Five Democratic presidential candidates stood together on a debate stage for the first time Tuesday in a fight to win the night. In past televised debates, the declared winner was typically the most polished and prepared candidate who left audiences with a clearly defined key message. That winning message was likely delivered with either powerful conviction or with a witty retort that had the staying power to appear in the following morning’s print editions. However,…
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As Pope Francis continues his historic first visit to the U.S., let’s take a look at why this pope, in particular, has been able to make such a connection with the public. What does this holy, public figure possess that gives him the power to overtake a news cycle stuffed with wall-to-wall political coverage? In a nutshell, Pope Francis – and clearly his savvy media team back at the Vatican – understands the powerful connection…
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Digital Death Spiral Who: Martin Shkreli, the 32-year-old CEO of Turing Pharmaceutical. Claim to Fame: Primarily known for jacking up the price of a life-saving drug typically used to treat toxoplasmosis, the parasitic infection that can sometimes be fatal for patients with HIV or cancer. A pill that was once $13.50 a pop is now $750 thanks to Shkreli’s greedy power grab. How did he get here? Shkreli managed to stay in the business section…
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Whether you are sitting down for a three-hour interview or providing a ten-second sound bite, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from last week’s GOP debate broadcast on CNN for current and aspiring spokespersons. 1) Appearance Has there ever been a presidential race in recent history that brought more attention to a hairstyle – or a face for that matter? Whether it was Donald Trump deflecting negative comments about his hair or Carly Fiorina’s face,…
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You don’t want Justin Timberlake & Jimmy Fallon (or even worse the 316 million active twitter users) turning your hashtag into a bashtag. Below are some cautionary tales to consider before you launch your #nextbigthing. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. McDonald’s went from twitter darling to twitter fail overnight. Their #meetthefarmers campaign was very well received on all social media channels – especially youtube.com where the 5 minute documentary shorts featuring farmers…
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Sometimes the world of social media can feel like the cool kids club – with their inside jokes, mysterious hashtags, and indecipherable instant messaging acronyms. The good news is you don’t need to have a deep understanding of all latest and greatest (even the net-savviest Digital Natives don’t know EVERYTHING) to enter the conversation; ergo, the #hashtag. Knowing just a few hashtags is like showing up to a party you weren’t invited to with drinks…
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