In this installment of the Work, Wine and Wheels interview series I talk to 20+ year PR professional Marc Abshire. Marc has had a protean career — he’s served as a Public Affairs Officer in the Air Force, written speeches delivered by the President of the United States and he’s directed PR efforts at leading […]
I’ve been in Las Vegas the last few days, celebrating the baptism of my nephew Dustin Parente. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, and in prior years it’s always been for business. We’re at the Trump Tower, and the service has been incredible. Whatever your feelings about The Donald, it’s a great place […]
This past Friday a story ran that reminded me how massive media layoffs have affected the quality of news coverage. It doesn’t matter sometimes how good the reporter is — he or she is stretched so thin that stories get printed that wouldn’t have just a few years ago. Background – On Friday USA Today […]
Gabriele and I had a really fine meal at Ray’s the Steaks in Arlington last weekend. We were giving Ray’s a second chance at their new Arlington location on Wilson Blvd. Michael Landrum has made a big name for himself with his growing empire of Ray’s locations. I’ve had a couple of good meals in […]
In my role at Strategic Communications Group I counsel many clients on social media strategy. Often that includes publishing a blog, and I’m constantly reminding clients to invite third party experts to participate on their blogs. It’s great for added expertise, added credibility and it supplies high quality content for building an audience. Well, I […]
I’ve been worrying about BMW reliability lately. And not about either my M3 or my 530. It’s how BMW’s quality and reliability have worsened in recent years. A little background — I don’t buy new BMWs, I like to buy lightly used ones that have been well maintained by their owners. So no one in […]
Usually in this blog I talk about issues relating to Strategic clients. Since we’re now running campaigns for brands like Microsoft, BT, Monster, EMC and Cisco there is usually something interesting I can share from a client campaign. But today I’m writing about a consumer campaign designed to raise the profile of credit unions in […]
Last week Gabriele and I had dinner at the Carlyle Grand in Shirlington. Sort of the flagship of the American Restaurant chain here in the DC area, it’s always a solid performer. You won’t be blown away, but you’ll rarely be disappointed either. The atmosphere is upbeat and there are always crowds, which is a […]
This weekend I replaced the stereo in my 1999 M3 with a more powerful head unit. In BMW parlance I went from a C43 to a CD43 radio, the stereo unit included in many BMW models from the year 2000 0n. A little background to start. It’s widely known that BMW sound systems are not […]
I’ve been a subscriber to Esquire for a number of years now. Yes I know — Esquire? Articles on what kind of drink to order, car to pine for and suit to buy? And at prices no working man can afford, no less? That is often true, I’ll admit. But there is also some damn […]
As many of you know the big tech news this week in DC was the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. Microsoft is a Strategic client, so obviously we were there amidst the thousands at the Washington Convention Center. Strategic also launched a new blog, Microsoft Partner News, in conjunction with the conference.We did this to support […]
I hope everyone’s summer is in full swing. Here are suggestions for some good juice at decent prices to enjoy this summer. First off, the search for a good value, good tasting Bordeaux continues. At times I feel a little like Don Quixote on this quest, but recently there was an encouraging find. I enjoyed […]