I shared half of my top posts for the first half of 2017 last week. Here’s the second half, starting with the star of today’s reality TV shows, President Trump. . . 6. Trump’s Job Description for Press Secretary: Make Communications Great Again Given how many times President Trump has thrown Sean Spicer under the bus, …more
To find an individual who has dominated the new cycle for such a long stretch of time like President Trump, you have to go all the way back to 1994 and the O.J. Simpson trial. It’s not a bad comparison. The trial of American People vs. President Trump is unofficially underway delivering plenty of fodder …more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
