I write a column on Silicon Valley for a tech publication in Korea called The Electronics Times. The editor asked me to take a shot at predicting what will happen in Silicon Valley in 2011. Here’s what got edited out of the column (apparently storytelling techniques with a touch of levity don’t resonate overseas): The …more
Want the media to pay attention? Offer a compelling story. Want the media to really pay attention? Deliver a really compelling story. I get this concept. But to say Julian Assange dominates the headlines because WikiLeaks is a world-shaking story shortchanges Mr. Assange’s PR savvy. As Reuters pointed out, Assange “has masterfully manipulated elite media outfits.” Digging deeper, Assange …more
Blogging shares a similarity with golf. A zillion people enjoy the activity, but only a chosen few make money at it. This point recently got hammered home when I stumbled across an ad on Craigslist recruiting bloggers for Intuit’s small-biz property. Intuit pays 100 bucks per post. I already knew it’s the rare blogger who can quit his or her …more
Like most “older” PR professionals, I was raised in the command-and-control era of communications. I remember my first experience observing the senior guys conducting media training for a client. It was all about pummeling the spokesperson into submission to stay on message. While the trainers were having fun – the PR version of running a torture chamber …more
Consider this quandary. Caterpillar makes heavy machine equipment like hydraulic excavators, tractors and the ever-popular backhoe loader. Pushing dirt from point A to point B doesn’t exactly conjure drama. Recognizing this point, Caterpillar developed a series of videos that do tell compelling stories by connecting the company’s equipment to a human element. My favorite involves Caterpillar’s role in uniting the country of …more
The concept of advertorials is not new. I’m sure if the early publishers of the Bible accepted advertising, we would have seen pitches for flint stones packaged as psalms. Fast-forwarding to today, it stands to reason that the never-ending economic pressures on publishers causes them to wade further into the gray area in exchange for revenue. Still, the …more
Everybody knows technology rules Silicon Valley. That’s why Larry Ellison chastising HP plays out locally like “Desperate Housewives.” That’s why you can find memory chips next to beef jerky on the way to checkout counters at stores like Fry’s. The engineering mindset that permeates the Valley often finds marketing, much less storytelling, to be a superficial …more
If you’re a communicator or care about communications, the Nieman Journalism Lab should be on your radar. The media property does a terrific job of probing journalism from all directions. A Friday article, Covering a Crisis More Like Molasses than Quicksand, that looks at the challenges for journalists in covering a “never-ending” crisis caught my attention. Think BP …more
It was standing room only at the Agency’s “Playing Field” yesterday to hear Nancy Duarte share her wisdom on how to create a presentation that grabs the audience by the scruff of the neck. Most communicators know Nancy from her breakthrough book, slide:ology. She recently published book No. 2, resonate, which dives into the type of content that …more
