With the Illinois gubernatorial primaries coming up on March 18th, the plot is thickening and the mud is flying—and not only on the campaign trail, but on the social media platforms that all of the candidates have established. With thousands of fans each, the potential exists for a bottomless pit of comments—supportive, critical, relevant and […]
How many people do you think toss any old thing into public toilets? One in 100? Whether it’s more frequent or a rarer phenomenon, one thing’s for sure: there are enough “anything goes” toilet-tossers among us to warrant the creation of signs asking them not to do it. Of the many such signs I have encountered […]
If an advertisement makes you laugh, chuckle or, especially, laugh out loud, that’s usually a very good sign for the marketers behind the ad. It means they cut through the clutter and stirred a positive reaction. And the glow of that positivity shines onto whatever product or service they are promoting. It places a halo […]
Building on Part I, 2014 PR & marketing resolution: consume better sources of information, we turn our attention to “exercising more.” More of what kind of exercise, though? In the athletic (and New Year’s Resolution) arenas, it is so easily associated with vigorous displays of energy—running, jumping, moving about in one way or another. With […]
As we look ahead to the next 12 months, much that rattles around is so much white noise—about the same shade as the snowfall that is currently descending on Chicagoland. We are barraged with stuff like “I am resolved to eat better” and “I am resolved to exercise more,” along with endless tips on how […]
If you’re like most small businesses, marketing decisions revolve around how to make the best use of limited promotional dollars: Sponsor a youth sports team or write a check for a few weeks of advertising in the local paper? By contrast, consider the Super Bowl looming on February 2nd. With rising demand this year, the […]
Last week, after an exhaustive analytical review, an essay that I wrote for the American Mustache Institute, about NFL star Aaron Rodgers’ November mustache, appeared on the esteemed website’s blog. Or, maybe I just made stuff up during a slow day at the office. Either way, you can read about Rodgers’ “Mustache Extraordinary Rating,” and how […]
It’s a phrase that is steeped in our collective consciousness: David vs. Goliath. Dating back to the original confrontation between David, the shepherd boy, and Goliath, the fearsome Philistine, the two opposing forces represent the underdog going up against the giant—and somehow, some way, finding a way to win. In his latest book, David and […]
Freelance writers and reporters are an often-overlooked segment of the media who represent great potential for publicists who are paying attention. That was the case during my tenure as a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune (1999-2005), among other publications, and it’s even more the truth today. For one thing, this is a highly motivated […]
With Veterans Day coming up, it has been an honor to develop a news release and provide media outreach for a couple I have known the past five years, Brian and Jun Benakos. Their auto body shop, George’s CARSTAR, was recognized by 3M’s “Hire Our Heroes” initiative for employing a military veteran. The story is […]