That’s the question posed by friend and colleague Peter Lewis after asking him to share his perspective on the state of storytelling to mark my blog hitting the big one-oh. Before jumping into the answer, a few back stories (naturally). I’ve known Pete for some time, going back to his days laying the groundwork for …more
Millions of college students are about to graduate and strike out in the real world, some with shiny apples in hand. Given that the number college grads far exceeds the available entry-level jobs, finding that first gig can feel like the search for a donut at Deepak Chopra retreat. . But there’s a sure-fire way …more
A corporate feature in a mainstream publication is the PR equivalent of a home run. No question, PR is constantly swinging for the fences. Unfortunately, the success rate for PR is more Duane Kuiper (below) than Babe Ruth. Obviously, a number of variables come into play in determining whether a journalist and the bosses green …more
Can we all take a breath? The latest uproar on fake news comes compliments of 20th Century Fox when it created fake news sites as part of a marketing campaign for an upcoming movie. A New York Times story on the topic quoted Susan Credle, global creative officer of the ad agency FCB: “Fake news …more
I don’t smoke. I rarely drink more than two Old Fashioneds at a sitting. If I have a weakness, it’s called WG Yogurt. Their root beer yogurt deserves a Michelin star — “creamy with hints of cherry tree bark.” What does this have to do with business writing? During my last stop at WG Yogurt, …more
I am a fan of the anecdote, one of the most underutilized storytelling techniques in business communications. Executives often perceive anecdotes as fluff and put the kibosh on such content before it sees the light of the day. Which explains why if you were to audit the content generated by PR (in-house + agency), you …more
My last “grab bag” showcased donut drama. No such alliteration (or glaze) in today’s segment. Behind the Op-Ed Curtain at The New York Times I’ve touched on this area before. Landing an op-ed in a heavyweight target like The New York Times requires crisp and clever storytelling. I just stumbled across a column in The …more
The typical product review has a happy ending. By that, I mean the end of a review usually calls out one product as the best choice. In spite of the “happily every after” – at least for one company – you don’t associate the product review genre with storytelling. Instead, these articles strive to clinically attach a value to …more
There’s no question that photos like the one above that accompanied a New York Times article on China’s surging demand for coal accentuate storytelling. In some cases, we’re actually seeing storytelling revolve around visuals like the seafood charticle in WIRED Magazine. I think The New York Times does a particularly good job in building their stories around a …more
