nun-sense
The Punching Nun Group Blog
Dark Humor, Rare Disease, and the Gold Lion: A Bold Win for Biogen—and Patients
Last week, my daughter, Fiona Cauley, added another feather to her cap. Her “dark humor” campaign for Biogen—developed in partnership with the agency behind Skyclarys—just brought home a Gold Lion at Cannes. That’s no small feat. It’s a rare accolade for a campaign about a rare disease. But perhaps the most remarkable part of this achievement is the risk they took to make something truly resonant. Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) is a degenerative neurological condition that affects every part of a person’s body and life. It’s not funny. And yet, the campaign made it relatable—through humor. That creative decision turned out to be both bold and brilliant. With over 9 million views on Instagram and TikTok, the campaign reached an audience more than 600 times larger than the total number of people in the U.S. living with FA (approximately 15,000). That kind of reach is more than a win—it’s proof that

Risk and Reward, the Economics of Immigration
In 2018 controversy and rage around immigration—illegal and otherwise—seemed to dominate the news cycle. As I took off over the Atlantic today, leaving behind the

It Really Is a Wonderful Life …
At this time of year in the Cecconi family, one of our favorite ways to celebrate Christmas and the end of another year is to

Vision Without Execution is Hallucination
Factors to Close the Execution Gap Thomas Edison’s quote, uttered more than 100 years ago, rings true across organizations of all sizes in the year

Project YOU
A new client joined the ranks of PNG this month and as I typically do—when I see something really interesting that I know they’ll relate

Prohibition & Entrepreneurialism
This is Ersilia Conjoli Cecconi. In this picture (circa 1900) she was 22. I believe it to be her wedding photo. Ersilia is my great

Hope for 2013
As we near the end of 2012, a difficult twelve months for many Americans both personally and professionally, a Forbes article by Kevin Kruse caught

A New Spin on Marketing: The Art of Communicating from the Inside Out
A sharp friend introduced me to this May 4, 2010 TEDx Presentation by Simon Sinek, a sharp/tragically hip leadership guru who has a unique spin

On Taking Chances
On nearly my 48th birthday I did something a little crazy—I jumped out of a plane at 14,000 feet, yep more than 2 ½ miles

89 Business Clichés that will Get an MBA Promoted And Make Them Totally Useless or “Bid-ness’isms”
Eric Johnson’s hilarious summary of the top 89 Business Cliches made me laugh out loud—more than a few times. What really stood out (as I

Your Story Is Your Brand
I wish I’d written that but Liz Ryan, Career Commentator (Huffington Post) beat me to it. In an economy where so many are looking for

Leadership Lessons from “The Godfather”
Seriously, how could I refuse? In an April 2, 2012 article in Fast Company by Lydia Dishman, some sage advice is shared with executives in

The Extraordinary Software Development Manager
Seth Godin’s post for March 12, 2012 “Extraordinary Software Development Managers” Rings true (as most things Seth Godin says). He compares software development to building

Leadership Lessons from James T. Kirk
Come on, we all thought he was hot—those high-heel black boots and the way he was always able to get the blue skin girl with

Social Media; “What He Said”
In his blog, Seth Godin writes about the Trap of Social Media Noise. Truth be told, most of what Seth says is so dead-on, I

Sh*t Entrepreneurs Say
Jeff Haden has captured some hilarious truth in a recent article in “Inc” focused on things that entrepreneurs says Sh*t Entrepreneurs Say. After years of

The Next Generation of Corporate Marketing
Increasingly, companies recognize their future is only as promising as their ability to turn strategy into action. Unique among strategic consulting firms, we bring a

The CEO’s Marketing Right Hand
Think of Us as Your Marketing Director The CEO should be the #1 marketing visionary for the company. Our job is to capture, articulate and

Distinctive Clarity and Relevance
Distinctive Clarity and RelevanceFor Your Company A company gains enormous advantage when it knows explicitly where it is going and how it will get there…

Distinctive Clarity and Relevance
Distinctive Clarity and RelevanceFor Your Company A company gains enormous advantage when it knows explicitly where it is going and how it will get there…

The Punching Nun Blog
We’re a Team Damn It…Now Do What I say! Valuable information I never heard in graduate school but learned on the job(s) <wife, mother and