
There are several tell-tale signs that it's September in Michigan. The air is getting cooler and sharper, Halloween decorations are starting to appear in stores, and inside our agency walls, things are bustling as we enter the thick of planning for CES in January. In fact, we've been planning for CES since the start of […]
Tags: CES, event marketing, Strategic Planning

“According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” – Jerry Seinfeld Whether you’re standing in front of a group of your closest […]
Tags: Presentations, Public Speaking, Tips

Swarms of people. Hour-long taxi cab lines. Bumper-to-bumper traffic. Achy feet. If you’ve ever been to CES—one of the technology industry’s largest trade events—you know the mayhem is well worth the publicity. For one week annually, the technology industry comes together in Las Vegas to set the tone for the upcoming year. Next year, from […]
Tags: CES, Social Media, Tips

This year marks Airfoil’s 17th birthday. In terms of technological evolution, those 17 years have felt more like a century. When Airfoil first took flight in 2000, the world was still “recovering” from the Y2K bug. DVD players were just starting to become affordable, and the iPod didn’t yet exist. And perhaps most telling, only […]
Tags: Airfoil Public Relations, Technology, Trends

YouTube stars, Instagram favorites and top bloggers are more than entertainment, they’re also voices your customers trust. Like a trusted friend, influencers provide third-party validation directly to your potential customers by showing them how your brand fits into their everyday lives. If you don’t already have an influencer marketing program in place, you’re missing out […]
Tags: Influencer Marketing, Integrated Marketing Communications, Social Media

As one of the largest – and craziest – trade shows in the world, navigating CES takes serious planning and teamwork (not to mention a comfortable pair of walking shoes). For months, marketers work tirelessly developing communication plans to help their brands stand out, all with the same goal in mind: securing great media coverage. […]
Tags: CES, Media Relations, Public Relations

Most brands have two or more owned social media channels, which are great for increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic and boosting search engine rankings. But, while brands are investing in content or ads on these channels, many are losing out on one of the most important aspects of their business: customer service. Providing customer support on social media puts you where your customers are, making it easier for them, more cost-effective for you, and saving everyone time and energy.
Tags: Customer Experience, Social, Social Media

Shared from the Airfoil archives. After attending a group painting class, I was reminded of the perfect balance between following the rules (painting inside the lines) and having the creative freedom to still have fun and make it my own. My five insights to working with a twist! 1. First always be clear on the outline […]
Tags: Creativity, Fun, Planning

The media landscape is changing and people consume news differently now than they did 10 years ago. According to a recent study, 62 percent of Americans get their news on social media, with almost a quarter doing so often. Even though people are now getting their news via social media, it doesn’t mean they necessarily […]
Tags: Communications, Media Relations, Social Media

Disaster can strike when you least expect it. Few understand this better than Detroit’s utility company, DTE Energy. On an otherwise sunny day in March this year, winds topped speeds of 68 mph, causing more than 800,000 customer outages. Knowing a communication nightmare was afoot, DTE had to act fast in not only fixing the […]
Tags: Crisis Communication, Detroit, Public Relations

Royal Oak, Mich., July 12, 2017 – Airfoil, a marketing communications and public relations agency for global technology brands, today announced the addition of veteran tech journalist Tim Moynihan as editorial services and media strategist. With 20 years of experience as a professional writer and editor, Moynihan will work with account teams and clients to […]
Tags: Agency News, Staffing, Talent

Even in our increasingly digital world, traditional media relations remain a pivotal piece of the marketing pie. Today’s savvy marketers look at earned media, such as articles or bylines, as part of a comprehensive strategy comprised of earned media, owned media (e.g. website, social media profiles) and paid media (e.g. advertising). Together these three components […]
Tags: Analytics, Media Relations, Public Relations

