Tonight, I share the stage with Shel Holtz at a San Francisco IABC event that examines the future of PR and communications in 2025. Given the velocity of change in today’s world regardless of industry, predicting what will happen one year from now — much less eight years out — is fraught with peril (and …more
I will always remember November 14, 2014, and it has nothing to do with my birthday. That was the day that Mike Sottak called to say he was accepting our job offer to run our European operation. Since we entered the European market in the late 1990s, the Agency’s experience had resembled a roller-coaster ride …more
The grab bag returns for the first time in 2017. Why the hiatus? Playing homage to the Google algorithm, I’ve been consciously avoiding shorter blog posts or what some term “stubs.” Yet, I continue to come across shards of content that either amuse, surprise or teach. As individual content, they don’t necessarily frame a post. …more
When we entered the China market in 1999, I shared with our staff that our long-term success in Asia depended on China. I no longer believe this. Instead, it’s clear to me that our long-term success on the international front depends on China. When we experienced turmoil in our China operation a few years ago, …more
Today we publicly announced that the country of France is now a client. France’s international economic development agency, Business France, selected us to promote the country’s tech industry (Le French Tech initiative) in the U.S. and Asia. I rarely use the blog as a forum to address Agency business, but I’m making an exception today. …more
Hyperbole wrecks a news release. Words like “breakthrough” and “revolutionary” in a new release essentially say to the journalist, “Stop reading. This announcement is nothing more than corporate drivel with yet another claim of changing the world.” Yet, an exception occurred ten years ago when Apple distributed the news release with the Spartan headline, “Apple …more
I traveled to China last September — Steve Wozniak ended up right behind me in line going through customs — which was my 38th trip to China. Even after spending a fair amount of time there, I still feel like a student always learning new things. So many dimensions to the communications industry in China …more
Spending time in Singapore at the start of the month to celebrate our 20-year anniversary of operating in Asia included a few interviews with journalists. Here’s the unfiltered version of a Q&A that touches on topics ranging from the future of communications to our differentiation. Q. Happy 20th Anniversary on your operation in Asia! Can …more
Today finds me in Singapore with my wife Heather and my parents celebrating the Agency’s 20-year anniversary of expanding to Asia. A quick back story — I wanted to open an office in Asia in 1994, but couldn’t muster the guts to hit the go-for-it button. I kept thinking if establishing a tech-focused PR consultancy …more
