Elizabeth Lauten, formerly the communications director for Rep. Stephen Lee Fincher (R-Tenn.), is the latest casualty of nasty and thoughtless social media postings. 

An extraordinary front page of last week’s Washington Post stopped me in my tracks and sent me back to the grocery store cash register to grab an actual paper. And I have the late Ben Bradlee to thank for it.

An article in The Washington Post that caught my attention this week chronicles Taylor Swift’s brilliant lead-up to the release of her next album. In keeping with our spotlight on branding this week, let’s look at this as a story about how to fortify an already powerful and strong brand.

Feeling underappreciated?  Here’s a refresher about why marketing and corporate communications executives matter so dearly to the larger organization.  Pull these out these anytime you’re challenged about your job, or want to strengthen your ties to other top leadership.

It’s our experience that many top executives in communications and marketing feel undervalued, underappreciated, or even misunderstood. You may be the last people to know about a new strategy, product or a brewing crisis. Maybe you feel like the rope in a game of “tug of war.”

At ASAE’s Marketing, Membership, and Communications Conference this week in Washington, we posited in our breakout session that key association executives—those who routinely practice leadership communications—should be like orchestra conductors:  strategic in their directions, clear in their messages, and composed in their performance.

Heading for the beach or pool?  Or maybe just the backyard?  We can still prepare to hit the ground running with some tuned up leadership communications once September rolls around.