Sailboat racing is all about continuously optimizing. So is marketing. In sailboat racing, you don’t just point the sailboat in the direction of the finish line and hope for the best. You keep checking the wind, the currents, the other boats on the course. Sometimes you tack to better catch the wind. You adjust the sails accordingly, and frequently, while on the course. At times you even pull out a different sail depending on the wind and its direction. [ Read More ]
Public Relations
The U.S. is Reopening. Now What for Your Business?
These have been extremely trying times for everyone. An absolutely staggering amount of people have lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy is in turmoil and we are all feeling pretty low. As a business owner for 16 years, and a marketing communications professional for more than 30 years, I keep asking myself “Now what?” The U.S. is starting to reopen. How do we climb out of this highly stressful situation and get all our businesses moving in the right direction again? [ Read More ]
GeekWire Calls Gaby Adam a PR and Communications Leader
We were excited by this mention of our other business, OurPlanet365, by GeekWire, the preeminent media outlet for the technology industry in the Pacific Northwest. And we loved that they called By the Sea Communications CEO Gaby Adam a "PR and communications leader." [ Read More ]
Reinventing Marketing: My Musings
I love the hot summer months and all the daylight. It gives me time to think aimlessly about life, my business and the industry I am in. There is a lot of talk these days about the evolution of marketing and I started to ponder it at random times. Below is a collection of my thoughts, both about what changed over the last several years and what to expect in the future. [ Read More ]
PR Expert’s Take on the Democratic Debate
There is nothing like a presidential race to demonstrate the importance of a personal brand and the nuance of communications. As a PR expert in Seattle, it was easy to pick up on things in the Democratic debate last night that would help and/or hurt a candidate. [ Read More ]
Negotiating Coverage in Drone and Robotics Media
DroneHive is a company I have worked with on and off for more than a year. Their founder and CEO Paul Huish is a gem, and he is as kind as he is smart. His company now has more than 700 professional drone operators around the United States who can be quickly deployed for corporations that want expert services for aerial data collection. Paul called about a month ago and told me how his team had partnered with SiteAware to do maintenance inspections of the 1070’ Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco. [ Read More ]
How to Maximize the ROI of Media Coverage
Here’s hoping your year is off to a great and prosperous start! As you think about how to allocate your marketing budget this year, consider the immense ROI (return-on-investment) of a piece earned media coverage. [ Read More ]
My Take on the Lip-Syncing Police Videos
The U.S. police videos with the men and women in uniform lip-syncing and dancing to famous songs, including this gem from the Seattle Police Department, are an awesome idea. Not only do they help the internal morale of these police stations, they help humanize the police in their communities. Suddenly, police forces across the nation are going from “one of them” to “one of us.” [ Read More ]
Macron and Trump Go Hand in Hand: the Photos
This is an interesting photo essay in Quartz on Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump and the various ways they shook hands and otherwise patted each other during Macron's recent visit. The body language of each, literally, trying to get the "upper hand" and be the "leader" is fascinating. I wonder if they get taught that in "Presidential Training." No disrespect intended, it is simply a great example of nuance in communication. [ Read More ]
How We Got on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is an awesome show. Its wonderful edgy humor brings much-needed levity to the current state of our world. The show reaches 11 million broadcast viewers weekly as well as millions of people who watch segments via their YouTube channel. So imagine my delight when I was sitting at the Washington’s National Park Fund (WNPF) Annual Auction on Saturday night (4/7/18) and the executive director, Laurie Ward, steps on stage and says “Where is Gaby Adam?” to the 500 people sitting there. She had just received word that the announcement I led that week, about a $1 million dollar private donation to WNPF, had just been mentioned on Saturday Night Live! [ Read More ]