PR Opinions

PR Opinions (http://www.natterjackpr.com)

2004-02-26T00:41:00.000-08:00

This is the old site for PR Opinions and is not updated. You can find PR Opinions at http://www.natterjackpr.com. Thanks Tom

2004-02-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

For most PR people, media relations remains an important part of the job. Getting a client in front of an influential editor still gets the blood pressure rising. But what about when the tables are turned?What about journalists who want to try and land an interview with a big fish?Tom Mangan points to a story in MediaBistro that gives advice on how a "no-name" journalist can get an interview

2004-02-05T05:29:00.000-08:00

It's said that Steve Jobs has a "reality distortion field" around him. In effect, when you're in his presence, his ideas seem to make perfect sense and you ignore any plausible issues regarding the potential success of said ideas. I know a few people with a similar skill. When you listen to them, the only thing that stops you from agreeing that a bridge from South Africa to Brazil is a

2004-02-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

MarketingSherpa has released its Annual free e-book, "Marketing Wisdom" which includes 99 tips and stories from Marketers including PR Pros.It's a free download."In today's highly competitive PR environment, cutting to the chase seems to be the rule of thumb for our small company. No longer do media outlets, at least on our level, get gift baskets or trinkets. They get hard news about our

2004-02-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to discover a new PR blog, "Luna Cafe" which will address: "Thoughts on P.R., Entertainment, Fashion, Travel, and Life".The blog is being run by Lisa Torch at DFMPR.

2004-02-02T02:55:00.000-08:00

I have spent a lot of time today clearing out my Qurb folder of Spam. Nothing new there. It's the same every morning.I probably get around 400 spam messages overnight, every night.With that volume of spam, I have to rely on the subject line to decide whether to hit the delete button or not. E-mails that have blank subjects or have subjects such as "Hi", "Hello", "Information for you" etc. are

2004-02-02T02:40:00.000-08:00

According to the Senate Office of Public Records there were over 25,000 lobbyists in 2003 up from 21,000 the year before.The Washington Post takes a look at how the lobbying business is growing and why its presence, in such large numbers, in Washington D.C. makes it the PR capital of the United States....

2004-02-02T02:34:00.000-08:00

An internal memo from the head of public affairs and marketing for the Health Insurance Commission in Australia has told staff to ensure they are not seen or photographed cutting a cake with the health organization's logo on it, to avoid potential captions such as: "Putting the knife into medicare".The memo reads: "If you are organising an event for a local member, please ensure that he/she does

2004-02-02T02:29:00.000-08:00

One of the more popular PR stories doing the rounds in the past few days has been the launch of a PR campaign in Minneapolis to curb (ahem) public urination. I am not taking the p... OK I'll avoid the obvious."Among the poster slogans they are considering is "Go before you go," aimed at tavern customers who relieve themselves in public."Thanks to Trevor Cook.

2004-02-01T14:02:00.002-08:00

Jim Horton is the keeper of that most excellent of online PR link resources Online-PR. Jim is also writes one of the most honest and interesting of daily PR blogs. Jim has been "blogging" for quite some time using HTML pages which makes it hard to link or navigate previous posts. He has finally made the step to full-blown blogging software and his blog can now be found at: http://

2004-02-01T14:02:00.001-08:00

Dogbert nicely sums up our discussion earlier this week on the empty promises sometimes offered in the quest for new PR accounts....

2004-02-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

Mediamap's latest issue of its ExpertPR newsletter has been out for quite a while and I forgot to link to it. Lots of articles including hiring consultants and web-based meetings. According to a recent survey of e-mail marketers the top three challenges facing the profession are:1) Spam and e-mail filters2) Inbox Clutter3) Development (or not) or qualified e-mail lists.Read more... An

PR OPINIONS HAS MOVED!!! PLEASE VISIT http://www.natterjackpr.com

2003-01-31T02:59:00.000-08:00

After a couple of evenings spent feverishly working on PR Opinions, I have moved the blog to http://www.natterjackpr.com. Please update your bookmarks! There won't be anymore additions to http://tmurphy.blogspot.com, though I will leave it here. I have also managed to migrate all the archives to the new site. Thanks Tom

The beatings will continue until...

