MOVING ONTO MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Welcome back to Week 3 of our series that addresses how to think about the future. When I teach marketing I always say that you cannot set marketing goals without understanding your financial goals first. So if you haven't read Part 2 about Financial Planning, do that first. And if you're new here, be sure to read Part 1 about the entire series here.
This whole series has been about broadening the points of view that we consume to better understand how we can develop our own intuitions about what we should be doing next. So, I was super excited when this conversation about superforecasters came out last week. It's fun to hear another perspective about how to improve your odds of increasing your capacity to be a better decision-maker when faced with new scenarios. They also talk about the Kahneman book I mention in Part 1 so I encourage you to take the time to check it out. May you also become a superforecaster!
Today we'll be hearing from experienced professionals in marketing & communications. We're lucky to hear from a group of individuals who are sharing their own points of view to get you thinking about how to communicate and share your story in this ever-evolving era.
Let's dive in!
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Alex Daly of Daly
A BIT ABOUT ALEX & DALY: Alex Daly is the Founder of Daly, a modern comms and marketing consultancy; Ally Bruschi is Daly’s Partner and Managing Director. At Daly, we dig deep to find and share untold stories for people and companies who truly believe and invest in what they’re doing, across press outreach, media relations, brand messaging, copywriting, influencer marketing, and more. We’re fairly category agnostic at Daly, and work with clients across a range of industries (business, tech, health & wellness, fashion & beauty, design, lifestyle) and stages of life—from legacy brands who are looking to tell new, untold stories after years of excellence, to exciting new thought leaders and fast-growing startups that are making a substantial impact in their field.
ALEX'S ADVICE:
The past nearly 2 years since the pandemic took hold have been an exercise in all four of Daly’s core values–transparency, urgency, intimacy, and most of all, pivoting.
The PR and media industries are two sides of the same coin, and as the media industry has changed dramatically over the past 2 years, so necessarily has the way that PR professionals interact with their warm journalist contacts and cold outreach alike.
These days, journalists wear many hats, and often work across many beats, and even many publications—so timely news pegs that will grab their attention and give them a reason to cover your brand, generally, and now, specifically, is more important than ever.
In our experience, the best PR plan is a flexible one that both grounds itself in a firm, unique stance and perspective, while also being flexible enough to adapt to the shifting topicality and timely news that journalists need to get their stories published. Nimble brands finish first!
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Kim Robinson of 3pts
A BIT ABOUT KIM: Kim Robinson is a 15-year marketing expert/coach with a passion for helping bootstrap creative entrepreneurs solve their problems and achieve their goals. 3pts is a marketing resource for self-funded creative small businesses that empowers entrepreneurs with guidance, systems and community so that they can grow.
KIM'S ADVICE:
Businesses that successfully navigate the current (and likely future) business climate will prioritize:
- Across the board transparency so that they're able to meet and exceed customer expectations.
- Using their knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide unique value to customers outside of their core product offering.
- Clear and consistent communication with internal/external partners who support their marketing efforts.
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Frank McClung of McClung Advisory
A BIT ABOUT FRANK: I designed and developed websites for small companies for 20 years but pivoted to an advisory role at the beginning of the pandemic. I help thought leaders in service-based organizations create web strategies that align with their vision and outcomes. I offer an outside, unbiased, comprehensive evaluation of your organization’s website to pinpoint underlying issues and develop solution paths to get the outcomes you hoped your website designer/developer would have accomplished the first time.
FRANK'S ADVICE: Take a step way back. Ponder your company’s origin story. Think about your vision, mission, goals, brand, and outcomes. Now hop on your organization’s website and ask yourself if what you are experiencing online aligns. If so, keep moving forward. If you suspect something is misaligned, ask your team to evaluate it first, then reach outside your organization for perspective.
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Jenny Nguyen of Hello Human
A BIT ABOUT JENNY: Jenny is a design publicist and founder of Hello Human. She is passionate about creativity, design, and the people behind it. Hello Human is a global PR company for small-scale design studios. She gives independent creatives access to crucial PR services that have traditionally been out of reach. Their mission is to help small creative businesses thrive, by sharing their unique stories with the communities that care.
JENNY'S ADVICE: Oftentimes, the most appropriate response to disruption is a “wait and see” approach. A wait-and-see approach can also clear the way and give us the gift of time, which can be used productively (at least from a publicist’s POV!) by reconnecting with the people in our networks. Relationships are the essence of life, not just business, and with some extra time up your sleeve, make a simple list of people you have enjoyed spending time with or collaborating with, then reach out to say hello and strike up a conversation. Merely reconnecting with people is often the impetus for great things.
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Manpreet Kaur Kalra of Art of Citizenry
A BIT ABOUT MANPREET: Manpreet Kaur Kalra is a social impact + equity advisor, anti-racism educator, and podcaster working to decolonize storytelling. She navigates the intersection of impact communication and sustainable global development. She believes the only way we can make the world and our relationships within it more restorative is by deconstructing the systems we each navigate on a daily basis, which is why she specializes in impact-driven businesses actively working to create more inclusive work cultures. Using an intersectional systems approach, she works collaboratively with teams to promote equitable, anti-racist and innovative work environments by rethinking how businesses approach and communicate impact both internally and externally through brand storytelling and DEI solutions that are accessible, adaptable, and doable.
MANPREETS'S ADVICE: Marketing, business development, and equity should not be addressed in silo. Justice should be part of every conversation – from the foundation of a business to how it communicates. As businesses, it is our responsibility to take this time of disruption to reflect on the ways in which we can do our part in nurturing more impactful systems within the workplace and communities we are a part of. Approach your marketing and brand strategy with an intersectional approach, recognizing that progress is a process that requires an ongoing commitment to evaluating, dismantling, and rebuilding more equitable approaches to culture change.
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IN CONCLUSION
Be flexible & able to pivot. Be transparent and provide clear & consistent communications. Take a step way back, ponder your origin story. Focus on relationships and use this time to commit to evaluating, dismantling, and rebuilding more equitable approaches to culture change. Remember that ultimately you're in the business of relating. How will you incorporate these points of view to better understand the steps you will take to move forward in 2022? As we talked about in Part 1 -- what might your new marketing rituals be now that you have more context?
Next week, in Part 4, the final installment, we'll look at navigating change from a Human Resources & Leadership perspective. See you next week!
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BUSINESS GROWTH FOR CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THE 2022 BUSINESS GROWTH PROGRAM. Thank you to everyone who has helped spread the word, the program is now half-full. For more details about the course including a bit of history, the philosophy of the program, feedback on who should attend, Syllabus, Calendar, FAQs, and much more, check out the full Program Manual here. If you still have questions, don't hesitate to reach out!
When you're ready to register, email Holly (hhoward@askhollyhow.com) by responding to this email. Please indicate:
- Which cohort group you would like (Monday or Tuesday)
- If you have additional team members that would like to attend
- Payment option: Full Fee OR Payment Plan
We'll save your spot and we look forward to working with you in 2022!
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