Flack's Revenge

DECEMBER 12, 2022

(This article originally appeared in O’Dywer’s PR.). It has only been a year since Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s rebranding to Meta, and his vision for how the company will lead us into an immersive, virtual world. Yet there have been much excitement and press coverage in this time, for something that research firm Gartner Group claims is 10 years from mainstream adoption.

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Flack's Revenge

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

It has been way too long since I have posted a PR Golden Turkey Awards. But circumnstances scream for a reboot, in this special “Tech Billionaires Gone Wild” episode. No two people are more deserving of this award than the following characters. Sam “It’s the PR Talking” Bankman Fried. NY Times reporter David Wallace-Wells wrote : How do you make a multibillion-dollar company disappear in a week?

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Flack's Revenge

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

Episode 13 of PR, Done & Doner. We invited a round table of experts on the latest PR, Done & Doner podcast to explore the state of buzz, funding and innovation in insurtech: David Gritz , co-founder of InsurTech NY , the largest such community in North America that connects carriers, investors and startups. Mark Hollmer , a veteran journalist who has covered the property/casualty insurance industry for more than a decade.

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Flack's Revenge

OCTOBER 31, 2022

Tapping emotions is a time-honored tactic in PR and marketing. This can involve fear-mongering. Scaring folks can be a great attention-getter, particularly if you are promoting solutions in areas like cyebrsecurity, public safety and infrastructure protection. The reasons relate to psychology and business. We are wired to respond to emotions vs. logic , blame our reptilian brains.

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Flack's Revenge

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

At Fusion PR , we are big believers in the power of industry analyst relations. Most of our programs include an A/R track. In the world of enterprise tech, they are extremely important influencers. But how can you reap the potential benefits of engaging and working with analysts? If the world of PR is poorly understood, getting the most from A/R programs can be even more cryptic.

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Flack's Revenge

AUGUST 4, 2022

I had the great pleasure of meeting Brette Goldstein when my old friend Jeffrey Koeppel introduced us a while back. He’s a Maryland-based corporate, securities, and M&A lawyer who knows Brette from his work in the film business. Brette is a dynamo, someone who uniquely focuses on helping actors and corporate executives deliver their best performances.

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Flack's Revenge

OCTOBER 21, 2021

I realized that I have been making a lot of noise on the Fusion PR website about PR, Done & Doner – but have said nothing here. Three great episodes in, I guess it is about time. The podcast was conceived to equip tech PR and marketing with the info needed to get the best possible results, in an informative and easily digestible format. (As you can probably guess by the title and art, it’s intended to be a fun, provocative, irreverent affair.

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Flack's Revenge

OCTOBER 27, 2021

How to Surf the Tech Trends without Going Under. Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay. Everyone is familiar with tastemakers in fashion, music, and popular culture. They indicate what is hot and what is not, with words and actions. Those who want to stay ahead of trends pay close attention. But what about enterprise tech? The general idea is the same. There too, you have influencers, like industry analysts.

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Flack's Revenge

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

I am a big fan of Succession, an HBO Max drama about family media empire Waystar Royco, which is run by aging patriarch Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox with snarling intensity). There’s great writing, a superb cast, and always lots of palace initrigue over who will succeed Logan. I also like the show because of its strong focus on PR. There’s lots of talk about optics, crises, and influencing the media, both directly, by messing with the editorial independence of Waystar’s own

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Flack's Revenge

JANUARY 24, 2022

Every year Lake Superior State University publishes a list of words that should be banished because they are so overused. It’s based on thousands of submissions from around the world. As reported in CNN. The 2021 list includes an interesting mix of words, from Gen-Z speak (“Wait, what?”), to work and biz-oriented terms: “No worries,” “at the end of the day,” “you’re on mute,” and the dreaded “supply chain”: These are the phrases t

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Flack's Revenge

MARCH 8, 2022

I recently listened to a podcast that radically changed my thinking about forecasts. In this post I explain the relevance of predictions in technology and PR, and about armchair superforecasters who can do a radically better job than experts. The cool thing is, apparently the skill can be learned by just about anyone (are you listening, Gartner?). Predictions in PR, Technology and Society.

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Flack's Revenge

APRIL 13, 2022

I enjoyed speaking with PR blogger Frank Strong (of Sword & the Script fame ) about the state of PR tech, for the PR, Done & Doner podcast (here’s a video of the interview ). The PR job of has never been more challenging. Tech can help, but it is not always easy to know where to invest. Agencies need to decide how much to spend and how to earn ROI from their tech investments.

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Flack's Revenge

MAY 5, 2022

Hype has been getting a bad name recently. Trump was under legal scrutiny in NY for variously overhyping or underhyping his assets (depending on the situation). Burger King got sued for inflating their burgers in ads. And many in the Silicon Valley and tech startup worlds no doubt winced about the guilty verdicts in the Elizabeth Holmes trial a few months ago.

