In IT, a black box is a program that measures output against input in complex systems.
This Black Box is designed to help companies achieve a similar goal in PR. Black Box provides our candid input—based on several lifetimes of experience—for companies that want to measure and improve the performance of PR programs.
The client was ecstatic when her story made the “A” section of The Wall Street Journal. “We’re in front of 2.0 million readers,” she raved. While congratulating her I wondered, “Yes, but do we know if even five people saw and read it?”
Once I took a reporter to dinner with an exec from a satellite-based long distance operator. They were principally renowned for signal delay, echo and a knack for losing $100M/year. Asked how the company was doing, our slightly lubricated leader wise-cracked, “Aw heck, we’re goin’ belly up!”
Much is written about great blogging, less about great companies that do it. So we’re examining the Fortune 500’s use of social media. First stop: Wal-Mart. IT bloggers & tweeters, listen up. Wal-Mart might help you “Save Money, Live Better” in ways you never expected.
A Fortune 500 company found itself at the center of a hot industry trend. But when it came to blogging their story, they choked on the words. The culprit wasn’t hard to find: “re-purposing” content, a common practice in today’s tough economic times, when the need to reduce costs hits every corner of the business — including the creative side.
Every executive speech, bylined article, marketing brochure and product fact sheet soon found its way into a blog. The problem: Nobody thought to translate each piece from its original “tongue” to the language of blogging. The blog drawn from marketing collateral read like a sales piece, and so on.
Crawford stepped in to help. We didn’t even ask — we just authored a blog for the client on our own volition and said, “here — try this and see how it works.”
Today we blog for senior executives throughout the company. The blogs appear weekly and are among the most-viewed sections of their web site. Why they’re clicking with visitors — Each blog is lively, attention-getting and to the point. We know these executives’ hot buttons, ergo their blogs sound just like them.
Sound counter-intuitive to intrude in a medium where the author is supposed to speak in his or her own voice? Well, maybe. But who do you think writes those bylined articles, marketing brochures and product fact sheets? We do. To be sure, the industry leaders and subject matters experts are all brilliant in their respective areas, but when it comes to getting the word out, they turn to another set of professionals: experienced writers.
For obvious reasons, we can’t provide blog links here, any more than we’d reveal the names of corporate leaders who speak our words from the podium. But call and we’ll be happy to chat about your needs on a confidential basis: 703-753-4480.
Crossing my desk: notice of a new book published by Harvard University Press, on “Harnessing the Empowered Employee.” The authors apparently don’t see the contradiction. No human in a harness is empowered.
