Mad Words

Guest Post: Tony Proscio

The Association of National Advertisers, the Madison Avenue trade group, held its convention last week. Part of that event is an annual send-up of the industry’s latest jargon. Here’s how the New York Times reported this year’s installment:

JARGON WATCH

Those who enjoy collecting samples of marketing buzz words and phrases have a field day each year at the conference. This time around, specimens included “thought leadership” and “thought experiment.” “Right-sized nutritional option” described a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Others: “choiceful,” “stakeholder engagement,” “leveraging our leadership to take positive actions,” “purposeful brand growth,” “consumer decision journey” and “change organization.”

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Your Mission: Let Us Know What You Think

At the Communications Network’s Fall Conference in Seattle last week, we unveiled our proposed new mission statement. And, we gave you a chance to react. Do you ever disappoint us when we ask you to react? Of course not.

The revised mission, which came out of a year-long strategic review led by the Network’s board, was part of an effort to determine how our organization can help foundations and the larger field of philanthropy have greater impact.

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A Connecticut Program Officer in the Communication Network’s Court

Guest Post:  Elizabeth Krause

In earnest pursuit of the elusive sweet spot of program/communications integration, I attended We’re from the Program Department:  We’re busy doing the work.  Why should we care about talking about it? at the 2012 Communications Network Conference. The breakout session was facilitated with humor and openness by Kevin Corcoran and Suzanne Walsh, two senior program officers who “get it.”

Upon entering the room, participants were invited to anonymously text where they fell across the program/communications divide using www.polleverywhere.com, an instant audience feedback tool.  I cannot wait to subject colleagues to this tool when I am home.  Consider yourself warned, Connecticut. 

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I Need a Bigger Suitcase For All of These Takeaways

Guest Post:  Katie Butterfield

At The Atlantic Philanthropies, we talk about legacy a lot. With only four more years of active grantmaking left, what we leave behind is becoming one of the biggest and most important questions we ask ourselves.

How we are remembered after we’re gone will depend a lot on how we communicate while we’re still here, and thanks to the time I spent at the Fall Communications Network conference in Seattle, I am going back to New York with lots of things to think about and incorporate into our communications strategy for our final years.

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