The Flack

Boy, am I glad I didn't take Vonage's "insider" offer to buy its stock at the IPO price of between $16-$18 a share! The stock closed at $3 on Friday. Thank you very much, Verizon.

As a Vonage customer, I'm generally pleased by the service -- except of course when the phone dies and I have to unplug the company-supplied router, or when my Vonage website fails to list who called, or when the three-way calling is only two-thirds working. Otherwise, I like paying $24.95/month versus the $70+/- monthly for my former Verizon land line.

It's this last item that the "woo-who woo-who-who" company hopes to leverage in a so-called "PR campaign" intended to stick it to the nation's second largest telecommunications company. Actually, it's less a PR campaign as much as it is a issues-driven advertising campaign that's spilling over into the PR realm.

The full-page advertorials, which The Wall Street Journal only accepted with certain Verizon-offending language removed, seem to be producing the desired effect. The ads, and their sibling website, cloaked by the heroic-sounding URL "freetocompete.com," have succeeded in making news of net neutrality and the David v. Goliath quashing of a lower-priced competitor.

Nevertheless, Verizon and its spokesperson Eric Rabe, a friend, need only point to the recent court ruling in which Vonage was found to have infringed on a few of Verizon's VOIP patents. Rabe called the new campaign:

...a "distraction" from Verizon's assertion that Vonage is violating its Web-calling patents. And said that Vonage "is trying to shift the subject from their bad and now declared illegal behavior."

Maybe so, Eric, but desperate times demand desperate measures. Of particular interest to this blogger is Vonage's decision to let a law firm take the lead on the PR front. Milberg Weiss Justice, a division of the venerable white-shoed law firm, operates, like us, in the court of public opinion versus the court of judicial opinion -- the traditional domain of its parent. It's one-stop shopping covering both the public and legal appeals. Curiously, The American Lawyer reports big profits at the all the top law firms.

Labels: litigation PR, Milberg Weiss, Milberg Weiss Justice, PR, public relations, Verizon, Vonage

Link relevancy is a term I first heard back in 1998 when a search engine company I represented prepared to do battle with a rising Mountain View company that had yet to command a mountain view.

Today, of course, it does and much of the success of Google, the search engine, can be attributed to the algorithm that presciently included link relevancy as a determinant of a site's ranking in the engine's organic search results. The more inbound links, it figured, the more authority the site had and thus the higher the ranking it deserved. Made, and still makes sense.

In analyzing the motivations of tens of millions of unpaid, and mostly unheralded bloggers, we come back to the term of link relevancy. I mean how many times a day do we, the unpaid and unheralded, check in with Technorati to see who has linked to our musings?

It's just human nature to seek affirmation from others, though I still can't figure out "Todd And's Power 150: Top Marketing Blogs" ranking on which this blogger lands at #100, while the Holmes Report, which has been dormant since February, comes in at #81. What algorithm is Todd drinking, anyway?

Anyway, the desire to climb in the rankings -- any rankings -- is not the exclusive domain of the unheralded. One famous blogging entrepreneur whom I remember as a fledgling New York Internet reporter back in the day, admits to checking in with Technorati, Bloglines, etc, some 28 times a day.

"I've developed some deep relationships over the past couple of years blogging and I realize that those relationships manifest themselves in the links I find when I do my 28x a daily ego search over at Technorati."

Jason Calacanis, who sold his Weblogs Inc for a reported $25 million and did some other cool things in his digital career, appears to also like a little link love. Today he posts a tutorial on how to "link bait" him, without pissing him off too much, and perhaps even earn a reciprocal link.

"If you follow this 'Calacanis Link Bait' strategies I will link to you. If you just come out and beat me up I probably won't... so, there you have it "how to get a link from Calacanis."

For the tens of millions of bloggers not making a dime off your prose, at least there's the prospect of link love to bring you back to your keyboards day after day. But remember, you've got to give to receive.

Labels: Google, Jason Calacanis, Link Love, Link Relevancy, PR, public relations, Search Engine, Weblogs Inc.

I don't care how it was spun. Rosie was booted from "The View." And Barbara Walters took the lead in making it happen. Sure. Ms. Walters lamely denied her complicity. And yes, Rosie sputtered through some nonsense about how contract negotiations broke down. "I wanted one year, they wanted three years, they offered two..." Gimme a break! It doesn't make sense. Who's fooling who?

The repeated and embarrassing gaffes by Ms. O'Donnell, many of which undermined her matronly patron and overwhelmed her cohorts, contributed to the corpulent co-host's demise. Just take another look at the body language yesterday, led by Ms. Walters, during the on-air charade. This news was cobbled together suddenly, and frankly, not especially thoughtfully.

It's also an example of the ax falling, where the ratings didn't necessarily support it. Imus, sound familiar? Katie, is there hope? Rosie was a bull in a china shop. Her strong personality (and I'm putting this mildly) alienated everyone...except perhaps for the daytime TV audience and ABC's ad sales department.

