PR Week (US) articles from April 2008

PR Week (US) archives from April 2008

New Al Gore campaign applies ads, media for grassroots effort.(Alliance for Climate Protection)
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON: The Alliance for Climate Protection is teaming with Al Gore on a new effort titled 'We Campaign,' which will use media outreach and advertising to drive initial interest. The dollars 300-million campaign aims to build a grassroots...

Michelin taps H&K for US tire division.
April 7, 2008... GREENVILLE, SC: Michelin chose Hill & Knowlton to oversee its Michelin brand passenger and light truck replacement tire division in the US after a 13-firm review that began in January. Incumbent firm Cohn & Wolfe, which worked on the...

Three firms in Visa IPO.
April 7, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO: Fleishman-Hillard, ICR, and Brunswick Group handled the financial communications for the Visa IPO, the largest in US history. ICR, which has worked with Visa for five years out of Westport, CT, provided technical financial...

Destination DC goes on 'Power Trip' to tout city.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON: Destination DC, formerly known as the Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation, launched a branding effort on April 2 to promote the city's 'hidden' attractions, as well as its famous locales. Burson-Marsteller's DC office...

InfoSpace taps Peppercom to boost brand awareness.
April 7, 2008... BELLEVUE, WA: Technology company InfoSpace has selected Peppercom as its AOR to work on brand awareness and corporate communications. Picked by the company after a multiple-round RFP process, Peppercom's efforts aim to raise awareness of...

News brief: MWW adds MoleSafe to roster.(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ: MWW Group has added MoleSafe to its client roster. MWW will lead a campaign to support MoleSafe's introduction in the US, as well as help increase brand awareness and sales. MoleSafe is a procedure that involves the digital...

News brief: Ingres selects Atomic as AOR.
April 7, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO: Ingres, an open-source database technology company, selected Atomic PR as its global AOR. Atomic will provide strategic consultation, classic PR services in print and broadcast, as well as online media. The firm will also offer...

News brief: Newsweek employees accept buyouts.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK: More than 100 employees at Newsweek have accepted buyouts over the past couple of weeks. CBS News and its local affiliates said they intend to slash jobs, as well. CBS News disclosed that it will cut about 1% of its work force, while...

News brief: Kofax names Westbound AOR.
April 7, 2008... ORANGE, CA: Kofax, a European-based provider of information capture technology, recently named Westbound Communications its AOR. Westbound will provide general PR support, as well as strategic council on branding in both the US and Europe

News brief: Golin-Harris appointed AOR.
April 7, 2008... LOS ANGELES: The JW Marriott Hotel to be built in downtown LA hired Golin-Harris as its AOR for pre- and grand-opening activities. The agency will develop PR strategies to support the property, which will be a highlight of the L.A. LIVE, an...

News brief: Publicis rebrands arm.
April 7, 2008... PARIS: Publicis Groupe rebranded its India and Singapore-based marketing arm from Solutions to Solutions Digitas. The change is a step in the international deployment of the Digitas global network. The unit will be led by Solutions' founders...

News brief: Sharp adds new clients.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK: Sharp Communications added seven new clients for Q1 2008 Among them are: Centris, a market research and information company; North Shore Golf Group; The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and Academics in Motion, a...

News brief: Geary Inter-active acquires Fathom.
April 7, 2008... SAN DIEGO: Geary Inter-active, a full-service digital firm, has acquired Fathom Online, a search engine marketing and technology services company

News brief: Pierce Mattie adds clients.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK: Pierce Mattie PR added three clients. It will lead campaigns from its New York office for CLEAN Perfume, a luxury beauty brand, as well as Elements, an international fitness and lifestyle brand. Skin-care brand Panpuri named the...

News brief: Deveney joins Worldcom.
April 7, 2008... NEW ORLEANS: Deveney Communication joined the Worldcom Public Relations Group, which has about 100 member firms in 133 cities around the world

News brief: Concept Communications AOR.
April 7, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO: UpTake (formerly Kango), a travel search and discovery application, has selected Concept Communications as its AOR

News brief: Correction.(Correction notice)
April 7, 2008... In the March 31 Organizational Profile, the Council for Responsible Nutrition's operating budget is dollars 3.9 million, not dollars 3.9 billion. We regret the error

Shine aims to fill void in women's Web sites.(Website overview)
April 7, 2008... SUNNYVALE, CA: Yahoo launched a new Web site March 31 that targets women between the ages of 25 and 40. The site, Shine (shine.yahoo. com), features original content created by an in-house editorial team, as well as syndicated news and...

