What’s our persona?

A blog by Seth Godin about what comes first, the story or the work, got me thinking again about the story and its uses in marketing and business planning.
Because everybody talks about the “story”, and they’re all using the word in different ways and conveying different meanings, I think it’s time for a new [...]

Take advantage of media change

I shared a lunch recently with some old newspaper cronies who were bemoaning the state of the media industry. Change was sweeping the business, and they were completely confused as to how to deal with it.
The fate of traditional media in the digital age is well-known. Circulations are dropping; their business models are under attack [...]

Case Studies: Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

Case studies are becoming an increasingly popular B2B marketing method, especially online, because they feature the best of your product or service without looking like a blatant marketing ploy or brochure.
In a sense, they allow a prospective customer to put themselves in someone else’s shoes to see if there’s a fit. It’s a version of [...]

Enough with the social networking!

This week I received invitations to two more social networking sites. In this case they were promising to help me manage my online reputation.
I seem to be getting these continuously these days. In the early days of LinkedIn, I used to think “cool, a great way to network and enhance my SEO efforts.” [...]

Complexity to Clarity: Translating geek and other business languages

This morning, I facilitated a discussion among technology marketers on the growing problem of language dichotomy. Specifically it was the problem of an overwhelming culture of geek speak and how it bleeds in to the marketing side of things.
Now, the problem of the genius manager who can’t seem to speak in anything under 10 paragraphs, [...]

Promoting the Service Business in the Media

I have been working in professional services and association marketing lately, and so have been asked often about how to promote service operations. Invariably, these organizations are at some growth stage and so want to gain attention on a wider scale in order to increase membership or gain business.
When it comes to promotion, which [...]

PR 2.0: Bringing the press release back from the dead

It’s pretty common today for people to believe the press release, newsletter, or press kit is dead. But my friend Phoebe Yong and I don’t think so. Instead we think they’re calcified and mostly ignored because they’ve become so templated, boring and useless.
So recently, Phoebe, of Magnolia Marketing Communications, and I launched Digital Pressroom [...]

Who are you and who cares?– Media relations in a web 2.0 world

Old World: Simple. One story — AcmeTech is doing this. Prepare one press release, blast to newspapers and magazines. Take phone calls and connect with CEO. Bath in the glow of CEO’s praise. Spend the bonus on new shoes.
New World: Complicated. Multiple stories, depending on listener segments. Target proper media, prepare angles and pitches for [...]

What’s A Word’s Worth?

Back, about what seems like a hundred years ago, I ran a newspaper rewrite desk that was charged with helping the paper make the transition from broadsheet to tabloid. Because this was a difficult switch for most reporters, the desk used to go through regular training exercises aimed at constantly finding the right word [...]

Meet the Media Types

Despite all the hoopla about user-generated content, citizen news and other new media, traditional media is still the main target for most marketers and communicators looking for a little promotion. Plus, they’ve now been joined by hundreds of other content publishers who are for all intents and purposes mini-news operations. Technology has changed formats –most [...]