I wrote a post over a year ago called “Can Storytelling Differentiate a PR Agency? ” With seemingly every communications consultancy touting its storytelling prowess, I questioned whether those who buy communication services perceived storytelling expertise as a commodity. With that said, it seemed fair to say that no PR agency, including The Hoffman Agency, …more
Everyone perceives advertising agencies as creative. Forget the football game. The Super Bowl delivers three hours of programming that essentially turns into a promo for creativity in the ad biz. As Exhibit A, check out the Budweiser Puppy Love ad which has had over 54 million views and counting. People also categorize the digital shops …more
After 600+ posts, I feel that I’ve honed my voice. Of course, that doesn’t mean that every post hits the mark (or even gets horse-shoe close). Still, I’ve strived to apply the same counsel we share with clients: Offer fresh takes that help those in communications. As far as what constitutes the “best,” it’s a …more
I explored the concept of word visuals earlier this month as the perfect way for PR professionals to bridge into the visual world. For those not familiar with word visuals, one “packages” clever words in a way that brings a visual dimension to communications. What’s key is they emphasize the words with the design element …more
The Internet has commoditized the news release. Unfortunately, many companies missed the memo. As noted in a previous post, the three largest news release distribution services (PR Newswire, Business Wire and Marketwired) sent out roughly 642,000 news releases in 2013 or 1,759 news releases per day. Figuring 10 man hours per news release at $175 …more
A good percent of the U.S. population has watched the Budweiser “puppy love” ad that ran during the Super Bowl. At last count, YouTube views were about to crack the 50,000,000 mark. I believe that qualifies as a viral video. What exactly in the video caused so many people to watch and share? Of course, …more
Regardless of your politics, no president has brought out the humanity of the Oval Office like President Obama. How much comes from President Obama himself as opposed to his advisers? The question misses the point. He gets it or he wouldn’t sign off. As exhibit A, take a look at the statement from President Obama …more
The intelligence community devotes massive amounts of time in trying to decode information from the bad guys as well as advancing their own encryption technology. The communications business – and specifically the client/agency relationship – has its own code. With the help of the worst mathematician in the world – that would be me – …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
