AUCKLAND: New Zealand – It is not unusual for Iron Road public relations clients to want to amend press releases to include promotional messages like ‘lowest prices,’ ‘affordable,’ ‘discount’, ‘guarantee’, etc. Unfortunately, promotional content stands a snowball’s chance in hell of media pickup because, as they would rightfully say, it’s advertising, not editorial. Journalists act […]
What good is public relations if you can’t sell? Read More »
AUCKLAND, New Zealand: When an organisation (or individual) stands for something, they demonstrate a unique purpose that takes them beyond ‘just another business’ and into the realm of purpose-driven business–it shows that you care. To stand for something goes beyond corporate social responsibility and into an area that, in some ways, can help define your
PUBLIC RELATIONS, Auckland, New Zealand: When issuing a press release, the temptation is to talk about yourself, your products or services or value. After all, the goal is to increase exposure for your business brand. Unfortunately, almost all journalists will tell you to take an advertisement because editorial is not self-promotion. To get genuine, authentic
If you want media coverage (PR), don’t advertise Read More »
AUCKLAND, New Zealand—As a writer (copywriting, public relations and fiction), I am excited by the advent of AI as a tool, but I am also scared. Will I and other writers be surplus to needs in four or five years? Is this the end? The Writer’s Guild of America thinks so, as evidenced by ongoing
ChatGPT vs. human copywriters: Who wins in the end? Read More »
Let’s call him John. For more than a decade, John had cultivated a successful profile and business as a sales educator. He was widely travelled, a keynote speaker and a bestselling author with a decent following. One day, he was offered a job as a marketing director for an international cryptocurrency investment company. He saw
How content marketing can help you ‘clear’ your reputation on Google Read More »
There’s a song by 80’s popstar Shakin’ Stevens called ‘This Old House’, and it goes, “Ain’t got time to fix the shingles, nor to mend no windowpanes’—a shabby house is not a good look. Neither is it a good look when the blogs on your website date back months or even years. It says something
By Colin Kennedy AUCKLAND, New Zealand – CONTENT MARKETING: Accountants take a lot of heat, particularly your CFOs and CEOs, for slashing marketing budgets when times get tough—despite so much advice to the contrary. I don’t blame them. Financial officers of a company will look to cut costs, to give the ‘balloon’ more ballast, particularly where
Why many CFOs and CEO are right to cut marketing in tough times Read More »
Once upon a time, in a forest, there lived a pack of wolves. One day, a strange wolf named Blaze appeared, with bright orange fur and unique abilities. The other wolves shunned him, but Blaze continued to hunt and run with his style. He caught a deer by himself and brought it back to the
“The first messenger, that gave notice of Lucullus’ coming was so far from pleasing Tigranes that he had his head cut off for his pains; and no man dared to bring further information. Without any intelligence at all, Tigranes sat while war was already blazing around him, giving ear only to those who flattered him.”–Plutarch’s
A lesson from Plutarch on how to make your blogs more interesting Read More »
Living in an age where even the historical writings of children’s author Roald Dahl are deemed offensive, you have to wonder how vulnerable your (or your business’s) reputation may be in a time when many people are hypersensitive and easily offended. It begs the question (assuming it matters to you) can you control your reputation?