2003-01-30T01:26:00.000-08:00

The media landscape continues to be ravaged with more and more layoffs. But you know things have really got out of hand when an entire editorial team puts itself up for sale on eBay. Although the eBay entry now says "Complete former staff of Z---- T--- U-----" following some obvious legal wranglings, it originally said the "Complete staff of ZDNet Tech Update". The offer includes staff on the

Public Relations news round up...

2003-01-29T00:47:00.000-08:00

THE AUTHOR OF "THE DEATH OF SPIN", George Pitcher has an article on Corner Bar PR discussing how good public relations can't substitute good business practice. PR WEEK HAS AN INTERESTING story on the current health of technology trade shows. BURSON-MARSTELLER HAS BEEN appointed as the agency of record for Stellar Internet Monitoring - whose products monitor the "misuse" of a firm's Internet

Two clients for the price of two clients....

2003-01-29T00:13:00.000-08:00

Can anyone spot the similarities between two Public Relations announcements (1, 2) made for two clients by the same PR firm? I'll grant you there are some differences. :-)

Do you use that phone for Public Relations?

2003-01-29T00:03:00.000-08:00

A colleague yesterday pointed out that weblogs will never become mainstream until people forget about how they work and what they offer and just use them. His analogy was the telephone and I thought he's absolutely right. However, given that weblogs have barely leaked outside the global community of technology enthusiasts we probably still have some way to go. Last week during a course I was

Barging in...

2003-01-28T01:07:00.000-08:00

The New York Post stopped an article by Manhattan-based PR Jeff Barge in which Barge accused his industry of being in the "deception business". The Post says they dropped the story becuase it was too "self-promotional". Thanks to Deborah Branscum for the link.

PowerPoint...Death by any other name

2003-01-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Karlin Lillington has an interesting entry today on the evils of PowerPoint and references John Naughton's recent piece in the UK Observer. We've been trying to avoid what we call here "Death by PowerPoint" for some time. There are pros and cons from a communication perspective. The conversation is by it's nature more natural and engaging without slides, however because people are so

XPRL appoints new chairperson to guide Public Relations standards...

2003-01-27T12:47:00.000-08:00

XPRL.org the organization established to propose a common XML standard for the Public Relations profession has appointed a new chairperson, Alison Clark. Alison, based in the UK, is a self-employed public relations consultant who previously held a variety of roles with Edelman, Wessex Water and Shandwick. For anyone not aware of XPRL.org I recommend a visit to their website. It promises a new

Easier isn't necessarily better... the Public Relations lesson

2003-01-27T01:39:00.000-08:00

As we all know just because something is easier it doesn't necessarily follow that it's better. For example. It's certainly easier to watch a football game on TV, it's cheaper, the toilets are close-by, you have the benefit of expert opinion and have the best views of the action. But you know it's still far superior to experience the atmosphere youself, to be in the stadium. The same can be

How are you coping with the growth in content?

2003-01-24T01:50:00.000-08:00

The Internet has spawned the largest content creation boom in the history of personkind. This explosion of news and views among professional journalists and consumers has serious implications for practitioners whose job it is to monitor public opinion as well as monitoring what's being written and debated in the public domain. Given that search engines only index around 40% of Internet content

United States and Europe diverge on trust...

2003-01-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

In a survey of over 850 "opinion leaders" in the United States and Europe, Edelman found that there are significant differences in corporate trust between the continents. The survey found that while trust in corporations had fallen in Europe, it had risen in the United States. This seems a very strange finding to me :-) Trust in the US government is slipping however and remains very low in

PR news from around the Internet...

2003-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

THE FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS has conducted a study of 115 major US companies and found that ninety eight percent of CEOs took part in some political activity in the last year. A particularly alarming finding was that over twenty five percent of the companies surveyed had no crisis management team in place! Read more here. IN OTHER NEWS, OVER NINETEEN Public Relations organizations (yep

You can't hide behind Public Relations..

2003-01-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

There's a story on the UK-based HR Gateway website about how PR can't hide poor HR practice. The story is in advance of a free e-book being offered by Nicola Hunt on "Communications & HR" which is being released on February 3rd.

More glory for Public Relations

2003-01-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

Following on from the story I posted about PR men slipping money to politicians in return for favors, a "PR" consultant (the BBC's description not mine) has been found guilty of insider trading in the UK. The consultant, Tim Blackstone, has enjoyed a number of "customer service" positions during his career as a former journalist with the UK Sunday Times and a porn actor. According to the BBC

Analyst Consolidation Continues

2003-01-22T00:20:00.000-08:00

Last year the Hurwitz Group closed it's doors, the highest profile casualty in the technology research business. Today news reaches us that Forrester Research has purchased Giga Group. More detail at Computerworld.

