Dan York

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.

Employee engagement was a constant theme in this week’s conversation with iCology founder Chuck Gose, internal communication measurement thought leader Angela Sinickas, and BBVA’s global head of employee communication, Peter Vogt. (Don’t worry; if you’re not involved with employee communication, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into in this episode for you, too.) Our topics included…

• A Harvard Business Review article suggests there’s a dark side to engagement.
• Internal communication departments are not adopting mobile solutions.
• There’s your corporate brand, your product brand, and your employer brand. Is that enough, or do you also need a talent brand?
• Can employer branding improve your internal communications?
• The best places to work seem to get engagement right.
• Millennials increasingly drive employee culture, particularly as they move into management.
• Company missions aren’t resonating with employees, according to Gallup.
• Starbucks’ “Upstanders” program was suggested by an employee during a town hall meeting.
• Dan York’s tech report focuses on messaging.

Connect with our panelists on Twitter at @chuckgose, @sinickasa, and @plvchicago.

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:

Chuck Gose is the founder of ICology, a resource dedicated to “interesting people doing interesting things in the world of internal communications.” As part of iCology, Chuck hosts the ICology podcast, which features practitioners and experts sharing their advice and insights. As the Corporate Communication Practice Leader and Sales Director at BroadSign, Chuck knows software isn’t the end-all solution and takes a very hands-on approach with clients to ensure they develop a solid digital internal communication strategy. Chuck works directly with clients to ensure any new technology maximizes its impact through consultation and a solid strategy.

Angela Sinickas is the founder of Sinickas Communications, which has worked with companies, organizations and governments in 32 countries on six continents. Her clients include 25% of the Forbes Top 100 largest global companies. Before starting her own consulting firm, she held positions from editor to vice president in for-profit and government organizations, and worked as a senior consultant and practice leader at Hewitt and Mercer. She is author of a manual, How to Measure Your Communication Programs (now in its third edition),and chapters in several books. Her 50+ articles in professional journals can be found on her website,www.sinicom.com. Her work has been recognized with 20 international-level Gold Quill Awards from IABC, plus her firm was named IABC Boutique Agency of the Year in 2015. She holds a BS degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MS in Leadership from Northeastern University.

Peter Vogt  is helping drive BBVA’s cultural transformation through the creation of its Employee Value Proposition, defining an end to end employee experience, and driving an exceptional conversation with our people everywhere. There’s nothing better than creating a company of 138,000 brand advocates who truly believe in the power of the company’s purpose. Before joining BBVA (and moving to Madrid), Vogt was CEO of Keystone Richmond Communications, based in San Francisco. He was also vice president of Employment Brand for Visa and senior director of Employee Brand Strategy for eBay (where he progressed through several employee-focused positions). Peter was Internal Communications Director at Microsoft and the Asia Pacific Communication Practice Leader for Watson Wyatt.

The post FIR #54: Our most engaging episode appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

We recorded on Talk Like a Pirate Day, so I used a pirate name generator to give each of our panelists a pirate name. Today’s panel features Owner Media Group CEO Chris Brogan (Samson “Commodore Chops” Drinkwater, “The Drunkard of Ghost Lake!”), MarketingProfs Chief Content Officer Ann Handley (Mary “Jolly Brute” Quick, “The Plunderer of Crocodile Islet!”), and Scott Monty (Edwin “Soft Heart” Penwith, “The Jewel of Alligator Bight!”) of Scott Monty Strategies. Our topics included…

• Twitter — lots and lots of Twitter. The first broadcast of the NFL’s Thursday Night Football on Twitter, a deal with Cheddar to broadcast a live close-of-market video wrap-up, the introduction of Twitter apps for viewing live video on TV screens (no Roku app, sadly), the roll-out of new features (including ways to cram more into your 140 characters) and some features to make your customer service effort more prominent, and the Economist’s view that Twitter’s window for becoming a major player in social media has closed.
• The shift from big-name celebrity influencers to niche influencers, as characterized by the number of Muslim women sought by influencers to reach Generation M, young, affluent Muslim Millennials.
• YouTube’s accommodation of advertisers who don’t want their adds attached to videos their customers might find offensive and how it has alienated a lot of YouTube creators. We also discussed the launch of “Community,” which lets YouTube creators engage in real time with their subscribers.
• MarketingProfs published a story reporting on research about the kinds of subject lines journalists like to see in email pitches from PR people.
• Ikea has joined the small group of advertisers that touch on unpleasant topics (divorce, in this case).
• Organic reach may be dead on Facebook, but 97% of the top brands still rely on it.
• Instagram has introduced comment filtering.
• Instagram was also the most engaged-with social channel when it came to back-to-school. (And the brands that got the most engagement weren’t the ones that posted the most.)

