Sword and the Script

Unleashing the Killer App. Remember that book? For me it brings back a rush of memories. Equalfooting.com is a good example. Raised $140 million in VC funding, lead by Wharton grads, shuddered in 2000 or 2001. I cannot recall. It's a blur. Almost surreal.Harvard Business Press published that book in...

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Smart things I've heard lately (Vol. 1)Now and again you hear things that make you pause, reflect and consider -- "that was really smart." I'm going to start a series that posts the smart things I've heard recently and here's my chop at the first volume.1. "Here’s our product. It...

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There's a lot of downplaying going on.The Sixer's coach recently downplayed reports of Iverson coming back, a Palin aide downplayed the use of a private jet, and the Dallas Federal Reserve President just downplayed the threat of inflation.If your not downplaying chances are you are intensifying. Unfortunately, the latter doesn't...

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There have been a lot of predictions for 2010, which is why this third and final question posed to our panel of bloggers – John, Krim and Meredith – is unique. A lot can change in 12 months, so a forecast for a year is challenging enough, let alone the...

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"Adaptation is the process whereby a population becomes better suited to its habitat." - WikipediaAdaptation was the theme of my last post for a blog panel that includes John Sidline, Krim Stephenson and Meredith L. Eaton. Adaptation was my answer to the question, "What was the biggest lesson for PR...

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What was the biggest lesson we – marketing & PR – learned in 2009? Adaptation.It’s fascinating to watch a new industry evolve. A forward-thinker identifies a business problem, a gap in existing product lines, or discovers a better, faster or easier way to conduct business, and magnificent transformation is set...

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Santa's coming to town -- what clever PR campaigns are out there spreading the word mixed with the scent of pine? As always, a good way to brainstorm for ideas is to scour the Web and see what campaigns creative PR types have come up with. Here's a look at...

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Creativity can do well to help get a message out. Creativity carries risk as there’s always a chance the idea will flop, or worse attract negative attention. A good way to brainstorm for new ideas and to see what has worked well is to examine what others have done. Here...

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The news release went out online in the early morning and I sent pithy pitches with a link to the online news release to a handful of key reporters. It was solid news -- hard news -- and certainly relevant to their readers. One reporter wrote me back to the...

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There's an old saying -- if you want to understand someone's character, watch how they treat the wait staff. Restaurant patrons can be finicky about dining, decor and service, but there's a gray line between expecting good service and abusing the help.So too I feel it is becoming with social...

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Twitter's potential may seem limitless, but it surely has limits. Just wait until you hit the ostensible 2,000 mark in following. Or in some cases, it might even be fewer.I monitor a handful of accounts, for work, for networking and for fun -- and each account I attend to with...

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This post here on what Google thinks of SEO and social media, and this post by PRNewser, which is about what Google thinks of PR, got me to thinking: What does Google think of PR?Curious, I decided to Google it. Here's what I found:In terms of "PR" Google isn't sure....

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Bill Belichick made a questionable decision in a game last Sunday that probably cost the game -- but true to his usual form, he wasn't much for taking questions. Still there's a PR lesson in his succinct, unemotional and deliberate answers.Consider this snippet posted by the Boston Globe where a...

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Misunderstood. That was Howard Stern's pitch in a movie aimed at reinventing himself. But as far as celebrity PR makeovers go, a handful of hip hop artists are stand out.Take Marketplace's interview with Robert Diggs -- better know as the RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan -- on his new book...

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PC Magazine takes Novell to task over it's blog post on LA's decision to replace Novell's GroupWise e-mail product with Google Apps. It's good example of how new media has changed the landscape of voices.This post isn't about products. It's not about which one is better. It's not about the...

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Creative PR ideas are hard to come by. Harder still if they actually make business sense.The Potomac Tech Wire, reported on October 28, 2009:Sterling, Va. -- SkyBitz, the Sterling-based maker of satellite tracking systems, said that it will deploy one of its mobile tracking units on the flatbed trailer transporting...

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The White House's communications staff has taken a beating over its ill advised move to attack Fox News. While it probably wasn't smart, I've heard some commentators say it's a brilliant strategy: making a big deal out of Fox keeps the real challenges of the day -- like the stagnant...

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Here's a look at some good reads around the Web for PR pros: Putting the smack down in crisis communications. @philipshaw passed this one along on Twitter -- a case study (of sorts) about how Ryanair has dealt swiftly with a BBC broadcast program the airline says is inaccurate. The...

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Once upon a time, we all wondered how Twitter might make money. My, oh my, how the seconds changed things. The new question is: why isn't Twitter making money...a ton of it?It's 12:30 a.m. on a Wednesday night. A small crisis is emerging on a corporate Twitter account I monitor....

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I generally think of brand names in the context of customers. Name changes, or rebranding efforts, are usually associated with the ability to attract or retain new customers. People tend to buy from names they trust, so market perception of a brand name can have an important impact on sales.Changing...

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There's no shortage of information for public relations professional on the Web, but time is always short. To that end, the key is to sift through what's important. I like to read everything I can get my hands on and therefore subscribe to a lot of stuff. In the course...

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American's aren't known to be in tune with U.S. current events, let alone international current events. It's too bad because we should.Bono has long aimed to do something about that -- and while I've seen news coverage of their cause-related and charitable work, seeing the band live in concert tonight...

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Mr. Miyagi once said, "The best block is no block." Perhaps that might be also be true of PR: the best PR is not PR...after all, isn't that what PR is all about?GotVMail rebranded itself Grasshopper, Inc. and to kick off its campaign the company mailed chocolate covered grasshoppers to...

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Despite the commentary over the demise of newspapers, The Wall Street Journal has been almost stand-alone in its ability to retain or grow subscribers. As a daily reader of The Journal, I believe the reasons why are quite clear: it hires great journalists, provides objective reporting and provides content readers...

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There's a lot of case studies on some pretty clever uses of social media for marketing, but here are a few points that strike me as being unique.I'm not sure "marketing" is the right word, but to my knowledge we've yet to coin a new phrase that captures the essence....

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