Gracie Communications

My friend and colleague, Tina Noel (@tinanoelPR), sent me a great link today: The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014. This annual list was first published in 1998. It “was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references, and quickly became a catalog of the rapidly changing worldview of each new generation.”  (My favorites are a tie between #58, #12 and #55.)

This be-careful-what-you-reference thing works both ways, you know. So for all you 18-year-olds out there – not to mention you 20-something professionals – here is my Middle-aged Mindset List from the Class of 1990. (more…)

In honor of the series finale of Lost on Sunday, I’m reposting my blog post with the 5 Lessons Learned from Lost about creating customer evangelists.  I’m adding one more lesson.

Know when it’s time to go.

Thanks Lost for six great years of interesting, discussion-provoking television. You ended on your terms and reminded all us fans why we started watching the show in the first place.

Everyone knows how to talk. In 140 characters, one-page press releases, or 25-page white papers. On countless blogs, talk shows, and around water coolers. To friends, family, the teller at the bank (but apparently not the doctor).

Talking isn’t a problem. Discussion is. Americans seem to have forgotten the fine art of thoughtful discussion and meaningful debate. And that’s not just in Washington D.C. It’s true here in the heartland too. (more…)

This Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Lent is a period of 40 days that some Christians say represents the time Jesus spent wandering the desert, enduring temptations and reflecting on his life’s purpose. In modern times, it has become a time for Catholics and others to give up their own temptations or, better yet, add good habits to fulfill their own personal goals and purpose.

Most of my friends, when polled, have decided to give up their bad habits – everything from too much meat and Diet Coke to chocolate and alcohol. Two of my friends are giving up Facebook.  More on that in a minute…

This got me to thinking. What if we communications professionals gave up our bad habits for as well? (more…)

With the exception of some screaming chickens and a lame fiddling beaver, it seemed like every commercial during the second half of the Super Bowl focused on white men in their underwear.  What demo does this attract, exactly? (more…)

This post is half about communications tactics; half an excuse to write about “Lost,” my all-time favorite TV show, which has its final season premiere tonight. Whether you are a loyal follower or you hate the hype, the creators of Lost – and the marketing team at ABC – have created one heck of show with an enviable following.  I wish I could see inside Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse’s brains (so I could know all the show secrets, for one). But since I can’t, I instead offer 5 Lessons from “Lost” in creating customer evangelists. (more…)

I have a bad case of writer’s block. Here’s how bad it is. Last night, instead of facing the blinking blank page on my laptop, I chose to clean the cat’s liter box. But then a re-run of the British TV show, “How to Look Good Naked,” saved my blog.

(more…)