– The barriers to noise making have disappeared

There’s always a stage available, free of charge, to put on a performance and make some noise. But in the rush for attention, many marketers have forsaken strategy.

They see more value in performing on as many stages as possible than showing up with a good story on just the right stage  – where customers are looking to hear from them. Read more…

– What’s effective, what’s not?

I was recently asked what constitutes effective PR? It’s a fair question, but it took some answering. What example could I hold up and what might it look like? A bundle of positive news clippings? A torrent of gushing tweets? Favourable blog chatter? A voluminous leaflet drop?

Who knows, a case study of PR effectiveness might contain all these things. But it won’t answer the question. It’s easy to spotlight tactics, but how do they relate to strategy? Read more…

– Why pay a copywriter when you can buy words for $2.50 a page?

A colleague of mine (a technologist who turns knobs up and down to trick people into visiting his clients’ websites) enjoys mocking creative services. The other day he sent me a link to an Indian company selling wordsmith ‘services’ for $2.50 a page. “There you go. You’ll be out of business when this catches on,” he gleefully predicted. Read more…

- Everyday over 70,000 new blogs are created, so why add to the noise?

Clients frequently ask me if they should bother blogging. I hear their silent reservations: Just what’s the point adding to all the shouting? The last thing the world needs is another blog, I say.

Unless of course you’ve got something really bloody interesting to say and don’t think clumsy rehashing of other people’s work is good use of a blog. Read more…

- Not just for lumberjacks

Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever. A rare gem illuminating the power of communication, this Indian proverb has never rung truer. Read more…

- Throw out your CV

Jobs are in short supply, under-used workers abound, and CVs slosh about the marketplace, the flotsam of a bashed up commercial era. CVs frequently wash up on my desk; and at various times I’m asked to appraise and tweak the CV handiwork of job aspirants.

However, despite the competition for employer attention, for some reason creativity goes out the window when job hunters construct their professional brands. Read more…