PR consultancies are notorious for not applying their craft to building their own brands.
I’d like to think we’re an exception to the rule.
Equally important, we strive to bring the art of storytelling to our own communications as well as our clients.
As a result, we’ve enjoyed attention in publications ranging from the New York Times to CFO Magazine to USA Today and one my favorite passages (related to conducting business in China):
“It took us a good two years to get our WOFE in place in China. The twists and turns to the finish line were Kafkaesque. As part of the application, they ask for three potential names for the WOFE. Of course, the government ends up selecting a completely different name (from what we submitted) that sounds like a dim sum restaurant. Fortunately, with the right connections behind the scenes we were able to secure the right name.”
Thanks to the rise of digital media, the corresponding demand for content opens the door to more opportunities for contributed pieces.
Toward this end, today’s BusinessWeek (of the digital variety) features my op-ed entitled, “Small Biz to Washington: About Those Promises…”.
I discussed the importance of storytelling in an op-ed using AIG’s contribution to the Washington Post as an example. I’m a big believer in keeping the narrative conversational and having fun with language which hopefully comes out in the BusinessWeek op-ed with phrases such as the following:
“President Obama campaigned on an I-Will-Help-Main-Street platform”
“… to borrow from Shakespeare, here’s the rub on the $15 billion package.”
“If we learned anything from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) last year – never a good sign when an acronym rhymes with carp – it’s that pumping large sums of money into the banks by itself is not the answer to the credit crunch.”
“If someone wants to take on the burger chains with yet another beef-between-bun venture I can appreciate taking a pass on funding.”
“… regain the black on the balance sheet.”
I wanted to work in “Brother can you spare a dime” but decided it fell under the category of “cheap parlor tricks” so took a pass.