I made my first trip to China in 1998. To say it seemed like another planet doesn’t quite capture the feeling. Try a different universe. I remember attempting to place a classified ad in China that required signoff from multiple government entities. It turned into a Kafka-esque exercise when the third stop found something out …more
All companies recognize that customers saying positive things about their products is marketing gold. Think about the last time you were searching for a ramen restaurant and put stock — can’t resist a bad pun — in Yelp to find your destination. Or your dependence on online reviews before shelling out money for the latest …more
Storytelling is the new “black” when it comes to business communications. To understand the plight of storytelling, consider the chart put together by our crack research group using Factiva to search on the number of articles containing the word “storytelling” in general and business publications. .. The data doesn’t exactly quantify the communications profession embracing …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
Our European managing director, Mike Sottak, made the trek to the French Riviera to attend Cannes Lions. I believe this is where we cue the audio, “Hey, it’s tough duty, but someone has to do it.” If you haven’t heard of this event, here’s the description straight from the horse’s website: We believe creativity is …more
I wrote a post in April mentioning that one of our young account professionals, Melissa Lewelling, was headed to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Out of literally thousands of films, her film, called “More Than a Number,” was one of 30 films selected by Campus Movie Fest to be shown in the Short Film Corner. …more
Remember the revolt from journalists when The Atlantic published a native ad on that “wonderful” organization known as Scientology? Putting the disdain from journalists to the side, by appearing to be editorial content to many readers the ad did trigger more clicks, which in turn generated more revenue. I thought the phrase “ecclesiastical leader” was …more
Public relations at its best acts as the conscience of a company. Here’s what I mean. Companies often go through the painstaking exercise of crafting a mission or values statement. For example Starbucks adheres to the following values: Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome. Acting with courage, challenging the status …more
When Warren Buffet spoke at Columbia University, a student asked what he could do now to prepare for a career in investing. As reported in the Omaha World Herald, Buffett thought for a few seconds and then reached for the stack of reports, trade publications and other papers he had brought with him. “Read 500 …more
