Archive: June 2017

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Using Owned Media as a Catapult to Fling Warning Shots

Owned media has come a long way since serving as the platform of choice to highlight the availability of vegan options at the corporate café. Google’s decision to communicate its exit from the China market was a turning point. When Google published a blog post with the no-frills headline, “A New Approach to China,” on …more

Kevin Durant Airballs Brand-building Moment

Today’s professional athletes cultivate their brands with attention to detail that would make a product manager at P&G proud. Certainly Kevin Durant fits into this category. That’s why his “Thank You to Everyone” ad published in the San Francisco Chronicle last week was disappointing. The creative could have come from a summer advertising workshop for …more

Unconventional Official “Sponsors” for 30-year Anniversary

The Olympics does this. As does the World Cup. We figured that our 30-year anniversary should fall in line, recognizing a select group of “sponsors.” I say select group because a democratic process — hey, it’s still a viable concept — led to the final results. With that as the stage setting, here are the …more

Who Moved My Story?

After conducting our storytelling workshop over the years, a certain theme has emerged. By the close of the workshop, participants buy into the concepts. They then jump back into their jobs with renewed determination to communicate with conversational language and a show-don’t-tell attitude only to run into that visible force called stakeholder approval. We continually …more

Still Believe Uber Should Tap PR Exec Ranks for the New A Team

Back in March when Uber shared it was searching for an exec to ride shotgun with Travis Kalanick in hopes of modulating the CEO’s behavior, I suggested that the recruiters should take a look at the talent pool of PR executives. My point was that critical areas like brand management, the relationship with drivers and …more

How Russia Fools Readers the Old-fashioned (and Legal) Way

In this era of fake news sites and outlandish assertions touched by social media suddenly morphing into perceived truths, Russia also depends on the advertorial as a “weapon” of choice to tell its story. With ex-FBI Director James Comey’s recent testimony reigniting the Russia maelstrom, it’s easy to forget that Russia’s approach to disrupting the …more

How PR enhances power of the Tech Press

By David Frost, CEO, PR Deadlines, Sydney, Australia As an executive journalist on the Fin Review two decades or so ago, too much of my time was spent trashing PR handouts. Eventually head-hunted by a PR agency that wanted someone who could actually write, it took me a while to reach an equilibrium. Balancing the needs …more

What Happens When the Cobbler’s Kids Wear Someone Else’s Shoes?

Most PR consultancies implement some type of PR program for themselves. Few PR consultancies embrace advertising as part of their outbound arsenal to raise awareness and build their brands. In our quest to punch above our weight when it comes to the world order of PR companies, we believe advertising has place in the mix. …more