You should. His story of inspiration in spite of cancer is one of the most inspiring examples of the awesome power of social media. But mostly, it's a profoundly influential lesson about life.
It began as the final lecture of a popular professor dying of pancreatic cancer. It's now a tribute to capturing all that life has to offer, and it's touched millions around the world. (Excuse us while we reach for a Kleenex.) His story has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, on Good Morning America, and an hour-long ABC special featuring Diane Sawyer.
Not to sound trite, but for yourself and all those important to you, be sure to embrace what will forever be known as "The Last Lecture."
Do you know what sport is played by two-thirds of the world? No, we're not talking about Polo or Jai Alai. It's Cricket and it's taking over America.
In case you haven't seen the billboards, TV commercials, and print ads that have flooded the Fort Collins market in recent weeks, the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament, played in the West Indies each year, has selected our town to make its American broadcast debut.
Throughout the next month, Stanford 20/20 Cricket is taking over the town and hosting a series of viewing parties for each match and a family day where residents can learn and play the sport of cricket. The Fort Collins cricket adventure will culminate at a Caribbean-themed street festival in downtown to celebrate the final weekend of the tournament. Check out www.yougottaseethis2020.com for more information.
Heard the one about how Starbucks refused to donate coffee to our brave servicemen and women in Iraq? According to an e-mail we just got, the Seattle-based corporation supports the troops, but not the war. So no coffee. (And, the e-mail suggests we return the favor by boycotting Starbucks immediately.) Of course, this whole thing is a hoax. (And so is the one about Oscar Meyer, in case you're wondering.)
But talk about a successful viral marketing effort. People are so outraged by the thought of Starbucks being an ungracious corporation that they just forwarded this message to their friends without a second thought. And as a consequence, Starbucks had to play damage control – even though they didn't cause any damage to begin with!
Do you want us to let you in on a little secret? Sometimes laughter is the best strategy for getting PR results.
What started out as a joke at the coffee maker a few weeks back, morphed into a pretty darn good idea for a press release. As we were poking fun at a few recent announcements from across the pond in which outrageous sums of money were spent on mediocre creative, it dawned on us that our business could build a new revenue stream, without even trying very hard. You have to make a formal announcement about that, right?
As it turns out, we guessed right. Not only did we accomplish our goal of providing some levity to the press that Friday morning, but as an added bonus, reporters from the Rocky Mountain News and Fort Collins: Now saw value in our glowing prose. Either that, or it was a pretty slow news day. I suspect the latter.
Click here and scroll down to the subhead "High-priced slogans" for the story in the Rocky, or here for the coverage in Fort Collins: Now.
In millions of homes across the country, turkey dinners are cooking and tables are set with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airing in the background. Whether you are from New York, California, anywhere in between, or across the world for that matter, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a beloved holiday tradition for more than 80 years.
That's what French President Nicolas Sarkozy dubbed his interview with 60 Minutes on CBS before abruptly ending it and walking out. All this with cameras rolling – who's stupid now?
Apparently, the disheveled President felt his schedule was too full that day for a stupid interview. And he grew even more frustrated when questions about his wife surfaced. We won't go into details about that blunder, but mishandling the media as such and making your own stupid statements is simply a big no-no.
Where's his press secretary in all this? He's watching a formidable collapse of a communications strategy happen right before his eyes. All the while being called "an imbecile" by his boss.
Talk about a media interview gone wrong.
Bottom line, Sarkozy's press secretary should have had a better grip on things.
A planned approach to media interviews is an integral piece of any public relations strategy. And media training for spokespeople is critical. The cardinal rule is to be prepared. And Sarkozy obviously wasn't.
Anyone can jump in front of a camera and give a disastrous interview, but with the proper preparation, planning and control, a media interview can be a key communications tactic.
The Boston Red Sox may have swept the World Series, but Taco Bell was the biggest winner of this year's Fall Classic. With their promotion, "Steal a base. Steal a taco", Taco Bell gave away a taco to every American who visited a participating store between 2-5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30. That is the best deal since the Louisiana Purchase after the countless times they were recognized during the four games of the Series.
Add in numerous conversations between Joe Buck and Tim McCarver over this silly promotion and the fact that almost every person who goes into a store during a slow time of the day is going to buy something to go with their one measly taco, and Taco Bell is the advertising genius of the decade.
PR can be a powerful tool to help communicate the right message, to the right audience, thereby generating the right results.
But in a continued effort to convey what PR is and what it is not, it needs mentioning that PR and press releases are not one in the same, contrary to what many think.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The following should in no way be interpreted as a political endorsement. It is merely an observation.
We'd like to wish new White House press secretary Dana Perino good luck. You're going to need it. The White House has announced that Tony Snow's last day is Sept. 14. We're not here to comment on the performance of the past press secretary to President Bush, or the past-past press secretary, or even the past-past-past press secretary, but merely to acknowledge it has to be one of the toughest PR jobs in the land.
Forbes.com recently ran an article on the value of PR. The piece highlights the benefits of PR vs. costly advertising campaigns, gives practical advice to entrepreneurs looking for PR help, and even suggests a list of questions to ask your potential consultant. One of which asks the consultant to turn over a list of media contacts for you to interview.
Question... Why would a busy reporter take the time to help you select the person that will ultimately pitch stories? Approaching said busy reporter in this manner could damage an important relationship with the journalist before you've had a chance to build a relationship.
Implementing public relations tactics without strategy and planning often result in, well, this...
For many organizations, PR is an afterthought. For others, PR isn't truly understood or it equals press release (they share the same initials, but the two are NOT one in the same).
Burnsmarketing.com