Or maybe not. Today's NY Post reports that a Rosie-orchestrated coup d'etat was in the works wherein Ms. Walters gets the boot, and Rosie takes over. Hmmm.

Whatever the case, one thing's for sure: Rosie prevailed in the PR department. TMZ's connected editor Harvey Levin held firm in his belief that Ms. O'Donnell left under her own volition. And The L.A. Times and others today are speculating that another show may already be in the works.

In fact, putting the disingenuous deception aside, the ensuing media coverage gave a more than hefty helping hand to Rosie and her role in elevating "The View's" ratings and relevance. As a result, she'll land bigger (if that's possible) and better on the cable or broadcast dial -- for our viewing pleasure, or displeasure as the case may be.

Labels: Barbara Walters, PR, public relations, Rose O'Donnell, The View, TMZ

I occasionally chide some of my fellow PR bloggers for their endless obsession with all the new digital gadgets and applications that pop incessantly with aplomb in their RSS readers.

I mean who, other than the micropersuader, can keep track of all the twitters, mash-ups and widgets to which the social media set gloms on for breathless, but often short-lived reverberation in the blogopshere?

The challenge for us PR types lies in understanding which among the myriad technologies can actually make a measurable and redeeming contribution to our clients' communications and business objectives. Most of us get the virality of YouTube, del.icio.us and Flickr, but can Twitter be deployed for PR purposes?

We've seen the novelty of Second Life exploited by quick-hit PR types, but this only has produced many PR-wary avatars. How can we now show our faux faces in the virtual community so that our clients' products, services and even their social or political agendas will be embraced by the virtual skeptics?

Anyway, after bloviating a bit, I arrive at the impetus for today's post: a cool new Google Earth mash-up that's being used to market the third installment of the Spiderman franchise, which bows in theatres May 4. Reported on the MIT AdvertisingLab blog, the application allows users:

"...fly around Peter Parker's Manhattan with Google Earth. Go on a web-slinging tour of the city and check out some of the locations from the new movie drawn with Google SketchUp."

Boeing, take note. There's more out there than podcasting.

Labels: Boeing, del.icio.us, Google Earth, MIT Advertising lab, PR, public relations, social media, Spiderman 3, Twitter

We're all familiar with Chris Hansen's (literally) captivating series on "Dateline NBC" in which the peacock network teams with a group called Perverted Justice (only in America, folks) to lure pedophiliac pervs into the glare of news camera lights. The folks at Fox apparently loved the show so much that they tasked their own veteran vigilante to copy it.

John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" is pulling a Chris Hansen in an Internet sting operation airing Saturday night. Hey, if the fair and balanced network can rip off the high-minded cultural offering of swapping wives, why can't they also swap out a luscious lure for the long arm of the law to catch a pedophile?

Only Fox -- not known for understatement -- wasn't satisfied with some no name producer posing as a teen. It chose instead to hire none other than the current Miss America to chat online with the pervs and then beckon them inside the booby-trapped home from the front stoop! How anyone could mistake Miss America for a 14-year-old, I don't know, but it makes for good ratings (and bored bloggers like this one to take notice).

Now this is a win-win-win situation, but first let me digress. I handled, along with John Healy, PR for the 75th Anniversary of the Miss America Organization (remember the year the organizers held a live vote to decide on whether to stage the bathing suit contest?) . Our charge was to enhance relevancy for the venerable beauty (and yes, college scholarship) pageant, and by so doing, build TV viewership. (It worked.)

Along comes thrice-married Donald Trump. (No, not to the Miss America-baited home.) The Donald decided to get in the beauty game -- as if he wasn't already -- and purchased Miss America's arch rival -- the more downscale Miss USA pageant. Soon thereafter, the Miss America organization shuttered its longtime roost in Trump-infused Atlantic City, lost its TV deal, and was scratching its coiffed head on how best to revive its anachronistic brand in the digital age.

So back to the win-win-win...and win. Miss America gets an Internet-related shot in the arm, an AP story, and some decent national TV exposure. John Walsh takes Dateline's concept to an absurd new level, and hopefully bigger ratings. And, the pervs in Suffolk County, New York get stung and put away...all for the perverse enjoyment of the home viewer.

BTW-- in other related Miss America news, 82-year-old Venus Ramey of Waynesburg, KY, the 1944 Miss America, this week pulled her own sting. She foiled a robbery by shooting out the thieves' tires and holding the perps at gunpoint until the cops arrived. Talk about a variation on a theme!

Labels: America's Most Wanted, Chris Hansen, Dateline, Fox, John Walsh, Miss America, NBC, PR, public relations, To Catch a Predator

The sobering news emanating from newspaperdom last week sparked new speculation on the future vitality of that medium. Profits were down (again), and online ad revenue, while growing impressively, just doesn't seem to be able to replace lost traditional ad revenue.

Nonetheless, the old media guard can't be accused of complacency when it comes to embracing the new to recapture lost audiences and build their brands -- wherever they reside. Nowhere were these digital machinations more on display than with the news of the Virginia Tech shootings. Here's a sampling:

• Bowing to the almighty SEM acronym, a number of top-tier newspapers purchased Virginia Tech-related keywords to ensure prominence in the paid link section of the search engines


• NBC established a site on Facebook to elicit first-hand student input on the shootings.


