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
There’s a reason the line “a picture is worth a thousand words” became a cliché. To debate whether it’s 1,000 words or 1,055 words misses the point. A visual pulls the reader into the narrative and enhances the storytelling. Photo sites like Flickr make it easy to add photos into your blog posts. You can …more
For those who are technically challenged like myself, navigating Google Analytics beyond the standard data can be an exercise in futility or frustration. Take your pick. Adam Singer at Google makes it easy to capture your blog’s most popular posts of the year with a custom report you can find in a December post. When …more
It must be a weird quandary for media properties. On one hand, their journalistic mission can result in contentious interactions with PR professionals. On the other hand, like any company they invest in the PR function in hopes of “swaying” their journalistic brethren to write about them in a positive light. As a stand-alone journalist, …more
