By Chris Owen, Hoffman UK Director Def: ‘Light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.’ To date, we’ve looked at Tragedy and Rebirth as two of the Seven Basic Plots which …more
You periodically hear that someone is “good TV.” Bill Hader is good TV (looking forward to binging “Barry” on my next overseas flight). Tina Fey is good TV. Sometimes an event or a product like an Apple iPhone launch is mentioned as good TV. Semiconductors are NOT good TV. The technical nature of a semiconductor …more
By Elisa Zallio, Account Executive, Hoffman Europe There’s no such thing as “too many books.” If there’s one bad habit I don’t mind my parents passing to me, it is book hoarding. As I write this blog, I have some 200 in my childhood home in Italy. Will I regret my collection when I …more
By Account Manager Matthew Burrows That exclamation from famous fictional detective and personal childhood role model Sherlock Holmes has often been used by proponents of data analysis, but it’s never been truer than now, a full 128 years after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first published The Adventure of The Copper Beeches where that …more
The concept of “storytelling” has been trending in the communications industry for years. Virtually every communications consultancy touts its storytelling expertise short of saying: “Hey mister, step into our tent and see how storytelling can change your life.” There’s just one not-so-little detail that no one talks about. When it comes to business communications, storytelling …more
Who doesn’t like Ira Glass? The man single-handedly popularized the podcast when his NPR show “This American Life” proved that with the right stories, the medium could reach millions. The original premise for “This American Life” was to take an individual who isn’t famous or in the news and build a narrative that captivates listeners. …more
We know the story is always there. Yet, bringing the story to the surface often requires the right questions. And no one is better at probing and cajoling a source than Terry Gross, the maestro of the NPR podcast “Fresh Air.” She recently interviewed the actor Patricia Arquette. Having done her homework, Gross knows Arquette’s …more
I asked Silicon Valley veteran Dave Kellogg for his OK to republish this post. I met Dave some 10 years ago when he was CEO of MarkLogic. Here was a CEO who not only understood PR but seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, his internal communications team didn’t command the same understanding, and our client relationship …more
Monday’s post captured five of the 10 top posts this year (so far). Here are the remaining posts. 6. Game of Thrones Depicts the Best of Persuasive Language The final season of Game of Thrones played out this year. Rather than focus on the Iron Throne, we turned our attention to persuasive language, specifically …more
