Trending on media blogs, Twitter and Facebook feeds is a 15-minute documentary on World War Two that was released on U.S. Memorial Day – titled simply “The Fallen of World War II.” There is no celebrity voice-over, no interviews from the last surviving veterans, only the barest of archival footage. Mostly, it’s composed of…
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Posts Categorized: Communications Theory
What good is theory if you can’t apply it?
By Carina Ludgate, communications co-ordinator Is a practical skill better than the ability to formulate an argument based on theoretical knowledge, or vice versa? When it comes to the field of communications specifically, how valuable is theoretical knowledge if it can’t be used to help communicate our messages? Many communications students may have asked themselves…
A simple formula that helps separate Tactics from Strategy
By Derek Logan, communications advisor Strategy and tactics are the prince and the pauper of planning, just like the two Mark Twain characters that are often mistaken for each other. Strategy sits higher on the planning hierarchy than tactics, but certain surface characteristics – like broad-based actions, stakeholder groups and timelines – can exist in…
When ‘just the facts’ are not enough
By Derek Logan, communications advisor Misinformation is the persistent migraine of public relations professionals. To paraphrase an old proverb, a lie is already half-way around the world while truth is still getting out of bed. Misinformation, as defined by psychology experts, is any piece of information that is initially processed as valid but is subsequently…
Emotions are stronger than facts: Deal with it
by Doug Downs, managing partner I was reading an article the other day about what the author called “Radical transparency” in Stakeholder Engagement. The overall premise of the article was that with social media and Internet search engines today stakeholder engagement has become far more complex than perhaps just 10 or 20 years ago. I…
‘Get a clean shirt’: The challenge to define public relations
by Derek Logan, communications advisor Classic movie lovers might remember this scene from the 1956 Gregory Peck drama The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit. Peck plays a middle-aged Wall Street type looking for a change in his job. A fellow co-worker tells him there is an opening in the public relations department which will…
