Thursday November 28, 2024

Smart Publicity

Young Russians have no memory or understanding of the notorious Gulags that incarcerated 20 million people under Stalin.  The Gulag History Museum set out to change that.  Rather than writing history targeted to youth, it chose the graphic novel to tell survivors’ stories.  This is smart publicity — reaching an audience through familiar and universal visual media.  […]

Too Soon To Declare Victory

This article posits that Joe Biden is only running against himself and not the other 22+ candidates for President in the Democratic party.  But, it is too soon to declare him the front-runner.  There are an innumerable series of PR and publicity gaffes that can occur before the first primaries in 2020.  Biden has been […]

Web Site Advocacy

Apple launched a web site to combat allegations that its App Store is a monopoly that hinders competition.  It reads like an advocacy ad one might read in The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal.  It’s questionable whether the extended screed will change anyone’s mind, particularly those who have had their software rejected […]

NIMBY

Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) is a public relations statement.  It reveals the intent of the speaker and one’s true stance on an issue.  In the case of affordable housing, it demonstrates practical racism, such as this case.  Wealthy Connecticut towns have stalled higher-density building projects for as long as 30 years through use […]

Undercut

It is a difficult PR and reputation situation when a successor is undercut by a former boss.  That is what is happening in Germany.  Angela Merkel, the chancellor, has apparently decided that her chosen subordinate is not up to the job of running the Christian Democratic Union.  The CDU has stumbled since Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer took over from […]

Reputation And Taxation

TurboTax is making a name for itself, and it is not good.  According to this article, the company is tricking members of the military service into paying for filing their taxes although it is supposed to be free.  If true, the company deserves a poor reputation.  Why do corporations persist in the internet age in […]

Was It Always This Way?

General Electric’s CEO is trying to stop infighting between divisions and to focus the corporation on quality and management.  The question arises whether it was always this way, even under the legendary Jack Welch?  A company that is turning out profits can cover a lot of sins.  When the money machine stops, all sorts of […]

Not Dead Yet

What happens to an electronic product that died of bad PR?  Usually, one never sees it again.  But, the Google Glass has discovered a new life as an enterprise item to use while working in factories, doing maintenance and repair and other work.  It doesn’t take much recall to remember how it was hyped as […]

Curious Marketing

Taco Bell is opening a hotel for a short time that will have its restaurant themes throughout it. While it is creative, it is curious marketing.  What does Taco Bell have to do with rooms?  It is a stretch to say that Mexican food has deep relationships to room service and overnight stays.  And how […]

A Challenge

What kind of marketing and PR do you need when your customers are moving away from you?  This is the challenge facing cable companies.  Millions are cutting the cord to cable TV.  Industry executives continue to say it is not a problem, but at some point they will need to face the issue.  There are […]