By Gerard Smith, Intern, The Hoffman Agency . . Fast-paced business, sky-high valuations, innovation-driven individuals and unlimited opportunity; a few of the ideas that came to mind when I pictured Silicon Valley nearly three months ago before moving here sight unseen. Although I may have relied too heavily on the fantastical experiences of Richard Hendricks …more
Today finds me in Singapore with my wife Heather and my parents celebrating the Agency’s 20-year anniversary of expanding to Asia. A quick back story — I wanted to open an office in Asia in 1994, but couldn’t muster the guts to hit the go-for-it button. I kept thinking if establishing a tech-focused PR consultancy …more
The Agency opened its doors in Asia on Oct. 20, 1996. It has been an amazing, fun, torturous, weird, satisfying, frustrating and enlightening run. I made my first trip to Asia in 1994 as part of a press tour for Hyundai Electronics (now known as Hynix). After researching PR resources in that part of the …more
Since I embarked on my PR adventure in 1983, everything has changed. Except one dynamic. Journalists griped about PR folks back in 1983, and they’re still griping today. To be objective, the bad behavior of a select few cultivates “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (yes, I did take away a few more morsels …more
The grab bag makes its 2014 debut today. Three takes coming at you. A Little SEO Humor Marcus Thompson II, the San Jose Mercury News sports journalist, showed his storytelling chops with a terrific column on Barry Bonds lending a helping hand to the Giants during Spring training: “At a news conference to kick off …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
It almost seems like HR gives the following guidance to the copywriter before drafting a job description: “OK. You know what’s at stake. I suggest you review the job listings from our competitors and borrow what you consider to be the best elements. This is no time to go rogue. Be smart. Let’s use what’s already working. Great. Have that new description …more
Everybody loves a train wreck and what I affectionately call a “NASCAR story.” Even the promise of a collision tends to attract a crowd. With this as the backdrop, UTStarcom faced a quandary. The Justice Department had nailed the company for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a fancy phrase for bribery. How does …more
