Lead Balloon - Marketing, Public Relations and Strategic Communications Stories

Since the government shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, something has changed in the national conversation about the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. And the primary reason it’s happening is not a brilliant PR campaign, Pulitzer-winning journalism, or organized political strategy. It’s because of regular folks with camera phones documenting what’s actually happening on the streets of Minneapolis and other cities that have been occupied by ICE. By simply recording and sharing, they have publicly and irrefutably contradicted the Trump Administration’s blatant lies. And now, many people who did not want to pay attention to the issue are paying attention. Some folks who supported the aggressive immigration enforcement now don’t. And citizens who were not comfortable questioning the administration’s lies... question them now. Whether you want to call them “Legal Observers,” “Constitutional Observers,” or "regular folks" who record what’s happening, the impact is profound. So in this episode, we discuss why these brave Minnesotans with camera phones are such a potent force in the current political environment with Scott Libin, a Senior Fellow at the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism. And, we speak with a former law enforcement leader in the Midwest who says more people need to pick up their smartphones and serve as "legal observers." Dave Mahoney served as Dane County, Wisconsin Sheriff from 2007 to 2021, and shared an interesting encounter with Dusty in 2011 that cemented both of their appreciations for the First Amendment right to document the government's actions. For those who are interested in serving as legal observers, Libin and Mahoney will even lay out some steps for enhancing your effectiveness and bolstering your safety. Because every American has a role to play in protecting our constitutional rights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was four years ago that the Twitter account for legendary beer brand Pabst Blue Ribbon tweeted out: "Not drinking this January? Try eating ass!" And we're FINALLY talking to the guy who did it. Because Corey Smale—who was promptly fired for the Tweet and owned it publicly—isn't just PBR's ex-social media manager. He's now been named Ad Age's "Marketer of the Year" for his current work as Chief Creative Officer at Garage Beer, one of the fastest-growing beer brands in the world. Look, we already covered the PBR "eating ass" tweet extensively in episode 30 of this podcast. And Dusty arrived at the conclusion that it might have been a dumb thing to tweet, but it was consistent with the brand voice that management and fans had embraced. Firing Corey was just an act of scapegoating. But in this episode, we'll chart the four-year redemption ordeal that took Corey Smale from social media fall guy… to the creative force behind a growing beverage brand that counts football and podcast sensations Jason and Travis Kelce among its co-owners. Corey will tell us about the very deliberate decision-making that rebuilt his reputation, the uncertainty that comes from missing on a big swing, and the source of the work ethic that has propelled him to the top of the marketing heap. Plus, we'll talk about the creative process behind Garage Beer's deliciously deranged marketing and social media presence, including its "Brewmite" martial arts movie, its Predator parody "Thermal Buzz," and a water bed that dispenses beer to one lucky brand fan. Check out the video version if you want to see clips of the creative assets: https://youtu.be/X32LR9Q0SVs Finally, Corey will break a bit of Garage Beer merchandising news—the upcoming launch of its "Beer Hand," a reimagined Nintendo Power Glove designed to aid the wearer in making life decisions and pounding brewskies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 years ago, if you had googled Ben Kollenbroich’s name, you would have discovered that his life story was the inspiration for “Good Luck Chuck,” a mid-budget, critically-panned romantic comedy starring Dane Cook and Jessica Alba. That’s not REMOTELY true, however. In fact, Ben Kollenbroich was just a regular 25-year-old guy in 2010. There certainly weren't any movies based on his life. And it wasn't an accident, a mix up or a mistaken identity that caused dozens of websites… and even his own grandmother… to believe otherwise It was an intentional and painstakingly-implemented prank executed by one of his best friends. With time to kill and a dogged commitment to the bit, Ben’s buddy Vince had cultivated a steady buzz of internet chatter claiming that Ben had inspired the Hollywood flop. Over the course of months, he gradually built up the source material needed to keep that fabricated factoid on Wikipedia. But what started as a prank got suddenly serious when Vince’s made-up Internet claim started to circulate all on its own. Search results for Ben’s name cited him as the movie's inspiration for more than 10 years. And neither of them was capable of doing anything about it. In this episode, Ben and Vince recount the story... and reflect back on an era when people still believed what they read on the Internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, a new startup announced that they would be using artificial intelligence to churn out thousands of podcast episodes voiced by A.I. podcast hosts. Inception Point A.I. claims to be able to fashion 3,000 podcast episodes a week at a paltry cost of $1 per episode, and plans to flood the market with massive amounts of content in the hopes of generating revenue through programmatic advertising. But the reaction to their market entrance was anything but warm and welcoming. Podcast industry stalwarts and professional communicators expressed shock and outrage that the startup would resort to such a low-quality, high-volume tactic. Many raised ethical questions about replacing human insights with A.I.