Few people can consistently amuse in 140 characters. The only person I’ve come across who does is Tim Siedell who parlayed his Twitter account from a job in advertising to writing for Comedy Central.Now, try to be clever in half that space. That’s the challenge for those select few who call themselves door hanger copywriters. …more
Every company website features an “About Us” section. Sometimes, it goes by a different name. Our Story. Corporate Overview. Company Info. Etc. Nomenclature aside, all strive to give the visitor a look inside the company, explaining its business, its values and what makes it tick. Naturally, it hopes to make a positive impression. Better yet, …more
Think about the attention that rains down on moms every “Mother’s Day.” Or the amount of money shelled out for chocolate, flowers and other sundry items for Valentine’s Day. Now imagine establishing a national day as a means to elevate a brand, product or issue. Before writing this off as PR once again going off …more
Everyone seems to think there’s a deep lesson in Donald Trump’s popularity. At the risk of stating the obvious, Furthermore, Americans love a good train wreck. We can’t help ourselves. And one of the few things that will outperform a train wreck is the potential of a train wreck. That’s why the viewing numbers for …more
It’s been a couple months since my last Grab Bag post. With over 10 items in the queue, I made some tough choices on the three vignettes that made the cut. Here goes. Extending a Brand Too many companies extend their brands in ways that trade incremental revenue for flinging an incongruent message to their customers. …more
Back in 2012 I posted plans to evolve the blog which included: And I recognize the “look and feel” of the blog desperately needs help, another action on the 2012 to-do list. Didn’t happen. This exchange with Marsha Collier surfaced in 2013: I’ve had friends tell me that once I bulldoze the wretched “look and feel” …more
In preparation for our storytelling workshops, we request that participants complete some light homework. We often ask them what B2B company does a particularly good job in building its brand and public profile. With rare exception, GE wins this unaided awareness test. In a “cement mixer” with thousands of B2B companies, what is GE doing …more
Would you have reached this point if the headline simply read, “A Plea for Your Input on the Name ‘Ishmaels’ Corner’?” It doesn’t matter. You’re here; clickbait be damned. Here’ the situation. The “look and feel” of my blog harkens back to a time when AOL dominated and MySpace was hot. I believe my first …more
It’s been a tough few days for Mr. Wilde. Since his communications in handing Madison Bumgarner the MVP trophy for the World Series and keys to a Chevy Colorado, the media has crushed Mr. Wilde (and those were the nice ones). While Mr. Wilde’s LinkedIn profile isn’t exactly enlightening, we can safely assume that when …more
