IABC Communication Commons http://commons.iabc.com A Blog Community for Business Communicators Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:47:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en The Harry Potter Brand http://commons.iabc.com/2007/07/31/the-harry-potter-brand/ http://commons.iabc.com/2007/07/31/the-harry-potter-brand/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:47:54 +0000 Natasha Nicholson http://commons.iabc.com/2007/07/31/the-harry-potter-brand/ I’m guessing you’ve had about all you can take of Harry Potter, but think again. Take a look at Angelo Fernando’s post on Harry Potter as a branding phenomenon. There were strategies (some surprisingly simple) behind this effort that can be replicated for organizational branding initiatives. We could all use a little of that kind of magic.

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2007/07/31/the-harry-potter-brand/feed/ Promotion and Crisis — What’s the right approach? http://commons.iabc.com/2007/04/24/promotion-and-crisis-whats-the-right-approach/ http://commons.iabc.com/2007/04/24/promotion-and-crisis-whats-the-right-approach/#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:42:32 +0000 Natasha Nicholson http://commons.iabc.com/2007/04/24/promotion-and-crisis-whats-the-right-approach/ If you haven’t already read it, take a look at the discussion on Virginia Tech, initiated by Rich Barger. Contributors offer some strong opinions and compelling arguments about the ethics of promoting products and services related to this type of incident. Is it a violation of ethics? Is it just in bad taste? Or is it perfectly appropriate, even helpful perhaps, to do what is necessary to match up a product with a need during a crisis of this nature?

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2007/04/24/promotion-and-crisis-whats-the-right-approach/feed/ Breaking New Ground http://commons.iabc.com/2007/01/30/breaking-new-ground/ http://commons.iabc.com/2007/01/30/breaking-new-ground/#comments Tue, 30 Jan 2007 17:11:57 +0000 Natasha Nicholson http://commons.iabc.com/2007/01/30/breaking-new-ground/ Take a look at the new Advocacy section of the Commons. IABC is breaking new ground with the launch of the Advocacy initiative. Longtime IABC member, Michael Zimet was recruited by the IABC executive board to head up this effort. And things are moving fast.

Michael has already taken some important steps, including developing a small “think tank” group to lay groundwork and holding two focus groups at the Leadership Institute. The focus groups happened in San Diego a few days ago and I am truly impressed with the quality of the discussions, and the fact that they will lead to more input and inclusion from chapter and regional leaders.

My involvement is as the staff person to help integrate IABC programming with valuable ideas that come from this effort. I’m sure there will be plenty of learning for all of us along the way. It’s an exciting project and holds much promise.

Please join the conversation about Advocacy and help IABC define what it means to the prominence and progress of the communication profession. Let’s see what our combined thinking can do to make a difference.

Natasha

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2007/01/30/breaking-new-ground/feed/ Getting on-topic http://commons.iabc.com/2006/07/21/getting-on-topic/ http://commons.iabc.com/2006/07/21/getting-on-topic/#comments Fri, 21 Jul 2006 14:19:53 +0000 Shel Holtz, ABC http://commons.iabc.com/2006/07/21/getting-on-topic/ Frankly, I’m baffled. I read Carol Kinsey Goman’s post on companies looking outside their own walls for product and marketing ideas. I understood it. If anything, I thought it opened the door for discussions around the concept of co-creation, open-source marketing, and consumer-generated content. Instead, it seems to have attracted some sniping over the way it was written (which was fine by me).

I still think there’s a discussion to be had here around the move away from insulated development of everything from product to marketing creative. If you haven’t had a chance to read the post, take a look and offer your two cents. This is the way the world is moving and there are implications galore for communicators!

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2006/07/21/getting-on-topic/feed/ The press release of the future http://commons.iabc.com/2006/05/23/the-press-release-of-the-future/ http://commons.iabc.com/2006/05/23/the-press-release-of-the-future/#comments Wed, 24 May 2006 01:15:53 +0000 Shel Holtz, ABC http://commons.iabc.com/2006/05/23/the-press-release-of-the-future/ What do Technorati, del.icio.us, RSS feeds and MP3 files have to do with the stodgy, maligned press release? SHIFT Communications thinks the linkages are more than just interesting; they’re necessary to bring the press release into the era of social computing. Read about it in the Media Relations Commons.

