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San Francisco is a dystopian hellscape overrun by armed criminals and fentanyl addicts, its streets teeming with human waste, its buildings crumbling before our eyes.

Thats the situation according to recent stories in major media outlets from CNN to Good Morning America, from the Financial Times to Newsweek, along with legions of posters on TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and perennial S.F. haters like Fox News, the New York Post and, of course, Elon Musk. Presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also chimed in last week.

Theyre making up stuff, said Rodney Fong, CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. It is absolutely unfair.

Civic and business leaders, as well as marketing experts, readily acknowledge that San Francisco faces major social problems amid a sluggish pandemic recovery. But the overwrought narrative that the city is in zombie apocalypse territory can only hurt it, they say.

It is misrepresenting the city badly, said longtime press agent Lee Housekeeper. I get calls every day from people I know across the country, especially after Good Morning America, asking me, Are you OK? Are you in danger?

In GMAs segment about Westfield giving up its namesake mall, a correspondent broadcasting live said it was simply too dangerous for him to be in Union Square or outside the mall at that hour, although, in fact, he was standing on a city sidewalk in the predawn darkness.

The skewed stories can have some real-life consequences.

Its definitely making prospective tenants think, said Kazuko Morgan, vice chair of real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. The due diligence is taking longer than ever before. This whole thing is just so blown out of proportion. They make it seem like its Armageddon.

Of course, its also encouraging some opportunistic buyers of commercial real estate, who see this as a chance to get good deals, Morgan said.

Negative news makes potential tenants unfamiliar with the market somewhat jittery about San Francisco, said Karin Flood, president of the Flood Building, the 1904 edifice at the foot of Powell Street, which formerly housed the Gaps flagship store. Its really disheartening to read so many negative articles. Enough is enough.

Stephen Kraus, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of San Francisco, said the downbeat stories may be scaring away some tourists, but they dont discourage people who want to move here, such as the graduate students he teaches.

For people like that, San Francisco is as attractive as ever, he said. A lot of young people from all over the country, all over the world, still want to come to San Francisco, between the physical beauty, all of the job opportunities. Rumors of San Franciscos death are greatly exaggerated.

Some stories cherry-pick information.

The fatal stabbing of tech executive Bob Lee in April ignited waves of breathless reports that lawlessness by unhoused people was soaring due to woke politics. And yet very few national outlets focused on the follow-up that the alleged perpetrator turned out to be a fellow tech entrepreneur.

However, data show that San Francisco actually has one of the lowest homicide rates of U.S. cities, while violent crime fell during the pandemic, a Chronicle analysis found. Still, polls show that San Franciscans feel crime is on the rise a perception that could be fueled by the drumbeat of negativity.

When you get news article after news article, it starts to make people scared, said Marisa Rodriguez, executive director of the Union Square Alliance, which works to enhance that central shopping district. Anyone thinking about: Is my next destination going to be a place I'm reading so many negative stories about, will probably think twice, and thats not OK. If you were going to open a business, sign a lease, but keep getting a barrage of negative news stories about the area, would you have cold feet or second thoughts? Of course, thats human nature.

She and others rue that little attention is paid to news about improvements: the money and energy the city is investing to address issues of crime, homelessness and other issues, the efforts to re-energize its streets.

Those stories arent being told. I havent seen this kind of energy (for revitalizing San Francisco) in a long time and its really hopeful, Rodriguez said.

Sriram Sundararajan, an adjunct lecturer of marketing at Santa Clara University, said city leaders should rally to counteract the gloom and doom and enlist residents as brand ambassadors.

This is the perfect opportunity for San Francisco to reframe itself and help build a narrative around safety and stability, he said.

San Francisco, like California, has always had a boom-and-bust trajectory.

It absolutely will turn around; hard times always create some innovation, said Kraus, from USF.

Rodriguez echoed that: San Francisco is known to come back and always stronger, she said.

City boosters hope that pendulum swing could inspire a new round of reports this time upbeat.