• Its cable sibling MSNBC commandeered some VT student/citizen journalists to provide a steady stream of fresh content, much of which via SMS.


• And of course the camera phone that captured it all for rebroadcast in a myriad channels.


• Counteless outlets relied on student weblogs to obtain eyewitness accounts of the shootings.


• One newspaper photo editor in New Jersey posted a plea on Flickr seeking images.


• Wikipedia played a key role as a repository for things VT.

Obviously, there are countless other instances of how this one story provided a showcase for the practice of journalism in this day and age. And I believe it's just the tip of the transformational iceberg. Marc Glaser of MediaShift posted some worthwhile thoughts on a related theme here, which pre-dated VT.

Labels: citizen journalism, journalism, mediashift, new media, newspapers, PR, public relations, social media, Virginia Tech

We all know that the films shown on airplanes differ from those bowing in theatres. After all, the airlines need to appeal to all ages and cultural sensibilities. Though I do recall catching some fairly graphic scenes in a seatback-shown film on a Qantas flight from Sydney to Los Angeles. And no, this wasn't the one featuring the Qantas stewardess and actor Ralph Fiennes joining the mile-high club.

News out of London today has one big-branded airline company leaving its arch rival on the cutting room floor. British Airways apparently removed all visuals of Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic, from its in-flight version of the Bond film "Casino Royale" in which Sir Richard appears in a negotiated a cameo role.

A spokesman for BA said only that it "previews films before they are screened on our aircraft and regularly edits films" on the grounds of taste and suitability.

BA could argue that Sir Richard's taste and suitability leave room for interpretation. The motivation for altering the film likely had little to do with taste and more to do with thwarting a rival airline's future suitability for BA's passengers. I suspect the creative types at Virgin Atlantic might have some fun with this -- as they should.

"We think that passengers should see all the film, and nothing but the whole film," said a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson.

Obviously. But, VA, you could do better than that.

Labels: British Airways, Casino Royale, James Bond, PR, public relations, Qantas, Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic

Dear Nikon and MWW,

Where's my camera? I was on Schwartzman's panel with Parmet and Ochman. How'd those two finagle your expensive, but digitally divine device? (Joe, think of your old friend here!)

Sure, I know they come with strings attached. And yes, the rules of engagement are pretty clear, unlike like that laptop "loner" program. But I promise to trash my trusty Canon 7.1-megapixel Powershot if I had one of your cool digital SLRs.

I realize my blog's only ranked around 27,000 on Technorati, but you do the math: 27,000 divided by 57,000,000 puts The Flack in the top .05 percent of all bloggers. Does it matter that I only write about PR, marketing, journalism, and social media? Would you prefer that I switch gears to cover Twitter 24/7?

Engadget, Techcrunch, Gizmodo, and even CNET -- phooey! Those guys get so many products, yours is sure to get lost in the sauce. Here it won't. I have too much empathy for MWW's blogger engagement team. I've been in their shoes too many times to count.

Finally, I'm a pretty decent lenser. See picture above (July 4, 2006, Westhampton Beach, Canon Powershot S70). Just imagine how much better it would look with the D80's beautiful lens.

Thanks,

Peter

Labels: blogger engagement, Canon, D80, MWW, Nikon, Ochman, Parmet, PR, public relations, SLR

Not that I want to get into the habit of calling out ill-conceived PR pitches. (I'll leave that to the Bad Pitch blog boys.) But common sense sometimes can be so elusive for a healthy segment of the PR profession.

Take this PR pitch note sent yesterday to the acerbic, but entertaining folks at Jossip. It starts off:

"Slow news day?

Here’s a chance to let your readers know about an amazing contest!"

Hmmm. Slow news day? This week? On what planet?

Rightfully, the Jossip folks exposed the utter cluelessness of the PR person, yet chose anyway to publicize the promotional faux pas (with a photo). BTW -- it's for Britney Spears Beauty, the baldy's beauty line, which may merit a separate post altogether.

I bet the PR firm and its client are pleased. After all, the authoritative gossip blog did spell the name of the promotion correctly. (I guess we should be thankful that the PR firm didn't try to equate Ms. Spears' recent behavior with what we witnessed during this slow news week.)

Labels: Bad Pitch Blog, Britney Spears, Jossip, PR, public relations

Valleywag reports that the Wall Street Journal's new managing editor Marcus Brauchli opposes the practice of PR-embargoed announcements.

"...the younger generation of newspaper managers, Brauchli among them, are tired of these cosy [sic] arrangements; and tired of being scooped if news leaks out to the web before the embargo is lifted."

Hmmm. I wonder if Marcus will consider forbidding his reporters from demanding (of PR types) exclusives in exchange for coverage?

After all, isn't the exclusive a first cousin of the embargo? With the latter, at least, all the anointed reporters are on a level playing field. With the former, there's clearly a favorite (and ultimately, many disgruntled unfavorites).

