Blog

Effective strategies for running high-impact customer co-marketing programs. It’s been nearly five years since I first penned a blog reflecting on how so many companies struggle with running effective, scalable — and genuinely high-impact — customer reference programs. I felt it was important to revisit the topic and offer some sharper perspective and advice forRead more

According to the American Marketing Association, the majority of marketing goes unused by sales — 90 percent of it, in fact. This is a significant problem, especially since 87% of B2B buyers say that content has a big impact on their buying decisions.  Marketing, at its best, influences and enables the sales team and the restRead more

Writing with soul – can AI do it? As the art – or perhaps the act – of writing becomes increasingly automated, I often wonder what my first PR boss and noted grammarian, the late Fred Hoar, would think of generative AI’s language skills. If your writing wasn’t spot on, Fred would politely inform youRead more

The excitement – and fear – generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI)  makes it hard to know what to think about AI in communications. Much of the conversation has focused on the technology’s job-killing potential as major companies edge closer to replacing employees with AI. It’s hard not to sink  into a doomsday spiral – andRead more

Public relations and communications skills have never been more important for business and organizational success. However, the functions don’t get the respect they deserve because the industry hasn’t evolved beyond tactical ways of measuring impact. The two dominant methods for “valuing” PR have been time (how most agencies charge for their services) and results (how clients and agencies showRead more

The communications industry suffers from the portrayal of basic data observations as insights. At the same time, key insights can often be lost in the noise of data-rich slideware. I was reminded of the challenges in presenting data at the 2023 AMEC Global Summit last week in Miami. (AMEC is an industry association that advocates for PRRead more

The Roads Most Traveled Take Us to RSA 🚗 For Josh Swarz, myself, and the other seasoned professionals at Big Valley Marketing, trade shows provide an opportunity to further position our clients as thought leaders by sharing their stories with the media. With more than 2,000 shows under our collective belts, Big Valley Leadership, ClientRead more

With more than 25 years of experience in the technology industry, Linda Gray Martin is Senior Vice President of RSA Conference. In this role, Gray Martin’s ultimate goal is to ensure RSAC is the “must-go-to, can’t miss” cybersecurity conference and year-round learning platform for the industry, offering attendees an exceptional experience at its’ global eventsRead more

As the curtain goes up on the first in-person RSA Conference since 2020, this year marks something special.    It feels like a lifetime ago since the last show, and a lot has since happened in the world of security. There have been numerous high-profile breaches – from SolarWinds to Colonial Pipeline – that no doubtRead more

“Thought leadership” is one of the most over-used phrases in technology marketing. Everyone wants it. Most are trying to get it. Very few have it. If you’re in the first two camps, here are a few lessons from the third: Thought leadership is earned, not published. We hear from a lot of marketers that they areRead more