-generated "slop," and concerns abounded about job losses in an already contracting industry. In a post to her LinkedIn, Inception Point A.I. CEO Jeanine Wright was flamed by dozens of angry comments from incensed audio professionals. Some objected strenuously to bizarre comments where Wright declared that "half the people on the planet will be AI" in the near future. Others were upset by her decision to cast critics of the business model as "probably lazy Luddites." So obviously this story is a PERFECT fit for us here on Lead Balloon. First, we'll discuss the industry reaction, the PR faceplant and the dubious business model with Jeff Umbro—CEO of the Podglomerate, host of the show "Podcast Perspectives," and a leading authority on the state of the podcast industry. And then we'll cover the moral implications of A.I. podcast hosts with Ronald Young, Jr. , "Best Podcast Host" winner at this year's Ambies Podcast Academy Awards and creator of award-winning podcasts including "Weight For It." Ultimately, whether you consider communication an artistic act OR a professional pursuit, we'll unpack the implications and repercussions of a world where big tech insiders try to replace the HUMAN in the human act of communication. A note: we spoke with Inception Point A.I. CEO Jeanine Wright and invited her to respond to our questions about the company's business model and ethics. Ultimately, she chose not to provide us with any commentary prior to our publishing deadline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people get travel information about road closures from Google Maps, Apple Maps or a similar smartphone-based application. But when a road is closed, most transportation agencies put out a press release. And this disconnect is not only annoying—it can be a public safety hazard. So after the recent catastrophic flooding in his Southeast Wisconsin community, Dusty wants to start a conversation about how public officials can modernize the way they communicate about road closures in 2025. Because, in order to maximize the impact of potentially life-saving information, municipalities and departments of transportation need to take their message to the channels that the public actually uses. In this episode, we speak with Scott Oppmann, ArcGIS Solutions Director at Esri. Esri's ArcGIS is the leading mapping and spatial analytics software in its field, allowing organizations to leverage location-based digital insights across a wide variety of fields. And Esri’s Community Maps Program and Road Closures solution helps local governments get time-sensitive travel information out to the apps that people actually use when they travel. We'll discuss the imperative for pushing live travel updates to maps apps, different methods for doing so, and why it's important to have a plan in place BEFORE an emergency strikes. Learn more about Esri's Community Maps Program and Road Closures Solution. Contribute to contentpartners.maps.google.com Support Wisconsin Flood victims: feedingamericawi.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wikipedia readers consume nearly one billion articles per day from the online encyclopedia. In its 25 years of operation, this compendium of human knowledge has become an integral tool for understanding the world in which we live. But artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT could threaten Wikipedia's viability over the next 25 years. And in fact, by diverting fundraising traffic, undermining traditional journalism, and thinning the ranks of Wikipedia editors, large language models (LLMs) could even imperil their own usefulness. So in this episode, we're talking to a Wikipedia expert about the implications—both for strategic communicators and for society in general. Bill Beutler is the founder of Beutler Ink, a PR firm that specializes in optimizing brands' presence on Wikipedia. And together we'll discuss what can be done to preserve Wikipedia as a resource, how communicators should adapt their strategies, and what the future might hold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the world of business, yet again, things looks grim. A brewing trade war, the uncharted fallout of artificial intelligence, and political upheaval around the world... All these factors have created an atmosphere of business uncertainty. Marketing jobs and budgets face the specter of the chopping block once again, and many are taking a "batten down the hatches" approach. But at a time like this, it's important to remember: when everyone else goes quiet, your voice carries that much further. And so in this episode, we're revisiting a pivotal conversation with Joe Pulizzi from the peak of the Covid lockdowns. When uncertainty was at its worst, he shared the story of how he raised the multi-million-dollar brand "Content Marketing Institute" from the ashes of an entrepreneurial venture that failed during the Great Recession. By "going big" on branded media when everyone else went home, that fledgling company changed marketing forever, rebranding the notion of "Content Marketing" and forging a media empire. Pulizzi would go on to launch the "Content Marketing World" conference, write three best-selling books and co-launch “This Old Marketing” the podcast. And his advice will come as a breath of fresh air for communications professionals who are uncertain about what comes after 2025. It certainly did for Dusty in 2020. As he reveals for the first time in this episode, he was close to despair about the future of Podcamp Media when he first had this conversation with Joe. But the interview forced Dusty to