Lead Balloon - Marketing, Public Relations and Strategic Communications Stories – Details, episodes & analysis

Three weeks after accepting a new role as an American Airlines spokeswoman in 1995, Jennifer R. Hudson was paged out of bed in the middle of the night. The worst had happened. Flight 965 had disappeared in the mountains of Colombia, and Jennifer needed to report to the scene of the crash to coordinate the company's public relations response. Unnerved and uncertain, she had to push aside her doubts and power through what would become one of the most harrowing experiences of her career. Jennifer would go on to serve as a Vice President of Communications for British Airways, a PR Manager at the Sabre Group, and eventually the head of her own independent agency, Think Beyond PR. But the experience of immersing herself in a tragedy that cost 159 lives sticks with her to this day, forging a set of PR instincts and resolve that have served her well. And in the wake of recent air disasters, including the American Eagle 5342 tragedy in Washington, her story offers rare insights into what’s happening behind the scenes right now. ----- You can learn more about the crash of Flight 965 in this episode of Mayday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the height of the Cola Wars in the mid-90's, Pepsi committed one of the most notorious PR and marketing fiascos of all-time. An eye-catching spot promised brand fans that, if they saved up 7 million Pepsi Points, they could win a Harrier fighter jet. However, no one at Pepsi or their ad agency ever expected anyone to try to claim that prize. And when Washington business school student John Leonard did, they faced a multi-year legal battle and a storm of negative publicity. Now, almost three decades later, another beverage company has spoofed that infamous campaign—with a twist. Canned water brand Liquid Death actually bought a jet for one lucky fan to win, and executed a wildly successful promotion to support the contest. So in this episode, we're talking to Liquid Death VP of Creative Andy Pearson about the logistics of making that happen. We discuss Liquid Death's unique approach to marketing, his creative influences, and why they would even want to try to recreate the publicity stunt that lost Pepsi the Cola Wars. And with Jeff Beer from Fast Company, we explore the background and takeaway lessons of the Pepsi Harrier Jet fiasco.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's be honest: political groups don't have a great success rate when it comes to their strategic communication tactics. Every election cycle, American voters are bombarded with mailers, emails and text messages that mostly just get trashed or deleted. And when a Political Action Committee like NextGen America is charged with reaching out to younger voters, they face an even more substantial task in motivating the perennially under-performing youth vote to make their voices heard. But this year, NextGen America made headlines nationwide when it leveraged a new, unconventional tactic in its get-out-the-vote efforts for a Wisconsin State Supreme Court race. Using a small team of staff volunteers, the group reached out to young people on the dating app Hinge, urging them to register and pledge their vote on an app that's typically reserved for romance and relationship seekers. And, with success in that race, the PAC is now looking to scale up its tactic for the nationwide presidential election next year. So in this episode, we talk to NextGen America's National Press Secretary Kristi Johnston. She not only pioneered the idea, but led from the front by reaching out to voters on Hinge herself, and she'll share what she learned, how her tactic is different from other forms of youth outreach, and why authenticity is key. Plus, we meet, Noah Turecek, a young man from Wisconsin who matched with Kristi on Hinge, to get his view. Visit podcampmedia.com/survey to give some feedback about the future of the Lead Balloon Podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 18, 2018, the entire State of Hawaii received an ear piercing alert on their cell phones. "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." Those with a keen memory will recall that the Aloha State was NOT, in fact, wiped off the map by a missile strike. It was a false alarm. But what it revealed about the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system should concern every strategic communicator. Because while the WEA system has the potential to be a powerful lifesaving tool, it is routinely misused by emergency managers and misunderstood by the public. With little to no federal oversight, the manner in which this system is used is left up to more than 1,600 local jurisdictions. As a result, users are being bombarded with too many notifications that are not germane to their immediate safety, and that is conditioning us to ignore potentially life-saving alerts in the future. So in this episode, we parse lessons from Hawaii's WEA SNAFU with Commander Bhavini Murthy, a medical epidemiologist and researcher with the U.S. Public Health Service, and Dr. John Anderton, the Associate Director for Communication at the Centers for Disease Control’s Office of Readiness and Response. We learn from an expert on WEA messaging what jurisdictions nationwide are doing incorrectly. Dr. Jeanette Sutton is an Associate Professor in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the State University of New York at Albany. And, Dusty works to instigate WEA reforms in his own backyard with Milwaukee County Supervisor Shawn Rolland. By the way, if you've ever wondered what to do in the event of a nuclear missile strike, here are some resources from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/index.htm Visit podcampmedia.com/survey to give some feedback about the future of the Lead Balloon Podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The robot revolution has arrived. And they're coming for your marketing or content creation job. The advent of generative artificial intelligence chatbots—most notably tools like Chat GPT and Midjourney—is poised to revolutionize creative industries. These tools use deep learning technology to generate new content based on prompts from human users. But will this be the end of creativity as we know it, or a new implement to help creative people be even more creative? In this episode, we hear from "Jess," a copywriter who was laid off from her job at a well-known national logistics company and "replaced by Chat GPT." And then, we talk to Renato Fernandez, the Chief Creative Officer at the LA-based, global creative agency TBWA / Chiat / Day. They’re a three-time honoree as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, have been recognized thrice as Adweek’s Global Agency of the Year, and are seen as a pioneering leader in the incorporation of generative A.I. into the creative workflow. Together, Jess and Renato will generate a picture of an industry facing an inflection point... And, indeed, a battle for its very soul. We mention an interesting study we saw this week about how human-generated SEO content performs better than A.I.