There will be a time when people will be equally as interested in San Francisco comeback stories, Housekeeper said. I will be leading the charge there.

In recent months theres been considerable national dialogue about San Franciscos purported demise. Here are ten of the most notable stories and viral social media moments about the citys perceived or potential doom.

With the 2022 recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin as its peg, one-time Chronicle writer Nellie Bowles called San Francisco a cruel city in a mammoth, almost 8,000-word essay for The Atlantic magazine. Bowles wrote that it will take more than a couple of recall votes to save San Francisco from a pandemic-initiated decline characterized by boarded-up stores, a ghostly downtown and a housing crisis.

On CNNs The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, reporter Sarah Sidner listed headlines that describe San Francisco as decaying, a crime-ridden hell hole, and a failed city. In an interview, former Chronicle columnist Phil Matier said, You put homelessness, mentally ill and fentanyl together and its worse than the third world.

While broadcasting live about Westfield announcing its decision to give up its namesake mall in downtown San Francisco, Good Morning America chief national correspondent Matt Guttman said he was unable to report from Union Square or Westfield Mall early in the morning because its simply too dangerous. Guttman said the city could turn into a so-called zombie city and that its downtown is following a trend of decay caused by the fentanyl epidemic, pervasive homelessness and fleeing retailers.

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'They're making up stuff': How the narrative of S.F. as dystopian ... - San Francisco Chronicle

TikToks adding another way to help brands to engage consumers, with new Interactive Add-Ons for promotions, which are essentially stickers, pop-ups, and other visual markers that invite users to engage with ads.

As you can see in these examples, the new Interactive Add-Ons provide new ways to trigger direct response from TikTok users, by inviting them to interact with the promotion in some form.

As explained by TikTok:

Interactive Add-ons offer a unique way to entice engaged viewers with popups, stickers, and other visual elements. Viewers who have shared, liked, or commented on a TikTok brand video are 150% more likely to buy a product or service. Catching the eye of active consumers is made easier with these new creative enhancements.

Im not 100% sure that this stat is relative in this context, as the people whove shared, liked, or commented on a TikTok brand video thus far have done so out of genuine interest, as opposed to an interactive feature that prompts them directly to do so. But still, conceptually, getting users to interact with an ad could add more value to your promotion, and increase brand awareness and resonance.

TikToks Interactive Add-Ons will come in two forms Standard and Premium.

Standard add-ons offer a way to reach lower-funnel marketing goals, like driving clicks and conversions. Premium add-ons offer a way to reach upper-funnel goals, like brand awareness and community building. Both offer you a unique chance to capture people's attention in a format that resonates with them.

Standard add-on elements include:

Display Card which highlight key brand messages/offers

Gift Code Sticker which offers incentives for engagement

Voting Sticker so you can run a poll, quiz, or feedback form in your ad

Countdown Sticker to highlight an upcoming event

Premium add-ons, meanwhile, are:

Pop-out Showcase which enables you to highlight your product and drive direct action

Gesture which enables you to invite participation, with the action the viewer takes then revealing more product insight

Super Like 2.0 which adds eye-catching floating icons that appear when users engage with your ad, and includes a pop-up card after the Super Like effect appears

These could be some handy options for driving more engagement with your TikTok ads, and getting users to stop mid-scroll to pay attention to your promotions.

And while the noted engagement stat from TikTok may not be wholly reflective, enticing interaction can indeed drive more brand resonance, and it could be worth experimenting with these new tools to see what types of response you get.

You can read more about TikToks new Interactive Add-On elements here.

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TikTok Launches Interactive Add-Ons to Drive Engagement with ... - Social Media Today

Laura Rinck, president of Rinck Advertising, was the recipient of the Joan Dow Award at the Maine Ad + Design Broderson Awards held June 1 at the University of New Englands Portland campus.

Joan Dow is a strong figure for the advertising industry in Maine. She broke down barriers for other women by becoming the first woman-owned agency in Maine, developing other women-owned businesses, and helping the formation of the Art Directors Club. Her tenacity and work ethic are legendary. The Joan Dow Award is a symbol of recognition for outstanding women in the field of advertising and design. It is presented to those that are role models for others and share the qualities of one of Maines greatest women in the industry, Joan Dow.

Nominated for the award by her inspired staff, Laura Rinck is also a force within the advertising industry. As majority owner and President of Rinck Advertising, Laura has led award-winning work for hundreds of brands, volunteered for and donated pro-bono services to several worthy non-profits, and shaped the careers of dozens of advertising, marketing, and public relations professionals, many of whom are women working in a male-dominated field.

Founded in 2001, Rinck is a nationally recognized full-service marketing, advertising, and public relations agency headquartered in Maine with remote locations across the U.S. serving clients including the Maine CDC, the Vermont Department of Health, Dunkin, Dove, Vaseline, VetriScience, MaineGeneral Health, and others. With Laura at the helm, the firm provides expertise in strategic planning, brand building, creative services, media planning, and buying, digital strategy & development, public relations, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, shopper marketing, and content marketing. Over the last decade, Rinck has built a behavioral change practice specializing in public health marketing, counter-marketing, social marketing, and mass-reach health communications that have yielded measurable social and behavioral change in the state of Maine. The agency team are leaders in the field committed to educating high-risk populations about social issues around tobacco and alcohol use, mental health, cancer, nutrition, health, substance use disorder, and more through proven media tactics that have changed the story for our State. In fact, the work extends beyond the State via work with Vermont Department of Health and the sharing of best-practice campaign strategies and assets to be utilized by other states.

Lauras impact is also evident through her volunteerism and the reach of the agencys pro-bono support of many non-profits. She and her husband, Rinck CEO Peter Rinck, have contributed endless hours serving on the board of the Maine Cancer Foundation. Over the years, the agency has generously provided resources to The Dempsey Center, L/A Arts, the Maine Music Society, the YWCA, and many more worthy causes.

When shes not leading agency work or pro-bono services, or volunteering in her community, Laura can be found inspiring and supporting a team of more than 40 professionals.Under Lauras leadership, Rincks core values embrace a people-first approach that focuses on the health and wellness of all employees. She believes that happier, healthier employees will create a happier, healthier workplace. This people-first approach is a primary reason Rinck boasts an impressive average tenure of more than six yearsmore than twice the industry average. Additionally, over 60 percent of Rinck employees have been with the agency for over five years (and nearly 25 percent for more than 10 years). The executive leadership team has an average tenure of more than 11 years, and eight of the nine current members of the exec team are women.

Rinck is unwavering in her commitment to her team, clients, and community. Her dedication to innovative and effective marketing solutions has made Rinck Advertising a leader in the field, helping drive positive change.

Laura is an inspiration to the women on her staff and to those who work with her on community projects, said Joan Dow. If there was a Laura Rinck Award, I would be honored to receive it. I have long admired her achievements.

Im honored to carry the torch passed to me by Joan, to continue to blaze the trail for women in advertising, said Rinck.

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Rinck honored by Maine Ad + Design Club with prestigious Joan ... - Bangor Daily News

Various football leagues across Europe, including the English Premier League (EPL), are taking a stricter stance on gambling advertising, with many of them disposing of gambling ads. However, for the time being, it remains unknown whether or not Scotland will decide to follow suit.

The thing is that football clubs in Scotland are unable to survive on TV money alone. Unfortunately for them, two major areas of income gambling and alcohol have been closely scrutinised over the last few years, and Scottish football clubs are known for being heavily dependent on both. Currently, more than 50% of the top football clubs in Scotland rely on partnership agreements with both alcohol and gambling companies in some form.

As recently explained by Dr Richard Purves of the University of Stirlings Institute for Social Marketing and Health, Scottish football clubs literally survive on gambling and alcohol firms money due to the huge visibility of their branding received as a result of such partnerships. Dr Purves revealed that both industries relied on the marketing impact which such agreements have on people and their behaviour and raising peoples engagement with their products.

