Political communications often carries intriguing lessons for the corporate sphere, and this season’s Republican presidential contest is no exception. In recent months, we’ve watched as a front-runner, Mitt Romney, has faced challenge after challenge from upstart contenders. Although Romney remains on top heading into South Carolina, he has so far failed to gain more than…

Failure has cachet. Harvard Business Review devoted its April 2011 issue to the subject, with many authors agreeing on its importance to the running of successful, innovative enterprises.  Since Steve Jobs’ death, observers have catalogued his missteps—he never graduated from college; he was fired from the company that he himself had started—and ranked them as…

Everywhere we look today, from the streets of Cairo to Zuccotti Park, we find evidence of social media’s power to galvanize people and effect change. But what does social media’s grass-roots organizational potential mean for companies and brands? How can companies best mobilize consumers around their brands? And how should they conceive of the broader…

The Internet and social media have helped elect a US President, organize revolutions across the Middle East, and most recently, bring tens of thousands of people worldwide to protest income disparities and the global economic system. Yet many businesses are still uncertain how best to mobilize communities of supporters around their brands.  As a recently…

Some eighteen months ago, the Firm Voice ran a piece highlighting resistance to social media and cautioning firms not to ignore conventional forms of communications outreach. It’s worth revisiting the point, not for the sake of prophesying doom and gloom, but with an eye to examining how we can make public relations activities even stronger….

When’s the last time you attended a new business presentation, and a guy on the pitch team broke out into a hip-hop act? When’s the last time your boss paid you to learn how to perform stand-up comedy? When’s the last time your boss himself took the stage—and his jokes actually made you laugh –…

Research has shown that people who talk on their phones are about as cognitively impaired as someone who drives intoxicated. But what about those of us who talk while we’re supposed to be listening to others? I’m referring to the phenomenon of “simultaneous conversations,” which thanks to Twitter and other social media, is rapidly becoming…

Public relations professionals depend on long-term relationships they build with clients and colleagues. But relationships are topsy-turvy. Sometimes people disappoint us. And when they do, our ability to keep relationships on track hinges on the helpful feedback we give. If we don’t offer the proper feedback, both parties can become disillusioned. Relationships disintegrate, leading to…

In last week’s posting, we began a discussion about the evolving talent needs of public relations firms in the age of social media. Talking to two prominent industry leaders, we learned that firms were looking for well-rounded talent that combined digital skills with strong marketing knowledge and strategic thinking ability. This week, we explore what…

With our industry evolving, and with recent news that social media companies are falling over one another to hire and retain talent, we’ve been wondering: What kinds of employees will public relations firms be fighting over three to five years from now? And how will young public relations recruits develop those skills?