PR

Brian Solis - PR 2.0
The Social Media (R)evolution: Your Time is Now

brian

20 Nov 2009 | 4:23 am

Source: ShutterstockThe Future of the Social Web is here today and we’re learning that engagement is not a matter of if or when, but to what extent, how and what value can we deliver and derive from it. The Social Web is much more than a window into information and interaction, it is a completely transformative medium that is changing how we forge relationships, interact with one another, and distribute and discover information. In many ways, the online social revolution is reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution.Access to free and expansive media platforms and distribution channels has…
On Twitter, What Are You Doing Was Always The Wrong Question

brian

19 Nov 2009 | 10:18 pm

What are you doing?Perhaps, Twitter asked the wrong question all along.In all honestly, who cares…it was really never about “what you were doing” that inspired your network to stay connected nor was it the siren for attracting new followers. We chose to follow you because you moved or encouraged us to do so – with every update.For many of the users on Twitter, the question that engendered a response and also also aroused a cultural movement was, “what are you doing?” It was a prompt that, for the most part, was taken quite literally. Its answer served as…
On Twitter and Social Networks, Brands Benefit from Conversations

brian

19 Nov 2009 | 4:40 am

Source: ShutterstockA recent study revealed 20 percent of tweets published are actually invitations for product information, answers or responses from peers or directly by brand representatives. Now we learn that Twitter users are actively paying attention to brands on the popular information network.According to research conducted by Performics and ROI Research, about half of Twitter users who were introduced to a brand on Twitter were compelled to search for additional information.The companies studied the activity of 3,000 users of social networks in the U.S. Of those polled, 70% use…
The Golden Triangle

brian

18 Nov 2009 | 4:11 am

Source: ShutterstockPrior to keynoting the PACA conference in Miami, Maria Kessler, president of the PACA Association, asked me if I had read a recent post by Fred Wilson entitled “The Golden Triangle.” We were deep in conversation as I was seeking an alternate title for my next book that identifies the divide between brands, information, and consumers and how we can, as social architects and engineers, build the bridges between people, contextual relationships, and technology. While “The Golden Triangle” isn’t a contender for the name of the next book, it did get me thinking.In…
With Klout Comes Influence: How To Find Influencers on Twitter

brian

17 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am

This is the uncut version of my latest post on TechCrunch…Measuring individual influence in Social Media is as coveted as it is elusive. While many tools claim to calculate authority, it is the definition of influence that requires clarification in order to grasp the relevance and differences of existing tools and services.For the sake keeping this discussion on track, let’s define influence. According to Merriam-Webster, influence is having the power or capacity to cause an effect.San Francisco-based Klout is no stranger to measuring influence on the Social Web. The company launched…

PR News Online
Free Economy: Going Digital to Market a New Product

16 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

According to Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine and author of Free: The Future of a Radical Price ( Hyperion, 2009), the most effective price is no price at all in the digital marketplace....
Brand Survival in the Age of Asymmetric Comms

16 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

Until now, many companies have ignored social media without suffering obvious consequences, especially in industries that, in the past, have not included a high proportion of social media users. Social media participation was a choice. But this era of opt-in social media is ending. Instead of customers...
Writing for the Web: Best Practices

16 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

According to Jon Wegman, associate director of Moxie Interactive, there are a handful of tried-and-true best practices when it comes to writing for the Web, and they all hinge on the three R’s: recency, responsiveness and relevancy. With...
Honoring CDC's Efforts to Manage and Contain a Pandemic

16 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

On November 3, 2009 at the Press Club in Washington, D.C., PR News Nonprofit PR Awards recognized the most outstanding nonprofit campaigns. The following entry from CDC, which worked to contain public hysteria arising from the H1N1 crisis, was the winner....
Twitter Lessons for Companies Big and Small

16 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

Much has been touted about Twitter and how it is revolutionizing the way organizations communicate with targeted stakeholder groups. Big consumer brands like Dell, Starbucks, Ford, Best Buy, Starbucks, JetBlue and many more are effectively using Twitter for building awareness, product promotions, company...

Pitchengine
Getting Started

jk

27 Oct 2009 | 3:43 pm

The Quick Start Guide to PitchEngine SMRs Using our social platform is as easy as creating Facebook profile or a blog post (maybe easier)! This isn’t an “easy button” – it’s a tool to enable better collaboration and engagement for your public relations. Discover why more than 13,000 brands have flocked to PitchEngine as theirpreferred alternative 1. Create an account. This is free and easy. 2. Build your first Social Media Release (SMR) Take a look at an example SMR. Gather your assets (YouTube videos, images, etc.,) Type your SMR directly into the form field (we…
PR Distribution Process Evolved in Six Slides

jk

11 Sep 2009 | 11:09 am

PR Distribution Process in Six Slides View more presentations from Jason Kintzler.
A Conversation with Jason Kintzler

jk

14 Jul 2009 | 12:41 pm

Here’s a recent interview with Jason Kintzler, PitchEngine’s Founder/CEO From Arik Hanson: “One of the very interesting dynamics of engaging online is meeting folks in real life that you’ve only followed and interacted with on Twitter and other social platforms. Yesterday, I had the pleasure to meet Jason Kintzler, CEO of PitchEngine, in person. And I was not disappointed. Genuine, personable and “social smart”, Jason lived up to expectations. I even stole a few moments with him right after his keynote address to discuss the future of the traditional news release, how…
Case Study: SMR Provides Plug and Play Content

jk

7 Jul 2009 | 9:41 am

Ultra Studios Social Media Release Gives Journalists and Bloggers Multimedia Content for Easy Publication The SMR provided multimedia elements with context By utilizing the PitchEngine Social Media Release format, Ultra Studios was able to deliver multimedia content, hyperlinks and tags with the proper context to their release. Instead of trying to send bulky email attachments or image cds, Ultra Studios was able to provide everything the journalist needed for a great post. Even though their video wasn’t included in the published article, it gave the writer more context about the event.
Case Study: PFS Marketwyse

jk

2 Jul 2009 | 11:04 am

PFS Marketwyse Social Media Release Distributed via PitchEngine – Monday, March 23rd, 2009 Are you questioning the effectiveness of a PitchEngine social media release? Curious to know how distributing your PR content through the social web can actual drive traffic to your website, newsroom or blog? Below is a case study compiled by PitchEngine users PFS Marketwyse generated using Google Analytics. *based on the average page visits of the previous 30 days Traffic Summary Week of March 23-29 Monday, March 23 433% spike in traffic Tuesday, March…

PRSA Tactics and The Strategist Online
Connecting public relations performance with business outcomes

19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

The need for the PR profession to deliver value and drive positive return-on-investment has never been greater. While the current environment presents challenges to all forms of business activity, it underscores public relations’ most ubiquitous challenges: proving PR value and connecting PR performance with business outcomes. To find solutions, practitioners must take initiative and build understanding using proven results, replicable methods and a reliable body of knowledge.
How public relations elevates brand value

19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

The challenges of today’s economic environment present an ideal scenario for the PR profession to rise to the challenge. Public relations should deliver the authenticity and distinctiveness that can elevate a brand, bridging the trust gap in ways that advertising cannot.
More companies reading employee e-mails, even as some courts say they have no right

19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

E-mail communication, privacy issues
Key steps to effective executive communications

19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

While working with C-suite and senior-level executives over the years, I’ve encountered plenty of style and personality differences, as well as varying degrees of business priorities and cultural concerns. However, one consistent theme I’ve found is that executives crave to be understood and allowed to “shine.” If you can facilitate that for the executives you support, you can become an integral member of their inner circle.
Why public relations is a main course at Denny’s

19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

Nelson Marchioli, who has been with Denny’s for eight years and is a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry, speaks with The Strategist from the Denny’s headquarters in Spartanburg, S.C., about reaching customers via social media, the company’s continued diversity efforts and leading during a recession.

360PR Blog
M2Moms “Brands & Blogs” Podcast

LauraTomasetti

16 Nov 2009 | 2:21 pm

I had the pleasure of moderating an informative panel of leading brands and bloggers in the parenting space at last month’s Marketing 2 Moms conference. We’ve edited the two-hour session down to a 13-minute podcast, packed with tips and insights – worth a listen as you’re building your 2010 campaigns and considering how to initiate [...]
Weekly Digital News: Shameless Self-Promotion

SkyeMcIntyre

13 Nov 2009 | 7:36 am

In case you’re unaware, the 360PR Facebook Fan page launched yesterday! To celebrate, this week’s digital news stories all focus on, you guessed it, Facebook! The 360 digital team invites you to become a fan of 360 Public Relations and poke around on our page. You may be surprised to see dogs outfitted in Snuggies walking [...]
Who blogged first: GM or Microsoft. The Answer? Neither.

CindyGordon

10 Nov 2009 | 4:12 am

Following the landmark research reveal on 2008 social media adoption trends by Dr. Nora Barnes at last Friday’s Society for New Communications Research Symposium SNCR.com, I floated a question that richoted around the room like a bullet. Very simply I asked, “Who was the first Fortune 500 company to blog?” Dr. Barnes respectfully deferred the question to [...]
Charities School Business and Academia on Social Media

CindyGordon

9 Nov 2009 | 9:47 am

Research doesn’t easily wow me, but this particular study did. I’m referring to the research presented by Dr. Nora Barnes from The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at last Friday’s SNCR conference in Cambridge, MA. Her study compared the adoption rates of social media from 2007 and 2008 between the 200 largest charities, the Fortune 500, the [...]
Weekly Digital News: Totally Twitter

SkyeMcIntyre

6 Nov 2009 | 1:49 pm

First, a confession: we openly admit to having done a Twitter-centric post in the past. We would never try to pull the wool over our 360PR Blog reader’s eyes. However, with the introduction of Twitter lists, we felt it only appropriate to devote an entire post to the just-launched feature. Yes, it really is that [...]

Ogilvy PR 360 Digital Influence Blog
Patagonia: Selling a Story

Kaitlyn Wilkins

19 Nov 2009 | 9:08 am

From Rob BonDurant, VP of Marketing at Patagonia – from today’s WOMMA Summit. Patagonia… Uses business to inspire and implement solutions to the sustainability crisis Believes passion cannot be created Is a non profit thinly disguised as a company Makes money so they can demonstrate their business model works, and donate more money to their 1% Earth Tax Designs its products and communications to adhere to the natural law of simplicity – things are done when there is nothing left to take away Always has an answer to “Who we are? How did we get here? Where are we going?” Is driven…
Shifting Search Trends

John Stauffer

17 Nov 2009 | 12:44 pm

Neatly six months after the feds officially dropped the “Swine Flu” term in favor of the scientifically-grounded “H1N1″, web users are finally showing signs of following suit as evidenced by recent shifts in keyword searches. According to Google’s Insights for Search tool, worldwide searchers for the first time since the outbreak have searched for “H1N1″ in greater numbers than “Swine Flu.” The data shows that while “H1N1″ never received the surge of search queries earned by “Swine Flu” during the height of…
Discovering social media in China

Michael Darragh

16 Nov 2009 | 12:52 am

There is a popular saying in politics that all politics are local; and in China the same can be said about the Internet. Local players, in tune to the specific needs of the country’s “Netizens”, rule the digital space, and the numbers are staggering. Currently, the Internet in China is home to over 340 million users who are online for an average of 16 hours per week, the same amount of time they spend watching television. There are 111 million people managing a social network profile, and these numbers are growing daily. The power of the Internet in China has never been stronger and has…
7 Significant Presentations From Day 1 Of The FDA Hearings

Rohit Bhargava

13 Nov 2009 | 4:41 am

Yesterday was a busy day of back to back presentations from the first day of the FDA hearings and there are many recaps now sharing some topline points from the conversations and presentations. I shared my own take on some big themes that emerged from the early part of the day here on this blog. Aside from the content presented during each of the speaker’s time on stage, I think there were several pivotal moments of significance throughout the day. Here’s a chronological recap of what I felt they were, and what they might mean for the next step of this process the FDA has just…
Inside the FDA Hearing: 3 Key Takeaways From Day 1

Rohit Bhargava

12 Nov 2009 | 8:45 am

The much anticipated FDA hearings on how pharma and medical device companies should be able to use the Internet and social media for promotion kicked off today and the presentation room at the NTSB was packed with formally dressed people with expectant faces, ready to participate in what most people consider one of the most important moments in the history of online advertising and promotion in the medical space. Based on the presentations this morning (including mine on behalf of Ogilvy) there were several themes that emerged as topics that will be interesting to track throughout the rest of…

Photostream from Daylife

PUBLIC RELATIONS NEWS - Google News
Mean Queen of Wrestling Inks New PR Deal - NewsBlaze

20 Nov 2009 | 3:08 pm

Mean Queen of Wrestling Inks New PR DealNewsBlazeEclectic Media Productions, one of the fastest-growing and most aggressive public relations companies in the country, has announced the signing of and more »
Provacative PR hosts tea-tasting and poetry event - The Daily Titan

20 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm

Provacative PR hosts tea-tasting and poetry eventThe Daily TitanThe event will be hosted by Provocative PR, a group of public relations students at Cal State Fullerton. “The event will focus on famous poet Jane Austen
Goldman Sachs's New PR Gambit: Join Warren Buffett in giving $500 Million for ... - In These Times

20 Nov 2009 | 12:15 pm

guardian.co.ukGoldman Sachs's New PR Gambit: Join Warren Buffett in giving $500 Million for In These TimesJohn D. Rockefeller gave out dimes to little kids to burnish his image, helping launch the modern PR industry. Andrew Carnegie started a foundation after Goldman Goes for BrokeCityfileIs Goldman's Charitable Gesture Enough?New York TimesGoldman's extreme makeover: If bank has heart, it should forgo state, city New York Daily NewsTaipan Publishing Group -The Daily Deal -Smartmoney.comall 269 news articles »
High-profile PR man steps into hotel fight - The San Francisco Examiner

20 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm

High-profile PR man steps into hotel fightThe San Francisco ExaminerWell-known public relations guru Sam Singer has been hired to represent the Hotel Council of San Francisco during the ongoing hotel labor dispute, and more »
Ketchum D.C. Announces Digital Strategy and Consumer Health Client Service ... - PR Newswire (press release)

20 Nov 2009 | 11:26 am

Ketchum D.C. Announces Digital Strategy and Consumer Health Client Service PR Newswire (press release)20 /PRNewswire/ -- Ketchum, a leading public relations agency, announced today that Tim Weinheimer, former vice president and managing director at Brunner and more »

PR:Perspective
Muscle Milk Pilgrim Sexing Up Thanksgiving

20 Nov 2009 | 3:55 pm
Change Doesn't Always Mean Happiness

20 Nov 2009 | 3:55 pm
NASA Puts Social Media On Rocket Trajectory

20 Nov 2009 | 3:55 pm
Windows 8 Coming In 2012?

20 Nov 2009 | 3:55 pm
'Americans For Quality And Affordable Healthcare': Yet Another Health Insurance Industry Front?

20 Nov 2009 | 3:55 pm

prsarahevans.com
HOW TO: Avoid online donor fatigue

PRsarahevans

19 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

I’d consider myself a member of the do-gooder and social good tribes. It makes me happy to help others and, perhaps, alleviate a bit of that old Catholic guilt. In the past year I’ve found myself saying no to causes. A day doesn’t go by (literally) where I’m asked to give time, money, join [...]
From hypermiling in 2008, unfriend is 2009 word of the year

PRsarahevans

17 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

Do you remember Oxford’s 2008 word of the year? (Me either.) It was hypermiling, to attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques. (By the way, the 2007 word was locavore.) Each year around the holiday season, the New Oxford American Dictionary announces its word of the year. [...]
Hyperlocal news and Chicago Tribune’s Triblocal

PRsarahevans

11 Nov 2009 | 3:50 pm

Where is the majority of money for media? It’s all about local advertising and traffic. Chicago suburbanites are leading the way in this trend and have access to their very own hyperlocal news site, Chicago Tribune’s Triblocal. In addition to finding local news, subscribers can submit and share their own findings. I recently had the chance to [...]
Supporting #path2peace for my birthday

PRsarahevans

6 Nov 2009 | 9:01 am

FULL DISCLOSURE: Macy’s and the Path to Peace program is a client. It happens to also be a movement I truly believe in. All I want for my birthday today is for people to celebrate the Macy’s #Path2Peace movement. A very special thank you to Jason of @iwearyourshirt who donated my birthday to share this special message. [...]
Parker’s Picks: November/December 2009

PRsarahevans

4 Nov 2009 | 6:41 am

I love to read. I’ve never had to worry about what to read or what finding great books. Why? Because I happen to have the best librarian in the world as my mother (@marianslibrary). Long before blogs and other online communities my mother has put together monthly (sometimes seasonal) reading lists. She has always shared [...]

Don't Fear the Firehose
INTERVIEW : Jason Fell (Folio's Senior Online Editor)

Paul Armstrong

18 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pm

Not known for pulling punches or lacking a point of view I recently (read: about 6 months ago) interviewed Jason Fell Senior Editor for online from Folio (the magazine about magazines and newspapers in the US if not ze world!) for his candid thoughts and predictions (many of wich have since come true). Why the delay? It’s totally his own fault. The bounder sent back his answers in ALL CAPS. Whether he was shouting or not has yet to be determined. Still gainfully employed (and no less than 206 on the Mediaite list o power) Fell is still enjoying life across…
"You just sold your soul to advertising."

Paul Armstrong

18 Nov 2009 | 12:05 pm

Loving this. It teach us so much. Time to move on me thinks.
This will be interesting

Paul Armstrong

16 Nov 2009 | 3:24 pm

Youth remains a big focus for Kindred. We're constantly asked to challenge and change the behaviour, hearts and minds of young people. Barnardos have an interesting project coming out this Christmas - check it out. More on youth here soon with a look into virtual worlds and an illuminating recent MTV study. Until then straight from the horses mouth...
Psychology of Twitter. It's like Whitney said...

Paul Armstrong

15 Nov 2009 | 9:16 am

It's not right but it's ok. If you've read been here more than once you know I like to validate the three years I spent in Lincoln completing the Psychology and Comms course every once in a while so, when I read the many posts about Maslow/Twitter, I was intrigued. Whilst I agree with a lot of the writings I must admit I am falling short on the physical needs to tweet. I get the safety, minimising the unknown but fundamental to human life (as Maslow intended)? Not so much. I often think that Maslow only messed up when it came to this being a…
Good if you are/n't Obama Social Media ROI Video.

Paul Armstrong

15 Nov 2009 | 8:46 am

Another video by the crew over at Socionomics. Full of yanky case studies and best practices as you would imagine but it does highlight a few other trends I am seeing too: Kinetic Typography as a delivery method, layereddepth-based information structure and animation in general seeing a comeback.What's your biggest hurdle when it comes to ROI/Social Media (if you aren't Obama of course)@munkyfonkey@themediaisdying@kindredagency

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M: Communications and Taylor Rafferty owner Sage Holdings rebrands

20 Nov 2009 | 12:46 am

Sage Holdings, owner of financial and stakeholder comms agencies M: Communications and Taylor Rafferty, has rebranded to become DF King Worldwide.
Fashion title Elle hires Talk PR to manage its 25th anniversary year

19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

Hachette Filipacchi's fashion title Elle has hired Talk PR to manage a strategic campaign for its 25th anniversary year.
Publishing house IPC Media restructures and makes redundancies

19 Nov 2009 | 6:59 am

IPC Media is set to make an undisclosed number of reduncancies as its launches a new company structure.
Mining firm Anglo American hands UK account back to Brunswick

17 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

Mining giant Anglo American has moved its retained UK financial PR account out of FD and back into Brunswick - after a break of two years.
Simon Greenberg appointment delays 2018 World Cup PR decision

17 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

The long-awaited appointment of the main PR agency for England's 2018 World Cup bid is to be put on hold until new chief of staff Simon Greenberg starts on 1 December.

The Flack
Do Gen Y'ers Hold the Keys to Social Media?

20 Nov 2009 | 2:35 pm

I promise. This is my last report for a while from the field of social media dreams. Today, I had the pleasure of participating in PR Camp New York. The use of the word "camp" in a social media context probably has its origins from the pod(casting) camps made popular when podcasting was as de rigeur as Twitter is today. Dan Greenfield came in from Atlanta to preside over the confab at the 92Y in Tribeca. And in spite of a surplus of social media gatherings on any given week, today's event drew a diverse mix of more than 100 PR peeps and marketers from the agency, non-profit and corporate…
The PRfect Match

18 Nov 2009 | 4:32 pm

As one of the 74 percent of Americans who reads "a printed or online newspaper" at least once a week, I couldn't help but notice the full-page ad that broke in the "Money and Investing" section of Friday's Wall Street Journal, and again today.It was a "house-ad" from Dow Jones that amazingly targets...the PR professional. Yes, the lowly PR professional.Frankly, I had very mixed feelings about this ad that touted Dow Jones' alleged "new" approach to media targeting. From its news release: "For communications professionals, the increasingly fragmented media landscape adds to the challenge of…
Web 2.0 Expo in NY

16 Nov 2009 | 6:27 pm

I finally had a chance to attend one of O'Reilly Media's Web 2.0 Expos (as opposed to "the more exclusive" Web 2.0 Summit) this morning at New York's Javits Center -->.I choose to audit the panel called "Real-Time Marketing: Operationalizing the Use of Social Media," which featured SM luminaries Jennifer Zeszut (Scout Labs) who moderated, Peter Kim (Dachis Group), James M. Smith (Disney Online), Randy Ksar (Motorola), Aaron Dignan (Undercurrent), Valeria Maltoni (SunGard Availability Services), and Shiv Singh (Razorfish). Here are some select tweets: @conversationage (Maltoni): Social media…
#PRWeekNext

12 Nov 2009 | 2:40 pm

Must be the season for PR conferences. Yesterday I attended PRWeek's Next Conference at New York's Waldorf Astoria and was glad to see yet another great turn-out.This followed our PCNY media event this week, which sold out, the PRSA Int'l Conference, which drew thousands, and the Council of PR Firms' Critical Issues Forum that also played to a full house. Could it be that the economic tides have finally turned as Council president Kathy Cripps suggested yesterday?After arriving, I took my assigned seat at the digital video-themed breakfast table, deftly hosted by Weber Shandwick's VP, Social…
Arianna Preps PR Peeps

10 Nov 2009 | 2:17 pm

I just returned from the annual PRSA confab in San Diego where thousands gathered to hear what's what in the PR biz.I would have liked to have lingered another day (SD is such a fab city), but today PCNY held its own confab in NY where 160 PR pros heard producers for GMA, Nightline, The Takeaway, Dr. Oz and Beet.TV share what's what in the broadcast biz.Back to sunny San Diego. PRSA's powers-that-be had the acuity to invite the namesake of the world's top-ranked blog to address the SRO PR crowd. Ms. Huffington offered her deeply accented (think Eva Gabor), but very clear perspectives on the…

A PR Guy's Musings - Stuart Bruce
Digital Mission New York to Web 2.0 Expo photos

stuart

17 Nov 2009 | 12:26 pm

The Digital Mission New York for Web 2.0 Expo has got off to a great start (huge thanks to all the wonderful folks at Chinwag for the hard work they’ve put into organising it). I’ve already made some great contacts that need following up. The day started with an excellent briefing about doing business in the US. It was hosted by law firm Winston & Strawn, with other contributions from Mashable, PepsiCo and the office of the Mayor of New York as well as UK Trade & Investment. This is me at yesterday’s introduction session hosted by law firm Winston & Strawn: Picture thanks to…
Will PR ever be free of the curse of AVEs?

stuart

12 Nov 2009 | 6:24 am

Today’s PRWeek has a fantastic story saying that the UK’s Central Office of Information (COI) has recommended sweeping changes to the way in which government PR is evaluated. In particular, the COI has recommended that advertising value equivalent (AVE) be removed from the core set of mandatory metrics. The COI didn’t just decide itself to remove AVEs. It did so after extensive consultation with the 89 public relations companies on its new Public Relations Framework. These are PR agencies that have gone through an extensive vetting process to become approved suppliers for UK government…
Chinwag Digital Mission to New York for Web 2.0 Expo

stuart

3 Nov 2009 | 1:03 am

Later this month I’m off to New York as part of the Chinwag Digital Mission to the Web 2.0 Expo. I’ll be in New York from November 15–20 and will have time to meet up with folks while I’m there, so drop me a Twitter direct message (just at me if I don’t already follow you) or email. There’s more information about the Digital Mission on the Wolfstar blog. I’ll try to do at least a couple of blog posts while I’m there and will also be Twittering. The Digital Mission also has a Twitter account, @DigitalMission and a hash tag,#DigitalMission.
Dolce&Gabbana and Sony Ericsson use online to bypass traditional TV advertising

stuart

23 Oct 2009 | 4:53 am

The Wolfstar team is currently hard at work on a project with Dolce&Gabbana and Sony Ericsson to launch the new Jalou mobile phone. Instead of traditional television advertising commercials (TVC) the campaign is focused around a promotional video conceived by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, which is available exclusively online. The social media news release that we’ve created includes the video as well as behind the scenes footage and an interview with the director, Cyril Guyot.
Why openupnow’s open primaries won’t work

stuart

20 Oct 2009 | 6:13 am

Openupnow.org is yet another organisation that has jumped on the current political bandwagon for open primaries.It looks a great campaign, but… and it’s a very big but, it’s very badly thought out. The idea of open primaries is very seductive, emotionally I think they are brilliant. The open primaries between Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, not only gripped the USA, but they gripped the rest of the world, even people who wouldn’t normally be interested in politics. But the UK, isn’t the USA and there are lots of reasons and barriers as to why open primaries won’t work in the UK.

Media Bullseye
Virtually Changing Shopping

Wayne Kurtzman

20 Nov 2009 | 12:13 pm

Virtually Changing Shopping by Wayne Kurtzman Remember hanging at the mall with your friends for four days, only to end up with six items for the holidays? Well, the music isn't the only thing that has changed. And you should see what is changing in the world of online shopping.While too many people seem genuinely excited about the return of the Officemax ElfYourself program (where you can make an elf of yourself), ecommerce is quietly changing by leaps, bounds and "points."Growth continues for Stardoll.com, Kohl's cartoon-like site targeted for girls 7-17. Self-described as a "virtual…
Is there more to social media than what you ate for lunch?