Connect with our panelists on Twitter at @chrisbrogan, @annhandley, and @scottmonty.

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:

Chris Brogan is CEO of Owner Media Group. He’s also the New York Times bestselling author of nine books and counting. His latest is Find Your Writing Voice. Chris has spoken for or consulted with the biggest brands you know, including Disney, Coke, Google, GM, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker, Titleist, Scotts, Humana Health, Cisco, Sony USA, and many more. He has appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, interviewed Richard Branson for a cover story for Success magazine, and even presented to a Princess once. Forbes listed Chris as one of the “Must Follow Marketing Minds of 2014,” plus listed his website as one of the 100 best websites for entrepreneurs. Statsocial rated him the #3 power influencer online.

Ann Handley speaks and writes about how you can rethink the way your business markets. Cited in Forbes as the most influential woman in social media and recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the top 20 women bloggers, Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, a training and education company with the largest community of marketers in its category. Her book, Everybody Writes: Your Go-to Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content (Wiley), is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. She is a former monthly columnist for Entrepreneur magazine, a member of the LinkedIn Influencer program , and co-author of the best-selling book on content marketing, Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business. She currently has 350,000 followers on Twitter and writes about content, marketing and life here at AnnHandley.com. A pioneer in digital marketing, Ann is the co-founder of ClickZ.com, which was one of the first sources of interactive marketing news and commentary.

Scott Monty is an internationally recognized leader in digital communications, digital transformation, social media and marketing. As principal of Scott Monty Strategies, he counsels brands and agencies on strategy, executive communications, influencer management, the customer experience, and digital initiatives. Scott spent six years at Ford Motor Company, as a strategic advisor on crisis communications, influencer relations, digital customer service, innovative product launches and more. He is a board member of the American Marketing Association and an advisor for RPM Ventures,My Dealer Service, and Crowd Companies. He writes about the changing landscape of business, technology, communications, marketing and leadership at ScottMonty.com and is the executive editor and co-host of the Sherlock Holmes website and podcast I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.

The post FIR #53: PewDiePie is not happy appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Today’s panel features social media and communications consultant Richard Binhammer, Zoetica Media CEO Kami Huyse, and Little Bird co-founder and board chairman Marshall Kirkpatrick. Our topics included…

• The “Social Contract with Patients” published by Allergan’s CEO that outlined the company’s commitment to restrict price increases for its drugs; the post also referred to those who boost their drug prices “outliers” who threaten the ecosystem.
• eMarketer’s projection that Snapchat will earn almost $1 billion in ad revenue next year and how communicators should start taking advantage of the service
• Ford Motor Company’s move into businesses other than making cars for individuals to buy (because they’ve seen the writing on the wall for individual car ownership) and what it means for communicators when the vehicles people ride in become moving entertainment systems
• The state of influencer marketing
• Why the presidential candidates aren’t making use of some of the newer social media channels
• The sorry state of social media engagement (and whether Google rewards high social share counts)
• Dan York talks about the misunderstanding that has become a political issue over the U.S. “giving up control of the Internet” (it’s not)

Connect with our panelists on Twitter at @rbinhammer, @KamiChat, and @marshallk.

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:

Richard Binhammer is one of the first adopters of social media for business. In 2006, he became active in social media by engaging with bloggers who were using their new-found influence to impact brands and corporate reputations. From these beginnings of monitoring blogs through simple web searches, he became an early adopter of Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest, leading to strategic adoption of social networks for business purposes. He currently consults on social media strategies, skills assessments/training programs and corporate communications efforts. From 2006-2012, he was a widely acclaimed corporate leader in experimenting, adopting, analyzing and deploying social media as a tool to help business be social and do better business. As director on Dell’s Social Media and Community team, he was also responsible for communications, social relations and training while continuing to be active in Dell’s social media outreach and overall adoption across the company. Before Dell, he worked with several communications consulting agencies in St. Louis and New York and worked in Canada as a political aide to senior cabinet ministers.

Kami Huyse founded Zoetica Media. She writes an award-winning blog, Zoetica Talks, on the topic of public relations and social media strategy. Kami is a national leader in the use of social media for public relations. She speaks at social media events and conferences all over the country and her work in social media has earned her the SNCR’s 2008 Reputation Management award and IABC’s 2009 Gold Quill of Excellence Award. Kami was a 2010 fellow of the Society for New Communications Research where she pursued a study on how cause marketing in social communities can benefit companies. She is also the co-founder and organizer of the Social Media Breakfast Houston.

After a successful career blazing trails in new media as one of the top tech bloggers in the world (first hired writer at TechCrunch, co-editor of ReadWriteWeb), Marshall Kirkpatrick now leads the Little Bird team building software for enterprise marketers to do research, real-time market intelligence and marketing amplification. It’s for influencer marketing, content marketing, and research.

The post FIR #52: All About Influence appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Today’s panel features Jen McClure, who founded the Society for New Communication research; business blogging pioneer Lionel Menchaca; and PR agency president Sherrilynne Starkie. Our topics included…

• Whether the Epi-Pen crisis would ever have happened without social media and how companies now need to think about “business as usual”
• The value of some kinds of hashtags (or lack thereof)
• AT&T’s self-righteous post reacting to Google’s fiber decision
• Mattel’s Barbie is now a paid Instagram influencer
• How times have changed! Four out of five journalists rely on social engagement
• Kimberly-Clark’s hit YouTube series based on a 17th-century vampire novel
• A consortium of tech companies is exploring ethics for Artifical Intelligence, which is bound to be used by communicators sooner than you may think
• Dan York’s report look at two Facebook announcements: Messenger now lets you share video while you’re texting and Facebook says your site must be mobile-friendly or your ads will suffer

Connect with our panelists on Twitter at @jenmcclure_JEM, @lionelgeek, and @sherrilynne.

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:

Jen McClure is CEO of JEM Consulting & Advisory Services. Prior to founding JEM, Jen was Vice President of Digital & Social Media and the head of the Digital Center of Excellence at Thomson Reuters. In 2005, Ms. McClure founded the Society for New Communications Research, a nonprofit research and education foundation and think tank and was President of the Board of Directors from 2005-2016, when the organization merged with The Conference Board. She now chairs the Advisory Board of the new organization.

Lionel Menchaca serves as director of Corporate & Strategy for W2O Group. In this role, he helps clients of all sizes to develop content and engagement strategies so they can connect directly with customers. He’s worked extensively on social media training for organizations and on helping organizations build and launch employee advocacy programs. He also works with teams of developers to build tools companies need to manage an increasingly complex flow of content. Before W2O, Lionel worked at Dell for 18 years and was the founder and chief blogger of Direct2Dell, Dell’s main corporate blog. Over the last 7 years, Lionel authored hundreds of posts on behalf of Dell. He helped expand it into several continues to extend Dell’s global presence. Before the blog, Lionel was one of the main architects behind Dell’s blog monitoring process begun in April 2006. He was Dell’s first full time employee paid to handle social media efforts.

For more than 20 years, Sherrilynne Starkie has been providing communications consulting and services to blue-chip organizations in Britain, Canada and the United States. She focuses on helping clients leverage digital and social media to achieve organizational objectives.  As President at Thornley Fallis, Sherrilynne is responsible for the profitable operation of the communications business including client strategy overview, business development, HR, quality assurance, marketing and team development. She is a blogger, an occasional contributor and is very active on social media. Recently, she’s been a speaker at the IABC World Conference, SXSWi, WTC and the UA Canada National Conference.  She is an active volunteer with IABC Ottawa has volunteered with many other organizations.

The post FIR #51: A real plastic influencer appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.