In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson speak with Monique Zytnik, a business communicator and author of Internal Communications in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Monique delves into the transformative impact of AI on internal comms, highlighting the need for experiential, audience-centered engagement over a flood of generic conte…

It’s business as usual in their 250th episode, as Chip and Gini continue to share their unvarnished opinions. At the risk of this being their last episode, they have once again chosen to tell you what you’re doing wrong as an agency owner. The hosts share specific examples of agency owners breaking or ignoring rules that they don’t like — or that c…

Blogs have been with us for 30 years, which qualifies as “something old.” In this long-form episode of FIR for October, we’ll examine the state of the oldest social media category. We’ll also examine the state of generative Artificial Intelligence, which has been around, for all practical purposes, since November 2022, which makes it “something new…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss strategic planning for growing an agency in 2025. They stress the importance of planning during Q4 and consistently gathering ideas throughout the year, whether digitally or using methods like post-it notes. They highlight the common mistake of agencies relying solely on referrals or word-of-mouth without proa…

CEOs and other senior executives are increasingly expected to nurture a presence on social media—especially LinkedIn, which has seen a 35-percent increase in C-suite professionals in the U.S. over the last five years. These executives are also expected to be authentic in their online engagements, even sharing some details of their personal lives. P…

Change management is among the most critical of communication skills. As organizations face unprecedented challenges and opportunities, the ability to navigate and implement change effectively can mean the difference between an organization thriving or struggling to survive. The pace of change has been accelerating dramatically, driven by technolog…

#779: Dagmar Fleming/ Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Dagmar Fleming guides entrepreneurs in accelerating their growth and boosting their income while fulfilling their life purpose. Her proprietary Triple Quantum Reset process reveals transformative insights, aligning individuals with their true goals for comprehensive success. As …

#757: David Meltzer On Mitchell Levy Presents Leaders Living Their Values David Meltzer dedicates his career to empowering others through core values, transformational leadership, and global impact initiatives. His journey from financial success to personal transformation reflects his deep belief in gratitude, forgiveness, accountability, and faith…

In this episode, Chip discusses agency business development with regular guest and seasoned expert Lee McKnight Jr., of RSW/US. The conversation covers the challenges agencies have been facing in 2024, such as prolonged sales cycles and client budget constraints. They discuss survey findings indicating optimism among agencies. The dialogue also exp…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the critical aspects of onboarding new clients in the agency world. They emphasize the importance of setting clear expectations, proactive communication, and understanding client processes. The conversation includes tips for achieving quick wins without overburdening clients, integrating with client systems, a…

In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel dive into PRWeek's "The Evolution of Influence" report, exploring the dynamic shifts in how public relations professionals exert influence in today's fast-changing landscape. We break down the seven key themes revealed by the survey, including the growing challenges of decentralization, the increasing…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of having clear alcohol policies in agencies. Continue Reading → The post ALP 247: Balancing booze and your agency business appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Much of the content in this monthly long-form episode of FIR spotlights rising trends in marketing, including employee influencers, Gen Z's rising power as influencers, the role of influencers in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, and AI's growing presence in the marketing space. All of this is raising alarms about the need for marketers to be tr…

Debunkbot was designed to talk people out of their beliefs in conspiracy theories -- and it works. To discuss this remarkable chatbot, we turned to PDF2Audio, a tool that creates an audio podcast discussion (or summary or lecture) from any uploaded PDF. It's not Google's NotebookLM, which features a similar capability within a more robust note-keep…

Edelman, the global PR agency, has vetted the current crop of AI tools, winnowing out those not enterprise-ready, categorizing them, and identifying those that excel at various tasks. Given the dozens (if not more) of new AI tools that appear every day, this can be a big help to overwhelmed communicators who can't take the time to try out every app…