Some in our industry could reasonably argue that a more complex or nuanced story requires a decent share of a reporter's time before the formal announcement. Personally, I believe there are risks and impracticalities inherent in the PR practice of offering embargoes and exclusives. Among them:

• How can any PR person guarantee and protect a true exclusive in this overheated and multitudinous media market?
• Which of the myriad media merit the advance look, and what do you tell TechCrunch, the MercNews and The AP after The Journal excusively breaks one's client news?
• Is the presumed special attention wrought from an exclusive really going to enhance a story's overall resonance in an increasingly fragmented media environment?
• How do the RegFD folks at the SEC feel about the embargoing of material news?

We PR types are in a real pickle. Maybe we should simply bypass those outlet(s) that refuse to play by the rules? Or maybe the embargo gambit should only be used when a story's complexity requires it? Whatever the case, no journalist wants to feel like a pawn in the PR person's PR strategy. And who can blame them?

In the end, even if the Journal decrees an end to PR embargoes, it won't matter much. The quality of the story will invariably dictate the rules of the game. The bigger the news, the more latitude newsmakers will have in determining how and with whom it breaks. Will The Journal turn down a chance to be among the few to toy exclusively with the iPhone before launch day? I doubt it, but I could be wrong.

If it's any comfort, this PR-journalist dynamic isn't new nor exclusive to the Silicon Valley domain. Think the Beltway, Hollywood, Wall Street, etc. I mean, who held the cards for TomKat's wedding and Brangelina's baby pics?

Do we revel in this? No. Most of us would prefer to treat all media on a level playing field. But increasingly, the top tier outlets refuse to play ball if the field isn't tipped in their favor. There's the rub.

Marcus, congratulations on the new assignment, and much success building on the legacy of one of the great business journalists of our age.

Labels: embargos, exclusives, Marcus Brauchli, PR, public relations, Wall Street Journal

Jeff Bercovici, the astute media reporter (and blogger) for the reinvented Radar pinged me this morning with his nomination for this week's "Bad Pitch Blog" entry.

It's US Netcom Corp, which today moved a news release over PR Newswire with the headline:

"Could Emergency Phone Notification Have Prevented Virginia Tech Massacre?"

It's reminiscent of the terrorist attacked-inspired Funeral Director's PR pitch reported by the Washington Post last year. So much for good PR instincts.

Labels: Bad Pitch Blog, Fresh Intelligence, Jeff Bercovici, PR, public relations, Radar, US Netcom Corp, Virginia Tech

Labels: Kennedy family, Michael Skakel, PR, public relations, Riverkeeper, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

As details continue to unfold from yesterday's horrific events at Virginia Tech, the gun lobby, as embodied by the National Rifle Association, is no doubt prepping to do battle with emboldened advocates for gun control.

Ironically, one of the NRA's biggest boosters -- our President -- heads to the VT campus for his obligatory photo-op. He figures that this is a fairly safe public appearance (detraction) since few will equate his laissez-faire, e.g., pro-NRA, gun control policies with yesterday's rampage. Or will they?

"I believe this will reignite the dormant effort to pass common-sense gun regulations in this nation," Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Monday. The California Democrat has led efforts to renew the expired ban on so-called assault weapons (PL 103-322).

On the other hand:

Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, deflected questions about gun control Monday by saying the administration is focused on "enforcing all of the gun laws that we have on the books and making sure that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. "If there are changes to the president’s policy, then we will let you know," Perino said.

Wasn't it this President who let lapse the law banning assault weapons?

Meanwhile, back at the NRA home page, which, by its look, clearly is not wanting for cash, all words, pictures and video focused on the NRA national convention, held a just a few days ago. "Stand Your Ground" was the assessment of Mother Jones.

Surprisingly, the NRA's initial response to the mass murder in Virginia was muted , but did hint at things to come.

"Former NRA President Bob Corbin declined to say what the slaying might mean for N-R-A's public image. The former Arizona attorney general says 'they ought to look at the person, not the gun.'"

Somehow I don't believe the NRA will remain low key for very long. It may take a few days for the initial shock to wear off, but soon be on the lookout for the organization's many messaged surrogates in TV punditry land.

Labels: assault weapons, gun control, gun lobby, NRA, PR, President Bush, public relations, Virginia Tech

Now here's a thought: could the over-the-top media attention for Don Imus ultimately boost his career prospects? Or did the curmudgeonly shock jock truly suffer a fatal blow (as this blogger predicted early this week)?

Frankly, in thinking further about this oh-so-modern conundrum, I am beginning to feel that I may have been too quick to sign the death knell.

