Love it. Hate it. Native advertising isn’t going away. Recognizing a new way to make the cash register go ka-ching, media properties have been implementing native advertising as fast as they can stuff the dollars into their pockets. You can’t really blame them. Eroding revenue over such a long period of time would cause a …more
It looks like the Wall Street Journal is locked and loaded to separate from AllThingsD after the first of the year. According to Matthew Lynley at BuzzFeed, the Journal will launch a global technology coverage section called”WSJD” next month. Doesn’t quite have the same ring as AllThingsD though the Journal tried with that switched-on “D” …more
Journalists might look at that headline and assume this is another post bashing PR for hounding journalists after their pitches have been rejected. That’s not where I’m coming from. Instead, I want to move away from storytelling for a minute and talk about the business side of a communications consultancy. Every professional services firm values …more
I shared the first half of my best 2013 posts on Monday. Again, “best” doesn’t mean most viewed. The algorithm that determines “best” puts a premium on personal amusement. With that as the backdrop, here’s the rest of the list: You Don’t Need New Hampshire to Find Your Voice Voice is tricky. It’s always there. …more
I have ransacked my 2013 storytelling archive in putting together the top posts for 2013. When I say “top,” I don’t necessarily mean the most popular posts. Instead, I’m looking for takes that blend a distinctive point of view with a language twist (or two). Here comes the first half of the list – Dear …more
You’re probably expecting me to spit out the seven lessons of branding from Ron Burgundy in a tidy row of bullets. Instead, there’s a more meaningful takeaway from the branding effort on Ron Burgundy and leading into the release of Anchorman 2 later this month. Zig when others zag. Like the science behind storytelling in …more
Thanks to the Internet and the fact that virtually everyone conducts some form of online due diligence before making a purchase, the value of storytelling stands at an all-time high. I think this point gets lost among many jumping on the storytelling bandwagon. With content serving as the basis for online search, storytelling has gone from …more
Many have correlated storytelling expertise with leadership. Even McKinsey, home to “let the data guide your decision making,” has articulated this point. Which brings me to the pure definition of leadership, Nelson Mandela While the front-page stories on Nelson Mandela’s death have recounted his life’s journey, I thought it would be interesting to dust off …more
After being chastised by the National Storytelling Network – “You, Mr. Hoffman, are no storyteller” – I’d like to start with a ground rule on nomenclature. When it comes to business communications, I consider storytelling to be shorthand for “storytelling techniques.” In other words, PR practitioners don’t have the luxury of 200 pages or 90 …more
