Archive for March, 2013

Iconic Brands Revisited With a Boost From Technology

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

Last night I showed students in my Advertising Copy & Design class a video that I’ve seen a number of times, now, but that continues to both delight and amaze me. It’s Google’s “Project Re: Brief” which tells the story of four classic advertisements and how their original creators teamed up with today’s new breed of advertising professionals–and some technical experts–to create some truly amazing advertisements. The iconic spots they recreated were: (more…)

Decline of News Media Industry May Hold Opportunities For You: Here’s Why

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013

Pew’s recently released analysis of the state of the news media appears, upon first analysis, to be nothing but dismal. The report indicates that newspaper newsroom cutbacks left the industry down 30 percent since its peak in 2000–actually below 40,000 full-time employees for the first time since 1978! Instead of news as we know it, most of these “news” outlets are focused on reporting sports, weather and traffic. Even CNN’s news packages are down nearly half according to the report.

But, for businesses, business professionals and would-be thought leaders there’s a silver lining here.  (more…)

“How Can I Get the Media to Cover My Business?”

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

As I interact with business professionals at networking events, or through prospect or client meetings, a question that frequently comes up is: “How can I get the media to cover my business?” The way this question is framed often provides me with some indication of why the business or individual is struggling to get the coverage they’re hoping for. It’s an “inside out” question. It’s focused on (more…)

Is The News Release — aka Press Release — Dead?

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

There was a long, lengthy and actually quite interesting (for communication nerds like me, anyway…) discussion in a LinkedIn group recently about the proper terminology for a commonly used communication tool designed to generate interest from the media — is it a “press” release, a “news” release, a “media” release or something else? Truth be told, it probably doesn’t matter what we call it — what really matters, pointed out the pragmatists in the group — is whether or not the desired results are achieved. And that created an entirely separate discussion! Regardless of what you call it, is the practice of sending out self-proclaiming statements via “snail” mail or, now, email, a thing of the past? Are there better, more effective, means of generating media attention? The answer–yes, and no… (more…)

The Big Benefits of Traditional Direct Mail

Thursday, March 7th, 2013

Despite the fact that the United States Postal Service (USPS) is struggling and about to cut back on their delivery, there are some (including me) that believe that traditional direct mail still holds benefits for both marketers and consumers. In an increasingly cluttered email environment, after all, marketers will be challenged to come up with new ways to “capture eyeballs.” Traditional direct mail may hold some opportunities for a number of reasons: (more…)