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.
Yesterday a colleague called, all aglow that he’d placed a “major blog comment” on a national news article for one of his clients. “Major blog comment?” I mused. “Um. . .Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?”
When Google announced plans for a high-speed Internet service, the telecom sector called it a “PR stunt.” No duh. Long the expert in using media to shake up the status quo, Google is leveraging PR to rock the telco establishment.
A. J. Leibling once wrote, “Freedom of the press is for those who own one.” Before shedding a tear over the demise of newspapers, remember the death grip that media moguls held them in for decades. If the Old Media Order is finally passing, consider it a long overdue ride on time’s tumbrel.
Something there is that doesn’t love a factory. It’s not just the grimy smokestacks, heat or the piercing ring of steel on steel, but the soulless labor of a mill. When I hear “content” — the work of inspiration and genius — juxtaposed with “factory,” it’s the crash of two opposed worlds colliding.
Crawford client Convergys Corp. has earned honors as a leader in Gartner Group’s Magic Quadrant analysis of the CRM contact center BPO market. Permit us to blow their horn: In the IT sector, winning the top spot in a Gartner MQ is like notching the Golden Globes and Oscar combined.
“I used to shoot people for a living.” So began the article in, of all places, a software testing magazine. The author turned out to be harmless, just a software geek for the U.S Army. His great opening line hooked me: It seems the best work, even by those who automate for hire, can’t be automated.
An executive asked if I liked his draft blog and could think of any media that might run it. “No and No,” I replied. Like much blogging for business, his piece turned out to be just a re-hashed marketing brochure. As a blatant sales job, it was the antithesis of social media — no editor would touch it. How do you avoid this common mistake and hit the right note?
As the latest jobless recovery takes shape, media departments are hearing the familiar “do more with less” mantra from on high. With fewer bodies to produce the content that execs demand, the temptation to “re-purpose” old material is strong. The trouble is, you can’t steal — not even from yourself.
At the height of the mid-1990s dot.com mania, Business Week adorned its cover with a tulip. Later, when real estate became the next sure thing, Business Week warned of a bubble. So when BW’s Stephen Baker writes “Beware Social Media Snake Oil” (12/14/09), I take notice. As should you.
With 2010 almost upon us, it’s likely that companies will continue to have lean budgets and staffs for marketing and PR, yet the same or greater demands for increased visibility. A quick look back at 2009 provides useful guidance for the year ahead on what to do and how to save.
