I think Mark Twain would agree. He’d be particularly amused by a report on the solar industry released earlier this week that triggered two stories on opposite ends of the spectrum. In one corner, we give you the San Jose Mercury News and its bullish headline. The supporting graphic continues with the bullish stance. OK, …more
Every agency person has experienced a client who adds what we’ll call “extra obstacles” to achieving success. It’s not personal (usually). Sometimes, it’s simply a byproduct of the company’s culture. I’m reminded of a client whose management required report after report to the point that the reporting cost exceeded the doing-PR cost. Even after showing …more
Journalists do not want to regurgitate a news release that by definition sits in the public domain. If the news release encapsulates the complete story with anecdotes, texture and a touch of drama, you leave no room for a journalist to navigate. IBM’s recent announcement of a mainframe illustrates how good content – not great …more
I’ve been waiting months to share this exchange with a journalist at a major business publication. I love this example because it shows a journalist’s reaction to the same core content: one based on the typical bulldoze pitch, and the second reflecting storytelling techniques. Here’s the first volley. Me Journalist This was probably my worse …more
Research underpins many terrific novels. Novelist Tom Clancy attributes his success to “equal parts persistence and dogged research.” For “The Hunt for Red October,” he raked the likes of “The World’s Missile Systems, Guide to the Soviet Navy and Combat Fleets of the World.” It’s not on my nightstand either. But a similar mentality can …more
I like to reverse-engineer news announcements and study how companies time the flow of information. Specifically, it’s interesting to scrutinize how companies play the use of an embargo. As I embarked on such an exercise involving the recent IBM mainframe news. I’m baffled by this riddle. Look at the date stamp from the Google Search …more
Traffic to news sites increasingly comes in through the side doors, that is, from search and social means. Adrienne LaFrance recently wrote on this very topic for Nieman Lab: As with newspapers – which haven’t so much disappeared as been pushed off center stage – few are saying that homepages will disappear completely. But as …more
The verdict just came down in the Apple/Samsung legal skirmish. Apple won ($1,051,855,000 in damages seems like a win to me). Rewinding the tape, it’s interesting to look back at how Apple initially framed its case. It stands to reason that Apple’s legal team wanted to grab the judge’s attention right from the start in …more
The grab bag returns with a trio of takes. Dénouement in Business Storytelling Our workshop on storytelling techniques discusses dénouement, the French word that means to undo or untie the knot. For business storytelling, it’s the time to bring clarity and resolution to the communications at hand. Even though a business story doesn’t always technically …more
