How To Get People’s Attention
AHA Flip Cam Friday
The Era of the Virtual Agency
In today’s video, Ruth talks about how a virtual agency brings together the right people at the right time for the client.
Can You Write?
Shel Holtz has a very interesting piece on whether writing is a core skill for a professional communicator. He did a round up, asking several strategic communications professionals for their take and their responses are thoughtful and relevant. It’s an interesting topic and this piece is definitely worth reading.
AHA TAKE
There are some communicators who focus more on the actual craft of writing in their day-to-day work than others, but I can’t imagine that a professional communicator doesn’t need solid writing skills to do their job. Communication is at the very foundation of what we do (we are called communicators, after all) and words are the building blocks for communication. No matter how we communicate – through speeches, newsletters, meetings, video, webinars or any other form – at some point, there is writing involved. To be able to write clearly means that you can think clearly and that’s where it all begins – developing a strategy, defining the message and identifying the tools.
I think that there are different levels of writing well. There are some people that are gifted storytellers; these people can bring the information being shared to life. Their words engage. Others write in a more “corporate” manner, providing just the facts in an informative and straightforward way. Different things apply to different projects or initiatives. However, I strongly believe that if a person doesn’t have, at the very least, the basic skills – including spelling, punctuation and grammar – they will have a real challenge as a communicator.
Old Spice Man Is A Breath Of Fresh Air
Photo credit: Pavel Ševela / Wikimedia Commons
There has been quite a bit of buzz recently about the Old Spice social media campaign that has the Old Spice Man replying via video to tweets. The campaign is funny, it’s smart and it showcases just what can be done with social media when you develop a kick ass strategy and identify what the right tools are to deliver on it.
I am sure that a case study on this campaign’s success will appear somewhere in the near future. It would be great to hear from the people who created the campaign on what their objectives were, how this campaign did in their eyes and what benefits the brand received from this unusual and humorous approach to social media.
Print Isn’t Dead, It Just Needs Video
We’ve been discussing the challenges being faced by traditional media for what seems like a very long time. The announcement that CanWest Global Communications Corp’s publishing division has been sold to Postmedia Network Inc., the organization led by Paul Godfrey and backed by U.S. private-equity player Golden Tree Asset Management among other investors, comes as no surprise.
In reading the piece in the Vancouver Sun, it is interesting to note that the new owners say they are going to “pursue an ambitious ‘digital first’ business model.” Godfrey said that he “would expect most reporters are going to carry video cameras so they can put their stories on the Web immediately, to cells, iPhones, and social networks.”
That will change the cycle of news to immediate. For communicators, it will also change how we pitch media. Traditionally we would have approached a print pitch differently, now the pitch blends print, image and video and will include a hook that focuses on the social networking side of coverage. At least, that’s how we’re approaching it. I know that for some, it feels like more work has been put on the plate of PR and communications – for our part, we’re pretty excited. Not to say that there won’t be challenges, but we get to be a part of the biggest shift in how we do our work since – well, since PR became more than running events and planning parties. There’s opportunity here people!!
What do you think? Are you ready for the brave new world where several mediums blend and we get to participate in a shift in how news and events are covered, when it comes to our organization and clients?