The one with the right words wins
Mar
22
It’s not new news that the role of public relations firms and advertising agencies is changing. The question is, into what? The Web, in general, and social media, in particular, have organizations scratching their collective heads to try and figure out if the digital world is the responsibility of marketing or public relations or a hybrid of both. Same for branding. I think the answer is simple: the one with the best way with words ... Read more
It’s hoops time: how can you help your team?
Mar
18
This is one of my favorite times of the year. March Madness is the ultimate college sporting event. There are interesting match-ups, and the games always have their share of last-minute buzzer beaters. Okay, here is a quick quasi hoops question: If you have a business team of five on the court, what position would you play? When our firm started 15 years ago, I was a point guard. I played 40 minutes. I shot. ... Read more
6 Rules for Local Politicians
Mar
15
As the only public servant (or politician, as some might say) at Jackson Spalding, life often takes me to places where public relations and public service overlaps, and provides some interesting lessons in communications strategy. As a professional communicator, I am constantly amazed at some of the basic mistakes local politicians and public servants make when attempting to educate their constituents. Here are six simple rules for effective political communications for city, county, and state ... Read more
The simplicity of one
Mar
11
Three months ago I was driving in Atlanta near 14th street. I looked up at a bilboard. It was stark white and had only black letters that said, “Google Puppy Mills.” No images, no paragraphs, just three words. In our daily communications as business leaders, we tend to clutter our messages, cram too much information in, to paint with a big fat heavy paintbrush and not a fine-pointed Sharpie. And our message gets lost. ... Read more
Five spokes of the communication wheel
Mar
10
There are five integral factors for communications success. Five spokes, if you will, that move the communications wheel forward with momentum. The first spoke is the message. Drill down on what the main message is and make it stick. The right message is always simple, consistent and clear. It is never padded, never cumbersome, never sounds like spin. People can see through all this stuff a mile way. Spin is merely words without action, for ... Read more
It’s March. How are your New Year’s resolutions?
Mar
8
This year, I gave up something VERY important to me. Something I’ve nurtured for years. I gave up caffeine. For years, I religiously drank a cup of coffee in the morning and a Diet Coke (or sometimes two, depending on the day) in the afternoon. After years of this bad habit, I decided to wean myself off slowly as part of my New Year’s resolutions. That was one long week. On a particularly rough day, ... Read more
A JS life in New York
Mar
5
As the lone JS employee who lives and works in New York City, I thought my first JS blog post should be a collection of a few random thoughts about NYC life, media, PR and basically anything even remotely related to the city that never sleeps. So here goes… – It snowed about two feet in NYC last week. Two feet! Here I am on the terrace of JS NYC. Bottom line: I think Mother ... Read more
To your stylebook quick, it’s National Grammar Day
Mar
4
It is officially National Grammar Day! Whether you were the favorite student in your English class or not, today is the day for well-written sentences and articulate conversation. I had a journalism professor who would give you an “F” if your paper contained even one error. That was enough to scare me into AP style submission. Enjoy these tips from The New York Times’ Learning Blog: http://tinyurl.com/ybnh9w ... Read more
Vision comes in many forms
Mar
3
Today, a blind hiker started up the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail - solo. Mike Hanson will use GPS to tell him where he is and what's around him and a white cane to tell him about obstacles and hazards. That's it. This guy's got guts. ... Read more
The media landscape, on fire
Mar
2
We are constantly evaluating and responding to the changing media landscape in this business. Today’s four-alarm fire in my neighborhood gave me a snapshot of where we are (and reminded me of the excellent social media reporting our Athens office did during the Georgia Theatre fire last year). ... Read more
