creativity

For top PR agencies tackling B2B work, this quote from strategist Valeria Maltoni seems apt: “Your writing doesn’t have to be boring just because it’s for other businesses. Businesses have people who read stuff.” And, it’s true, B2B doesn’t mean boring to boring! Here are some ways we enliven our B2B brand work. Look for pop…
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Recently the Olive Garden restaurant unveiled an unlikely sampling initiative that PR agency folk will find either cool or cringe-worthy. The often-maligned (but also beloved) Olive Garden sent a food truck into Boston’s North End – a neighborhood synonymous with authentic Italian cuisine. The Boston stop was the latest one in a sampling and PR…
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To build a great PR agency, you need great employees. Like any creative services business, a public relations or content marketing company is only as good as its talent. Here are the ways that agencies can bring in the best. Cultivate a strong sense of identity and culture. The most attractive companies are those that…
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If you’re a PR agency professional, you know efficiency and organization are crucial to everyday life. However, it can be challenging when you have several clients to manage, meetings to attend, multiple pitches under way, and new business to pursue – and a personal life! Thankfully, it’s 2015 and we can embrace technology that makes…
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For some in the PR world, TED talks represent the “holy grail” of thought leadership initiatives. But how should PR professionals approach securing this highly competitive opporrunity? TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). The organization began in…
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Much of successful public relations has to do with simply spotting good ideas, and recognizing their PR value. But generating good press for businesses and brands also means coming up with fresh concepts on a consistent basis — especially after the cool new product has been launched, or the buzz from a seasonal campaign has died down. Consider…
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Visual images often have an emotional punch that text lacks — a worthwhile consideration for anyone developing a compelling PR campaign. To understand the power of visual communication in our business, look at the meteoric rise of Instagram. Since the photo-sharing app is based entirely on pictures, certain limitations apply, naturally. But with its more…
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We’ve all experienced that sinking feeling: you’ve just hit send on an important PR or program document, only to realize it had a glaring — and completely avoidable — error in it. Honest mistakes are bound to happen, but some writing slipups are too common, and they simply create bad PR for PR people! We’ve…
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Welcoming in the New Year provides a great chance to take stock of things and set some goals and refresh your public relations. Whether it’s tech PR, consumer, or B2B, we resolve to do better in 2015 with the following resolutions. Get visual. If you haven’t already jumped on this trend, now is the time….
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As any good PR agency will advise, media interviews are not: an interrogation, a game of ping-pong, or a commercial. A good media interview is actually a conversation, as well a chance to educate and an opportunity to tell a story. A great media interview is a usually a choreographed affair with the interviewee at ease,…
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I think they called the late, great Robin Williams’ cancelled TV show about ad execs “The Crazy Ones” because many great creatives – even PR types – are known for that one wacky idea. At our agency we subscribe to a school of thought that encourages – with limitations – the full expression and exploration…
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Earlier this week we explored ways that PR pros can keep their clients in the media even when they have no news. The best PR firms create news rather than wait for it to come from the client. At our agency, we’re fortunate to work with stellar brands, many of whom offer credible news hooks….
