clients on topics such as Voice of Customer, customer journey mapping, customer experience strategy and virtual reality.

About Shel Holtz

Shel Holtz, ABC (Accredited Business Communicator), is director of Internal Communications at Webcor, a commercial general contractor headquartered in San Francisco. Before joining Webcor, Shel spent 21 years as principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. In addition to integrating technology into communications strategies, his expertise includes strategic communications planning, change management, organizational culture, business initiatives and communications research. Full bio