Category: Communications Industry

MENU

Global Communications Is a Mentality, Not a Function

When people talk about improving global PR, the discussion typically gravitates toward infrastructure or titles. But these are supporting pieces. At the core, the most important factor in the success or failure of an international PR campaign comes down to mentality. Two basic questions go a long way toward revealing the presence of a global …more

Picture Procurement Shaking Down a Heart Surgeon

All communication consultancies periodically encounter Procurement before contract sign-off and embarking on the fun stuff with a client. I am not a fan of Procurement. They always claim to be there to help the agency and make sure everyone — both the agency and the in-house PR department — enjoy a “happily ever after.” Yet, …more

You Call That Innovation?

That was the headline in a Wall Street Journal article back in 2012. The piece made the point that the word “innovation” (and its derivatives) was being used so much by companies to tout incremental improvement — or worse — that the word lost meaning. Raking through earnings calls from the previous 12 months, The Journal …more

Is Creativity Really a Team Sport?

Companies consider brainstorming a magical alchemy, especially if the business puts a premium on creativity. That’s certainly the case in a communications consultancy; not so much if you’re an accounting firm that depends on the rigor of process. The words “let’s brainstorm” bring multiple people together with the singular quest to find a better way. …more

Getting Serious About Southeast Asia

You might have seen the news earlier this month that we promoted Maureen Tseng to oversee our Southeast Asia operation from our hub in Singapore. We hired our first employee in Asia on April 17, 1997. That person was Maureen. The photo above depicts her and our Singapore team during the early days when we …more

Product Launches Aren’t News?

The internet has commoditized news announcements, particularly product news from B2B tech companies. This isn’t to say that journalists will never write about a new SaaS offering, a denser storage product, etc., but the why-should-I-care bar sits in the stratosphere. I was reminded of this when our European MD Mark Pinsent scooted the OOO message …more

Reflecting on 2021 Performance

Our company’s rescheduled holiday celebration looms later this week, prompting a look back on 2021. While the pandemic delivered the ultimate stress test for PR agencies in 2020, it’s not like everything returned to normal in 2021. Between variants like Omicron, political turmoil — hello, Jan. 6 — and continued calls for social justice, the …more