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By guest blogger George Drucker It’s awards season. No, not Oscars, Emmys, or YouTube. It’s the time of year where you or your PR agency, whether doing brand public relations, B2B PR, consumer PR or the like, can demonstrate your creativity, media skills, digital savvy and communications expertise in a truly competitive setting. Winning industry…
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Many successful PR and marketing campaigns have started with a      simple creative brainstorm. Yet, we’re always searching for better and more productive ways to develop great ideas. What many PR pros and others don’t always realize is that every concept doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. Some of the best creative sessions produce a small…
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This weekend marks that most Hallmark-esque of holidays, Grandparent’s Day. While the day may have been created to sell more cards, the sentiment is a good one. It’s true, your grandparents may not use a smartphone or follow you on Instagram, but the odds are that advice you’ve received from them is applicable to the…
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While most people are ready to kick off the 4th of July holiday early, smart PR folks have been thinking of ways to take advantage of the time period on behalf of their clients. They know that a long holiday weekend means a slow news cycle and media who may be distracted or in a rush to…
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by guest blogger George Drucker The excellent film and tremendous PR effort created on behalf of “42: The Jackie Robinson Story” which opened on screens nationwide a few weeks ago, inspired me as a PR professional. As a long-time  Angeleno, and even longer PR practitioner, I have to take my Dodger baseball cap off to…
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Is your blog flabby? Is its content the equivalent of junk food? As with other spring rituals, getting your content in shape is a worthy exercise. Ask yourself these questions and then choose a shape-up plan that works for your particular blog. Is it carrying a “spare tire”? You need sharper editing. If you are…
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In the public relations world, getting an exclusive is often a key part of a team’s overall strategy of securing the best coverage. But it is often a delicate dance between outlets, clients and agency and must be handled with a certain finesse. The definition of “exclusive” has even grown murky (see CNBC’s restrictive booking…
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Seeing really is believing, and for PR pros, a familiarization press trip, or FAM trip, is a staple for securing in-depth, first-hand coverage of a destination.  A successful FAM trip will not only provide you with a way to show off your client’s tourist or business features but also give you a great opportunity to…
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When it comes to client work, one of the things we always ask ourselves is, “How can we help our client shine?” This is especially true if the client is in a less-than-sexy industry. However, a PR pro’s dream is for the tables to flip and the media to approach us. It’s not that hard…
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Merely watching the Oscars on your flat screen is so five minutes ago! As we in the PR business know, nearly every experience can now be enhanced with a combination of devices, apps and social media know-how. If you are, by some chance, ONLY watching the Oscars on one screen, get with the program! Here…
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PR pros have several “products” – creative brain power, smart strategy and arms and legs to implement. This all translates to how practitioners spend their TIME – the agency world’s key to billability. Understanding exactly what a PR agency team truly does throughout the day enables account managers to see if an account is running…
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Does this sound like you? After two days in an intensive client “deep dive” replete with late night and early morning sessions, you board a plane for more meetings with an out-of-town client, and on day four you return to your office to prep for a new business meeting, leaving Friday to complete your “day…
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In the last couple of days a cover letter from a student seeking an internship with a Wall Street firm has caught the eye of the media as well as other companies, notably Smith & Wollensky, which expressed interest in hiring the note’s author via a full-page ad in The New York Times. What makes…
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by guest blogger George Drucker We’re getting into awards season. . . in film, television, even public relations. It reminds me of a learning from years ago that has affected my modus operandi for business development and client relations ever since. Winning awards for creativity is great for the ego. But it’s not necessarily what…
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By Marijane Funess It’s probably fair to say that in today’s plugged-in, social world, our boredom threshold is very low. I know even waiting at Starbucks for a few minutes can induce severe ennui. There are some current theories though, that suggest a little boredom is good for everyone. Here is why. First, the researchers…
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Confession: I am a word nerd. I read incessantly. I love Scrabble, the Times crossword and Words with Friends. When I’m bored, I anagram, just for fun. Therefore, I’m always on the lookout and (listenout?) for great turns of phrase and colorful language, particularly when there’s evidence of a trend afoot. I noticed just such…
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For many PR pros, the days leading up to Christmas can be eerily quiet.  After weeks of intense holiday outreach, the somewhat sudden slow down can be jarring – clients taking vacation time, reporters’ OOO emails flooding your inbox. Which had me thinking, what if Santa was our client?  There certainly wouldn’t be a pre-holiday…
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Fellow PR practitioners, clients, and media, it’s time to revisit the famous gifts from the “12 Days of Christmas” song. Here’s this year’s “ripped from the headlines” spin on the evergreen list. Twelve drummers drumming. An awesome gift this year, when at least twelve top drummers from Charlie Watts to Max Weinberg gathered on 12.12.12…
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