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2006/05/23/the-press-release-of-the-future/feed/ The CEOs role in Blogging http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/27/the-question-of-ceos-role-in-blogging/ http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/27/the-question-of-ceos-role-in-blogging/#comments Thu, 27 Apr 2006 22:04:12 +0000 Natasha Nicholson http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/27/the-question-of-ceos-role-in-blogging/ One question that I hear lately is “What role should my CEO play in blogging?” In the Branding Commons, Anders Gronstedt’s post brings up an interesting example from Sun Microsystems’ new leader, Jonathan Schwartz, who is apparently the first Fortune 500 C.E.O. blogger. He includes this quote from Schwartz that appeared in the Harvard Business Review (Nov. 05), :

“For executives, having a blog is not going to be a matter of choice, any more than e-mail is today. If you’re not part of the conversation, others will speak on your behalf.”

What role does your CEO play in blogging? Do you have plans for her/him to get involved? I’d be interested in hearing some thoughts around this. I suspect that are some landmines out there waiting to blow up for the CEO blogger. Am I right?

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/27/the-question-of-ceos-role-in-blogging/feed/ A new role for internal communicators? http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/05/a-new-role-for-internal-communicators/ http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/05/a-new-role-for-internal-communicators/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2006 23:01:15 +0000 Shel Holtz, ABC http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/05/a-new-role-for-internal-communicators/ Bill Boyd has a thought-provoking post over in the Employee Communications Commons. In the wake of an extensive conversation about Ron Shewchuk’s post about where employee communications departments should report, Bill wonders whether the very nature of employee communications might be undergoing a shift that renders the dilemma moot. I happen to agree — the once-solid walls between external and internal communications are eroding. Consider employee bloggers, who communicate externally based upon what they learn internally. It’s a great discussion starter, so be sure to drop by and offer your thoughts as a comment to Bill’s post.

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/05/a-new-role-for-internal-communicators/feed/ Accolades for Measurement Commons http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/05/accolades-for-measurement-commons/ http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/05/accolades-for-measurement-commons/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:57:18 +0000 Shel Holtz, ABC http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/05/accolades-for-measurement-commons/ The IABC Measurement Commons has made it into Blog Run, Jeremy Pepper’s listing of “top PR posts,” part of Bulldog Reporter’s The Daily Dog. Here’s what the Dog (Jeremy, that is) had to say:

The holy grail in public relations is measurement. It’s a question that always comes up for me during blogging presentations … that’s great, how do you measure influence … but here’s a great post on how to measure qualitatively and quantitatively … which just might work for blogging as well.

The post referenced is Angela Sinickas’ item on connecting inputs to outcomes.

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2006/04/05/accolades-for-measurement-commons/feed/ Communication Measurement 101 http://commons.iabc.com/2006/03/16/communication-measurement-101/ http://commons.iabc.com/2006/03/16/communication-measurement-101/#comments Thu, 16 Mar 2006 18:59:44 +0000 Natasha Nicholson http://commons.iabc.com/2006/03/16/communication-measurement-101/ I just read a post from Angela Sinickas on the Measurement blog and honestly think it’s among the most useful and concise bits that I’ve read on measuring communication. Angela is considered the master on the topic of communication measurement, so this is no surprise of course. Check it out. It will take less than a minute to read.

]]> http://commons.iabc.com/2006/03/16/communication-measurement-101/feed/ Who are the Brand Leaders? http://commons.iabc.com/2006/03/08/who-are-the-brand-leaders/ http://commons.iabc.com/2006/03/08/who-are-the-brand-leaders/#comments Thu, 09 Mar 2006 02:10:52 +0000 Natasha Nicholson http://commons.iabc.com/2006/03/08/who-are-the-brand-leaders/ Take notice of Anders Gronstedt’s post on the Branding Commons. I think it’s worth repeating his last paragraph here.

“Who are today’s brand experience leaders? With the American Customer Satisfaction index stuck at a lower level than in 1994, there hasn’t been much progress. Starbucks comes to mind as a great exception. While all Starbucks stores aren’t identical, there’s the same unmistakable smell, look, feel, and irresistible service from frontline employees who are pampered with good training and completive compensations and health benefit packages. What other examples do you have of consistent brand experiences?”

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