Over the past two years serving clients, I’ve been reminded of how much my experience at the McKinsey Quarterly has shaped my approach for working with businesses on marketing communications efforts. During my time with the Quarterly, I had the benefit of collaborating on a daily basis with a number of very talented editors. These [...]

A lot of emphasis has been placed on investing in a company blog, and with good reason. A blog can improve the search engine optimization (SEO) of your website, provide information to prospective customers on products and services, and strengthening the dialogue with current clients. In the rush to mobilize the company’s collective intelligence, however, [...]

There’s something about the concept of the overnight sensation that really captures our imagination. Maybe it’s because we all want to believe that cream always rises to the top, and the really good stuff gets there without having to pay the same dues. Or it might be because we want to believe there’s a shortcut [...]

Two studies provide some insight into how B2B companies are approaching their marketing efforts. This report from MarketingProfs and Junta 22 found that 55 percent of respondents outsourced their content marketing. Research from Marketing Sherpa indicated that 45 percent of B2B companies have or are planning to outsource search engine optimization (SEO), 31 percent paid [...]

Recently, I ran across some survey results by Hinge on the use of online marketing by B2B companies. The survey included 500 CEOs from B2B companies and asked them a range of questions about which tactics had been particularly valuable. Not surprisingly, Hinge found that B2B companies were engaged in a range of channels to [...]

There’s tremendous pressure on B2B companies to embrace all social media. In fact, it’s almost de rigueur that every company should have a Facebook page and Twitter account. When you stop questioning whether you even need something, chances are pretty good that you’re devoting your scarce resources to channels that won’t give you the kind [...]

Over the past several years, I’ve spent a good amount of time working with thought leaders to hone their ideas into distinctive content aimed at a well-defined audience. Regardless of the communications channel—white papers, print brochures, blogs, website copy, direct mail, print brochures—the challenge was always the same: deliver insight and value or grab the [...]

Over the past 18 months, I’ve worked on projects for a wide variety of organizations. Most of the organizations have been B2B companies, from start-up ventures to established multinational corporations. All of them faced the same challenge: how to make sense of the evolving marketing and communications landscape and the rise of social media–what I [...]

I’m in the middle of a home-rehab project, and I had prepared myself for the worst. Everyone I talked with told me horror stories about how their project took twice as long, cost twice as much, and was a battle the whole way. When a project is as complex as a home rehab, there’s no [...]

The following anecdote is the type of example that makes executives and marketers salivate. Zack Wahls, the 19-year-old son of a lesbian couple, delivers a stirring speech in front of the Iowa legislature in opposition to a proposed vote to ban gay marriage. Huffington Post picks up the story, and within two days half a [...]