Stacy's Blog | tips for writers, speakers and marketers

A marketing brochure in my portfolio has recently received a Communicator Award. The brochure was given an Award of Distinction in the Print category. The Communicator Awards is the largest and most competitive awards program honoring the creative excellence of communications professionals. The Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms. IAVA members include executives from organizations such as Alloy, Brandweek, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, Fry Hammond Barr, HBO, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Victoria’s Secret, Wired, and Yahoo! To learn more about the IAVA please visit www.iavisarts.org . “The quality, creativity and execution of this year’s work is a true testament to the talents and abilities of communications prof...

Barack Obama nailed it. As a curious Canadian, I watched his paid advertisement last night. With his numerous friends in Hollywood, he could have dazzled us a million different ways in his 30-minutes of prime time television. But Obama didn’t impress us with his fancy friends, instead he reached out to us with vivid stories from the common American. References to Joe the plumber and soccer moms are now replaced with real stories and dramatic images. I woke up this morning still seeing a mom standing in front of her open fridge, finding creative ways to stretch out her groceries. I’m remembering a woman’s crooked, arthritic fingers and her husband getting dressed for a job he never meant to have in his retirement years. I watched a senior man, trying not to cry, as he talked about his monthly pension payment that falls hundreds of dollars short of what was promised. A while ago, I attended an excellent webinar on “Marketing Through Storytelling” by Andrea Learned . Learned talks about s...