We’re hearing a lot about how automation and machine learning can make our lives easier, as well as how they may threaten our livelihoods in the future. Even in PR, an occupation that’s known as hard to scale and relatively labor-intensive, there are new opportunities to automate large parts of what we do. Entrepreneur and…
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In travel and tourism PR the goal is to promote the visitor experience offered by your client’s destination. From producing and supporting local events to leveraging influential personalities to tell your story, there are a variety of tactics you can use to get a place or property in front of the right people. So how…
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The results are in: When looking for a unique angle to promote a client, sometimes it helps to ask for the public’s opinion. Including an omnibus-style survey, social media poll, or even a petition with a slight political bent in your campaign can significantly change the story angle, as well as help the news spread…
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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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While it seems like just a simple hello or good-bye, email salutations say something about you and your company. And given that they constitute your first and last digital impression, they should not be taken for granted, dismissed or trivialized. So what is the right way to begin or end a simple business correspondence in…
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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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Whether you’re representing a start-up or a long-standing brand, tapping a few key “influencers,” people who can drive others to action or to wax wondrously about your brand or product can do great things. The right influencer strategy can significantly increase your brand’s visibility and bring about a ripple effect of good buzz! Here are…
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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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“There’s an app for that!” We have become dependent on the best apps for Smartphone and other mobile devices in both personal and professional life and look forward to the latest and greatest. Here are some promising new apps to make our lives a little bit easier in 2013. Asana Ideal both for individual users…
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In a recent Seattle Times piece, Allison J. Head announced her qualms about new workers. Like many young PR folks today, I am a child of Google. As long as there’s been internet, we’ve had questions and Google’s had the answers. However, not every on-the-job dilemma can be solved by the master search engine. Here…
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A PR team getting ready for a trade show can be like athletes prepping for the big game. There’s a game plan to follow, other teams to beat, fans to impress, and, most of all, a drive to score and score big. Conferences and shows are always a good opportunity for companies to meet with…
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The answer is, almost no one. Humor is an invaluable tool for getting through the day, whether you’re pounding out a proposal, prepping for a big meeting, or just buried under a mountain of work at the office. (Make that, especially if you’re buried under a mountain of work at the office.) Humor can be…
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Every year the graphic design world is treated to a variety of new fonts – the good, the bad and the ugly. Because we PR types are always looking for ways to make correspondence stand out, we checked out some of this year’s contenders. They include some pretty out-there fonts, with names like Bleeding…
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It is taxing and unrealistic to set a whole list of business resolutions to attain each year, so I am recommending just one for the entire PR industry. Resolve to evolve…language-wise. Every year pundits put together a list of words PR pros use and the media view with disdain. So, here is my realistic resolution…
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Yesterday, we celebrated Cyber Monday, a day that was brought to us by Shop.org in 2005 after coining the phrase to recognize this day as the biggest online shopping day. It’s not a “real” holiday but it is treated like one, and turned into PR gold every year. There are many examples of wonderful and wacky…
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I read once that the main reason some creative PR brainstorms yield little in the way of usable ideas comes down to performance anxiety. The so-called expert went on about discarding the practice altogether and basically asking team members to “phone something in.” I think we can do better! There is often something magical about one…
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“The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.” — Tina Fey In her very entertaining book Bossypants, Tina Fey warns against the evils of perfectionism, the enemy of so many creative projects. As she advises, “perfect is overrated.” Even busy agency folk struggle with impossibly high standards, particularly those who write…
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Office, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Each morning I come into my own space ready to create something new on behalf of a client or for our company. Like anyone, I make my space my own and draw upon certain things for inspiration and to help me through…
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An episode of “Mad Men” featured Don Draper and Peggy Olson wrestling with a tough creative challenge – how to dream up a breakthrough campaign for Samsonite. Don dismisses a celebrity pitchman as a “lazy” strategy, then criticizes Peggy’s next round of ideas as variations on a theme – a boring one. At Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, a booze-soaked all-nighter…
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It sounds so easy. Instead of hiring a pricey ad agency or PR firm, just tap into the wisdom of the crowd to market your product. After all, they’re the ones buying it. Crowdsourcing is being touted as the latest trend in creative services, from logo design to advertising. Yet, most so-called crowdsourcing initiatives don’t…
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Do I have your attention? I didn’t think so. In a world of hyperlinked blogs, pop-up emails, and 140-character updates, it’s natural to wonder about attention span, and whether ours is stretched to the limit. In the agency business, “attention-shifting” is a professional hazard and practically a pre-requisite for success. I blame the business,…
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