-generated content. You can find that here: https://www.rebootonline.com/blog/ai-vs-humans-content-writing-seo-experiment/ Subscribe to the Podcamp Media e-newsletter for more updates on the world of strategic communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every professional communicator has had a day that seems like it came straight out of a TV sitcom. For Rob Davis and John R. Montgomery, working at the Chicago ad firm Leo Burnett in the early 2000’s, it was a regular occurrence. In fact, the stories from their time there were so singular, that when they shot a pilot and pitched it to Hollywood, it was picked up and run as a CBS sitcom starring Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar. From wacky hijinks to high-stakes drama, unbelievable coincidences to larger-than-life personalities, "The Crazy Ones" sourced its comedy from real-life agency anecdotes, amplified by the creative genius of its all-star cast and famed executive producer David E. Kelley. And Rob and John found themselves on a wild Hollywood ride that would alter the course of both their careers. In this episode, they tell us what it took to get the project off the ground, what it was like repackaging their professional lives as TV scripts, and how they pitched a new approach to brand integration on television that was years ahead of its time. Subscribe to the Podcamp Media e-newsletter for more updates on the world of strategic communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"How do you do, fellow marketers? We think it would be pretty 'on fleek' if you would stop trying to use slang terms to make yourself more relatable to young people." Certainly, brands swooping in and trying to leverage youth culture to drive sales is nothing new. But as bad as it was in the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s, the advent of social media marketing made it 1000 times worse. The internet never forgets, and whether it's the "Silence, Brand!" meme or the "How Do You Do, Fellow Kids" Reddit group, the web is littered with examples of companies whose attempts to ingratiate themselves with young people have earned outright scorn instead. So in this episode, we talk to Holden Jurisich, a 24-year-old Gen Z meme expert, and his dad Jay Jurisich, the founder and creative director of the Zinzin naming and branding agency in San Francisco, to explore case studies of this phenomenon in action. Plus, sociolinguist Dr. Valerie Fridland explains how this pattern has played out, again and again, over the centuries of English language history. Because, while you’ll find dozens of articles explaining how to incorporate youth slang into your social media marketing, or urging you to be ironic and self-aware when you speak to Gen Z in their own language, the best advice is and always has been: Don’t. Just don’t do it. Because the kids don't like it. Check out the blog post by Holden: https://www.zinzin.com/observations/2022/how-do-you-do-fellow-kids-gen-z-speak-in-naming-and-branding/ Subscribe to the Podcamp Media e-newsletter for more updates on the world of strategic communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Communicating during and about the Covid-19 pandemic is a topic we've discussed several times on this show, including in our most recent episode. And, as of today, May 11, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus Public Health Emergency is expiring. But just because Covid is "over" doesn’t mean we won’t still have to discuss it as strategic communicators. And so in this bonus episode, we bring back someone who has been a voice of reassurance and reason throughout this horrible, three-year ordeal. Bill Pierce was a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush Administration. Today he’s a crisis communications consultant at APCO Worldwide and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. We'll discuss the nuances you need to understand as a strategic communicator in the "new normal," best practices to keep in mind, and what it all means for the world of business and public policy more broadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the unstoppable force of online dating met the immovable object of global pandemic social distancing, there was no road map for what would come next.  Michael Kaye is the director of brand and communications for the online dating app OkCupid. And, in the early days of the Covid lockdown, he and his team faced decisions that weighed on no less than the continued existence of the company. After all, what is a stay-at-home order if not an existential threat to a company whose customers want to get matched up with new people to meet and date? Facing this and other previously unthinkable realities in 2020, Michael and his team made the bold decision to retool their messaging—and indeed their core operating strategies—to embrace social responsibility over conventional profit. It was a calculated risk that panned out in the long run, as we'll learn from Michael and a pair of OkCupid users—Lauren Stines and Jake Sandvik—who each have their own stories of love finding a way, even in the midst of global crisis.  Special thanks to London indie musician Garlen Lo for sharing his song, "Lover's Lover" for this episode! Visit www.garlenlo.com to learn more. Subscribe to the Podcamp Media e-newsletter for more updates on the world of strategic communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is now only a matter of time until someone attacks your reputation with a deepfake, according to the experts. So-called deepfake technology, which can synthesize audio and video of things that never happened, has arrived en masse. And, while these tools for generating potential disinformation were previously only available to trained experts and big institutions, recent advances in artificial intelligence technology mean that ANYONE can create fake videos... nearly instantly, with little to no training, for FREE. Accordingly, experts like Dr. Hany Farid from UC-Berkeley say deepfakes are suddenly being used the wage disinformation campaigns every day. So in this episode, Dr. Farid cites some examples of how deepfake technology is being used to attack important people and institutions, and lays out strategies that strategic communicators can use to try and protect their clients and employers. We talk to Francesca Panetta and Halsey Burgund, the Emmy-winning film directors who used a viral deepfake of President Richard Nixon to try to warn society about the growing threat, and learn some shocking facts about the technology. And we meet Noelle Martin, a lawyer, researcher and activist from Australia whose reputation has been targeted with deepfake pornography. Noelle tells us about her efforts to create legal recourse for the non-consenting victims of deepfake porn and her battle to reclaim her reputation. Because deepfake technology no longer poses a reputation threat "sometime in the next few years." It poses a threat RIGHT NOW. Subscribe to the Podcamp Media e-newsletter for more updates on the world of strategic communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices