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Here are 12 must-read Digital Marketing books

by Mike Nicholson
Blog, Campaigns, Plans, Social Media Marketing, Strategy
December 22, 2019

If you're looking for some books to read in the new year related to the field of Marketing, this is a list that has a little of everything. 1. Faster, Smarter, Louder: Master Attention in a Noisy, Digital Market By Aaron Agius (2019). "In Faster, Smarter, Louder, Aaron Agius and Gián Clancey share the secrets that transformed their two-person agency into a global leader in digital marketing. Through personal stories and real-world research, Aaron and Gián demonstrate that landing multimillion-dollar clients aren't...

Here are 12 must-read books for Public Affairs professionals

by Mike Nicholson
Blog
December 22, 2019

If you're looking for some books to read in the new year related to the field of Public Affairs, this is a list that has a little of everything. It has the topics of information warfare (Information Wars and War in 140 Characters), Political Communication (Network Propaganda and The Outrage Industry), Journalism (The Elements of Journalism), Reputation Management (Spin Sucks), understanding audiences and the echo chamber of the web (The Filter Bubble), some history (Science of Coercion and Total Cold...

What is the difference between Strategic Communication, PR, PA and Digital Marketing?

by Mike Nicholson
Blog
November 17, 2019

What is the difference between Strategic Communication, Public Relations, Public Affairs, and Digital Marketing? Although there are slight differences between the government practices of Strategic Communication and Public Affairs and the civilian practices of Public Relations and Digital Marketing, there is also a lot of overlap and lessons that can be applied across these disciplines. Even though definitions continue to evolve, here are the ones I'm is currently working with: Strategic Communication The coordinated and appropriate use of communication activities and capabilities in...

Regulating Tech Companies

by Mike Nicholson
Blog
November 10, 2019

The subject of regulating tech companies has been a sustained topic in mainstream media over the last several years. The topic gained and continued its momentum stemming from several incidents. Here are some of the recent incidents that have increased political awareness:  • The use of consumer and demographic data collected from Facebook by Cambridge Analytica to help then-candidate Trump during the 2016 Presidential election.  • Russian interference in the 2016 election included a coordinated effort involving computer hacks, leaks, and social media disinformation...

Developing an Organizational Narrative

by Mike Nicholson
Blog, Plans, Strategy
January 28, 2019

Developing an organizational narrative is useful in several ways. The process of developing a narrative is useful because it can serve as a forcing mechanism to address all the variables of the organization’s strategy. It is an alternative way to get the organization to think about itself and make sure that the “deeds” of the organization are matching up with the “words” of the organization. The end result, an actual written narrative, can also be useful because it can serve...

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Environmental Scanning for Effective Communication

by Mike Nicholson
Blog, Plans, Strategy
October 2, 2018

The information environment is constantly changing and it requires the communication planner to continually reassess the strategic context of the organization he or she is working for. Detailed communication plans can take weeks and perhaps months to develop, but what may have been a viable communication plan several weeks ago could quickly become outdated based on a change in the strategic context. For this reason, having a good understanding of the strategic context is essential in developing relevant and effective...

The Emergent Strategy

by Mike Nicholson
Blog, Plans, Strategy
September 18, 2018

Henry Mintzberg’s 1994 book The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning is well worth a read if you have never read it. It is probably the most influential work published by a Canadian academic who has a long history of contributions to organizational theory. One of the reasons it is so good is that it is filled with a wealth of information, and after reading it, everyone seems to come away with different lessons learned. The more times you read it,...

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Deployed Again (2012)

by Mike Nicholson
Blog
October 24, 2012

  I arrived back at ISAF Headquarters in January, 2012, and am serving as a Strategic Communication Planner as a part of my SAMS utilization tour. This is the third time I have been assigned to this HQ, the first with ISAF 5 (Canadian-led) and then with ISAF 6 (Eurocorps-led). My original intent was to do occasional posts during the year, but for a number of reasons I decided to take a hiatus. I have been keeping my own notes on relevant StratComm topics...

Think like a Designer (2011)

by Mike Nicholson
Blog
July 26, 2011

We are starting the Design portion of the curriculum here at SAMS, and to kick things off we had an orientation to the topic by listening to some employees of Populous, a global design practice with an office in Kansas City. Among other things, Populous was responsible for the LiveStrong Stadium here in Kansas City that is now home to the MLS team KC Sporting. The intent of the brief was for them to explain to us how they take a project...