Who had the upper hand, Merkel or Sarkozy? Body language speaks volumes.
Posted on 21st July 2011 in Communications, Our Blog
Newspapers around the world today ran photos of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Prime Minister Nicholas Sarkozy pointing fingers as they attempted to break through the Franco-German deadlock in deciding how to deal with the Euro financial crisis. Who had the upper hand in consummating the deal reached later? Let’s examine the body language. […]
Continue reading »Electric Cars, flogging a long dead horse?
Posted on 26th January 2011 in Corporate Responsibility, Our Blog
Then… What most people don’t know about electric vehicles (EV) is that they existed years before the gasoline-powered car came along. The first of these EV’s appeared in the mid 1830’s. In the years 1899 and 1900 the EV outsold all other types of cars (steam, gasoline) in the USA, and by the early 1900’s […]
Continue reading »How a good social policy can save the Queen and pizza
Posted on 24th November 2010 in Our Blog, Social Media
News just in: The British Queen and her family are now on Facebook. As of last week it’s possible to “like” the British Monarchy on Facebook. But while it’s great for marketing, social media can also bring great risks. The royal family’s ‘wall’ was suddenly bombarded with nasty comments. The Queen is not alone in […]
Continue reading »When in Rome, don’t do as the Romans do!
Posted on 8th November 2010 in Cultural Communications @en, Our Blog
Unless you speak flawless Italian, on your next business trip to Rome don’t attempt to speak the local language if you want to achieve your communications goals. New research suggests non-native accents are less credible. University of Chicago psychologists Shiri Lev-Ari and Boaz Keysar explore the consequences of speaking a language with a foreign accent […]
Continue reading »Lost in Pronunciation
Posted on 8th October 2010 in Communications, Our Blog
Recently, while aboard a flight to Geneva, the Swiss captain offered his apologies for the delay in taking off, which he attributed to “seek voke.” I wondered what he meant. Sick folk? Who was sick? After puzzling a while I realised what he had meant to say: “thick fog”. How much meaning must get lost […]
Continue reading »Don’t risk your reputation
Posted on 22nd September 2010 in Our Blog, Public relations
Corporate responsibility is, as it should be, high on the agenda these days. Companies now realise that you ignore sustainability and ethical practice at your peril. The recent Trust Barometer Survey by Edelman showed that in the U.S and Western Europe trust and transparency are as important to a company’s reputation as the quality of […]
Continue reading »When PR goes too far
Posted on 13th August 2010 in Our Blog, Public relations
An article in the Guardian last week and blog posted by Ethical Corporation Managing Director Toby Webb makes some very relevant points about the issue of supply chain responsibility for large multinationals who outsource communications services. Webb writes: “It will become untenable for big, sustainably-minded companies to continue to employ PR and lobbying firms, even […]
Continue reading »Investments walk when climate change is not on the policy agenda
Posted on 12th August 2010 in Corporate Responsibility, Our Blog
In a recent interview with Reuters, Kevin Parker, the Global Head of the Deutsche Asset Management Division of Deutsche Bank, spurned the US for not being able to come up with a climate change policy. Deutsche Asset Management Division has a hefty $700 billion in funds, of which $7 billion are allotted for green investments. […]
Continue reading »What’s all this Twitter about, then?
Posted on 22nd June 2010 in Our Blog, Social Media
As I write and you read, millions of football fans around the world are digesting, dissecting, rejoicing and commiserating with each other through Twitter. Three new Tweets per Second (TPS) records were set in the first few days of the World Cup Finals. The service has become a lifeline for fans. In fact, almost any […]
Continue reading »Green Vacuum Cleaners
Posted on 13th June 2010 in Corporate Responsibility
About 18 months ago we needed to buy a new vacuum cleaner. We went to the local shop, Blokker, where we seriously considered a Miele model. For some reason my husband reckons this brand lasts longer. But then my eye fell on a bright green compact model made by Philips. What I liked about this […]
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