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Ann Handley

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Politics & Society

Honey Maid Takes On Haters, and Now I Want Graham Crackers

Love Ann

A month ago, the graham cracker brand Honey Maid launched a new program that aimed to redefine “wholesome” by telling the stories of interracial, single-parent and gay families. The idea was to align the 90-year-old Honey Maid with a modern yet steadfast narrative on what makes for wholesome. Families might’ve have changed, Honey Maid suggests. […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Business, Content, Media, Politics & Society, Social Media, Video

The Problem with Banning ‘Bossy’

Banning Bossy

Yesterday, Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, and the Girl Scouts of America announced their joint war on the word “bossy” in an impressive social media campaign, media blitz and content program. The idea is inspired by a line from Sandberg’s book, Lean In: “I want every little girl who’s told she’s bossy to be […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Annecdote, Business, Politics & Society, Women

When Facebook Launched: Marketing In 2004

Happy 2004!

Facebook celebrates its 10th birthday this week, which made me wonder: What did marketing in 2004 look like? I was there, of course. Maybe you were, too. But time has a funny way of recasting memories. (Which explains how my siblings and I sometimes have annoyingly different takes on our childhood.) In marketing and perhaps […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Business, Politics & Society, Pop Culture, Social Media Tagged With: Facebook

Joint Effort: Why Ben & Jerry’s Won Social Media Last Week

Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia

Last week, Colorado legalized recreational marijuana. And Ben & Jerry‘s brilliantly tweeted this on Thursday, January 2: BREAKING NEWS: We're hearing reports of stores selling out of Ben & Jerry's in Colorado. What's up with that? pic.twitter.com/zBs8nyxZWn — Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) January 2, 2014 The tweet has been retweeted 9,584 times and favorited 5,750 […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Annecdote, Business, Content, Media, Politics & Society, Pop Culture, Social Media

The Best Worst Words of 2013

Scrabble Tiles

The school that comes on my radar exactly once a year, Lake Superior State University, today released its 39th annual List of Words to be Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness. Or, as I’ve renamed it, the Best Worst Words of 2013. LSSU releases on New Year’s Eve a list […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Politics & Society, Pop Culture, Writing

Justine Sacco: When Bad Gets Ugly

pitchfork

So now the news of Justine Sacco’s moronic tweet heard round the world is well-documented: The top PR person for InterActive Corp. (but otherwise unknown) Sacco stupidly tweets an offensive update (now deleted): “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white! —Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) December 20, 2013” Her employer, IAC—a New […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Business, Media, Politics & Society, Pop Culture, Social Media

Tell True Stories Well: Hire an Artist

birdhouses

The best content isn’t storytelling. The best content is telling a true story well. It’s a subtle difference. But the creators of the best content of 2013 contemplated not just what story was worth telling, but how to tell it. And one way to do that is to hire an artist. I’m tempted to insert […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Art, Business, Content, Pop Culture, Video

The Best Political Ad Ever

I know that’s a strong statement, but I’d only amend “best political ad ever” with a “so far.” Because that’s how good this video is. It blurs the line between traditional political advertising and content marketing, because it tells an incredible story in a little over a minute. And in doing so, it breaks the […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Business, Content, Media, Politics & Society, Social Media, Technology, Video Tagged With: best political ad, Carl Sciortino, content marketing, politcal ads

Ann Handley is not impressed. (The back story.)

Impressed

Dani Hagen had the idea late last week to create a MarketingProfs version of the Olympic-inspired meme, “McKayla is not impressed.” Because I live under a rock, apparently, I had only a vague notion of what Dani was referring to. It turns out that she was referring to US gymnist McKayla Maroney’s sour expression after […]

Filed Under: Annecdote, Business, Media, Pop Culture, Social Media

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