NARCA taps WE in new push.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON: The National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA) launched a campaign in March, developed by Waggener Edstrom (WE), to show that members act responsibly in their efforts to collect debt. Research prior to the...

McAfee promotes 'spam' diet.
April 7, 2008... SANTA CLARA, CA: McAfee launched a global '30-day spam diet' campaign on March 31 to point out the possible dangers of responding to spam e-mail. The effort, dubbed the Global S.P.A.M. (Spammed Persistently All Month) Experiment follows 50...

Launch Pad: The Houston Astros go 'earth friendly' at its home stadium.
April 7, 2008... Objective: The Astros Play Green campaign aims to draw awareness to environmental initiatives and earth-friendly efforts in the Astros' hometown of Houston, specifically at the ballpark. The Astros' marketing department created the campaign,...

News Analysis: Juicy Campus causes a stir with students.
April 7, 2008... At 60-plus colleges, and growing, administrators try to figure out how to handle the gossip site. As the college gossip Web site Juicy Campus continues to stir up controversy, university administrators find they can only do so much to curb...

Analysis: Newsmaker - Williams gets creative with in-flight 'Pink' bash.(Air New Zealand Ltd.)
April 7, 2008... Most adults hate the airport. Even if they're excited about a vacation, getting there is often tedious. But for a night, Air New Zealand tried to change that on its 'Pink Flight' from San Francisco to Sydney in celebration of the Sydney Gay and...

Companies: Organizational Profile - TechnoServe rebrands, clarifies identity.(Google Inc.)
April 7, 2008... After 40 years of work with global poverty, the nonprofit attempts to reach a new audience. When TechnoServe received close to dollars 50 million in donations from Google.org and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), executives at...

Companies: The Agency Business - Healthcare brings stability for Bay Area firms.
April 7, 2008... The Bay Area has long been synonymous with tech in the PR industry. But since the devastating tech crash in 2002, many firms have diversified to include healthcare - especially biotech. But with more economic uncertainty on the rise, healthcare...

Editorial: Efforts must focus more on action than celebrities.(Editorial)
April 7, 2008... Al Gore's dollars 300-million climate change push has been sometimes called an ad campaign. Yet, if this initiative - considered one of the biggest public-advocacy campaigns ever - wants a multi-million-dollar fundraiser, it should go beyond a...

Opinion: Op-Ed - Accountability is key in recessions.(United States. Federal Reserve Board)
April 7, 2008... Over the past several months, headlines all over the world have alerted us to the recessionary fallout from the sub-prime, liquidity, and credit crises; and the housing bubble. Many believe that all of the above created a perfect storm that the...

Opinion: Op-Ed - Social media is crucial for an agency.
April 7, 2008... I spent much of the summer and fall of 2007 assembling my first electronic book on social-media strategy, There Is No Secret Sauce. I wrote the book because while there are thousands of brands that can afford to work with agencies like mine to...

Opinion: Shine is an extension of print magazines, not the downfall.
April 7, 2008... Yahoo's recent launch of Shine, a women-focused media portal, is bound to make some magazine publishers nervous. Billing itself as a place that 'features the best writers and bloggers in women's publishing,' as well as a form of social...

Opinion: Apologies simply won't cut it when promises aren't kept.
April 7, 2008... The old aphorism - 'Under-promise, over-deliver' - remains timely. But it's never been so relevant as it is now during an age when systems of all kinds are growing ever-more complex. Witness a classic bad-PR event that has been on the front...

Opinion: Fact File - McDonald's makes a play for global youth with new game.
April 7, 2008... IN THE NEWS McDonald's on March 14 kicked off its media launch for alternate-reality Olympic-themed game, The Lost Ring (TLR), but the game was already in progress, with the company's involvement downplayed. Combining offline and online...

Media: Analysis - Online mags increase videos, readership.
April 7, 2008... While it's no surprise that online magazines are trying to provide fresh content to readers, many publications - most of which are traditionally text-based - are increasingly employing video to escalate readership. When launching a...

Media: Journalist Q&A - Scott Hensley, Wall Street Journal.
April 7, 2008... Name: Scott Hensley Title: News editor, health and science Outlet: Wall Street Journal health blog Preferred contact method: healthblog@wsj.com Web site: blogs.wsj.com/health/ PRWeek: How has your coverage changed to meet public...

Media Research: Online Hispanic opinion-makers.
April 7, 2008... Conducted by: Burson-Marsteller Sample: 1,013 Hispanic-American adults (late 2007) Goal: To determine the comms behaviors of Hispanic-Americans online KEY FINDINGS: 6.0 hours per week influential Hispanics spend reading news...

