Can tech stave off a surge of synthetic spokespeople? That is one question we discussed when I had Nick Toso on the podcast. He's the founder and CEO of Rolli, an AI-powered platform that provides state-of-the-art tools and resources for newsgathering.
Nick began his career in newsrooms (started at Voice of America, eventually becoming a bureau chief at CNN) and saw the need for a better way to find expert sources, leading him to launch Rolli six years ago.
The subject should be of greatinterest to journalists, and PR pros who want to increase success with Tier 1 and 2 media, especially broadcast. We had a wide-ranging conversation, covering these points and others:
Thanks, Nick, for coming on the podcast and sharing your insight.
Check it out at https://rolli.ai/
You can find Nick on LInkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicktoso/
The podcast is PR, Done & Doner, but it was the Nic and Vic show when we welcomed Nic Silver and Vikram Ekambaram to discuss the emerging world of AI agents and GenAI in PR and marketing.
Both have built businesses and expertise applying the technology to areas like content, social media posting, demand generation, lead qualification, GTM and other use cases.
It was a wide ranging conversation that should be of interest to PR & marketing teams who want to get a better grasp on AI and how it can help meet their goals.
We covered these topics and others:
Thanks, Nic and Vik for joing the podcast and sharing your expertise. Here is their info if you'd like to reach out to the guests:
Nic Silver
https://digitalalchemy.social/ (newsletter)
https://www.nicsilver.com/ (website)
Vikram Ekambaram
Contact info - vikram@vyceralsolutions.com
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vekambar
In this episode we welcome back Co-Communications founder and CEO Stacey Ross Cohen. Stacey is an accomplished PR pro, an educator and also an author; we discussed her books Brand Up and Brand Up 2.0 before launching into the topic at hand: how to best adapt to the many changes rocking the PR world.
It was a lively chat. We compared notes on what's happening, implications for the field, and offered advice for agency and internal comms teams. There are a number of challenges - but each presents new opportunities, too:
Thanks for tuning in! And thank you, Stacey, for sharing your insights.
It was great having Kourtney Jason on the podcast. She was an entertainment journalist before launching and growing book publicity and digital marketing agency Pacific and Court.
Kourtney offered advice on how to improve media relations and results.
We discussed top tips, such as:
Thank you, Kourtney, for sharing your insight with our audience, and thanks , listeners, for tuning in. You can reach Kourtney at:
kourtney@pacificandcourt.com
Some may take a dim view of hype and publicity stunts. But both can be used in good ways to break out of the boxes of email pitches and press releases.
Joining host Bob Geller is Michael F. Schein, author of The Hype Handbook, and Joseph Dans, host of the Creativity and Tech in Business and Life radio show, on WTBQ AM and FM in the greater NY area.
We discussed the use of these things and big ideas to advance PR goals. It was a wide ranging conversation covering these points and others:
Thanks, Michael and Joe, for joining the podcast and sharing your insight. You can find them at these Web addresses:
https://michaelfschein.com/
https://wtbq.com/wednesday/
In this episode, digital marketing consultant Neal Schaffer joined the podcast to discuss setting the social media agenda for 2025.
We talked about his new book, Digital Threads , and the importance of taking a digital-first approach in marketing. The conversation covered these points and others:
Neal, I have truly enjoyed our collaboration over the years. Thanks for joining the podcast and sharing your insights.
Everyone, please check out his sitehttps://nealschaffer.com/to learn about Neal's services and books.
We invited Ben Guttmann, author of Simply Put, on the podcast. It's a book about how to intentionally design simple, clear and effective messages.
Ironically, getting simple is not necessarily easy. His book is a great guide, with practical, actionable tips, anectodes, and research behind the ideas.
In 30 minutes, Ben took us on a tour of the challenges, benefits and cornerstones of designing messages that can rise above the noise and hit home. We covered these topics and others:
You can connect with Ben and download the first chapter of Simply Put for free at BenGuttmann.com. Also check out the Resources page for a tool that can help you write more simply.
AI has been invading every area of our lives since the launch of ChatGPT about a year-and-a-half ago. Especialy with how we find info and get answers online. What does this mean for marketers, especially those involved with content and SEO?
To find out, we invited our friend and SEO guru Mark Traphagen back onto the podcast.
It was a great conversation. In 20 minutes, Mark shed light on these areas:
Thanks, Mark for joining the podcast and sharing your insight!
You can find Mark and connect with him on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marktraphagen/
Also, he posts regularly on the seoClarity blog:
https://www.seoclarity.net/seo-content-learning-center
Shahar Silbershatz, CEO of reputation management and analytics firm Calber joined the podcast in a fascinating conversation about the impact of executive brands on company reputation and business. That was the just the main course; the 30 minutes were crammed with useful and actionable info across a number of topics that should be of great interest to comms pros. We discussed:
Shahar shared interesting case studies, especially around a PR campaign regarding Elon Musk and Tesla's business performance that got covered in Reuters, CNN and others.