PR Round-up

2003-01-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

Reed Bolton Byrum has been appointed as the 2003 President and CEO of the PRSA. Byrum is an "independent strategic communications consultant" for Trilogy and other technology companies. PRSA's publication PR Tactics has an interview with Byrum...... A debate between PR people and the media in Dubai got a little heated last week. Young and Rubicam has closed it's PR subsidiary in Australia

Ketchum delivers outlook for 2003

2003-01-20T02:58:00.000-08:00

I just received the latest installment of Ketchum's "Perspectives" newsletter. Some interesting opinions in there. A roundtable on what's coming up for communications came up with the following areas: - On the legal front, the worldwide ripple effect of corporate scandals and the election of Republican majorities in both houses of Congress explain the fresh interest in litigation and proposed

A personal review of marketing in 2002..

2003-01-20T02:48:00.000-08:00

Anne Holland who looks after the SherpaBlog has released "Marketing Inspiration for 2003" which includes insight from over 600 marketing professionals on the lessons they learned during 2002. It includes a section on PR and more general marketing areas.

How are your professional morals?

2003-01-20T02:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome to a new week. To kick off, here's a professional dilemma. You work in an agency, you have a long standing client, very run-of-the-mill, a relatively small business but profitable business. They've been a happy client for a long time - and you're happy to have them as a client. However, one day all hell breaks loose. The owners are arrested on child pornography charges. As their

Poor economy still a concern, but PR still the most effective

2003-01-17T02:35:00.000-08:00

This is according to the Patrick Marketing Group's study on Marketers' Outlook for 2003. Based on responses from 400 marketers across a wide range of industries during December, the study finds that: 1) Generating leads is the #1 priority for Marketing in 2003 2) The biggest trend affecting Marketing is lower budgets (closely followed by Internet Marketing) 3) The major Marketing-related

Media Update - Inc. Magazine

2003-01-17T02:28:00.000-08:00

MarketingSherpa interviews the new Editor-in-Chief at Inc Magazine John Koten who has some interesting views on what makes a good press room and some tips on pitching stories to Inc.

The upside of the downturn

2003-01-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

Some firms are getting a benefit from the downturn. According to the Denver Business Journal, the harsh economic climate has forced local companies to move their PR and Advertising accounts from firms in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York to local firms who can provide better value and better service through proximity. "People no longer have as much time as they had before because they have

The brown bag PR men

2003-01-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a bad couple of months for political PR people caught giving and taking bribes. In Bridgeport Connecticut, Leonard Grimaldi, a public relations consultant testified that he has provided Mayor Jospeh P. Ganim with "cash, fine wines, expensive clothing, meals at upscale restaurants, massages and fitness equipment" and in return Ganim would push contracts to Gimaldi's clients. Meanwhile

Blogs ain't what they use to (pretend to) be.

2003-01-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

Brendan O'Neill has an excellent piece on Spiked about how blogs are not going to change the face of journalism. It's a well written piece and makes very valid points. I don't believe that blogs will change the entire media business, they are rather another piece of the jig-saw - not the whole picture.... Blogs are another line in our to-do lists...so to speak. Having said that, certain

Some light reading material

2003-01-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Richard Bailey for the link to an interesting article in the Financial Times about how journalists have got on after jumping ship to the world of PR... of course it hasn't all been plain sailing... Phil Gomes is back among us... The Inlumient weblog has a link to a Publicity Primer

The old Internet

2003-01-14T00:09:00.000-08:00

It's clear that the Internet is maturing (thank God). In the aftermath of the hyped dot.bomb 'entrepreneurs' and their over the top visions of a world where no one gets dressed, but instead just surfs from their bedroom we have a global infrastructure which is currently connecting over 500 million users. Now it's all settled down, how is the Internet affecting journalism? Well just as radio

Mediamap.. credit where it's due

2003-01-10T05:35:00.000-08:00

We all know that there is very little free PR-related content on the Web (yes I know I'm cheap) as many of the best sources have moved to a subscription model - and good luck to them. So it's great to find a regular rich source of PR opinions (sic). Mediamap the online media database firm, through their ExpertPR site consistently publish well-written PR opinions pieces every month. And this

So, are you in it for the money?

