You think you’ve nailed your message because your latest video will make The Man Your Man Could Smell Like jealous. Or maybe you think you need to spend thousands of dollars on content marketing to court prospective customers. Nothing wrong with either one of those scenarios. Except that if your message doesn’t resonate with your[…]

Understanding What ‘Story’ Is Storytelling is a (perhaps overused) buzzword today in just about any field that involves communication — from education and government training to marketing and PR (especially marketing and PR). It’s an essential tool for digital media that, if used well, can make or break a product,[…]

Why Do Certain Stories Have Power Over Us? To see the power of a good story, all you have to do is look at some decisions we make in life. The college we attend, the president we vote for, the charities we support — we make those choices based on whose story appeals to[…]

Several years ago, the ASPCA aired an animal-cruelty commercial featuring Sarah McLachlan and her song, “Angel.” The TV spot (see the B.C. SPCA version here) showed image after image of sad-looking dogs and cats that had obviously been abused, and the song track added to the emotional charge. My youngest son was just an[…]

Originally published in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal If you’ve ever been turned off by a weak handshake or a person’s business attire, you understand the power of first impressions. In business, that power is often held by your company’s website and other customer-facing materials. Sloppy or poorly executed marketing[…]

Originally published in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal The dust has settled over Instagram’s change in terms of services, which gave the photo-sharing site broader control over users’ content. Most people are more aware about the loss of control over their words or photos — their intellectual property — once[…]

Originally published in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal If you’re like most people who have embraced social networking sites as an extension of their personal and professional lives, you’ve probably not taken the time to read through the lengthy (and often legalese-filled) terms of service when you signed up. But[…]

Originally published in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal In today’s fast-changing multimedia world, it goes without saying that the rules of the marketing game have changed. Consumers are not so much interested in being talked to through television or print ads as they are interested in interacting with businesses they[…]