He also dished on survey data about the reputations of tech CEOs, answering:
We think you will enjoy and get a lot out of this podcast, so check it out. And thanks, Shahar, for joining, and sharing your insight.
To get in touch with Shahar, you can connect with him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/silbershatz/
Caliber Website https://www.groupcaliber.com/
In Tech we Trust? post https://www.groupcaliber.com/in-tech-we-trust/
CNN story: What's wrong with Tesla? https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/07/business/tesla-ev-sales-slowdown-stock/index.html
Podcasts have taken off, and many are seeking to leverage the medium for brand building and thought leadership.
Most PR teams have likely by now gotten involved with pitching podcasts and getting spokespeople on the shows. But what about launching a CEO podcast?
In this episode, PR, Done and Doner host Bob Geller spoke with Saul Marquez, the CEO and Founder of Outcomes Rocket, a globally recognized digital marketing agency and podcast of the name. Saul also hosts the show, which features interviews with the most inspiring leaders in healthcare.
We had a great chat in which Saul demysitified the process of launching a CEO/executive podcast, and shared interesting data and insights about the benefits and potential ROI. Here are some of the questions and points we discussed:
During the show, Saul shared some interesting third party research findings, e.g. 55% of business owners and founders listen to podcasts daily. You can download the report here:
https://lowerstreet.co/blog/reach-ceos-and-other-key-decision-makers-with-podcasts
We hope you enjoy the episode. Feel free to contact Saul at saul@outcomesrocket.com
Thanks, Saul for participating and sharing your insights.
For this end-of-year epsisode, we invited a roundtable of comms experts to critique high profile videos of interviews that went off the rails in 2023.
We discussed what went wrong, what went right, and offered tips (and yes, maybe a little snark), through the lens of long time PR pros. Participating were:
It was a lot of fun (not that we take great pleasure in painful interviews; spend a lot of time helping clients avoid or navigate such situations).
There were many cringeworthy moments, and unforgettable quotes, from interviews of Elon Musk, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, several Ivy League universtiy presidents, and Oracle CEO Saffra Katz.
So check it out, we'd love to hear any feedback and hope you enjoy. And thanks, panel, for offering your insights.
This is a special episode covering the situation in Israel, recorded one month after the terrible attack.
It is a time of tragedy and strong emotions; and it is not always clear how to best respond - how should companies communicate? Should they get politcial and react to anti-Israel sentiment?
We invited guests who work on the ground in the Israeli tech community, a Fusion PR partner and a client:
It was an intense, wide ranging and sometimes emotional discussion that sought answers to these questions:
Also, Shai Alani spoke about an effort organized by Israeli marketing executives to bring stories to the media and counter anti-Israel narratives. If you want to find out more, and help, please contact Shai on LinkedIn.
Thanks, Shai and Yotam! Stay safe and strong.
This episode features a chat with Eric Yaverbaum, CEO of Ericho Communications and author of Public Relations for Dummies and Leadership Secrets of the World's Most Successful CEOs.
He uses the latest influencer scandals (e.g., with Twitch star Kai Cenat and YouTuber Mr. Beast) as a lens to view the state and future of crisis management. Eric speaks at length about crisis strategy with newer social platforms such as TikTok and Twitch, and impications for crisis comms in the next six months to ten years and beyond.
It was a fun and interesting conversation. Eric shared examples, citing some famous names he has worked with (celebrities, influencers and brands). He shed light on these topics and others:
Thanks, Eric, for joining and sharing your insight!
Host Bob Geller spoke with Stacey Ross Cohen recently about her new book, Brand Up (co-authored by Jason Shaffer and Alan Katzman), and the personal and company branding connection.
Stacey is an accomplished PR pro and entrepreneur who earned her stripes on Madison Avenue and at major TV networks before launching and growing her own agency, Co-Communications. She is a frequent speaker at TedX and industry conferences.
We discussed the challenges and opportunities in personal branding, from the junior employee to the C-suite, covering these topics and others:
Thanks for tuning in! And thank you, Stacey, for sharing your insights.
In this episode, PR D&D host Bob Geller interviews Gregory Hartley, a renowned body language expert and a panelist on the popular Behavior Panel YouTube channel. Gregory shares insights about human behavior gained from the battlefield and boardroom. He got his start as an army interrogator and instructor and brought the expertise to the business world, where he has been advising execs about the art of mastering and reading body language.
It was a wide ranging discussion which covered these topics:
We had a great conversation. Since body language is inherently visual, you may want to watch the video on video-enabled podcasts or our YouTube channel. Thanks for tuning in! And thank you, Gregory, for sharing your insights.
Here is The Behavior Panel website and a link to Gregory Hartley's books - he's written ten on the topic.
