Monthly Archives: March 2013

Rebranding vs. Reinventing

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Does Your Organization Need More than a New Paint Job?

Rusting Fire Hydrant - Red/Blue
The editorial director of the Harvard Business Review Group, Justin Fox, wrote an interesting commentary last week about the Republican Party’s attempt to rebrand itself in order to become more attractive to minority voters and other groups. Rebranding, Fox argued, wouldn’t go nearly far enough to address the party’s problems. “The GOP needs a new product, not a new brand,” he wrote.

No matter your politics or opinion of the GOP, Fox’s article is worth reading. His perspective on the party’s troubles has a lot of application to the challenges many associations face as well. Continue reading →

Happy Pi Day!

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Celebrating All-American Pie and the Election of the First Pope from the Americas

Tarta Pascualina

Argentinian Tarta Pascualina

Remember when I said a couple of weeks ago that my family had a Japanese exchange student coming to stay with us? Well, Sumika is here, and her visit happens to have coincided with some special occasions that have been a lot of fun. Her first Monday in Chicago was Casimir Pulaski Day, an Illinois state holiday celebrating a Polish-born Revolutionary War hero. You really can’t get much more Chicago than that. But maybe you can. Because the day before she leaves will be the day of Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, when the city dyes the Chicago River green – so we’re hoping to take her to see that.

But that’s all in the past and in the future. In the present, we have an international celebration, Pi Day, when we honor the mathematical concept Pi – which in my home (because everyone in it really is a geek at heart) is celebrated with the baking and eating of pie. And since pie seems to me a very American food, I’m thrilled to be celebrating Pi Day with Sumika as well. Continue reading →

6 Journalism Articles You Really Should Read

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My inner journalist has come out this week. I’ve been doing a deep dive in the waters where I first swam professionally – reading and reading and reading about the news business. The topics: new technology initiatives, marketing and business case studies, paid content, mobile news strategy, all kinds of good stuff. Continue reading →

Women of the World, Unite!

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Photo: Library of Congress (Creative Commons)

I can’t let International Women’s Day pass unmentioned.

I’ve been thinking today about women I have loved and respected, women who have helped me in my personal life and my career, women I have joined forces with to do good in the world, women who amaze me.

I also have been thinking about all the stories and books we read about how mean girls can be – and while I’m not saying that isn’t true, I have been contrasting that with how amazingly supportive and helpful women can be.

I hope everyone has taken a little time today to think about important women in their lives and in their worlds.To take you past the personal, and inspire you to think about the larger issues that face women around the world, I want to share this fabulous interactive infographic mapping women’s political rights around the world.

 

Waving Goodbye: an Email Marketing Failure

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Dear Technology Company:

Today I opted out of your email newsletter. I had been receiving it for several months but had not had time to read any issues. Despite that, I kept the subscription because I knew your company’s brand and considered you a respected name in the world of association and non-profit technology.

But today, I opened the newsletter. And I couldn’t read it.

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