Let's first consider some past anti-social behavior that catalyzed the careers of a smattering of celebs. All recovered and profited after some short-term suffering:

A model snorting cocaine on the front page of a UK tabloid

A brand name heiress's pornographic sex romp posted on the Internet

A famous sportscaster sued for rough sex bordering on assault and battery

A high school student shooting the wife of her lecherous boyfriend

A promising actor caught on tape having sex with two girls -- one just 16

A TV producer busted with mind-altering mushrooms at an airport

A domesticated diva indicted for insider trading

A wacko judge inexplicably crying when delivering a high profile verdict

A famous movie star and director in a drunken anti-Semitic tirade

Of course there are certain offenses that seem...well...harder to bounce back from (not that gunning down your boyfriend's wife didn't have its hurdles). Here are a handful where the taint of scandal lingered:

A popular children's TV star exposed in an X-rated movie theatre

A famous pop singer soliciting sex in a public bathroom

A sitcom character using the "N" word in a stand-up routine gone awry

A pop star in a national TV appearance zonked out of her mind

A troubled pop tart publicly shaving her head (the jury's out on this one)

Is it the nature of the offense or the public reservoir of goodwill that determines the offender's reputational resilience? Crisis expert Richard Levick had this to offer:

"Typically, when celebrities like Don Imus fall off a cliff -- communications professionals focus their commentary on how they can regain equilibrium and resuscitate their careers. But this is not a 'typical' celebrity scandal. In fact, there is probably no way for Mr. Imus to return to former prominence as he simply does not have a fund of goodwill to draw from or high-visibility supporters to come to his rescue. After all, the guy made his career by insulting people."

I'm not so sure, Richard. Yesterday I observed a large sign alongside a rain-soaked New York road: "Bring Imus Back." Setting aside his heinous remarks and non-resonant apologies (except perhaps from his wife), it's inevitable that some enterprising entertainment executive will eventually capitalize on Brand Imus, for better or worse.

Consumers of popular culture simply make little distinction between the famous and the infamous. We live in an age where headline-making notoriety too often translates into greater marketability. The egregiousness of the crime seems to matter less in the equation than the volume of media coverage it spawns.

Labels: Aaron Sorkin, Amy Fisher, Courtney Love, Don Imus, George Michael, Kate Moss, Martha Stewart, Marv Albert, Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, Paris Hilton, Pee Wee Herman, PR, public relations, Rob Lowe

File this under "shameless promotion."

In the mid-1980's, I thought it would be a cool idea to capture on (3/4" analog) tape the opening montages and closing credits for every TV program that presented a "placement" opportunity for our clients' people, products and promotions. When edited, the total running time was under ten minutes.

If one were to attempt this little exercise today, the number of cable TV programs alone might fill the hard drive of a 30GB video iPod. Well, maybe not, but you get my drift.

To make matters worse, the editorial gatekeepers to these myriad cable program options don't necessarily reside at the branded outlet. Much of what we see has been pitched and packaged by independent TV producers many of whom derive their programming ideas from PR types.

If you find yourself in New York City this Thursday (April 19), the Publicity Club of New York* will host a PR luncheon featuring some of the more prolific independent cable TV producers, including former "ET" on-air personality Robb Weller. These companies work regularly with cable nets like The Travel Channel, Food Network, Discovery Channel, We, The History Channel, Fine Living, HGTV, National Geographic TV and others.

Visit the PCNY website to register. Limited seating.


*This blogger serves as president of PCNY.

Labels: cable TV, journalism, media, PCNY, PR, public relations, Publicity Club of New York, TV programming

Was I asleep at the wheel or did one of the industry's more astute observers of the profession give up his blogging ways?

Sure, the Holmes Report website seems up to date, but the site's proprietor hasn't shared his acerbic British-American wit for the RSS crowd since the Super Bowl in February. No notice. No farewell. And apparently, no tears. Just a blog frozen in time.

Now I know the pay isn't so hot, and yes, sometimes it's a struggle just to find something worth blogging about (though not this week). But the ROI is there, isn't it? As the number of PR blogs hits record highs, I wonder how many dead (or barely breathing) blogging vestiges litter the blogosphere? Hey Constantin, here's a new audit for you!

Anyway, Paul, we'll miss your periodic musings. Hope to see you back blogging soon. Until then, you may want to remove the site banner "Visit Our New Blog."

Labels: blogging, blogosphere, Paul Holmes, PR, public relations, ROI, The Holmes Report

Labels: crisis communications, Duke, Imus, lacrosse, MSNBC, PR, public relations, Reade Seligmann, reputation, Steve Capus

PR people love to play Monday morning quarterback. In fact, isn't this the stock-in-trade of many PR bloggers (this one included)?

OK. What else can be said about Don Imus's eventual career-ending (my prediction) faux-pas? Unlike Jimmy the Greek, Mr. Imus apparently has a long, sordid history of racial and gender insensitivity.

But the big question in my mind was whether his PR consiglieres really believed a ritualistic radio appearance with the Rev. Al would produce a happy ending to this final chapter of the shock jock's colorful career. After all, it didn't work for Kramer. Why should it for Imus?

Who advised him on this tact? Did anyone believe for a moment that the two would embrace and the righteous Reverend would extol his listeners (and the media gaggle gathered) to forgive and forget? This was destined to be an opportunistic publicity ploy for Big Al...versus a "coming to Jesus" moment for Imus.

