Apple vs. Chevron Revenue? It’s Content Marketing out of Context
Have you see the graphic nearby? I’ve noticed it posted a dozen different times on LinkedIn recently – and each time it seems to get further apart from the truth. For example, the state of California stands out because Apple... Read More
Company that Wrote the Book on Crisis Comms Adds New Chapter
Johnson & Johnson turned crisis comms heads recently with headlines like this one from CBS News: Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $72M over cancer death. Numerous news reports say a jury made the award in a civil case after... Read More
The Facebook Frozen Frog and Fodder for Content Marketing
There’s a persistent meme on Facebook: The amazing Alaskan Tree Frog freezes during the harsh winter months, thaws in the spring and hops along with life. The meme has existed for several years, and by my observation, it resurfaces in... Read More
General Electric Theater: Reagan met Content Marketing in 1954
In 1954, the television had reached a critical milestone: 26 million U.S. households (56%) owned a TV. Long before product placements and sponsored content, one iconic American brand placed a big bet in creating its own television program – another... Read More
A Pediatric Prescription for Effective Content Marketing
In just three days, one pediatrician has earned 3.6 million views on YouTube for this video. It’s led to news coverage, like this piece by a local FOX affiliate in Boston. A quick Google search (233,000 results) shows he’s had... Read More
Avoid the Noid: A Mascot that Became a PR Crisis Case Study
The freakish mascot McDonald’s unveiled to pitch its Happy Meal this year landed #6 on AdWeek’s 13 Biggest Brand Fails of 2014. It also proved, in part, a useful segue in a recent Marketplace story about another mascot by a separate... Read More
Coca-Cola, Target, Rumors, SEO and Crisis Communications
My dear mother forwarded me an email today with the subject line, “Target Says “Veterans do not meet our area of giving.” It was one of those emails that had been flashed around the world and the string was filled... Read More
How a Brilliant and Creative PR Idea can Flop [Case Study]
Good 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, had a stellar example of a great idea poorly executed: Sterling, Va. — SkyBitz, the Sterling-based... Read More
Unconventionally Creative: An Un-PR Case Study
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... Read More