Robert Quigley

20 Nov 2009 | 11:58 am

Old Media, New Tricks Is there more to social media than what you ate for lunch? by Robert Quigley When I worked as a copy editor on the editorial board at the Austin American-Statesman a few years back, a member of the board needed to fill a gap in his editorial with a key fact that could only be found in the Texas government records. After finding his fact with about 30 seconds of searching around a government site, he mused that pre-Internet, those types of searches by a journalist killed an entire afternoon. "Sometimes the Internet actually saves you time," he quipped, a bit amused. The…
The Revolution of Infinite Information

Wayne Kurtzman

12 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pm

The Revolution of Infinite Information by Wayne Kurtzman Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently was concerned that most people have not come to grips with the emerging information revolution. His concern is that many people haven't thought how even simple day-to-day tasks are due for a disruptive change. Carried by Boston's WBUR radio [full story and video], Schmidt spoke about Google and the future of the Internet. The talk was part of a memorial for Michael Hammer, an MIT computer science professor who died last September."To understand what we [Google] are doing, think about a world of an…
Augmented Reality: When Real Isn't Enough

Wayne Kurtzman

5 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pm

Augmented Reality: When Real Isn't Enough by Wayne Kurtzman I wait for the gasp during my social media presentations when I talk about augmented reality, or "AR." You don't know about AR? Simply put, AR is literally a new layer of reality provided by your mobile phone. In the not too distant future, phones without AR abilities might as well have big 'ole rotary dials and copper wire hanging off them.Imagine taking your smart phone and looking at an object through the camera on the phone. Instead of snapping a photo, your camera returns detailed information about the object you are viewing.
Twitter lists: Steal, Hoard, and Make People Feel Bad; Or, The Best Twitter Feature Ever

Doug Haslam

4 Nov 2009 | 11:39 am

New Tools, Old Rules Twitter lists: Steal, Hoard, and Make People Feel Bad; Or, The Best Twitter Feature Ever by Doug Haslam I love how the unveiling of Twitter lists has put some people in a tizzy. From Chris Brogan worrying that lists make people feel left out to Robert Scoble overreacting to Brogan's post and Justin Kownacki being his very readably grumpy self in the middle, there has been no shortage of thumb-sucking over lists. I have a take on Twitter Lists. You didn't ask for it, but here it is--in list form: The Beta experience was weird and mysterious. I got into Lists early, but had…

Social Media PR Blog Feed
New USB Health Information Card Aims to Save Lives, Time and Money

Steve Mullen

5 Nov 2009 | 9:57 am

New USB Medical Information Card Aims to Save Lives, Time and Money (Louisville, Kentucky) – If you’re severely injured in an accident, stricken by an allergic reaction, or impaired by a stroke, heart attack or seizure, how can you possibly relay important medical information to first responders? Have you ever wished you could avoid carrying stacks of health records and lists of prescriptions with you to your doctor’s office, only to have to copy that information by hand onto form after form? With a goal of saving lives and making doctor trips easier, Louisville, Kentucky-based MEMI…
New Twitter-Only Handheld

Steve Mullen

4 Nov 2009 | 5:19 am

I just read on Mashable about the official release of the Twitter Peek, a new handheld Internet device that connects only to Twitter. It’s a head-scratcher. Obviously, any smartphone out there will connect to Twitter one way or another. The price is good ($199.99 with lifetime mobile service included or $99.99 with six months included and then a monthly fee) but it seems to me that purchasing a smartphone makes a lot more sense because it can accomplish other tasks, like .. well .. making phonecalls. Peek is known better for their handheld email-only devices. Regardless of…
PR Learning to Bypass the Media Filter

Steve Mullen

29 Oct 2009 | 8:14 am

Public relations has always included business-to-consumer promotions in its arsenal of tools, but a large portion of the PR business has traditionally involved attempting to get stories placed in the media, in the hope that the consumer will then see those stories. Even highly public promotional stunts were largely, in the end, designed to gain mass media coverage. But, what happens when the media weakens, and there aren’t enough reporters to cover even the most fascinating stories? I happened upon two different articles this week that say essentially what I’ve been saying for…
Webcams Help Patients Connect

Steve Mullen

26 Oct 2009 | 1:39 pm

Sheltering Arms Helps Patients Connect with Families Despite H1N1 Restrictions Richmond, Virginia (October 26, 2009) – This season’s H1N1 influenza outbreak has led area hospitals to take drastic, yet proactive, measures to keep patients safe. Sheltering Arms, in turn, has come up with a creative solution that will allow them to continue to have the benefit of visitation with family members. About a dozen hospitals in the Richmond-Petersburg area, including Sheltering Arms two inpatient facilities, have coordinated efforts in the interest of patient and health care provider safety to…
Facebook Groups Better for Businesses

Steve Mullen

22 Oct 2009 | 7:01 am

It went unnoticed for a lot of people because Facebook groups are not used as widely as they used to be, but Facebook earlier this week unveiled a redesign of those groups. The screen shot below is of the former Fight SMA Facebook Group, which I’ve been working for some time to transition to a Fan Page. The first thing you’ll notice (click the image for a larger view) is that the look and layout are now much more in line with Fan Pages and individual profiles. One obvious unique addition is organization information in the left sidebar, above information about group members. So,…

Online Public Relations Thoughts
Culture Change

Jim Horton

20 Nov 2009 | 5:14 am

The Air Force is learning to transition from fighter jocks to remotely controlled drones. Predictably, the culture change is painful. The service, which has had a technological flair since the beginning, is not adapting easily to technology that "dumbs down" the role of the pilot. In essence, the aeronautical science the Air Force depended on since the beginning has turned on it. From a citizen's point of view, it was about time. Budgets for fighter planes had soared out of sight, and it is increasingly difficult to keep a Cold War air force competitive. The cost overruns of the latest…
Leak Strategy

Jim Horton

19 Nov 2009 | 2:03 am

President Obama says he is angry with the leaks detailing discussions of troops for Afghanistan. But is he, really? Frequently in Washington, proposals are leaked to determine how they play with Congress and the public. The issue of troop levels appears to be one such case. Obama might be angry but he sure is watching the reaction of his party and the country to various troop levels that have been considered for the conflict. This is an odd way to do PR that seems to work only in the political realm. If Obama really is angry, then he knows where to go to stop the leaking -- to his own staff.
How Airlines Lose Customers

Jim Horton

18 Nov 2009 | 2:09 am

This tale of woe damages months of reputation building by United Airlines. A few more examples like it, and the airline might as well go out of business. United apparently doesn't understand that customers can strike back at its tactics -- and do.
Census PR

Jim Horton

18 Nov 2009 | 2:04 am

An interesting example of Census PR.
Smart PR

Jim Horton

17 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am

General Motors' announcement that it is going to pay back part of a Government loan that it doesn't need is smart PR. It telegraphs that the company isn't as badly off as people think. It shows GM is being a good citizen by returning funds to the citizenry. It validates progress toward the goal of leaving government protection altogether in the future. It is positive news for a company that hasn't had any for a long time. The news offsets the company's loss during the last quarter. One hopes that more good news comes from the company in the near future.

Public Relations Online - Thoughts & Theory
Thanks to Guy Kawasaki, I'm going to show this in COM 201 in discussing multimedia

5 Nov 2009 | 11:45 am

Posted via email from Tom Kelleher's posterous
Spam Musubi @UHPRSSA bakesale

28 Oct 2009 | 2:49 pm

Posted via email from Tom Kelleher's posterous
Testing posterous

14 Aug 2009 | 3:28 pm

View from office window (Diamond Head behind tree). Sent from my iPhone Posted via email from Tom Kelleher's posterous
Internship Availability

14 Aug 2009 | 3:22 pm

Begin forwarded message: Aloha! I hope all is well! We haven’t talked in a while about internship opportunities. Please pass this along to your students. We have a few new updates for McNeil Wilson Communications, and some great opportunities for students this Fall semester. Please note the new details and contact below. We are always looking for bright minds and new talent. CONTACT:
Balancing Voice with Professionalism

9 Jul 2009 | 11:26 am

In the Public Relations Tactics class today, we'll discuss online profiles. The tricky part for professional communicators at any stage of their careers is how to speak with a real voice and stay relaxed with social media while also the avoiding pitfalls of mucking up your online presence. A couple of links for discussion:CareerBuilder Launches Applicant Explorer Tool to Streamline the Online

PR Blog News
Corrupt Bloggers Kvetch - Where’s the Swag?

Mark Rose

4 Nov 2009 | 9:35 am

There’s a very revealing guest rant by professional ’lifestyle’ blogger Krizia in Pro Blogger: PR People Getting Pushier with Bloggers Since the Recession. Krizia is perturbed that PRs are now asking questions about the value of all their free giveaways; the cash, the swag is drying up for product placement on Krizia’s EatSmartAgeSmart blog. Before bestowing gifts and favors PR people are asking pesky questions like: “How many unique users?” “How many page views?” “How fast can you get our review on your site?” “Have you won any awards in the…
Jeffrey Sebelia is Edgar Allan Poe

Mark Rose

3 Nov 2009 | 4:51 am

I only blogged about my nephew Jeffrey Sebelia, 2006 Project Runway winner, a couple of times. Still, his name is the most popular search term for this blog. So, here we go again. We haven’t seen Jeffrey since his sister’s wedding in California but through the family grapevine we hear that Jeffrey was spotted at Heidi Klum’s Halloween Party, see pics below. This is no run down to Rite Aid and get a plastic orange goblin head at the last minute kind of party. This is a Red Carpet Halloween Party with Paris Hilton (left, with boyfriend Doug Reinhardt) and the like in…
PR Flocks to The Audience Conference

Mark Rose

2 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm

Are there signs of life in the moribund old line PR business? Porter Novelli and PRNewswire have signed up as sponsors of The Audience Conference, November 5th & 6th, Hudson Theater, New York City. David Binkowski of MS&L is speaking , along with Jeremy Pepper and David Dunn, founder of velocidi, formerly COO of Edelman Digital, and Joe Jaffe of crayon. Since Loren promises no wi-fi and a Twitter-free zone for the conference it will be interesting to see what these PR gurus learn and how they churn it back to us minions who cannot attend.
PRBlogNews Week in Review 11-02-2009

Mark Rose

1 Nov 2009 | 1:21 pm

Most Active Posts Who is Worth Following #5 Alex Rodriquez Comes to His Senses - What Next? MLK & RFK Brothers In Battle Google Sidewiki is PR Game Changer Kristen Revealed Top Posts Kristen Revealed Barack Obama - Master PR Pitchman Google Sidewiki is PR Game Changer MLK & RFK Brothers In Battle So you want to break into public relations? What is Your Wikipedia PR Strategy? Digital / New Media Drives PR Growth Wells Fargo Launches Breakthrough Twitter Stream Top Searches derek jeter wife, derek jeter’s wife, geico caveman, escalus poet, “richard…
Who is Worth Following #5

Mark Rose

30 Oct 2009 | 10:42 am

The continuing scan for signs of intelligence and fun in the PR blogosphere #5 Loren Feldman Loren Feldman, the ganza macher of 1938 Media, is a pupeteer, satirist, performer in search of an audience, anti-Web 2.0 fixture in Web 2.0 circles, videographer and other things. He’s not in PR (although he is a PR master) and he’s not a blogger but he is definitely worth following, if nothing more than for entertainment… although you do get valuable information from Loren. As much as he will rail against it, he is addicted to this social media thing, otherwise he…

Wired PR Works
Content as Jewelry – Making it Sparkle

Barbara Rozgonyi

19 Nov 2009 | 8:08 am

Confession: I love jewelry that sparkles – preferably a lot. To make stones sparkle, they have to be cut to catch light. To be attractive, they need to be shaped. (...) [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Writing: What Grade is Yours in?

Barbara Rozgonyi

17 Nov 2009 | 8:43 pm

I’m working on a writing project. This one needs to be more mainstream. So, I tested it out for grade level and readability. (...) [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Social Networking Personality Advice for Authentic Bobcats

Barbara Rozgonyi

15 Nov 2009 | 9:19 pm

Online you can be anyone you want to be. Not that you should, but you can. (...) [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Ten Branding Methods: Butterflies and Rainbows Optional

Barbara Rozgonyi

12 Nov 2009 | 5:48 pm

Butterflies used to be my visual brand. Why? Because I like photographing them and with the tagline “Marketing Transformations,” I though they were a natural fit. (...) [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Personal Branding and DNA

Barbara Rozgonyi

5 Nov 2009 | 7:18 am

Gary Vaynerchuk is coming to Chicago tonight! I’ll be there. Because it’s Gary V Day in Chicago, I’m sharing this post from October 9, 2008 with 20 tips and a video. Enjoy! (...) [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

a shel of my former self
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #502: November 19, 2009

shel@holtz.com

19 Nov 2009 | 5:33 pm

Content summary: Mitch Joel’s book offer; FIR Interview with Tac Anderson coming; update on the FIR Twitter List; FIR #500: more listener predictions; Dan York reports; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; News That Fits: Ronna Porter’s example on calling on your online community to verify your social media credentials in a job application, social media is influencing business decisions says new research from SNCR; David Philips reports; listener comments; music from Mario Tomic; and more. Get FIR: Download the MP3 file (26.0Mb, 64.59) Subscribe to the RSS feed Get the…
Industries holding off on interactive marketing are poised to spend a lot more

shel@holtz.com

18 Nov 2009 | 2:17 pm

One of the most interesting observations I gleaned from Forrester’s recent projections is that some of the greatest growth in interactive marketing is likely to come from industries that have been slow to adopt it so far. I would classify this under “blinding flashes of the obvious,” but it still jumped out at me because Forrester is suggesting that these industries—which include heavily regulated businesses like pharmaceuticals—will get the experience they need and move forward. The Forrester report—US Interactive Marketing Forecast by Industry, 2009 to…
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #501: November 16, 2009

shel@holtz.com

16 Nov 2009 | 10:38 am

Content summary: Reflections on FIR #500; FIR Interview with Steve Rubel is published; Michael Netzley reports from Singapore; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; more comments from listeners about FIR #500; News That Fits: beating back bad press with Google AdWords, are you actually ready and able to listen and do social media monitoring?; listener comments discussion; music from The Plastic Pals; and more. Get FIR: Download the MP3 file (25Mb, 62:28) Subscribe to the RSS feed Get the show at iTunes Messages from our sponsors: FIR is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan…
Questions your CEO should ask before starting a blog

shel@holtz.com

16 Nov 2009 | 8:35 am

The question of CEO blogging keeps coming up. Opinions mostly fall in two camps: All CEOs should blog. As the leaders and chief communicators of their organizations, it is incumbent on CEOs to represent their companies in the social space where so much influence is wielded. No CEOs should blog. Because of regulations that govern the kinds of statements CEOs can make, and when, there is just too much risk that an innocent remark could result in a fine. As with most things, though, the question of CEO blogging is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Clearly CEOs can blog, as evidenced by the…
FIR Interview: Steve Rubel, Lifestreamer

shel@holtz.com

13 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pm

If there’s one significant voice in the PR profession that attracts attention and influences opinion within the industry and outside of it on a global scale, that voice is Steve Rubel: PR practitioner at Edelman Digital, blogging pioneer, social media early adopter and evangelist, geek, re-inventor and lifestreamer. In this FIR Interview, co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz talk with Steve on a wide range of topics that stimulate his insight and commentary, including lifestreaming – what is it and why Steve’s doing it – the Posterous platform, the Micro Persuasion and Steve Rubel…

The Bad Pitch Blog
The Blind? Deaf? Or Just Dumb Pitch

Kevin

8 Nov 2009 | 6:50 pm

Bloggers send more than a few emails asking to be removed from a media list, we also send emails to PR people to tell them why a pitch doesn’t work for their blog – and perhaps what might work in the future.I rarely receive a response from these notes – which is unfortunate and yet telling. But music blogger Olivia Giovetti brings us an experience with a PR firm representing high-end hospitality clients that serves as a clear, and very frustrating, example of what not to do.Chinese water torture via email? A steady stream of news releases“I'm a writer who somehow wound up on a PR…
Believe In Yourself; But Believe In Trends More

Richard Laermer

6 Nov 2009 | 6:46 am

We're all looking for something to take us to a better place-workwise, that is.How do we do that? Follow trends.When you’ve got one example, it’s a “noticeable situation.” When you’ve got two examples, it’s a fact. And when you’ve got three examples—welcome to a trend. A trend is something that is just happening—the way ads are becoming smaller by the second (and disappearing, thank G-d); the use of tiny devices that are almost ear-sized for us to check who wants to reach us; the tendency for movies to be built around consumer products like Ben Stiller’s haircut or a…
Know Yourself, Be Yourself for Better Pitches

Kevin

30 Oct 2009 | 9:40 am

Last week, I had the blind luck to present right before Artie Isaac at SummitUp. If you don’t know Artie, you should.Artie Isaac co-founded SpeakerSite and the Young Isaac Agency. He also teaches creativity, consumer behavior, copywriting and the history of advertising at The Ohio State University and the Columbus College of Art & Design. Artie started his career with agencies in New York, including Ogilvy & Mather. He holds an MBA in Marketing from Columbia and a BA in English Literature from Yale.So what do I mean by blind luck? Well Artie’s presentation rocked the house and I would…
Chris Brogan on Better Blogger Pitches

Kevin

21 Oct 2009 | 10:30 pm

Earlier this week one half of The Bad Pitch Blog kicked off SummitUp -- an event packed with great content, including presentations from Bob Garfield and Chris Brogan.The Bad Pitch Blog took advantage of this quality time to ask a few folks about how to improve the pitch. First up is Chris Brogan -- author of the New York Times Bestseller "Trust Agents."The book stems from his extensive blogging, speaking and community building efforts as president of New Marketing Labs. Here's his quick take on creating better blogger pitches.
The Axed Hack's Guide to Flacking: Are Journalists Meant For PR?

Richard Laermer

11 Oct 2009 | 7:55 am

I'll get right to the point: PR is not the dark side any more.As a reporter for a plethora of publications in the hard-to-remember '80s, I do recall titters from my colleagues when I defected to PR. I had to make more money and I couldn't cope with holier-than-thou editors. I'd written for USA Today, New York Daily News, New York Times, Crain's NY, Editor & Publisher, Us... and all I got was a T-shirt that said, "Someone read my article."A lot of PR peers were once reporters who failed in the new gig because PR was immoral or beneath them (don't get me started!). You have to think of yourself…

Trevor Cook
The passing of Studs Terkel

Trevor Cook

20 Nov 2009 | 12:17 pm

Originally posted 1 November 2008I am a very big fan of Studs Terkel I devoured many of his books when I was young. Not only was he a fantastic oral historian with a real empathy with everyday Americans and a tremendous ability to bring them alive on paper but Terkel was also a great expert on the blues of Chicago, in particular, the incomparable Mahalia Jackson and Big Bill Broonzy. For me Terkel represented the best in American life. The NY Times has a great obit:Studs Terkel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose searching interviews with ordinary Americans helped establish oral history…
Book review: Who really won the 2007 election?

Trevor Cook

20 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pm

Originally posted 7 January 2009Christine Jackman, “Inside Kevin 07″, Melbourne University Press, 2008.Kathie Muir, “Worth Fighting For: Inside the your rights at work campaign”, UNSW Press, 2008.There were two campaigns against the Howard Government in the run-up to the last election: the ALP campaign and the ACTU campaign.These books complement each other insomuch as they provide ‘insider’ accounts of these interlocking but in many ways separate and differing campaigns. Much of the content of each book is based on interviews with participants and both books suffer a bit from…
Celebrating Darwin online

Trevor Cook

20 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm

Originally posted 9 JanuaryNext month will mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, the man who had perhaps the greatest idea of all time.This week, Melvyn Bragg is doing a four part special series(”Darwin: The Genius of Evolution”) of his excellent BBC Radio 4 program “In our Time” on Darwin which you can download and listen to on your pod.Even more stunning are the video podcasts of the 10 lecture course Stanford University (”Darwin’s legacy”) presented at the end of last year (September through December), featuring some of the world’s foremost experts…
Loving those blues podcasts

Trevor Cook

20 Nov 2009 | 12:01 pm

Originally posted 12 JanuaryI got hooked on the blues back in the late sixties when I discovered my white heroes (eg Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Johhny Winter) had some very cool black heroes (e.g. Robert Johnson,Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker). In fact, I think John Lee Hooker might just be the coolest guy ever. One brief story. When as an old man, and recently ‘re-discovered’ and enjoying chart success, a reporter asked him, eagerly, whether he ever felt the urge to go back home to Missisippi. Hooker repled with a simple “No”, without feeling any need for explanation…
Change doesn't always mean happiness

Trevor Cook

20 Nov 2009 | 11:57 am

One of my favourite authors is John McGahern. In his Memoir, McGahern writes (p80):I take the belief that the best of life is life lived quietly, where change is imperceptible, where nothing happens but our calm journey through the day, where change is imperceptible and the precious life is everything.You could hardly imagine a viewpoint more at odds with the ethos of our time. We live in a world (especially the virtual world) where people crave change, celebrate the new and try to cram as many experiences into each day as possible.What McGahern is pointing out though, I think, is that…

Denver PR Blog
UCD School of Medicine: Don’t Bother Responding to Our RFP

denverprblog

19 Nov 2009 | 9:30 pm

You would probably think there are dozens of public relations firms in Denver capable of “building external and internal awareness of the [University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine's] Palliative Care Program and undertaking a successful fundraising campaign to raise philanthropic contributions for its educational and research program.” But not everyone sees it that way, and that has PRSA Colorado President Gina Seamans seeing red. In a post today on JohnstonWells’ blog, Seamans takes the UCD School of Medicine to task for trying to sneak through a sham RFP when the…
Denver Magazine Names Brugeman Food Editor

denverprblog

17 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm

Denver Magazine has named former contributing editor Stacey Brugeman food editor. In her new role, Brugeman will manage the magazine’s “Savor” section, as well as other food and drink content.
A Guide to Magazines that Have Ceased Publication

denverprblog

16 Nov 2009 | 12:50 pm

Ad Age compiles the list. (Hat tip to Jordan Blakesley).
Weise Launches Two Client Web Sites

denverprblog

16 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pm

Denver’s Weise Communications has launched two Web sites for clients – Eating Disorder Center of Denver and MidAmerica Stroke Network.
Denver PR Jobs

denverprblog

16 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pm

Among those hiring this week are Red Rocks Country Club, MDC Holdings, Weaver Multimedia Group, Arthritis Foundation, New Frontier Media, Pikes Peak Council of Governments, Ubee Interactive and Westwood College.

Drew B's take on tech PR
Permission to market to you, right here right now: How the Foursquare API might look in the wild

Drew B

16 Nov 2009 | 1:01 pm

Remember when someone rigged up a radio tag to their cat's collar and connected it to Twitter? It told the owner (and the world) what the feline was up to. And remember the east London bakery that plugged its oven into Twitter? Baker Tweets was all the rage in Hoxton (ok, that one was a joke). But the majority of Twitter's innovation and adoption has come about because of new ways that Twitter was made better by developers using its API, Think Twitter Apps, Tweetdeck, Summize (which is now Twitter Search), Twitter Maps and so on. Now Foursquare has opened up its API, and with it opened up to…
links for 2009-11-13

Drew B

13 Nov 2009 | 10:04 am

Measuring the real ROI of social media - slideshow An interesting presentation about measuring the real ROI of social media thats been doing the rounds this week
How to trend in Twitter. My five learnings explained.

Drew B

13 Nov 2009 | 4:12 am

Last Friday I published a blog post here that tapped into something I don't normally see. It got retweeted about 500 times, and the headline trended four times simultaneously in the Twitter top trending items (in the pic below, with the numbers...). Something about the blog post made it viral. But what!? I'm not sure how, but here are some basics which you might find useful. People have asked me how I did it. As with all things that go viral, it's something you can't guarantee. But I want to share with you five things that helped it happen. Timing - I posted at 10am on a Friday. Friday and…
links for 2009-11-12

Drew B

12 Nov 2009 | 10:05 am

A Look At All The Sites Owned By Rupert Murdoch That 'Steal' Content | Techdirt As Rupert Murdoch talks about how he wants to cut off Google, it seemed like a good time to examine at least some of the sites that are owned by Rupert Murdoch that appear to aggregate content from other sites and which rely on the very same fair use argument. Advertising - Online Ads Are Booming, if Theyre Attached to a Video - NYTimes.com News Web sites are starting to look a lot less like newspapers and a lot more like television. BBC NEWS | Technology | Microsoft disconnects Xbox gamers Online gamers…
Social Media Report. It's alive.

Drew B

11 Nov 2009 | 1:21 pm

A whole three and a half years ago I did some stuff in social media. I tried my hand at some coining (I wrote a page on Wikipedia in July '06, as social media didn't exist then) and I set up a blog three months before that, powered by a Delicious engine, called Social Media Report. My aim with Social Media Report was to collect all the nuggets of news that showed its impact on PR, at the time. My hilarious ramblings included quotes such as "students are on Facebook" and a whole lot of links to stories from when blogging was really big. So I'm looking at how I can kick start the site. It's…

Minnesota Public Relations Blog
CLS Hires Anna Morrison as Social Media Specialist

Ryan

20 Nov 2009 | 8:54 am

Anna Morrison has been named social media specialist in the Minneapolis office of public relations firm Carmichael Lynch Spong, after previously serving as an intern for the agency. In this new role she is responsible for researching social media opportunities for client initiatives as well as advising client teams on strategic blogger relations and effective social media practices. Morrison comes to Carmichael Lynch Spong from The Angel Foundation, a Minneapolis-based charitable organization working to fulfill unmet non-medical needs of adult cancer patients and their families. While there,…
ANNIE BASINSKI AND MATT DEPOINT JOIN EXPONENT PR

Ryan

19 Nov 2009 | 10:12 am

Minneapolis-based public relations agency Exponent PR announces the hiring of Annie Basinski and Matt DePoint. Basinski has joined the agency as a senior associate on the Caribou Coffee, DuPont and Koala Ranch accounts. Basinski was previously in the Consumer Brands/Food & Nutrition department in the Chicago office of Edelman Worldwide where she oversaw a variety of well-known, national consumer food brands and nutrition commodity accounts including National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Heinz, Nestlé, Kraft, Hidden Valley Ranch, KC Masterpiece and the Mushroom Council. …
Job - PLATO Learning, Inc. - Director of Marketing

Ryan

18 Nov 2009 | 7:51 am

PLATO Learning, Inc. - Director of Marketing
Job - Kohnstamm PR hiring Assistant Account Executive

Ryan

18 Nov 2009 | 6:43 am

Kohnstamm PR hiring Assistant Account Executive
GIVE NOW! - GiveMN.org - Give to the Max Day!

