5 Takeaways from #BMA16

I had the pleasure of attending my 4th BMA National Conference this week at the Hilton Chicago. Every year the conference seems to grow and change, this year with the ANA partnership front and center. Regardless, I can always count on the BMA Conference for great networking, quality content and a wealth of insights and ideas to bring back to my job and my clients. Some of the most common themes from this year’s conference included how marketing can and should drive business results, ways to build compelling brands through storytelling, and making marketing more important within organizations.   There were plenty of great B2B insights to choose from, but I’ve narrowed it down to my top 5 takeaways over the 3-day event.   It’s not B2B or B2C its B2H= Business to Human. While this isn’t a new idea, it bears repeating. Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Office at GE, reminded us that business...

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Tell Your Story Talks Brand Purpose on Cranium Studio Blog

Tell Your Story Founder George Rafeedie shares his thoughts on how identifying and communicating a brand's purpose is essential for marketing success on the Cranium Studio blog, Brand Musings.   Read what George had to say and see examples of purpose-driven branding here: Brand Purpose, Key to Content Marketing Success...

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April 27 is National “Tell a Story Day”

[caption id="attachment_633" align="alignright" width="114"] George and Amanda at a trade show doing what they do best - telling the client story.[/caption] April 27 is National Tell a Story Day, which to us ranks above National Take Your Dog to Work Day and maybe even National Coffee Day in terms of magnitude. It’s a day to celebrate the art of storytelling and is designed to get people telling, sharing, and listening to stories. We develop and tell our great stories through fun and compelling marketing communications and what we call Social PR.   We celebrate “Tell a Story Day” every day. We know that storytelling is a powerful way to motivate, involve and connect with others. Everybody, and every business, has a great story, and by uncovering and telling those stories, we can connect with people, motivate and persuade people, and ultimately change behavior.   The story is what’s memorable. The story is what resonates with...

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Visiting Professional for the Week

    [caption id="attachment_1843" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Jerry Sloan & George Rafeedie[/caption]   This week I am the Jerry Sloan Visiting Professional of Public Relations at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. What an honor – and incredibly surreal. He was my advisor and professor when I attended OU in the early 1990s. I've loved keeping in touch with him since and am proud to serve in a teaching capacity this week in his name. Not only is Jerry Sloan a mentor to me professionally, but personally, since the day I met him, he has been a role model. He cares about his students, alum, his former colleagues and especially his family in a way that has been inspiring to me.   Also inspiring, even to this day, are memories of lectures that made vivid imprints on our brains that helped us visualize what we could achieve in this great world of public relations and marketing...

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