This talk will begin with a brief introduction to CERN and its missions before looking at the laboratory’s communication function. It will cover market research carried out in the mid-2000’s to shape CERN’s communication strategy through the start-up of the Laboratory’s flagship Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The talk will then go on to cover how CERN dealt with the hype surrounding end-of-the world scenarios, which generated considerable discussion on social media in 2008. After a few words about CERN’s public profile today, the talk will conclude with a discussion about why good science communication matters today more than ever.