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Lead Balloon Ep. 7 - COVID-19: Critiquing the Federal Response with former HHS Spokesman Bill Pierce
Plus, Busting Coronavirus Myths with Epidemiologist Dr. Maria Sundaram Communicating with the public during a crisis is as critical as it...

Dusty Weis
Apr 6, 202052 min read
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COVID-19: Keep Grinding, Keep Your Distance
Wow. What a time this is to be a startup small business owner. What a time this is to be anyone, I suppose. The COVID-19 Coronavirus...

Dusty Weis
Mar 26, 20202 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 6 - HBO's McMillion$: The PR Crises Behind the Hit Docu-Series
With Directors James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, as well as PR Agency Owner John Boyanoski Everybody remembers the McDonald's...

Dusty Weis
Mar 24, 202030 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 5 - The Seinfeld Press Conference, with Tim O'Brien
It might be tough to imagine these days, but public relations work still got done in the era before cell phones and broadband. Somehow....

Dusty Weis
Mar 2, 202026 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 4 - We Don't Do Ribbon Cuttings, with Patrick McSweeney and Katrine Strickland
Patrick McSweeney is a cliché warrior. If it's a hackneyed, over-worn marketing and PR trope, he’s gone to battle against it. But when...

Dusty Weis
Feb 5, 202023 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 3 - Bud Light's Corn Syrup-Fueled Ad War, with Neil Caskey and Paul Gatza
During Super Bowl LIII in 2019, Bud Light launched a new advertising strategy that was... unconventional, even for them. HEADS UP: We...

Dusty Weis
Jan 1, 202027 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 2 - City Hall Self Destruct, with Jim Bohl, Bill Arnold and Jim Owczarski
At the end of his first week working in public relations, Dusty Weis did something so dumb, he could have been fired on the spot. During...

Dusty Weis
Jan 1, 202028 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 1 - Grumpy Cat's Grumpy Manager Vs. the Wax Museum, with Jesse Russell
It was supposed to be a historic day at Madame Tussauds wax museum in San Francisco. The storied attraction was launching, not only the...

Dusty Weis
Jan 1, 202024 min read
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Nobody Does It Alone: The Value of Mentorship In a Competitive Industry
When I was 17 years old, I walked into Scott Thompson’s office wearing the only suit I owned (from prom!), handed him my resume and asked...

Dusty Weis
Nov 15, 20192 min read
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Introducing, the Lead Balloon Podcast
"Do something original, or don't bother." This is the blunt assessment I share with potential clients when I first meet them about the...

Dusty Weis
Nov 1, 20192 min read
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The True Cost of High-Quality, High-Value Podcast Production
Okay. Pet peeve time. A while back, I was listening to a competitor’s podcast, just to scope them out. I'll admit, I was entertained for...

Dusty Weis
Oct 1, 20193 min read
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Junk Mail Doesn't Work Anymore
The picture above is the inside of my recycling bin. It sits outside my back door, and every time I go to the mailbox, this is the...

Dusty Weis
Jul 18, 20192 min read
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Why Do Fireworks Safety PSAs Inevitably Make Me Want to Buy Fireworks?
It happens every year, without fail. Public safety agencies across America set up demonstrations of the danger that fireworks pose to...

Dusty Weis
Jul 3, 20192 min read
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How the Next Generation Will See On-Demand Audio
Someday, my son is going to ask me about life before podcasting. And that is going to be an entertaining, difficult conversation for me....

Dusty Weis
Jun 14, 20192 min read
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5 Reasons Not to Launch a Podcast for Your Brand
At Podcamp, all we do is produce podcasts for businesses. So you’d think we’d be shouting from the rooftops that everyone needs a...

Dusty Weis
Jun 5, 20195 min read
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The Official Launch Announcement
Okay, here’s the big news. I’m excited to announce the launch of Podcamp Media, a branded podcast production agency, and my career...

Dusty Weis
May 13, 20191 min read
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Gate Checking Bags Has Jumped the Shark
The photo above is from my last business trip. The door on the left leads to the aircraft we just de-planed. The green sign on the wall...

Dusty Weis
Apr 23, 20192 min read
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