Imus' story line simply does not have a second side. He was wrong, and he needed to (sincerely) apologize and disappear back into the woodwork. Didn't some of you -- my more PR-astute readers -- recognize that something was amiss after seeing the first of Imus' string of public apologies? IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE SECOND-PERSON PLURAL:

"It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry."

Huh? Maybe Imus has multiple personalities who, together, dissed the entire Rutgers women's basketball team?

Will a two-week suspension buy CBS and MSNBC sufficient time for this to go away? Will the skeletons in Imus' closet continue to surface in the media? Can the blogosphere keep this story from its natural death? And what will the Rev. Al do to capitalize on Imus's first day back on the job? Stay tuned.

One last Tuesday morning observation: were Imus and the Oompa Loompas separated at birth, or what?

Labels: Al Sharpton, Imus, Jimmy the Greek, Kramer, Michael Richards, PR, public relations

Now that the environment has returned to the front burner of the nation's political (and public) agendas, I wonder whether Earth Day 2007 will regain some of its former glory?

The first Earth Day, of course, was held on April 22, 1970, and is recognized as the beginning of the modern environmental movement. "Over 20 million people participated in what now observed each year by more than 500 million people and national governments in 175 countries."

In recent years, however, Earth Day has lost some of its resonance (at least here in the U.S.). Enter the first of the two would-be Presidents with an inconvenient truth, and suddenly, people and politicians are talking.

Of course, Mr. Gore did not drive solo on this consciousness-raising endeavor. As this blog has opined, environmental NGOs have grown more sophisticated in their use of PR and social media tools, which have contributed toward a more consummate and hopefully sustainable revival.

Naturally, social media has a role in this year's Earth Day. My friend and sometimes collaborator Rob Key, CEO of Converseon, has partnered with the John Denver-founded "Plant-It 2020" to debut a virtual-to-physical environmental initiative via Second Life called "Second Life Second Chance Tree Project." (As someone who actually participated in the first Earth Day, I'm doing my part on this project.)

For about one U.S. dollar (300 lindens), visitors can purchase and plant one of 10 species of trees on an island in the virtual community. This, in turn, will trigger Plant-It 2020 to plant the same species of that tree in an endangered rainforest to which the tree is indigenous. Of course, you need to have a Second Life account to begin planting.

Rob is convinced that social media, with its ability to connect individuals and generate discourse and ideas, can create community and solutions that transcend politics, parties, etc. His firm intends to introduce a Good Works sub-domain on his social media communication company's website .

PR blogger Joel Cere drew my attention last week to a post by Ogilvy London's Giles Rhys Jones waxing about another Second Life environmental initiative. His agency (and its presumed client Adventure Ecology) has virtually flooded some Second Life property to draw attention to the danger of rising water tables. He writes: "We’re hoping that this sense of empowerment will be reflected when the second life citizens move from the virtual to the real world."

Then there's an organization called the Avatar Action Center, which is seeking funds to "build bridges between virtual worlds and the real one by educating people in virtual life about real world sustainability issues with the goal of encouraging them to take action in both worlds."

As virtual populations grow, so do the prospects for more virtual-to-physical endeavors such as those cited above. In fact, a recent study conducted by the USC-Annenberg School Centre for the Digital Future found that 43 per cent of those who are part of a virtual community said that they felt as strongly about this society as they do about the physical world of which they are a part.

As for Earth Day 2007, we'll witness the usual programs and pronouncements, but be prepared for some newer tools being deployed for the cause. At a minimum, it's refreshing to see a new generation (finally) embracing a cause that seemed dead as recently as last year.

Labels: activism, Converseon, Earth Day, environment, Plant-It, PR, public relations, Second Life, social media, virtual worlds

I know. I know. I'm dating myself. But I remember Marketwatch's Silicon Valley columnist Bambi Francisco when she was a talent booker in New York for Lou Dobbs' "CNN Moneyline." Now she finds herself in a journalistic sticky wicket, exacerbated ironically by a piece in the flagship publication of her employer.

The issue concerns Ms. Francisco's investment in a start-up called Vator.TV and whether she used her position within the ranks of Dow Jones & Co. to promote her venture. Incidentally, this blogger first posted about Vator on January 30 when Bill Cleary spilled the beans while introducing Bambi for on an Always On panel in NY.

"In introducing Bambi, Cleary let it be known that she's announcing a new venture today called 'Vader,' no not Darth, but 'Vator,' as in elevator pitch."

Well, it might as well have been Darth Vader given the vitriol with which some in the media have piled on this story. The examples of so-called ethical transgressions seem, well so indirect, and I wonder whether blogging about it outside the realm of her employer really constitutes a breach.

Nevertheless, Bambi, take heart. It's Good Friday -- a prime day for a story like this to dissipate, if not disappear. Minimally, it will raise some important questions about journalism in this millennium (and perhaps even put Vator on the rador).

Update: Bambi comments.