Ryan

17 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

Today, Tuesday, November 17th, 2009, your gift to any nonprofit listed on GiveMN.org will be matched, but only by using the www.GiveMN.org website. The gift needs to be made by credit card. GiveMN.org is an innovative online resource that is working to make giving a little easier while creating a stronger nonprofit community for Minnesota. On November 17th, beginning NOW - 8:00 a.m. until http://givemn.razoo.com/8:00 a.m. November 18th, any credit card gift you give through www.GiveMN.org will be matched by of a generous $500,000 grant from The Saint Paul Foundation, Minneapolis Foundation…

O'Dwyer's Blog: Covering PR, public affairs, marketing and the world of communications.
PR Videos of the Week

20 Nov 2009 | 2:11 pm

Lewis PR's Morgan McLintic on three tenets of crisis management and social media: Veteran gaming PR pro Sue Bohle on what video game clients should expect from a PR program: In a brief interview, Burson-Marsteller CEO Mark Penn says he's beginning to see some "green shoots" of recovery as things look "less worse": Scott Monty of Ford discusses the car company's social media efforts with JD Lasica of SocialMedia.biz: Ford's social media efforts from JD Lasica on Vimeo. Will Sturgeon, direct at Harvard PR, discusses the move from journalism to PR and where he expects growth in the industry:…
PR Pros Mixed on Oprah Exit

20 Nov 2009 | 12:32 pm

Oprah Winfrey's decision to pull the plug on her ABC show to focus on her cable network in 2011 is bringing mixed feelings of relief, "good riddance" and anticipation from PR pros. On one hand, arguably the most sought after placement in PR will soon be gone and with it will go the overzealous expectations of clients. But Winfrey's move to a network of all things Winfrey will likely be a top (and difficult) "get" as well. PR agency head Pierce Mattie, who's a bit of a PR juggernaut when it comes to getting clients on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," says he's happy the queen of daytime is moving on…

PR, Social Media, and Marketing Mentor ?
2009 SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards Submission Deadline Extended to Thursday, September 10th

Each year, the Society for New Communications Research presents the prestigious SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards. The deadline for application submissions for this year's awards has been extended from September 7th to Thursday, September 10, 2009, to allow applicants who are away for Labor Day Weekend to finish and ...
Some Social Media Humor for Summer Vacation…

Occasionally in social media training, some humor is called for, and The Onion Newsfeed video clip above takes on the big issue of search engine privacy rights—specifically, while using the ubiquitous Google—and gives us a tour of "Google's Opt-Out Privacy Village." And then, there's this HubSpot spoof on Twitter ...
Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 — Where is the Web Going, and What is the Semantic Web?

Sometimes, the best way to learn about something is without using words. Here's a creative example of a video explaining the difference between Web 1.0 and 2.0, by the clever Not in Words producers: Now, back to words and some basic drawings, as we move on to Web 3.0 and beyond. ...
Join us at NewComm Forum and Inbound Marketing Summit in San Francisco!

The 5th Annual New Communications Forum April 27th - 29th, 2009 The Marriott Hotel, San Francisco, California I just wanted you to know that there are still a few seats available for next week's NewComm Forum 2009. Don't miss this special opportunity to participate in a highly-interactive, exclusive gathering of the most notable ...
Flutter

OK, I haven't posted here for a while, due to being SO busy, I've barely had time to eat, sleep or recuperate from one of those annoying seasonal colds that seems to drag on while you're doing everything else. So, even though social media is central to my work (the ...

Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York
Oprah’s Show Closes with Mixed Emotions from Publicists

Pierce Mattie

19 Nov 2009 | 4:34 pm

Several PR veterans on twitter and FaceBook chatted with our team today expressing a sense of relief, sadness, fear and even joy that Oprah’s show is set to close in 2011. Why, you ask… for starters even though the Pierce Mattie team has had several clients on her show, so much so that we were featured in Inc. magazine for doing it in an article titled; The Oprah Effect - there is still an overwhelming amount of pressure put on by clients to their agency of record to secure a spot on her show. You could be the best publicist in the world. You may have a great client…
New York's Best Catering & Hospitality Company: Dish Foods NYC

Pierce Mattie

19 Nov 2009 | 5:16 am

There is a fine line between event planners and public relations professionals. Some elect to do both. At Pierce Mattie we are confident with our role in this industry as we connect our clients with the press and garner a high level of media coverage for them in return. Often our teams outsource the area of expertise of event planning, catering and ambiance creation to the pros. With that said, we have on hand the best rolodex of chefs, nutritionists, florists, dj’s and so forth. This holiday is no exception! Dish Foods NYC has earned quite the buzz…
Green Jewelry, Beauty & Home Fashion Trends for 2010 w/ Pierce Mattie PR

Pierce Mattie

17 Nov 2009 | 8:58 am

We recently hosted our green event designed to give insight w/ long lead glossy pitching on our client’s new releases for April 2010. Our editorial calendars illustrate that “green” will continue to stay “in” the mix for stories and editorial opportunities. Most of our brands at Pierce Mattie have either a platform of green; organic, reusable energy, sustainability or have launched a new component to their brand to fit the needs of these consumers. Some of the media in attendance included; Real Simple, Parents, Self , American Baby, Today’s Black Woman,…
The Beauty PR team at Pierce Mattie is Ready for The World’s Best Make-Up Show As It Comes to Toronto - Featuring Makeup From The New Moon

Pierce Mattie

12 Nov 2009 | 8:41 am

The Beauty PR team at Pierce Mattie is just days away from IMATS Toronto. And for the beauty editors, beauty bloggers, journalists and segment producers that are attending, have we got a show for you!Make-up mavens and movie fans will converge on Toronto this fall for the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show, held Nov. 21-22 at Heritage Court inside the Direct Energy Centre. There’s a little something for everyone here, from fashion to film effects to shopping.Keynote speakers include Norma Hill-Patton, department head on The Twilight Saga: New Moon. The London-born artist trained in…
Celebrity Marketing: Is Kate Moss Getting Over Exposed (again)?

Shannon Nelson

9 Nov 2009 | 12:40 pm

Kate Moss seems to be everywhere lately; if she isn't aligning herself as a fashion designer for Top Shop, spokesmodel for David Yurman, muse or model, she is emerged in the beauty industry. Most notably are her recent fragrance launch for Vintage with Coty and advertisements for Parisienne with YSL. Is Kate Moss over exposed? Has she saturated every aspect of the industry to the point that we are getting tired of her? Honestly, I think there is something about Kate Moss that makes her a chameleon of sorts. And her ability to be that highly desired YSL woman we all yearn to be or evoking…

Quest PR Blog
Virtual communication makes face-to-face meetings more vital than ever

Tim Curran

20 Nov 2009 | 2:31 am

I was doing some bedtime reading a few days ago which summarised one of the ironies of this increasingly digital age. The article reported research from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, indicating nearly 80 per cent of 2,300 subscribers surveyed said in-person meetings were still the most effective way to sell business products and services. Around the same proportion claimed face-to-face meetings were the most useful means of negotiating key contracts and many respondents said talking in this way quickly identified areas that needed clarification and brought negotiations to a close…
Who’s saying what about YOU? – top 20 listening devices

Sharon Cain

16 Nov 2009 | 4:15 am

How storming that an increasing number of our long-standing and new clients are harnessing the social media toolkit to define the best tools to drive their business goals and vision. Before dipping your big toe into the more popular sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, or blogging, begin with the end in mind and establish their relevance in enabling you to engage with those who will boost your bottom line. Remember, in this brave new business world it’s all about return on engagement as opposed to return on investment – and the more niche, customer-focused, and ethical you are , the more…
A picture is worth much more than a thousand words

Paul Rayment

11 Nov 2009 | 3:23 am

There are people in many occupations that I have a great deal of sympathy for and one of these groups is photographers. In the recession and a time where even five year-olds own digital cameras their trade is one often deemed transferable to the first person who suggests ‘it’s OK, I’ll do it’ in place of hiring a professional. Have you seen the lenses these people have? Some are worth more than a small car. I’m pretty sure they don’t buy them for fun; they do so because they get results, especially in the case of PR. I’ve worked with many photographers and seen the results that…
Can you hear the pitter patter of the Twitter revolution?

Harriet Cullum

6 Nov 2009 | 3:06 am

On the way home from work one evening this week, I enjoyed the distraction of the dulcet tones of Michael Burke on Radio Four’s ‘the Moral Maze’ programme. The topic up for debate on that evening’s offering was the influence of Twitter, and the ‘fine line between popular and spontaneous debate, and mob rule’. Mob rule by the users of Twitter? It sounded slightly far fetched to me, but who am I to judge? Has Twitter really reached the stage where it can claim to have control over events outside cyberspace? Admittedly, in the last few weeks the users of Twitter have scored pretty…
A journalist’s insight into PR with Quest’s crack team – guest post by Sarah Hone

Sue Roberts

4 Nov 2009 | 4:55 am

I have a confession to make. In my ten years or so as a journalist I might occasionally have been guilty trampling rough-shod over the earnest pleas of PR agencies asking me, quite reasonably, to consider the newsworthiness of their oh-so-interesting clients. I admit it, I may also have, perhaps flippantly, cast aside the press release that did not immediately sparkle with the promise of a write-me-now story. To any journalists reading, I have a modest request: please be kind to PR people, they are only doing their job, and it’s a difficult one too. This startling information was…

Richard Edelman - 6 A.M.
Strange Bedfellows Who Kick in the Night

19 Nov 2009 | 1:39 pm

Did you know… the United Auto Workers had 425,000 members employed by General Motors in 1979 and today has 40,000? UAW members earn $33 per hour while non-union car workers in the American South earn $15 per hour and auto workers in Mexico get $6 per hour, but have the same productivity level? in the US and Western Europe there are 800 cars per 1,000 adults, while in China and India it is only 50 or 60 per 1,000 people, rising to 400 per 1,000 in the next decade? up to three million jobs were at risk in the US a year ago in the possible bankruptcy of Chrysler and GM, then the chain reaction…
Dangerous and Delusional

9 Nov 2009 | 7:31 am

On Friday I spoke at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. After my presentation, I was asked the following question by a senior journalist, who uncovered the Sumitomo copper trading scandal. “I have been told by my friend who runs PR for a large Japanese company that it is much easier to manipulate the media because the reporters are younger, inexperienced and pressured to produce content quickly. What do you think about this?” I responded very directly. I said that reporters today, whether young or old, more or less experienced, have access to a far richer array of sources. They can…
Postcard from China

4 Nov 2009 | 5:56 am

I have been in Shanghai and Beijing for the past four days. Here are some observations. The Economy—It is clearly stronger than the US and Europe but there are dark clouds on the horizon. The 8.5% GNP growth was the result of large government infrastructure spending (accounting for 7% of the GNP rise) and consumer spending (4% GNP rise) but offset by a drop in exports (3.5% GNP decline). The economy is strong in the tier one urban areas like Bejing and Shanghai. The high end wage earners are doing well, but the rich poor gap is growing. The southern and western regions are really…
Shared Value—The Future of Corporate Philanthropy

27 Oct 2009 | 4:08 pm

I had lunch today with Charles Moore, President of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. It is the tenth anniversary of the CECP, which was founded by the late actor Paul Newman, John Whitehead, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, and real estate magnate Peter Malkin. Today there are 150 members, from GE to Time Warner to GlaxoSmithKline. Moore described the changed mindset of corporate chieftains about corporate philanthropy, namely “companies are merging business strategy with social strategy, with a goal of maximizing profit. The new mantra is Shared Value.” Moore stated that…
Under the Buttonwood Tree

19 Oct 2009 | 2:53 pm

I attended the Economist Magazine’s First Annual Buttonwood Conference on Friday, which offered a perspective on the future of the financial services sector. The event could not have been better timed, given Goldman Sachs’ announcement that it would accrue a record $16.7 billion in bonuses for 2009, while Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis forfeited his 2009 compensation. I was one of the speakers on a panel on Restoring Trust in the Financial System. Here are key points made during the day: 1) Larry Summers, chief economic advisor to President Obama, said that it is not appropriate for…

Strategic Public Relations
Fight Club 2.0: AdWeek’s Digital Hot List | Brian Morrissey Interview

Kevin Dugan

9 Nov 2009 | 7:06 pm

Reading AdWeek’s “2009 Digital Hot List” it becomes clear we’re in store for a dynamic and competitive digital landscape in 2010. As the brands on the list fight for market share, it almost reads like a script for Fight Club 2.0. Brian Morrissey provided Strategic Public Relations his opinion on some of these brands and, in the process, some insight into the Hot List. 1) Social networks are comparable to a bar scene. There's always a hot bar everyone goes to until it gets old and they move onto the next hot bar. How long can Facebook hold onto their hot bar status that, in part, put…
Fort Hood, Twitter and Real-Time News

Kevin Dugan

5 Nov 2009 | 7:22 pm

Social media detailed a tragedy today. While I learned of the Fort Hood shootings earlier this afternoon, it was a late afternoon scan of Twitter that connected me to the real-time news source set up by The Austin American-Statesman. @fthoodshootings is an account quickly set up by the paper to create a dedicated line of real-time news around this sad and tragic story. In just a few hours the account already has more than 3,200 followers and is on more than 85 different lists as of publishing this post and climbing. Unfortunately it’s not the first bittersweet…
Storytelling’s Link to Social Marketing Success | SummitUp 2009

Kevin Dugan

20 Oct 2009 | 8:37 pm

SummitUp brought together some of the best and brightest in Ohio's social media scene as well as industry luminaries like Chris Brogan and Bob Garfield. Fueled in no small part by the passion and determination of David E. Bowman, the event was a complete success and I was honored to kick it off with my keynote presentation. "What's Your Story?" details how the craft of storytelling can help us deal with the challenges social media creates. I consider these challenges a bit of a paradox as my slides and video will explain. But the very technology that is bringing us together with people from…
Marketing Meets Augmented Reality

Kevin Dugan

14 Oct 2009 | 10:53 am

Like most marketers, augmented reality popped up on my radar when GE used it to unveil its Smart Grid technology.The ability to create a digital hologram is intriguing, but it always seems to be applied to sci-fi technology or futuristic plans. I’ve wondered how someone might put it to more practical use.Meijer*, a client of Empower MediaMarketing, answers my curiosity with the “Be Transformed in 3-D” promotion.Having Fun with MasksThe microsite allows you to try on four different masks – using a web cam and augmented reality. You can record a :30 second video message using a voice to…
AMP, #PepsiFail and staying on brand

Kevin Dugan

14 Oct 2009 | 6:03 am

There's been lots of discussion around the iPhone App "AMP UP Before You Score" from Pepsi's AMP Energy Drink. Let me see if I can sum it up. The Issue: The AMP app profiles 24 types of women, from "Cougar" and "Athlete" to "Out of Your League" and "Married." Each profile provides unfortunate content including pickup lines and other information to help the user "score." It also has a brag function which allows users to promote and share their efforts via email, Facebook or Twitter. The app states: "Get lucky? Add her to your Brag List. You can include a name, date and whatever details you…

The Home of Peter Shankman - Shankman.com
What’s your VMLT?

Peter Shankman

20 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am

I had the horrible, dreaded icon-I-hope-I-never-get flashing on my mobile phone when I walked out of the subway this morning. I had a voice mail. You should know a few things about me: Or one thing, specifically: I HATE VOICE MAILS. I believe the concept of voice mail should be eliminated. There should be no voice mail. If [...]
Hey PR Peeps: VSC Consulting is Hiring!

Peter Shankman

17 Nov 2009 | 12:39 am

VSC is looking for you. They’ve launched some of the most successful startups in the U.S. including one that was bought by Google last week for $750M. More than PR, VSC is a strategic consultant to their clients advising on items ranging from product design to marketing spend. Their firm has been cited [...]
Facebook Event Invitations: Ur Doing it WRONG.

Peter Shankman

9 Nov 2009 | 12:52 pm

I had some time to relax this Sunday, so I took my laptop to my balcony, cracked a Diet Pepsi, and took care of some of the mundane tasks we as people on the Internet have to deal with from time to time. I went through my SPAM folder, (the extent to which Gmail’s system [...]
Gregory FCA is Hiring an AVP of Media Relations!

Peter Shankman

5 Nov 2009 | 6:33 am

Somehow, I’m now “hiring boy.” Apply if you’re good and got mad-skillz. Apply to kate@gregoryfca.com Job Description One of the nation’s 50 largest public relation firms, located in suburban Philadelphia, Gregory FCA has an immediate opening for an Associate Vice President of Media Relations with significant experience in technology, BtoB, life sciences and/or venture capital. Seven to [...]
WaggEd is hiring in their Boston Office!

Peter Shankman

3 Nov 2009 | 1:13 pm

Be smart. Apply here ONLY if you have the creds to back it up. Waggener Edstrom Worldwide is hiring a Healthcare Account Director for Boston Office! Waggener Edstrom Worldwide’s Healthcare Practice is growing! We provide a breadth of communications support to our clients across a range of therapeutic areas. This includes media relations, KOL development, strategic [...]

Ries' Pieces
Under Armour: Too Big for its Shirt?

Laura

4 Nov 2009 | 12:19 pm

It's amazing how many of the world's most successful entrepreneurs quickly forget what made them famous. The latest example is Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour. What made Under Armour famous? It wasn't a Super Bowl ad. It wasn't a massive marketing campaign. It wasn't ego or hype. What made Under Armour famous was "performance apparel" a new category Kevin created and carefully nurtured. As an ex-Maryland football player, Kevin Plank was sick of wearing…
Brand Makeover for the Swift School

Laura

28 Oct 2009 | 10:47 am

I am proud to announce that the branding makeover of the Swift School is almost complete. The process has taken many months but the results are extraordinary. Just to recap, back in April 2009, I was part of the On The House team that donated a total of $100,000 worth of services to a local non-profit organization in Atlanta. The winner of the prize was the Swift School, a non-profit school that serves elementary children with dyslexia. The mission of On the House was to give a branding makeover to a non-profit…
How Crocs Crashed

Laura

21 Oct 2009 | 3:00 pm

Success is sometimes your own worst enemy. Just ask the management and stockholders at Crocs. A hot brand ends up in one of two different ways. It burns bright too fast and fizzles. Brands like this are known as fads. Or a brand burns hot then continues at a steady simmer. Brands like this are known as iconic. Believe it or not, whether your brand will become a fad or an icon depends on your strategy more than you think. The good news is the fate of your brand is very much in your control. The bad news is it may be too late for Crocs. While it’s true that no…
Starbucks is Shooting Itself in the Cup

Laura

1 Oct 2009 | 10:45 am

Starbucks latest offensive isn’t against McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts it is against itself. And if Starbucks weapon is as successful as it says it will be then they could be shooting themselves in the cup. Starbucks new weapon is its Via instant coffee, a brand that went nationwide this week after several months of testing in Seattle, Chicago and London. To support the Via launch, Starbucks…
GM & the Implication of the Opposite

Laura

15 Sep 2009 | 3:09 pm

Sometimes the harder you try, the worse off you are. Why is that? Branding can sometimes be like trying to pick up girls. It is not what you say that counts. But the implication of what you say that counts. Asking a girl out for a Saturday night date on a Thursday afternoon doesn’t…

Travel PR
How to Create a Travel PR Strategy for your Traffic-Hungry Affiliate Travel Client

Neil MacLean

11 Nov 2009 | 6:33 am

Developing a travel PR campaign for affiliate clients presents a particular challenge. After all they don’t own their own hotels, boats, planes, they don’t sell their own package holidays and most of the time they don’t even mind who you travel with. That leaves us a bit short of stories on the PR side. Travel affiliate clients just want traffic, which they can then convert to clickers to send on their way to happy merchants in exchange for a slice of the pie. There’s very little there for a traditional travel PR to get their teeth into. Or is there? Andy Barr head…
Reputation Plus: Tweeting an Eye on Your Business

Neil MacLean

8 Nov 2009 | 2:45 am

Rosemary Gallagher has written a good piece about Reputation Plus the real time customer service in today’s Scotland on Sunday. Businesses will be able to monitor their reputation on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and react in “real time” using a service launched this month by Scottish company Reputation Plus. Set up by Neil MacLean, a former journalist, and Claire Dean, a TV and radio reporter and presenter, Reputation Plus claims to offer the first “online, real time customer service for UK business”. Although Scotland on Sunday…
Found: The Travel PR’s Guide to SEO

Neil MacLean

6 Nov 2009 | 6:05 am

There has been discussion on Twitter over the last few days on the role of SEO in contemporary Travel PR. I am massively biased in this; my reflex action on opening a new travel site is to view source code. And I have a keyboard shortcut which turns H and 1 into <h1></h1> in a nano second. I believe an understanding of how to be more easily found online is vital to travel PR. At the very least, if you are a travel PR and you want to get your client’s story across to the widest possible market, you need a basic knowledge of SEO. I don’t necessarily mean the shady and…
Present tense: A look back at the future of travel PR

Neil MacLean

6 Nov 2009 | 6:04 am

By way of yanking this blog back out of hibernation, I thought I would recap a guest post I wrote for Travolution last year. It pretty much sums up what I thought then and still think now of traditional travel PR. For the sake of our clients we need to totally rethink travel PR in this country. And by the way, signing up for a Twitter account just doesn’t cut it. The Problem at the Heart of Travel PR (from Travolution) The marketing blogosphere is navel-gazing again, this time about the current state of PR. No surprise there then. Every few months somebody declares PR dead and a bevy of…
Thummit: when everyone really is a critic

Neil MacLean

25 Nov 2008 | 2:22 pm

While researching restaurant reviews for the Sunday Times – and by researching I mean spilling gravy down my shirt – a manager would often stop by and ask how everything was. “Fine” I would say. “Read about it on Sunday,” I would think. “Thanks,” I would say. If it had been awful – if maggots had been playing in the venison stew – I would be itching to pull the trigger, to tell the world while I was still pulling on my coat. But sadly there was no way to actually publish a restaurant review directly from the table. Well, now there…

EndGame Public Relations News
New USB Health Information Card Aims to Save Lives, Time and Money

Steve Mullen

5 Nov 2009 | 9:57 am

New USB Medical Information Card Aims to Save Lives, Time and Money (Louisville, Kentucky) – If you’re severely injured in an accident, stricken by an allergic reaction, or impaired by a stroke, heart attack or seizure, how can you possibly relay important medical information to first responders? Have you ever wished you could avoid carrying stacks of health records and lists of prescriptions with you to your doctor’s office, only to have to copy that information by hand onto form after form? With a goal of saving lives and making doctor trips easier, Louisville, Kentucky-based MEMI…
Webcams Help Patients Connect

Steve Mullen

26 Oct 2009 | 1:39 pm

Sheltering Arms Helps Patients Connect with Families Despite H1N1 Restrictions Richmond, Virginia (October 26, 2009) – This season’s H1N1 influenza outbreak has led area hospitals to take drastic, yet proactive, measures to keep patients safe. Sheltering Arms, in turn, has come up with a creative solution that will allow them to continue to have the benefit of visitation with family members. About a dozen hospitals in the Richmond-Petersburg area, including Sheltering Arms two inpatient facilities, have coordinated efforts in the interest of patient and health care provider safety to…
EndGame PR Tapped for Life-Saving Health Info Card

Steve Mullen

20 Oct 2009 | 8:35 am

EndGame PR Retained to Promote Health Information Storage Card Richmond, Virginia (October 20, 2009) — EndGame Public Relations President Steve Mullen announced today that Kentucky-based MEMI Tech, LLC has retained his firm to launch and promote its unique and life-saving new health information storage card, 911 Medical ID™. The 911 Medical ID™ Card is the world’s thinnest patent-protected USB device. Approximately the same size as a credit card, it gives consumers a way to store and carry with them important emergency medical information such as allergies, prescriptions and…
NVALEO CEO to Discuss Internet TV Tech

Steve Mullen

16 Sep 2009 | 1:08 pm

NVALEO CEO to Discuss Internet TV Technology at Upcoming Event Richmond, Virginia (September 16, 2009) – We’re living in the early stages of a revolution in the way television content is delivered. The future will not include a near monopoly by the cable and satellite television companies, but rather strong competition from the Internet. The leader of one of the companies leading this revolution, Jeff Ritchie of NVALEO, is coming to Richmond next week to talk about his company and the new options for watching informational and entertaining programming on television. The NVALEO Enrichment…
Thousands Use Twitter to Support Spinal Muscular Atrophy Research

Steve Mullen

10 Sep 2009 | 7:23 am

New Application Helps Twitter Users Contact Legislators about SMA (Santa Barbara, CA) – Millions of people ‘Tweet’ every day, and Bill Strong knew there had to be a way to harness all of that online talk to help end spinal muscular atrophy, a disease that is affecting him very personally. With a Twitter application called ‘Tweet for a Cure’ and the help of thousands of Twitter users, he’s making progress in his quest to find a cure. Bill and Victoria Strong’s daughter, Gwendolyn (seen to the right), was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) at the age of…

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Voce Communications
No-Panic Numbers

Chris Thilk

17 Nov 2009 | 2:52 pm

I’m very much not going to be outraged or shocked by a recent report showing Chief Marketing Officers spend less than 10 percent of their budgets on social media efforts. Compared to other marketing channels, social media is pretty low cost, especially if you’re still in the experimental phase and seeing what’s going to work. Consider the cost of running a Twitter program: Setting up profiles on Twitter costs nothing and you’re probably tapping into the time of employees who are volunteering to take part. So the primary cost would be in hiring a world class of…
Creating and Evaluating Twitter Lists

Chris Thilk

2 Nov 2009 | 7:35 am

As everyone likely knows, Twitter debuted native list-making functionality last week to the entire user-base after a brief period of selective beta testing. You won’t be notified that you now have the ability to make lists until you log in to Twitter on the web and see the message at the top of the page. Creating a list is pretty easy. After punching the “Create a New List” button you can either search for a username or just go to either a specific user profile or your “Following” list and, from either of those, use the drop-down button to add a user to one of…
A Force-ful visitor to Voce’s Silicon Valley office

Chris Thilk

31 Oct 2009 | 7:14 am

Seeking to bring the troops into line, Lord Vader himself visited Voce’s Silicon Valley office, offering help where need, enjoying the food that was offered and, most importantly, extracting promises that efforts would be doubled.
Making Do

Chris Thilk

22 Sep 2009 | 5:05 am

For those of you who, like us, are in the communications industry and who, like us, are using social media tools in client programs, here’s a question to ask yourself: What if you couldn’t? If you’re a firm believer in the power of customer engagement, see the value in empowering employees to become thought leaders and all that other good stuff, how would you create a program to continue along those lines if tomorrow you woke up and it all – Twitter, Facebook, wikis, blogs, etc – had disappeared? How would you shift your strategies to continue the momentum? Or do…
Who Likes Your Tweets

Chris Thilk

9 Sep 2009 | 12:29 pm

One of my biggest issues around Twitter is the lack of meta-data around a user and their updates. You can see followers and such but you can’t get easy access to information around a lot of the actions people take there, which makes the job of marketing professionals a bit harder when trying to compile such reports. That’s why Favstar is catching my eye this morning. Flagged on Read/WriteWeb by Marshall Kirkpatrick, Favstar is another add-on service to Twitter that has one things a lot of others don’t: The ability to see who has marked your tweets as Favorites. Marking a…

Bite Communications
This just in from Bite Beijing

David Ketchum

20 Nov 2009 | 1:35 am

Hot off the acquisition of Upstream Asia, Bite Beijing served as public relations partner for this week’s ad:tech Beijing 2009. The show was chock full of bilingual panels, pundits and predictions about digital marketing and social media in China. Here are some quick highlights and takeaways from the two day ad:tech event: There are more than 338 million Internet users in China. If that were a country it would be the equal to the entire US population plus Peru thrown in for good measure! 320 million people have broadband 75% of Chinese people are still NOT online. When you compare…
The Men of Movember

James Walker

18 Nov 2009 | 9:37 am

As you’ll no doubt have already read, the men of Bite across the globe are busy cultivating mustaches in the name of Movember - a charity fundraising effort designed to raise awareness of mens health issues while raising cash for prostate cancer and LIVESTRONG – the Lance Armstrong Foundation. 17 days in and Bite has raised over $5,000 for the charities, about halfway towards our target. We thought that the perfect way to encourage those of you that haven’t yet donated to dig deep was to include a montage of the mustachiod men of Bite far and wide. Hopefully this should…
Harman Consumer International win is music to Bite’s ears

Bite Communications

12 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am

E400k annual budget to cover lead agency campaign planning and local market implementation LONDON – November 12, 2009 Bite Communications has been appointed by Harman Consumer International to centrally manage and deliver PR programmes across Europe for three of its most sought after high-end consumer electronics brands. The remit currently covers JBL (speakers and multimedia systems), AKG (headphones) and Harman Kardon (high-end home entertainment and theatre systems). Acting as a central content creation and management hub, Bite will also implement campaigns in the UK and Sweden, whilst…
Why Do So Many Companies Struggle With Monitoring?

