Author Archives 
Tendo Communications is a communications agency that specializes in custom media. We develop communication programs that attract, engage and retain the audiences that are important to you: customers, prospects, partners, employees. We produce custom content—publications, websites, editorial, video and interactive— that speaks to your audience, strengthens their relationship to your brand, and maximizes ROI.
-
Joe Pulizzi to marketers: Start thinking like publishers!
Internet-savvy buyers are hungry for content. And not just any content … valuable, relevant content that offers solutions to their problems and helps them lead successful, productive, enjoyable lives. However, they are also inundated by thousands of marketing messages every day, most of which they ignore. To get through, you need to communicate differently. You… Continue reading
-
Martin Eberhard: How blogs helped build the Tesla Roadster
As the former CEO of Tesla Motors and one of the company’s two founders, I was asked by a friend at Tendo–who worked alongside me at Tesla–to highlight the significance of blogging in the launch of my company and in the unveiling of the 100% electric Tesla Roadster.
First… Continue reading
-
NBA stars tweet to fan base
When Charlie Villanueva, a basketball player with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, decided to tweet from the team’s locker room during halftime of a March game against the Celtics, a cry was heard across the land. What was he thinking? Why wasn’t his mind on basketball? His own coach said it gave the impression that the… Continue reading
-
Britain bans jargon
The concept of jargon reached new levels of importance last week when it was elevated from boardroom to courtroom. Fed up with inaccessible language within its system, Britain’s local government association (LGA) put its foot down. No longer tolerated are the terms taxonomy, re-baselining, mainstreaming, holistic governance, contestability, predictors of beaconicity—and 194 more.
Martin… Continue reading
-
Ford’s facebook attempt is a non-starter
I’ll admit it: I own a Ford Taurus. And even though I look like a pharmaceutical rep driving it, it’s still my ride and I have to defend the brand. Sort of. So, when David Murphy called out Facebook Ford Drives U as an example of improper use of a social network, I had to… Continue reading
-
Patagonia: taking green commerce to a new level with the footprint chronicles
Patagonia knows its market. The manufacturer of clothing for the outdoors adventurer has taken environmental sustainability—a core concern for its target audience—to a new level with the Footprint Chronicles website. It’s a broad-strokes effort to explain the environmental impact of the manufacturing sector, viewed strictly through the lens of Patagonia products.
It’s a brilliant concept, with execution that lives up to the company’s lofty ideals. Continue reading
-
Virgin America: balancing functionality with flash
Virgin America has a lot going for it in terms of differentiation from other airlines. Personalized entertainment systems and power outlets at each seat, generous legroom, tinted windows, leather upholstery. . . and mood lighting! And all at affordable rates.
The airline also has a differentiator that is less concrete, but equally powerful–style… Continue reading
-
Smart: Retains Brand Voice While Dispelling Common Misconceptions About Smart cars
Smart’s microsite for the U.K is designed to guide the user through a series of quizzes and scenarios designed to dispel misconceptions about the diminutive Smart Fortwo—namely that it is unsafe, too small to be practical, low on features, and tight on interior accommodations. While the site could have come across as defensive, preachy, or sales-y, it avoids those potential pitfalls and remains both informative and entertaining. Continue reading
-
Sticker envy
I was feeling pretty good about getting up early yesterday to cast my ballot, until I received an unexpected hazing once I got to work … about the size of my “I Voted” sticker. It seems that some of my co-workers were significantly better endowed in that department than myself, and weren’t shy about trumpeting… Continue reading
-
Apple: A Little More Polishing Would Help the User Experience Match the Sleek Design
Apple’s website does a great job of maintaining the company’s consistent and powerful branding and provides a lot of engaging content. But like much of Apple’s user interface design, what seems simple on the surface can get complicated fast if you need something specific. Continue reading
-
My non-sexy Halloween
I participated in and won my first Halloween hat contest today in the office. And I bet you want to see a picture. Well, you’d be underwhelmed because there was nothing sexy about it. It wasn’t particularly slick or expensive either. My recipe:
a) Create something that’s a spin on “hard hat.”… Continue reading
-
Epic fail
If you were smart, you were still in bed at 5 a.m. this morning. That’s where I wish I’d been. Instead I was click, click, clicking away at my laptop in hopes of scoring two nights at a luxury hotel somewhere across the globe for a mere $19.28 per night.
Leading Hotels of the… Continue reading
-
Political websites
When I sat down to review the official websites of Barack Obama and John McCain, it was with the specific goal of neutrality—keeping my own politics removed from a critical view of each site.
Turns out that’s impossible. Divorcing my own leanings from the review wasn’t too tough, but it was difficult to avoid… Continue reading
