About
About Contact Swag
Membership
AI Tools
All AI Apps Vibe Code Hub GEO Scanner AI Project Builder Exec Voice Builder Transformation Mindset
Services
Services Event Speaking 1.1 Coaching Team Coaching
Freebies
Buy-In Builder Crisis Playbook Org Design 1:1 Guide Crisis Decision Tree Promotion Workbook AI Masterclass
Log In
← Back to all posts

Your execs need better takes

Feb 06, 2026
Follow Me

Happy Super Bowl weekend to all who celebrate. Yesterday, while trying to explain American culture to my existentially curious six-year-old, the first example I gave was "Super Bowl." Peak parenting. Send me your fave commercials/PR campaigns so far.

Let's group chat. šŸ‘‡ļø

šŸ“£ Let's talk exec comms: Let this be your permission slip - if your exec doesn't have anything interesting to say, they're not going to stand out in our AI slop age. People can sniff out generated slop while unique, contrary insights will win. Take this case study from Databox's CEO. Plus: unique thoughts beget earned opportunities. 

šŸ“° Bezos-owned Washington Post laid off 300 journalists. Which is fair given the fledgling Amazon has been struggling as of late. Wait… it's not? It has $75M to spend on a doc that most certainly isn't pay-for-politics?! Here's what you can do: support the WaPo guild by donating here, or sharing posts like this one from impacted WaPo tech reporter Drew Harwell.

You tell me: With 300 new WaPo competitors now on the market, will traditional pubs or indie journalists prevail in the next decade? One for the indie vote—WSJ's formidable Joanna Stern is the latest to join the ranks of self-publishing.

šŸ¤– Jim Prosser of Person Familiar wrote my favorite Substack in weeks, titled Building Things Is Comms Now. Let this be your sign to stop scrolling, and start building. (Don't know where to start? I got you.)

šŸ’¬ Bestie talk: It's been a great few weeks for comms pros in the headlines (see here, here, and the aforementioned here). But I also want to caution why resting on our laurels is dangerous, and what you should do instead.

šŸŽ™ļø One for the road: This first-person account of what it's been like living in Minneapolis. As told to Heavyweight’s Jonathan Goldstein, maybe the best storyteller of our time. (Apple / YouTube / Spotify)

Chat soon,
Gab Ferree
Founder & Your Comms BFF, Off the Record

PS: Last week's most-clicked was Hootsuite's 2020 post about not doing business with ICE. Lolz. Two weeks after the initial uproar, their social accounts are still silent.


You're reading the Comms Bestie Group Chat, a free weekly drop to 5,000+ comms pros. Off the Record is the membership behind the group chat: 200+ comms leaders getting training, coaching, and community. It’s where the magic happens. ✨

Did a bestie forward you this email? You’ve got good taste in friends. Sign up to join the group chat. 

Responses

Join the conversation
t("newsletters.loading")
Loading...
Your favorite podcast is AI šŸŽ™ļø
Hey besties, My feeds are spiraling with AI content experiments this week. Some disclosed, some… not so much. Here's what made it into the group chat: šŸŽ™Ā The AI Files:Ā TheĀ newest top-10 podcastĀ with a 4.4 rating and 700k downloads is… entirely created by AI (andĀ Adam Levy). The Epstein Files totally flips the narrative that "human storytelling prevails in the age of AI" by taking 3 m...
The year of the Fire Horse
Happy Lunar New Year. It's the year of the Fire Horse, representing intense energy and rapid change. And here I was thinking that was already happening since ChatGPT dropped in '23. ĀÆ\_(惄)_/ĀÆ Here’s what made it into the group chat šŸ‘‡ļøĀ  šŸ“ˆĀ CEO Social → Sales: Kristin van Laren, head of Marketing at Peridio,Ā broke down her CEO's social media successĀ ($970k this quarter). My favorite pa...
A go direct case study
Ā  Hey besties, Happy Galentine’s Day. šŸ’— Here's what hit the group chat this week šŸ‘‡ šŸ“£Ā Go direct case study:Ā "No one cares that you redesigned your app" -every comms person ever. Except… people do care. The ones who live, breathe, and use your product every day. Which is why I love that Notion's CEO did a fullĀ go direct trifecta: he told a story instead of just announcing a produc...
Get In the Group Chat

Links I’d drop in our Comms Bestie group chat. Every Friday, straight to your inbox.

Footer Logo
Login Home About Membership Contact Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy

Join Our Free Trial

Get started today before this once in a lifetime opportunity expires.