Media Roundup: Spanish outlets grow amidst downturn.
April 7, 2008... The contrast couldn't be more startling. Amid a flood of stories about the struggles of newspapers - including a recent feature in The New Yorker containing a prediction that 2043 will be the year print newspapers finally die in the US - comes...

Media: Critical Hit - 'Times' story helps Maca product.
April 7, 2008... - Who is your client and what are its media goals? Dean Draznin: Enzymatic Therapy is a Green Bay, WI-based manufacturer of dietary supplements and natural medicines. Distribution ranges from health-food stores to Wal-Mart, (so) they wanted...

Media Ups and Downs.
April 7, 2008... - Former New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse finds a new job: Journalist-in-residence at the Yale Law School - Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton says that The Wall Street Journal's increased attention to national and political news doesn't mean...

Media: Inside Information - RSS feeds provide a broader base to pitch story ideas.(rich site summary)
April 7, 2008... Although reporters and editors commonly rely on newswire Web sites as a primary source of story ideas, many are also turning to feed or news aggregators, such as Google Reader, to create custom information sources. Therefore, many...

Cover Story: Global accents.
April 7, 2008... Lenovo's global communications team works together to create a worldwide brand identity through focused messaging. The sun never sets on the global communications team of PC maker Lenovo Group Limited. The company has no headquarters, but...

Regional Focus: South Africa - Gateway to a continent.
April 7, 2008... Although the PR industry isn't entirely new to South Africa, the market still has room for further development. Marc Longpre reports. When considering South Africa's emerging communications industry, it's important to keep in mind just how...

PR Technique: Traditional avenues still impact teens.
April 7, 2008... Teens always seem to be online, but many offline options exist to reach this audience. The amount of time US teens spend online, whether on the Internet, mobile phones, or on video-game systems, might lead one to assume that is the only...

Campaign: Cool Globes takes artistic view.
April 7, 2008... COOL GLOBES PR Team: Cool Globes, Jasculca/Terman and Associates (both Chicago) Campaign: Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet Duration: June 1 - ongoing Budget: dollars 145,000 'We found a gap between what scientists were...

Campaign: Sergeant's Pet Care starts a riot with flea medication.
April 7, 2008... SERGEANT'S PET CARE PR Team: Sergeant's Pet Care Products and Swanson Russell Associates (both Omaha, NE) Campaign: Sergeant's Gold and Tick Squeeze-On for Dogs Duration: January-May 2007 Budget: dollars 108,443 Sergeant's was...

Campaign: Embassy lets consumers help keep rooms 'private'.(Emanate PR)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... EMBASSY SUITES PR Team: Embassy Suites Hotels (Memphis, TN), Emanate PR (NY) Campaign: Embassy Suites Hotels Do Not Disturb Contest Duration: September-December 2007 Budget: dollars 20,000 STRATEGY The PR team focused on...

PR Toolbox: Improving research efficiency, mat release placement, more.
April 7, 2008... Coverage research With a growing client list, we are finding that our staff members are spending more time researching coverage opportunities. How can we reduce time spent on this activity? Successful pitching requires knowledge of...

Careers: Expert Advice - Steve Seeman, VP, Makovsky & Company.
April 7, 2008... When I interview for a position, how can I determine if it will be a good fit for me?. A: When searching for a job, there are two important questions to ask yourself: Is the firm's corporate culture right for me? And will the client work...

Careers: People Moves - Edelman.(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK: Katie Levinson, former communications director and chief spokeswoman for the Rudy Giuliani Presidential campaign, has joined Edelman as SVP and political director for its New York public affairs practice. Levinson previously worked as...

Careers: People Moves - Northwestern Mutual.
April 7, 2008... MILWAUKEE, WI: Northwestern Mutual hired Kimberley Crews Goode as VP of communications, effective March 31. Goode's previous positions include Kellogg VP of worldwide communications, Prudential Financial VP of global communications, American...

Careers: People Moves - Brunswick Group.(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK: Michael France has joined Brunswick Group as partner, effective May 1. France will oversee corporate reputation work Previously, France worked for 12 years at Business-Week. He most recently served as its senior editor of corporate...

Careers: People Moves - General Motors.
April 7, 2008... SOMERS, NY: General Motors has promoted Travis Parman to Northeast communications manager, effective April 1. Parman will handle media relations for the Washington, DC, to New England area. He replaced PR manager Kathleen Hamilton, who left the...

Careers: People Moves - Westbound Communications.(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... ORANGE, CA: Westbound Communications hired Rick Milten-berger as SVP for its Orange, CA, office. He will focus on expanding the agency's technology, healthcare, and business-to-business practice areas. Prior to joining Westbound, Miltenberger...

Careers: People Moves - FD.(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK: FD appointed Thor Valdmanis as SVP of the firm's special situations group, which handles crisis communications. He will report to Doug Donsky, MD and head of the firm's financial services and special situations groups in the US....

Careers: People Moves - Weber Shandwick.
April 7, 2008... BLOOMINGTON, MN: Weber Shandwick promoted Aaron Pearson to SVP of its technology practice in the Minneapolis-St. Paul office. Pearson specializes in developing trade media relations, analyst relations, and vertical market programs, primarily...

Careers: People Moves - The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON, DC: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a dietary supplement trade association, has promoted Judy Blatman to SVP of communications. She will develop and lead communications initiatives Blatman, who has worked for CRN since...

Careers: People Moves - W2.
April 7, 2008... WALTHAM, MA: W2 Group hired Rich Blewitt as a senior advisor Blewitt will focus on supporting the growth of Racepoint Group's World 2.0 global reputation practice to establish on- and off-line dialogues and communities to promote agendas....

Careers: Feast your eyes on this.(Old Homestead Steak House)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... How many people ordered Serendipity's dollars 1,000 sundae? It doesn't matter because news of the dessert swept the media. Old Homestead Steak House is following a similar, but more affordable model with its new dollars 81 burger. It hopes to...

USDA spurs firms to use food pyramid in promos.
April 21, 2008... WASHINGTON: The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) is launching a new campaign to encourage its partners to use its iconic food pyramid for their own promotional work. The campaign,...

Blockbuster courts press.
April 21, 2008... DALLAS: Blockbuster reached out directly to media after making its public offer to acquire Circuit City at dollars 6 per share in cash. The company invited reporters to speak with CEO Jim Keyes about the offer after issuing an early morning...

Mass cancellations prompt direct outreach from AA.
April 21, 2008... FORT WORTH, TX: American Airlines (AA) said it focused on direct engagement with passengers after cancelling 3,079 flights in four days due to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) request for more inspections. The company enlisted its...

Adecco employs MWW for million-dollar account.
April 21, 2008... EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ: Adecco Group North America, the Fortune 500 staffing and HR service provider, selected MWW Group as AOR. The one-year contract is worth more than dollars 1 million. Adecco, which has more than 7,000 offices worldwide,...

PA State Dept. boosts voter education efforts.(Pennsylvania. Department of State)
April 21, 2008... LANCASTER, PA: Pennsylvania's Department of State used the long run-up to the closely watched primary on Tuesday, April 22, to build buzz for its voter-education push that targets minority communities, first-time voters, and older voters. ...

Washington Group trial due to go into mediation.(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... WASHINGTON: A lawsuit filed last fall by Ketchum-owned lobbying firm The Washington Group against a former SVP for allegedly stealing clients is due to go into mediation May 1. The Washington Group, which seeks more than half a million...

Electrolux hires Weber Shandwick.(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... NEW YORK: Electrolux hired Weber Shandwick to promote its new North American-exclusive kitchen line as part of a comprehensive Web, print, and broadcast campaign. WS' integrated PR campaign for the Swedish appliance manufacturer will focus on...

Job losses at MGM Mirage.
April 21, 2008... LAS VEGAS: MGM Mirage cut 440 jobs this week in a cost-saving move, and PRWeek has learned that includes three positions from the internal PR team. The company has also placed two external PR agencies on hiatus, though Jenn Michaels, VP of PR...

Brunswick Group serves as media contact.
April 21, 2008... NEW YORK: The Brunswick Group is serving as media contact for Delta Air Lines during its acquisition of Northwest Airlines. On the Delta microsite with information about the merger, Cindy Leggett-Flynn, a partner with the firm, and Steve Lipin,...

Jack Horner AOR for Parata Systems.
April 21, 2008... PHILADELPHIA: Parata Systems, a tech company for the retail and institutional pharmaceutical industries, reported April 7 that it selected Jack Horner Communications as its AOR. The firm will roll out a national campaign promoting technology's...

Waggener Edstrom AOR for Yankee Group.(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... BOSTON: Yankee Group, a technology research and consulting firm, selected Waggener Edstrom as AOR for an undisclosed account budget. An RFP was issued in January. WE began work on the account in March and is handling media outreach, focusing on...

