By Cecilia Zhong, Senior Account Executive “Cecilia’s company is sending her to work in Asia for four months,” said my husband to his boss. “You are not gonna quit and join her company, are you?” asked his boss, half-jokingly. They were talking about the sweet gig I got: a 15-week work trip across Hong …more
Every global communications consultancy touts collaboration. Of course they do. If a prospective client is going to engage with a PR firm for support across multiple markets, it expects the account team members to play nice with each other regardless of location. PR consultancies have nailed this message. The reality is most PR agencies aren’t …more
By Mark Pinsent, Managing Director, Hoffman Europe Public Relations and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) haven’t always been the happiest of bedfellows let alone entertained thoughts about a long-term commitment. There are a number of potential reasons for the lack of chemistry. Perhaps the historical perception of unethical ‘black hat’ SEO and underhand link-building programmes …more
Between Huawei’s reputation, 1,000 posts, our Asia team crushing it, taking things personally and Frank Bruni’s acerbic wit, the first half of the best posts in 2019 covered a lot of ground. Here comes the second half. . . 6) Thought Leadership versus Thought Followship The communications industry has wakened to …more
You can throw out many adjectives to describe 2019. Dull won’t be one of them. Writing about the intersection of communications, journalism and branding, a never-ending stream of fodder for potential posts flew by my window every day. I wish I had more time to dig and explore. The following captures the first half …more
Lou—I wanted to reach out regarding the blog posted this week “When the Media Fails to Distinguish Between PR and Advertising.” It is unclear to me who the author is, and a little disappointing that they developed a whole narrative about us out of thin air, but please share that the North American Meat …more
By Frank Zhang, DGM Hoffman China Sitting on the train from Shanghai to Wenzhou, I had time to contemplate a simple question: What were students from Wenzhou-Kean University, a Chinese-American jointly established higher education institution, expecting to hear from an international communications consultancy? I arrived at the venue 30 minutes early. It turns out …more
Years ago we resigned a big brand account in the consumer electronics space. I think the statute of limitations has run out, 10+ years, so I can share the name. You’ve probably heard of them. Sony. At the time we supported their consumer electronics business in the U.S. handling their video camcorders, cameras and laptops. …more
Commenting on an industry issue by itself does not constitute thought leadership. It’s simply a comment on an industry issue. Before going further, I should acknowledge that this remark still has value. If the executive’s comment gains traction in social channels or appears in a publication, that helps to raise the visibility of the company, …more