David Hargreaves

11 Nov 2009 | 5:50 pm

I have been spending quite a lot of time recently looking at the whole subject of listening and monitoring, but more importantly looking at how you can extract business value out of monitoring online conversations. There are just such a bewildering array of tools which churn out huge amounts of data, it is not surprising that so many companies are struggling with it. Here is why in my mind: Problem No 1: How do you choose the right monitoring technology? The choice is totally bewildering. Not a week goes by without me learning of the latest magic monitoring solution. I have seen numerous…
Bite launches new website

Charlotte Eddy

8 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pm

Today, we are unveiling our site at www.bitecommunications.com. This launch coincides with the news that Bite has now become a truly global communications agency through the acquisition of Upstream Asia. The new site is designed to better showcase the global expertise and talents of Bite’s specialists through the incorporation of more dynamic content. The amount of static information, or ‘brochure-ware’, has been reduced and the blog and news page now provide the majority of the content. The new magazine-style layout also allows for easier navigation, making specific information much…

LaunchSquad: Exclamation!
Exclamation Podcast: Talking Embargoes With Robert MacMillan of Reuters

Corey

18 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am

During the last few years, embargoes have become a source of tension between public relations people and the reporters they work with. Where does the need for PR professionals to get their clients’ new disseminated widely intersect with reporters’ need to get the news out quickly and not get scooped? Are embargoes an outdated relic, or do they simply need to be redefined for the digital publishing era. LaunchSquad’s Corey Lewis talks with Robert MacMillan, media reporter for Reuters in today’s Exclamation Podcast: Follow Robert on Twitter at @BobbyMacReuters and read…
Why Facebook and Twitter Should Start Charging Users

Jason M.

11 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

What if Facebook and Twitter started charging users for their services? It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and have wondered why at least one of them, especially Facebook, have not experimented with in any way. Let’s look at Facebook in particular. Over the past few years, the service has evolved into a daily utility for tens of millions of users in the U.S. alone. I’m talking about people who essentially cannot - or at least prefer not to - live without it, whether it’s for the fun, games, social interactions, photo sharing, or like me, as just…
I’m A Local

Megan Soto

9 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am

I know it’s hard to remember a time before the Internet. Before chat-rooms – YES, even before “You’ve Got Mail.” Before the socialized Internet, your community was just your physical social environment: Your mailman, your grocer, friends, family, roommates and the physical places where you would see these people. The emergence of social Web was astounding. Suddenly we were part of a global community and you could find web content from South Africa and chat with people in Belize. Now that the Web is mobile, there is this new fascination with socializing our location.
Deadspin Goes Medieval On ESPN - Is It Too Much?

Corey

28 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am

It was a bad weekend to work in Bristol, Conn. Last week, the friction in the sometimes friendly, mostly unfriendly, four years of co-existence between ESPN, the sports broadcasting and online behemoth, and Deadspin, Gawker Media’s popular upstart sports blog, finally ignited a huge, flaming ball of holy-crap-this-should-be-interesting. What had been a long-standing, contentious relationship turned into a bitter feud that’s not likely to be resolved, or even cooled off for a while, after Deadspin editor A.J. Daulerio posted a story with headline, “ESPN: The Worldwide Leader…
The New Creative Economy

Christopher Schreiber

20 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am

Great music, video games and films continue to be created and enjoyed by huge audiences, while many large traditional distributors in these industries are seeing steady declines in total revenue. The Internet is chipping away at the role of the middleman, whether it is a record label, game distributor or film studio. Simultaneously, the Web is empowering the artist and providing unprecedented channels for direct distribution and now, major sponsorships. Is this the future of the entertainment industry? Panos Panoy, Sonicbids founder/CEO, recently wrote a very interesting post on the changing…

mediabistro.com: PRNewser
Sarah Palin's Twitter Problems

20 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pm

Sarah Palin again left us scratching our PR noggins this week. Fan or not, she's crushing it in terms "Going Rogue". So why did her people outright kill her sizable AKGovSarahPalin Twitter account and open SarahPalinUSA to promote the book? Are they people who run the 7-figure Facebook Fan page? The new feed has been languishing all week at between 24,000 to 25,000 followers. You can maintain a following with a simple Tweet announcement after simply changing one's screenname. We thought it had something to do with public offices or PACs needing to migrate to a personal brand for legal…
Fort Wayne's PR Problem

20 Nov 2009 | 10:56 am

The city of Fort Wayne, Indiana (pop. 250,000) is handling public affairs more like a village of 50. Until this week, the city's image was handled by the same guy who owns and edits the weekly paper, and owns a PR firm. Public Information Director Vince Robinson stepped down from his city job this week, after he and his girlfriend filed protective orders against each other. The two allegedly brawled during two separate incidents in October. Robinson held the same position for the city in 2000-2001 under a different mayor, and started Diversity Media after leaving the first time. His company…
Spin the Agencies of Record

20 Nov 2009 | 10:25 am

Account wins in this edition of Spin the Agencies of Record includes large online travel and flower sites, Greek drama for the troops, and an online tool for estate and will planning: Expedia.com flys with the HL Group as agency of record MWW's relationship with 1-800-FLOWERS blossoms to bring more Popcorn Factory, Fannie May and Cheryl&Co gift baskets to you and yours Dan Klores (DKC) goes Greek for the Theater of War, a production company contracted by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to bring the plays of Sophocles to military audiences…
Ogilvy PR Adds Digital Strategists

20 Nov 2009 | 10:18 am

Digital Strategists Jackie Titus and Dan Schreibstein joined Ogilvy PR's 360° Digital Influence division today. Prior to joining Ogilvy PR. Titus consulted on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental platforms for Unilever in the United States and worked with organizations including the National Park Foundation and Boys & Girls Club of America. Schreibstein will specialize in email marketing strategies. Previously, he headed email acquisition marketing for online financial publisher The Motley Fool. New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
GOP Continues Social Media Push

20 Nov 2009 | 9:24 am

How much of a role did social media play in powering Barack Obama to the presidency? The topic is still being debated. Regardless, Republicans have upped their efforts in the social space, hiring new media managers and building social networks. The GOP has also formed a "New Media Caucus." Ryan Walker, chief of staff for Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), a founding member of the New Media Caucus, told The Hill, "[Latta] saw a void in our own offices communication after the Obama campaign ...and we've been running with it ever since...It's been easier than I thought to get people on board." Of course,…

down the avenue
TechCrunch's Crunchup: Startups Pitch Their Latest

Renee Blodgett

20 Nov 2009 | 3:39 pm

TechCrunch's Real-Time Crunchup previewed a number of startups, some of which haven't officially launched yet and some of which announced new features and announcements today. Baduku is an opinion engine that helps people make informed decisions or gauge public opinions...
Marc Benioff Chats with Schonfeld & Gillmor

Renee Blodgett

20 Nov 2009 | 2:50 pm

On the heals of Dreamforce's massive San Francisco-based event (touted as the cloud computing event of the year), TechCrunch's Real-Time CrunchUp had Marc Benioff on stage today -- a joint interview by Erick Schonfeld and Steve Gillmor. Entertaining and provocative...
Best Table Designs in the Bay Area

Renee Blodgett

20 Nov 2009 | 1:01 am

Below are a sample of photos taken at this week's Dining by Design event in San Francisco, an effort to help raise money for AIDS and people who don't have healthcare insurance, which has grown this year. DIFFA has mobilizing...
Dining by Design Chefs & Designers Speak Up

Renee Blodgett

20 Nov 2009 | 12:44 am

Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS is one of the country's largest supporters of direct care for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventive education for those at risk. Merging care and commerce, supporters of DIFFA come from all fields of fine...
Organizing 2.0: Putting New York in a New Media State-of-Mind

Renee Blodgett

16 Nov 2009 | 8:55 am

Check out Organizing 2.0, a conference of bloggers and online organizers from the social justice world. The conference aims to serve as a way for organizers to come together and train, while also learning from each other on how to...

India PR Blog
Indian journalists Twitter lists for PR professionals

Palin Ningthoujam

4 Nov 2009 | 10:59 am

We have talked about using Twitter to enhance your media relations practice in the past. We talked about how many journalists are using Twitter today and some of us are now directly pitching to them using the 140 characters miracle. Our media friends love it too – it’s fast, crisp, and devoid of any fat adjectives. Some time back, Twitter launched Twitter lists for its users. Now Twitter users can assemble other Twitter users that he/ she likes into groups and follow them. This I thought was a fantastic way for me to sort and follow people, if you are following a large number of people…
4 key components of an effective social media marketing campaign

Palin Ningthoujam

30 Oct 2009 | 2:02 am

What would an effective social media marketing campaign entail? According to me, there are 4 key quadrants that we especially need to take care of. 1. Monitoring mechanism: Have a listening capability and understanding what the various stakeholders are talking about our brands and organizations is critical. Without this, we would be just another me too and shooting in the dark. How do we build an effective monitoring mechanism in place. We can use blog search engines like Technorati and Google Blog Search to monitor the blogosphere, subscription on email and RSS on influential blogs around…
Chocolate Spoof- Advertising will generate more PR

Ganapathy Viswanathan

10 Sep 2009 | 12:37 am

In the past it was always the cola war between Pepsi and Coke. I never understood who finally won the battle and whose sales or saliency went up in the consumers mind. The trend continued in the cola space for quite some time but I have not off late noticed that kind of campaigns being released. May be both of them realized that it is sheer waste of money. Is there not a learning for other categories from this? But recently I happen to see Nestle trying a spoof on CDM, which is splashed across all channels in the electronic medium. Post the campaign, we saw more write ups on various portals…
Think 360 – to launch a complete makeover of your brand

Ganapathy Viswanathan

6 Sep 2009 | 10:24 pm

Different people and books have different definition as to what a logo or a brand identity means to a company. The role of a logo or a brand identity is to keep the brand alive in the consumers mind. So let’s understand when a company goes for a change in their identity: 1. Launching a brand new corporate identity to change the image of the company 2. A change in the name of the company and its values 3. Change in management and wants to propel new strategic signals 4. Acquisitions and mergers 5. Bring freshness in the design as the current identity looks obsolete 6. Diversification in…
Days the media, advertising and PR fraternity need to remember

D Ramchandram

3 Sep 2009 | 10:34 am

Like many other days, January 29 too this year passed many Advertising and Media professionals quietly. But, it has lot of significance to Indian Media and Advertising industry which many publications, media houses including many trade publications have ignored it. January 29 is ”Newspaper Day”. January 29 every year is observed as “Newspaper Day by Indian Newspaper Society (INS), the apex body of India’s advertising and media industry. On this day in the year 1780 India’s first Newspaper “The Hickeys Bengal Gazette” or “The Calcutta General…

davefleet.com
Welcoming A New Colleague

Dave Fleet

17 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

I’m pleased thrilled to welcome Andrea Pietkiewicz to the Thornley Fallis team. Andrea joins our social media team this week, bringing with her over 12 years of agency experience with companies such as BBDO and Cossette. I’m a firm believer that the lines between the communications disciplines are blurring. Public relations agencies no longer compete against each other, and they no longer only need to execute pure PR campaigns – they go up against other types of agencies and are required to plan and sometimes execute cross-functional strategies. While Andrea shares our…
15 Ways PR Agencies Can Help Companies With Social Media

Dave Fleet

16 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

As social media has grown in acceptance within companies over the past few years, one debate never seems to go away – whether agencies should be involved in social media communications, or whether the only way to maintain an “authentic voice” is for companies to undertake it all themselves. Agencies can help Not surprisingly (given that I work for a PR agency), I sit in the camp that says that agencies have a significant role to play for many companies. For sure, companies can do some or all of these things themselves, but there’s no reason agencies can’t help…
Foursquare’s Potential For Hyper-Local Marketing

Dave Fleet

13 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

In recent weeks, I’ve become fascinated with the location-based social network Foursquare. While I’ve been using location-based apps on my Blackberry and iPod Touch for a while (Google Maps is a good example), Foursquare is the first service that has made me stop and think about the potential of hyper-local marketing on mobile devices, not just down the line but right now. I’ve had a couple of interesting conversations with April Dunford (wannabe Mayor of Thornley Fallis) recently, which have really spurred that thinking. Foursquare? If you haven’t tried Foursquare yet…
The Huge Potential Of Location-Based Apps

Dave Fleet

10 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

The growth of smart phones – from a consumer perspective, the iPhone in particular but also Blackberries – has really driven mobile apps into the limelight at a faster rate than almost any technology out there recently. Over the last couple of years, and especially the last few months, we’ve seen mobile applications vault more and more into the mainstream. We’re at the point now where many people don’t think twice about downloading the latest Facebook, Google Maps or gaming application to use on their mobile device – any more than they would about…
Putting A Face On The Faceless Organization

Dave Fleet

9 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

Companies with faceless brands have some of the greatest opportunities in social media. I’ve written on this topic before – there are several reasons why the opportunities are so great, but one stands out: the bar is set low for them. No-one expects to see them reaching out and engaging with people; when they do, it’s both noteworthy and newsworthy for many people. Let me give you an example. Putting a face on the Toronto Maple Leafs A couple of weeks ago, I posted a quick note on Twitter: “Just picked up two Leafs tickets for next week. I’m a glutton for…

PerkettPRsuasion - The PerkettPR Blog
Persuasive Picks for the week of 09/16/09 – Focus on Social Media Guidelines and Policies

Jeff Glasson

20 Nov 2009 | 7:44 am

Hey B2B marketers: It’s okay to have fun! Marketing strategist and author, David Meerman Scott reminds companies that B2B marketing still means communicating with people and doesn’t need to be boring. What makes a blog successful? Brazen Careerist, Penelope Trunk shares stories of blogging success straight from her own experiences. Create social media guidelines to engage your customer This post from Daniel Burrus on TechJournalSouth.com is one in a series containing advice on creating social media guidelines. This pick zeros in on the importance of establishing clear and consistent…
Please Join Us – PerkettPR’s Virtual Clothing Drive to Benefit Rosie’s Place

Christine Perkett

19 Nov 2009 | 9:38 am

2009 has unarguably been a year of many ups and downs, not only here in New England, but across the globe. In Massachusetts alone, we have witnessed the unemployment rate rise as high as 9.3% (October 2009) and my guess is that we all know at least one person who has been laid off this past year or been adversely affected by the struggling economy. As the holidays approach this year, I asked myself and my employees “What can we do as an organization to help others who are less fortunate than us?” We may gripe about changes we’ve faced, but focusing on others who are facing even more…
Global Entrepreneurship Week – How Are You Helping Tomorrow’s Leaders?

Christine Perkett

18 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

This week has been dubbed “Global Entrepreneurship Week” by the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s leading foundation for entrepreneurship, and Make Your Mark, the UK’s campaign to give young people the confidence, skills and ambition to make their ideas happen. Their goal is to connect young people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. One of the things I’ve been most inspired by in social media lately is the ability to connect with and help out students in the PR…
Persuasive Picks for the week of 11/09/09

Jeff Glasson

13 Nov 2009 | 9:29 am

Coping With Social Media Burnout Have you reached the point of social media burnout? For some, committing to and keeping up with, social media engagement can be overwhelming. CIO.com’s Kristin Burnham contributes this guest post on the topic to the San Francisco Chronicle. Study: Social Media, Mobile Set to Impact Holidays in Big Way Retailers might get a little extra business from social media communities this holiday season. Christopher Heine from Clickz.com cites some interesting facts from a recent study by Deloitte. Your Social Media Content Must Be Valuable Content might be king, but…
Can You Afford Not to Demand Excellence?

Christine Perkett

10 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

I recently had a conversation with an industry colleague who works on the client side. During that conversation, which took place at a marketing conference, he shared with me his experience at a certain other interactive conference last year: “One awesome week-long party paid for by my company. No real business takes place in terms of ROI. I can’t wait to go back.” Huh? With that mentality, no wonder marketing is often the first line item when companies are facing budget cuts. But wait a minute – aren’t you responsible for ensuring excellence for your company…

PerkettPRsuasion - The PerkettPR Blog
Persuasive Picks for the week of 09/16/09 – Focus on Social Media Guidelines and Policies

Jeff Glasson

20 Nov 2009 | 7:44 am

Hey B2B marketers: It’s okay to have fun! Marketing strategist and author, David Meerman Scott reminds companies that B2B marketing still means communicating with people and doesn’t need to be boring. What makes a blog successful? Brazen Careerist, Penelope Trunk shares stories of blogging success straight from her own experiences. Create social media guidelines to engage your customer This post from Daniel Burrus on TechJournalSouth.com is one in a series containing advice on creating social media guidelines. This pick zeros in on the importance of establishing clear and consistent…
Please Join Us – PerkettPR’s Virtual Clothing Drive to Benefit Rosie’s Place

Christine Perkett

19 Nov 2009 | 9:38 am

2009 has unarguably been a year of many ups and downs, not only here in New England, but across the globe. In Massachusetts alone, we have witnessed the unemployment rate rise as high as 9.3% (October 2009) and my guess is that we all know at least one person who has been laid off this past year or been adversely affected by the struggling economy. As the holidays approach this year, I asked myself and my employees “What can we do as an organization to help others who are less fortunate than us?” We may gripe about changes we’ve faced, but focusing on others who are facing even more…
Global Entrepreneurship Week – How Are You Helping Tomorrow’s Leaders?

Christine Perkett

18 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

This week has been dubbed “Global Entrepreneurship Week” by the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s leading foundation for entrepreneurship, and Make Your Mark, the UK’s campaign to give young people the confidence, skills and ambition to make their ideas happen. Their goal is to connect young people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. One of the things I’ve been most inspired by in social media lately is the ability to connect with and help out students in the PR…
Persuasive Picks for the week of 11/09/09

Jeff Glasson

13 Nov 2009 | 9:29 am

Coping With Social Media Burnout Have you reached the point of social media burnout? For some, committing to and keeping up with, social media engagement can be overwhelming. CIO.com’s Kristin Burnham contributes this guest post on the topic to the San Francisco Chronicle. Study: Social Media, Mobile Set to Impact Holidays in Big Way Retailers might get a little extra business from social media communities this holiday season. Christopher Heine from Clickz.com cites some interesting facts from a recent study by Deloitte. Your Social Media Content Must Be Valuable Content might be king, but…
Can You Afford Not to Demand Excellence?

Christine Perkett

10 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

I recently had a conversation with an industry colleague who works on the client side. During that conversation, which took place at a marketing conference, he shared with me his experience at a certain other interactive conference last year: “One awesome week-long party paid for by my company. No real business takes place in terms of ROI. I can’t wait to go back.” Huh? With that mentality, no wonder marketing is often the first line item when companies are facing budget cuts. But wait a minute – aren’t you responsible for ensuring excellence for your company…

The New PR
Ignite comes to Ottawa

ryananderson

5 Nov 2009 | 8:23 am

Thousands of Twitter messages a day, hundreds of blog posts in Google Reader, folders full of research reports. Sound familiar? Being active in social media usually means being a glutton for information, regardless of the medium. If you’re a dyed-in-the wool knowledge addict, then I’ve got an event for you. Ignite – an event consisting of a number of speakers, each with 5 minutes and 20 slides to enlighten the audience on a particular topic. Anything is fair game – from business to cooking to the arts. Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest and…
Doing a little good

ryananderson

7 Oct 2009 | 8:46 am

I think most people I know are like me in that they wish that given all of the negative news we hear every day, that we could do more to help. More to make the world greener, more peaceful – in general, we want to do more change the world, but we’re not sure where to start. My friend Faisal recently had the same epiphany – and his response was to create something that would not only allow him to make a bit of a difference, but to make it that much easier for everyone to do even a little bit of extra good for the world. His idea was to create a plugin for your web browser…
Tara Hunt comes to Social Media Breakfast Ottawa

ryananderson

1 Sep 2009 | 7:38 pm

The room at the Ottawa Social Media Breakfasts is always packed, but this month, I suspect that tickets will go faster than usual. This September 16, fresh off her triumphant return to the Great White North, Tara Hunt will be joining us to talk about social media, building communities, and her book, the Whuffie Factor. If you want to come (and I strongly suggest you do), then just head on over to the EventBrite page for SMBOttawa, and buy your ticket. Remember, that $10 admission goes directly to bringing great speakers like Tara to Ottawa. Hope to see you there!
Your anus is too tight

ryananderson

28 Aug 2009 | 9:49 am

One of the best books I’ve read in a while is one called Emergency by Neil Strauss. It chronicles his quest to become completely self sufficient in case of a natural disaster, getting lost in the woods, or some other sort of apocolyptic event that results in a Mad Max kind of society where Mel Gibson rides around the ruins of civilization wearing animal skin and hunting for gasoline. As such, he finds it necessary to learn how to ride a motorcycle, despite the fact that he’d never even driven a standard in his life. After a number of stalls and burnouts, his instructor…
When was the last time you updated your crisis plan?

ryananderson

27 Aug 2009 | 7:46 am

Crisis preparedness has always been an important part of communications, but it’s especially so now that practically every employee, customer and competitor has access to a global publishing platform. But even those companies who have been through the planning and training may be left completely unprepared in times of a real crisis if they’re not ready for a completely different communications landscape. So, when did you last update your crisis plan? If it’s more than three years ago, then chances are that it’s woefully out of date. Think back to 2006. …

Brian Solis - PR 2.0
The Social Media (R)evolution: Your Time is Now

brian

20 Nov 2009 | 4:23 am

Source: ShutterstockThe Future of the Social Web is here today and we’re learning that engagement is not a matter of if or when, but to what extent, how and what value can we deliver and derive from it. The Social Web is much more than a window into information and interaction, it is a completely transformative medium that is changing how we forge relationships, interact with one another, and distribute and discover information. In many ways, the online social revolution is reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution.Access to free and expansive media platforms and distribution channels has…
On Twitter, What Are You Doing Was Always The Wrong Question

brian

19 Nov 2009 | 10:18 pm

What are you doing?Perhaps, Twitter asked the wrong question all along.In all honestly, who cares…it was really never about “what you were doing” that inspired your network to stay connected nor was it the siren for attracting new followers. We chose to follow you because you moved or encouraged us to do so – with every update.For many of the users on Twitter, the question that engendered a response and also also aroused a cultural movement was, “what are you doing?” It was a prompt that, for the most part, was taken quite literally. Its answer served as…
On Twitter and Social Networks, Brands Benefit from Conversations

brian

19 Nov 2009 | 4:40 am

Source: ShutterstockA recent study revealed 20 percent of tweets published are actually invitations for product information, answers or responses from peers or directly by brand representatives. Now we learn that Twitter users are actively paying attention to brands on the popular information network.According to research conducted by Performics and ROI Research, about half of Twitter users who were introduced to a brand on Twitter were compelled to search for additional information.The companies studied the activity of 3,000 users of social networks in the U.S. Of those polled, 70% use…
The Golden Triangle

brian

18 Nov 2009 | 4:11 am

Source: ShutterstockPrior to keynoting the PACA conference in Miami, Maria Kessler, president of the PACA Association, asked me if I had read a recent post by Fred Wilson entitled “The Golden Triangle.” We were deep in conversation as I was seeking an alternate title for my next book that identifies the divide between brands, information, and consumers and how we can, as social architects and engineers, build the bridges between people, contextual relationships, and technology. While “The Golden Triangle” isn’t a contender for the name of the next book, it did get me thinking.In…
With Klout Comes Influence: How To Find Influencers on Twitter

brian

17 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am

This is the uncut version of my latest post on TechCrunch…Measuring individual influence in Social Media is as coveted as it is elusive. While many tools claim to calculate authority, it is the definition of influence that requires clarification in order to grasp the relevance and differences of existing tools and services.For the sake keeping this discussion on track, let’s define influence. According to Merriam-Webster, influence is having the power or capacity to cause an effect.San Francisco-based Klout is no stranger to measuring influence on the Social Web. The company launched…

PR, Social Media, and Marketing Mentor ?
2009 SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards Submission Deadline Extended to Thursday, September 10th

Each year, the Society for New Communications Research presents the prestigious SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards. The deadline for application submissions for this year's awards has been extended from September 7th to Thursday, September 10, 2009, to allow applicants who are away for Labor Day Weekend to finish and ...
Some Social Media Humor for Summer Vacation…

Occasionally in social media training, some humor is called for, and The Onion Newsfeed video clip above takes on the big issue of search engine privacy rights—specifically, while using the ubiquitous Google—and gives us a tour of "Google's Opt-Out Privacy Village." And then, there's this HubSpot spoof on Twitter ...
Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 — Where is the Web Going, and What is the Semantic Web?

Sometimes, the best way to learn about something is without using words. Here's a creative example of a video explaining the difference between Web 1.0 and 2.0, by the clever Not in Words producers: Now, back to words and some basic drawings, as we move on to Web 3.0 and beyond. ...
Join us at NewComm Forum and Inbound Marketing Summit in San Francisco!

The 5th Annual New Communications Forum April 27th - 29th, 2009 The Marriott Hotel, San Francisco, California I just wanted you to know that there are still a few seats available for next week's NewComm Forum 2009. Don't miss this special opportunity to participate in a highly-interactive, exclusive gathering of the most notable ...
Flutter

OK, I haven't posted here for a while, due to being SO busy, I've barely had time to eat, sleep or recuperate from one of those annoying seasonal colds that seems to drag on while you're doing everything else. So, even though social media is central to my work (the ...

Loop PR
Simon Cowell - a master at PR

PJatLoop

10 Nov 2009 | 4:05 am

Simon Cowell, we salute you ...
When the going gets tough, women get online

admin

22 Oct 2009 | 3:22 am

Women are twice as likely to share their feelings online at times of stress, than burden their partner, according to new findings.
New myconservative website

admin

8 Oct 2009 | 4:11 am

Loop PR will be watching with interest how the new myconservative website develops over the coming months - see PR Week's analysis here. We remain a little unsure about the merits of being greeted by Eric Pickles' thumbs up gesture on the front page though!
Are you here because of our underpants?

admin

7 Oct 2009 | 7:25 am

There's every chance you've landed on our blog because we recently sent you a pair of our bespoke Y-Fronts in the post. We sent them to you because, as former journalists, we like to try and cherry pick potential clients who are newsworthy and for whom we are confident we can generate news.
Streetcar Booming in Hammersmith and Fulham

admin

7 Oct 2009 | 7:17 am

Streetcar, the UK’s largest car club, continues to thrive in Hammersmith and Fulham as demand rockets.

