PR is premised on truth, trust, and transparency.Collection: Trust
The short form, speed, and consistency of communication by Trump beat Clinton's nuanced, detailed, and long-form communication. Trump came across as more genuine, Clinton as less than transparent. Trump engaged directly with his community; Clinton spoke through the media in a careful and less frequent manner.Collection: Communication
We've learned that when a consumer moves from a relationship rooted in 'me' to one powered by 'we,' a new world of buying and advocacy opens up for a brand.Collection: Relationship
As trust in institutions erodes, the basic assumptions of fairness, shared values, and equal opportunity traditionally upheld by 'the system' are no longer taken for granted.
Israeli ingenuity was never more evident than in the Ayalon bullet factory built during the British occupation of Palestine. It was constructed underneath an urban kibbutz. The workers had a bakery and laundry which provided constant clatter to disguise the work carried on below ground.
Engagement and integrity are the two most fundamental aspects of building trust; lead from the front by evolving your company strategy, then live your values every day.
Talking points are a core set of messages an executive or politician utilizes in communicating with stakeholders. It's a term of art for having an outline of your remarks.
Most smart companies should make themselves media companies. That means they put out their own information.
The problems of the world, from immigration to populism to income inequality to sustainability to peacekeeping, require a well-functioning supranational body.
My hike up the Snake Path at Masada was mystical. The fog rolled in, enveloping the entire mountain.
The lack of societal and institutional safeguards provides fertile ground for populist movements fueled by fear.
Business has to stand up on behalf of its employees, on behalf of immigration, on behalf of its customers, and on behalf of supply chain-cum-globalization.
Companies need to be very active in formulating public policy - not as a substitute for government, but as a supplement.
Advertising has a problem. They're being squeezed because media buyers and digital firms are doing the creative. They're being squeezed because people aren't viewing their stuff.
We're not going into advertising. But we see the future battleground existing between ourselves, digital firms, and media-buying firms.
Mainstream media has been abandoned by many, for ideological reasons mostly, and brands need to directly engage with the end-user of information and offer opportunities for consumer- and employee-generated content.
We have seen an unprecedented dispersion of authority, such that 'a person like you' is now one of the most credible spokespersons on business, along with technical and academic experts.
We have been pushing forward on a new way of storytelling we call 'collaborative journalism' on behalf of a number of our clients.
Our goal is to put news where it earns attention, where readers can access it on every device and interact with it. We're meeting our clients' audiences where they are instead of asking them to come to us. Increasingly, that means hosting the content on social blogging sites like Medium.
More and more readers are finding important and interesting content through platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and now Medium rather than traditional publishers.
The pace of change in marketing and the marketplace continues to accelerate. Unicorn companies are challenging long-established brands, and categories are being re-imagined.
Instead of worrying about potential disruption, brands can be creative societal disruptors - because their consumers will be right there by their side as committed partners in a better life.
The trust of the mass population can no longer be taken for granted, and any continuation of the 'grand illusion' is dangerous for leaders in today's world.
CEOs who boldly lean into fulfilling the dual mandate of earning profits and providing societal benefits will find a receptive public.
In the wake of the Great Recession, most business leaders have tended to focus on their enterprise and short-term performance. The time for that narrow focus is over.
Modern, effective leadership means moving beyond the 'grand illusion' to engage the mass population and to align business with societal goals.
I completely disagree with Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute on the need for dignity in the marketplace instead of the social safety net, but he is a very persuasive character.
Walter Isaacson attracts the best and the brightest to Aspen. It is exhilarating to listen to the likes of David Rubenstein and constitutional scholar Jeffrey Rosen speak about George Washington and Newt Gingrich and the original intent of the Second Amendment.
I was 14 when the Democratic convention in my hometown of Chicago erupted into violence. It was a tough year.
I remember feeling proud as I cast my first vote in Chicago in the 1972 presidential election - President Richard Nixon versus Senator George McGovern. Finally, I could participate. There was so much at stake.
Even with flexible time off to vote, it's still difficult for our people to juggle work, polls, childcare, and other responsibilities.
We can't, nor should we try, to influence who our employees vote for, but facilitating their involvement in civic action is better for business, better for our people, and better for our government institutions.
Trump has moved campaigns into a post-advertising era with a total reversal of spend from paid to earned media.
The 'truthiness' of Trump's so-called facts, the questions he posed on President Obama's nationality or jobs destroyed by free trade, has the same effect as dueling scientists on issues such as obesity or climate change.
We have to improve our ability to deliver tangible results, namely sales, not simply awareness or change of attitude among opinion formers.
We must be able to appeal to the CCO and CMO with programs that have purpose at the core, that start movements and solicit views of the core community of brand supporters.
The historic quarrels between Japan and Korea pale in importance to the bigger question of extent of U.S. commitment to the defense of the region.
The best creative no longer has to originate in Chicago or London; it will be coming from Stockholm, Tokyo, and Seoul as well.
We have continued to advance our global ambition with acquisitions that fill in the global footprint, such as Dabo in Dubai on the marketing side, Smithfield in the U.K. for financial PR, Ergo in Germany for corporate reputation and public affairs, and Position in Colombia to add scale to our Latin America business.
There was a near-universal set of editorial endorsements of Clinton. Trump used this disparity to his advantage, to claim media bias and unify his base of supporters.
The dominant advertising advantage of Clinton, with spending of 10 to 1 over Trump, reinforced the perception that she was trying to buy, rather than earn, votes.
Institutions are better served by going direct to end users, establishing a channel for direct dialogue and feedback. It is a world of many to one, not one to many.
In our family business, the Edelman children must earn their way - there were and will be no promises without performance and leadership. That may lead to some skinned knees, but it is certainly the best way to learn life lessons.