FIR Interviews

Allan Schoenberg has spent much of his career as a communication leader in the financial services space, including a stint as Sr. VP and Global Head of Communications and Social Media for NASDAQ.  Allan, former co-host of the FIR Podcast Network’s “FIR B2B,” recently pivoted to become Chief Communication Officer at Vinson & Elkins, a New York-based law firm. In this FIR Interview, Allan discusses the move along with a culture audit he undertook at the firm. He also shares his views on the current state of Twitter (and its potential alternatives), Artificial Intelligence, and more.

About Our Conversation Partner

Allan Schoenberg is the Chief Communications Officer for Vinson & Elkins, an international law firm founded in 1917 with more than 700 attorneys handling transactions, investments, projects, and disputes across the globe. Schoenberg leads a team that manages the firm’s public relations efforts, including brand services, media relations, internal communications, rankings, digital, and social media. His team leverages a multi-channel approach to promote the firm’s brand and reputation through storytelling and thought leadership. Schoenberg has extensive experience in business-to-business communications, including leadership roles with Nasdaq, Bloomberg LP, CME Group, and Accenture. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Central Michigan University and his master’s degree in Communications Management from Syracuse University.

Connect with Allan on LinkedIn.

The post FIR Interview: Allan Schoenberg on His New Job, Twitter, AI, and More appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Jeremiah Owyang has a habit. Whenever a new digital technology emerges that seems to be poised to disrupt business and society, Jeremiah dives in, talking to everyone he can, attending conferences, meetings, and talks,  and undertaking a deep dive into every research resource available. In his eighth FIR interview, Jeremiah shares his perspectives on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has been around for some time but has only recently taken the world by storm with the release of ChatGPT.

About Our Conversation Partner:

Jeremiah Owyang is well recognized by both the tech industry and the media for his grounded approach to deriving insights through rigorous research. From corporate innovation to autonomous technology or modern well-being, he views every aspect of emerging technologies through the lens of growth, opportunity, and constantly shifting consumer behaviors and expectations. Forever at the forefront, he identifies trends and advises major companies to adapt their business models to better connect with customers. His clients include Adobe, Cisco, Wells Fargo, Nestle, Esurance, Johnson & Johnson, Visa, and Colgate, among others.

An acknowledged thought leader and widely read publisher, Owyang has appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and Fast Company. He also publishes numerous research reports, playbooks, and frameworks to help businesses navigate change, improve customer experiences and identify trends before they happen.

Owyang’s career took shape as an analyst with Forrester Research, advising on social strategy for the interactive marketer. He was a Founding Partner and Research Director at Altimeter Group, specializing in customer strategy and emerging technologies. He formed Catalyst Companies in 2013 to focus on the emerging collaborative economy and the maker movement.

Owyang is recognized as the definitive authority on corporate innovation programs, ready to translate the next wave of powerful technologies and transform the way you do business.

A popular speaker and presenter at conferences and events around the world, from global conferences, corporate kickoffs, or on a TED stage, Jeremiah is ready to translate the next wave of powerful technologies and transform the way you do business.

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, May 22.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. Neville’s Asides blog is also available.

Link from this report:

The post FIR Interview: Jeremiah Owyang on the Artificial Intelligence Marketplace appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

While journalists are sick of spray-and-pray pitches and press releases, they are equally heartened to see pitches that are tailored to their interests. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gained prominence since the November 2022 public release of ChatGPT, more public relations practitioners may be open to the idea of using AI to help identify the right journalists for their stories and craft pitches that will be more likely to appeal to them.

In this FIR Interview, Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz spoke with Aaron Kwittken, founder and CEO of PRophet, which is billed as “the only generative and predictive PR platform.” Once you have created an initial pitch, PRophet evaluates it, predicts media interest, and then helps draft personalized pitch copy to interested journalists.

About our conversation partner

Aaron Kwittken is founder and CEO of PRophet (prprophet.ai), the first-ever generative and predictive AI SaaS platform designed by and for the PR community. The platform uses AI to help modern PR professionals become more performative, productive, and predictive by generating, analyzing, and testing content that predicts earned media interest and sentiment. Aaron is also CEO of the Comms Tech Unit for the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, a suite of AI SaaS solutions for PR, social media, and content creators.

Aaron founded KWT Global in late 2005 (f/k/a Kwittken), a highly acclaimed global PR and brand strategy consultancy where he currently serves as Chairman. Stagwell acquired KWT Global in 2010.

A proud George Washington University alum, Aaron serves on GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs advisory board. He is the immediate past president of the Public Relations Society of New York, past president of the Americas for the International Communications Consultancy Organization, a former Board member of the PR Council, a former adjunct professor at New York University, and a former Forbes columnist. He currently writes a monthly column for The Drum and is the creator and host of the popular Brand on Purpose podcast that features companies and leaders that do well by doing good.

The post FIR Interview: PRophet Founder and CEO Aaron Kwittken appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

A recent post by a member of the Spin Sucks Community raised the topic of calculating the cost of winning new clients — and determining how to account for that expense properly.
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The post ALP 161: Understanding the cost of agency business development appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Zachariah Moreno.
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This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Marius Bill.
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The post #742: Marius Bill w/ Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

What changes in a company when women enter top-level positions? Gini Dietrich dives into this question on this week’s episode of Spin Sucks. 

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The post Spin Sucks 203: Women Change Everything appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Valerie Sheppard.
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The post #741: Valerie Sheppard w/ Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

At the end of the day, people want to have a purpose. Gini Dietrich explores how to make employees feel valued and ways to deliver positive feedback as well as constructive feedback, when necessary.

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The post Spin Sucks 202: Focusing on the Positive appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast, Chip and Gini pick up a question from the Spin Sucks Community to dive into this topic.
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The post ALP 153: Sharing your agency’s internal work product with clients appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.