take a deep breath, double down on his podcast content marketing strategy, and dig in on making Podcamp Media succeed. And here we are today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What you see online is not real. This has long been a reliable axiom for information consumption on the internet. But social media and SEO marketers have long relied on their engagement metrics as an exception to that rule—critical quantitative data that can't be faked and can be leveraged to demonstrate the value of a campaign or piece of content. Except in 2025, it's just not reliable any more. That is because sophisticated operations called "bot farms" have built swarms of networked smart phones designed to mimic the organic engagement that drives social media algorithms. At a command, these bot farms can create a cascade of authentic-seeming engagement that's nearly indistinguishable from the real thing, catapulting selected posts to the top of social media feeds. International state actors can wage propaganda wars. Financial influencers can pump up the value of assets they hold. And, more and more, global brands can leverage bot activity to drive their messaging to the top of feeds, manufacture social proof, and astro-turf the impression of favorability. So in this episode, we're talking to digital PR expert Eric Schwartzman, whose firm helps clients with brand management, reputation monitoring, crisis management, and corporate communications. He also recently published an expose for Fast Company on the rise of bot farms and its implications. Together, we'll learn how bot farmers manipulate the algorithm, what means are available to detect inauthentic activity, and why social media networks are slow to react. Plus, we'll explore the moral quandary that social media and SEO marketers increasingly face in this brave new world: If everyone else is using bots to drive engagement... should you? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a weird, enigmatic old billboard along the interstate in Wisconsin promoting a "Sales & Marketing Tip of the Week." Without any branding or context, this weathered sign invites thousands of motorists daily to call a mysterious phone number. And that has been driving Dusty CRAZY because, frankly, nothing about this billboard makes any sense in 2025. So we're going to SOLVE A MARKETING MYSTERY, folks! Together with our old pal Kyle Brown, we're going to speculate about WHY this sign exists, how it got there, and what its purpose is. And THEN, we're actually going to track down the person responsible for the sign and learn the strange-but-true story of the "Sales & Marketing Tip of the Week." Because it turns out this billboard is a portal back in time to a different era of direct response marketing. We discover that it was built decades ago by Ken Hoffman, a self-proclaimed "ideas man" who gives them away for free, but has trouble getting his own ideas off the ground. We learn how his career was influenced by the so-called "marketing gurus" of yesteryear, and find lots in common with this endlessly curious polymath. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After more than a decade of living in an entertainment golden age... Filled with more and better options, with less advertising, than ever before in human history... Are the good times over? Almost every major streaming service has recently begun inserting advertising into its programming. And it's NOT your imagination... the ads really are more disruptive and obnoxious than traditional television commercials. So what's driving the sudden advertising stampede in the streaming services that we used to love? How much worse is it going to get? And who in their right mind still thinks that intrusive advertising, inserted into something we'd rather be watching, is a way to win hearts and minds in the year 2025? We'll discuss all this and more with world-renowned film and television critic Matt Zoller Seitz, the editor at large of RogerEbert.com (where he authored this barnburner https://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/streaming-ads-worst ) Matt is a Pulitzer finalist who writes as well for New York magazine and Vulture.com. He's the founder of MZS.press, the arts bookstore of the internet, and appears in print in The New York Times, Salon, and Rolling Stone. And he's the author of a handful of New York Times bestsellers, including the Wes Anderson Collection, The Sopranos Sessions, and Mad Men Carousel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three weeks after accepting a new role as an American Airlines spokeswoman in 1995, Jennifer R. Hudson was paged out of bed in the middle of the night. The worst had happened. Flight 965 had disappeared in the mountains of Colombia, and Jennifer needed to report to the scene of the crash to coordinate the company's public relations response. Unnerved and uncertain, she had to push aside her doubts and power through what would become one of the most harrowing experiences of her career. Jennifer would go on to serve as a Vice President of Communications for British Airways, a PR Manager at the Sabre Group, and eventually the head of her own independent agency, Think Beyond PR. But the experience of immersing herself in a tragedy that cost 159 lives sticks with her to this day, forging a set of PR instincts and resolve that have served her well. And in the wake of recent air disasters, including the American Eagle 5342 tragedy in Washington, her story offers rare insights into what’s happening behind the scenes right now. ----- You can learn more about the crash of Flight 965 in this episode of Mayday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the height of the Cola Wars in the mid-90's, Pepsi committed one of the most notorious PR and marketing fiascos of