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Shel Holtz, SCMP

Shel Holtz, SCMP (Certified Strategic Communication Management Professional), is currently director of Internal Communication at Webcor, a San Francisco-based commercial contractor. He is responsible for employee and executive communication, as well as social media. He also supports Webcor’s corporate public relations efforts.

Before joining Webcor in October 2017, Shel spent 21 years as principal of Holtz Communication + Technology, where he brought more than 40 years of organizational communications experience in both corporate and consulting environments to his long list of clients. He is experienced in employee communications, corporate public relations, crisis communications, media relations, financial communications, investor relations, marketing communications, and compensation and benefits communications. In addition to integrating technology into communications strategies, his expertise includes strategic communications planning, change management, organizational culture, business initiatives, and communications research.

Before forming Holtz Communication + Technology, Shel was senior communications consultant and the communications practice leader for Alexander & Alexander Consulting Group in San Francisco, California. (A&ACG has since been acquired by Aon Consulting.) Other positions include director of corporate communications for Allergan, Inc., a Fortune 400 pharmaceutical company, and at Mattel, Inc. He also has worked for William M. Mercer, Inc., ARCO and Transamerica Financial Corporation.

In addition to his consulting and development work, Shel is a regular speaker on topics surrounding the application of online technology to strategic organizational communication. He speaks regularly at IABC and Ragan Communication conferences. He also has been on programs for the International Quality and Productivity Center, The American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business, the American Gas Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts, the Association of California Water Agencies, and the Western Pension & Benefits Conference, among others. He also spoke regularly on the Lexis-Nexis touring seminar, “Communicating in a Wired World.”

Shel is a five-time winner of IABC’s Gold Quill award (most recently winning in 1997 for external Web sites) and was named IABC/Los Angeles’s Communicator of the Year in 1988. Shel served six years on IABC’s executive board, two as director of U.S. District 6 and four as a director-at-large. While a director-at-large, he held the Technology portfolio, among others. During his term on the board, he served three times as a member of the executive committee. He has also served as chapter president for IABC/Los Angeles and in a variety of other volunteer positions in IABC at the chapter, district and international levels. Shel earned his IABC accreditation (ABC/Accredited Business Communicator) in 1984.

In 2005, Shel was named an IABC Fellow, the highest honor IABC confers on its members. He also is an Accredited Business Communicator through IABC.

Shel is a Senior Fellow with the Conference Board’s Marketing and Communications Center and a Platinum Fellow of The Mayo Clinic Social Media Network.

Shel has applied online technology to his communication efforts on behalf of companies and clients since the mid-1980s. His most recent book is “Tactical Transparency,” co-written with John C. Havens and published by Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley. Shel is also the co-author of “How to Do Everything with Podcasting,” co-written with Neville Hobson and published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill and “Blogging for Business,” co-written with Ted Demopoulos and published by Kaplan. Earlier books include “Corporate Conversations,” a guide to employee communications, published by Amacom. “Public Relations on the Net,” published by AMACOM; and “The Intranet Advantage,” published by Ziff-Davis Press. He also wrote the manuals, “Communication and Technology” and “Communicator’s Guide to Intranets,” published by Ragan Communications and “Writing for the Wired World,” published by IABC.

Shel graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge, in 1976.

About Shel Holtz

Shel Holtz, ABC (Accredited Business Communicator), is director of Internal Communications at Webcor, a commercial general contractor headquartered in San Francisco. Before joining Webcor, Shel spent 21 years as principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. In addition to integrating technology into communications strategies, his expertise includes strategic communications planning, change management, organizational culture, business initiatives and communications research. Full bio

FIR #353: Blogging in the AI Era

September 8, 2023 by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson Leave a Comment

https://traffic.libsyn.com/fir/forimmed-353.mp3

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Generative Artificial Intelligence has a lot to offer bloggers, from easier research to better SEO. It can also let people crank out torrents of posts. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel examine the benefits and risks AI presents to bloggers and whether blogs are more or less important in the AI era.
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Filed Under: For Immediate Release

FIR #352: AI and Elections — Should We Panic?

September 5, 2023 by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson Leave a Comment

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Generative Artificial Intelligence is poised to become a wild card in upcoming elections, most notably the 2024 presidential election in the U.S. Its primary use will be the creation of disinformation. But can voters be swayed by this flood of new content that (let’s face it) joins the flood of disinformation people have been creating without AI? Neville and Shel look at multiple sides of the issue in this short midweek episode.
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Filed Under: For Immediate Release

Thought Leaders Discuss Leadership in Communication in September Circle of Fellows

September 2, 2023 by Shel Holtz Leave a Comment

Don’t miss the exclusive live panel discussion hosted by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) on September 21 at noon EDT. Tune in as an esteemed panel of IABC Fellows explores the intersection of leadership and communication and how those at the top can leverage their communication skills to drive business success. These leaders will share their insights on communicating vision, values, and purpose; creating alignment around the business plan; motivating teams; and more. Whether you’re an aspiring communicator or a seasoned executive, this can’t-miss event will provide strategic advice to help you empower teams, connect with stakeholders, and boost leadership impact through effective communication.

