SWMS tends not to cover the business initiatives of its subscribers, but the Marker Collective has embarked on something revealing. The parent org of Archetype,
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Tired of writing pitches and press releases? AI writes copy these days. This month we used Copy.ai to promote the fictitious Wazoolie Pro, “a hypnotizer that convinces prospects to buy products and services they don’t need.”
Over the past few years, conference calls via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other tools have replaced the traditional phone line for conducting interviews. As it turns out, the benefits extend beyond saving on the phone bill.
Here at SWMS we see lots of unsuccessful pitches and unplaced contributions. Unclear writing is usually to blame. Clarity counts. Clarity is not brevity. Clarity is what lets readers understand you the first time — with no rereading. Writing tools measure clarity. We’ve been experimenting with them. Some results below.
Continuing with our 2018 focus on tools, here’s a rundown on eight of them that can help tech PR and marketing pros. Some you know, some you may not. We’re always on the hunt for new tools to publicize. Please share your insights with us on SWMSTweet and in your SWMS Slack channel.
YOUR ACCOUNT
FRIDGE NOTES
Well, for now it’s Jim Jordan… but such news illustrates the kind of world we seem to be headed for. Adweek has the details, subscription required.
No “predictions” post will appear on this site. That said, quite a number of subscribers have asked for a Zoom/MS Teams presentation on what 2025 will bring. A conversation is precisely the right tool for the job. After the election — and with AI transforming publishing and life — “2025” is best discussed among peers, not predicted. So if you’d like to have a confidential group exchange on what stands to unfold, and why, and how comms pros can come out on top in spite of it all, drop a line and we shall schedule something.
According to Adweek, Omnicom CEO John Wren and IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky were in merger talks for eleven and a half months before the transaction was announced this week. Amazing that it didn’t leak.
Should PR pros stop visiting X, with all its lies and hate? It’s only going to get worse. Or are tidbits from targets too important to walk away from? Click here to watch tech edit vet David Strom and I disagree (at high speed) about this, as one compelling visual after another pops up on your screen. In 2025, SWMS will officially launch “SWMS Sound Thinking,” designed to be “argumentative insight in six minutes or less.” Each segment will explore a timely and controversial topic of interest to tech comms pros. This prototype runs 5:25. Hope you enjoy it — feedback vital and welcome! –Sam
New EIC Jamie Heller has asked her reporters to start going on camera — for the BI TikTok channel — to explain the big, deep-divey story they just published. Other publications do this — especially archival Fortune. BI is now on that too. Game on.
At this time last year, Eric Newcomer and his two podcast co-hosts — Max Child and James Wilsterman — each formed an “AI startup fantasy team” and picked five AI startups to seed their rosters. We’re now in year 2 and it’s time to draft again. The podcasters wonder… which startups do they dump? Which do they add? The player whose startups accumulate the most total value by Nov. 1, 2028 is the winner, so there’s plenty of time to make adjustments. Here’s a link to the AI fantasy team podcast — you may need a password. Not sure.