For a few years, Dr Purves and his colleagues have been researching customer behaviour linked to gambling, alcohol and other vices. The results of their studies are being unveiled at a time when there is a growing concern about the impact of various addictions, including the ones to gambling and alcohol, have on people, especially in financially disadvantaged communities.

On the other hand, gambling and alcohol sponsors to professional sports clubs, and football, in particular, have long been associated with controversy. Years ago, the same concerns emerged in terms of tobacco companies, and now gambling and alcohol firms are being blamed for making addictions worse by targeting vulnerable groups and individuals, especially younger audiences.

Currently, there are fewer alcohol companies as football clubs shirt sponsors because their names have been replaced by some gambling and betting giants to a large extent.

As Casino Guardian previously reported, the UK Government has already moved forward, unveiling some proposals aimed at restricting the promotion of gambling products. As a result, the EPL has already announced that all football clubs need to remove gambling logos from the front of their shirts by the 2026/2027 season.

Other leagues and sports are also under pressure to follow suit and make sure they reduce their partnership agreements with gambling and alcohol companies. If Scottish football clubs decide to take such a move, this would mean that a number of leading clubs in the country would have to sacrifice some lucrative shirt sponsorship agreements. And, as mentioned above, shirt sponsorships have meant a lot to football, although this does not mean that football is the only promotional channel for the betting sector, it is only one of the most prominent ones.

Gambling sponsorship deals became extremely popular across the UK as a result of the liberalisation of the countrys Gambling Act in 2005. As previously noted, more than 50% of all clubs in the English Premier League and Championship had displayed gambling companies logos on their shirts by the 2018/2019 season. When it comes to Scotland, all four senior leagues and both major cup tournaments in the country, along with three of the four professional English leagues, had gambling companies as sponsors.

According to a Match of the Day study, viewers were usually exposed to a total of 250 instances of gambling marketing per episode, although the industry has been trying to self-regulate. This basically means there is undoubtedly public interest to see fewer gambling adverts across all kinds of advertising channels, with anti-gambling lobby trying to persuade the Government to make sure stricter regulation of gambling and gambling advertising is unveiled.

Olivia Cole has worked as a journalist for several years now. Over the last couple of years she has been engaged in writing about a number of industries and has developed an interest for the gambling market in the UK.

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Scottish Football Clubs Still Heavily Reliant on Their Sponsorship ... - Casino Guardian

The Queen of Sweden, former Mars CEO Grant Reid, gender and equality campaigner Khadija Coll MBE, and entrepreneur Robert Kilgour will receive honorary doctorates from the University of Stirling next week.

The leading figures will be celebrated for their outstanding contributions to the arts, society, and business at Stirlings summer graduation ceremonies, which take place across three days from June 27 to 29.

Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden will be recognised for her exceptional services to dementia. The Queen has long held a passion for caring for those living with dementia and has close relations with the University of Stirlings world-renowned researchers in dementia and healthy ageing through her charity foundation, Silviahemmet.

Grant Reid, a graduate in management economics from the University of Stirling, grew up in Kincardine and now lives in the USA. He served as CEO of Mars Inc for nine years, during which time he twinned an ambitious growth programme with a bold leadership agenda, with a particular emphasis on climate change and sustainability.

Khadija Coll MBE, who has worked with refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland and Africa, is the founder of the charity One Community Scotland, which supports families and young people settling into Glasgow. Born in Kenya and a resident of Scotland since 1998, she is also a long-time campaigner against female genital mutilation and gender-based violence.

Robert Kilgour, a former Stirling student, is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist whose business interests have ranged from local radio and insurance to care homes. Currently the Executive Chairman of Renaissance Care, he is also the founder of Four Seasons Health Care. Roberts first business venture, whilst still a student, was selling jeans and t-shirts at a stall at Edinburghs Ingliston outdoor market.

The honorary graduates will join 2,251 University of Stirling students over three days of ceremonies and celebration on the Stirling campus, where graduates will be joined by family and friends.

