Holtz Communications + Technology

A few years back, James Carville told a group of communicators during a conference keynote that Bill Clinton’s victory in the 1992 presidential campaign rested largely on staying on message. The Democratic party strategist noted that candidate Clinton always returned the focus of conversations to the fact that “it’s the economy, stupid.”

In 2000, Democratic candidate Al Gore had no such focus, and few voters could…

Since the whirlwind of activity that resulted in McNeil Laboratories pulling a Motrin ad campaign and issuing an apology, a chorus of naysaying has emerged that downplays the significance of the events. Some of these opinions make good points while others are just downright silly. Ultimately, though, what occurred between the brand and the mommy bloggers who launched the offensive…

Earlier this week, I was the presenter for a 90-minute webinar on social media marketing. We didn’t have time to get all the questions answered, so participants forwarded them along to the webinar host, who passed them along to me.

Rather than reply through the loney channel of email, I’ve chosen to answer these queries here—so you can add your own thoughts, experiences, and…

Tomorrow at 11:30 EST, I’m presenting a 90-minute online workshop. This is for a marketing-focused group called “What’s Working Now.” I’d never heard of them before they contacted me about putting on a session for their customers, but it was an opportunity to spread the social media gospel a bit further and reach some folks to whom I’ve never spoken before.

The session title is dicey: “How to…

Here’s an example of using a social channel for quick-and-dirty marketing in the nonprofit world:

Reaching out to prospective members has always been a challenge to IABC chapters. Even with the association’s record membership, which recently exceeded 16,000, finding people working in communications who can benefit from membership in a professional organization isn’t like, say, finding people who can use a better deodarant. Local…

Note: This post is about Microsoft’s marketing shortcomings, not whether a Mac is better than a PC. Please, please, please…no pro-Mac/anti-Windows screeds; they’re beside the point.

A discussion on a recent episode of “This Week in Tech” struck a chord with me; I’ve been wondering the same thing myself for some time. the TWiT guys didn’t couch it in these terms, but this sums it up:

Why is Microsoft…