Blue Tide Creative

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Lessons from a Sunday School Teacher

Erin Breeden

Sometimes you just need a reset. 

The Blue Tide Creative team is excited to bring back our newsletter after taking a break to refocus, finish some large client projects, and kick off/wrap up our first round of our Concierge Service. 

I realized (hey, it's Erin) that I was trying to do too much and be too much all at once with the newsletter, the business, and life. Something had to give, and, at the time, it was the newsletter. Now that I've assembled an amazing team to help grow the business, I think it's time to bring back the newsletter in a way that we both find valuable, creative, and fun. 

The newsletters will be more streamlined and will feature practical advice, insight, and examples of how to leverage communications and marketing for businesses and brands of all sizes. It'll also highlight things going on with Blue Tide Creative and my random thoughts (I have a lot).

But the real goal of the newsletter is to add a human element and have authentic conversations about marketing, PR, digital, trends, etc., that will showcase my expertise but will also help you in your day-to-day dealings with clients, customers, coworkers, family, friends, and strangers.

Please reach out with any questions or topics you'd love to learn about. This newsletter is for you, so please don't be a stranger. 

Lessons Learned From My Sunday School Teacher

When I was in preschool, I had a slight problem using excessive amounts of glue for art projects. I was famous for using half a bottle of Elmer's Glue to glue cotton balls to construction paper to mimic fluffy clouds. 

 

My sweet Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Tribby, eventually helped me curb my addictive glue habit by sweetly telling me that "a little dab will do ya." She explained that a little bit of glue could go a long way and that I didn't need to overdo it. After that, my addiction to excessive glue usage ended. 

 

Although her advice was about my messy art habit, it is a saying that has come in handy many times in my life, personally and professionally. Over the years, I've evolved it into my mantra that a little bit can go a long way. 

 

I've given this advice to clients, friends, colleagues, and mentees. I think about it when working on articles, pitching, training my clients for media interviews, and branding for my clients. I keep it in mind when I post on my personal social media platforms. 

 

I use this lesson daily, and so can you! Here are some of my ‘little bit can go a long way’ go-tos you can implement today.

  1. Don't try to force things. Most of the time, ‘just enough’ is enough. When we try to add too much or over-explain, we risk losing the people we are talking to or who are reading our content. Don't be afraid to channel your inner Mrs. Tribby and edit yourself.

  2. Keep it short and to the point. Give your audience what they want without the filler. Stick with the classic who, what, when, where, why, and how when explaining something, giving a speech, asking for a donation, or creating marketing content. Time is precious. Respect your time and your audience's time and get to the point.

  3. Engage and leave a lasting impression. An easy way to engage is to use words that grab attention and still have meaning. Instead of the word new, try advanced, innovative, or contemporary. Instead of authentic, maybe use the words honest or original. You don't need to use jargon, but definitely give them something fresh.

And now, I have the urge to create an art project.

Silicon Valley Bank and Crisis Communications

I'm sure many of you have been as riveted and shocked as I have about the news of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). We've heard about the bank run and the overall failure and heard horror stories of businesses being unable to access their accounts. But today, let's look at it from a different angle, the angle of crisis communications and what not to do. 

 

The Recap: On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank failed after a bank run, marking the second-largest bank failure in United States history and the largest since the 2008 financial crisis. But do you know what happened on March 8? 

 

The Beginning of the End: On March 8, the bank issued a press release about how it was seeking to raise cash. But the announcement had the opposite effect when the bank’s stock collapsed, and there was a run. While the press release was intended to help SVB, it actually hurt it. The bank sent the release out before notifying its customers and explaining its actions and intentions. People panicked, and SVB lost control of the narrative almost immediately. Even billionaire Peter Thiel encouraged companies to withdraw money from SVB.

 

Blue Tide Creative Thoughts: While I don't think a thoughtful communications strategy would have ultimately made up for the bank's already existing financial issues, we may be talking about a completely different story now if SVB's investors and customers were better informed. Issuing a press release without a strategy or thought about potential outcomes shows that businesses, no matter how big or small, need to have the right people in place, especially in their communications departments. It's like closing your eyes when you shoot a gun and hoping you hit your target. 

 

Interested in learning more about SVB from a communications perspective? Here are some article links: