Posts

Millennial Say What? How to Talk Young When You’re Old.

In preparation for TEDFest in New York City a couple weeks ago, I did a little research: where to eat, what to see, how not to sound old to the majority-millennial crowd … I’d be embarrassed for anyone to see my search history today, but I’ll put that aside to share this gem of an […]

Party City’s New Commercial Makes Local Mom Cry

Scene: Two 30-something women stand behind a table of party food, in a Party City commercial. And … action! Mom 1: This is incredible! Mom 2: Right. Mom 1: Yes! Mom 2: What is that? (pointing to a lone plate of crackers a few feet away) Mom 1: Those are some gluten-free options. Mom 2: […]

He’s Just Not That Into You

Oh, small, earnest neighborhood florist — I can see how hard you’re working to get this right. Here you are in the heart of college country, with scores of students strolling past you every day, never stopping to browse or buy. You know an untapped market when you see one, and you’re even willing to […]

You’re Welcome, President Clinton

Former President Bill Clinton had faced tough questions before, but this time, the stakes were high. Clinton had never listened to “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” the NPR news quiz, let alone appeared as a contestant on the show. If he lost, he would let down his party and his country — especially Dave Parks […]

What the Dalai Lama Could Learn from Fast Company

“Is it wrong to hide the Dalai Lama’s posts?” I asked on Facebook a couple of years ago. “They’re just so frequent.”* I wonder if Tenzin Gyatso saw this recent profile in Fast Company, which featured Rufus Griscom talking about how to build online communities around your content. We liked what RG had to say. […]

Customer Service as Part of the Marketing Plan: Why it Matters, Part 2

This is the final installment of our customer service series from guest-blogger and King Fish Media’s Director of Marketing and Research, Gordon Plutsky. In Part 1, I took a look at some bad customer experiences. Here are some companies that understand how they can fulfill their brand promise through customer service. Every week I drive […]

Customer Service as Part of the Marketing Plan: Why it Matters

When he’s not quoting Don Draper, CrossFit training or watching the NY Jets, Gordon Plutsky is King Fish Media’s Director of Marketing and Research. And today he is our guest blogger. (He also writes a great blog for King Fish.) Gordon, we salute your takedown of bad customer service. This is part one of a two […]

Well, it’s about time!

These days we’re all about SoMe here at The Hired Pens. No, not as in “Girlfriend, you have got to let me borrow your fuchsia goulashes — they are SO ME!” SoMe as in “the new, in-the-know way to abbreviate ‘Social Media.’” And as I learned at the recent New Marketing Summit, if you’re not […]