In an incredibly short period of time, modern technology has helped reinvent the ways we communicate, create, collaborate, connect, and conduct business. Silicon Valley has become the epicenter of tech transformation, redefining the way we do things one device, one app, and one moonshot idea at a time. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a […]
Tags: Leadership, Silicon Valley, Uber Crisis, Workplace Culture

Last week I received a friendly email from CTA reminding me to book my hotel for CES 2018. If you are anything like me, this email was met with a blend of anxiety, excitement and exhaustion. It’s June. Isn’t it really too soon to start prepping for an event that’s seven months away? I’m afraid […]
Tags: CES 2018, Consumer Technology, Strategic Planning

Think of some of your favorite authors. Could you compare the voice of, for example, Stephen King to J.K. Rowling? Probably not, because while both are wildly successful, their writing styles couldn’t be more different. The same is true for your brand voice. Defining the voice of your brand means determining what your brand stands […]
Tags: Brand Messaging, Business Communications, Tips

Some things just go together. Batman and Robin. Macaroni and cheese. Romeo and Juliet. But, when it comes to the greatest duos of all time, any successful business decision-maker knows one stands above the rest: marketing and sales. Like any great team, they’re far more effective when they work together. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the […]
Tags: Business, Communications, Marketing, Sales

Every May, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) honors those companies that make up the lifeblood of America’s economy during National Small Business Week. This year’s series of events spotlighted a diverse array of businesses across all segments, from foodservice and technology to retail and healthcare. At the same time, many large corporations use this […]
Tags: Audience Engagement, Communications Strategy, SMB

I recently had the pleasure of serving as a judge for one of the communication industry’s leading awards programs. During the judging process, I began to realize the secrets that separate the award winners from those who submit awards only to have their submissions ignored. Many submissions came across the judge’s table, from large brand […]
Tags: Awards, Marketing, Public Relations, Tips

It always starts out innocently enough – you write a blog. Perhaps it’s the best blog of your life. Maybe it’s worthy of millions of views and thousands of likes. It includes a shining call-to-action (CTA): download a whitepaper that’s even better than the blog. Before posting your glorious blog, you send to a couple […]
Tags: Consumer Engagement, Content Marketing, Tips

Our agency started 2017 off with a bang – and we’re not even close to slowing down! It’s been a very exciting and successful first quarter for Airfoil as we conquer new events, explore new tactics and bring on new teammates. Here’s a peek at what we’ve been up to. Reaching New Heights We recently […]
Tags: Airfoil Public Relations, News, Talent

Social media is increasingly a pay-to-play space, and while that has been true for many years, it doesn’t mean brands need to break the bank to drive results. Take a look at a few of our campaigns to explore what paid social ads can do for your brand. Campaign 1: Awareness campaign for a regional B2B […]
Tags: Influencer Marketing, Paid Social Advertising, Social Media

Throughout the calendar year, there are days, weeks or even months devoted to certain causes or groups. Such is the case for entrepreneurship. One week a year, the U.S. celebrates an important segment of the economy – entrepreneurs. This year, Airfoil supported Microsoft’s leadership role in the conversation, shining a spotlight on some of the […]
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Small Business

Sitting around my family’s dining room table after a Sunday dinner, my dad would launch into stories about his life; from his days with the Canadian Navy to growing up with our family that immigrated from Croatia, my siblings and I clamored for more, begging him to retell some of our favorites. He had our […]
Tags: Public Relations, Storytelling, Tips

Knowing your audience is the name of the game in 2017 and beyond as marketers come to rely on data-driven insights more than ever before. Airfoil’s research and strategic planning manager emphasizes, “While experience is a key factor that makes a communicator a champion, skipping research in the first place is risky as you are […]
Tags: content strategy, Research, Storytelling

Chatbots are nothing new – surprisingly, the technology dates to the 1950s. Chatbots in social media, however, are currently all the rage. But there are considerations to be made before overhauling your customer service efforts on social media to be trendy or because a vendor told you to. While chatbots can deliver instant information to […]
Tags: Chat Bots, Social Media, Social Media Engagement