The Fiction Factor: Unleashing In-House Talent for Powerful Communication

Colin Kelly of the communications firm Comsteria expresses deep gratitude for his company's recent growth and credits their success to a client-focused philosophy that prioritizes value over profit.  The core of his message encourages organizations to look beyond traditional corporate writing by harnessing the creative hobbies of their employees, such as music, fiction writing or animation. Kelly suggests that businesses should act as content publishers for their staff's artistic talents to build audience engagement without forced product placement. By empowering workers to use their skills in-house, companies can develop a unique brand presence that rivals large-scale media strategies.

In this podcast, Colin Kelly highlights trading card games like Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic: The Gathering as undervalued media assets with immense marketing potential. He compares the current independent media surrounding these games to the underground football fanzines of the 1990s, which allowed brands like Oasis to reach dedicated audiences at a fraction of typical costs. Kelly argues that because these players represent a diverse and affluent demographic, businesses should move away from expensive, overvalued traditional advertising. Instead, he suggests that companies can build brand awareness by sponsoring niche content or hosting gaming events in their own physical spaces. Ultimately, the source encourages entrepreneurs to tap into these high-loyalty communities to gain a competitive edge in a fragmented media landscape.

In this podcast Colin Kelly highlights how personalized touches and unexpected generosity can significantly strengthen the bond between e-commerce businesses and their customers. He shares a story about receiving a hand-written note and a small gift with an online order, suggesting that such gestures of goodwillc reate advocacy even if they do not lead to immediate repeat sales. Kelly also encourages sellers of digital products to provide physical tokens, like printable gift vouchers, to improve the consumer experience. He argues that many creators and small businesses underestimate the loyalty of their fans, who are often eager to provide financial support if given the right opportunities. Ultimately, the podcast serves as a call to action for entrepreneurs to prioritize human connection and creative merchandising to tap into existing market potential.

In an ultra competitive environment, don't get your friends to run your media training and crisis comms. It's absoltuely essential you get an insight into what people are saying about you. What assumptions the media are making about you and what stories they are looking to tell. A sympathetic outsider will be worth their weight in gold. Someone who isn't afraid to spell out how it is and then help you gain the upper hand. 

This podcast episode from the Powerful Communication Podcast features Colin Kelly emphasizing the critical need for individuals to exercise their influence rather than deferring action until they achieve perceived success. Kelly illustrates this principle using the recent example of musician Olivia Dean, who used her platform to successfully challenge major corporations over exorbitant secondary ticket resale prices. Dean's swift, public communication resulted in companies like Ticketmaster agreeing to both refund fans who paid above face valueand cap future resale prices within days. This narrative serves as the central argument that people must use their power and stand by their values immediately instead of delaying principled action until they feel safe or established. Kelly concludes by encouraging listeners to tap into their fundamental purpose, asserting that effective communication is akin to the irresistible power of a crying baby whose instincts command unavoidable attention and rapid results.

Colin Kelly from the powerful communication podcast from Comteria examines the significant lessons available following the disruptive Celtic Annual General Meeting (AGM). The meeting was closed after continuous protest and disruption, including shouting, booing, and showing red cards, preventing shareholders from asking questions in the open format.   The episode argues that Celtic PLC should have anticipated the protests, given prior fan statements and protests at games, knowing that many unhappy protestors were also shareholders. A key communication failure was placing Chairman Peter Lawwell in the weak position of appealing directly to shareholders to behave.   Kelly advocates for having an independent, good communicator host the proceedings, representing the venue rather than the PLC, to handle enforcement of rules—a tactic mirrored by venue security procedures often used in situations like WWE wrestling events. Furthermore, the episode critiques the decision of a major majority shareholder to send his son to read a pre-prepared statement that used "tough language" about behavior and disruption, arguing that this was asking for trouble, especially since the shareholder was not prepared to face the people being referenced.   Based on the events, Kelly states he would be very surprised if Peter Lawwell remains in post.

In this episode of the Powerful Communication Podcast, host Colin Kelly explores why it is vital for board members, owners, shareholders, and "silent partners" to cultivate some form of public profile and speak out.   The central argument is that silence creates risk: If the only time the public hears from governance leaders is when a crisis occurs, they have done nothing to build goodwill, rapport, or a relationship. This absence of communication means that when something goes wrong, the public might not trust or like the leaders because they were never given an opportunity to get to know them.   Learn why the typical governance argument—that boards should not "tread on toes" or speak when the day-to-day management team should be addressing issues—is often used as a shield or a diversion to justify avoiding public engagement.   Kelly discusses real-world examples, including situations involving Historic Environment Scotland and Celtic football club, where the anonymity of leaders resulted in a vacuum filled with rumor, speculation, and innuendo. He argues that proactive communication is good for transparency, democracy, and accountability.   Communication is a learnable skill, and leaders should embrace routes like social media or their own YouTube channel to give people the chance to get to know them. When leaders—like Sir Richard Branson—cultivate a reputation while things are good, the public is more likely to trust them when difficulties arise. Stepping into this truth brings "freedom" and "peace and security".

The Value Of Your Archive Welcome to another powerful communication podcast from Comsteria, hosted by Colin Kelly. Every business is, to some extent, in the content business, requiring written content, video, and audio to populate social media, bring internal communications to life, and drive specific business objectives. While many businesses are realizing that content holds real financial value, they often get caught in the cycle of having to create material from scratch. In this episode, Colin encourages clients to think about the immense value of their content archive. Drawing lessons from television and radio—industries that have long understood that they do not always need to create things from scratch—we explore how to maximize the value of your existing materials. You will learn how to ensure your content has a proper lifecycle by recycling and repurposing it across different formats, instead of just putting it out once and crossing your fingers. We discuss how to evaluate content to determine its ongoing value, where else it can be used, and when. The archive can contain "real gold", including material that was never even published. However, this value is only realized if the archive is properly managed and used. We detail the essential disciplines needed for an accessible archive, including: Labeling and tagging content correctly at the moment of creation. Ensuring content is stored securely, accessibly, and backed up (offline, offsite, and potentially in the cloud). Creating a non-laborious, searchable system so you can turn things around quickly and repurpose them. Whether you are digitizing materials from 20 or 50 years ago, or just starting good practices today, this podcast offers quick thoughts and insights on how to transform your content archive from mountains of forgotten stuff into a crucial business asset.

Colin Kelly takes a long, deep dive sharing his personal reflections on the history of the internet from 1996 to the present day.