Archive: March 2009

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AIG Jumps into Fray with Its Side of the Story

Watching the volcanic outrage over the AIG bonus money playing out in the media I wondered how the company would respond. Many companies make the mistake of ducking for cover thinking they can wait out the storm. While AIG is hardly the poster child for business communications, it made the right move with an op-ed from the CEO Edward Liddy …more

Tying Your Story to a High-profile Topic — Even "Slumdog Millionaire" — Can Go Too Far

Leveraging a high-profile topic can open the door to your own story. We’ve used this technique in our own communications. When Sequoia Capital rolled out its “R.I.P Good Times” pitch that caused considerable hoopla in the world of venture capital, we countered with a guest blog on VentureBeat called “R.I.P. The Controlled Message.” But there are times when this …more

Conversing Like a Real Human Being

There’s something about the shadow of business that causes people to actually strive for a rigid and vanilla tone in their communications.   That’s why the following automated note from Twitter (forgot my password) caught my attention:   Hey there. Can’t remember your password, huh? It happens to the best of us. Please open this …more

Here’s a Contrarian Story You Don’t See Everyday

The customer is king in an economic downturn … except at American Express. AmEx has decided to prune its customers that fit under the bad-guy category with a unique offer. Remember in the good old days when the Russians were still a player and your local bank gave you a blender when you opened a savings account. AmEx is …more