The New York Times reported on Friday that ESPN plans to launch espnW. That’s right. An all-sports channel totally focused on serving one audience: women. ESPN has cracked the code when it comes to extending its brad to sub-audiences. By 2020, I’m predicting the launch of espnBB, programming rich in shuffle board, darts and other sports easy on the …more
This guest post comes from Sheri Baer who heads our broadcast practice. She shares a behind-the-scenes look at one particular client’s story and how the humanity played out in both print and broadcast media. As broadcast director at The Hoffman Agency, it’s my job to get executives on TV. I spent 13 years working on …more
Blogging is the new black at corporations. Everyone is doing it. And it’s not just large companies that fall under the technology umbrella. Want to know what’s on the mind of Bill Marriott and the “wacky” world of hotels – latest post titled “Honesty Is The Best Policy” – no problem. It makes sense. After …more
I’m always on the hunt for the science that demonstrates the power of storytelling. This McKinsey article, “Revealing Your Moment of Truth” (requires registration), doesn’t get into the science but it’s damn compelling in connecting storytelling to leadership. The lead graph sets the stage in a way that probably has a few McKinsey-ites shuddering in …more
The media and twitterverse has been abuzz with the news that Dick Costolo has replaced Evan Williams as Twitter’s new head honcho. Most of the coverage has focused on Costolo’s operations acumen and, specifically, if his leadership will cause those pesky API-problem or traffic-overload messages to go away. Everyone has missed one of Costolo’s greatest assets, communications. He is a …more
I regularly discuss the value in applying visuals – photos, infographics and even charticles – to storytelling in business communications. At last count a picture was worth 1,000 words, so it stands to reason that an infographic could top the 10,000-word mark. Some of the best ideas on visual storytelling can be “borrowed” from media properties which …more
This topic initially stumped me. Specifically, what exactly is a “practice?” I finally settled on this definition: The act of repeatedly engaging in an activity for the purpose of improving or mastering it. So what are the five things that today’s communication practitioners should be doing again and again with an aim to master? 1) Know …more
Avery Dennison dominates the market for mailing labels and the like. The company rung up roughly $6B in sales last year. With that said, I think it’s fair to say that the sticky label space fits into the commodity quadrant. I’m also guessing that the margins on those “Hello My Name Is __________” tags aren’t …more
After tackling the topics of ghost blogging and how PR can stay relevant, 4 Perspectives on 4 Communication Issues enters week three pondering what role a communications agency should play in a client’s social media effort? This question delves into one of the great debates of our time, right up there with the meaning of life and …more
