Stories by Nicole Schuman

Eight brilliants students became co-champions of the National Spelling Bee in historic fashion on May 30, 2019. While many communicators will never have to spell the likes of these grammatical behemoths, mistakes can occur even with simple words. Spelling remains one of the top priorities of communications professionals, because spell check cannot always save a true blunder. Typos and misinterpretations still happen.

There is always more to the story of data collection than just a consumer’s well-being. For Amazon, and marketers everywhere, emotional-recognition voice software could help provide the most specific personal insights to date to promote product recommendations, targeted ads, and eventually, the creation of products that could impact and relate to mental and physical health.

The Players’ Tribune will celebrate its fifth birthday this fall, and even with its distinct focus on first-person content from athletes, the content structure and delivery has evolved with the times. In addition to written content, TPT has taken on video and podcasting, as well as event marketing—whatever medium it needs to take to deliver the best treatment for an athlete’s story.

These limited time releases can do a number of things for Target, or really any other brand who is looking to create a splash in the marketplace. But is it worth it? Is it worth riling up loyal customers for a few days of publicity?

How does an airline that hasn’t sold a ticket since 2001 appeal to the public and resurrect a brand? We asked Sara Joseph, SVP, lifestyle & hospitality lead at BerlinRosen, TWA Hotel’s PR firm of record, about re-rolling out a brand that sparks fond memories and has an opportunity to tell its story to a new generation.

Jaime Primak Sullivan, star of “Jersey Belle” and president of Bridge and Tunnel Entertainment, shared the backstory to her success of her online video series #cawfeetawk at Social Shake-Up 2019. She also offered insights on adapting to the ever-changing nature of digital communications, all while being a working mom, and how to answer the question: “How do you do it all?”

Seven years ago, Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin launched TheSkimm from their living room couch. Both were 25 years old, working in the news industry as producers, and found themselves in the midst of a crisis: How could they move forward in an industry that they loved, but in which they didn’t see a lot of innovation or routes upward?

Andrew Davis humorously pointed out we have a “FOMOOASP” problem: fear-of-missing-out-on-another-social-platform. “The marketing pie isn’t getting bigger, it’s just getting sliced more ways,” he said. He noted that brands’ budgets and time haven’t kept pace with audiences’ multi-channel content diet.

Search and location tools can provide help for consumers according to their saved data preferences. Your browser always seems to find the right ads for you for things you may want to buy, but don’t necessarily need at that moment, thanks to search data. Data can be useful to consumers, but can feel kind of icky, when users realize where it is going.

The Facebook F8 developer conference always causes a stir. Mark Zuckerberg emerged from his social media hive to dish on the latest changes to Facebook apps and products, delivering a sense of excitement and certainty for shareholders, media and users alike. Zucks’s overriding message? “The Future is Private.”