In this episode, Chip and Gini explore the challenges of ageism within the PR and marketing industries, with a focus on agencies. Continue Reading → The post ALP 246: Agencies and ageism appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The pressure’s on — deadlines, stakeholders, and the ever-present need to deliver. According to data, half of PR, marketing, and comms professionals reported experiencing severe stress, anxiety, or burnout multiple times each year. Two in five PR professionals feel pressure and/or anxiety from their job every day. And 60 percent of PR professionals…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss results from the SAGA Q3 Agency Owner Survey. Despite a difficult year, the survey reveals widespread optimism among small agency owners regarding future revenue and profit growth. Continue Reading → The post ALP 245: Q3 agency owner survey shows overall optimism, but dissatisfaction with state of business dev…

In this FIR Interview, consultant, writer, and science fiction enthusiast Ezri Carlebach offers a unique perspective on how speculative fiction can be a valuable tool in business leadership, innovation, and ethical decision-making in planning for the future. He discusses how sci-fi fosters imaginative thinking, helping organizations tackle complex …

In this episode, Chip and Gini dismantle the myth that agency management can rely on a one-size-fits-all approach. Continue Reading → The post ALP 244: Why one-size-fits-all advice doesn’t work for agencies appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

When OpenAI released Chat GPT 3.5 in November 2022, conversations about virtually any other technology were sucked into the vacuum of space. Venture capitalists and other investors shifted priorities overnight, sinking billions into Gen AI and often turning their backs on other endeavors. That and the colossal failure that is Meta's Horizon Worlds …

Many agency leaders view reports as a necessary evil, but when done right they can actually become an important contributor to profits. Continue Reading → The post ALP 243: Turning agency reporting into a profit center appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

"Share of model" refers to the frequency or prominence with which a particular brand, keyword, or phrase appears in an LLM's responses to user prompts relative to competing brands or related terms. It measures how often and favorably an LLM mentions or discusses a specific entity or concept in its outputs. Marketers and PR practitioners were accust…

The desire to stand out has declined significantly over the last 20 years, according to a new study. That has serious implications for society, business, and communicators. Meanwhile, shutting off comments on your social media channel could have worse repercussions than putting up with comments you don't want to see. Also in this episode, The fediv…

As we reported nearly a year ago, communication's influence is growing among organizational leadership. However, in many companies, executive acceptance of communication may be taking a worrisome turn as additional responsibilities are being tacked onto the communication role, including sustainability and DEI. Is this because some companies see a n…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the pros and cons of using LinkedIn for agency growth and professional engagement. Continue Reading → The post ALP 242: Using LinkedIn effectively to grow your agency appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The headline reads that Google’s Olympics ad went viral for all the wrong reasons and is fueling the growing concerns about using generative AI apps in people’s personal and work lives. Gartner’s Peer Insights offers Generative AI Apps Reviews and Ratings to guide your foray into foreign territory. And, Capgemini’s Harnessing the Value of Generativ…

Op-eds pay off. According to one analysis, New York Times opinion articles get 37 percent more readers than the newspaper's general news coverage. Wall Street Journal op-eds attract 571 percent more readers than its general news. (That's not a typo. Five hundred seventy-one percent.) However, more and more news outlets are shuttering their opinion …

Neville and Shel both spent time at a global Human Resources consulting firm in addition to their long tenures as independent consultants. At the core of all consulting is the labor-intensive work that takes time, and time is money. Every consultant has an hourly billable rate, and even when quoting project fees, those fees are based on the hours r…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the pivotal role of trust within agency teams. They explore common scenarios where agency owners struggle with trusting their employees, often due to micromanagement tendencies, ill-defined roles, or unrealistic expectations. Continue Reading → The post ALP 241: Do you trust your agency team members? appeared …

AI can greatly enhance media production and social media engagement, but it should be used to complement, not replace, human creativity and connection. And, as AI becomes more integrated into media and social platforms, it’s crucial to establish ethical guidelines and robust systems to prevent the spread of misinformation. In this FIR interview wit…

The End of the Generative Artificial-Intelligence Bubble The End of Investors' Generative AI Honeymoon Will Generative AI Really Pay Off? Generative AI Seed Funding Drops 76% As Investors Take A Wait-and-See Approach Is Generative AI Worth the Investment? These are all headlines from the last several weeks suggesting, as Gartner believes, that gene…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of asking "So what?" and how it can lead to more effective decision-making for agency owners. Continue Reading → The post ALP 240: Unlocking agency potential by asking “So What?” appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of email marketing for agencies. They emphasize that email newsletters should be a top priority for agencies to nurture leads, share content, and maintain direct communication with clients. Continue Reading → The post ALP 239: Does email marketing work for agencies? appeared first on FIR Podcast…

