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 ]
marketing communications
Reputation and Its Fragility
I recently listened to part of The New York Times Dealbook Summit, a live virtual event, hosted by the popular Andrew Ross Sorkin. One particular session titled “The Race for a Vaccine” included Bill Gates, Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, and Professor Heidi Larson, director of the Vaccine Confidence Project. It was a great session, and something Bourla stated about company brands is worth repeating. [ Read More ]
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 ]
Hello Amsterdam
I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Amsterdam. What a lovely city! I mainly went there for work – to check out the design influences, understand their impressive city rebranding campaign, talk to a robotics company and a variety of other business-related pursuits. I saw Banksy and Icy & Sot at Moco, their modern art museum, and Fukase at Foam, their main photography museum. And I saw the big “I Amsterdam” sign (more on that later) in front of the famous Rijksmuseum. [ 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 ]
Basics of Strong Messaging
Creating strong messaging takes skill and experience. That said, the very basics of good messaging are so simple it’s surprising to me how many companies get them wrong. There are three primary things to focus on: clarity, consistency and repetition. [ Read More ]
5 Top Communications Tips for Start-ups
In my 25+year marketing communications career, I have worked with about 50 start-ups. Most have been in the technology industry and a few have been in the environmental sustainability and travel industries. There are a few things I always seem to have to emphasize at the outset and they are listed below. [ Read More ]
The Beauty of Brevity in Blogs
Admit it, we all want to demonstrate how smart we are and will often keep talking as long as people listen. Likewise, many (most) blog posts drone on way too long. Some merit great length. Most do not. Someone already came up with the term “blogette” and it means a small blog. Try to keep your blog posts brief, simple and clear – at least the majority of them. And make your point early. Most importantly, make sure each post meets its objective/s. Your readers will feel enlightened by the new information and/or viewpoints you have imparted and they can quickly get on with their day. [ Read More ]