For more information or to suggest guests or topics, please email bob.geller@fusionpr.com
Last time the podcast covered ChatGPT and its impact on PR, media and other fields. In this episode, we invited a panel of experts to discuss the adoption of LLM, generative, and other forms of AI in PR. Two vendors and a PR tech blogger spoke at length about challenges, opportunities and use cases. Host Bob Geller moderated the session which, included
We covered these points and others:
Thanks for tuning in! And thank you, panel, for sharing your insights with PR, Done & Doner.
For more information or to suggest guests or topics, please email bob.geller@fusionpr.com
Is ChatGPT a threat or opportunity for creative and knowledge-driven fields like PR and journalism?
We invited two PR pros and an AI wonk / entrepreneur to help us understand what is happening and where things are going. Host Bob Geller moderated the discussion with these panelists:
It was a lively and wide ranging conversation. The participants covered these points and others:
Please contact bob.geller@fusionpr.com to offer feedback, and suggest topics and podcast guests. Thanks for tuning in!
PR, Done & Doner kicks off a new season with a discussion about achieving and proving great PR results.
Renée Warren of We Wild Women, an agency that helps female entrepreneurs turn vision into impact, shares her experiences over many campaigns involving startups and tech companies. Host Bob Geller spoke with Renée about these topics:
Renée is a dynamo, a great speaker, author, entrepreneur and a fellow podcaster. You can read more about PR attribution in her article on the PRowly blog
https://prowly.com/magazine/pr-attribution/
About Renée Warren:
Renée Warren is an award-winning entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, author, and founder of We Wild Women, a platform that helps women-led businesses amplify their visibility. She’s also the host of the celebrated podcast, Into the Wild, a program that features curated interviews with women entrepreneurs and provides actionable advice to women who are launching or growing their own dream businesses.
Renée firmly believes that the best advice comes from someone who has successfully done it before. Her approach to PR comes from over 23 years of experience as an entrepreneur, running marketing and PR agencies, and being an unapologetic risk-taker.
When she's not crafting the ultimate pitch for her clients or podcasting, you can find Renée spending time with her family. In addition, she loves CrossFit, travel, and refining her drumming skills.
This special episode of PR, Done & Doner features highlights from interviews over the past year.
It wasn't easy picking the best moments, because there were so many truly great guests covering important topics. Here, we share insights that the hosts found to be interesting, informative and actionable, in snippets of 1-3 minutes each. We have combined experience of many decades of PR work - yet learned new and surprising things through these interviews.
So check it out. The podcast includes three groups of clips, about creating influence, executive leadership, and PR in tech segments, featuring the following speakers:
There were many other great moments and speakers, feel free to go back and binge on our episodes. We will be running other roundups, as it is impossible to get everything into one episode.
Thank you PR, Done & Doner fans - wishing you joyous holidays and a happy new year!
PR, Done and Doner sometimes takes a deep dive into the verticals that Fusion PR serves. In this episode we explore the state of buzz, innovation and funding in insurtech, via a panel of experts:
It was an informative conversation around these questions and others.
Bios
Layla Atya
Before joining the insurance industry, Layla spent eight years in the Middle East, creating predictive models to understand behavior and the emergence of insurgencies in Iraq. In 2016 Layla transitioned to insurance, which allowed her to combine her technology and legal expertise to improve the underwriting processes. After working for Victor Insurance for four years, she became the principal insurance consultant and the CEO of her first US-based company - Zala Technology. Zala was created to serve rising insurtech companies in the United States. In 2021 Layla founded an insurtech in the transactional liability space. Quantumerge officially became the first insurtech servicing small transactions in the United States.
David Gritz
David Gritz is an InsurTech community leader, public speaker, and InsurTech advisor. He has been featured in recognized Insurance media including Carrier Management, Digital Insurance, IIR, AM Best TV, and the Re/Image Podcast. David is the co-founder of InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in the NY metro area. David also serves as a strategic advisor to high-growth InsurTechs to help them go from concept to scale. Previously David has served as the Director of Innovation for the Silicon Valley Insurance Accelerator (SVIA) and has led product at Zero, a behavioral safety focused InsurTech acquired by EverestRe. He holds a J.D. from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law and business and industrial engineering degrees from Lehigh University.
Mark Hollmer
Mark Hollmer is a veteran journalist who has covered the property/casualty insurance industry for more than a decade. For Key Media he helped launch two technology email newsletters focused on insurtech and mortgage fintech, respectively. At Wells Media, he wrote about the property/casualty insurance industry and co-edited a daily email newsletter for Carrier Management. He also launched a twice-monthly InsurTech newsletter in June 2019, under the Carrier Management umbrella. In addition, he helped plan and execute online InsurTech events for Wells, designing content and curating speakers.
To contact Bob Geller about the podcast or features he can be reached at Bob.Geller@Fusionpr.com