Five Tips for Effective Brainstorming
It’s a skill so seemingly simple that we often overlook its importance. For creative minds, brainstorming ideas might come as easy as breathing. But for the rest of us, sometimes it takes a little inspiration to get our juices flowing. We’ve all been there—a deadline looming, our mind spinning and the coffee running low, and […]
Wikipedia, PR and the Importance of Transparency
Every few months, it seems, there is a dust up over the role of PR teams in editing articles on Wikipedia. Most recently, several publications (notably Vice’s Motherboard) reported on the work of a firm devoted almost entirely to editing Wikipedia articles on behalf of various clients. When the firm’s work was discovered, many editors […]
Perfecting Your Company’s Customer Service
Yesterday, in the midst of cramming for a midterm, my computer decided to freeze. Panicked, I ran through all the usual restart motions, but nothing seemed to work. I bolted down to the Apple store, stressing that my hours of work were gone due to this unexpected computer crash. As I walked into the busy […]
Tesla Bounces Back After Recent Car Fire
After a Tesla Model S caught fire in early October, the company’s stock prices momentarily fell as the public became wary of the Tesla brand. Numerous blog posts and websites depicted the all-electric Model S engulfed in flames on a busy highway. The incident occurred after a piece of metal punctured the high-tech armor plating […]
Capt. Mike Steers Good Ship Netflix Toward Positive Customer Experience
If you’re anything like me, the last thing you want to do is to spend 15 minutes or more on the phone or engaged in correspondence with a customer service representative via instant message or email. Let’s face it, by the time we’re reaching out to them for assistance—especially when we rely on their service […]
Phone Skills—A Thing of the Past?
Over the summer, while I worked at Communiqué full time, I would receive upwards of 40 emails a day, and I’m just an intern. Emails are one of the most commonly used forms of communication because we now live in a world where large amounts of information need to be shared in very little time. […]
Businesses Help Boulder Flood Relief
A little over a week ago, I wrote a blog post about the Boulder flash floods and the confusing nature of deciphering what is true and false on social media during this time of crisis. Gathering correct information was just one of the many issues citizens were faced with though. As the storm has subsided, […]
The Modern Day PR Pro’s Technology Toolbox
The rapid innovation of mobile and cloud technologies has forever changed the way PR pros work. With all of the productivity apps and capabilities available on my smartphone, sometimes I feel like my iPhone is permanently glued to my hand. I’ve been contemplating upgrading to the new iPhone 5s, which started me thinking about some […]
Why Setting Expectations Will Help You Succeed
When training for a race, whether a 5K, half marathon or full marathon, you know how long the race is before you sign up and typically set a goal about finishing that will make you feel successful at the end. In the running world, we call it a “PR,” or personal record. As a runner, […]
Communications Lessons From the Shutdown
I have a friend who, in college, used to play a game that involved the following: While driving, approach a red light at speed while bluffing to his passengers, “I’m not going to stop! I’m not going to stop!” In the nick of time we always stopped, of course, but each time it felt like […]