Double Shot: Learn from Others

This is the fifth installment of a new feature here on prTini — the Double Shot. Each Friday, I’ll share links to two resources, two useful blog posts or introduce you to two people. What better way to end the week (or kick-off the weekend) than with a Double Shot from prTini? Here we go …

I love reading case studies or detailed analysis of campaigns to see what works … what doesn’t — and then applying some critical thinking. Would I have approached it this way? What would I have done differently? This week, I came across two examples of smart, exceptional work that got me thinking:

• Mint Puts Twitter Lists to Work — “Called Money Tweets, Mint’s newest addition is a great example of how businesses and services can exploit Twitter as a source for topical links to important news stories and helpful information. Money Tweets embraces the functionality of Twitter Lists and Twitter search to bring you posts from trusted news sources, tips from popular money management gurus and the hottest money-related discussions happening online.” Smart, right? There are lots of innovative applications for Twitter lists. How can your company — or your clients — incorporate this new functionality in a way that supports your overall communication goals?
• President Obama’s Remarks at Ft. Hood — This week, President Obama had the difficult task of memorializing the victims of the Ft. Hood shooting. The president, lauded for his public speaking skills, may have set a new standard for crafting and delivering speeches. In fact, many in the media called this his best speech ever. Reporter Marc Ambinder said, “I guarantee: they’ll be teaching this one in rhetoric classes. It was that good.” Politics aside, read the text of the speech. See how the writers crafted a story that struck the perfect tone. From a pure speech-writing perspective, I was struck by the obvious care and thought put into the transitions between each section. Can you learn from this work of speech mastery the next time you have to write remarks for your boss, client or self?

One last thing to leave you with: I made my debut on the PR Breakfast Club this week. In case you missed it, it’s a post about how individuals are using social media to do good. Along those lines, don’t forget to nominate your favorite nonprofit for Geben Gives. Nominations close Monday.