FIR Podcast Network

The spectacular success of the Barbie movie has led Mattel to plan more than a dozen movies based on its brands, including Hot Wheels, Barney, Polly Pocket, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, and American Girl -- not to mention a full-blown theme park (with a Barbie Beach, Hot Wheels rides, and a massive He-Man and the Masters of the Universe laser tag arena. Mattel's competitors are also making plans for movie versions of its products. Movies based on toys are nothing new (we've seen multiple Transformers movies, GI Joe movies, and a He-Man flick). But Barbie raised the bar. Will the inevitable flood of toy-branded movies rise to that level or just be the schlock we've come to expect? Neville and Shel dissect the possibilities in this short midweek episode.
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The post FIR #350: Success Breeds Imitation appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this episode of Chats with Chip, Juliana Marulanda of ScaleTime explains why creating and documenting repeatable processes for your agency can make a big difference in outcomes for your business and your clients.
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The post CWC 92: Process matters for agencies (featuring Juliana Marulanda) appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

"Pity Marketing" is having a moment. Multiple reports have surfaced of people sharing tales of woe, mostly on the X (formerly Twitter) social network, leading many who see the posts to pull out their wallets. Could the same technique work for bigger brands? Also in the August long-form episode of "For Immediate Release":

In his Tech Report, Dan York reports on Twitch's plans to roll out blocking, new features on Threads, developments with Mastodon, a new fediverse report, and scientists scaling back their use of X (formerly Twitter).
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The post FIR #349: Marketing’s Pity Party appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The goal of communication in any organization is for the recipient to think, feel, or do something. Most often, the outcome we seek is a behavior: We want the recipient to do more of what they’re already doing, do something differently, or do something new. Conveying information alone will rarely inspire someone to action. That requires communicators to add creativity to the mix. In this Circle of Fellows episode, four IABC Fellows explore the application of creativity to business outcomes, including the various approaches one might take, the differences between influencing employees and other stakeholders, and convincing leadership that creativity is an appropriate business communication technique.
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The post Circle of Fellows #95: From Meh to Marvelous appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Prosecraft was a useful site for wanna-be fiction writers. It violated no copyright rules and did nothing that should have been upsetting to authors whose works were included in the site's library. For several years, nobody gave it a second thought. But as AI has raised worries among creatives, some authors jerked their knees and demanded their works be removed. The loss of Prosecraft is bad enough. The chilling effect could be worse. Neville and Shel discuss the potential consequences of AI panic in this short midweek episode.
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The post FIR #348: The Consequences of AI Panic appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney made headlines when they bought the Wrexham Association Football Club. Since then they have poured cash into the team and applied business savvy to build a global fan base for the obscure Welsh club. Among the tactics employed was a digital media strategy focused on entertaining storytelling centered on team members and coaches. Can that approach work for other sports teams or businesses that don't have the star power of a Ryan Reynolds to draw attention? Neville and Shel discuss the story in this short midweek episode.
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The post FIR #347: Digital Media, Star Power, and Wrexham appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this episode, Chip and Gini look at when you should be looking for specific kinds of hires and whether they should be specialists, generalists, or fractional support.
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The post ALP 201: Should your agency hire specialists, generalists, or fractional team members? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this episode, Chip and Gini talk about the unicorn hunting problem and what you can do about it as an agency owner.
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The post ALP 200: Are you trying to hire unicorns for your agency? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In 1995, MIT Media Lab Director Nicholas Negroponte predicted "The Daily Me," a digital newspaper that would feature articles that aligned with the interests of each individual reader, leaving out news a well-rounded person might need to know. Now, courtesy of AI, a company is planning to develop a daily 30-minute newscast with AI-generated anchors sharing coverage of stories based on each viewer's interests. The concept can be useful where audience segmentation is important but also raises some serious questions, which Neville and Shel ponder in this short midweek episode.
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The post FIR #346: The Daily Me, Video Version appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Longtime FIR listener (and one-time contributor) Bernie Goldbach asked Neville and Shel how they find quality conversations. That opened up a discussion about sources of information for staying current on communication and technology trends and how those habits have changed over the years.
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The post FIR #345: Sources of Information appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.