Category: For Immediate Release

Neville and Shel got together for the September edition of The Hobson & Holtz Report to talk about these topics:

• The self-inflicted downfall of the UK PR agency, Bell Pottinger (and kudos to the PRCA for putting teeth in its ethics code)
• How various fields will be affected by speech recognition (including PR and communications)
• Mitch Joel’s open letter to the advertising industry: Let’s not mess up ads for voice
• The proliferation of fake scientific journals (and what it means for the PR industry)
• The Pew Research Center has identified five “types” of people who search for facts and information, with implications for content marketing
• Are Americanisms killing British English (and does it matter)?
• In his Tech Report, Dan York explains why “Gutenberg,” the WordPress editor, may take longer than expected to appear. Dan also talks about the launch of the new Internet Society website.

Connect with Neville on Twitter at @jangles.

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

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

About Neville Hobson:

Neville Hobson was co-host of The Hobson & Holtz Report for over 10 years. For over 15 years, Neville has been a voice of experience and influence when it comes to speaking about digital technologies, disruptive change in workplaces and marketplaces, relevant trends to pay close attention to, and what it all means for your business. His experiences embrace deep understanding and subject-matter expertise in contemporary business issues that include social, digital and cognitive technologies, connecting that with a career in traditional public relations, marketing communication, employee, compensation and benefits communication, and investor relations. Based in the Thames Valley some 30 miles west of London, Neville works either from his home office, or from a client’s location; or from wherever he has a good network connection.

The post FIR #105: Center Stage for Credible Sources appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Paul Barton and Sean Williams joined host Shel Holtz for conversations about these topics:

• Paul recalls how PetSmart, where he worked at the time, reacted to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
• Since 9/11, have companies gotten any better at communicating with employees during crises or emergencies?
• Its acquisition of Rockwell Collins gives United Technologies an opportunity to do well what many other companies don’t: communicate with employees the change they’ll experience as a result of the merger.
• Equifax has done a terrible job of communicating its data break even if it has checked off all the boxes. (And we haven’t heard a thing about how they’re communicating to employees.)
• Executives and HR managers agree that a strong culture is important. Leaders think they already have one. HR managers aren’t so sure.
• All collaboration is communication, but not all communication is collaboration. Yet too many collaboration tools are being used as if they’re for more general communication.
• Tech correspondent Dan York has a question for listeners: What are you using for editorial calendars for WordPress sites?
• A listener asks if it’s possible to set up a Facebook Live session exclusively for people who pay to watch it.

Connect with our guests via Twitter at @PaulBartonABC and @CommAMMO.

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 guest co-hosts:

Paul Barton, ABC, is business communications consultant who combines fresh thinking with decades of experience. Before beginning his solo practice as Principal Consultant at Paul Barton Communications and Phoenix Public Speaking, he had a successful 20-year career leading internal communications at six fast-growing Fortune 500 companies in multiple industries. Those experiences led him to write the book Maximizing Internal Communication. Paul is a long-time and accredited member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and he is a frequent workshop presenter on internal communication, crisis communication, and public speaking. Paul also is a “serial adjunct-preneur,” teaching courses in business communication and public speaking at several colleges in the Phoenix area. When not working, you can find Paul enjoying life with his family and playing guitar.

Sean Williams is Vice President and Practice Lead, Education and Internal Communications, at True Digital Communications. Before joining True Digital, Sean was the owner of Communication AMMO, Inc. Williams has held executive communication posts at National City Bank, KeyCorp and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He also provides managerial communication training through Face2Face Communication, which he acquired from Joe Williams Communications in 2015. Earlier in his career, Williams was senior consultant for Williams, where he expanded the strategic planning, research, and consulting practices, and led and refined the Face2Face program with companies including First Energy Corp., KeyCorp, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Merck, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Prudential and Lucent, training literally thousands of managers in the innovative and highly rated program. He also is an adjunct professor of Public Relations at Kent State University, and has created graduate classes in PR Measurement/ROI and social media measurement for Kent and another university.

