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
Thanks to the wonders of Internet and WordPress, any company can rationalize the cost of digital publishing. What’s more, Google’s decision to communicate the dialing down of activities in China on its corporate blog gave street cred to owned media. Since Google’s act on January 12, 2005, organizations of all shapes and sizes have become …more
The influence of journalists remains as important today as when I started in the communications business. While the Internet has commoditized news announcements, what appears in publications still impacts a company’s brand and reputation. That’s why I was intrigued when I heard that Muck Rack (in cooperation MDC Partners) surveyed a cross section of journalists …more
The Internet has commoditized the news release. Unfortunately, many companies missed the memo. As noted in a previous post, the three largest news release distribution services (PR Newswire, Business Wire and Marketwired) sent out roughly 642,000 news releases in 2013 or 1,759 news releases per day. Figuring 10 man hours per news release at $175 …more
I attended the Communicator’s Conference in Portland last week where keynote speaker Jim Olson shared Starbucks’ commitment to storytelling in its communications. When asked how Starbucks measures the impact of storytelling, he explained that it’s still early days. I’d like to answer the question, but before doing so it’s useful to dust off the axiom, …more
If you’re like me, you picked up last Tuesday’s New York Times and thought WTH? (OK, maybe it wasn’t “what the heck,” but you get the drift.) How did feel-good storytelling on the City of Chattanooga end up above the fold in The New York Times? I’m sure officials from numerous cities who have invested …more
We are huge fans of the ProfNet service from PR Newswire. By sending daily alerts on media stories in motion, ProfNet eliminates much of the guesswork in pitching a client source to a journalist. Two variables go a long way toward determining whether your ProfNet effort produces a thought leadership win. The first can be …more
I met a colleague, Jane Wang, for a cup of coffee at Roy’s last week. Once and for all, she puts an end to the great debate of what’s more valuable in media relations, a flush Rolodex or great content (storytelling). Before going further, it occurred to me that the under-40 crowd might not have …more
The Wired franchise has a gift for finding the fresh narrative in complexity. Even under Condé Nast with a nod toward mainstream, the property remains true to the Alpha Geek. When the UK Wired sent out the following ProfNet, I assumed they would get crushed with pitches. I am editing a special edition of Wired, …more
