TechCrunch is the latest publication to play the tired narrative that the public relations industry is behind the woes of modern day journalism, GMOs and global warming. In the latest bullish show from TechCrunch, Alex Wilhelm looks into the camera, laments the state of the journalism and recites these “horrifying” statistics: There are 4.6 PR …more
For a profession that advocates the power of taking a stand, there are precious few PR executives who take their own advice. Several factors conspire to keep PR executives on a vanilla message. At the risk of generalizing, I think it’s fair to say that most PR people enjoy working in the background. Like a …more
Public relations at its best acts as the conscience of a company. Here’s what I mean. Companies often go through the painstaking exercise of crafting a mission or values statement. For example Starbucks adheres to the following values: Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome. Acting with courage, challenging the status …more
With the story “The Invasion of Corporate News, The Financial Times became the latest publication to skewer brand journalism. I suppose the FT figured a headline along the lines of “You’re Too Stupid to Figure Out Journalism from Propaganda” might alienate readers. Because that seems to be one of the themes in the FT piece. …more
I gave my Mom plenty of storytelling fodder as a youngster. It’s not like the trajectory of my youth marked me as a potential felon. But I did prefer to ignore rather than test parental boundaries which caused some heartburn from the Mom. With Mother’s Day around the corner, I thought it was the perfect …more
You don’t need to be a data scientist to figure out that the world is going mobile. The sales of mobile phones and tablets tell this story as does Apple’s cash hoard, $158 billion as of January 2014. Along a similar line, eMarketeer projects that mobile ad revenue will triple over the next three years. …more
Every startup shares one common trait – They’re trying to disrupt the status quo. It’s hard. Legacy competitors in the space – in some cases huge companies with massive resources and years of operation – dominate. Their longevity begets MMM, market muscle memory, which adds to the challenge. It’s easy to fall into the …more
Many variables go into determining the price point of acquiring a startup venture. Does a startup’s public profile play a role in determining valuation? One would think greater awareness generates more buyers which can bring an auction-like dynamic to the proceedings and drive up the price. On the intangible side, the buzz that comes from …more
The grab-bag post makes a second appearance in 2013. Crafted for easy consumption, the grab-bag posts are for recreational amusement only. Economist Calls Increase in PR Professionals a “Pernicious Trend” Thankfully, my dictionary sits a click away. Well, that doesn’t sound all that positive. The Economist story goes on to leverage its crack data scientists …more
