Lead Balloon Episodes

Lead Balloon Ep. 54 - The Election of the Podcast? 2024 Presidential Campaign PR Focuses on Podcasts & Social Media

Dusty Weis

5 days ago24 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 54 - The Election of the Podcast? 2024 Presidential Campaign PR Focuses on Podcasts & Social Media

With Colab founders Ashley Mann and Lizzy Harris Earned media has long been the holy grail of public relations. For decades, getting your...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 53 - Alex Jones’s Infowars Being Purchased by the Onion and Sandy Hook Families, with Onion CMO Leila Brillson

Dusty Weis

Nov 2618 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 53 - Alex Jones’s Infowars Being Purchased by the Onion and Sandy Hook Families, with Onion CMO Leila Brillson

A corporate takeover, karmic justice, and comedy art—all at once. Alex Jones, founder of the extremist conspiracy-theory-peddling digital...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 52 - FEMA Public Affairs Team Still Carries Scars from Hurricane Ike Assignment, with Molly McPherson & Mike Moore

Dusty Weis

Oct 3131 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 52 - FEMA Public Affairs Team Still Carries Scars from Hurricane Ike Assignment, with Molly McPherson & Mike Moore

A FEMA public affairs unit puts itself in harm's way after a deadly storm, and the experience leaves a lasting impact on both of our...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 51 - The Legend of Dukakis in a Tank: White House Comms Pros Talk Presidential Optics

Dusty Weis

Oct 129 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 51 - The Legend of Dukakis in a Tank: White House Comms Pros Talk Presidential Optics

Exploring the most disastrous photo op in history with a staffer from Team Dukakis '88 and his Republican counterpart.

720 views0 comments

Lead Balloon Ep. 50 - Grumpy Cat's Manager, Squatty Potty, the Sound of Freedom, Homestead, Watergate & More Updates

Dusty Weis

Dec 27, 202331 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 50 - Grumpy Cat's Manager, Squatty Potty, the Sound of Freedom, Homestead, Watergate & More Updates

Some eye-opening updates on old episodes with two old pals who dropped in for our 50th episode. When you're working with high-profile...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 49 - How I Almost Got Fired in My 1st Week in PR: Important Life Lessons Learned

Dusty Weis

Nov 29, 202328 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 49 - How I Almost Got Fired in My 1st Week in PR: Important Life Lessons Learned

As a young PR hot shot, Dusty stupidly insults his new boss. Seven years later, they revisit the faux pas. At the end of his first week...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 48 - A UAP PR Campaign: Mainstreaming the UAP Conversation, with Lt. Ryan Graves

Dusty Weis

Nov 1, 202331 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 48 - A UAP PR Campaign: Mainstreaming the UAP Conversation, with Lt. Ryan Graves

He's not asking you to believe in little green men. But he is insisting we take this national security threat seriously. UFOs have...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 47 - NextGen America Slides into DMs on the Dating App Hinge, with Kristi Johnston

Dusty Weis

Oct 3, 202320 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 47 - NextGen America Slides into DMs on the Dating App Hinge, with Kristi Johnston

Get-out-the-vote organizers mix dating with politics in an innovative, eyebrow-raising new tactic. Let's be honest: political groups...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 46 - Why Are Wireless Emergency Alerts on Your Phone So Terrible?

Dusty Weis

Sep 6, 202325 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 46 - Why Are Wireless Emergency Alerts on Your Phone So Terrible?

A ballistic missile false alarm in Hawaii prompts us to take a closer look at a perennially misused public safety tool. On January 18,...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 45 - Replaced by Chat GPT: Are Creative and Copywriting Jobs Threatened by A.I.?

Dusty Weis

Aug 1, 202323 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 45 - Replaced by Chat GPT: Are Creative and Copywriting Jobs Threatened by A.I.?

We meet one of the "first wave" of workers laid off in the Artificial Intelligence revolution, and look ahead to the future of creative...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 44 - How a Real Life Ad Agency Inspired the Robin Williams Sitcom, "The Crazy Ones"

Dusty Weis

Jul 5, 202332 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 44 - How a Real Life Ad Agency Inspired the Robin Williams Sitcom, "The Crazy Ones"

Life at Leo Burnett served as a constant source of comedic inspiration for John R. Montgomery and Rob Davis. Every professional...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 43 - Brands Don't Have the Rizz: Gen Z Slang Is Falling Flat in Marketing

Dusty Weis

Jun 1, 202326 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 43 - Brands Don't Have the Rizz: Gen Z Slang Is Falling Flat in Marketing

We prove conclusively, WITH SCIENCE, that brands are only hurting themselves when they co-opt youth slang. "How do you do, fellow...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 42 - OkCupid During the Covid Pandemic: PR Messaging and Online Dating Apps

Dusty Weis

May 2, 202330 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 42 - OkCupid During the Covid Pandemic: PR Messaging and Online Dating Apps

Social distancing could have been cataclysmic to the world of online dating, but OkCupid chose to embrace it anyway. When the unstoppable...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 41 - Deepfakes: How Communicators Must Prepare Now for this Reputation Threat

Dusty Weis

Apr 4, 202329 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 41 - Deepfakes: How Communicators Must Prepare Now for this Reputation Threat

In recent weeks, deepfake disinformation attacks have exploded, and experts say a new era of strategic communication tactics must arise....

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Lead Balloon Ep. 40 - In Event of Moon Disaster: The Greatest Speech Never Given

Dusty Weis

Mar 1, 202328 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 40 - In Event of Moon Disaster: The Greatest Speech Never Given

Lost for 30 years in the Nixon archives, today it is hailed as a work of rhetorical and poetic genius. It has been called “The Greatest...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 39 - Pernicious Copyright Robots: PicRights & the Practice of "CopyRight Trolling"

Dusty Weis

Jan 31, 202330 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 39 - Pernicious Copyright Robots: PicRights & the Practice of "CopyRight Trolling"

They're Targeting Your Corporate Blog, Your Company Website and Even Your Social Media, and They Can Level Hefty "Settlement" Payments...

1,322 views2 comments

Lead Balloon Ep. 38 - The Bud Light CoRntroversy, Revisited: Miller Lite Strikes Back

Dusty Weis

Dec 21, 202232 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 38 - The Bud Light CoRntroversy, Revisited: Miller Lite Strikes Back

A classic episode re-mastered, with new insights from the CCO of Molson Coors. Now with 50% new footage! During Super Bowl LIII in 2019,...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 37 - Blue Angels Ride Along: Becoming the First Podcast to Fly with the Blue Angels

Dusty Weis

Nov 1, 202234 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 37 - Blue Angels Ride Along: Becoming the First Podcast to Fly with the Blue Angels

Dusty gets strapped into an F/A-18 Super Hornet to learn how the US Navy does media relations. For the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 36 - The US Navy Blue Angels: Public Affairs and Marketing at 500 Miles Per Hour

Dusty Weis

Oct 4, 202237 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 36 - The US Navy Blue Angels: Public Affairs and Marketing at 500 Miles Per Hour

Lead Balloon embeds with the world's most elite, "high-tempo, ready-to-rock-and-roll" public affairs and marketing team. The U.S. Navy...

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Lead Balloon Ep. 35 - Post-Cold War Trip to Uzbekistan Boosts Fundraising for UJA's Operation Exodus

Dusty Weis

Sep 1, 202222 min read

Lead Balloon Ep. 35 - Post-Cold War Trip to Uzbekistan Boosts Fundraising for UJA's Operation Exodus

With Dick Grove and Ron Friedman: Fundraising was a challenge in the wake of the iconic Rabin-Arafat handshake at the White House in...

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