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Flack's Revenge

JUNE 2, 2022

If you work for a crypto or blockchain company and want to improve visibility and marketing results, check out our latest podcast. Fusion PR CEO Jordan Chanofsky interviewed CoinDesk Deputy Business Editor Danny Nelson about the state of the space and implications for media and PR. They discussed: Where is crypto today? Is the market maturing? Terra crash and implications for startups entering the space How to bring more people in the crypto world Pet PR peeves; how to pitch Danny Can early-stag

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Flack's Revenge

JUNE 13, 2022

People sometimes wonder how I started out in engineering and wound up in PR. Something that happened recently really made an impression and brought my career journey full circle, 35 years later. Read on to learn more, and I hope you enjoy the story! Geeking out with Audio. I was walking the NAB show aisles at the Javits Center in NYC a few weeks ago, taking in the exhibits and scouting new business when I decided to check out the neighboring AES (audio engineering society) show.

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Flack's Revenge

JUNE 29, 2022

I saw a piece of content that drew me in recently. It was a story on Medium by Solo Thought Leader author Diego Pineda called Content Marketing is Dying; Here’s why you need to Develop Thought Leadership Instead. My first reaction was, “give me a break! Another XXX is dead (or dying) story! More clickbait fodder.” So I clicked. While wondering: “OK you got me.

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Flack's Revenge

JANUARY 24, 2022

Every year Lake Superior State University publishes a list of words that should be banished because they are so overused. It’s based on thousands of submissions from around the world. . As reported in CNN. The 2021 list includes an interesting mix of words, from Gen-Z speak (“Wait, what?”), to work and biz-oriented terms: “No worries,” “at the end of the day,” “you’re on mute,” and the dreaded “supply chain”: These are the phrase

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Flack's Revenge

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

I am a big fan of Succession, an HBO Max drama about family media empire Waystar Royco, which is run by aging patriarch Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox with snarling intensity). There’s great writing, a superb cast, and always lots of palace initrigue over who will succeed Logan. I also like the show because of its strong focus on PR. There’s lots of talk about optics, crises, and influencing the media, both directly, by messing with the editorial independence of Waystar’s own

Pitching 156

Pitching Conference Enterprise Course 156

Flack's Revenge

OCTOBER 27, 2021

How to Surf the Tech Trends without Going Under. Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay. Everyone is familiar with tastemakers in fashion, music and popular culture. They indicate what is hot, and what is not, with words and actions. Those who want to stay ahead of trends pay close attention. But what about enterprise tech? The general idea is the same. There too, you have influencers, like industry analysts.

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Flack's Revenge

OCTOBER 21, 2021

I realized that I have been making a lot of noise on the Fusion PR website about PR, Done & Doner – but have said nothing here. Three great episodes in, I guess it is about time. The podcast was conceived to equip tech PR and marketing with the info needed to get the best possible results, in an informative and easily digestible format. (As you can probably guess by the title and art, it’s intended to be a fun, provocative, irreverent affair.

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Flack's Revenge

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Many wish to continue to write off public relations and kick it to the curb – by coldly saying that the profession and/or its trappings are dead. First it was gripes about the press release, and in the latest example, a report that tech PR is dead, which I just read in Inc. Yeah, I know, it makes for captivating clickbait. These kinds of “XXXX is Dead” hit jobs are perennial, evergreen stories that keep on cropping up, as sure as the calendar turns, not just about PR of course, but that i

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Flack's Revenge

AUGUST 3, 2021

We are proud to introduce PR: Done and Doner , a podcast that equips tech PR and marketing pros with the info needed to get the best possible results. It is not just about mastering the changing world of earned media, although that is key part (and not getting any easier, most agree). We take a more expansive view, and understand that modern PR goes well beyond scoring press hits.

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Flack's Revenge

JUNE 2, 2021

By now you have likely heard of the biggest news from the first days of the French Open this past weekend. It was actually about no news, or rather the refusal of one of the shining stars to engage in press activities surrounding the event. Instead of facing the media – and submitting to threats and fines – Naomi Osaka withdrew, citing depression, anxiety and fear of public speaking.

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Flack's Revenge

MAY 28, 2021

From Pixabay. I had blogged a while back about all those time wasters we sometimes run into; e.g. the deluge of pay-to-play offers you get right after releasing news over a wire. There’s another that has been bugging me and my teams: obscure analyst reports. Luckily, our friend Robin Schaffer, of her namesake analsyt relations firm SchafferAR , helped us better understand the situation and avoid spinning wheels.

