Is Your Authenticity… Authentic?
08.14.2025 – Are you committed to staying true to yourself and your brand? In a world where AI can transform still images into convincing videos, replicate voices, fabricate customer reviews, and even mimic company websites, guarding your authenticity is more critical than ever.
HVAC Customer Relations: They’re Either HOT or COLD
07.30.2025 – Tuesday afternoon I was sitting in my Johnson City home office on a hot, muggy Tennessee day. It was about 87°F and probably around 75% humidity. My elderly neighbor across the street, Cliffy, sent me a text saying her air conditioning wasn’t working. She’s about 80 years old. On top of it all, she was ill. My immediate thought was it’s not good for an elderly person to not have AC in the middle of a hot, humid summer.
Quite the Cold Play by Astronomer’s CEO
07.24.2025 – Thanks to the now-infamous July 16 Coldplay concert “kiss cam” video — featuring Astronomer CEO Andy Byron very warmly embracing Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot — the tech company scored something every PR pro dreams about: massive worldwide press coverage.
3 Huge “Word Ruts” to Avoid
07.16.2025 – As a trusted communication advisor, one of my jobs is to help spokespeople I serve avoid getting stuck in “word ruts.” In other words, saying the same thing countless others always say. Just because countless others say it. Here are three of the word ruts that personally drive me crazy…
7 Ways to Know If Your PR is Working
07.09.2025 – Results matter. Whether it’s advertising, marketing or public relations, each expenditure needs to be justified by its results. Besides the fact that many people don’t even know what PR is or what it does (need a refresher? Read this blog post), an even smaller number of folks know how to measure its effectiveness.
But wait… is it even possible to measure your PR efforts when all PR really does is send out press releases? Short answer: Yes.
What in the World is PR? And Why Does My Company Need It?
07.03.2025 – You’ve probably heard someone say, “We need PR,” or “Let’s get some press.” But press coverage alone doesn’t define public relations or why it’s essential to your business. Clients used to love to ask me, “Can you get me on Oprah?” Many were serious. That’s why May 25, 2011 is sort of an unspoken PR holiday. That’s the last day the Oprah Winfrey Show aired.
Bigfoot Sticks Big Foot in Mouth
06.19.2025 – I was going to interview Bigfoot for this week’s message. But he told me he didn’t want to talk to me. In other words: “No comment.” Here’s the irony — this Bigfoot is the official spokesperson (ahem! spokesbeast) for a Spokane-based (NO can spoke??) company that helps businesses set up an LLC (limited liability company). That’s right. Bigfoot. The mythical forest-dwelling legend of the Pacific Northwest. Now sitting in front of a camera, wearing fake fur, pitching LLC services. I’ll give you a second to process that. Whew. Right? Let me explain how this all came about…
13 Songs with Horrible PR Advice
06.12.2025 – Touting your bad reputation. Using words that nobody is listening to. Disconnecting from your audience. All three can do serious damage to your brand or company’s public relations, which in turn can ruin your public perception — and ultimately hurt your bottom line.