A clear, persuasive guide to creating and implementing a compelling brand communications program.
A manual explores how public relations can unify brand communications effectively across multiple channels to build trust.
According to Baradell, the public relations industry, which has traditionally focused on getting coverage in the mainstream news media, has “struggled” because of dramatic changes in the media landscape. What used to work doesn’t work now. Arguing that the purpose of media coverage is to build trust with customers, prospects, other stakeholders, and the public and that media coverage alone is no longer enough, he proposes a new definition of PR: “the art of securing trust at scale.” The book is divided into two sections: “Understanding Trust Signals” and “Building Your Brand With Trust.” The author describes trust signals as “points of evidence” that inspire confidence in a brand, such as reviews, endorsements, seals of approval, and a positive user experience, with examples of how people utilize them in everyday life. The first three chapters provide an overview of key concepts, and the next several examine each idea in more detail. Each chapter opens with three “Top Takeaways” that summarize the main ideas. Baradell’s expertise is evident in his clear and knowledgeable explanations of all aspects of brand communications, including website user experience; getting and responding to reviews; inbound marketing; working with influencers; search engine optimization; getting and leveraging media coverage; social media; market research; reputation management; and thought leadership. The author supports each topic with plenty of facts, statistics, and graphics; provides real-life examples; and points out potential pitfalls. Unfortunately, the two-part structure results in some repetition. In addition, a few terms are introduced before they are defined, and many of the examples are taken from the author’s own PR agency. But the writing is straightforward, engaging, and convincing, with references that range from Fred Flintstone to T.S. Eliot. The book delivers numerous practical tips and a crash course in marketing and communications for any business owner and offers an abundance of new ideas and inspiration for PR and marketing professionals.
A clear, persuasive guide to creating and implementing a compelling brand communications program.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 9781544527826
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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