Here’s my third crack at Moes Takes, which last ran in February. As a refresher, I worked with Rob Moes who was VP of marketing for Philips in the mid-1980s. During an interview at COMDEX, a reporter pressed Moes for projections on how many CD-ROM drives would be sold looking out five years. Rob responded …more
I know I said advertising gets narrative but this falls under the extreme category. Cruising through the May 1916 edition of Popular Mechanics, I came across the ad headline: One Hint From These Men May Be the Turning Point in your Life! Lest you feel a “carny” come-on, the copy strives to establish credibility from …more
Everyone left the news release for dead years ago. Then Enron imploded, Sarbanes-Oxley arrived and the need for public disclosure resurrected this humble servant. That’s why you saw Berkshire scooping up Business Wire some years ago. It was a form of “forget mining for gold, let’s sell the pans and sluice boxes.” But not even …more
This blog is geared to explore how storytelling techniques can be applied to brand building. But what about the story that a company doesn’t necessarily want to tell? Like when things go wrong. We’re about to enjoy a front-row seat to such a case study with the Justice Department calling out Oracle with the news …more
Are we really at the midway point of 2010? In honor of the milestone, I’ve captured my personal eight – lucky in Chinese numerology – favorites from the first half of the year. 1) Communicating with Fresh and Compelling Language This was my first edition of “Moes Takes,” a vehicle to call out clever quotes in stories …more
I got the SlideShare religion because the platform simplifies the blending of words and visuals in storytelling. But there are a number of ways to bring visuals to the fore, such as the infographic. I was particularly impressed with the savvy displayed from a company called Infegy in creating an infographic on the vuvuzela, those pesky horns providing the “lovely background music” …more
The BP oil rig explosion just hit the two-month milestone. At last count, I was one of 10,332 writers (my horseshoe-far number) who weighed in with a perspective or two on BP’s crisis communications. Make that 10,333, with the BBC highlighting BP boss Tony Hayward’s gaffes. A byproduct of BP’s PR nightmare involves the resurrection of the Exxon Valdez …more
We’ve talked about the star power of the anecdote in storytelling. Here’s yet another example. Sarah Needleman at The Wall Street Journal sent out the following query on HARO: I’m seeking small-business owners who struggle or used to struggle with reprimanding employees for poor performance or bad behavior. But I need more than just someone …more
The Innovation Journalism (InJo) Conference at Stanford kicked off yesterday. Gathering 100+ journalists, academics and the like to scrutinize the telling of the innovation story makes for a lively dialog. The opening session featured David Nordfors, founder of InJo, interviewing Krishna Bharat, the creator of Google News. Dubbed a “fireside chat,” I’m pleased to report both …more
