Capitalizing on current events

Observing what's happening in the news or around you can provide opportunities to be creative and/or use it to draw attention to your own issues or comments. For example, as candidates continuously brought up change during the election, one church put up signs in the middle of campaign signs: "Jesus is the Answer: Real Change begins with Him." One candidate put up a tiny sign that was noticeable because it was so different from others.

Guy Kawasaki wrote how a blog on budget fashion created a candidate wardrobe for under $3K after all the press about the $150K wardrobe. Blogger and association exec David Patt once told me he blogged about the impact of a nationally-reported bridge collapse on a local race (for a running association that's interested in race routes).

Things happen all the time with a potential spin, story or angle related to our own industries. Do we try new directions?