Professor Sir Gerry McCormac, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Stirling, said: We are delighted to be awarding these honorary doctorates to such a diverse and well deserving group, who each in their own way have had an influence on our society. They truly are inspirational in their fields, and role models for our graduating students.

Her Majesty Queen Silvia (pictured above) was born in Heidelberg, Germany in 1943, where she lived with her family until 1947 when they moved to So Paulo, Brazil. In 1965, she studied as an interpreter at the Munich Institute of Language and Interpretation, qualifying in Spanish.

From 1971 to 1973, Miss Silvia Sommerlath worked as a training manager for Olympic hostesses at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, and later became Head of Protocol for the Organising Committee for the 1976 Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. It was during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games that Miss Sommerlath met the then Crown Prince of Sweden. Their engagement was announced on 12 March 1976, with the wedding taking place in June that year at Stockholm Cathedral.

The King and Queen have three children: Crown Princess Victoria, born in 1977, Prince Carl Philip, born in 1979, and Princess Madeleine, born in 1982.

HM The Queen has long had a deep interest in humanitarian issues, including a specific passion for improving the lives of children and young people and caring for those living with dementia.

Her Majesty is Honorary Chair of the World Childhood Foundation, which aims to improve conditions for vulnerable children and children who are exposed to violence or sexual abuse, and in 1994 founded Mentor International, an organisation striving to give young people a sense of self-esteem and the power to grow through mentoring.

In 2009, The King and Queen initiated the World Child & Youth Forum, now known as the Global Child Forum.

The forum works with companies to raise awareness of childrens rights, and to help businesses integrate these perspectives into their operations.

In 2013, to mark the Queens 70th birthday, Queen Silvias Foundation Care About the Children - was established to support vulnerable children in Sweden and around the world by assisting established aid agencies.

In 1996, the Silviahemmet Foundation was initiated by The Queen to promote research and education. The Foundation works with Sophiahemmet University College and Karolinska Institutet to train assistance officers, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and dementia doctors. The Foundation also certifies entire care units in dementia care and is currently supporting a major research project led by University of Stirling experts to develop housing innovations that can better support people living with cognitive conditions, including dementia.

In October 2021, The Queen and His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf visited the world-renowned Dementia Services Development Centre, based at the University.

Over the years, The Queen has received a number of awards and recognitions for her involvement in social and humanitarian issues, and holds several honorary doctorates.

With a growing number of grandchildren, The Queen likes to spend as much time as possible with her family. She also has a keen interest in history and speaks a number of languages, including Swedish, German, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Grant F. Reid (pictured above) is former CEO of Mars and current Chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Agribusiness Taskforce, which is driving substantial action on how to scale regenerative agriculture.

He is a committed climate actionist and has demonstrated the positive role business can play in addressing environmental and societal issues - while also driving powerful financial performance.

Until the end of 2022, Grant served as CEO at Mars for almost nine years, leading a substantial portfolio, talent, sustainability, and digital transformation agenda. As of the end of 2022, with operations in more than 80 countries, 140,000 associates and net sales of well over $45 billion; Mars has a significant economic, environmental, and social footprint serving billions of consumers and their pets. Grant twinned an ambitious growth programme that saw sales grow by over 50% with a bold leadership agenda on value creation, climate action and sustainability.

Before becoming CEO of Mars, Grant had led the Mars Chocolate Segment globally and before that held a number of senior positions in marketing, sales, manufacturing and procurement. Grant has also been a board member and co-chaired the Governance Committee of The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), he co-led the CGF Forest Positive initiative and was a board member of Business For Inclusive Growth.

All driven by his belief that performance without purpose is meaningless, and purpose without performance is impossible.

The Sustainable Markets Initiative Agribusiness Taskforce which Grant chairs was established at the invitation of the former Prince of Wales. The taskforce which includes a number of leading CEOs is driving substantial action on how to scale regenerative agriculture.