all-time. An eye-catching spot promised brand fans that, if they saved up 7 million Pepsi Points, they could win a Harrier fighter jet. However, no one at Pepsi or their ad agency ever expected anyone to try to claim that prize. And when Washington business school student John Leonard did, they faced a multi-year legal battle and a storm of negative publicity. Now, almost three decades later, another beverage company has spoofed that infamous campaign—with a twist. Canned water brand Liquid Death actually bought a jet for one lucky fan to win, and executed a wildly successful promotion to support the contest. So in this episode, we're talking to Liquid Death VP of Creative Andy Pearson about the logistics of making that happen. We discuss Liquid Death's unique approach to marketing, his creative influences, and why they would even want to try to recreate the publicity stunt that lost Pepsi the Cola Wars. And with Jeff Beer from Fast Company, we explore the background and takeaway lessons of the Pepsi Harrier Jet fiasco.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earned media has long been the holy grail of public relations. For decades, getting your client's message in the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal has been the gold standard by which PR agencies are judged. But as we march further into this age of new media, those public opinion gatekeepers in the traditional media are losing their dominance of the American attention span. And as evidenced by this year's presidential campaign strategy, that means that PR tactics are shifting as well. Donald Trump's interview on the Joe Rogan podcast is seen as a pivotal moment in the campaign that cemented his electoral victory. And Kamala Harris's appearance with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast reached millions of voting age women who were viewed as critical to the Democrat's campaign strategy. So in this episode of Lead Balloon, we're joined by Colab co-founders Ashley Mann and Lizzy Harris for a post-mortem on the 2024 election in a public relations context. They discuss why traditional media's influence is waning, how campaigns leveraged podcasts and social media in the run up to the election, and how PR professionals should adapt their strategies. And they'll touch on the importance of building genuine relationships with members of the new media, navigating influencer marketing, and the challenges of media training in a rapidly changing environment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Jones, founder of the extremist conspiracy-theory-peddling digital brand Infowars, has proved again and again that there is no lie he will not embrace and no moral line he will not cross. For his own, personal benefit, he has victimized the grieving parents of children who were killed in school shootings. He has deliberately stoked fear among his followers in order to sell them snake oil. He has promoted insane conspiracy theories about everything from 9-11 to the moon landing.  And this month, karma FINALLY came around for him in the most epic way possible. The families of some Sandy Hook school shooting victims—the very people Jones hurt the most—are teaming up with the Onion, America's leading satiric comedy publication, to purchase Jones's Infowars brand at his bankruptcy auction. So in this episode, we're talking to Leila Brillson, CMO of The Onion, to learn all the delicious details. In this interview dated November 19, 2024, we'll explore what led to the bidding process, the line between corporate strategy and comedy, and the Onion's blooming partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety. And we'll critique this ongoing corporate acquisition not just as a business strategy, but as a cunning publicity stunt and a brilliantly-conceived work of art. There's a video version of this episode available at https://youtu.be/0JvJuszeNtU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The videos and stories we’ve seen and heard from Hurricanes Helene and Milton over the last month have been truly horrific. They're an important reminder that the rescue and recovery crews who rush into these disaster zones are invaluable... ...as is the work of public affairs crews and reporters who document the aftermath of these storms. They’re giving the outside world a window in to the carnage, making clear the need for aid, and bearing witness to what we’ve lost. So in this episode, we're going to explore the sacrifices they make in the line-of-duty, and the psychological—and sometimes physical—toll it takes. We'll meet Molly McPherson and Mike Moore, two former public affairs professionals for the Federal Emergency Management Agency who were assigned to the Hurricane Ike disaster zone in 2008. It’s an assignment that would change their lives forever—and nearly cut Molly’s short.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The image of 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis riding in a tank has become synonymous with abject public relations failure. For marketers and PR practitioners, it serves as an enduring reminder of the power that our mistakes have to burn down powerful people and institutions in one moment of lapsed judgment. And in the spirit of the upcoming election, in this episode we'll explore what led up to the catastrophe, and its lasting impact on the world of public relations and marketing, with one Democrat and one Republican, both of whom worked in the White House. Josh King was a junior staffer on the campaign trail for Team Dukakis '88. He went on to serve as White House events director under Democratic President Bill Clinton. And Kevin Sullivan was the White House spokesman under the 43rd president, Republican George W. Bush. Together, they'll shed light on the political legend of Dukakis in a tank, offer up a glimpse behind the scenes of the Clinton and Bush administrations, and remind us of a few other times when the republic teetered on the brink of PR calamity.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sociolinguist Dr. Valerie Fridland says we need to relax about the changing nature of language. In her book, "Like, Literally Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English," she notes that language has always evolved. Every generation adds its own spin, and the English language is almost unrecognizable from what was spoken centuries ago. And for the most part, we agree. But Dusty thinks there's a *figurative* line in the sand that should never be crossed: the corruption of the word "literally" in modern English. We talked to Dr. Fridland for episode 43 of this podcast, where she gave us a brief history of how slang evolves, and why it’s a bad idea for brands to try and co-opt it. And she was so informative and wonderful and fun to talk to. But, in this clip that we didn’t have a place for in the episode, Dusty still had to press her about her stance on the word “literally.”  Is Dusty just being a stick-in-the-mud? Or do we need to hold the line on "literally?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're working with high-profile people in fields like PR, marketing and branding, things are always changing. History gets uncovered. New information comes to light that changes everything. And sometimes an opportunity comes along to learn just a little bit more about a topic of interest. So in this episode, we're revisiting three separate tales from Lead Balloon’s four-year run to dig deeper, uncovering some new "holy crap" moments that we never saw coming. From episode one, we find out how the manager for world-famous-Internet-meme-Grumpy-Cat feels about being cast as the villain on our podcast. From episode 13, how the Harmon Brothers agency, creators of the viral video ads for the Squatty Potty, have become involved with the rightwing-conspiracy-fueled media landscape of the "Sound of Freedom" film, distributed by Angel Studios, that made headlines in 2023. We also learn that they're working on an eyebrow-raising marketing/entertainment crossover called Homestead, based on the Black Autumn book series. And, we dig in to their other past projects, including Covenant Eyes and VidAngel. And from episode 40, Dwight Chapin—who served in the Nixon administration and did prison time as part of the Watergate scandal—talks about how he punked Nelson Rockefeller at a political press conference, and shares his sincere regrets about his time in politics.  Plus, we're joined by our old friends, marketer and strategist Kyle Brown and Andrew Julian, senior sports editor for the Messenger, to talk about what's next for Lead Balloon as a podcast. Cheers to 50 episodes, everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of his first week working in public relations, Lead Balloon host Dusty Weis did something so dumb, he could have been fired on the spot. During a meeting with one of his new bosses, prominent Milwaukee politician Jim Bohl, Dusty made a bad assumption and recklessly insulted Jim to his face. Dusty wasn't fired, and the pair went on to work well together at City Hall for five years. But they never again spoke about what was said on that fateful day in 2012. That is, until the launch of Lead Balloon, when they recorded this important conversation about making mistakes, forgiveness and leadership. So in this remastered early episode of Lead Balloon, Dusty recounts the hilarious tale of the dumbest thing he ever did, with the help of colleague Ken Leiviska. Then, he and Jim Bohl revisit the insult to note some important lessons for media professionals transitioning into a career in political PR. And finally, Dusty checks in with two other City Hall officials, city clerk Jim Owczarski and public information manager Bill Arnold, to see just how close he actually came to getting fired in his first week on the job. Don't forget, I could really use your feedback about the future of the show. Please take the survey at podcampmedia.com/survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFOs have traditionally been more of a pop culture phenomenon than an actual science. But with the recent declassification of Navy gun camera footage that shows unexplained craft seeming to defy the laws of flight and physics, there's a growing movement among the aviation, military and science communities. They insist it's vital to destigmatize the conversation around Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs, which is the preferred nomenclature for the inexplicable occurrences. Because the craft seem to do things that are impossible for our current level of aeronautical technology, and have interfered with the operation of other aircraft in-flight. And if they aren't American, they pose a national security threat regardless of whether they're from China, Russia or... somewhere else. So in this episode, we talk to former Navy Lt. Ryan Graves, the founder of Americans for Safe Aerospace and a former Navy F-18 pilot who has experienced encounters with UAP. He was also one of three experts called to testify at a Congressional hearing in July. He'll share the things he saw that convinced him that UAP are a serious issue, what made him decide to come forward as the first military pilot to go public with his concerns, and why so many pilots experience UAP but choose not to report it. Then, we'll discuss how his organization is leading a campaign to destigmatize the conversation, promote UAP reporting, and bring transparency to the issue. Visit podcampmedia.com/survey to give some feedback about the future of the Lead Balloon Podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices