October 2016 archive

We’re thinking of Cindy Crescenzo as she deals with a difficult time and had to bow out of this week’s episode, but David Grossman and Mark Story still joined me for a stimulating conversation about these topics…

• Another brand — this time, Tic Tac — that dealt in close to real time with an unwelcome cultural reference
• A survey that found nearly 70% of company staffs don’t know what the company strategy is (and bad communication is the top reason)
• As CCOs and CMOs face the shift to digital, a study from Pew Research Center finds that a lot of people in our audiences aren’t ready, especially to learn via digital channels
• A growing number of companies are applying sentiment analysis to internal communication. Is that good or is it to Big Brother-like for employees?
• Dan York’s Tech report covers the changes to iMessage (part of the iOS 10 update), Facebook’s introduction of the Marketplace (taking on CraigsList), and DuoLingo’s introduction of bots to help you learn a new language
• Another survey found 91% of executives believe their organizations’ change initiatives fail (largely due to failed communication)
• Google studied its teams to find out what made some work and others falter, lessons that could be applied if they decided to acquire Twitter (which they’re passing on but Bloomberg thinks they should pursue)
• Young adults prefer reading news to watching it on video. How does that affect your news strategy?

Connect with our panelists on Twitter at @ThoughtPartner and @MarkStory_.

Links to the source material for this episode are on Contentle.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

About today’s panel:

David Grossman is founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based communications consultancy focusing on organizational consulting, strategic leadership development and internal communications. For nearly 30 years, David has counseled leaders on the importance of effective leadership communication to drive employee engagement and business results, and served as a thoughtpartner™ to top organizations including AOL, DuPont Pioneer, Eastman Chemical Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Hill-Rom, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, McDonald’s, Motel 6 and Tyco, among others. He also teaches Internal Engagement to graduate students as an adjunct professor at Columbia University in New York City.

Mark Story is a one-time contributor to FIR. Mark currently works as communication counsel and social media lead for the National Cancer Institute, and he was director of International Corporate Affairs for the Alibaba Group in Hong Kong, and the first-ever director of New Media for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mark also put in time on the agency side as a senior VP for Fleishman-Hillard and a vice president at APCO Worldwide. Mark is also the author of the book, “Starting Your Career as a Social Media Manager,” which was published in 2012.

The post FIR #56: Strategy? What strategy? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Three PR agency thought leaders were on the panel: Gerry Corbett, Phil Gomes, and Joe Thornley. Our topics included…

• A couple brands — Ford and Skittles — had a chance to market themselves in real time when their names were invoked during the presidential campaign. Both declined, sticking strictly with public affairs messages. Is real-time marketing over? (And how did Ford and the UAW do when they responded to allegations claimed during the first debate?)
• Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, thinks the future of PR is integration with other disciplines, focused on digital and data. Is he a visionary or just catching up? And what’s the future of traditional PR?
• Who would want to be part of the communications team at Wells Fargo these days? The panel looks at everything that the bank has done wrong from a crisis communication perspective.
• Scientific American ran an expose into practices by the U.S. FDA and other government agencies and scientific organizations designed to control the press and prevent publication of interviews with people who might have opposing points of view. One practice, the “close-hold embargo,” was new to everyone on the panel. But would they advise clients to give it a try?
• Dan York reports on the expiration of the IANA contract and the politically-motivated opposition that demonstrated a remarkable lack of understanding of just what was really happening. Internet Society employees who supported their employer’s point of view were trolled. How can other companies prepare their employees for some truly vile backlash to their efforts to advocate on behalf of their employer?
• Moz’s founder wrote a post that was a model of transparency and detail in the wake of layoffs and a repositioning of its offerings. In the process, he shared some disdain for the idea of “inbound marketing.”

Connect with our panelists on Twitter at @gerardcorbett, @philgomes, and @thornley.

Links to the source material for this episode are on Contentle.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

About today’s panel:

Gerard Corbett is Chair and CEO of strategic communications consulting firm Redphlag LLC., Founder and Partner of Wise Counsel, and CMO of real estate tech startup Producers Forum, Inc. in Palo Alto. He also is an award-winning career coach, blogger and Past Chair & CEO of the 32,000 member Public Relations Society of America, having served as Chair and CEO in 2012. Gerry is a versatile branding, marketing, public relations and communications executive and coach having served four decades in senior marketing and communications roles at Global Fortune 100 firms and earlier in his career in aerospace engineering and information technology with Silicon Valley firms and NASA.

Phil Gomes is senior vice president at Edelman, working in U.S. B2B Digital, advanced community engagement and special situations, a role he developed that focuses on preparing clients for advanced issues and special situations regarding online corporate reputation and emerging technologies. Phil has been with Edelman since 2005; before that he was with Dryden Marketing Group working as a media programs manager. Phil co-founded CREWE – Corporate Representatives for Ethical Wikipedia Engagement, and he’s a founding fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Phil was a recent FIR Interviews guest talking about blockchains and their potential role in communications, a topic that will come up again in today’s show.

Joseph Thornley Joseph Thornley is CEO of Thornley Fallis Communications, which comprises several well-known brands:

• Thornley Fallis Communications, a digital engagement and communications consultancy,
• 76design, a digital design and software development studio
• 76engage, an online public participation platform,
• 76insights, an analytics tool focusing on the resonance of social objects and gestures, and
• 76BrandFilms, a video studio.

Joe recognized early the power of social media to change extend and transform our relationships to one another and the institutions in our society. He actively uses social media to explore the evolution of those relationships. Since 2005, he has blogged a ProPr.ca, and is co-host with Gini Dietrich and Martin Waxman of the Inside PR podcast, which, since its launch in March 2006, is now the second longest continuously running public relations podcast. (Shel Holtz’s FIR For Immediate Release podcast is the longest continuously running PR podcast.). He is @thornley on Twitter, thornley10 on YouTube and Joseph Thornley on Google+ and Facebook.

The post FIR #55: Beating Back the Trolls appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.