After a slew of recent halftime scandals, network execs now bite their nails and hope the performer sticks to his or her script to avoid a PR nightmare!

Come Sunday, I — along with millions of other Americans — will be sitting on my couch surrounded by good friends, ice-cold beer and wings. My eyes will be glued to the nearest flat-screen to watch (and criticize) the Super Bowl halftime show. Aside from the advertisements, this spectacle is one of the main reasons many people even watch the Super Bowl. So it’s safe to say that the stakes are high.

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Before long, everyone will own a tablet. This means new opportunities as well as new challenges for marketers.

I’m not an early adopter. I let other folks experience first-generation electronics to pave the way for me. I wait to hear a little more, watch the products and read reviews to make completely sure of any new purchase.

But this past Christmas, I was starting to feel left behind. Young children were walking around with iPads. So we added not one, but two tablets to the Qualls household. And we’re not alone; lower-priced tablets further fueled tablet adoption at the end of 2012. More than half of the students in my daughter’s first-grade class received a tablet for Christmas.Read full post...

Never make a concession without explaining it. If you change your position, you must be able to explain why or lose credibility.

We like to think of ourselves as excellent communicators; we’re in the business, right? But, according to a recent article in Ragan’s Health Care Communication News, we as communicators are really in sales. To be successful, we have to “focus on what [we] can give to others, and not what [we] can get.” Author Susan Young claims that an essential business skill is the art of silent listening – mentally slowing down and giving our undivided attention so that we are fully present and in the moment. In other words, don’t talk so much and really listen to what people are saying.Read full post...

DVRPC's RideECO program saves commuters time and money.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is no longer licensing the TransitChek trademark to offer and promote its commuter benefit program, along with related products and services. DVRPC needed a new name for the program, which enables employers and employees to save money by putting pre-tax dollars towards fares for commuters who use public transportation. DVRPC partnered with AB&C to name and brand the program.

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Trips to the printer for press checks have been replaced with PDF proofs and digital copies.

My wish for print design is for it to stick around for years and years to come. In my short seven years out of college, the print design world has changed dramatically. I long for the days when I used expensive papers, die-cuts and special printing techniques on every project. I miss trips to the printer for press checks, for they have been replaced with PDF proofs and digital copies. I fear that designers fresh out of school won’t ever experience the parts of my job that I have loved so.Read full post...

I guess the next step will be cars texting each other while driving themselves.

Move to Nevada.

That’s where you can get behind the wheel of a self-automated car. On March 1, 2012, Nevada legalized the use of automated cars on its roads — the first state to do so. Nevada has also given Google the first-ever self-driven car license in the country.

Google’s self-driven cars rely on video cameras, radar sensors, lasers and a database of information collected from manually driven cars to help navigate, according to the company.

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Banner ad for digital media campaign

As any tissue company will tell you, flu season is in full swing. In an effort to keep its patients and members of the community from getting sick, Geisinger Health System looked to promote the value of flu shots. In previous years, direct mail carried the message. This season, we added a digital advertising campaign to the mix, consisting of text and display ads, which began running in Luzerne and Centre counties at the beginning of September and will continue through January.Read full post...

AB&C is kicking off the new year with a bright new group of interns. Each season we select interns to work in departments appropriate to their career paths. Guided by their mentors, they participate in real agency projects. (We all fetch our own coffee at AB&C.)

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Think about your physician leaders as your hospital’s quarterback.

Like most American men, I’m a huge football fan. Specifically, my allegiance is to the Philadelphia Eagles (you can now officially feel sorry for me). This year has been rough, as we’ve seen draft picks underperform, free agents take large contracts and contribute very little and, after all was said and done, our coach get fired and shown the door. This got me thinking: Hospitals and health systems are not that different than a professional football team. Let me explain how.Read full post...

As all hospital content creators know, there is no shortage of stories to tell.

Everyone blogs—kids, cats, Starbucks, even an accused criminal. But in the world of hospital communications, blogging is not nearly as prevalent. In fact, fewer than four percent of hospitals have them—185 to be exact, according to the Mayo Clinic’s Health Care Social Media List.

It’s a little surprising that more hospitals haven’t embraced the blog as a way to share their stories. A blog offers a controlled communications channel that engages and drives measurable web traffic. It showcases the organization’s personality and mission. I would challenge any PR or marketing pro to come up with a tactic that does all that—in 300 words or less!

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Don’t empty the mailbox (electronic or otherwise) and never stop thinking about what areas of business you’d like to understand better.

I suspect many other people in business face in the same dilemma I face nearly every workday. My inbox is filled with opportunities to participate in classes, seminars, conferences, webinars and more.

Each of these is led by world-renowned experts, proven professionals in their field and industry-recognized leaders. Like me, you may find it very gratifying that these highly respected individuals want to share their latest thinking with you.Read full post...

A mix ’n’ match approach allows you to mimic costly reporting tools, stay on budget and still find meaningful data.

At some point, your boss or client has probably asked for a social media report. Unfortunately, there is no quick way to create one. Like many other communications efforts, the evaluation stage is the first to fall victim to the mortal enemies of a PR team—tight deadlines and even tighter budgets. In an ideal world, you would always assess your progress. Regrettably, the demands of managing hospital communications usually spell sayonara to any thoughts of reporting.

But don’t let dwindling hours and a tiny budget stop you. With a little self-coaching and practice, you can craft social media reports for your hospital or service line without using up all your time or allowance.

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Does your message stand out?

To win over top physician candidates, you have to stay ahead of the pack. Sounds simple enough. But before you begin your recruitment push, make sure you’ve got the goods to attract them — and not just great pay and benefits.

Is your organization a model of medical efficiency and quality patient care? If so, is it due to decision-making from above?

Or are physicians taking the lead?Read full post...

Happy Holidays from all your friends at AB&C.

The holidays are a time for sharing, and we wanted to reflect that sentiment through our holiday card.

AB&C paid a visit to a fifth-grade classroom at the East Side Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware. We spent a morning with the students and asked them to draw a picture of whatever the holiday season meant for them. The only catch was that they had to somehow incorporate the “+” from our logo. So with a gleam in their eyes and fresh markers and crayons in hand, the students got to work. We picked our six favorite works of art to adorn the covers of our holiday cards.Read full post...