As a student of business writing, I don’t turn to obituaries for inspiration (probably a good thing). The typical obit adheres to a formula that goes something like this: He or she passed away Source of fame Key achievements Surviving family There’s a reason that newspapers assign the “obit beat” to newly hired college grads. …more
I came across this video “Never Estimate the Power of a Great Story” back in 2009. Even knowing the ending, the humor still slaps you across the face. After a recent watch, I realized the video delivers a few pain-free lessons in business storytelling. . Sure, the protagonist manages to escape death several times — machine …more
College graduation ceremonies aren’t exactly the most entertaining affairs. By design. A speaker will make a case to “follow your passion” followed by a glorified roll call that, depending on the size of the school, can literally last hours. Still, to lower the probability of something going awry, schools provide an FAQ. While these documents …more
There being downtown San Jose. Our office is a two-minute walk from the headquarters of the NFC champs, the Carolina Panthers. And we’re a 20-minute Light Rail ride from Levi’s Stadium, host to the big game on Sunday. Given our proximity to the action, we challenged the U.S. team to come up with tweets reflecting …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
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
Given the headline, you might be thinking that my binge watching of Dexter has gone too far. Relax. I’m not suggesting you literally interview the deceased. Instead, the idea is to go back in time to interview a famous person by “borrowing” from existing video footage. MLB.com shows the way in creating a video in …more
Even if you’re not a Game of Thrones fan — must be a few lawyers out there who quibble with their court system — one can only marvel at Tyrion’s sales pitch to Daenerys (season 5, episode 8) as he jockeys for the top advisor role. It is sheer genius and case study in persuasive language. Nothing …more
After careful study, number crunching and extrapolation, I’ve concluded that 2015 will bring us several “PR moments.” As always, my predictions are for recreational purposes only. PR Agency Resigns from CPAP Machine Consortium The advocacy group behind CPAP machines, the AFCPAP (Americans for continuous positive airway pressure) hires a PR agency to raise the …more