StevenSilvers.com
The worst response is no response

Steven Silvers

12 Nov 2009 | 4:54 pm

Here’s a common crisis communications question: Isn’t it in a company’s best interests to stave off reporters until all the facts are known and there’s “good news” to tell? Rarely. Stonewalling is as effective in dissuading news media from covering your crisis as pushing water uphill with a fork. Not only do your pants get wet but you look like a fool. The news is going to happen with you or without you. It doesn’t matter that you don’t have all the facts. Executives and their lawyers sometimes forget that news isn’t a conclusion, it’s a consumer product. It gets…
Bad News Friday usually makes things worse

Steven Silvers

9 Nov 2009 | 12:58 pm

Even in the Internet era, many public companies and government offices still try to minimize bad news by releasing information late on Friday. Sometimes this old ploy works, at least a little. But in most cases you’re just making things worse come Monday. Here’s why: You stop nothing. People have already set up their Google news alerts, RSS readers, stock tickers and other Internet-driven tracking gizmos to get your stuff the second it hits the fan. Your stock will still move in after-hours trading guided by speculation and negative expectations. Media outlets will still run…
Corpcomm chief Snyder to leave Frontier Airlines

Steven Silvers

5 Nov 2009 | 8:57 am

Frontier Airlines corporate communication chief Steve Synder is leaving the company to join ProBuild, the nation’s largest supplier of building supplies. Steve makes the transition in mid-November. Good luck, my friend. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The State of Colorado says you should gamble because your life is pathetic.

Steven Silvers

2 Nov 2009 | 1:13 pm

The latest TV ad for Colorado Lottery drops the pretense of fun in favor of selling hope. As in, you’re hopelessly stuck in your pointless little existence unless you “Break free” by winning Powerball. The “Don’t Forget to Play” tag adds to the loathing, implying that if you don’t win it’s because you screwed up. The ad follows a sad-looking white-collar worker trudging through another dreary day, a huge chain shackled to his ankle. Before eating his little peanut butter sandwich alone he buys a Powerball ticket. That night a big red ball falls from the sky onto his…
Here's the full version of the health care reform bill.

Steven Silvers

30 Oct 2009 | 11:15 am

For your informed consent, here are all 1,990 pages of the House health care bill with the seemingly impossible but possibly amazing promise, “To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.” Or the shorter, more immediately achievable title, “To give Americans a good reason not to watch St. Louis play Detroit this weekend.” . . . . . . . . . .

pr-media-blog.co.uk
Picture perfect win for Staniforth

Jon Clements

20 Nov 2009 | 12:52 am

It’s not usual for PR Media Blog to ”big up” its benificent parent, Staniforth , but if you would indulge us for a moment… This week, at the North West CIPR Pride Awards, the agency scooped the Best Use of Photography awards for its work supporting the launch of the Fibre Foundation. In short, we persuaded cricketer and Strictly Come Dancing alumnus, Mark Ramprakash, not only to undress but be anatomically decorated to show the vital organs that benefit from a fibre-rich diet. As with any good picture, it tells a thousand words; and this went down well with the…
Marketeers Board the Social Media Clue Train

Jon Clements

19 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am

Who still hates social media? Some have been vocal in suggesting that the principles are right but the execution is worth only throwing out and replacing with “something real”. In Jeremiah Owyang’s recent blog post following the Forbes CMO summit in Florida, the former Forrester analyst and now strategist for the Altimeter Group claimed that this group of chief marketing officers had “elevated” the social media discussion. Despite the prospect of shrinking marketing spend, he says, the marketeers had seen opportunities to “innovate with inexpensive…
Does Archie Norman have the X-Factor?

Rob Brown

18 Nov 2009 | 2:01 am

ITV may well have pulled off a major coup in appointing the towering figure of Archie Norman as the broadcaster’s new chairman. What’s more the £300,000 salary is 10% of what he was paid when he left ASDA. This is undoubtedly one of the toughest jobs in TV. Advertising revenues have been in free fall, audiences are down and the once coveted position on the terrestrial tuner is no longer that valuable. Media experts like the Guardian’s Emily Bell have been foreshadowing the third channel’s demise for some time ”ITV looks like a basket case” she…
Talent No Longer a Factor?

Chris Bull

12 Nov 2009 | 1:28 am

After several years of doing my best to ignore it, about a month ago I was forced to watch an episode of X-Factor. When two adorable little girls ask if you will watch their favourite show with them, who can say no? An hour later, I was already looking forward to next Saturday. Seems my conversion came at the right time, because never has the show attracted as many column inches, courted as much controversy or polarised viewers as much as it is right now. So is this due to the higher quality of contestants? Being a newby to the show it is hard for me to say, but no one this year seems to be…
Glimmer of hope for local newspapers’ future

Mark Perry

10 Nov 2009 | 1:12 am

There is an interesting line tucked away in an interview with John Fry, the chief executive of Johnston Press, which may offer some hope to the future of local newspapers. And boy does the sector need it after the ravaging it has had in the last 18 months. On The Times’ media page on 6 November, which for some reason is not online, Fry highlights the ‘modest’ circulation rise seen for the Peterborough Evening Telegraph. The reason for this happening is put very simply: “We’ve invested in pagination because cost cutting went too far. We have made the paper more newsy…

carrie*connects
Grano Recliner on Inspired Designer

Carrie

17 Nov 2009 | 5:08 pm

Thanks to the Inspired Designer for featuring our client Monte Designs new Grano Chair recently. Love the way Kristin points out that the Grano is equally as gorgeous in a nursery as in a family room. See the post here>>
Tsunami Glassworks ~ Behind the Glass Video

Carrie

17 Nov 2009 | 5:03 pm

Love this video of our client Tsunami Glassworks discussing their art and their backgrounds.
Tsunami Glassworks on Style at Home

Carrie

17 Nov 2009 | 8:48 am

Style at Home - the authority for all things design and decor in Canada featured our client Tsunami Glassworks recently - writer Natalie Bahadur found the glass designing duo's work to be "Unique. Truly original. One of a kind..." We couldn't agree more! Check out the entire post here>>
Tsunami Glassworks Wisp

Carrie

13 Nov 2009 | 9:07 am

Call them what you will: the "Whisp"erati - the Glass "Whisp"erers - Whisp (plural) are the creation of glass design duo Eva Milinkovic and Kriston Gene of Tsunami Glassworks. A riff on their uber popular Tubes, Whisp was inspired by the image of long grasses wafting peacefully in the wind. These are available in two sizes 34 inch tall, and 26 inch tall and in a variety of colors including black/iris, olive/aqua, cerulean, citron/jade, cherry/turquoise, strawberry/saffron, citron/saffron, amethyst/black and Sargasso. They look beautiful in pairs, and quite dramatic in groups as shown…
Monte Designs Grano Chair on Design Milk

Carrie

5 Nov 2009 | 8:21 am

With a major online presence Design Milk is one of the most influential voices on the internet - so we were so thrilled that they featured our client Monte Designs new Grano Chair yesterday. The Grano is an amazing piece that glides and reclines without a lot of bulk and frumpiness of similar concepts in sitting. Love this! Check out the whole post here>>

RONN TOROSSIAN, 5WPR CEO: PUBLIC RELATIONS, NY PR AGENCY LIFE AND MEDIA RELATIONS
THE ART OF BUSINESS – PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ALL ELSE

admin

20 Nov 2009 | 12:33 pm

I was forwarded this amazing article today that I thoroughly enjoyed reading… http://blog.summation.net/2009/10/common-traits-of-aplayers.html Here are some of my thoughts on “Common Traits of A-Players.” - I agree that hiring smart, talented people is a constant challenge. Amongst the common attribute I find in many successful business owners I have met is passion. They care about their work. Passion [...]
PUBLIC RELATIONS & MEDIA TRAINING

admin

17 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am

Sat through a presentation yesterday by a client to a Reporter and can’t begin to stress how much his presentation was helped by recent media training… amazing how people with great ideas, products and services sometimes present them so poorly - lots of facts and figures, lots of umms, and boring! This video illustrates a lot of [...]
PUBLIC RELATIONS: WHAT FUN !

admin

13 Nov 2009 | 7:12 am

Now, don’t get the wrong idea… it’s not Carrie, Sex In The City fun. It is fun to work hard and work diligently for clients…. The following events of the week illustrate why I really do love public relations (even though there never seems to be a break)… · My client and I celebrated a very [...]
PR: WINNING, SEO AND PUBLIC RELATIONS AS BIZ DEVELOPMENT

admin

9 Nov 2009 | 6:10 am

When I twitter so regularly, I find myself not blogging as much. Some random thoughts: People (unfortunately) hate winners. Accidentally came across this study and wasn’t surprised at all. Wish it was different. I love to win ! Website “design” is a lot less important than SEO friendly design. I remain amazed at how few Public Relations folks understand [...]
PUBLIC RELATIONS: VALUE, PRICING AND HARD WORK !

admin

2 Nov 2009 | 6:50 am

Here are some thoughts I have at the start of this Friday, the end of a long week at this NYC based Public Relations agency: · NYC just isn’t the way it used to be. The city doesn’t exude the same energy. The once crowded streets are seemingly empty in comparison to just a few years [...]

Fashion PR Blog PR Couture
Top Fashion PR/Marketing/Social Media Links 11/20/09

PR Couture

20 Nov 2009 | 10:14 am

Fashion as political defiance? Pakistan Fashion Week (via The Luxe Chronicles) In western countries, views on fashion are as diverse as the fashions themselves. To some of us, fashion is an industry and a form of self-expression. To others, it is merely a form of entertainment or a frivolous pursuit. It is rarely if ever a [...]
Fashion Design Competition: GenArt + Plastics Make it Possible

Crosby

19 Nov 2009 | 9:47 am

Calling all emerging designers and the fashion PR’s who represent them! Plastics Make it PossibleSM and Gen Art are challenging new and established designers to put their creativity to the test and design two dynamic womenswear looks made from fabrics that include plastic-based fibers. After all, without plastic, skinny jeans wouldn’t have their stretch, and [...]
Fashion PR Intern Series: Manhattan Maven or Small Town Superstar

PR Couture

18 Nov 2009 | 10:25 am

[The following is the final installment in a series of three guest articles written by Vianka McConville, a recent University of Florida grad with a B.S. in Public Relations. Vianka completed four internships in three years, held various leadership positions and helped create an FPRA award-winning PR campaign during college. She lives for the world [...]
Beauty PR News: TheLookbook.com Launches Beauty Directory

Crosby

17 Nov 2009 | 6:25 pm

Want to know who does Megan Fox’s hair & makeup? What PR company handles Laura Mercier cosmetics? Need to find an organic lip product for a story or shoot? Product placement for a gift bag? TheLookbook, a killer directory for fashion PR contacts and celebrity stylists, have just added a beauty division with more [...]
Top Fashion PR/Marketing/Social Media Links

PR Couture

13 Nov 2009 | 10:56 am

Lady GaGa’s Bad Romance video is rife with product placement (via UTalkMarketing) Watch Lady Gaga’s promo for the new single ‘Bad Romance’ and you could be mistaken that you’re watching an advert for tech, FMCG and fashion brands. DIY guide to launching your own clothing label (via Bust Magazine) Without exposure, your collection will fizzle without ever seeing [...]

stedavies.com
The World in 2010

Stephen

19 Nov 2009 | 4:21 am

Every year, on the run up to the New Year, my favourite publication, The Economist, publishes a special magazine titled ‘The World in…” which details a plethora of predictions – usually about world affairs – made by its team of staff and guest contributors. It’s a great read and gives some excellent insights in to where these super smart journalists and analysts think the world is heading in the coming year. They’re not always right, of course, and a couple of editions ago they failed to predict the then-looming financial crisis. That said, aside from Peter Schiff and Dr…
Facebook flaw? (look away now)

Stephen

12 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pm

Facebook has a really bad flaw. It’s so bad it could break up marriages and relationships. It’s not exactly a flaw of Facebook’s to be honest; it’s more of an application flaw but ultimately the fault lies with Facebook. There’s a Facebook application called Zoosk, which is essentially a dating site within Facebook. You add the application to your profile, upload some nice pics of yourself and before you know it you’re cyber-flirting and have the ability to email other users of the application. Easy eh? And free too. If you don’t mind using Facebook…
Presentation on social media

Stephen

10 Nov 2009 | 2:26 am

Because you’ve never seen one of those, right? This is one I delivered in Newcastle at a NEPA (North East Publicity Association) event on Monday night. It contains one or two UK social media examples in. Enjoy! RSS subscribers please click through to see the presentation if it isn’t visible from your reader. Social Media Marketing View more presentations from Stephen Davies.
Bye bye PRBLOGGER.COM

Stephen

8 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

Hello stedavies.com. After four and a half years of the PR blogger moniker it’s time for a rebrand. Thanks to Milo the old URL has 301 redirects set up to ensure any loss of Google Juice is minimal. Fingers crossed you won’t have to subscribe to the new feed as it’s been transferred over also. For anyone who has me kindly linked to their blogroll I’d appreciate it if, for SEO purposes, you change it to the new URL. I’ll probably email a few people about it as well. Onwards and upwards.
UK Journos now on Twitter List

Stephen

30 Oct 2009 | 3:59 am

Last night Twitter (finally) gave me permission to access its new List feature that’s been buzzing around the Twittersphere lately. In a nutshell, Twitter Lists allows a users to create lists of other users … in fact, that’s not in a nutshell; that’s pretty much what the feature does. Basic, but at the same time quite handy. Needless to say, the Twitter community has been creating lists like there’s no tomorrow. There’s also a new site called Listoria which showcases the best Twitter lists (apparently, it seems US-centric to me) and where you can submit…

Don't Eat the Shrimp - Josh Morgan's Take on PR, Social Media & Marketing
Sincerity and social media

mdpr

20 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am

Social media allows people to stay in contact with more people more easily than they were previously able to. This is wonderful for sharing conversations, thoughts, the minutiae of daily lives, but I’ve recently run into a place where it doesn’t work well. Death. My aunt recently lost her battle with cancer after a 22 year battle. We miss her terribly. Cancer eventually got her, but from the time when she was first diagnosed 22 years ago, she was able to watch her five children grow up, and meet nine of her grandchildren. Along the way she hosted innumerable parties and…
Social Media Club Sacramento

mdpr

19 Nov 2009 | 11:27 pm

Since last March, I’ve been part of the group that puts on events for the Social Media Club of Sacramento. The mission of the Social Media Club is to: Expand Media Literacy Share Lessons Learned Among Practitioners Encourage Adoption of Industry Standards Promote Ethical Practices through Discussion and Actions We’ve been trying to do that all year with monthly meetings with topics such as “Pray for Social Media: Social Media & Religion,” “Social Crime,” and “Social Media in Education.” This week our focus was nonprofits and…
Local Comm Firm 3Fold in the Wall Street Journal!

mdpr

17 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

Local communications firm 3Fold Communications was included in a lengthy article in the Wall Street Journal today, in an article focusing on theft and robberies of offices during business hours. The main takeaway from the article, if you see someone in the office you don’t know, say hi, see what they say back. Also, for the photo accompanying the article, the staff was apparently told to look “defiant.” Image from Wall Street Journal Tagged: 3fold, office burglaries, office theft
Find your voice

mdpr

12 Nov 2009 | 10:27 pm

I had a meeting with a client today and we were talking about the voice to use when writing about their company. It’s a friendly, celebratory, but methodical voice. No matter what you do, you have a voice, you just might not know it. The voice I use when writing here is pretty much what I sound like, OK maybe this is a little cleaned up. One of my favorite authors has a distinctive voice. It’s been carried through many incredible books, plays and essays. The voice is a reflection of who he is, and where he’s from. The author is Cormac McCarthy. The interview was…
Agency Lessons from Mad Men Episode 313, “Shut the door. Have a seat.”

mdpr

10 Nov 2009 | 12:02 am

Image from AMCTV.com Mad Men continues to include real issues faced by advertising (and yes PR firms) in an incredible show. If I wasn’t in this industry, I’m sure I would still be a fan of the show, but for me I get a bonus. I get to watch situations I encounter all the time dealt with by others. This week’s episode, “Shut the door. Have a seat,” was the season finale and with this post I’ve now put together an agency recap for every episode this season. You can read the agency lessons from the other episodes from season three here. The big professional moment in…

Open The Dialogue
FDA Hearings on Social Media

Joe Becker

13 Nov 2009 | 3:33 pm

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) held hearings for the last two days on the issue of drug promotion on the internet and social media. Of key concern – drug ads on Google and elsewhere were missing critical health side-effects information which is mandatory in other media formats such as print, radio and television. To help clarify the issue, heavy weights such as Google, Yahoo and Pfizer testified to present their case in addressing these concerns. As we saw it, there are two different, but related, issues at play here, including: 1.) How drug companies can advertise on the…
LinkedIn and Twitter: Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate?

cmcnabb

11 Nov 2009 | 4:24 pm

The professional online networking service, LinkedIn announced yesterday that it will be integrating its services with the microblogging phenom, Twitter allowing users of both services to sync their tweets and “network updates” on LinkedIn. Users can further share information through a “tweet this” box that will post their LinkedIn updates to Twitter and while on Twitter, users can add the established hashtags of #in or #li to posts in order for their tweets to appear on their LinkedIn profiles. And if that wasn’t integration enough, a new app called Tweets, lets…
Nikon Festival: 140 Seconds of Your Life

Joe Becker

10 Nov 2009 | 4:33 pm

Nikon — a long-standing MWW Group Client — kicked off an online video festival today to celebrate the HD video capture feature on the Nikon D5000. The Festival encourages people to submit a short 140-second video on www.nikonfestival.com/ that captures their experience within the festival theme: “A Day Through Your Lens.” Submissions will be judged by Rainn Wilson, iJustine, Chase Jarvis and the online community. The best part? The first prize winner — the Judges Award — will receive $100,000 and a D5000 kit. The submission that receives the most video…
LOTD: 11/09/09

Nazim Uddin

9 Nov 2009 | 7:56 am

Media Mogul to Build Wall around News At the same time when the world celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, media mogul Rupert Murdoch states that the News Corp websites will have its stories de-indexed from all search engines. Droid Army Seeks to Dominate Mobile Ad With the invasion of the Android mobile OS devices, Google acquires AdMob, a mobile display ad serving platform, for $750 million. As 2010 is destined to be the year for mobile internet, Google is positioning itself to dominate the lucrative mobile ad business. Five Future Gaming Trends Predictions Ben…
Social Fund Raising

Laura Halsch

5 Nov 2009 | 8:54 am

The topic of fund raising came up in a meeting yesterday, and when I got home and was trolling through my Google reader, I came across KickStarter, a Brooklyn based site that allows users to pitch in to fund creative projects – artwork, design, animation, music, and more. Donors receive updates throughout the process and can track the project as it travels from concept to reality. I love that the concept of social networks and fundraising has the ability to translate beyond the bounds of charities and non-profits (which are obviously important), and help foster creativity and…

Borkowski Blogs
Jordan’s Heart of Darkness

Mark Borkowski

19 Nov 2009 | 4:05 pm

When the troubled tabloid-sacrifice uber babe Katie Price decided to re-enter the jungle, I received numerous requests to comment on TV and radio. For once I held back; I just wasn’t convinced that I had the interest or the energy to offer any opinion on another Katie Price PR move. In truth, I could not ascertain whether I thought she was obsessed by self-absorption or self-loathing. My reluctance to comment changed when I read Jan Moir’s fantastic assassination of Katie in the Mail: “Sweet kangaroo cutlets, what have we here? Katie Price back in the jungle again? How much more…
Stunt Deflation: The Balloon Boy Aftermath

Mark Borkowski

13 Nov 2009 | 4:48 am

It seems that there is a total sense of humour failure endemic throughout the world when it comes to stunts like the ‘Balloon Boy’ incident, as the ongoing trial of the parents proves – they apparently pleaded guilty only after the wife, who is Japanese, was threatened with deportation. Certainly, the need to think about wider concerns makes outlandish and outrageous stunts a more difficult prospect in this health and safety and desperately money-conscious world. Some years ago, a band wanted me to help them arrange to completely stop traffic in Piccadilly Circus so they could…
Defending Simon Cowell

Mark Borkowski

10 Nov 2009 | 5:13 am

I appeared on GMTV this morning to defend Simon Cowell – not the obvious popular choice since he let the public vote decide who was to stay in the X Factor instead of condemning Jedward to the slag heap of pop ephemera history, but it really needed doing in a week of froth and fulmination. The martyrdom of Lucie Jones to the cult of Jedward was a masterstroke on the part of Cowell; he knows that the Irish twins are box office dynamite and knows that, even if the viewing figures dip a little as a consequence of public ire, this will not prevent the X Factor from keeping its position as the…
SideWiki changes everything

Mark Borkowski

10 Nov 2009 | 4:58 am

The Media Guardian published an article of mine in yesterday’s Media comment looking at the rise of Google’s SideWiki and what it will mean for the future of PR. To read the published version, click here. For the unexpurgated version, please keep reading! Given the amount of fear other Google innovations, like their library project, have caused, it’s surprising that alarms bells have not been heard ringing throughout the PR world since SideWiki’s launch in September. The internet is an evolutionary tool and for the world of PR, its daily use is as significant as the…
The X Factor PR Machine

Mark Borkowski

6 Nov 2009 | 5:24 am

I’ve just been reading an intriguing post by that doyenne of the celebrity underbelly, Madame Arcati, querying the disappearance of an article by the Times’s Dan Sabbagh on Sir Philip Green’s involvement in trying to break the X Factor in America. Arcati, whose blog is the current darling of the blogoshphere and one of its best, sexiest reads, muses, with an amused raised eyebrow, on the possibility that the article – which threw light on Green’s angling for a $9 million raise for Cowell and the idea of broadcasting an American X Factor on Fox to tie Cowell to American Idol for the…

Deirdre Breakenridge
Q&A from Vocus Webinar: PR Planning Considerations for 2010

Deirdre

20 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm

You’ve probably heard me say this before, “One of the best parts about participating in a webinar is what comes after the presentation. It’s the Q&A portion!” Of course, there’s never enough time to answer everyone’s questions. So, I always try to answer what didn’t get a response, here on my blog. I’m answering these questions, from the Vocus Webinar: PR Planning Considerations in 2010, in a two-part blog post, with the part one below: Q: I teach PR at a college. I feel like I’m a horse-and-buggy expert teaching students how to drive cars! Some of the skills…
Vocus Webinar: PR Planning Considerations for 2010

Deirdre

16 Nov 2009 | 7:47 am

On November 12, 2009, I participated in the Vocus PR Planning Considerations for 2010 Webinar. I discussed the challenges of PR planning for 2010 and how to plan for the “unknown, unknowns.” When I think about the “unknown, unknowns,” I feel that just being in public relations means always planning for the unexpected, based on our roles and responsibilities. We’re seen as the “conscience” of the company, reputation managers and damage control officers. Social media communication adds a whole new level of complexity to our planning process. The Webinar was carefully…
Crush It Book Review

Deirdre

13 Nov 2009 | 5:48 am

I had heard a great deal about Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) from my peers long before I even purchased his book, Crush It. They told me that he was extremely driven, energetic and so enthusiastic that he couldn’t help his use of profanity (often apologizing that some day his children would be watching his Wine Library TV videos). The first question that came to my mind about Gary was: how does a guy from New Jersey (my home state) turn a business under $10 million dollars into a $60 million operation? Was it a combination of luck, skill and timing? I got my answer when I heard Gary…
November 17th 2009 #PRStudChat Announcement

Deirdre

9 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am

We’re nearing our 4th #PRStudChat and with each and every Twitter discussion our community grows. Valerie Simon (@valeriesimon) and I have been trying to keep the sessions dynamic, creative and exciting with interesting guests and challenges for participants. This session will not be any different. We announced the discussion as “Career Day” for the #PRStudChat participants. Our other special announcement is the introduction of Angela Hernandez (@angelahernandez), as our guest, student moderator that day. For those of you who do not know Angela, she is President of PRSSA at…
PRSA International Conference 2009, San Diego, CA

Deirdre

4 Nov 2009 | 5:23 pm

It’s the week before the PRSA International Conference in San Diego, California and I’m thrilled to see that there’s excitement and discussion around this year’s conference. I’m hoping to generate more conversations with the short video that I’ve prepared. Since I recorded the video a few new developments have surfaced. For example, my panel session has expanded. Kami Huyse, APR and Principal of My PR Pro, now joins myself and Author and Chief Interrupter of crayon, Joseph Jaffe and Author and Founder of Ariel Publicity and CyberPR, Ariel Hyatt to participate in a dynamic…

Honestly...
Moving Forward

Cindy

15 Nov 2009 | 8:02 am

Just heard this worship song, Moving Forward…I just love these words and this is the theme of my life at the moment. I just want to keep moving forward despite my circumstances. Just wanted to share it with you. Posted via email from cindyronzoni’s posterous
Twittersheep

Cindy

3 Nov 2009 | 1:26 pm

Just learned about Twittersheep this morning. This word cloud reflects the bios of the peeps that follow me. Pretty cool. Posted via email from cindyronzoni’s posterous
TwitterSheep

Cindy

3 Nov 2009 | 1:20 pm

Just learned about Twittersheep this morning. Here's what my twitter followers focus on. http://twittersheep.com/results.php?u=cindyronzoni Posted via email from cindyronzoni’s posterous
Ewoks Amok!

Cindy

30 Oct 2009 | 12:45 pm

A PR Nightmare. Ewoks Amok! What do you when your live national news segment runs amok due to Ewoks! Pretty much nothing. You let them steal the show. These characters were hilarious and so refreshing for live TV. There's no way you (a producer) could have been prepared for this. But I guarantee you more people are posting this than would have if they didn't act up. Watch and enjoy. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33549454#33549454 Posted via email from cindyronzoni’s posterous
Your Own Hype Could Poison You

Cindy

29 Oct 2009 | 10:16 am

As a publicist whose primary job is to promote the efforts of others – Chris Brogan's words about how to be humble and sucessful just warm my soul. I wish more people would adopt what he's preaching here. Take a look and pass it along. Posted via email from cindyronzoni’s posterous

Beyond The Hype
Options for social media and customer support

Ted Weismann

20 Nov 2009 | 11:36 am

Jessica Sutera shared a great story yesterday about her personal experience with the poster child for how to leverage social media for customer service -- Comcast. There are more and more companies committing resources, technology spending and process changes to embrace social media as a new channel to service the customer. I'm sure many companies want to emulate Comcast and others, but can't for various reasons. For those companies, Jeremiah Owyang offers a useful matrix describing varying degrees of "social support" companies can consider. To summarize/paraphrase the four options from a…
Customer service via Twitter. It can work!