The post FIR #104: Two Versions of Three H’s appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Marshall Kirkpatrick and Augie Ray joined host Shel Holtz for conversations about these topics:

• The hashtag just celebrated its 10th birthday. Is it a curiosity or an important feature of the digital environment?
• A study finds people who get business communication featuring emojis don’t think positive things about the person who sent it. Is there a place for emojis in business communication?
• Microsoft-based VR headsets are about to hit the market at lower price points than the competition, potentially propelling Virtual Reality into the mainstream…or not.
• Facebook Page reach has declined 20% in 2017. Why are we still talking about this?
• Influencer marketing may be an oversold magic bullet. But there’s a subtle distinction between influencer marketing and influencer engagement.
• In his Tech Report, Dan York discussed the impending change of the WordPress editor to a new “block-style” editor called “Gutenberg.”

Connect with our guests via Twitter at @MarshallK and @AugieRay.

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

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

FIR is recorded using Zencastr.

About today’s guest co-hosts:

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 led the Little Bird team building software for enterprise marketers to do research, real-time market intelligence and marketing amplification. The tool for influencer marketing, content marketing, and research was recently by Sprinklr, the full-service social media management system, where Marshall now serves as product director for Influencer Marketing and Research.

Augie Ray is a Research Director covering customer experience for marketing leaders at Gartner. He has had a diverse career, including leading a digital experiential agency, directing social business at USAA and managing a global customer experience team at American Express. In his present role, Augie researches and advises clients on topics such as Voice of Customer, customer journey mapping, customer experience strategy and virtual reality.

The post FIR #103: #Happy #Birthday, #Hashtag appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Scott Monty and Laura Pevehouse joined host Shel Holtz for conversations about these topics:

• Social media is being employed by victims of flooding from Hurricane Harvey; many are sending out distress calls via Twitter because they can’t get through to emergency services on the phone.
• Candy companies are trying to find ways to make up for lost impulse sales as the number of cash registers declines.
• We’ve heard it before, but eMarketer insists it’s for real this time: Teens are abandoning Facebook for Snapchat and Instagram (and maybe iMessage).
• Sonos, the Internet-of-Things speaker company, says existing customers won’t get the option to opt out of a new privacy policy; if you don’t agree, your sound systems could stop working.
• We’re visual creatures, so audio search may not take off the way some think it will.
• Are all those differences between generations just so much nonsense? And is there really any such thing as a “digital native”?
• Dan York covers a creepy side of Facebook, a concerning case where the US Dept of Justice is requesting significant user info from Dreamhost, a website hosting provider; in China, anonymity is basically dead as of October 1; on a positive note, efforts are underway from Mozilla and Google to build open datasets of voice samples that can used to develop new voice applications.

Connect with our guests via Twitter at @ScottMonty and @LPVhouse.

Scott’s Sherlock Holmes podcasts:

• I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
• Trifles

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

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

FIR is recorded using Zencastr.

About today’s guest co-hosts:

Scott Monty is an internationally recognized leader in digital communications, digital transformation, social media and marketing. As partner in Brain+Trust Partners, 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.

Laura Pevehouse is Chief Blogger for Direct2Dell. Laura brings 16 years of experience in corporate communications and digital marketing roles to her work,  including jobs in public relations, employee communications, branding, community engagement, event management, online commerce, social media and virtual world development. In her role as Dell’s Chief Blogger, Laura is responsible for the development, coordination, and execution of strategy and content for Dell’s corporate blog, Direct2Dell. Since taking the Direct2Dell reins, Laura has recorded an 80% increase in time on-page at the end of the first year in this role. She also leads the company’s cross-business unit editorial team and engages with marketing, product line, operations and corporate communications colleagues worldwide to enhance the company’s brand.

