This year at Google’s I/O 2023 conference, Google unveiled a host of new products and features. Unsurprisingly, the focus was on efforts and advancements made by leveraging artificial intelligence (or “AI”). It was so important to Google to establish expertise, authority, and trust (sound familiar?) in all things AI that Google execs used the phrase “AI” more than 100 times during the two-hour keynote. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss what we know (and what we don’t) about the future of generative AI in search. We’ll also share what you can do now to ensure you are capturing low-hanging fruit.

The doofus dad stereotype, which was a negative and inadvertent byproduct of the explosion in social change in the late 20th century, saw dads in not just ads but all media slide from their status as head of the household to the bumbling dads in popular TV series and commercials beginning in the mid-50s with Ralph Kramden. Just like purchasing a bad tie from Amazon or a bottle of cheap cologne, people only write about the doofus dad topic in the second and third weeks of June to commend Father’s Day every year. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll try to do something different. Instead of just complaining, we’ll discuss fathers in advertising and the shifts we see happening.

When you think of Gen Z (age group 11-26) and media, a litany of words come to mind: social media, influencer, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, video games, Netflix, podcast, livestream, etc. But as far back as early 2017, research by Kantar Millward Brown found that 55% of Generation Z respondents view out-of-home (OOH) positively. This is consistent with their view of all traditional media (cinema 53%, magazines 51%). It’s also a whole 20 points higher than any online option (desktop display 32%, search 32%, and mobile display 30%). In 2018, AdAge/UNiDAYS affirmed this when they found “84 percent of Gen Zers surveyed said they pay attention to digital out-of-home ads in familiar media placements such as trains, malls, airports and taxis.” In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss why out-of-home (OOH) media is one of the most surprising Gen Z media trends and how to leverage it to reach this audience.

If you’re reading this article, you know that running a law practice is about as competitive an industry as there is. How competitive, exactly? Try 1.3 million lawyers in the United States today, according to the American Bar Association. Couple that with the Princeton University study that placed lawyers among the least trusted professionals in the U. S. and you can see why it can be a real challenge to convince potential clients that your firm is different. Enter media relations and the importance of building relationships with the journalists that can make a substantial difference in separating your legal practice from the overcrowded and under-loved field of opponents. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll explore law firm media relations. Learn how your practice group can grow public trust and relevance through productive relationships with the press.

Happy Mother’s Day! Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and an estimated 84% of U.S. adults will be celebrating this year. This day can bring a variety of emotions, and it can mean different things to different people, but at its core, it’s a day to celebrate the motherly figures in our lives and share our appreciation for all of the work, both visible and invisible, that they do every day.

These days, the marketing discipline of public relations is increasingly stepping into the spotlight. With growing social media platforms and new generations of audiences, the looming wave of cancel culture is keeping a close eye on every single decision your brand makes, and for a good reason. As we discussed previously, the slightest misstep in an advertising campaign can send your brand into a tailspin with consumers. So, how can you keep your fingers on the pulse of your campaign to ensure your message is coming across the way you intend? In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss why you need to keep your PR team off the sidelines and your brand out of trouble.

For injury law firms, ChatGPT and Google Bard are already making an impact. If you haven’t heard of these tools, don’t worry. This edition of Plain Talk will get you up to speed. Both AI models are in their early stages. However, we’ve already been able to identify some exciting use cases for using LLM AI in legal marketing. You can up your personal injury law content game while gaining some valuable insights from Google along the way. If you want to understand how ChatGPT and Bard can help you with things such as keyword research, structured data, content development, technical SEO, and a better understanding of Google search, we will demonstrate by showing how these tools can help boost your online performance. And, of course, we’ll be getting some answers straight from the tools to demonstrate how intelligent they can be. Let’s dive in.

Have you ever watched a talk show and noticed a guest fidgeting with their hands so much that you forgot what they were even talking about? How about a politician with a blank stare who appears to be reading from a cue card or a CEO who refuses to answer questions from reporters and keeps saying “no comment”? Those actions can annoy or irritate the public. In business today, the way the public views leaders reflects their company, for better or worse. Does the thought of “going live” make you or your leadership nervous or anxious? It’s hard to be human and answer no to that question. However, the way you handle yourself with the media will affect your brand. In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss the importance of media training and how it is crucial to being thought of as approachable, honest, and caring when you or your business are suddenly faced with potential media coverage or during crisis communications.

Gen Zers will decide, almost immediately, whether or not they are interested in something. This includes which brands they love and which businesses they hate. In a world where skippable ads and subscription services are the norms—where ads are optional and only require a quick swipe or click of the skip button to get rid of them—how can you use your marketing dollars to reach and influence this massive consumer segment? In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll look at Gen Z media consumption. We’ll also offer three insights on using your media budget to reach, influence, and convert this audience.

In his 1990 Canon ad, Andre Agassi famously stated, “Image is everything!” This is especially true when trying to impress Google with your newly created “Helpful Content”. So, why would you carefully handpick custom images and forget about image optimization? In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll examine SEO image optimization, which helps search engines understand images in related contexts and ultimately provides the best rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) and image searches.