By Hoffman Europe The bustling world of public relations and communications is filled with people from all walks of life. While some of us pursued degrees in PR or journalism, many stumbled upon the industry from something vastly different: from accounting, history, law, to other creative backgrounds. You may be surprised to know that most …more
I first touted the virtues of the “word visual” in 2014. For those not familiar with this technique, the idea is to use the words (or typography) to drive the action while minimizing the need for design expertise. The image above borrowing the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld falls in the “word visual” category. Most “word …more
How is that possible? No, please don’t answer that question. I’d rather not know. The image you see above was the official announcement in 1987 which starred my Mom proclaiming that The Hoffman Agency was open for business. The vision of becoming a marketing communications consultancy — in today’s words integrated communications — has only …more
We tend to correlate experience with stronger leadership. The common Steve Jobs narrative swings from impetuous youth to lessons learned. It stands to reason that people who have been tested when things didn’t go according to plan expand their leadership game. Yet, there’s a downside to experience when it comes to leadership. We can gain …more
By Hoffman Europe The bustling world of public relations and communications is filled with people from all walks of life. While some of us pursued degrees in PR or journalism, many stumbled upon the industry from something vastly different: from accounting, history, law, to other creative backgrounds. You may be surprised to know that most …more
On a charitable day, I would characterize most company videos as dreadful. Consider what happens when you go to an event, meet a new person and that person launches into a soliloquy of “me, me and in case you missed it, here’s more about me.” Right. You walk away. Why would a company video be …more
If any organization should nail the fundamentals of SEO, it’s Google. After all, Google wrote the rules behind online search and holds the keys to the algorithm. It’s a little like knowing the words for a spelling bee before the spelling bee takes place. Sure, it still takes knowledge to win it, but the …more
I moved to Silicon Valley during the summer of 1981. I had no clue that IBM would introduce the personal computer a few weeks later and the microprocessor was on its way to rock-star status. Rewinding the tape to the early days, I’ve created a name game that pulls from all aspects of the …more
I’ve explored how non-designers in the communications business can get the visual storytelling religion. While the vast majority of PR folks struggle to bring a visual dimension to communications, there’s a design technique that plays to our strength. What I call “word visuals” come in three flavors: Clever words that stand on their own: The …more
