“You have not observed, and yet you have seen.” – Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal in Bohemia Pattern recognition is a superpower of strategic communicators. In the midst of a crisis, we have the ability to connect the dots out of a cacophony of signals, personalities and data. We see a pattern. We...
I used to work for a remarkable woman named Sharon Carstairs. She has been in Canadian politics since she was a child and her dad was premier of Nova Scotia. She followed his footsteps rising all the way to a cabinet member in the Chretien government. To this day, she is one of the smartest people...
A while back, premium exercise bike brand Peloton learned a hard lesson in how quickly perception can overtake intent. They ran a holiday TV ad featuring a husband gifting his (very thin) wife a Peloton bike. The spot follows her documenting a year of workouts and ends with her thanking him for...
I’ll bet every one of us has said something like, “I kept telling them this was going to happen, but I guess it just fell on deaf ears.” Their ears were tuned to another stimulus. German biologist Jakob von Uexküll defined the unique sensory environment an animal experiences as its umwelt. It is a...
Hockey is having a moment. Between Olympic excitement and controversy (which we’re not touching), the success of the PWHL and the buzz around the television show Heated Rivalry, the sport is lighting up the scoreboard. (Remember, this is not a pun free zone!) So why did the NHL hand critics the...
Maria Stagliano had the backbone to say what I’ve been thinking when she wrote this column in O’Dwyer’s. I have found it fascinating to see how many different people in communications say they do crisis management. You don’t hear me say I do fashion PR or CSR. This is why I have a vast network...
Do you remember the Cracker Barrel outrage when they tried to evolve their brand? It was their first logo update in nearly 50 years. They rolled out a cleaner, text-only look and dropped the iconic “Old Timer.” There was a lot of customer outrage, right? That’s what it looked like at first. It...
As a new year begins, most of us are thinking about personal goals and ways to hit the ground running, whether it’s finally tackling that pile of unread books, decluttering the basement once and for all, or flossing daily to silence the dentist’s scolding. But businesses need resolutions too, and...
When leaders go off-script, even the most comforting brands can suddenly feel cold. That’s exactly what happened a few weeks ago to Campbell’s Soup after a senior executive referred to its products as being “for poor people,” and also made a racially insensitive comment about employees. The...
As a leader, you’re expected to have vision – not just for opportunities, but for risks too. But what happens when you see something concerning on the horizon, and you're not sure it will materialize? Do you hesitate? You don't want to be seen as that leader, the one who always sounds the alarm,...
When supply and demand don’t align, even the strongest brew can turn bitter fast. You may have seen the recent headlines about the disastrous release of Starbucks’ limited-edition Bearista cup (a $29.95 teddy-bear-shaped holiday tumbler for the uninitiated). The launch of the viral must-have...
As the year winds down (gulp, how?) and we gather to reflect on what we’re grateful for this coming Thanksgiving, it’s natural to count the obvious blessings: growth milestones, successful launches, strong partnerships. But in the world of business, there’s another kind of gratitude. One that is...
Is your organization prepared to respond to a crisis and protect its hard-earned reputation? Take our quiz and find out!