Jessica Sutera

19 Nov 2009 | 12:11 pm

In today's highly-connected atmosphere, it's no surprise that B2C and B2B companies alike are taking to social networks to better connect with their customers. It's something we continually recommend to and reinforce with our clients - the engagement aspect of social networking sites like Twitter. And by engagement, I mean making it a two-way conversation versus just a one-way, outbound-only communications tool. Earlier this week, I had a very personal experience with Twitter that showed me that customer service can truly be done, and done well or better than traditional customer service…
Social Media Lessons From Today’s Multi-Channel Content Producers

Don Jennings

18 Nov 2009 | 5:09 pm

Last night, the New England Publicity Club held a "Meet the Technology Editors" event on the 14th Floor at One Broadway in Cambridge, Mass. A room full of agency, corporate and individual PR and communications professionals were treated to a panel presentation by Wade Roush, chief correspondent for Xconomy, Laurianne McLaughlin, senior news editor for CIO, Jackie Noblett, Clean Tech/Defense Tech reporter at Boston Business Journal/Mass High Tech, and Jim Kerstetter, executive editor at c|net. The panel was moderated by AMR Research Chief Strategy Officer Kevin O'Marah. Discussion…
The Genie is already out of the bottle, GOP

Lois Paul

16 Nov 2009 | 11:15 am

As a communications person who has often counseled clients to "deprive the story of oxygen" in the face of difficult situations where clarifying or responding will only cause a negative story to flare out of control, I immediately recognized Senator McCain's attempt to use this strategy to get ahead of the Sarah Palin book tour and media blitz this week. He asked his former campaign aides -- who apparently are skewered in the book -- to stand down and not comment or respond to the allegations. Unfortunately, though, the same machine that built former Governor Palin into a political force…
A new Twitter List: LP&P clients on Twitter

Ted Weismann

13 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am

We have had a great deal of fun working with our clients over the last few years to help them chart their journeys on Twitter. Of late, this is including advising them on how to think about leveraging the Twitter Lists feature. These ideas include the following: Create a list of all employees on Twitter for your company, provided they mostly tweet as part of their jobs. This gives your buying community a single way to connect with anyone at your company. Maintain a list of people on Twitter your buying community would find valuable -- a collection of blogging IT professionals, analysts…

Extanz LLC
Is your social media strategy C.U.T.E?

Yann Ropars

19 Nov 2009 | 11:25 am

What do fans have in common? Why is it easy to have a conversation with some strangers and not others? Having moved around quite a bit (living in 4+ countries and not done yet), I tend to think that my village a gypsy type one. The more I think about social media, the more [...]
5 Big Fat Social Media Trends

Yann Ropars

9 Nov 2009 | 8:49 am

Social Media is like the new West. 3 or 4 years ago we were barely calling it “new media”. Last year, I couldn’t use the word “social media” or people would look at me like I was talking French. It was a new frontier, but today, everyone has arrived. Now there are way too many [...]
Is Twitter herding sheep back home by creating ‘real time news-outlets’?

Yann Ropars

6 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pm

I was half listening to the Gillmore Gang show with the Silicon Valley wiz this afternoon and heard many interesting things like the eID conference. I think David Gillmore generously said that “Facebook was opening up and Twitter was closing”… smiles on many faces, smile on my face. If you look at Twitter traffic, it’s [...]
Should We Re-Think the Lead Generation Funnel?

Yann Ropars

23 Oct 2009 | 8:11 am

What happens when someone becomes a fan of a facebook fan page? What happens when someone RT retweets something? What happens when you hold a conversation on Linkedin? This individual “vote to participate into a sales process” is seen by their ‘friends’. Did I shock you? It may not lead to a monetary transaction but [...]
Jeremiah Owyang VS Forrester Research or the reality of digital footprint divorces

Yann Ropars

21 Aug 2009 | 7:19 am

Yesterday’s news about Jeremia Owyang leaving Forrester research is a very important day for social media and its use by businesses. I’ve been a fan of Jeremiah’s work for a long time now. He was best described as an “idea factory” by his boss and I totally agree with this. He’s made (and will continue) [...]

twofourseven
BBC Democracy Live

Julio Romo

3 Nov 2009 | 6:22 am

The BBC launched its much-anticipated ‘Democracy Live’ online service on Friday.Offering ‘live and video on demand video coverage of the UK’s national political institutions and the European Parliament’, the site brings politics to the public.Giving people insight into government and how our elected representatives and institutions work. It was two years ago when the corporation’s Director General Mark Thompson gave a speech at Westminster on trust, politics and broadcasting where he outlined his view on how the BBC could help make politics more relevant to every citizen in this…
Social Media And The Consumer

Julio Romo

28 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am

“Be human, all this is still experimental” is how Media140 founder Ande Gregson summarised everybody’s expectations of Twitter and social media at the end of the Media140 Brands conference in London this week.And he is right. A lot has been said about social media and how it is the saviour of all things marketing and communications.Yet, it is the saviour of nothing, or at least the saviour of nothing yet. What social media is though is a great concept that helps brands come alive. It gives brands the humanity that so many have lacked. Robin Grant, managing Director of London agency We…
Media140 and brands

Julio Romo

24 Oct 2009 | 4:06 am

Social media is about the now, about the networking and the conversations positive or negative that we have with people who share our work and interests.And for consumers that is power.Consumers can now complain and find people who share their grievances with specific companies, brands or products. Think about this, ‘positive news stories are repeated on average 3 times, while negative stories can be repeated up to 11 times’.On twitter and social media platforms though the figures for repeating negative experiences is far, far higher. Just imagine what would happen if somebody who’s on…
Writing on the wall?

Julio Romo

15 Sep 2009 | 1:16 am

Remember when iTunes was released way back in January 2001?Really, do you remember?At it’s launch Steve Jobs was confident.He knew what he was giving us and how it might transform our music listening and buying habits. At the unveiling at Macworld Expo Jobs said: “iTunes is miles ahead of every other jukebox application, and we hope its dramatically simpler user interface will bring even more people into the digital music revolution.”With that straight to the point statement the landscape for the music industry and other associated creative industries changed. These industries…
Changing and charging times for news

Julio Romo

3 Sep 2009 | 1:23 am

No more news? The MacTaggart Lecture took place last week with News Corporation’s James Murdoch deciding at long last to take the stand at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival.Murdoch wasted no time in setting his stall out to get support as he painted a grim picture of the state of the UK’s media industry. Pointing the finger at the BBC, Murdoch described the corporation as a villain that had a “chilling” hold on the UK media landscape. Given that we are in a recession Auntie was always going to be an easy target for the man from Sky.Murdoch though did have an…

Solo PR Pro
How do you distribute news?

Kellye Crane

19 Nov 2009 | 9:28 am

This week’s #solopr chat – held each Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. Eastern on Twitter – got into the nitty gritty of one of the top issues facing PR professionals today: news distribution. Be sure to check out the transcript here in PDF, or online, for astute insights from the wise and experienced Solo PR Pros who participated in the chat. A key takeaway: the most effective means of distribution and outreach will vary depending on each client’s specific needs. Another example of why there’s no substitute for savvy PR counsel. This week also included advice on how a marketing pro could…
Wisdom of #solopr Chatters

Kellye Crane

15 Nov 2009 | 3:21 pm

The November 11 edition of the #solopr Twitter chat took on a life of its own (as all good chats do). We tackled tough topics, including the extent to which agency experience is helpful to Solo PR Pros, and whether PRSA membership is useful to an independent practitioner. Multiple viewpoints were expressed on all sides (always respectful), and some participants were persuaded to change their minds. Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties, we don’t have a full transcript of the entire session in one place. What the Hashtag has the second half of the chat available (also here in…
Key to a Long Career: Ongoing Education

Kellye Crane

8 Nov 2009 | 12:04 pm

As I arrive in San Diego for the 2009 PRSA International Conference (which gets underway today), I look forward to some exciting educational sessions and invigorating networking with old and new friends. I’m realizing that as independent consultants, we must find our own motivation to attend and participate in educational events. We don’t have bosses telling us we need to go to a conference or seminar to get up to speed on new tactics. If a Solo PR Pro’s skills are lagging or one’s ideas are out of date, it’s unlikely anyone will say so — they just won’t hire you.

Manage your Message
Is Stephen Harper going too far in trying to control his image?

Warren Weeks

9 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

Saw this article in last Saturday's Globe and Mail and would be interested in what other PR folks think about it. Is the Prime Minister's control-freakishness over staging photographs simply good PR, or is it infringing on the ability of reporters to do their jobs effectively (and the public's right to know what's going on)?
Using Google Trends to measure the effectiveness of crisis communications

Warren Weeks

8 Nov 2009 | 4:19 pm

It's generally accepted that crisis communications is a worthwhile pursuit. But in a world where executives want to measure the effectiveness of everything, how do you know if your crisis communications plan actually worked? Traditionally, you had to rely on indicators such as business volumes/trends, client feedback/complaints, quantity/quality of media coverage and public perception (measured via expensive surveys). There's a new tool from Google that can help you measure the effectiveness of your crisis communications strategy (or any other marketing/PR strategy for that…
Coping with Ontario's new hands-free driving law

Warren Weeks

26 Oct 2009 | 8:17 am

As of today, it's illegal to use a handheld device while driving in Ontario. To mark the occasion, I thought I would dig up an old post on the 'Jawbone' - what I consider to be the best bluetooth headset on the market. I've been using it for nearly a year and still love it. It really does eliminate background noise.You can read the Jawbone post here.
David Letterman gives a lesson in crisis management

Warren Weeks

6 Oct 2009 | 1:56 pm

Even if you didn't watch the Late Show with David Letterman last Thursday night, you've likely seen the news coverage that followed it. Letterman used 10 minutes of his show on October 1st to tell millions of people about an alleged extortion plot against him. If you're unfamiliar with the story, a CBS News employee was charged with trying to blackmail Letterman for $2 million in a plot that forced the late night host to acknowledge having intimate relationships with some of the women who have worked for him. The 62-year-old Letterman has a reputation as an intensely private…
Globe and Mail's Salutin takes cheap shot at PR

Warren Weeks

4 Sep 2009 | 6:46 am

In his column in the Globe and Mail this morning, Rick Salutin reveals a serious bias against the PR industry. What's that, you say? A reporter who's got an axe to grind against PR? Everyone (particularly a newspaper columnist, who's paid to fan the flames of controversy) is entitled to his/her opinion. On that note, here's mine. This column is an unwarranted cheap shot at the PR profession.Salutin uses the Michael Bryant affair as his platform (the recent case in which a former Ontario politician, in the car with his wife, was involved in an altercation with a bike…

PR In Your Pajamas
How to Get Testimonials for Your Business

admin

15 Nov 2009 | 8:13 pm

As I was going through some blogs and websites for entrepreneurs and small businesses, the ones that had the most impact used testimonials on their site. Why? It gives me, who may be a new reader on their site, proof of how good their service or product is. It shows readers how much other people have tried and tested their product/service and how satisfied they were. So, to get a testimonial that will boost your business, here are some quick tips. Make it easy for them to say YES by guiding them on what you want highlighted in the testimonial. Most people don’t like to write so ask…
PR Case Study: Getting Over Stage Fright

admin

28 Oct 2009 | 12:14 am

I was recently contacted by Janet Esposito, author of the new book Getting Over Stage Fright who said: “I wanted to share with you the great news of my first article for my book. It is a full page spread with a huge image of my book and my photo, along with a long text. It appeared in the feature section of the Litchfield County Times. Thanks so much Elena, for helping to inspire me to go after local media as a first step. I will continue to contact other newspapers and will look forward to more exposure!” I loved the title of her book as it is what many business owners go through…
How To Get Over The Comparison Trap

admin

6 Oct 2009 | 9:55 pm

“How Does She Do It?” is a common question we wonder when success appears so effortless for others and we’re not getting the results we want. But, it’s when we look externally for validation and confirmation that our ideas have value that self-doubt can be triggered and we fall into the trap. So…I’d like to invite you to participate in the FREE How Does She Do It? Tele-series happening October 16th and 17th by registering here http://www.how09.com The simplest way to describe this series is this: It’s like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty but… for business. Dove…
Interview with Marybeth Bond on Author PR and Oprah

admin

10 Sep 2009 | 9:51 am

It was so fun to chat with Marybeth Bond, the expert in women’s travel who has adventured her way through 70 countries! She is an award-winning author who has written 11 books including 50 Best Girlfriend Getaways in North America, and Gutsy Women. Marybeth is a nationally recognized travel expert and media personality, having been interviewed on over 150 TV stations, and 250 radio stations including CBS News, CNN, ABC, NBC, National Public Radio and National Geographic Weekend. With her book Gutsy Women, Marybeth was a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show and she shares with us her…
Interview with Pam Slim and Getting PR for Authors

admin

31 Aug 2009 | 11:42 am

I first met Pamela Slim online when she covered our “monthly socks by mail” company in her Top 10 Christmas gifts back in 2006. We’ve since sold the company and I’ve continued to follow her fantastic blog, Escape From Cubicle Nation, which helps people in corporate jobs trying to make the leap to becoming an entrepreneur. Pam’s site is one of the top career and marketing blogs on the web, and she has now published a book of the same name. I also love that Pam is certified as a master coach with “the best-known life coach in America,” Oprah Magazine columnist Martha Beck!

TECHNOLOGY PR
The Technology PR Blog Relocates To TechnologyPR.com/blog

19 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am

The Technology PR Blog is now located here. Looking forward to your visit!The Technology PR Industry Portal
20 Oct 2009 | 8:59 am

20 Oct 2009 | 8:59 am

Solix Technologies Announces Oracle Validated Integration with PeopleSoft Enterprise 9.0 http://ow.ly/vsZfThe Technology PR Industry Portal
13 Oct 2009 | 12:23 pm

13 Oct 2009 | 12:23 pm

RT Solix Technologies Announces Partnership w/ Q Software at Oracle OpenWorld 2009 http://ow.ly/udx2 #QSoftware #OracleOpenWorld #oow09The Technology PR Industry Portal
12 Oct 2009 | 6:12 am

12 Oct 2009 | 6:12 am

Confirming press and analyst meetings this week @OracleOpenWorld - http://ow.ly/tVvoThe Technology PR Industry Portal
5 Oct 2009 | 7:49 pm

5 Oct 2009 | 7:49 pm

Who knew there were so many great web-based photo editors? I happen to like Pixlr and Picnik among them - http://ow.ly/sS27The Technology PR Industry Portal

Paul Stallard's Technology PR Agency Blog
Meet the media – David Baker, WIRED UK

paulstallard

13 Nov 2009 | 2:48 am

Back in April of this year WIRED UK launched. The magazine has become synonymous with informed and intelligent analysis in the US so quite rightly was met with a flurry of excitement when it crossed the pond to our shores. So much so that it won the BSME Launch of the Year award on Tuesday night. [...]
Letter in The Times

paulstallard

13 Nov 2009 | 2:24 am

Following a story this week in The Times by Sathnam Sanghera about why businesses shouldn’t use Twitter I decided to dust the old pen off and compose a letter in response. Sathnam made some very valid points but I felt he had been slightly short sighted in his analysis of the situation. Someone else must [...]
Will the media’s paid-for-model work?

paulstallard

6 Nov 2009 | 4:49 am

I was interested to see NMA has announced that it will be joining Rupert Murdock, the FT and Emap by experimenting with paid-for models online. In a statement on its site it announced that online access to all magazine content apart from opinion will be paid for only: “Like all other publishers, we’re experimenting with paid-for [...]
Social media ROI

paulstallard

5 Nov 2009 | 3:51 pm

While catching up on my reading after a month out of the loop playing happy families I came across a link on Brendan Cooper’s blog to a piece on Mashable about ROI with social media. An excellent read and Christina Warren the author has hit the nail on the head in my eyes. As she [...]
Meet the media – Michael Brook, editor of T3

paulstallard

3 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

After a short break, my meet the media series returns with a bang. This week my interview is with editor of T3 Magazine and lover of the Wimpy, Michael Brook. I was interested to see his point about bad PR. This is a great point and one a number of marketing managers should take note of. Just because [...]

Wired PR
Word of Mouth Marketing-Part 2: The Small Things

beth

30 Oct 2009 | 9:45 am

Do you give people a reason to talk about your you or your organization? This is one of the most fundamental and critical components of any word of mouth marketing (WOMM) campaign. It is the shareable topic you provide people, and it can be as simple as a clever name for a menu item, good customer service, a small take-away item for customers or secret sale. Owner and Executive Chef at LGO Hospitality, Bob Lynn, who operates several restaurants throughout Arizona and California including La Grande Orange, Chelsea’s Kitchen, and Radio Milano, has focused on integrating this imperative WOMM…
Phoenix WordCamp to Bring Together Bloggers, Entrepreneurs and WordPress Experts

beth

29 Oct 2009 | 9:52 am

Phoenix WordCamp, an informal conference geared around WordPress, the free online publishing platform many Web sites are built on today, will be held Friday, Nov. 13 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Arizona Grand Resort located at 8000 S. Arizona Grand Pkwy. in Phoenix. Organized by Chuck Reynolds and GoDaddy, this marks the first year for WordCamp in Arizona, and it is particularly timely as more Arizona entrepreneurs turn to WordPress to build their brands and social media presence. Some of the speakers will include Matt Mullenweg, founding developer of WordPress and one of Business Week’s 25…
PodCampAZ Brings Social Media Gurus from Across the Country

beth

29 Oct 2009 | 9:47 am

PodCampAZ, a relevant media “unconference” for podcasters, bloggers and those interested in new media, will be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the University of Advancing Technology located at 2625 W. Baseline Rd. in Tempe. Session at PodCampAZ 2008. Photo by Chris Lee Last year’s event brought approximately 750 attendees. Attendance is expected to reach more than 1,000 this year. A few of the PodCampAZ 2009 speakers include, Evo Terra, co-founder of Podiobooks.com and co-author of “Podcasting for Dummies”; Mignon Fogarty, author of “Grammar…
Word of Mouth Marketing – Part One

beth

23 Oct 2009 | 4:30 pm

Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) has been regarded as an important piece of the marketing puzzle, and increasingly is proving an essential component to any communications or marketing strategy. But what exactly is it and how can organizations effectively implement it? Word of mouth is likely used more than even realized. It’s telling a friend or family member about a great movie, or neighbors about the amazing service at the market around the block. It can also be sending a friend an online coupon for a product you think they would like. Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Mouth Marketing,…
The New Face of the Celebrity and CEO

beth

17 Oct 2009 | 2:22 pm

How do you build mutually beneficial relationships in social media? Be real, transparent, genuine and engage in the discussion. Social media is about the two-way street of communication. This goes for high profile celebrities, busy CEOs and time-strapped business owners. With many avenues of social media going mainstream, many have jumped on board just to have a presence. They are there only to push their own information, compete in gaining tons of followers, and sell their product or service. Some use ghost bloggers and auto responders, completely missing the benefits and essence of social…

Spinfluencer
Interview with Ashley Houghton at the 2009 PRSA International Conference on Social Media Outreach

Schwartzman & Associates

16 Nov 2009 | 2:23 pm

Get a 60-day free trial to online newsrooms provider iPressroom's Press Release SEO Wizard by calling 310-499-0544 ext. 504 and mentioning that you read about it on the Spinfluencer blog. Or tweet us @ipressroom.
On the Record...Online Podcast Interview Schedule at PRSA09

Schwartzman & Associates

8 Nov 2009 | 7:23 am

Got a question you'd like to ask any of these guests? Leave it here as a comment. If I use it, you get credit.Sunday, Nov. 8, 200910am - Gary Goldhammer, V.P. Interactive Solutions, Edelman Digital who be speaking on a panel about how to Leverage the Power of Pull: How to Make Your Brand More Digitally Discoverable10:30am - Lt. Col. Ann Peru Knabe, APR, pblic affairs officer, Pentagon War Court spokeswoman, U.S. Air Force Reserves who will be speaking on a panel about the High-Stakes Consequences in a Low-trust Environment: Lessons Learned From Guantanamo Bay’s Battle of Reputation11am -…
Truth through Numbers with former White House Economic Policy Advisor Todd Buchholz

Schwartzman & Associates

7 Oct 2009 | 3:16 am

(Oct. 2, 2009) Former White House economic policy advisor Todd Buchholz talks about whether numbers are inherently more objective than language at communicating facts, communicating through raw data and number crunching truth in the digital age.in reference to: Home (view on Google Sidewiki)Get a 60-day free trial to online newsrooms provider iPressroom's Press Release SEO Wizard by calling 310-499-0544 ext. 504 and mentioning that you read about it on the Spinfluencer blog. Or tweet us @ipressroom.
Crisis Communications Opportunity for FEMA.gov

Schwartzman & Associates

5 Oct 2009 | 7:52 pm

The future of local, incident-based crisis communications during natural disasters and emergencieas could largely be the creation and distribution of geodata (KML, KMZ and GML). FEMA social media extends the reach of their efforts at FEMA.gov already, but serving geospatial information is probably the next frontier. I wonder when we'll see FEMA start to publish their geodata?in reference to: Data.gov - Geodata Catalog (view on Google Sidewiki)Get a 60-day free trial to online newsrooms provider iPressroom's Press Release SEO Wizard by calling 310-499-0544 ext. 504 and mentioning that you read…
State Has No Data Sets at Data.gov

Schwartzman & Associates

5 Oct 2009 | 7:12 pm

(Oct. 6, 2009) I realize it's a new platform, and these things take time, but given the global challenges we're facing, and the reams of hard data that could be used to support our positions on human rights, energy and the environment, it's disappointing that as of this Sidewiki entry, there's not a single raw data set from the US State Dept in the catalog.in reference to: Data.gov - Raw Data Catalog (view on Google Sidewiki)Get a 60-day free trial to online newsrooms provider iPressroom's Press Release SEO Wizard by calling 310-499-0544 ext. 504 and mentioning that you read about it on the…

PRogress not PRfection
The Complete Guide to Google Wave: How to Use Google Wave [del.icio.us]

LaraK

18 Nov 2009 | 11:24 am

Comprehensive user manual for Google Wave.
Twitter Doesn’t Create Influence, it Reveals it [del.icio.us]

LaraK

18 Nov 2009 | 10:55 am

Twitter doesn't make people influential. It may have made some people *more* influential if only because it gave people greater reach, but they had to posses some level of influence potential. Twitter only exposes and amplifies influence.
Blogging moms wooed by food firms -- latimes.com [del.icio.us]

LaraK

17 Nov 2009 | 10:38 am

As food makers lavish trips and goodies on parenting bloggers, critics see a shrewd marketing ploy.
Quest PR Blog » Who’s saying what about YOU? – top 20 listening devices [del.icio.us]

LaraK

16 Nov 2009 | 7:52 am

One firm's take on the top 20 social media listening tools and sites
Grab Your Beta Invites To Wasabi, Netvibe’s Powerful New Stream Reader [del.icio.us]

LaraK

13 Nov 2009 | 2:04 pm

More on Netvibes Wasabi

David Henderson
Truth about Truth in Labeling

DH

12 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pm

As I’ve gotten older … a condition we all cannot escape … I’ve become more conscious of what I eat … the quality of foods I consume. But, I’ve also become aware that what the U.S. government often labels as okay isn’t. High fructose corn syrup or HFCS or corn syrup is a good example. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says foods that are labeled “All Natural” can contain HFCS. Yet, here’s the rub – there’s nothing natural about corn syrup. In fact, it’s quite harmful to health and is blamed as a cause of obesity and…
Changing My Powerpoint Ways

DH

8 Nov 2009 | 4:46 pm

I was giving a lecture the other day, and I turned to look at the screen where my Powerpoint was displayed … and, I realized that I was committing some of the most common mistakes of using Powerpoint. I had too many slides with too many words. Gad! I’ve coached groups against doing what I was doing. What a pedestrian mistake and so easy to make … but I admit it. Now … example of contrasts: Check out these presentations given by Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer (top) and Apple’s Steve Jobs. Ballmer is a wordy snore while Jobs is charismatic. Darth Vader versus…
Freelancers Union

DH

7 Nov 2009 | 7:32 am

Forget what the slick politicians wearing expensive suits are saying on Capital Hill. The job market in America is in bad shape. The “real” unemployment figure has risen to around 17.5 percent, according to a report in today’s New York Times. Many of those people are freelancers and don’t really get counted when they are out of work or when times are tough. The Times says the job market is tough … really tough now. The concept of jobs and employment in America is changing. The days when a company hired someone and expected to keep them for 10, 20 or 30 years are…
A New Low in TV News has Arrived

DH

6 Nov 2009 | 10:34 am

CNN's Wolf Blitzer A new low point in integrity and quality of television news in the U.S. arrived yesterday. It was ushered in by CNN’s game show participant/news reader, Wolf Blitzer. Blitzer, in announcing the name of the Ft. Hood shooter as ”Nidal Malik Hasan,” remarked offhandedly that Hasan had “an Arab-sounding name.” Blitzer had no idea what he was talking about. He just assumed. He made it up. It was profiling, an identity slur by a major newscaster. The news media didn’t know of Hasan’s background at that time. What Blitzer seemed to…
The Rise of Savvy Clients and Smart Boutiques

DH

5 Nov 2009 | 1:50 pm

Clients today are, for the most part, far savvier and smarter about enlisting outside communications and public relations agency counsel than 10 or 15 years ago. The days of fat budgets and little agency supervision are on the wane. The emphasis is on greater accountability and results that mean something. It’s another indicator that in the digital era, the old model of global PR conglomerate is becoming obsolete, unjustified and unnecessary. A very real and recent warning sign was Omnicom’s 23 percent third quarter drop in earnings which no doubt will translate into layoffs. Fat…

Tech Affect
ASME Mars Rocks Competition: Student engineers design and build a vehicle to roam Mars and collect rocks

Sandra Fathi

20 Nov 2009 | 11:57 am

Our client, the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME), www.asme.org, held a Student Design Competition at the 2009 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition on Sunday, November 15th in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The Competition aims to challenge the creative and problem-solving skills and abilities of tomorrow’s engineers. The theme for this year’s competition, Mars Rocks, required participating student teams to design and build a radio-controlled vehicle prototype that could be used to collect and retrieve rocks on Mars that would later be analyzed to…
Pimping Your LinkedIn Profile

Sandra Fathi

28 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am

So, you already have a LinkedIn profile for you and your company. Are you making the most of it? LinkedIn is the number one site for business networking but many marketers aren’t paying attention to all of the features and functions. Although it may not be the sexy social media new kid on the block, it has rich capabilities and your target audience is using it on a regular basis. Individuals on LinkedIn: 1. Add news feeds to your profile for a steady stream of fresh content 2. Automatically update your blog on LinkedIn (there’s an app…
Post-Acquisition PR Temptations to Avoid

Leslie Campisi

27 Oct 2009 | 6:40 am

Acquisitions can be a fun — and scary — time for communications pros. I remember during my days at 24/7 Media, at the height of the dot com boom, we acquired nine companies during my tenure. Nine! At the time, not all of the companies brought into the fold were also brought in to our existing marketing programs. But I can understand why, when Adobe acquired Omniture on September 15, Adobe would want to introduce itself to Omniture’s customers. I’m just not sure they went about it the right way. I’m not an Omniture customer. I follow their news because staying…
TIPS FROM THE TWITTER TRENCHES

