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
I’ve made 20 or so trips to China since my inaugural adventure in 1999. And make no mistake, every trip feels like an adventure. Beyond the obvious learning, I can count on China to deliver a happenstance or two (or three) that remind me, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we‘re not in Kansas anymore.” This one …more
Every PR company with a pulse wants to differentiate. It’s not easy. Client centric. Smart. Results-oriented. These words and others show up again and again in agency descriptions. In updating the Hoffman overview for the Council of PR firms, we strived to take the audience behind the curtain. Here goes: Do you perceive communications as …more
Thanks to my participation in the PR Newswire session on visual storytelling, the topic has kept top of mind and prompted a post on sources to inspire visual storytelling. You know how when you buy a new car, the following week it seems like every time you come to a stoplight and look left, you …more
Everyone knows headlines rule. The ceaseless bombardment of information has turned the headline into eye candy. Write a good one, and readers stop to give the body copy a chance. If not, the readers’ attention never breaks stride and they’re on to other things in a nanosecond. Perhaps no media property has perfected the art …more
If bands can do it, why not a blog? Only, I’ve defined a “greatest hit” as having “hit” the publish button in 2011 or later. With the housekeeping out of the way for these business storytelling oldies, here are seven that fit the description: My Aha Moment in Storytelling Being raised in the command-and-control era …more
Every company wants a signature win in heavyweight publications like Fast Company, BusinessWeek and Fortune. By signature win, I mean 1,000-plus words devoted to a behind-the-curtain look at the company. Yet, few PR teams cultivate the needed content assets to give themselves a fighting chance for this type of attention. It requires thinking like a …more
It’s been almost a year since I attended a leadership training session at an offsite for our Asia Pacific management team. The Center for Creative Leadership headed up the conference, and I kept a journal throughout the session. I refer to its content frequently. Given that I’m still thinking about the lessons, I thought a …more
I am a big fan of The New York Times Dining section. Donut drama. Importing Mom instead of the pasta. Hunting for “treasures” in restaurant laundry. And the list goes on. The NYT Dining journalists know how to shape story lines beyond the – “chef showed restraint, allowing the flavor of the fresh [fill in …more
