Unique insights and actionable ideas from The Darnell Works Agency’s daily quest for greatness.
Read moreWords from the wise: Quick chats with leading brand designers
Many of us dream of hatching our own business schemes, driven by our desires to solve problems in new or improved ways, or maybe just to offer something we feel we can sell for a profit… and to do so in our own ways. Personally, I have had active roles in scores of start-up dialogues over the years, each entrenched within its own unique setting. Something I have learned is that business planning is always difficult — and also, while business planning advice is easy to come by, in my humble opinion, it’s not all good. So today, I am sharing some of the best, most actionable information I’ve come across recently, to help would-be entrepreneurs cut to the chase and give themselves the greatest chance of making their entrepreneurial dreams come true.
Read moreThree steps to business planning success…
Over the past 40 years, Max Clifford made his mark on society and the world as a key influencer of the global media. After a brief career as a music journalist, he joined EMI at the age of 19 and went on to craft publicity campaigns for The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, … Read moreConfessions from a dangerous media mind…
Read moreBranding rules to make or break…
Over the past few months, I’ve met with several fellow writers who were either considering starting their own freelance businesses or had recently taken the plunge. In each instance, I found myself advising my friends that they needed to focus on distilling the essence of their own personal brand identities, and then use that information … Read moreLeadership brand-building in one easy step…
As a public relations (PR) professional, I see a lot of edgy cross-chatter about my field in the blogosphere, and while I normally don’t leap into the debates, occasionally, something will get under my skin. That happened a few weeks ago when Rohit Bhargava wrote a piece on his Influential Interactive Marketing blog with the subject line of “The Future of PR Means Dumping The Inferiority Complex.” Rohit backed-up his antagonizing claim by writing that PR is rising in importance at least in part because “…it is about more powerfully articulating where a client needs to go and becoming the partner that gets them there.”
Next week, I will be off on vacation with my family, giving thanks for a sensational 2007. Due in part to this virtual jab from Rohit, the process of gathering my thoughts for this post has led me to realize that my knowledge, expertise and talents in the field of public and media relations definitely are worth shouting about.
Read moreRoger D’s tips for superior public and media relations: Getting started…
Read moreFriends, passionistas and influencers… shall we roar?
Here’s my take on his keys to making the most of change.
Read moreWhat has your business acumen done for you lately?
BusinessWeek’s Aug. 2006 issue features some great advice and ideas on the subject of winning. The introduction is written by Joe Torre, who as the Manager of the New York Yankees, has led his club to the Major League Basebell playoffs for ten consecutive years. Personally, my first memories of Joe go back to when he was a player for the St. Louis Cardinals, the team I grew up following. My father was formerly an airplane pilot and the manager of a private, St. Louis-based charter service, and according to his own report, back in 1969 or so, he had tossed Mr. Torre out of his office for littering it with his cigar ashes. By virtue of this tale, which may very well be a tall one,
by Roger Darnell ..Challenge.. In hindsight, it’s clear that few films in the history of motion pictures have been as successful as “Shrek 2” from DreamWorks Animation SKG. When development and production began on the film, closely following on the heels of its big green 2001 “Shrek” predecessor, a global marketing workforce was spurred into … Read moreMarketing Case Study: “Shrek 2”