Business/Communications Issues
Thought Leadership
Marketing in a Downturn: Head Down, or Neck Out?
We had a meeting with the head of an investment company recently, a firm that is our client. At the meeting, the CEO said, “with the markets the way they are, why do I need PR?” He saw visibility for his firm—through media coverage or any other channel—as unnecessary, or worse, dangerous. He was concerned that he (or one of his people) might say something that would later be proven wrong. In other words, to him, the mere fact of being visible was something that he could get in trouble for, with his clients, with shareholders, with the board. Read Article
Adjusting Local PR Programs to the Evolving Media Landscape
The traditional media landscape is changing. Social media, blogs, free newspapers and internet-only publications are replacing hard-copy publications in readership. Local publications, such as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, are dealing with shrinking hard-copy sales, smaller staff and declining advertising revenues and have opted to “go digital.” In fact, the Pew Research Center recently released a study showing that for the first time more Americans get their news from the internet than from traditional newspapers. Given this shift, companies may want to adjust their public relations programs to increase their visibility with local audiences. Read Article
Five Steps to Capitalize on Breaking News
News breaks at lightning speeds these days. We are at war. We are in a recession. Banks are failing. Homes are foreclosing. We lost nearly 600,000 jobs in January. Peanuts are harming our children. Scandals abound in our government and financial institutions. We have a new President, our first-ever African-American president in the U.S. We inspire the world. We disgust the world. The list goes on and on. Read Article
A Model that Packs a Powerful Punch
One question we hear frequently from clients: “Is there a formula—or best practice—for marketing ideas?” Our answer is a simple model, which we call F.I.S.T. While this model doesn’t apply to every client situation, it’s the closest we’ve been able to come to a recipe for building awareness in sectors steeped in thought leadership. Read Article
