Five Essential COVID-19 Adaptive Marcom Tips, Week of 27 April

Being an excellent communications consultant is highly demanding. On top of all the other diligence and expertise, sustaining professional development is challenging – but also, very rewarding. This mindset introduces wisdom from those who have learned to excel through lifelong learning – and mindful sharing. I encourage you to catch this week’s free webinar, “How to Make Better Decisions” from the illustrious Elise Mitchell, and analyze the latest output from her accomplished peers.

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Five Essential COVID-19 Adaptive Marcom Tips, Week of 20 April

I learned a lot in the course of writing my new book, which teaches others the essentials of communications consulting. One key lesson was driven home by OpenText, a company that defines a business of the future as one dedicated to the Continuous Connected Customer Journey. Salesforce.com is equally adamant about us all needing to prioritize happy customers (see http://sforce.co/2fHn7x7). Bear these successful ventures’ well advised handling notes in mind as you review the following.

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Five Essential COVID-19 Adaptive MarCom Tips, Week of 13 April

I’ve written a book over the past few years, aiming to teach others to be highly skilled communications consultants, capable of making invaluable contributions to those they serve, with the ability to live, work and thrive almost anywhere. Thankfully, that research and writing has fortified my job qualifications; suddenly, being successful is infinitely more challenging. Regardless of our experience and skill levels, right now, we all need leaders we can trust to help ground our thoughts and guide our actions.

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Five Essential COVID-19 Adaptive MarCom Tips, Week of 6 April

During my weekend reading, I had an opportunity to consider what happened during The Great Depression – and its permanent effects on those who endured it – alongside the current pandemic.

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Five Essential COVID-19 Adaptive MarCom Tips, Week of 30 March

A month ago, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Deputy News Media Branch Chief Benjamin Haynes issued his COVID-19 briefing update, reporting on the “very few cases” of Corona Virus in the U.S., and “no community spread.” Mr. Haynes also seized the moment to inform us of impending disruptions to our lives. Today, with most of us ordered to #StayAtHome, the number of domestic reported cases will soon exceed 123,000.

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Case Study: Leviathan

Leviathan’s Reputation Soars Worldwide as Specialized Creative Agency Reinventing Design, Digital Media, and Interaction

Close Cooperation Between Management, Reps and DWA Maximized Stellar Opportunities, Positioned Company as Legitimate Rockstar
See also: Visual Timeline & PR Case Study

A key component of cross-discipline design and innovation consultancy Envoy Group, Leviathan is a specialized creative agency working at the nexus of design, digital media, and interaction. By bringing phenomenal narrative content and emerging technologies into physical environments, Leviathan transforms ideas into exceptional experiences for brands and creative collaborators worldwide. Established in 2010, Leviathan’s innovation has been recognized by top-tier publications including Communication Arts, The Creators Project, Fast Company, Forbes, The Verge, Vox and Wired, among many others.

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Sharing Secrets: Public Relations Expertise

The publishers of Campaign, a leading business media brand serving the marketing, advertising and media communities, offer an editorial on their website entitled “What’s the secret of a long ‘marriage’?” In that, former Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO chief executive and current CEO of Girl Effect Farah Ramzan Golant offers these wise words: “The key to long-term client relationships is constant reinvigoration…. You should constantly be looking at how you can do things differently, keep freshening the account teams and stay ahead of the game.” As a communications consultant providing ongoing, dedicated counsel to a small roster of clients, I firmly believe in these vows. Among many activities aimed at ongoing education and innovation, I regularly participate in webinars being presented by industry thoughtleaders, adopting the best ideas and lessons into my arsenal. One in particular, presented by five-time published author and entrepreneur Deirdre Breakenridge entitled “Eight Techniques of the New PR Champion,” began paying dividends immediately.

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Career resuscitation advice from The Branding Diva, seconded by yours truly

I am very fortunate to have a lot of friends. These days, with the impact of the economy continuing to wreak havoc on many industries and a lot of lives, I’m regularly hearing from many of them who suddenly find themselves unemployed. While this is definitely a scary situation, I stand ready with encouragement and a handful of smart ideas that are proven best bets when it comes to finding great career opportunities. Clearly, Karen Post, a.k.a. The Branding Diva(R) has the same mindset. An international authority on branding matters and the author of the best-selling books Brain Tattoos and Brand Turnaround, Karen’s blog post entitled “Puking Pink Slips? Jumpstart your personal brand today” takes my personal rah-rah speech to new heights. Do jump on over to read it, and below, also consider my paraphrased and slightly adjusted listing of her spot-on career-rejuvenating suggestions.

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What’s the impact of winning a Cannes Lion?

Happy Friday, friends! I hope your work week is wrapping up nicely and that you’ll soon be able to enjoy some well-earned downtime, like a lot of people have been doing all week in Cannes (kidding, of course). Before ending this week, I wanted to share this video I’m embedding here from experience design agency Freestate, and a few more comments about the significance of winning a Cannes Lion award.

As you can hear first-hand from FreeState’s creative director Adam Scott in this video directed by Ilan Metev, FreeState won a Gold Design Lion at Cannes in 2013 after designing the world’s largest kinetic sculptures for Blackpool’s promenade. Under the heading of “Why Winning a Lion Matters – An Agency’s View,” Mr. Scott enlightens us while pedaling his bike around the city: “Sometimes it’s hard to find your way, and especially hard given it’s so darn crowded out here…. How do you stand out,” he asks.

And about the results of winning Cannes Lion Gold, he continues: “I would say people are far more interested in our approach, and that has to be a good thing. And well, if it can happen to us then it can certainly happen to you.”

Isn’t that lovely? Also, to me, it’s a perfect summation to what it means to win a Cannes Lion.

Meanwhile, the image I’m providing here offers a newer angle into this discussion. Taken hours ago

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Moving Forward: Water Day is Every Day

As I write these words connecting to this year’s worldwide efforts commemorating World Water Day, I’m already thinking ahead to the 2016 edition. That’s because of a story I just read in Inhabitat making the case that California – which according to the LA Times is experiencing its warmest winter in at least 120 years – may have only a single year of water left. When I’ve focused on this event in the past, difficulties arising around the world’s supply of clean water have seemed much further away from touching my way of life. Clearly, water conservation and its management need to be priorities for us all.

Of course, research already tells us that 750 million people lack access to safe water, and that every minute, at least one child dies due to water-related illness. Whether you’re concerned about the issues being faced by people in America or in other parts of the world, you may be wondering what you can do to help.

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