In today’s digital world, small is beautiful. Information is delivered in nuggets and bullets, listicles and soundbites, and tweets and snaps. Notifications buzz on our devices and divert us long enough to click and perhaps even like. But what if that moment of communication is just that… a superficial moment? Can bite-size content really do the job if we want to deliver authoritative and nuanced information? Read more…

Tags: Best practices, Buzzfeed, Content Creation, Content Strategy, Viral Content, White paper

Whether you’re a lifelong college basketball fan or just looking to test your luck with some friendly office competition, March Madness is an exciting change-up to your daily routine. We’ve seen some unexpected upsets this year heading into the ‘Final Four,’ and I can’t help but think about how each team’s journey to reach this point reflects startups rise to the top within their industries.

While we’re in the spirit of the game, here’s a look at how PR can help businesses go from an unknown to a thriving team to reckon with in the media. Read more…

Tags: Basketball, Business Development, March Madness, Marketing, Public Relations

My wife is not a fan of washing up, but for a few short weeks, she simply couldn’t resist standing at the kitchen sink, pulling on the Marigolds and plunging her hands into the hot bubbly water. Then, Procter & Gamble stopped producing its limited edition “vintage” bottle of Fairy Liquid – a white cylinder with green and red branding – and sadly, normal service resumed.

On the local high street, a new supermarket opened for business. With a new but very old logo. Intriguingly, after a root and review of its branding, the Co-operative Group has returned to the logo that adorned its stores half a century ago. Graphically, it’s fantastic – a blend of funky typography and minimalism – but it also elicits an emotional response. I almost felt like a boy again, off to buy some R White’s lemonade and a bag of Golden Wonder salt ‘n’ vinegar crisps.

Nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool. It can encourage us all to remember our rose-tinted pasts and to bathe in the warm glow of the good old days when the world was simpler and the sun always shone. It creates an emotional connection between brand and consumer. And it’s beguilingly effective. A simple change in a product’s packaging can turn a daily chore like washing up – into a moment of pleasure. It can make supermarket shopping feel like a trip down memory lane. Read more…

Tags: 90’s Kids, Co-op, co-operative, Coke Hilltop, Fauxstalgia, Memories, Nostalgia, Nostalgia-based Marketing

How political should a company or brand be in today’s post-truth world? After backing American footballer Colin Kaepernick, who famously knelt during the national anthem before a game as a protest against racial injustice, Nike has no doubt. “Believe in something,” demands the latest version of its long-running ‘Just Do It’ campaign. “Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Read more…

Tags: Brand Activism, Controversy, Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Marketing, Nike, Strategy

(Image: GETTY)

The four annual golf majors are fantastic sporting occasions but the Ryder Cup, which takes place at Le Golf National in France this weekend, is bigger and better, attracting millions of golf fans, sports fans and even non-fans. The three-day event dominates the headlines – both news and sports – and sends social media into a frenzy of sharing. For a competition that was once only supported by a few die-hards, it is a remarkable renaissance. What lessons can we learn from the success of this iconic contest?

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Tags: Controversy, France, leadership, Less is more, Ryder Cup, Severiano, teamwork, War on the Shore

If you’re thinking about hiring a public relations agency, choose carefully. Hiring a global firm with thousands of employees can be enticing, but know what you’ll be paying for. With a specialist PR agency, your money primarily goes towards the talent that supports you; not on a legacy operating model.

Specialist PR firms are ideally suited to this modern world of communications. Here are a few reasons why.

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Tags: boutique firm, Business, Corporation, Finance, Marketing, PR, Public Relations, Strategy

With the memories of the World Cup still fresh in our minds, the football (soccer) season is back underway with most top-tier European leagues having already played their first week of matches.

Lots of transfer business occurs every summer and winter, with football clubs – particularly in Europe – spending vast amounts on new players. Since last summer’s transfer window (the window opening in May and closing in August, whereby clubs have the chance to sell and purchase players ahead of the new season) following the world record £200 million ($263m) sale of Brazilian star Neymar from F.C Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the market has skyrocketed and players are now routinely going for sums that several years ago would be close to record-breaking. Read more…

Tags: Digital, Football, Marketing, social media, Strategy, video

Corporate communications can be risk-averse and consequently unchallenging, but the objective should often be the opposite – to engage your audience by being thought-provoking and inspirational. Risky, even. By injecting your writing with honest views, spiced with character – and a well-pitched level of controversy – you can engage your readers at a much more fundamental level.

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Tags: Bond Vigilante, Controversial Content Marketing, Corporate Communications

Everyone has that one song they can’t skip. The type of track that you can play on repeat and never get sick of listening to. As a hip-hop enthusiast, I have quite a few, but each one has something timeless that keeps me invested. Pitching clients to reporters is a bit like writing a song. Think about the four components of a hip-hop song: an intro, a hook, verses, and a beat.

Here’s how the basic structure of a song can make for a perfect pitch:

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Tags: Content, Hip hop, Journalism, Music, Pitch, PR, Public Relations

The internet is packed with lists of bite-sized chunks of information that are simplistic clickbait designed to boost traffic, but a well-designed list of great content is a fantastic way to communicate.

From the Ten Commandments to Buzzfeed’s mind-boggling list frenzy, human history is filled with lists that have a fantastic capacity to grab and then focus our attention. Humans, it seems, are hard-wired to engage with lists and that means they are an excellent content marketing tool.

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Tags: blogging, Keywords, Listicles, SEO