Update II: Bambi resigns. Perhaps I should have read between the lines when she offered,to share details on Vator.TV. Nevertheless, I wish her much success in this new venture. After all, what could be more current: digital video, a 30-second elevator pitch, VC money -- all in one?

Labels: Always On, Bambi Francisco, CNET., CNN, Dow Jones, ethics, journalism, Marketwatch, Poynter, PR, public relations, Vator.TV, Wall Street Journal

BL points to a Pepsi promotion wherein consumers are invited to go online to design a can of Pepsi. Cool idea, and certainly part of a larger trend.

BL notes, however, that Jones Soda has been letting people do this since 2000. Since I never heard of Jones Soda, I'll let it fizzle.

This Sunday's Los Angeles Times has a related story on how the music industry has embraced and profited from consumer engagement, and specifically, catalyzing consumers to create original marketing content. The industry's most famous example to date, of course, had Epic Records promoting pop singer Shakira's hips.

"The contest yielded some 500 submissions of fans lip-syncing and booty-shaking in extremis...the pair of 'Hips' were eventually streamed more than 50 million times, making 'Hips Don't Lie' easily the Nielsen BDS most-streamed video of the year...Shakira's song went on to become a No. 1 hit in 20 countries, selling 1.7 million copies."

Much of this movement is covered in Ben McConnell's latest tome Citizen Marketers, which explores the phenomenon of when consumers embrace (or disembrace) a brand by unilaterally and without compensation creating content for it that happens to catch fire.

In the LA Times piece, and with the Pepsi example, we're talking about companies that attempt to let the consumer interact, but still reserve some semblance of brand stewardship. As we've seen all too frequently, however, this sometimes can backfire. Think last year's promotional gambit by the marketing team for Chevy Tahoe.

Tom Hayes, who writes the popular Silicon Valley new-media marketing blog http://www.tombomb.com/, says of the explosion of consumer engagement in the music industry that the benefits outweigh the risks.

"There are so few downsides for a smart band aside from locking yourself into something that makes you look silly," he said. "The act of just engaging with fans and making the offer has a powerful effect on a community."

The editor of Blender magazine is feels it's too soon to say that fan-based contributions will replace professional efforts to shape popular culture.

"It seems like a totally grass-roots approach, but it's not necessarily effective," Marks said. "What happens to the multitude of [fan contest efforts]? And where does it get played? There's still no way to measure the effectiveness of this stuff and monetize it."

Say Pepsi please.

Labels: brand marketing, Citizen Marketers, consumer content, consumer-generated media, Jones Soda, Pepsi, PR, promotion, public relations, runaway brands, Shakira, social media

From Dennis Rice, Disney's senior vice president for publicity:

"When (a senior Disney publicist) forwarded the ashes story to me, I thought, 'How are we going to spin this?'"

Dennis, smart move pulling Keith Richards from the "Pirates" publicity tour (for obvious reasons), but I sure wish you had given some more thought to your quote.

I guess it matters little since you're out of Disney, and you're sure to have your hands full "spinning" your new boss.

Labels: Disney, Hollywood, Keith Richards, Pirates of the Caribbean, PR, public relations, spin, Tom Cruise

Back in the day, I was working with a bona fide Google competitor. Yes, people, for a brief (very brief) moment of Google's existence, the Mountain View company did not reign supreme (and we're not talking Alta Vista or Lycos).

Cambridge, MA-based search engine Northern Light produced the same quality, if not better organic results rankings (though perhaps not as quickly). On many occasions, I encouraged the company to invite search engine czar Danny Sullivan to preside over a cola wars-inspired battle of the search engines...to no avail.

Furthermore, the company was one of the first to champion the idea of indexing content beyond the Web such as periodicals, research papers, legal documents, etc., basically anything in 1's and 0's. The sale of that licensed content offered a revenue stream to supplement any advertising dollars flowing into NL's coffers.

For various reasons, among them the length of its URL, Northern Light didn't fully weather the dot-com bust. This was in spite of having on staff some super smart, forward-thinking programmers, researchers and taxonomists, all of whom today must be awed by Google's myriad breakthrough applications that transcend search.

So while Northern Light set out to spider all existing text-driven content -- no matter the source -- the Googlers weren't satisfied. They set out on a Herculean effort to index all human knowledge. The company's servers apparently had limitless storage capacity. They were still hungry. "Bring it on!" they cried.

Blogger was bought, then (finally) upgraded multiplying the amount of content Google could crawl. Then, as if the libraries and book publishing industry's output wasn't enough, there was that repository of all things video -- $1.6 billion later.

Today, Google announced new, easy-to-use tools for consumers to create Google Map mash-ups that again should significantly expand the amount of content -- text, images, and video -- that reside within Google's search index. From The AP:

"Google has tailored its tools for a mass audience, making map mashups as easy to produce as pointing and clicking a computer mouse. The Mountain View-based company is hoping the simplicity will generate millions of highly specialized maps that can be stored in its search index."

