Are You Confusing Mission with Message?
Messaging is critical to getting your point across. While executives and their teams talk about the importance of powerful messaging, many people don’t really understand what messages are.
The Prism of Value®: Get Your Point Across
Most enterprises approach communication from a “Prism of Me,” as opposed to a “Prism of Value.” Think of it this way. A prism takes white light and refracts it to create Technicolor rays.
Email: The Most Dangerous Form of Communication
Email is the communication tool we all love to hate. It’s fast, inexpensive, convenient and effective. It also is overused or used inappropriately. From sports teams to fashion retailers to political candidates, everyone, it seems, wants my attention and my dollars.
Communicate Value on This Organizational Diet
No matter what our endeavor, whether we are making mobile phones or enhancing the mobility of someone with a disability, we all seek to create value for those we serve.
Don’t Let Your Brand Collapse from Deferred Maintenance
In Marketing and Communications, it is easy to want to chase the shiny bright object--the newest social media platform, a new design for the logo, a new tagline. But the real magic of branding is making your brand live in the hearts and minds of your stakeholders.
4 Lessons from Apple Watch to Improve Your Business
For a milestone wedding anniversary, my husband announced he had gotten me a great present. My first thought was, “Tiffany.” After all, what girl doesn’t like the blue box and the delights that might be found within it? Instead, I got something better: an Apple Watch.
4 Tips to Rebuilding a Tarnished Brand
As an avid runner and supporter of various nonprofit causes, springtime means deciding, which 5Ks and 10Ks? Until 2012, the Komen 5K in Washington, DC, was always at the top of my list. It was a positive and powerful brand that I admired. For more than 15 years, I ran that race until they so bitterly disappointed me with their decision to withhold funding from Planned Parenthood, which I wrote about in this post.
Integrity in Branding: “Where’s the Beef?”
From The Washington Post to the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., newspapers and digital outlets have peppered the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this week with articles about Giant Food’s decision to change its meat labels, then change them back.
Framing Messages: History Counts
Entering a heavily wooded patch on my morning run, I suddenly saw a furry set of eyes peering out from the trees. It made me stop cold. I didn’t know what it was, but feared it might be a coyote or fox, both known to traverse our suburban streets, and I really didn’t want to cross its path.
Message Development: More BITE in Your Communications
Sound bites are not just for media interviews. As we recently wrote in the Huffington Post, knowing how to create a powerful sound bite can help you more effectively connect and engage with your clients, donors and prospects. And they’ll be more likely to remember what you said.