2003-01-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

Research from Grady College at the University of Georgia suggests that the common assumption that PR people are better paid than their media brethern may be misplaced. Their study looks at what graduates are doing, how happy they are with their career choice and also graphs the salaries of 2001 graduates across PR, Television, daily newspapers, magazines etc. Warning: If like me you remember

PR Opinions RSS Feeds

2003-01-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

A growing number of people are using RSS readers to read weblogs. In effect the reader brings the latest stories from any weblog you subscribe to into an e-mail type application where you can read them without having to browse from site to site! PR Opinions has had a RSS feed for a couple of weeks and it has been working nicely. If you'd like to subscribe to the feed, point your newsreader at:

HP Finalizes Global PR...

2003-01-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

Technology Marketing has a story today on HP's final choice for their global PR roster. Following IBM's moves last year, HP have chosen three agencies to run their PR campaigns globally. The lucky three are Burson-Marsteller (Enterprise Systems Group and HP Services), Hill & Knowlton (Personal Systems Group), and Porter Novelli (Imaging and Printing Group).

Web Site Study - Top UK firms....

2003-01-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

Richard Bailey points to a new study from the Interactive Bureau London on the effectiveness of web sites of the top 100 public companies on the UK stock exchange. The study found that while overall the web sites had improved over last year, twenty percent of the companies didn't explain what they do on their front page and listen to this, nearly FIFTY percent do not identify a section on their

Crystal balls and keeping an eye on your security...

2003-01-06T08:27:00.000-08:00

PR Week has an interesting lead this week on what's in store for 2003 - predictions from some industry luminaries. Challenges for 2003 include better understanding clients' pain, ethics and accountability, getting clients to pay for value, diversity, shrinking budgets, managing public scrutiny, working with alternative media, demonstrating PR's deliverables, demonstrating value, 'relevant' media

The weblog bounce...

2003-01-03T02:10:00.000-08:00

Rafat Ali has a very interesting article on why 2003 might end up being the year Weblogs get bought up. He suggests that rather than even being bought, a small number of very very popular webloggers might be taken on as salaried employees of some of the larger publishing houses. He also suggests some possible link-ups in the piece. If you aren't already looking at weblogs that are relevant to

The Confessional... 2003 style

2003-01-03T01:58:00.000-08:00

This morning I was reading Dave Winer's Scripting News as I do most mornings, and he had a post on an opinion article written in the New York Times by James Ledbetter. Ledbetter is the business editor of Time Europe but is better known as the editor of the Industry Standard, a now defunct magazine that covered (and promoted) the New Economy. Dave's post recommends we read Ledbetter's piece "to

2002.. that was the year that was

2002-12-31T02:07:00.000-08:00

On the eve of another year, it's always interesting to look back on the past twelve months and to try and build a picture of what's happened and what's coming next. 2002 on the whole was another tough year for the PR business. But while many agencies cut numbers and even closed their doors there was some good news. In particular some research pointed to better days ahead but these were soon

Christmas Time

2002-12-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Well postings will be a little sparse during the Holiday period. So let me take this moment to wish you all Merry Christmas (or your own alternative!). To finish off for the moment, PR Week have a review of 2002, and their look back at the year makes depressing reading! Enron and Worldcom destroying corporate reputations, Agencies baring the brunt of a slowing economy with widespread lay-offs

How to damage your reputation

2002-12-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

Nestle has a long and proud history of regularly shooting itself in the foot. It's most virulent opponents have seized Nestle's attempts to aggressively market infant food in the third world and turned it into a global lobby. There are many strategies for dealing with Non-Govermental Organizations (NGOs) but I don't think making ridiculous financial claims on disadvantaged countries would be

And the publication that influences the most publications is...

2002-12-23T05:52:00.000-08:00

Maxim? According to a survey carried out by Media Life Magazine, over 50% of respondents picked Maxim as the magazine that has the greatest influence on other publications. US Weekly came in second with 21% of the poll. Unsurprisingly, Martha Stewart was chosen as Media Villan of the Year with 56% of the vote.

Some end of year blog stuff

2002-12-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

Season's Greetings. Although PR Opinions is *not* a blog about blogs, there is some interesting stuff on blogging in general which I've found over the past couple of days. I simply post it for your perusal! The Washington Post has a piece on Blogging Going Mainstream. It references a recent article in the UK Independent that asks if the current popularity in blogging has anything to do with

A time of planning....

