Category Archives: Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame: Weebly’s Email Template for Nontechnical Users (with Slide for Classroom Use)

Anyone who has lived through an iteration or two of Web technology can appreciate how easy it is to set up and maintain a blog or website these days. Thanks to readymade blog themes, drag-and-drop website builders, and other user-friendly tools, what once required days of hair-pulling coding can now be accomplished by total neophytes […]

Hall of Fame: WPP’s Reader-Friendly Annual Report (with Slides for Classroom Use)

Long and complex reports, such as corporate annual reports, can place a heavy burden on readers. Publishing these reports online presents an additional set of challenges, because readers can no longer just flip printed pages to skim content or establish context. Fortunately, the Web also provides new opportunities for structure and navigation that can make […]

Hall of Fame: Cemex and VMWare Prove the Benefits of Professional-Grade Social Networking

The “social” label in “social networking” and the consumer-entertainment origins of some of the most popular platforms can sometimes create the impression that these systems aren’t really professional-grade communication technologies. However, if one looks past the fun and frivolity of social media, it’s fascinating to see how some heavy-duty industrial and high-tech firms are putting […]

Hall of Fame: Red Ants Pants Communicates with an Authentic Voice (with PowerPoint Slides for Classroom Use)

Sarah Calhoun founded Red Ants Pants because she was frustrated by the lack of hard-wearing pants for hard-working women. Her passion for meeting the needs of her customers shines through in the company's communication efforts—along with her zeal for making work fun and meaningful. Not many firms could tell their founding story in goofy rhyming […]

Hall of Fame: Hailo Shows a Positive Way to Communicate Negative News (with PowerPoint Slides for Classroom Use)

Hailo is a popular taxi-hailing service operating in London, New York, and other major cities. With a quick tap on a smartphone app, passengers can hail any Hailo-registered cab in the area, without waving in the street or hunting for a place where taxis are likely to be found. The system does have a potential […]

Hall of Fame: How GE Uses the Facebook Timeline to Tell Its Company History (with PowerPoint Slide for Classroom Use)

The timeline feature in Facebook is a great tool for visual narration, particularly if a company has a rich library of compelling photos and other visuals to use. And as GE demonstrates, if you're telling a story of innovation, it helps if you can start the story with an image of one of the most […]

Hall of Fame: GamesRadar.com’s Use of Twitter for Content Teasers (with PowerPoint Slide for Classroom Use)

One of the most effective business uses of Twitter is as a "headline-announcement service," alerting readers to new blog posts, new pieces in online magazines, and other fresh content. However, writing effective Twitter teasers for any given target audience is a bit of an artform. The videogame review site GamesRadar.com does a good job of […]

Hall of Fame: Consultant-Speaker Gregg Fraley Builds Credibility Online (with PowerPoint Slide for Classroom Use)

Gregg Fraley is a highly regarded expert in the field of creativity and business innovation, but because his services are intangible, potential clients can’t “test drive” those services before making a purchase decision. His website shows the care he takes to build credibility as part of his communication efforts. Bovee and Thill blog – Hall […]

Hall of Fame: Creative Commons’s Effective Use of Plain Language (with PowerPoint Slide for Classroom Use)

The ability to explain complex topics in clear terms is one of the most important skills a business communicator can have. This example from the Creative Commons website, explaining three levels of content licensing, demonstrates the power of plain language. Bovee and Thill blog – Hall of Fame – Creative Commons website

Hall of Shame and Fame: Apple Statements Regarding Apple Maps (with PowerPoint Slide for Classroom Use)

Within minutes of its release as part of an operating system upgrade on Apple mobile devices, the Apple Maps feature began to generate howls of protest. Compared to the Google mapping feature it replaced, Apple Maps had numerous problems, from egregious errors to missing functionality. Users accustomed to finding just about anything through the Google […]