Word has circulated through the grapevine that EE Times has experienced yet another staff reduction. At least the move comes at a time when companies including those in the semiconductor industry have got the content marketing religion. For journalists open to exploring gigs outside the traditional media, they’ll find options. But what about EE Times? …more
Eric Savitz at Forbes oversees the CIO Network, a forum for executives to articulate a point of view. If you scroll through a few months of these byliners, you’ll see the number of views at 1,000, 2,000 and a select few tipping the 5K mark for bragging rights. As noted in “Social Numbers Don’t Mean …more
Dare I say, storytelling has become downright trendy in business communications. “Narrative” has officially entered the PR vernacular. Yet, just because words like “protagonist,” “story arc” and yes, “narrative,” get bandied about doesn’t guarantee storytelling has displaced corporate speak. The SlideShare deck, “The Return of Storytelling vs. Corporate Speak,” shares some of the science and …more
In a time of gnat-like attention spans, few publications still practice long-form journalism. Fortune is one exception, and Patricia Sellers is one exceptional storyteller. If you recognize the name, it’s likely because Sellers took Fortune’s annual feature, “The Most Powerful Women in Business,” and transformed it into franchise with its own brand cachet. The Stanford …more
Every company wants a signature win in heavyweight publications like Fast Company, BusinessWeek and Fortune. By signature win, I mean 1,000-plus words devoted to a behind-the-curtain look at the company. Yet, few PR teams cultivate the needed content assets to give themselves a fighting chance for this type of attention. It requires thinking like a …more
In honor of Valentine’s Day, here’s a story that proves once again that life is better than fiction. Having been married for 20+ years, I never experienced the “anguish” of dealing with social media withdrawls from a romance gone south. Apparently, it’s not easy. NPR recently ran the story, “When Social Media and Romance Mix, …more
Years ago we resigned a big brand account in the consumer electronics space. I tried to be diplomatic about the reason with the head of PR: requirements of the assignment changed, not a good fit, yada yada yada. She wasn’t having it. Finally, I explained the core issue: “You don’t need a PR agency. What …more
Capitalizing on an almanac event by itself doesn’t constitute creative communications. After all, it’s easy enough to plan for these events. But the Square Valentine’s Day promo stands out and not just because of the creativity and production values of the video. The nitty-gritty execution from Square shows a well-thought-out strike. For example, the company …more
A few thoughts from the grab bag. Yet Another Proof Point That Content Matters When it comes to professional services firms, the McKinsey brand stands by itself. That’s why it’s revealing to highlight the number of followers on the McKinsey corporate Twitter account. Not even 10,000 followers. On the other hand, take a look at …more