2002-12-19T00:52:00.000-08:00

We've come to that time of the year again when the planning process rears its ugly head. Planning is indeed a challenging “science”. So here’s a welcome distraction. For the more technical amongst us, you may have noticed recently the formal death of IBM’s PC operating system OS/2. OS/2 was once touted by IBM and industry pundits as the product that would take the wind out of Microsoft’s

Approaching the end of the year

2002-12-18T05:30:00.000-08:00

As we begin to wind up yet another year. It's always a good time to evaluate progress and look forward. In this spirit, Euro RSCG Worldwide [Flash Alert! Flash Alert!] have cleverly published their "Top Trends for 2003" which is a very interesting look at some possible trends that will affect marketers over the coming year(s). (Thanks to Richard Bailey for the link) On a related note, the

Understanding the audience...

2002-12-18T05:13:00.000-08:00

Your mission (as a PR professional) should you wish to accept it, is to understand how, why and when your audience(s) find information and use information. We seem to be in a temporary lull in terms of understanding how online and offline come together. During the dotcom boom we all drank the Kool Aid, the Internet was taking over, we'd be working, communicating, socializing and shopping online

Are Blogs Coming of Age?

2002-12-17T00:46:00.000-08:00

November 1995 was the month that the Internet became more than just an online library for PR professionals everywhere. It was the month that Intel's Pentium flaw became a mainstream news item thanks to newsgroups on the Internet. The story wasn't news in the technology community where EETimes, having found out about the flaw in the newsgroups, had already ran, according to Howard High at Intel

What the (UK) Financial Press want

2002-12-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

MORI (Market & Opinion Research International) the UK's "largest independently-owned market research company" (Ref: www.mori.com) interviewed UK financial and business journalists during the Summer of 2002 and found that the top ten sources of information (in order of preference) are: 1) Telephone conversations with company executives (not PR) 2) Company Public Relations Personnel 3) Personnel

Crushing your own rumor mill

2002-12-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

There's no question that rumors present a quandry. Rumors can be very damaging to your reputation and your business. But what if the rumor is positive? What if it's creating buzz and anticipation around future product launches long before you're prepared to talk about them. What if these rumors come from people who are truly committed to your company and your products? Should you strong arm

More on the Blog

2002-12-12T03:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks to PR firm G2B Group, their newsletter had an interesting link to an interview on Cyberjournalist.net with Jimmy Guterman on the demise of Media Unspun and also on Blogs. According to Technology Marketing, Guterman is now looking after a new weekly online column called "Media Notes" over at Business 2.0 At the Supernova conference, Dan Gillmor gave a talk on Journalism 3.1 that covered

Dilbert on journalism...

2002-12-12T02:34:00.000-08:00

Scott Adams casts his sharp eye on journalism...

The Buzz around Buzz

2002-12-11T01:34:00.000-08:00

The term “Buzz” has been around since the first bloom of the dot com bubble. Buzz is simply a cooler term for that old favourite “Word of Mouth” – an idea what has been around for decades. And let’s be honest there’s very little difference. What is different is that the Internet potentially creates a perfect environment for powerful Buzz or Word of Mouth 2.0 (WOM 2) if you prefer. But let’s

The glamourous profession

2002-12-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

Back in September I mentioned a fantastic feature that appeared in New Yorker magazine about the world of Hollywood PR. Unfortunately the New Yorker doesn't publish features online but the UK Observer yesterday re-printed the feature and it's now online. Do youself a favor and have a read!

Satisfying your editorial hunger...

2002-12-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

PR news is getting harder to find online. Last week, the excellent O'Dwyer's announced it was following the example of The PR Network (tempremental site) by adopting a subscription (albeit for a small sum) based service. Its decision has removed one of the best (free) places on the Internet to find out what's going on in the PR business. PR Week does publish one in-depth story online a week (

A little off topic..