A faulty software update caused the biggest IT outage in history, affecting everything from commercial airline flights to hospitals. The crisis communication demands on CrowdStrike were enormous. How well did the company acquit itself? Neville and Shel look at the company's response and share what some crisis experts have said. Also in this episode…

The headline is a bit dramatic but it was hard to pass up the "Shadow" reference. In fact, Shadow AI refers to employees covertly using generative AI tools at work without IT, HR, and other departments knowing about it. A recent report found vthat 27.4% of the content employees fed into AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Gemini was sensiti…

If you’re a regular listener, you know that Chip and Gini have strong feelings about staying away from RFPs when possible. But sometimes they can’t be avoided. Continue Reading → The post ALP 238: What to do when your agency can’t avoid responding to an RFP appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

An international panel of IABC Fellows shared thoughts on how to structure and lead effective organizational teams in today’s global landscape. The panel explored various team structures that lead to positive outcomes aligned with business goals. The panel also shared insights on fostering a space where diverse voices are shared with respect and ac…

For years, Tractor Supply has touted its values and how firmly it has committed to them, as demonstrated by the fact that the Tennessee-based retailer recently set new targets, having already met the ones it established in 2018. But a vitriolic campaign by a right-wing podcaster led the company to summarily abandon those values, leading some employ…

Share of voice, share of search, share of conversation—brands are forever measuring their share in whatever space they want to dominate. Now that people are seeking answers from generative AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, brands will need to know whether they show up in the responses these models deliver. There is already a proposal to c…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss whether PR agencies should report to the head of communications or the head of marketing. Continue Reading → The post ALP 237: Who Should PR Agencies Report To? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Maven is a new social network that eschews likes and follows -- the features of other social networks that induce stress and anxiety in users who feel compelled to grow their numbers rather than have meaningful conversations. But if brands can't build a follower base or measure engagement on their posts, is there a use case for establishing a prese…

In this episode, Chip and Gini examine whether agencies have hit ‘peak strategy’ as suggested recently by Blair Enns. Continue Reading → The post ALP 236: Have agencies listened too well to the “be strategic” mantra? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Three IABC members comprise the 2024 class of IABC Fellows. In this special Circle of Fellows episode, you'll meet Andrea Greenhous, Juli Holloway, and Theomary Karamanis as they discuss their career paths and views on the day's pressing communication issues. Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #105: Meet the 2024 Class of IABC Fellows ap…

The UK Post Office scandal is a stark example of leadership and communication failures. When a faulty computer system was implemented, it erroneously flagged financial discrepancies, leading to the wrongful conviction of numerous subpostmasters for theft and false accounting. Instead of addressing the software's errors, the Post Office's crisis com…

In this episode, Chip talks with David C. Baker, who has been dubbed "the expert's expert." Continue Reading → The post CWC 101: Expert advice on putting your agency in a position to succeed (featuring David C. Baker) appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the widespread apprehension about AI in the agency world, urging listeners to embrace the technology rather than fear it. Continue Reading → The post ALP 235: AI should be your agency’s friend, not foe appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Organizations need to adopt policies and communication strategies based on the acknowledgment that remote/hybrid work is here to stay. The current state of play is rooted in an assumption that it's temporary, creating tensions between workers and leaders and leaving pre-pandemic company cultures in shambles. In a survey conducted jointly by the Int…

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the increased risk aversion and prolonged decision-making processes among clients and prospects in the agency industry, especially in light of economic uncertainties and the 2024 U.S. election. Continue Reading → The post ALP 234: Adapting your agency for risk-averse clients appeared first on FIR Podcast Netwo…

We are told, "AI won't take your job." Instead, "Someone who knows how to use AI will take your job." Tell that to the scores of copywriters who have already lost their jobs to generative AI. With ChatGPT and its competitors in the frontier LLM space being used to write more than anything else, agencies and organizations are figuring out how to cra…