Allen & Caron IR for AR Growth Finance.
April 21, 2008... MIAMI: AR Growth Finance, a diversified financial services company, selected Allen & Caron for IR and corporate communications work

Healthy Interactions hires Stanton Crenshow Communications.
April 21, 2008... NEW YORK: Healthy Interactions, a Chicago-based health-education company, has hired Stanton Crenshaw Communications to handle media relations, corporate branding, and partnership development, effective immediately. Stanton will promote the...

Kent State University selects Sweeney.
April 21, 2008... CLEVELAND: Kent State University selected Sweeney to handle national publicity and media relations for the office of its president The account's budget was not disclosed, but Sweeney president Jim Sweeney said the account would run through the...

Lestelle Communications opens in New Orleans.
April 21, 2008... NEW ORLEANS: Jim Lestelle, who previously managed public affairs and corporate reputation matters for Capital One, opened Lestelle Communications in New Orleans to serve businesses in the Gulf South area

New client for Devaney & Associates.
April 21, 2008... BALTIMORE: Devaney & Associates announced the addition of The Shafer Center to its client roster. The agency will use a variety of tactical strategies to promote the center's approach for helping children with autism spectrum disorders

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 21, 2008... CORRECTION: In last issue's People Moves, we mistakenly claimed that Dell hired Lynne Skinner for a role in the Da Vinci organization; it was, in fact, WPP that hired Skinner. She has since left Da Vinci. We regret the error

Airstream taps JMPR, aims for younger crowd.
April 21, 2008... WOODLAND HILLS, CA: Airstream, a manufacturer of luxury travel trailers, hired JMPR as its new AOR to assist with its rebranding. The firm will help Airstream target a younger demographic of active families and professionals in their early 40s....

Tool emerges to aid reporters.
April 21, 2008... NEW YORK: Geek Factory CEO Peter Shankman launched If I Can Help a Reporter Out (HARO), a new reference tool for reporters that connects them to PR pros. The free service uses an e-mail list and Web site www.helpareporter.com to notify PR...

McDonald's teams with 'Idol'.
April 21, 2008... CHICAGO: McDonald's kicked off its American Idol Happy Meal toy campaign on April 11 with the help of AOR GolinHarris. The fast-food giant and Golin will use traditional media outreach, through print, online, and broadcast channels, to...

Launch Pad: Bahamas Weather Conference looks to wash away storm fears.(Bahamas. Ministry of Tourism)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... Company: The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism Campaign: Bahamas Weather Conference PR Team: Weber Shandwick Launch: April 9 Budget: Undisclosed 'To report accurately on hurricanes around the country, you need to develop an...

PR Play of the Week: Skyy seizes opportunity to toast US.
April 21, 2008... Caramba! A rare advertising blunder by Absolut, which perhaps has garnered more praise for its iconic marketing than its vodka, has opened the door for a cheeky Skyy campaign. Absolut's ad intended for customers in Mexico floated North,...

Corporate PR execs see new media as weak link.
April 21, 2008... NEW YORK: Corporate communications executives are confident about the strength of their organization's core values, but still see obstacles in employing new media, according to a recent survey conducted by the Arthur W. Page Society and the...

News Analysis: Burson clients unaffected by Penn articles.(Burson-Marsteller)
April 21, 2008... Despite a slew of recent headlines about the CEO, many clients say they've hardly noticed. Although the Penn-Clinton-Colombia triangle snagged headlines and prompted a rash of frenzied political blogging two weeks ago, some clients of...

Newsmaker: Beck brings balance to US comms efforts in Iraq.
April 21, 2008... Handling a crisis is part of any PR pro's job. For Vic Beck, a captain in the US Navy reserves who is finishing a nearly year-long tour as head of media operations in Baghdad for the Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I), crises are a 24-7...

Companies: Corporate Profile - HRworks casts a wider net in outreach.(Company overview)
April 21, 2008... The recruitment agency is using current events, CSR, and more to raise awareness of its offerings. HRworks has built its business over the past decade by developing a recruitment strategy that is more than just headhunting for one-off job...

Companies: The Agency Business - Studying target audience helps in digital media.
April 21, 2008... While the growing new-media world has the benefit of providing PR pros with numerous tools to help spread their client's messages, agency digital practices are finding that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Through his work with a...

Editorial: Authenticity will shine in a sea of green buzz.(Editorial)
April 21, 2008... Countless PR pros and corporations used this year's Earth Day as a launch pad for green campaigns, but not all will succeed. As consumers are bombarded with more green messages, they are becoming wearier - and more critical - of what those...