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Flack's Revenge

APRIL 27, 2021

Working in PR seems the reverse of the old quote: “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” Groucho Marx. The club, or field of PR, can disdain those who want to join; particularly people so entrenched that they lack little “real world” experience. For example I started interviewing for PR gigs in my late thirties, after taking a circuitous route through various sales, marketing and IT consulting roles.

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Flack's Revenge

MARCH 9, 2021

Here is the third installment in my series about maximizing “secret sauce” in tech marketing. In the first post, I explored the meaning and history of the term, and shared examples. Then, in the next one, I outlined steps to turn your core IP into a PR asset , and included case studies. I thought I’d wrap the series with a few final thoughts, as well as one more case study.

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Flack's Revenge

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

In my last post I explained the history and significance of secret sauce , or IP, in tech marketing. I also laid out the challenges of getting PR mileage from your core tech. To summarize, “secret sauce” underpins a solution or component. This almost magical ingredient has given bragging rights to scores of companies over decades. . But promoting the underlying tech is not the same as hyping a finished product.

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Flack's Revenge

JANUARY 12, 2021

It was a while since I last checked in with Robin Schaffer , when I saw on LinkedIn that she’d just published a book: Analysts on Analyst Relations. We know Robin from our work on former client NICE Systems. She managed analyst relations there, and since then went on to other related gigs and eventually launched her own A/R practice, Schaffer AR.

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Flack's Revenge

DECEMBER 7, 2020

It can go by various names. IP (short for intellectual property). Or proprietary tech. Or keys to the kingdom. I like “secret sauce” Most who work in IT understand that this refers to the magical ingredient that sets a technology or solution apart. If “communications” or “PR” are in your job description, you may wonder what to do with “secret sauce.” How do you message it, build it into your storytelling and news campaigns, yes, how to spin the sauce or slathe

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Flack's Revenge

OCTOBER 29, 2020

An “ October surprise ” is news that magically “happens” before a November election, just in time to throw a wrench in the works. Pixabay. Politico says they can be “happenstance or deliberately orchestrated;” the article lists examples going back to 1840. More recently, the 2016 presidential election featured such surprises on both sides: the infamous Access Hollywood tape that showed Trump being Trump; and emails from Wikileaks that cast the Democratic party and its nominee in a negative light

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Flack's Revenge

OCTOBER 15, 2020

Pixabay. The EV blog Electrek broke the news last week that Tesla is dissolving its PR department. Editor-in-chief Fred Lambert’s story covered journalists’ growing frustrations with the comms team leading up to its shutdown. He wrote: Electrek can confirm that Tesla has dissolved its PR department — technically becoming the first automaker who doesn’t talk to the press… The move has been confirmed. at the highest level at Tesla with the source saying, ‘We no longer have

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Flack's Revenge

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

The fourth wall is a figurative one at the foot of a stage (the other three walls shape the room of the set). Actors breach this wall when they talk to the audience. Similarly, PR is being challenged to break through mass communications and take the message directly to individuals. . This has been happening for some time. E.g. many use social media as part of the PR arsenal, and those who do a good job of it engage one-on-one.

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Flack's Revenge

JULY 28, 2020

I love the band Talking Heads, and saw them for first time in college many years ago. Back then, I thought they had a cool name – but only found out that it refers to the disembodied heads of yakking newscasters when my friend and fellow concert-goer explained. Fast forward many years later, and I am afraid I am becoming a talking head on tech startup PR and branding.

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Flack's Revenge

JUNE 1, 2020

It’s hard to think of anything in our lifetimes that’s so taken over our lives and attentions. We’re all trying to adapt, with the best minds tackling the Covid health and economic crises, and focused on getting us back to work and the “new normal,” whatever that means. It’s also changed how we communicate. Every news cycle brings new ideas and words.

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Flack's Revenge

APRIL 16, 2020

PIxabay. Folks, I know I haven’t been writing here as much, Sorry for the interruption. These are unusual times. But the show must go on, right? People are stuck at home and clamoring for distraction and new episodes, er, posts. So pardon the DIY production, the dirty socks on the floor. Don’t mind the poor lighting and audio quality. Damn the torpedoes and coronavirus.

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Flack's Revenge

MARCH 30, 2020

It’s dark in here. Let me find the light switch. There you go. Hey, where is everybody? It sure is quiet. These are the thoughts you might have, if you work in PR in the Age of Coronavirus. People are bunkered down. No one knows for sure when the crisis will end. Media and social channels can’t focus on anything else. We are all adjusting to the new, shut-in normal.

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Flack's Revenge

FEBRUARY 25, 2020

It is once again de rigueur to slam PR agencies. I learned this from a prospect who clued me in to a podcast and Forbes article (the former by uber influencers who should know better; the latter was generally negative on agencies but had some great points). Before I go further, sure, I agree that PR does have its bad actors, just like any profession; and don’t have an issue with fair criticism.

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