Yasmin Ben-Dror

30 Sep 2009 | 9:50 am

Practical advice and down-to-earth expectations on launching and running a Twitter campaign by Yasmin and Katie. For the past few months, my colleague, Katie Safrey, and I have been drowning deeply immersed in launching and running some exciting (and successful) social media programs for our clients. We have finally surfaced to take a breath, and thought we would share a few downright practical tips from the Twitter trenches. Note: These tips apply to both B2B and B2C Twitter programs. There is little difference, in our opinion. Why? It’s all about talking to the INDIVIDUAL! That individual…
Guest Blog: BDI B2B Social Communications Conference Wrap-Up

admin

18 Sep 2009 | 10:37 am

Thanks to new Affect Strategies team member Danielle Modzelewski for sharing her insights! On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to attend the Business Development Institute’s B2B Social Communications conference. As an inexperienced conference-goer, I admit that I was a little wary of a full morning of presentations and discussions but was pleasantly surprised by the content and atmosphere at the conference. My excitement around this event has resulted in this blog post, and my new title as “one of BDI’s biggest fans” by my colleague Katie (@ksafrey on Twitter). The morning began with…

Everything PR
Model Christina Ambers, The Snob Slayer

Phil Butler

20 Nov 2009 | 1:06 pm

Model Christina Ambers and her husband Angel Rotger, former porter of the co-op they live in are engaged in an all out class war. Ambers, a super famous hand and foot model (yes there are such people) married Rotger who once worked in their building. Now the couple are suing their landlords for $10 million for discriminating based on class. Ambers and Rotger claim the management of their Upper East Side complex are just plain snooty. Snobs being what they are, who would wonder? Rotger and Ambers were married after their two year long romance pretty much shocked the fashion world, and it looks…
Amazon Begins Its Black Friday Deals Week Monday November 23, 2009

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens

20 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am

Amazon announced today the beginning of its Black Friday Deals Week on Monday, November 23, 2009. During this week, Amazon associates can earn up to 15% commission and Amazon customers will find amazing deals on a page exclusively designed to feature Black Friday bargains. This page is the central point to find all Amazon and Endless.com Black Friday deals. To power the campaign, Amazon encourages its associates to spread the word, on personal sites, business sites and via Twitter – a smart PR campaign, that proves once again why Amazon is one of the most successful online retailers.
Shaniya Davis Case Update

Phil Butler

20 Nov 2009 | 2:07 am

Shaniya Davis; the 5 year old girl kidnapped, sold into prostitution, and later killed; died of asphyxiation according to Fayetteville, North Carolina authorities. The little girl, to whom so many have reached out over these last few days, was last seen alive via security camera, in the arms of one Mario McNeil, whom police now say was a family acquaintance. Other details from toxicology and other testing have not been concluded, but McNeil has now been charged with murder as well. Fayetteville police held a press conference revealing these new developments in the case. An autopsy conducted…
Mobile Mini Hires Ketchum Directory Advertising

Genesis Davies

19 Nov 2009 | 7:29 pm

Mobile Mini, the top provider of mobile storage in the world, has decided to hire Ketchum Directory Advertising. The advertising company will be working on thought leadership, as well as media plans. They will be working to build global communications and let the world know about Mobile Mini’s services. “Having worked with KDA’s new management team in launching and supporting our successful European expansion over the last three years, we wished to take advantage of their market-leading knowledge and the value add they have provided Mobile Mini by awarding them our U.S.
Grateful Lessons Learned from Tweetsgiving and Twitter

Kristen Nicole

19 Nov 2009 | 2:29 pm

Tweetsgiving was built last year by small team Epic Changes in six days, launching a widely successful fund-raising effort that brought $10k towards building schools in Tanzania, Australia. At the heart of Tweetsgiving’s success was the power of Twitter. Released two days before Thanksgiving in 2008, Tweetsgiving quickly became a trending topic on Twitter and the spirit of gratitude was spread across the world through shared tweets. As far as we have come in our American history, Thanksgiving remains a universal holiday staying true to that spirit of gratitude. Leveraging a widespread…

The Marketing Journalist
Social Media Balancing Act: Sentiment vs. ROI

cindy kim

27 Oct 2009 | 1:05 pm

George Beckenstein of Digital Media and Social Marketing Strategist recently wrote an interesting post on how business used to be conducted. He noted that anyone you did business with lived in your immediate community. There was no such thing as advertising, marketing channels and brands. You did business with people you knew. It was not an “information economy,” and nothing was mass produced. It was a Trust Economy. In a Trust Economy, your market is your community or network. Trust is mandatory, and influence is king. Recently, I was at a marketing event where I engaged in a heated…
A Practical Approach to Building Brand and SEO through LinkedIn

cindy kim

7 Oct 2009 | 8:15 pm

LinkedIn has evolved into the largest online business networking platform – totaling 32 million users worldwide. Prior to the social networking craze, LinkedIn was largely used to connect with past co-workers and trusted colleagues. Now, however, LinkedIn has extended its capabilities to serve as a brand building platform for professionals looking to network, engage, and communicate with like-minded peers. The surge was accelerated during the recessionary period when laid off workers were looking to locate jobs and hopefully connect with others who could assist in the process.
PR Embargo: Dead or Alive? Or, Does it Matter?

cindy kim

1 Oct 2009 | 8:53 am

In a recent post by Tech Crunchtitled, “The Last has Fallen: The Embargo is Dead,” the tech publication announced that it is killing one of the most sacrosanct of journalism practices — the honoring of PR embargoes. And it’s not just Tech Crunch; it’s other high-profile publications like the Wall Street Journal. This comes after several publications have broken with the tradition of honoring the embargo and have published news prior to the set date/time. According to Bay Newser, the reason why more publications are not upholding PR embargoes is PR agencies. As they face mounting…
Social Media Reshaping Journalism… How Will You Cope?

cindy kim

14 Sep 2009 | 9:56 pm

According to a blog called Simple Zesty, there are 10 industries that will be revolutionized by social media – print media, politics, television, hospitality, sports, music, recruitment, advertising, PR, and shopping. With the availability of Web 2.0 tools such as YouTube, Twitter, etc. the power to create, publish and syndicate content no longer resides to only the news publication and journalists. Today, we have the capability to custom create and communicate our own editorial content to influence the way the online community digests and disseminates information in real time. Prior to…
CEO Blog: Should CEOs Stick to Internal Blogging?

cindy kim

25 Aug 2009 | 2:31 pm

Source Forgive me…for I have sinned…I haven’t blogged for quite some time but given my recent journey, I’m going to ask for forgiveness and hope that this blog post makes up for it. In my last post, I covered the first part of the CEO blog: Good for the Executive Brand and Thought Leadership with Guy Kawasaki, where he outlined some interesting points around this topic and whether CEO generated blogs truly garnered value versus the time and effort a CEO has to dedicate to his/her blog. When asked the question whether CEOs should have an external blog,…

Stalwart Communications: Pay-on-Performance
Stalwart Communications locks in “Most Admired CEO” status for four clients

Alyson Rybar

The San Diego Business Journal hosted their Third Annual “Most Admired CEO” event last night at the Marriott Hotel & Marina in downtown San Diego. This was hands down my favorite event of the year and for good reason. Four of the five clients nominated were honored with the “Most Admired CEO” award. A total of 65 finalists were nominated and then competed in one of the following categories: Public, Private, Nonprofit and Government Agency. Stalwart Communication’s clients who were named among this year’s honorees were: - Eric Basu, Sentek Global - Douglas W. Burke, DefenseWeb…
Stalwart Communications locks in “Most Admired CEO” status for four clients

Alyson Rybar

The San Diego Business Journal hosted their Third Annual “Most Admired CEO” event last night at the Marriott Hotel & Marina in downtown San Diego. This was hands down my favorite event of the year and for good reason. Four of the five clients nominated were honored with the “Most Admired CEO” award. A total of 65 finalists were nominated and then competed in one of the following categories: Public, Private, Nonprofit and Government Agency. Stalwart Communication’s clients who were named among this year’s honorees were: - Eric Basu, Sentek Global - Douglas W. Burke, DefenseWeb…
Stalwart Communications scores big with media at press conference

Alyson Rybar

Today the University of San Diego and client AMSOLAR announced their plans to build the 8th largest solar-powered system in the U.S. The University and AMSOLAR Corporation have agreed to commit resources to leverage this initiative for educational opportunities both on and off campus that champion the need to implement more sustainability initiatives. The project will consist of a 1.2 Megawatt solar power system and will be completed by April 2010. Mayor Jerry Sanders and San Diego County Supervisor, Ron Roberts, were present to celebrate the partnership announcement. Three TV stations…
AdAge - As Media Market Shrinks, PR Passes Up Reporters, Pitches Directly to Consumers

David Oates

This article is well worth the read, particularly as it mentions how PR Agencies must look beyond traditional media relations and more toward engagement models. While I don't agree that the tactic of reaching out to newspapers, magazines and television stations is at all dead (even though giving them press releases is), this article clearly and accurately discusses how a multi-pronged approach to getting the news out is essential. I also submit that PR professionals need to look less at pushing news and more toward facilitating conversations with influencers - such as journalists, industry…
Big Brother is alive and well - and at BevMo

David Oates

Here in San Diego, we've got a supermarket chain of sorts that exclusively serves beer, wine and liquors called BevMo (formerly Beverages & More). Now being an avid fan of single malt scotch and high grade bourbons, I am a rewards member of this establishment, and have always found their selection and service to be the best anywhere. On my most recent trip, I pleasantly uncovered a new feature at the store - a wireless remote attendant call button conveniently placed by the locked kiosks where the expensive spirits are housed. Up until now, I was used to finding a friendly store employee…

OgilvyImpact: Employee Communications
New Years Resolutions

Beth Haiken

18 Nov 2009 | 10:34 am

According to numerous accounts, Americans’ New Years resolutions are fairly predictable. Not necessarily in this order, here are the top ten for 2009: Stop smoking Get Fit Lose Weight Enjoy Life More Quit Drinking Get Organized Learn Something New Get Out of Debt Spend more time with Family/Friends Help Others All worthy goals, to be sure – and as anyone in a leadership role knows, it’s important to have a goal. With that in mind, I’d like to suggest some resolutions for leaders to consider in 2010: Listen more than you talk Lead by example Show you value employees by asking for their…
Winding Down

Beth Haiken

16 Nov 2009 | 3:09 pm

Amazingly enough, it’s mid-November. With the holidays approaching, things are slowing a bit, meaning many of us have a bit more time than we’re used to. What to do with it? Take stock. What were your key priorities for 2009? How many of them were you able to accomplish? What unforeseen events intervened – either to prevent you from achieving something you’d planned, or to redirect your energies? What are your key priorities for 2010? Harvard Business Review blogger Tony Chan (also CEO, Managing Partner and Founder of Cue Ball, a venture and early growth equity firm investing in the…
2 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pm

Beth Haiken

2 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pm

I stumbled across a great list of “Morale Mantras” today. It’s from David Lee, who writes the Mindful Manager blog for Maine Business. If every leader kept this list posted by their phone, there would be a lot fewer unhappy employees in the world! Thanks David. Morale Mantras: “Everything matters.” “It’s the little things.” “Don’t expect employees to care if they don’t feel you care about them.” “Whenever there is conflict, change, or morale issue, seek first to understand.” “You don’t know what employees think until you ask.” “When in doubt,…
How good a manager are you, really?

Beth Haiken

29 Oct 2009 | 11:40 am

OK, I’m a little late to the game, but I highly recommend Dan McCarthy’s leadership/management skills quiz, based on the book 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for Managers & HR. I’ve been managing people for almost as long as I’ve been managed and I (humble expression here) only got six out of 10 right. How’d you do?
Tips from Detroit’s Top Workplaces

Beth Haiken

19 Oct 2009 | 3:10 pm

Almost 33,000 Detroit workers recently participated in a survey about what distinguishes southeast Michigan’s top workplaces. Pay? Benefits? How their manager treats them? No – instead, workers said the key factors were how engaged their employers are with their workers, the direction the employer is heading, and how decisions are carried out. We hear a lot about employee engagement, but this survey seems to suggest there’s a workplace version of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” For example, in general employees at small companies…

Tech PR Nibbles
After AP & BusinessWeek Layoffs, Some Articles of Faith

Nicholas Ludlum

20 Nov 2009 | 8:03 am

Like a lot of people yesterday I sat slack-jawed as the impact of Bloomberg’s acquisition of BusinessWeek filtered through Twitter. I’m still having trouble understanding how BusinessWeek is in better shape without many of the incredible talents who are now left to chart new courses. As the departures settled in - compounded by the week’s AP layoffs - I realized that my own response is really based on the vague sense that this period of destruction will be creative and beneficial. I have no objective reason for believing that journalism will be better off for these…
What Larry Page Knows (Maybe) About PR

Nicholas Ludlum

17 Nov 2009 | 3:03 pm

According to PR Newser Ken Auletta reports in his book, Googled that Larry Page told his PR department that he would give them “a total of eight hours of his time that year for press conferences, speeches, or interviews.” Supposedly the Google founders aren’t fond of PR. Although Google apparently has 130 people working in the PR department so maybe they don’t find PR so distasteful after all . . . The interesting thing, to me anyway, is that if I were Larry Page - and I’m a long way from being Larry Page - I’d probably do the same thing. In fact it…
Why Mark Cuban is Sort of Right and Sort of Wrong About the Murdoch / Google News

Nicholas Ludlum

10 Nov 2009 | 10:49 am

I was quick to post my criticisms yesterday to Rupert Murdoch’s apparent decision to delist his media sites from Google. Too quick it seems, as in my rush I neglected to consider a possible counter argument, blogged here by Mark Cuban. The core of Cuban’s post appears to be that Murdoch is right because Twitter and Facebook are on their way to eclipsing Google as the primary content gateways and that these sites pose no threat to publishers. I think he’s sort of right and sort of wrong. Departing once again from my rule to never disagree with billionaires, here is what I…
The Planned Obsolescence of the Wall Street Journal

Nicholas Ludlum

9 Nov 2009 | 9:22 am

I make it a rule not to disagree with billionaires but Rupert Murdoch’s apparent plan to make News Corp sites invisible to search engines is mystifying. The media industry isn’t dying; it’s changing, and while it undergoes this metamorphosis there will continue to be a lot of hand wringing, a lot of failed experiments and a lot of creative destruction. This is a bad thing, obviously, for those employees and companies that are left out in the cold, but journalism will survive and professional news gatherers will continue to be paid - even if we don’t precisely know…
Journalists Question The Role of Twitter

Graham White

21 Oct 2009 | 4:23 pm

At the Australian launch of Windows7 today, Microsoft has invited Twitter followers to take part, with the event being streamed live through Ustream.tv . These followers have the chance to engage directly with senior Microsoft executives, and during the Q&A session, every fourth question will come directly from the Twitter feed. However, a number of journalists are not keen. First they would prefer questions only come from journalists at the event itself. Second, they’re worried the Twitter questions will be filtered and that only the easy ones will be answered.

The Media Is Dying
themediaisdying: Murdoch Jr sees smaller role for papers http://bit.ly/URiwZ (RT @mediaguardian)

20 Nov 2009 | 6:11 am

themediaisdying: Murdoch Jr sees smaller role for papers http://bit.ly/URiwZ (RT @mediaguardian)
themediaisdying: #FF @kindredagency (insight/integrated), @alenaweinkrantz (smarts!), @hoovers (great bz info), @ adamwestbrook (journ) @creativewisdom (FTW)

20 Nov 2009 | 2:47 am

themediaisdying: #FF @kindredagency (insight/integrated), @alenaweinkrantz (smarts!), @hoovers (great bz info), @ adamwestbrook (journ) @creativewisdom (FTW)
themediaisdying: RT @jenniferhogan: 50 Impressive Magazine and Newspaper Styled Web Designs http://bit.ly/3GZ8nW (via @webdesignledger)

19 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm

themediaisdying: RT @jenniferhogan: 50 Impressive Magazine and Newspaper Styled Web Designs http://bit.ly/3GZ8nW (via @webdesignledger)
themediaisdying: A NATION READY TO MOURN? : NYT confirms: Oprah Winfrey is ending her daytime talk show in 2011. http://bit.ly/18veIS (RT @brianstelter)

19 Nov 2009 | 4:19 pm

themediaisdying: A NATION READY TO MOURN? : NYT confirms: Oprah Winfrey is ending her daytime talk show in 2011. http://bit.ly/18veIS (RT @brianstelter)
themediaisdying: INTERESTING : Hedge fund Harbinger cuts its NYT stake again, now less than 15%. Sold 2.5M shares for $22.5M ($9 per share) (RT @paidContent)

19 Nov 2009 | 2:33 pm

themediaisdying: INTERESTING : Hedge fund Harbinger cuts its NYT stake again, now less than 15%. Sold 2.5M shares for $22.5M ($9 per share) (RT @paidContent)

Newsvetter
Maclaren: Case study in PR errors

Mike

17 Nov 2009 | 2:09 pm

In this age of product-recall overload, it's easy to become inured to the daily flow of releases from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But if there's one exception, it would be the recall of about 1 million baby strollers last week by Maclaren, the gold standard of its industry. Much has been written about this issue--which involves sharp hinges that have amputated children's fingers--ranging from the mechanical problems to how the information was handled. One sensible blog post came from the Harvard Business Review, which offered practical advice for any company unfortunate enough to…
Peter Shankman’s bold idea

Andrew

11 Nov 2009 | 9:35 pm

I just finished reading Peter Shankman's "Can We Do That? Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your Company Needs Them." For those who don't know him, Shankman is best known as the founder of Help a Reporter Out (HARO), a fast-growing free service that connects expert sources with the media. Before that he ran a successful PR shop called the Geek Factory, which is the basis for this book. The title is a bit misleading: You might think this is a book about Shankman taking his client's money and doing crazy things with it, things you and I would never dare do (like skydiving). But it's not.
The absurdity of embargoes

Mike

1 Nov 2009 | 9:58 pm

This Halloween I was visited by a demon that has haunted me for decades. It was brought to mind by this Tweet from Tom Foremski, an old pro from the Financial Times: "Are there new rules for embargoes? I'm not sure if there are..." If there's one subject that will always elicit a frothing response from me, along with politics and sports, it's embargoes. Whether it's the kind that restricts news or bans Cuban cigars, I would rise from my deathbed to vilify either atrocity. Unfortunately, my expertise in international trade is limited to my eBay account, but I do know something about the media…
On salaries, don’t pass the buck

Mike

29 Oct 2009 | 8:25 pm

Even in the days when prosperous newspaper companies seemed to print money along with the news--an increasingly distant memory--some recent revelations about top editorial salaries would have arched more than a few green-shaded brows. First there were reports that former Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger was pulling down a cool $570,000 at ProPublica last year, and now we see that the new editor in chief of the Texas Tribune is making $315,000. What's sure to stoke flames even more is that these two online publications are publicly funded entities. It's a little surprising that…
The dumbing down of media

Mike and Andrew

23 Oct 2009 | 1:15 pm

Countless articles are written every day decrying the demise of journalism and all of democracy along with it, but many of them are little more than personal rants from recently unemployed journalists or romanticized writings that pine for a "Front Page" era that never really existed in our lifetime. One observation made in various venues lately does resonate, however, and it has important consequences for the PR profession as well as the media. It involves the decline of "specialty" beats. At one time it seemed a requirement for any ambitious newspaper to have a stable of reporters who…

PRtini
Vote for the “Geben Gives” Winner

Heather Whaling

19 Nov 2009 | 7:23 pm

It’s time to vote for the winner of Geben Gives! Each organization does amazing work — and I can’t wait to see which one you choose for me to work with! During the month of December, I’ll donate my time — my PR, marketing or social media services — to the winner. The poll closes on November 30. The five finalists are: CaringBridge provides free, personalized websites to families and friends during a serious health event. They make it easier to share health updates and receive messages of support. Camps for Kids helps ensure that no Kansas City youngster is…
Last Chance for Geben Gives Nominations

Heather Whaling

17 Nov 2009 | 6:41 pm

If you ask me, Geben Gives — my own way to help a nonprofit during the month of December and celebrate the launch my new company — might be one of the coolest ideas I’ve ever had. It’s inspiring to read the list of incredible organizations nominated thus far, and I can’t wait to start working with one of them. Wednesday is the last day for nominations, so if you haven’t submitted your favorite nonprofit, head over to the original post and do it now! There’s not much time left to nominate a nonprofit for free PR, marketing or social media services.
Double Shot: Learn from Others

Heather Whaling

13 Nov 2009 | 4:41 am

This is the fifth installment of a new feature here on prTini — the Double Shot. Each Friday, I’ll share links to two resources, two useful blog posts or introduce you to two people. What better way to end the week (or kick-off the weekend) than with a Double Shot from prTini? Here we go … I love reading case studies or detailed analysis of campaigns to see what works … what doesn’t — and then applying some critical thinking. Would I have approached it this way? What would I have done differently? This week, I came across two examples of smart, exceptional work that…
Advertising’s Role In PR

Heather Whaling

12 Nov 2009 | 5:19 am

As PR people, we often talk about the blurring of lines between marketing, PR, customer service and social media. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t spent nearly as much time exploring how we integrate our efforts with various forms of advertising. Many agencies have a media buyer who develops that part of the strategy; however, that doesn’t absolve PR people from having a basic understanding of advertising’s role in “our” field. I learned more about the graying of lines between PR and advertising when researching ARAnet, a media company that offers two…
Veterans Day: Beyond Tribute

Heather Whaling

11 Nov 2009 | 10:42 am

My brother is a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I continue to be in awe of him and his selflessness. Veterans Day is actually my brother’s favorite day of the year, which is why I wanted to share the 11-11 campaign with you. I thought I’d use this opportunity to make my video blogging debut, as well. But, I had a couple technical difficulties: You may need to turn your speakers up to hear what I’m saying. (Duly noted … I’ll fix that before my next video post!) For some reason, embedding video isn’t working today. Grr, right? So, instead, click…

thebluedoor pr
Technology sets entrepreneurs free – or does it create a Second Life?

18 Nov 2009 | 7:39 am

We’re in the middle of Global Entrepreneur Week, so it’s no surprise that there is a focus on start-ups and entrepreneurs in the media at the moment. Although there have been some conflicting messages. New research conducted by business advisory firm, Deloitte found that 75% of entrepreneurs in the East of England have found business opportunities during the recession. However, another piece of research conducted by small business specialist Intuit UK showed 40% of those interviewed were waiting until the recovery kicks in before they start up their new ventures – hoping for better…
Social media, journalism and politics: a fatal embrace?

15 Nov 2009 | 5:22 am

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and now SlashKey are all continuing to grow with stunning speed according to exclusive research by Nielsen Online published in new media age (05/11/09). Key to their growth is the fight for their online audience's time. UK online population spent 11.1 billion minutes using social media sites during September 2009, an increase of 83% on the previous year.Twitter - public enemy number one or popular darling, depending on whether you are a 'typical' BBC Moral Maze listener or enthusiastic Reuters news pundit - continues to grow. Currently standing at sixth most…
Digital PR: Google 4 grown ups

20 Oct 2009 | 2:53 am

Google is the daddy - that was the message from the seminar I recently attended. Not that I had any doubts on that subject, with Google funneling the majority of search queries as well as developing extended services like Google Wave and Google Docs, no-one is currently in a position to challenge their status.Being interested in web optimisation and ever keen to keep up on the latest methods that Google is using to crawl, index and serve up search results, I was looking forward to the seminar hosted by Thoughtbubble and delivered by Tim Ireland. And I wasn't disappointed. Tim is an excellent…
Surrey strides out for charity

18 Oct 2009 | 11:26 am

It was fantastic to take part in the Farnham Stride on Sunday - a 10Km sponsored walk around the beautiful Surrey countryside, taking in the Frensham Ponds area. This local event was just one of the many activities being run in aid of Cancer Research.It was a great turn out with people of all ages from around the Surrey area taking part. There was real camaraderie amongst the participants and the ladies from the fitness centre, Curves really showed their team spirit by wearing brightly coloured pink wigs and setting the pace for the entire group.Events like these are an amazing way for groups…
PR sector and recession: in or out?

14 Oct 2009 | 9:06 am

Last week I, along with many of the other managing directors of the PRCA's PR agency members, attended the PRCA/CorpComms conference optimistically titled 'Emerging from a recession'.However optimism was certainly not high on the agenda. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, delivered the key note speech which firmly stated that any hope of an upturn was not being translated into fees or orders.However he did highlight three trends for 2010:Geographical focus: although the PR/communications sector is stagnant in Western Europe, there is a 'gold rush' in Asia.Online is key to any PR offering and…

Sword and the Script
Google isn't sure what PR is - and thinks public relations has issues

19 Nov 2009 | 7:21 pm

This post here on what Google thinks of SEO and social media, and this post by PRNewser, which is about what Google thinks of PR, got me to thinking: What does Google think of PR? Curious, I decided... Daily PR reads bookmarked at delicious.
Hypothetically, "what if questions" lead to bad news

17 Nov 2009 | 7:50 pm

Bill Belichick made a questionable decision in a game last Sunday that probably cost the game -- but true to his usual form, he wasn't much for taking questions. Still there's a PR lesson in his... Daily PR reads bookmarked at delicious.
The Tao of Hip Hop's PR Revival

16 Nov 2009 | 10:25 pm

Misunderstood. That was Howard Stern's pitch in a movie aimed at reinventing himself. But as far as celebrity PR makeovers go, a handful of hip hop artists are stand out. Take Marketplace's... Daily PR reads bookmarked at delicious.
PR: getting slammed for taking a stand

31 Oct 2009 | 8:53 am

PC Magazine takes Novell to task over it's blog post on LA's decision to replace Novell's GroupWise e-mail product with Google Apps. It's good example of how new media has changed the landscape of... Daily PR reads bookmarked at delicious.
One example of creative PR...that's flopping

29 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm

Creative PR ideas are hard to come by. Harder still if they actually make business sense. The Potomac Tech Wire, reported on October 28, 2009: Sterling, Va. -- SkyBitz, the Sterling-based maker... Daily PR reads bookmarked at delicious.

