Each day, we are deluged with messages—digital and social media posts, as well as e-marketing blasts, which blur indistinguishably, sap our attention
spans, and fall flat in their intended purposes of capturing mindshare and being memorable. Read More
MILAN--A visit here this year is not complete without checking in on the Expo Milano 2015, which runs
through October 31. Other than the Olympic Games--and possibly World Cup--there is no greater coming together of countries. Read More
There is an axiom in the public-relations profession that products and issues—political and nonprofit causes or social-impact initiatives, specifically—do
not truly “arrive” until they have a celebrity name attached to them. Read More
Everyone knew the news was coming—albeit
not precisely when. Yet, the “digital wildfire” that accompanied Caitlyn Jenner’s public debut on June 1 via tweet of her upcoming Vanity Fair cover story and pictorial
took even the most Internet savvy by surprise. Read More
One of our staff members is a docent at the Skirball Museum and Cultural Center in Los Angeles, which hosted the exhibition “Houdini: Art and Magic” As a result of
her participation, we learned that Harry Houdini was an early, and very effective, practitioner of marketing. He was so successful, in fact,
that he remains an American icon – as famed as Babe Ruth or Charles Lindbergh-- 85 years after his death on Halloween, 1926. Read More
Today’s trend toward political correctness can be a bonanza for public
relations experts when corporations or their spokespersons take actions that blossom into PR disasters. Witness the dust-up over the president of Chick-fil-A’s
anti-gay marriage statements. A trip back in time to the accompanying ads of the 1950s and 60s provides a reality check on how muchtimes have changed,
certainly for the better with respect to religious, racial, gender and sexual-preference inclusion (a certain chicken sandwich purveyor's remarks notwithstanding). Read More
Never underestimate the ability of a powerful message to influence public opinion and to achieve
specific goals. Time Magazine piece on Downtown L.A.’s renaissance
illustrates the benefits of staying “on message”—in this case for more than a decade. Read More
Seemingly forgotten are the days when the words “Cola Wars” implied Coca-Cola and Pepsi taste tests and new-fangled formulations. (Who can forget the New Coke marketing
“train wreck?”) These days, however, the hunters—mostly for each other’s market share to quench consumers’ collective thirst—have
become the hunted. Read More
Oops! Anyone watching the live TV coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on the new healthcare law can understand the pressure on the media to quickly
understand the ruling and report it correctly. Read More