Grant holds an honours degree in management economics from the University of Stirling as well as certification in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

While he has lived in the US for more than 30 years, Grant is a native of Scotland having grown up in Kincardine. He believes his time at the University of Stirling was fundamental to his future success. The quality of the faculty and his fellow students; combined with the encouragement to be rigorous, curious and communicate with clarity; have stood him in good stead in business.

Robert Dow Kilgour (pictured above) is a Scottish entrepreneur, investor, property developer and philanthropist who founded Four Seasons Health Care in 1988, opening its first care home in May 1989 in Fife in Scotland. He left the company in early 2000 when it was the UKs fifth largest care home operator with 101 care homes and employing over 7,000 staff, subsequently making his final financial exit from the company in 2004.

Robert founded and is CEO of Dow Investments Plc, now in its 34th year. In 2004, he founded, and is currently Executive Chairman of, Renaissance Care which operates 17 care homes throughout Scotland with around 1,200 staff. He is a Co-Founder and Director of video and security systems specialists, NW Security Group and was a founder shareholder and Chairman of Kingdom FM Radio, the local radio franchisee for Fife until he engineered its recent sale.

He is also a Director of Borland Insurance, an Advisory Board Director of E2E - a worldwide community of circa 24,000 entrepreneurs, and an Advisory Council Member of the TaxPayers' Alliance. Robert is a Co-Founder and Ambassador of Local Recovery - a Scotland-wide campaign group with about 7,500 active supporters across the country working at improving Scottish community facilities and helping local groups access available UK Government funding post Brexit.

Roberts first business ventures, while attending the University of Stirling, were running a stall selling jeans and t-shirts at Edinburghs Ingliston Sunday outdoor market and operating a video pinball machine in the reception area of AKD Hall, in addition to being elected Treasurer of the Students' Union.

In 2006, he founded the Scottish online political think-tank, Think Scotland, which recently celebrated its 17th anniversary. In April 2017, he founded, and is currently Chairman of, SBUK, a Scottish business group of approximately 500 businesses campaigning against a second Scottish independence referendum. From 2000-03, Robert was also a Member of the CBI Scottish Council and the CBI UK SME Council.

Born in Edinburgh, brought up in Fife and educated at Loretto School in Musselburgh, Robert splits his time between his main home in London, where his wife works, and his home in Fife. Whenever possible he raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support - raising over 2m for the charity during the last thirty years. Robert was appointed Macmillans first Ambassador in December 2018.

Relaxation is trying to compete with his four adult children at any sport and spending quality time with his two grandchildren.

Khadija Coll MBE (pictured above) is a social activist and charity founder who was born in a small village in Kenya called Isiolo and has been based in Scotland since 1998.

Awarded an MBE in the Queens 2020 birthday honours for services to diversity and equality, Khadija is a long-time campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM) and gender-based violence. She has supported vulnerable families in Scotland for more than two decades, enthusiastically contributing to and leading charity ventures that have brought about positive change for thousands of vulnerable people.

This drive has been informed by her own lived experiences of facing the cultural, social and economic challenges of moving from Africa to Scotland with a young family.

In 2018, Khadija founded One Community Scotland, a charity offering help and support to families and young people from overseas who are settling here.

The organisation helps New Scots overcome cultural barriers, tackle discrimination and enhance personal, social and economic development.

The charity recruits champions from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to help those new to the country, or in need of support, to overcome any barriers they may face to creating a successful life in Scotland.

One Community Scotland works closely with the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU) - a national centre of expertise on violence - fostering trust between communities and the police to create a safer Scotland.

Khadija listens to the voices of the young people she meets, establishing projects to enable New Scots to meet their potential while settling into life in Scotland. The impact is felt long beyond the end of specific projects, with young people going on to become ambassadors, developing leadership skills to guide and mentor the next group benefiting from her support.

This work was recently recognised in Police Scotlands Bravery and Excellence Awards 2023, when Khadija picked up the award in the equality, diversity and inclusion category.

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The Queen of Sweden to be celebrated alongside business and ... - University of Stirling