Next Communications
PR Roles: Be a Strategic Adviser

Richie Escovedo

19 Nov 2009 | 10:36 pm

I wasn't able to attend this year's PRSA International Conference. From what I gathered through presentation reviews, live-tweets, conversations, blog posts and back-channels, it seems to have been a worthwhile conference (aside from the big complaint of no wifi in the hotel and the delegate issues related to organizational governance. But that's for another time.) One particular session caught my eye today was posted on the PRSA ComPRehension blog entitled “Developing a Strategic Mindset: How to Become a Trusted, Strategic Adviser” presented by PR thought-leader James Lukaszewski. (Photo…
They did their share, so we can say thanks

Richie Escovedo

11 Nov 2009 | 8:49 pm

Special events and campus programs are commonplace for school PR people. Whether we are celebrating a national holiday like Veterans Day or commemorating a school namesake, outside by the flagpole or inside the cafetorium (yes, that's what they are called), having students commemorate events make for great opportunities to gather the school community and get some good photos. This year was no different. We had students recite the Presidential proclamation, choirs sang patriotic songs, students read their winning essays and a few guest speakers told their stories of life in the military. One…
Tarrant County College lets blog double as a public forum

Richie Escovedo

6 Nov 2009 | 9:51 am

Yesterday, the Tarrant County College (TCC) Office of Public Relations & Marketing shared a blog post requesting public feedback on a new chancellor. The post* read in part: The TCC Board of Trustees has begun the search process for a new chancellor, the chief executive officer of the College. Later this month, board members will conduct a workshop to draw up and approve a job description, and they would very much like your input. What qualifications, experience, characteristics, and attributes do you think the next TCC chancellor should have? Please give us your comments, and/or…
Starting clean for #Movember

Richie Escovedo

1 Nov 2009 | 9:49 pm

The fact that I am not a hairy man makes me (and my wife) happy. My inability to grow facial hair into a full beard or goatee leaves me to wonder where my genes came from since there are beard and moustache-wearing guys among my male relatives. It usually doesn't bug me too much accept during the month of Movember because I know my mo won't be as robust as most of the others. But then, that's not the point. Movember Movember is a moustache growing charity event held during the month of November every year that raises funds and awareness for men's health - specifically prostate and testicular…
Happy Halloween

Richie Escovedo

31 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am

Taking a slight detour from my typical posts for something on arguably my favorite holiday. I really dig how this educator has a little fun, a good personality, an engaged audience, and uses a bit of a performance mentality and techniques all while being a math teacher.The observational geometry quiz at 2:24 is pretty cool too. (The audio in the clip is a little low, so you may want to turn up your volume a bit.)Happy Halloween.

imPRessions
Oprah’s Departure: Doomsday For Broadcast TV?

Dorothy Crenshaw

20 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pm

If I hadn’t known about Oprah’s announcement before waking up to a WNYC Radio listener roundup of “what Oprah has meant to me,” – honestly, I would’ve thought she died. Of course, the impetus for the wave of coverage was not a tragic event, but merely her tearful disclosure that she will end her daily talk show within two years, in September 2011. But for CBS, which syndicates the show, and ABC, whose stations carry it, Oprah’s move actually is a bit like a death in the family. In fact, it’s a blow for network television in general.
Red Flags: When To Say No To A Potential PR Client

Dorothy Crenshaw

19 Nov 2009 | 7:27 pm

Today I spoke with an old friend who’s a well-established public relations consultant. She called for advice about a prospect, since, after meeting him, she wasn’t sure he’d make a good client. Twenty seconds into the conversation, I knew she was right, and we discussed how she should gracefully decline his business. When times are tough, it’s hard to turn down clients, even if our gut says it’s not a fit. So, after speaking with some colleagues and reviewing my own experience over many years and five agency positions, I’ve come up with a list of…
Sarah Reloaded: Palin’s PR Offensive

Dorothy Crenshaw

16 Nov 2009 | 8:56 pm

“She’s not retreating, she’s reloading.” That’s how Sarah Palin, quoting her father, describes her re-emergence on the scene at the end of her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life. It’s also a pretty fair description of the preparation for the PR offensive mounted to promote the book. Palin’s come out with guns blazing. Some reviewers have dismissed the book as little more than a rehash of her life story, with a generous helping of score-settling. But, that’s not the point. What’s far more interesting is how Palin has packaged herself,…
How Goldman Can Beat Its Bad PR

Dorothy Crenshaw

13 Nov 2009 | 5:35 am

When news broke last week that bankers at Goldman Sachs had received the H1N1 vaccine amid shortages at doctors’ offices and hospitals, it was one more public relations headache for the firm. And there was a feverish reaction from the blogosphere and the mainstream press, including a hilarious Saturday Night Live sendup. As the bankers got their shots, everyone wanted a shot at them. Actually, Goldman was one of over 20 companies to receive the vaccine, and the decision was made by the CDC. But, in the public view that’s irrelevant, because the brand has become synonymous…
What Fort Hood Taught Us About Social Media

Dorothy Crenshaw

11 Nov 2009 | 8:06 am

It’s sadly ironic that on this Veterans Day, we’re not only contemplating our military strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, but mourning the loss of 13 soldiers on our own soil less than a week ago. As usual, the traditional media have reported not just the tragedy at Fort Hood, but the inspiring stories of bravery and selflessness, like the actions of civilian officer Kimberly Munley and Pfc. Marquest Smith. But social media, so often hailed as a hero during times of crisis, fell short that day. The misinformation spread on Twitter Thursday included erroneous reports that the…

PR junkie
Study says customer reviews on your Web site boost sales

20 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am

I was browsing through a small record shop in Minneapolis last weekend, recalling how much I use to love shopping for music in a brick and mortar store. These days, for the sake of convenience, I’m either buying music online or, ahem, downloading it gratis. At the record store, I noticed an album that a friend had told me to pick up. I looked at the cover art and felt the packaging. I think I even shook it. But something seemed strange. It didn’t feel right. I’m just supposed to buy this without hearing a 30-second sample or reading a user review, I thought? As a cub newspaper reporter…
Colonel Tribune tweeter heads to The Huffington Post

18 Nov 2009 | 12:59 pm

Colonel Tribune is heading to The Huffington Post. Actually, one of the people behind Colonel Tribune is making the move. Craig Kanalley, a former digital intern at the Chicago Tribune, has accepted a position as the traffic/trends editor at The Huffington Post. He was performing social media work for the Tribune, including overseeing its popular Twitter account, Colonel Tribune, and helping with ChicagoNow, the Trib’s local blog network. He took over Colonel Tribune after its creator, Daniel Honigman, left the Tribune for Weber Shandwick. Kanalley also created the Web site Breaking Tweets,…
Money is in print, says Web journalist

16 Nov 2009 | 8:50 pm

While everyone is trying to get off the Titanic, Geoff Dougherty is boarding it. Dougherty, the founder of an online news site in Chicago, ChiTown Daily News, which lost its funding this year, is launching a monthly tabloid called Chicago Current. The tabloid and its Web site will cover local politics. Despite what seems like a counterintuitive move, Dougherty has a very good reason for this decision. Last month, he told Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Ann Saphir that “the money is in print, so that’s where we have to be.” What he means is that print publications demand much higher…
IABC will negotiate with its unemployed members

12 Nov 2009 | 5:06 pm

Unemployed (or underemployed) and looking for a break in your membership dues from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)? The association offers “a complimentary hardship extension to members who are experiencing financial distress,” Lee Anne Snedeker, senior vice president of global development for IABC, said in a comment to a previous PR Junkie post. “All they need to do is email me a short summary of what’s going on (we’ll keep it confidential), and depending on longevity and other considerations, we often grant extensions of one to six months,”…
Help a Reporter Out no longer working with RLM PR

11 Nov 2009 | 5:53 pm

A comment from RLM owner Richard Laermer was added to the story. PR Junkie has learned that Help a Reporter Out (HARO), the service started by Peter Shankman to link reporters with PR pros, is no longer working with its agency of record, RLM PR. Thom Brodeur, HARO's chief operating officer, confirmed the news on Wednesday. “They [RLM] got us great press,” he said in an e-mail to PR Junkie. “Team did great work. We're handling our own PR now.” Brodeur would not elaborate. Richard Laermer, owner of RLM, said HARO didn't "dump" his company. "Our original contract ended," he told PR…

Nettie Hartsock
7 Signs Your Social Media “Expert” is Not So Social…

Nettie Hartsock

19 Nov 2009 | 1:27 am

7 Signs Your Social Media “Expert” is Not So Social: 1. You ask them about measuring metrics and they say, “Metrics, metrics, we don’t need no ‘steenking’ metrics.” Helpful Tip: Measurement of social media activities should be happening using tools like Radian6, HubSpot Grading tools, and some from Mashable’s list here. 2. Early on, you ask the expert how often you should tweet and they say, “As much as you like, just keep in mind never to do it in mixed company.” Helpful Tip: See Guy Kawasaki’s post on Twitter Cluelessleness. 3. You search for the profile they were…
FiledBy Inks Deal with Scribd

Nettie Hartsock

18 Nov 2009 | 11:28 am

Image via CrunchBaseFiledBy has made another incredibly smart move and partnered up with Scribd. Both of these companies are truly outstanding in terms of the new revolution in publishing they are empowering. Excerpt from release - Nashville, Tenn., November 18th, 2009 – FiledBy (www.filedby.com), the leading online directory of authors, writers, illustrators, photographers and other book contributors, today announced the integration of the Scribd Reader technology into the online toolset provided to its fast growing community of authors and other creators. Scribd (www.scribd.com) the…
7 Ways To Succeed In Social Media

Nettie Hartsock

18 Nov 2009 | 9:27 am

1. Build your personalized Google profile today so you are visible in search. 2. Add Twitter to your LinkedIn.com account – you can do this now and it will help folks see your “mindshare” on LinkedIn.com too. 3. Be committed to sharing your actionable insight on your blog and then go DIGG it as well. 4. Claim a Twitter account if you’ve not yet done so. Twitter is not going away and it will continue to be refined for better usage and accessiblity. 5. Add your URL to Google. I recommend people submit them at least twice a year just to make sure that Google-bot is…
You Might Be A Social Media Junkie If…

Nettie Hartsock

17 Nov 2009 | 3:44 pm

Nielsen recently released an interesting study on social media usage and social media junkies. I thought I’d post my own list of items for you to determine if you are a true social media junkie or not. For someone (me) who is always trying to balance the online with the offline, I feel your junkie pain. You Might Be a Social Media Junkie If… 1. You’ve told your immediate and extended family that the best place for them to find out what you’re up to is on Tweetdeck. 2. Instead of an emergency phone number on your children’s school information – you’ve…
Don’t Put All Your Social Media Eggs in One Basket

Nettie Hartsock

5 Nov 2009 | 3:27 pm

As a former (decade long) technology journalist I think it’s very important for people to understand that it is important to not put all your social media eggs in one basket. Always be aware that social media tools are ever-evolving. This is one of the reasons I don’t ever like being called a “social media expert.” No one can really be a social media expert, because even if you live this stuff 24/7 (which sometimes it feels like I do) you’ll still not be ahead of the developers of these tools and the new options or frameworks they are building with them. While…

PRBreakfastClub
Dear Oprah (Part 10)

Tracy Bagatelle-Black

20 Nov 2009 | 12:26 pm

Dear Oprah, Thanks for keeping my nannies tied up for an hour but I’m glad you’re going off the air too. Maybe now they’ll finally go get my son from his nap before the end of your program. As a work-from-home mom & PR pro, I have to rely on the nanny to get some work done and soon that will be possible. And do me a favor, kill of O magazine too. I’m sick of clients asking to get their stuff in it. You clearly pick favorites. Thanks, Tracy
Dear Oprah (Part 9)

Katie Wall

20 Nov 2009 | 11:31 am

Note: This one comes from Katie Wall, @GoKTGo. Dear Oprah, I feel like I can call you “Oprah” because my roommate in college had a picture of you framed on her wall, which pretty much made us roommates. Thank you always being an inspiration even though you never responded to any of the letters my roommate sent you. I’m glad I will no longer have to deal with you consuming 75% of our DVR because your hour-long show runs so many times per day (in both standard and HD). I hope that your leaving doesn’t mean that Oprah impersonations will go out of style…ie. “You get a car! And you…
Dear Oprah (Part 8)…

Kristen Massaro

20 Nov 2009 | 8:28 am

Dear Oprah, Today I’m not thinking like a PR flack, who was never able to get a single product past Adam Glassman’s assistant (thanks by the way for helping me grow that hard PR shell rejection after rejection), I’m thinking like the 4 year old girl who sat down one September day with my mom and there you were – ready to change my world! Now I must ask – when you made this announcement did you think of me … I mean the rest of us? What will I use as a reference for book club? Who will introduce me to a new doctor who will scare the bejesus out of me each Tuesday leaving me…
Dear Oprah (Part 7) ….

Jess Greco

20 Nov 2009 | 7:53 am

Dear Oprah, I’m new to this game, and I don’t work with consumer clients, so I don’t fully understand the pain that you inflict on flacks like us. Really, all that I know about you is that you have a questionable relationship with your best friend Gail and that you make my mom cry when she watches your show. However, come 2011, I’ll be celebrating with PR pros everywhere as your show goes off the air because it makes my friends lives that much easier. Catch ya on Perez I’m sure! (the next time one of your schools hires a convicted pedophile as their headmaster.
Dear Oprah (Part 6)…

Sherri Haymond

20 Nov 2009 | 7:42 am

Dear Oprah, I remember watching you after school every day beginning in 5th grade. i remember that day in 1986 (when i was in 7th grade) when you came out in that black turtleneck and tight jeans wheeling a huge wagon of fat (67 lbs) behind you. I remember being so grossed out by the fat (and so impressed with your accomplishment and how much emphasis you’ve put on dieting – yo-yo in your case – from then on) that I developed a very strange relationship with food. One that i don’t think I’ll ever be able to change. Because every time I look at a Snickers bar, a…

JessicaRandazza
Refocusing.

Jessica

20 Nov 2009 | 1:06 am

After yesterday’s vague post about feeling like a total Negative Nancy, I wanted to follow up and thank each of your for your support. I’m unbelievably lucky and honored to have such a great network to help cheer me up. While I’m not feeling 100% (I’d say I’m hovering around 37 or so), I made conscious effort this evening to spend time geeking out online in places that I love. And while this may come as a surprise to you, they’re not all social networking sites! In no particular order they are: Cute Overload – Unless you’re Brian (who is…
Had a bad day again…

Jessica

19 Nov 2009 | 8:08 am

There are countless songs, movies and novels centered around feeling bad and making mistakes, so I won’t tell you that the way I’m feeling right now is unique. But, after a unfortunate set of circumstances, I can say with absolute conviction that I feel like a total Debbie Downer and don’t like it one bit. Now, I recognize that’s extremely vague and, forgive me, but I won’t delve deeper into my issues or guilt in this post. That would bore you, anyway. What I can say is when you (and by “you” I mean me) feel bad (especially in areas that mean the…
Real Life Balance

Jessica

12 Nov 2009 | 10:55 pm

One of the things I love the most about my company is their commitment to work-life balance. While I work a lot of hours, it’s certainly by choice, and because I’m just really jazzed about what I do. I work because I love it, because I’m passionate about it, and because I’d like to think I’m good at it. But, for those times when I’m feeling a little worn out, I really like that my company encourages separation. When I’m not working on agency specific projects, you’ll still find me online. Browsing the Web, catching up on articles, scrolling…
Social Media: Customer Service or Marketing?

Jessica

5 Nov 2009 | 4:10 pm

After a brief conversation last night with Mona and Kristy about social media being silo-ed into marketing or customer service, I was feeling frustrated interested in the general consensus on social media was for the non-PR/Marketing folks. Mona believes that is and should be utilized as a customer service tool, and as a public relations practitioner…well, I disagree. But, because I’m open to listening to argument, and checking out a different perspective (in case I just happen to be wrong, which may or may not happen more often than I’d like), I looked for a second opinion…
Find Me on Four Square

Jessica

2 Nov 2009 | 11:33 pm

I have to admit, I’ve become obsessed with Four Square. For months and months I held off on downloading the application. I watched my friends check in and compete against one another, and I resisted. Why sign up for another time suck? And the truth was that I didn’t get the appeal. But a few weeks ago I got curious and headed over http://foursquare.com to see what all the fuss was about. People use foursquare to “check-in”, which is a way of telling us your whereabouts. You’ll find that as your friends use foursquare to check-in, you’ll start learning more…

Messaged To Deaf
What Sesame Street Can Teach Marketers

Harriet Meth

12 Nov 2009 | 10:44 am

What can a 40-year-old children's television program teach marketers? Plenty, especially when it comes to relevance. So today's post is brought to you by the letter "R" from the folks at Sesame Street. They've kept their show relevant all of these years, even with increasing competition from video games, online activities and even new TV shows. Let's see what the gang at Sesame Street did to reach their 40th anniversary with no signs of losing any steam. Remain true to your vision. Sesame Street's ongoing mission has been to educate kids and they've remained true to their…
Just Plain Stupid Messaging

Harriet Meth

3 Nov 2009 | 9:41 pm

This one belongs in the what were they thinking category. Kellogg is claiming their Cocoa Krispies cereal can help boost kids' immunity against the H1N1 virus. Yes, you read that right. Kellogg has taken the sugar-coated message and stretched it into new territory that defies description. The message, on the front of the box, states: "Now helps support your child's IMMUNITY." Critics, to no one's surprise, are in full battle mode, claiming the company is simply trying to capitalize on parents' H1N1 fears. So, you have to wonder, what was going through the corporate brainsat Kellogg when they…
Video Saves The FAQ

Harriet Meth

28 Oct 2009 | 6:40 am

Your company is in a smackdown with a partner now turned competitor. Do your employees know how to handle the issue when asked? Are they telling customers one thing and saying another to bloggers or partners, analysts and on their own blogs? Nothing can derail a company faster than inconsistency. The irony is you probably have the FAQ's that address how to delicately position all sorts of topics. The only problem is that most people haven't seen them or they are buried in their inbox. Video is the solution. Put the FAQ on video. Have someone conversationally deliver the salient points that…
TV Interview Fail

Harriet Meth

19 Oct 2009 | 4:54 am

For many companies, getting the CEO on TV is still a great opportunity to tell the company or product story. Unfortunately, these stories don’t always have a happy ending. One of the biggest mistakes that will torpedo a broadcast interview is not making your product immediately relevant for the audience. A recent example of this: Sir James Dyson, the debonair British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, who was on the Today Show to pitch his newest creation - the bladeless fan. To put it bluntly, Sir James blew it. Big time. He had two minutes of quality airtime with not one but three…
Content Or Commodity?

Harriet Meth

12 Oct 2009 | 8:44 pm

When was the last time you asked someone if they have seen or heard any good content lately? You didn't need to think too long about your answer did you? Let's face it, content is just another word for stuff. Information is stuff. It is data, statistics and facts which are sterile, abstract and devoid of personality. Content makes all of that creative "stuff" you're putting out there sound like a commodity. Nuts and bolts are a commodity. Seen one, seen 'em all. Not a whole lot of differentiation there. But much of what we now collectively call content is different. At least it started…

PRWeb - Daily News Feed
LocalPainterQuotes.com First To Offer Exclusive, Branded Painting Sales Leads To Large Painting Franchises

Five Star Painting, a painting franchisor with over 70 franchise locations, selects LocalPainterQuotes.com to help generate pre-qualified sales leads. ProTect Painters signs as well. For the first time painting franchises can purchase branded leads and don’t have to compete with other painters for the job. (PRWeb Nov 20, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/11/prweb3227044.htm
March for Life Documentary, Thine Eyes, to Air, Thanksgiving-Eve, on Catholic Cable Network, EWTN

Catholic cable network, EWTN, will air Thine Eyes, on November 25 at 10 pm EST. The film captures the spirit of the March for Life - an annual Pro-Life event America's mainstream media consciously suppress. Two days after the inauguration of Barack Obama, record crowds turned out for the annual March for Life. Onsite was a six camera crew to film The March and produce the first serious documentary about the event. (PRWeb Nov 20, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/ThineEyesEWTN/MarchforLife/prweb3233664.htm
Brewer and Quick Medical Announce New Freight Policy

In today's economy with the increases in fuel, labor and operating costs, it is unusual for a company to reduce or eliminate the fee they charge for freight and shipping. Brewer Medical now offers an intelligent alternative to the high cost of shipping... FREE with a minimum order. (PRWeb Nov 20, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/quickmedical/terminology/prweb3233534.htm
Number of Unsafe ‘iDEAL Webshops’ Grows Explosively

Only twelve per cent protect their personal data sufficiently (PRWeb Nov 20, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/unsafe-ideal-webshops/grows-explosively/prweb3208534.htm
T & K Futures and Options Inc. Predicts $30 Silver Futures Prices in 2010

Recent large fluctuations in many of the world's major currencies has pushed many investors to purchase physical silver, silver futures and options and silver ETFs to shelter themselves from currencies that are becoming worth less and less. This demand may push silver futures prices to $30 over the next 12 months. (PRWeb Nov 20, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/11/prweb3227534.htm

Richard Edelman - 6 A.M.
Strange Bedfellows Who Kick in the Night

19 Nov 2009 | 1:39 pm

Did you know… the United Auto Workers had 425,000 members employed by General Motors in 1979 and today has 40,000? UAW members earn $33 per hour while non-union car workers in the American South earn $15 per hour and auto workers in Mexico get $6 per hour, but have the same productivity level? in the US and Western Europe there are 800 cars per 1,000 adults, while in China and India it is only 50 or 60 per 1,000 people, rising to 400 per 1,000 in the next decade? up to three million jobs were at risk in the US a year ago in the possible bankruptcy of Chrysler and GM, then the chain reaction…
Dangerous and Delusional

9 Nov 2009 | 7:31 am

On Friday I spoke at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. After my presentation, I was asked the following question by a senior journalist, who uncovered the Sumitomo copper trading scandal. “I have been told by my friend who runs PR for a large Japanese company that it is much easier to manipulate the media because the reporters are younger, inexperienced and pressured to produce content quickly. What do you think about this?” I responded very directly. I said that reporters today, whether young or old, more or less experienced, have access to a far richer array of sources. They can…
Postcard from China

4 Nov 2009 | 5:56 am

I have been in Shanghai and Beijing for the past four days. Here are some observations. The Economy—It is clearly stronger than the US and Europe but there are dark clouds on the horizon. The 8.5% GNP growth was the result of large government infrastructure spending (accounting for 7% of the GNP rise) and consumer spending (4% GNP rise) but offset by a drop in exports (3.5% GNP decline). The economy is strong in the tier one urban areas like Bejing and Shanghai. The high end wage earners are doing well, but the rich poor gap is growing. The southern and western regions are really…
Shared Value—The Future of Corporate Philanthropy

27 Oct 2009 | 4:08 pm

I had lunch today with Charles Moore, President of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. It is the tenth anniversary of the CECP, which was founded by the late actor Paul Newman, John Whitehead, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, and real estate magnate Peter Malkin. Today there are 150 members, from GE to Time Warner to GlaxoSmithKline. Moore described the changed mindset of corporate chieftains about corporate philanthropy, namely “companies are merging business strategy with social strategy, with a goal of maximizing profit. The new mantra is Shared Value.” Moore stated that…
Under the Buttonwood Tree

19 Oct 2009 | 2:53 pm

I attended the Economist Magazine’s First Annual Buttonwood Conference on Friday, which offered a perspective on the future of the financial services sector. The event could not have been better timed, given Goldman Sachs’ announcement that it would accrue a record $16.7 billion in bonuses for 2009, while Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis forfeited his 2009 compensation. I was one of the speakers on a panel on Restoring Trust in the Financial System. Here are key points made during the day: 1) Larry Summers, chief economic advisor to President Obama, said that it is not appropriate for…

Bernard Dahl
Sometimes, Social Media Steals From Charitable Causes

I saw this on Facebook : Fight Child Pornography 421,533 Members $136 donated If you do the math, that is an extremely weak donation. Less than a penny per person. And no mention of where the money goes. I mean, it's great that people are against child pornography - I'm just saying that as ...
The biggest mistake when marketing “green” virtues…

Here is a transcript from last month's discussion with my mobile phone service provider, who shall remain nameless. Me: "So... you just stopped sending me invoices by mail?" Them: Exactly, your invoice is available on the Internet, which you chose. Me: Really? -When did I choose this? Them: This was a note on your ...
Jamaican bobsledders are newsworthy, again.

The Winter Olympics are coming to Canada in February. As has been the tradition since 1988, the Jamaican bobsled team will be competing for Gold. That's right, Usain Bolt, your fellow countrymen are going for gold by racing a 4-place cigar made of metal, on ice, at about 120 km/h (about ...
Cheers and Jeers for Microsoft’s Bumpy Windows 7 Campaign

Windows 7 is here folks, as you may have heard. Or seen. Or, perhaps you heard about it from the noise around certain elements of their campaign, which are running into some bumpy terrain. Here are the cheers and jeers of the Windows 7 launch campaign: Cheer: Microsoft reacted quickly to ...
Don’t read your own texts

More specifically, when you write something that will be published or broadcast, have someone else read and review it. If you stare at a text long enough, you no longer see the mistakes or anomalies, as obvious as they may be. (click the picture for a bigger view) This applies to ...

POP! PR Jots
Using Bloggers as Means, Not Ends Unto Themselves

Jeremy

16 Nov 2009 | 2:36 pm

I work in public relations. I have never called myself a social media guru, or anything of that sort, because I have never believed that social media needed to be something special or different. It's a tool in the toolbox and those that are presenting themselves as social media gurus or experts are tools as well - ones that need to be locked into a toolbox and ignored.Good social media is integrated into a marketing, public relations or communications campaign (yes, I ignore advertising as that is paid media, and I include marketing because of the border skirmishes between PR and marketing).
2010 Predictions in Social Media

Jeremy

27 Oct 2009 | 9:36 am

Today, Jennifer Leggio posted a group of people's 2010 social media predictions. She graciously emailed me and asked for my input ... but I was at a loss of what to say (shocker, I know). The PR lesson here is to always jump on requests for information, but at the same time to know what you want to say. I wasn't sure what I wanted to say, as I have a lot to say on the subject.This was hard for me because for the past few years, I have thought that social media was going to disappear and just become part of marketing and communications, that the firms and companies would have finally caught up…
My Suck Up Post to Jeremiah Owyang

Jeremy

27 Aug 2009 | 7:51 am

I expect to see a lot of these posts today - some as suck-ups, some as true congratulatory posts, some just to jump on a meme. It was announced today that Jeremiah (and a couple others) have joined his old colleague, Charlene Li, at Altimeter Group after leaving Forrester.I have known Jeremiah since he organized the Lunch 2.0 at Hitachi (I still have the T-shirt and vandalized my old office with the sticker) and probably before then. I have been lucky enough to get to know him prior to Hitachi, and was happy for him when he made the jump.I've read his blog off and on for the past few years,…
Passing the Buck and Ethics

Jeremy

24 Aug 2009 | 8:30 am

If you've ever met me, and heard me talk about my first boss, you'll hear me wax poetically about how great a boss he is. I think I might have written about his rules before, but it's always good to rehash The Tiger's rules. He told me these one day when I was in his office, and I always remember them (with his explanations).1. Blame up, praise down: what he meant is that he gets paid the big bucks (and I was a lowly AAE), and the buck stops with him. He would take the blame, and he would let the client know that we got the hits. 2. If I work late, you work late: No, not the scene from…
Talib Kweli is Better at Twitter Then You ... and the new Facebook Pages with Twitter!

Jeremy

20 Aug 2009 | 11:23 pm

Talib Kweli - for those that don’t know, a groundbreaking rapper from Brooklyn – is on Twitter. As are many other rappers and DJ’s. Twitter has become the new MySpace, to the point that Twitter (plus Ning) is the big threat to MySpace, not to Facebook (that’s another post – but something to think about).On August 5, on his Twitter account Kweli gave his top ten ways to use Twitter (or Twitter no nos!, as he put it). I have cut and pasted his full list of top ten ways to Twitter from his account (apologies to Kweli, but it was too good not to post for more people to see), and include…