2002-12-09T05:08:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I conservatively estimate that probably 60-70% of my e-mail is now spam. If you're working in PR and you post press releases with your e-mail address on a website, you are probably facing a similar toll. While products such as Cloudmark are helping remove some of the clutter the weight of spam continues to grow and it impacts everyone's ability to effectively

Getting back on track

2002-12-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

Morning. I am in the midst of culling large volumes of e-mail and catching up on news and blogs. Thanks to everyone who dropped me a line in my absence both those who are delighted that I haven't yet shuttled off this mortal coil and even those who wish I had :-) Here are some stories that piqued my interest recently.... - O'Dwyer's have announced a subscription for their online PR news,

Confession (and why professionals hold the upper hand over blogs :-)

2002-12-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

You will have noticed that PR Opinion have been very very quiet for the past ten days. Mea culpa, I had meant to post a note to the affect that I was leaving on vacation, but of course in the rush to get everything done, I forgot. Normal service will be resumed shortly......

Flash Hall of Shame #23... Zimmerman PR (wait there's more..)

2002-11-20T00:46:00.000-08:00

OK, so this is our twenty third addition to the Flash Hall of Shame. It's an institution created to recognize truly unnecessary use of Flash to make Websites as unusable as possible. When we visit websites, we visit them to learn, to find information, in short to discover more about what the company or organization does, is or wants to be. If you want to find out more about the Zimmerman

Big Agencies and the hunt for Thomas Charlton...

2002-11-19T02:02:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of response to two recent articles. First up, Thomas Charlton and his career ending interview with Inc. has caused a lot of interest and we're trying to find out any additional information on his departure. Trayce Zimmermann who's a boxing publicist loved the mix of boxing and technology! Trayce thought the mixture might have been a bit "tough" for Inc and given the feedback

Flash Hall of Shame #22... Avatar Communications

2002-11-19T00:41:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we last nominated a Flash Hall of Shamer. However Ernie Reno's insightful interview into how he's single-handedly saving the PR industry deserves a mention. So please welcome Avatar Communications to the PR Opinions Flash Hall of Shame.

Chilling news from around the web...

2002-11-19T00:37:00.000-08:00

> The Council of Public Relations Firms has come to the defence of Nike Inc. in its appeal to the United State Supreme Court, where it is asking that California's recent ruling that Nike's discussion of public issues is not protected by the First Amendment and the Constitutional guarantee of free speech be overruled. Read all about it here. > Just when we thought (sadly) that Corner Bar PR was

Technology implosion continues...Small guy bites back?

2002-11-15T02:06:00.000-08:00

The Dallas Business Journal reports that Springbok (Cohn & Wolfe) the technology PR firm based in Dallas-Fort Worth has closed its doors. While not a tier one dot com PR brand like Niehaus, Ryan Wong (RIP), Springbok was well known and is yet another casualty of the technology downturn...or are they? I wonder if Springbok had not been re-christened "Springbok Cohn & Wolfe" would they have

The basics of communication....a fable

2002-11-14T01:39:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, in a sleepy land far, far away from here, there were two public relations companies. One firm was called Silly & Sons and the other was called Clever & Sons. Both firms needed more revenue and so they decided to look for new business. Silly & Sons spent lots and lots of money on expensive printed material and sent it to every company throughout the kingdom. They then

So you want to be the cover story?

2002-11-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

I have stumbled across a fantastic story that I am amazed I haven't seem posted elsewhere. The November 2002 issue of Inc has a cover story entitled "Are you a tough enough boss?" accompanied of a photo of Thomas Charlton, CEO of Tidal Software. The story has some outrageous quotes and anecdotes and tells of how Charlton broke into cupboards, forced long hours and a whole range of other stuff

News from around the web..

2002-11-12T01:16:00.000-08:00

- Following on from the piece yesterday on ethics in PR. It's emerged that fourteen leading US PR groups have met informally about supporting PR's role in business. O'Dwyer's reports that the group will focus on ethics, disclosure and transparency. The groups involved include PRSA, IABC, NIRI, The Institute for PR, PA Council and Women in PR. More details here. - PR Week reports that large

Why are the media being horrible to me?

2002-11-11T02:47:00.000-08:00

If like me you earn your living providing Public Relations services for your client or employer, I'm sure you get annoyed with the macabre covert activities of self-proclaimed 'spin doctors'. The questionable ethics of many PR 'verticals' affects us all and makes our jobs harder and more mis-understood. During the weekend two particular articles brought PR ethics into focus. Firstly, Richard

Now let me ask you a couple of questions...

2002-11-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

The economic downturn causes a number of issues for PR. Obviously the large reduction in magazines and staff is one result but so is the explosion in telesales advertising/conferences/supplements calls - particularly for the in-house PR people. Now don't get me wrong it's a very hard job and I wouldn't fancy it, but after your fifth pushy telesales call of the day your sympathy levels fall

From around the Web..

2002-11-07T01:50:00.000-08:00

- Marketing Sherpa has an interesting case study on how MAPICS, a software firm, re-engineered their PR activities.. - Technology Marketing always has some good articles, currently they've a number of interesting opinion pieces on...three tales of analyst influence...why trade shows are still important... - MarketingProfs has an interesting piece on the art of using a human voice in online

Information - Friend or Foe?

2002-11-07T01:16:00.000-08:00

The currency of Public Relations is information. That's why most of us have contracted Information Glut Overload or IGO. :-) I have thousands of documents, notes, bookmarks, contacts and e-mails. I like to think I can mine those files for relevant information when required. In fact streamlining that process is something I spend a lot of time working on, but to the best of my knowledge there's

The world wide web isn't credible...

2002-11-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

According to new research from Consumers International, the global federation of more than two hundred and fifty consumer organizations in one hundred and fifteen countries, consumers must use "extreme caution when soliciting information from certain sites." Does anyone think this research was a sensible use of resources? Is this news for anyone? If so, can you please make yourself known, I

I wasn't asleep, I was just resting my eyes...

2002-11-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

Comdex The technology industry's global bellweather event continues to feel the effects of globally reduced marketing budgets. Comdex is still shrinking, less vendors, less floorspace and the organizers are still manfully bailing water by boldly stating visitor numbers will remain even with last year. Sure they will. Comdex was the focal point for more wasted marketing dollars than any other

Errr, that's a good point....

2002-11-06T00:27:00.000-08:00

As a profession we really don't know if we're coming or going. It seems as though everyone has a different opinion on the matters of the day and the best PR approach to solving those issues. This is once again highlighted by a piece in O'Dwyers where Bob Truitt, who heads a Connecticut-based firm, Truitt Partners, (couldn't find a website!) believes that good PR writing is essential in

The Internet mindset

2002-11-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

No doubt by this stage you've recieved your latest Ross Irvine spam on his latest work of art: "The internet (sic) is not a technology; it's a mindset." As usual it's worth a look....

PR is not an oxymoron - Friday morning diversion

2002-11-01T01:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Dave Winer for a link to Googlism. I'm not sure how it works technically but just type in your name, company etc and find out what the Google search engine throws up in handy neat phrases. It's the brainstorming tools to beat all brainstorming tools - you'll never have to outsource tagline creation ever again :-). PR according to Googlism: - pr is a fact of business life - pr is

PR around the Globe...

2002-10-31T01:29:00.000-08:00

- Renay San Miguel at CNN takes a shot at PR people using fear as a ploy for pitching client stories - A new PR firm in Boca Raton covered in the Sun Sentinel - I make no other comment - thanks to Richard Bailey for the link - When Publicists Attack - Anne Nicole Smith is being sued by publicist for non-payment of fees - The Sydney Morning Herald reveals the secret of success for PR agencies in

Protecting sensitive information against (media) hackers...

2002-10-30T00:54:00.000-08:00

We all know that in an online world, security measures to protect sensitive corporate data from the outside world are essential. But did you ever think media organizations may try and uncover your confidential data? Sound unlikely? According to Deborah Branscum, twice in the past few weeks, Reuters in Sweden has leaked corporate financial results BEFORE the results were released publicly. Now

The Fall of Advertising...

2002-10-30T00:23:00.000-08:00

While I was on the road over the past couple of weeks I finally got a chance to read, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR by Al and Laura Ries. I have written and re-written this piece innumerous times. I'm still not sure I'm happy with it, but I present it for your consumption. In reviewing "The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR" I think the best outcome (for PR) from the book is

Did you hear the one about...

2002-10-29T07:39:00.001-08:00

Now stop me if you've heard this one before. At a recent journalist event I attended, the media representatives told the ensembled PR practitioners that their top pet peeves were: - People following up press release to see if they (the journalist) got it. - People pitching them with no idea of what the magazine covers - Poor contact information on press releases and web sites I am guessing this

E-mail getting too much? Let's disturb you when you're working..

2002-10-29T07:33:00.000-08:00

As E-mail's effectiveness declines due to volume companies are investigating better ways to catch you online. The latest effort is from Relevant Reach Inc. They think that it's a great idea to let software vendors insert private communications inside an application (that you have paid for). Through this new channel, vendors can cross-sell you products etc. oh and you can ask questions. So let

How well do you know your public?