Using YouTube’s live chat feature, you will be able to ask questions and share your own observations and experiences in real time. If you are unable to join us live, the episode will be available shortly after the panel wraps up as a YouTube video replay and an audio podcast.
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Filed Under: News

FIR #351: No Such Thing as Peak Podcast

August 30, 2023 by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson Leave a Comment

https://traffic.libsyn.com/fir/forimmed-351.mp3

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Can there be too many podcasts? That’s just one question a panel of podcast luminaries answered for The Hollywood Reporter. Neville and Shel highlight key comments and discuss the direction podcasting is taking and whether it remains relevant for organizational communicators in this short midweek episode.
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Filed Under: For Immediate Release

FIR #350: Success Breeds Imitation

August 23, 2023 by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson Leave a Comment

https://traffic.libsyn.com/fir/forimmed-350.mp3

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The spectacular success of the Barbie movie has led Mattel to plan more than a dozen movies based on its brands, including Hot Wheels, Barney, Polly Pocket, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, and American Girl — not to mention a full-blown theme park (with a Barbie Beach, Hot Wheels rides, and a massive He-Man and the Masters of the Universe laser tag arena. Mattel’s competitors are also making plans for movie versions of its products. Movies based on toys are nothing new (we’ve seen multiple Transformers movies, GI Joe movies, and a He-Man flick). But Barbie raised the bar. Will the inevitable flood of toy-branded movies rise to that level or just be the schlock we’ve come to expect? Neville and Shel dissect the possibilities in this short midweek episode.
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Filed Under: For Immediate Release

FIR #349: Marketing’s Pity Party

August 21, 2023 by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson Leave a Comment

https://traffic.libsyn.com/fir/forimmed-349.mp3

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“Pity Marketing” is having a moment. Multiple reports have surfaced of people sharing tales of woe, mostly on the X (formerly Twitter) social network, leading many who see the posts to pull out their wallets. Could the same technique work for bigger brands? Also in the August long-form episode of “For Immediate Release”:

  • The Associated Press has published its AI guidelines for journalists
  • Big advertisers are rushing to take advantage of AI
  • Gartner has pegged AI at the peak of inflated expectations
  • Motion identities are now a requirement for brands
  • Brands are starting to sound alike on social media

In his Tech Report, Dan York reports on Twitch’s plans to roll out blocking, new features on Threads, developments with Mastodon, a new fediverse report, and scientists scaling back their use of X (formerly Twitter).
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Filed Under: For Immediate Release

Circle of Fellows #95: From Meh to Marvelous

August 18, 2023 by Shel Holtz Leave a Comment

https://traffic.libsyn.com/fir/firfellows-095.mp3

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The goal of communication in any organization is for the recipient to think, feel, or do something. Most often, the outcome we seek is a behavior: We want the recipient to do more of what they’re already doing, do something differently, or do something new. Conveying information alone will rarely inspire someone to action. That requires communicators to add creativity to the mix. In this Circle of Fellows episode, four IABC Fellows explore the application of creativity to business outcomes, including the various approaches one might take, the differences between influencing employees and other stakeholders, and convincing leadership that creativity is an appropriate business communication technique.
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Filed Under: Circle of Fellows

FIR #348: The Consequences of AI Panic

August 17, 2023 by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson Leave a Comment

https://traffic.libsyn.com/fir/forimmed-348.mp3

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Prosecraft was a useful site for wanna-be fiction writers. It violated no copyright rules and did nothing that should have been upsetting to authors whose works were included in the site’s library. For several years, nobody gave it a second thought. But as AI has raised worries among creatives, some authors jerked their knees and demanded their works be removed. The loss of Prosecraft is bad enough. The chilling effect could be worse. Neville and Shel discuss the potential consequences of AI panic in this short midweek episode.
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Filed Under: For Immediate Release

FIR #347: Digital Media, Star Power, and Wrexham

August 15, 2023 by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson Leave a Comment

https://traffic.libsyn.com/fir/forimmed-347.mp3

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Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney made headlines when they bought the Wrexham Association Football Club. Since then they have poured cash into the team and applied business savvy to build a global fan base for the obscure Welsh club. Among the tactics employed was a digital media strategy focused on entertaining storytelling centered on team members and coaches. Can that approach work for other sports teams or businesses that don’t have the star power of a Ryan Reynolds to draw attention? Neville and Shel discuss the story in this short midweek episode.
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Filed Under: For Immediate Release

Circle of Fellows #95: From Meh to Marvelous

August 6, 2023 by Shel Holtz Leave a Comment

The goal of communication in any organization is for the recipient to think, feel, or do something. Most often, the outcome we seek is a behavior: We want the recipient to do more of what they’re already doing, do something differently, or do something new. Conveying information alone will rarely inspire someone to action. That requires communicators to add creativity to the mix. In this Circle of Fellows episode, four IABC Fellows will explore the application of creativity to business outcomes, including the various approaches one might take, the differences between influencing employees and other stakeholders, and convincing leadership that creativity is an appropriate business communication technique.

The panel will be streamed live at noon EDT on Thursday, August 17. Using YouTube’s live chat feature, you will be able to ask questions and share your own observations and experiences in realtime. If you are unable to join us live, the episode will be available shortly after the panel wraps up as a YouTube video replay and an audio podcast.
Continue Reading →

Filed Under: News

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