Tobin Communications – Page 8 – The PR Download

Posted October 21, 2014 Tobin Communications

Why PR Pros Shouldn’t Neglect Audio

By Debra Zimmerman Murphey

Welcome to Tobin Communications, Inc.’s new “PR Podcast” series. Through these audio interviews, we’re asking experts to provide compelling viewpoints that we hope will get you thinking differently about how content and communications are leveraged in today’s competitive – and often time-sensitive, cyclical or trend-affected – information environment.

Today, we focus on the impact of audio, which takes on so many definitions and applications for the au courant media consumer, from the ubiquitous streaming tune and NPR’s Weekend Edition, to iHeartRadio, an effort so successful it inspired Clear Channel’s recent rebranding to iHeartMedia. Audio is convenient (the eyes may be doing other things) and a jumping-off point for many ways that consumers interface with brands, companies, organizations, people, newsmakers and opinion-leaders. Even the popular TED Talks are available in both video and audio.

In Maury Tobin’s podcast interview with veteran media strategist, Mark Ramsey, you’ll find out that the takeaway for those in public relations is to stay mindful that listening to audio programming of all kinds, particularly through smartphones, now dominates much of the activities of a mobile-centric society. In fact, eMarketer predicted that U.S. adults will spend 23 percent more time with mobile devices on an average day in 2014 than the year prior.

Joan Rivers’ Passing Is Personal For Many of Us

By Debra Zimmerman Murphey

Joan Rivers’ face may have defied gravity, but, sadly, her body did not defy mortality. In what still seems like a shocking turn of events when you consider how vital and mentally fit Rivers was at the age of 81, we are reminded that trailblazers eventually leave us and we owe it to ourselves to understand what they taught us.

Many colleagues and friends might be interested to learn that my husband Maury Tobin’s deceased mom, Ellen, was the first cousin of Sandy Arthur, who was half of the former talent-mining and development duo Irvin and Sandy Arthur, a husband-and-wife team. The entertainment entrepreneurs extraordinaire lived in Beverly Hills, Chicago and New York at various points. They cumulatively managed bookings and clubs and ushered in new talent, particularly comedians and musicians. Irvin represented greats such as Steve Allen, Ellen DeGeneres, Dick Gregory, Peggy Lee, Bill Maher and Barbra Streisand.

But what’s noteworthy now is that Rivers once worked as a secretary for Irvin while she was striving to jettison her career. Irvin, however, found her sense of humor off-putting. He knew she was determined, but there was little means of forecasting that her tenor of jokes would ensure her comic fame for decades, spanning bouffants to extensions. Years ago, Maury conducted some interviews with Irvin and after Rivers’ death, he dug through his audio archives and found an interesting bit from Irvin about Rivers. LISTEN to it here.