The post FIR #102: Does VR Candy Taste As Good? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Nora Ganim Barnes and Michael Harry Klein joined host Shel Holtz for conversations about these topics:

• A brand’s response to a consumer suggestion on Facebook struck the consumer who made the suggestion as harsh.
• Business was front-and-center in the political news last week with CEO’s abandoning U.S. President Donald Trump’s Manufacturing Advisory Council, prominent artists leaving the White House Arts panel, and nonprofits canceling plans for events at Trump’s Mar a Lago resort.
• How is Twitter still alive?
• Amazon has launched a new social network called Amazon Spark. So far, it’s only for Prime members and only on the iPhone. Will this shoppable feed attract users and how will it affect Facebook, retail, and other existing enterprises?
• A company set up two fake Instagram accounts, bought fake followers, and paid for fake comments and likes. Those accounts were paid as influencers by brands. What does this say about the state of influencer marketing?
• Dan York reports on a new evolution of the Facebook News Feed, recording podcasts using Wire, the end of typing, and the ethics of CloudFlare kicking a white supremacist website off the Internet.

Connect with our guests via Twitter at @norabarnes and @mklein818.

Nora’s research:

• Millennials Transform Social Commerce: Hashtag “Buy” Buttons?
• Time for Reevaluation? Social Media and the 2016 Inc. 500
• Use of Popular Tools Remains Constant as Use of Instagram Expands Quickly Among the 2016 Fortune 500

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

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

FIR is recorded using Zencastr.

About today’s guest co-hosts:

Nora Ganim Barnes earned a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and is a Chancellor Professor of Marketing and Director of the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Nora has worked as a marketing consultant for many national and international firms. Business Week, CNN, Inc. Magazine, Computer World, Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal and Fox News have covered her work on social media adoption. She is a popular keynoter and conference speaker and was invited to speak at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show on social media adoption in higher education. She has published over 125 articles in academic and professional journals and proceedings, has contributed chapters to books, and has been awarded numerous research grants. She is the only person in the history of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to receive both the Teacher Of The Year and Scholar Of The Year awards.

Mike Klein helps businesses identify business challenges that focused communication can tackle. Then, by developing specialized strategies, delivering targeted writing and messaging, and identifying internal influencers, he works with these organizations to address their challenges. Mike comes come from a background in political consulting and advertising, combined with an MBA from London Business School and 15 years of experience working inside some of the world’s leading organizations – like Shell, Cargill, easyJet, Maersk and VEON.

The post FIR #101: Is Amazon Spark the Missing Social Media Link? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In the August installment of The Hobson & Holtz Report, Neville and Shel talked about these topics:

• The Society for New Communication Research has launched an initiative to assess options for the communications industry to address fake news.
• An Artificial Intelligence bot can detect plagiarism (85% of the time).
• Supporters of US President Donald Trump are amplifying their tweets through a little-known Twitter feature that lets you create and name a Direct Message group.
• And let’s talk about that twice-daily folder the president gets filled with only positive coverage about him.
• Agencies are cropping up that focus exclusively on Generation Z.
• The Westin hotel in Buffalo, NY, is putting an Amazon Echo in every room. As Alexa for a toothbrush (for example) and a robot named Chip will deliver it.
• Dan York talks about SoundCloud’s reprieve, the new Instagram feature that lets you add somebody else to your livestream (and how communicators might use it), the widespread availability of Facebook Video Covers, and Watch, Facebook’s move into video shows.

Connect with Neville at @jangles. Listen to his podcast, The Small Data Forum.

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

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

About Neville Hobson:

Neville Hobson was co-host of The Hobson & Holtz Report for over 10 years. For over 15 years, Neville has been a voice of experience and influence when it comes to speaking about digital technologies, disruptive change in workplaces and marketplaces, relevant trends to pay close attention to, and what it all means for your business. His experiences embrace deep understanding and subject-matter expertise in contemporary business issues that include social, digital and cognitive technologies, connecting that with a career in traditional public relations, marketing communication, employee, compensation and benefits communication, and investor relations. Based in the Thames Valley some 30 miles west of London, Neville works either from his home office, or from a client’s location; or from wherever he has a good network connection.

The post FIR #100: Locked and Loaded appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Sherrilynne Starkie and Christopher Barger joined host Shel Holtz for conversations about these topics:

• A federal district judge has ruled that a Loudon County, Virginia public official cannot block social media users from accessing the posts on her Facebook Page, which she set up to share information from her government role and to solicit feedback.
• In Canada, one passenger ultimately called 911 after spending six hours on the tarmac with no air conditioning during one of the hottest days of the year. Do these publicized passenger service crises have any real consequences for the airlines?
• 70% of Americans say they would not apply for a job at a company that is getting bad press.
• A couple who trashed a wedding photographer online — and encouraged followers to do the same — ordered to pay $1 million in damages. When does legitimate criticism cross the line?
• The Pokémon Go Fest was a disaster, leading some event-goers to file a lawsuit and Niantic to postpone upcoming events in Europe. Hosting an experience means meeting participants’ expectations.
• The short tenure of Anthony Scaramucci as the White House Director of Communications underscores a real problem in the business world: people hired to manage communications who have no communications experience.
• In his Tech Report, Dan York discusses the news out of Facebook that site loading speed will be a ranking factor for the NewsFeed.

Connect with our guests via Twitter at @sherrilynne and @cbarger.

Details on the five-hour Automotive and Transportation Lab featuring Christopher Barger, Tim Hayden, and Scott Monty at Content Marketing World 2017.

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

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

FIR is recorded using Zencastr.

About today’s guest co-hosts:

Christopher Barger is a partner at Brain+Trust Partners, an executive consultancy helping leaders manage an evolving marketplace with common sense and strategic guidance. He was previously Senior Vice President of Global Programs at Voce Communications, a Porter Novelli company, helping clients around the world develop and execute social media strategies. Christopher has been in the Porter Novelli family since 2011, arriving after nearly seven years of leading social media programs at Fortune 50 companies, and has a decade and a half’s experience building corporate communications strategies. Before joining PN, Christopher was director of global social media at General Motors, building the company’s social media program and leading its presence across multiple social networks. Christopher also previously managed social media initiatives and corporate communications for IBM, serving from 2005-2007 as that company’s first “Blogger-in-Chief” and playing the pivotal role in the development of IBM’s social media program. Christopher is the author of the book “The Social Media Strategist” (McGraw Hill, 2012).

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 #99: Let’s Invite the Regulators In appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Jen Phillips and Doug Haslam joined host Shel Holtz for conversations about these topics:

• Twitter lost $116 million and 1 million U.S. users in its last quarter. Can a $99 subscription service help it rebound?
• The top-rated social network in the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s e-business report was Google+. Yes, really. Google+.
• Procter & Gamble cut somewhere between $100 and $140 million in digital advertising spending and didn’t notice any impact on sales.
• Volkswagen has taken some extraordinary steps to rebuild the confidence of employees in the company and its culture in the wake of its emissions scandal.
• A study from MWWPR finds that one-third of Americans are brand activists — or “CorpSumers” — who determine what they’ll buy, whom they’ll do business with, and whom they’ll work for based on the company’s demonstration of its values.
• Augmented Reality could change the way we make decisions and lead to a fundamental shift in the retail experience. And it’ll probably connect nicely to smart audio.
• Dan York reports on Adobe’s announcement that it will put the final nail in Flash’s coffin, Russia’s impending ban on VPNs, news that the Indian government will track social media posts to ensure they are collecting enough taxes, and PRX’s “Podcast Garage” in Boston enabling more people to create podcasts.

Connect with our guests via Twitter at @dough and @jenzings.

Doug’s Pan-Mass Challenge page is at https://bit.ly/pmcdoug.

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

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

FIR is recorded using Zencastr.

About today’s guest co-hosts:

Doug Haslam’s  career has spanned a variety of disciplines within the communications field: radio technology, editorial production, public relations, marketing, social media and digital. Currently a senior consultant with Stone Temple Consulting, Doug began with public radio, producing news and thoughtful sports programs, moving into technology public relations, and currently to social media and content strategy for brands of all sizes and industries. Doug’s love of media has come full circle, as his most recent positions have seen him taking full advantage of his content creation skills, managing social media and brand publishing programs for a wide variety of clients.

Jennifer Zingsheim Phillips is the principal at 4L Strategies, consulting and providing content development for a variety of industries. She has worked in communications and public affairs for 20 years. Her background includes work in electoral politics, government, lobbying, and public affairs PR work.

The post FIR #98: We Really Hate Those Toilet Paper Bears appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Shonali Burke and Olivier Blanchard joined host Shel Holtz for conversations about these topics:

• Gillette’s practice of mailing a razor to young men turning 18 to welcome them to manhood occasionally winds up sending the package to women and older men. Their responses on social media aren’t hurting the company a bit.
• Marketers are embracing chatbots, a trend that will only continue to grow and evolve as AI and smart audio become more common.
• Unconscious bias in the workplace can have an impact on productivity and innovation, among other things. If it’s unconscious, what can be done to stop it?
• Millennials have made sustainability and the environment their top issue, but oil companies still need to hire them. Is advertising to make them look cool enough?
• Political provocateur Ann Coulter erupted into a Twitter tirade when the seat she had paid for was given to another passenger. Delta gave back as good as it got. Should companies engage in these kinds of circumstances?

Connect with our guest via Twitter at @shonali and @OABlanchard.

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

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

FIR is recorded using Zencastr.

About today’s guest co-hosts:

Olivier Blanchard is a French-born, American-based Brand Management and Digital Marketing consultant, the author of two best-selling books, and an acclaimed keynote speaker. As a Senior Analyst with Futurum Research, Olivier helps organizations better understand the crucial ole that emerging technologies like Cloud computing, Big Data, Virtualization, Augmented Reality, Smart Automation, IoT and AI will play their industries and markets over the next 10 to 20 years. Though based in the US, his geographic range extends beyond North America to Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. Olivier is the author of the best-selling #1 social business desk reference for digital managers and business executives: Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts In Your Organization (Que/Pearson). Olivier is also a sought-after subject-matter expert and corporate trainer.

A veteran of small and large PR agencies, Shonali Burke is the award-winning president & CEO of her eponymous social PR consulting firm, Shonali Burke Consulting, Inc., where she and her team(s) help for- and non-profit organizations small and large reach business goals by taking their communications “from corporate codswallop to community cool.” Shonali also serves on the Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University in its M.A. /Communication program, as well as the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information.  Before launching her own consultancy, Shonali worked as Vice President of Digital Media and marketing for MSL Group, and as Vice President of Media and Communications for the ASPCA.

The post FIR #97: Welcome to Manhood, Ma’am appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In the July installment of The Hobson & Holtz Report, Neville and Shel talked about these topics:

• A 15-year-old participating in a Work Experience program took over the Twitter account of the beleaguered Southern Rail in the U.K. The response was undoubtedly a welcome break for Southern Rail’s social media team, but what did it ultimately accomplish?
• The online publication Quartz experiments with display-type ads in the text of stories that let users ask an Artificial Intelligence-based chatbot named Hugo for more information about just the stuff you’re interested in.
• Will Artificial Intelligence eventually take over the creative side of content marketing?
• Takata’s air bag crisis is in its second decade, leading ultimately to the once-mighty company’s bankruptcy. The tale is filled with intrigue and drama.
• The limitations and restrictions of social media channels have led brands and publishers to employ sneaky workarounds to game the systems.
• One company has put a price on the cost of a recent ransomware attack, but the underlying reasons companies were vulnerable to the attack in the first place means there’s work for communicators to do.
• Dan York’s Tech Report looks at Microsoft’s new LinkedIn app for Windows 10, issues with the Skype app rollouts for iOS and Android and the changes those issues prompted, and why some publishers are abandoning Snapchat for Instagram.

Connect with Neville at @jangles. Listen to his podcast, The Small Data Forum.

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

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

FIR is recorded using Zencastr.

About Neville Hobson:

Neville Hobson was co-host of The Hobson & Holtz Report for over 10 years. For over 15 years, Neville has been a voice of experience and influence when it comes to speaking about digital technologies, disruptive change in workplaces and marketplaces, relevant trends to pay close attention to, and what it all means for your business. His experiences embrace deep understanding and subject-matter expertise in contemporary business issues that include social, digital and cognitive technologies, connecting that with a career in traditional public relations, marketing communication, employee, compensation and benefits communication, and investor relations. Based in the Thames Valley some 30 miles west of London, Neville works either from his home office, or from a client’s location; or from wherever he has a good network connection.

The post FIR #96: The Crisis That Keeps On Giving appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.