by David Tandet Manatt, Phelps is a law firm that provides personalized care for integrated legal services. After an old friend told me about a presentation she’d made to some attorneys there, I went to their website to find out more. The narrative I immediately became engaged in was about what it takes to succeed [...]

by David Tandet Philanthropy and public relations have a long history together. When 19th century tycoons were attacked as robber barons, several set up foundations to contribute to good causes — in part to fend off the verbal assaults. Sometimes the infusion of capital into new works was so great that foundations had to set [...]

by David Tandet Increasing  social media has the same effect on good writing that the size of a parking structure has on nice cars: not much. Some networkers babble on in disjointed streams of consciousness. Others? Wordsmiths to the max. But when it comes to the need for effective writing in all this, there’s no [...]

by David Tandet Nah. Ads and PR are still different. If Stephen King loves your new novel and writes an article saying so? PR. It’s an unpaid plug that’s sure to boost public perception of your baby. Then you buy space on the 10 hottest book discussion websites quoting King’s endorsement? That’s an ad. Bought [...]

by David Tandet Emphasizing benefits over features is a basic marketing principle that’s easy to forget. Invest three seconds and you’ll remember to apply it. Many of you are familiar with the marketing principle that it is better to emphasize benefits rather than features. Do you remember to use it? I treasure three seconds that [...]

by David Tandet In 2004, Adweek asked professionals “Which individuals — alive or dead — made you consider pursuing a career in advertising?” Could there be any doubt the number one response would be David Ogilvy? Ogilvy’s name also came back first when students were asked a similar question. Not bad for a guy who [...]

by David Tandet When you go to court, get sworn in and speak, they call it testifying. That’s for a reason: you’re not supposed to play fast and loose with the facts. And you know what? I suspect dishonest testimony happens less than we imagine. We think people are up there lying every which way, [...]

by David Tandet Samsung had to find a way to separate itself from the rest of the global electronics market. How are they doing it? By being Wow, Simple and Inclusive. The product has to be “Wow” enough to catch consumers’ imaginations. In the crowded electronics arena, that can be a tough one. But for [...]