2002-10-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

As the PR profession is called upon to manage more than pure media relationships, understanding your audience, how they are influenced and how they communicate becomes essential. Terms such as 'one-to-one' and 'permission marketing' have been much abused over the past couple of years, but that doesn't mean they're irrelevant. Indeed the tools for more effective communication are already in

Back...

2002-10-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry been slow posting this week again due to work demands! Normal service will be resumed fairly shortly....

Truth is a beautiful thing indeed, but so is...research

2002-10-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Contradicting the recent spate of positive PR studies, research from Silicon Valley PR firm, McKie Headstrom has found that PR spend in the Valley is down and won't improve in 2003. On the bright side respondents reported increased coverage and eighty nine percent of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the return on their PR investment. There are in-depth reports on the

PR guys left standing as the music stops - the last update

2002-10-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

Following on from the Microsoft snafu, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO has been quoted saying "If (the false Switch testimonial) that's right, I will certainly castigate the offender" in an article in Australia's The Age newspaper. Also, Deborah Branscum has an interesting entry on the Microsoft episode entitled: "Bashing Microsoft a Love Story"

Downturn continues to bite...

2002-10-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

The difficult trading conditions are continuing to cause problem for PR firms and publishers alike. It's reported that Manning Selvage & Lee have let go thirty consultants and closed their global technology practice while Porter Novelli has cut forty positions. After a lot of rumors of its demise following substantial layoffs over the past few weeks, Computergram has been bought (saved?) by

Bullying Microsoft

2002-10-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Following on from my two Microsoft stories yesterday, Richard Bailey writes: "you'd think they (Microsoft) were the most incompetent and irresponsible marketers ever - judging from the many gleeful accounts of the pulling of the Apple switch ad (see Tom Murphy and Dan Gillmor for the background)." Now maybe Richard has taken me up the wrong way but I don't think Microsoft's marketing is

Microsoft #2 - Doh! undoing all that good work...

2002-10-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

So Microsoft is working with bloggers and gaining a competitive advantage. It's legitimate and rewards their innovative marketing. But then they go and undo all that good work with sloppy, unimaginative and ill-advised tactics. Apple’s Switch campaign – which I think is quite compelling advertising – is obviously annoying Microsoft. And as I discussed last week, when companies feel

Microsoft #1 - Watch the masters and learn

2002-10-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is one of the most effective product marketing organizations on the planet. Full stop. While it's corporate marketing and public affairs activities can sometime err on the wrong side of agressive, their product PR machine is astonishingly effective. They monitor blogs in all their target markets and have a full proactive outreach program to the bloggers. Nick Denton points out just

Feline writing

2002-10-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

I’m sure you have by this stage heard about Ross Irvine’s latest missive on PR and the Internet. It’s been posted to every PR mailing list I’m on. Ross’ focus is primarily focused on activism and NGO’s but it’s relevant to a wider audience. Ross does make a lot of very valid points in the piece, entitled “PR Kittens” though sometimes I wish he would reduce the number of crass generalizations

Communication?...we don't need no stinkin' communication

2002-10-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

I read on the pages of O’Dwyer’s that Mediamap will no longer be using Bacon’s database and will instead replace it with its own media database. Now you would think that for something this fundamental to their business that Mediamap would take a couple of minutes to inform their customers, wouldn’t you? According to some colleagues who use the service, Mediamap haven’t said a word. These

New old PR blog…

2002-10-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Richard Bailey has a regularly updated UK-focused PR blog running here. Richard’s blog predates all other PR blogs that I’m aware of.

Back...

2002-10-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a little slow posting over the past week as the day job has taken precedence - c'est la guerre.... Anyhow, there’s lots to catch up on with Microsoft showcasing the very best and worst of online communications, a new online piece on 'PR and the Internet' and a newly discovered UK blog and Mediamap's great communications practices....

The downside...another one bites the dust

2002-10-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

Well all that good news about PR spending increasing and clients loving their agencies - it was a little too good to be true, wasn't it? These days we all expect the worst. Hot on the heels of the demise of the Hurwitz Group, Upside magazine has closed it's doors (Thanks to Phil Gomes for the link) as has Mutual Funds magazine. Mutual Funds magazine isn't a shock to anyone, I mean it might as