I often characterize this period of time as the PR industry’s version of the industrial revolution minus the child labor issue. Our profession is literally being reinvented right before our eyes. More than any one functional skill, the ability to keep learning is the key to excelling in a communications career regardless of title. In …more
The hoopla triggered by The New York Times on the Amazon culture has not subsided. Cruel Bruising Dickensesque (as a literary reference, my personal favorite) And these were some of the more measured descriptions of the Amazon culture that have come to light and created a PR crisis. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was quick to …more
For a profession that advocates the power of taking a stand, there are precious few PR executives who take their own advice. Several factors conspire to keep PR executives on a vanilla message. At the risk of generalizing, I think it’s fair to say that most PR people enjoy working in the background. Like a …more
Showing knowledge that transcends zone blitzes and optimizing the price point of a 12-ounce domestic beer, the New England Patriots jumped into the content marketing game last week. New England created a microsite to defend Tom Brady’s honor and the integrity of the franchise after the Wells Report reignited Deflategate. For the 27 Americans out …more
Taking a page from the music industry, I introduced our “greatest storytelling hits” in 2013 pulling from posts published before 2011. Now I’m going back to the well, showcasing some of my favorite posts published between 2011 and 2013. I hope you’ll find that they still have relevance and some spunk. 1. An Open Letter to …more
I attended the Joint Venture Silicon Valley (JVSV) annual conference last week, which in essence delivers the Valley’s version of the State of the Union. Silicon Valley being Silicon Valley, no byte was left unturned. What’s called the Silicon Valley Index packs enough information to appease the most strident data scientist. Want to know how …more
Yesterday in Beijing that question was at the heart of a roundtable we participated in involving Campaign Asia and the BBC. The very insights that Campaign Asia’s Jason Wincuinas offered on the topic in last week’s Q&A framed a lively discussion. As part of our preparation for the roundtable, we turned to the Forbes Global 2000, sifting …more
Evolving wisdom holds that the physical location of the CEO doesn’t matter anymore. With the advent of videoconferencing, emails, texting, Twitter, Facebook and other forms of digital communications, the CEO is always just a click away. Some CEOs don’t even keep a proper office, preferring to parachute into locations around the world and pull up …more
Journalists might look at that headline and assume this is another post bashing PR for hounding journalists after their pitches have been rejected. That’s not where I’m coming from. Instead, I want to move away from storytelling for a minute and talk about the business side of a communications consultancy. Every professional services firm values …more