As Business Week asks this week whether Google is too powerful, I was reminded of Sun's always quotable former CEO Scott McNealy's metaphor for a then too powerful Microsoft. He began (I paraphrase): "Imagine if you owned the alphabet and had the ability to add or take way letters on a whim..." Me thinks Google won't be satisfied with owning just the alphabet.

Labels: Google, Google Maps, mash-ups, MyMaps, Northern Light, PR, public relations, search technology

It was good seeing Council of PR Firms prexy Kathy Cripps at the PR Week Awards dinner last month. For the uninitiated, the Council is the trade association for the PR agency business.

As such, it tends to tend to the pedestrian needs of that still-flourishing piece of PR'dom. While not every agency belongs, those that do represent a sizable chunk of the industry's billings.

The Council's website contains some decent information on industry ethics and issues, advice for selecting an agency, and other tidbits, including, as of yesterday, a new jobs database for those contemplating a PR career or PR career change.

The Council is not alone in the PR job board game. PRSA has one, as does O'Dwyer's, PR Week, Bulldog, PR News, Work in PR... I'm partial to PCNY's (via mediabistro.com) and Paidcontent.org (for the digitally inclined), and I'm sure I missed a bunch. Feel free to add links in the comments section.

A quick scan of the myriad job postings tells us something about the vitality of the industry: it's booming! So with college graduations fast approaching, the entry-level crowd has few excuses for not finding a niche in the PR biz.

Labels: careers, college graduates, Council of PR Firms, employment, jobs, PR, PRSA, public relations

The last time we checked in with Ms. Lohan, it concerned her unintelligible electronic eulogy for Robert Altman relayed via PDA to her publicist while teetotaling in Tinseltown.

With its April issue, the folks at GQ are giving us another variation of that theme with a Blackberry interview that reached a high enough threshold (in terms of banal content) to merit a cover story and five-page photo layout.

In the piece, Lindsay shares her profound views on life, but sidesteps the sticky stuff:

"Cats scare me," she writes. "I just think of bad luck from black ones like I had in 'Just My Luck'! I need a boyfriend. Geez."

I wonder if her publicist prepped her for this interview?

"Here now wearing marc jacobs pumps and a kate and kass dress, vintage chanel messenger and topshop tights and peace sign earrings from kaviar and kind," she writes.

At least her fellow rehabbed pump designer gets a plug. Then there's her explanation for jettisoning her partying ways:

"I bought two puppies today! Sober impulse buying of companions who will help me stay home etc."

What's the point, Lindsay? I mean it's one thing to avail yourself for interviews to drive box office, but something entirely different to blabber on about nothingess for the sake of blabbering. Was GQ's fleeting mention of "Georgia Rule" worth the effort?

Sure, your buddy Paris does the gratuitous self-promotion bit, but remember, she has no obvious talent to fall back on. She's famous for being famous (or infamous as the case may be).

But you, Lindsay, are a promising, and some even say talented actor. My advice: refrain from any media interviews not related to your craft. Then sit back and watch your career (finally) go to the next level.

Labels: Blackberry, celebrity, entertainment, Georgia Rule, GQ, Hollywood, Lindsay Lohan, Marc Jacobs, PR, public relations

So the New York Times finally picked up on what's been the talk of the PR blogosphere over the last week -- the now-famous leaked (5000+ word!) agency briefing memo about Wired magazine's Fred Vogelstein. (Maybe there is some validity to the notion that blogging begets MSM?)

There's not much more I can add to the voluminous online conversation except to say, Big Deal. The creation of a briefing memo in advance of a media interview is so SOP -- even in an age where command-and-control is seen as some sort of insidious act of contrition.

Sure, one can't overlook the irony of Wag-Ed creating a memo to exert some control over a story on "Channel 9," the Microsoft blogging network that fosters a sense of de-control, e.g., transparency at the once evil empire.

"One comment on [Wired editor] Mr. Anderson’s blog said the most striking thing was that Waggener Edstrom spent hundreds of hours on controlling the message, but that one wrong keystroke seemed to have trumped the agency’s efforts. It concluded, 'On one hand, you have 3,500 rank-and-file bloggers creating good will for an embattled company. On the other, you have a few highly paid P.R. guys burning that good will as fast as their retainer.'"

Sure that keystroke was unfortunate, but even so, there's nothing nefarious about preparing an executive for a media interview. We certainly provide reporters with background information to help them do their jobs. We would be professionally derelict to not do the same for our clients' end of the journalist-newsmaker equation.

Don't be discouraged, Wag-Ed...

Labels: Channel 9, Fred Vogelstein, memo, PR, public relations, Wag-Ed. Microsoft, Wired magazine

In the previous post, we touched on a few of the tools in the modern PR practitioner's toolbox. We didn't, however, consider western "civilization's" obsession with the more puerile elements of popular culture. (Think Donald Trump, Lindsay Lohan and American Idol.)

Sure, some enterprises benefit by having a 24/7 response mechanism in place to counter any misinformation wafting onto the airwaves, desktops, cellphones and pages of today's media consumer. And, of course, it's always a plus keeping a few TV networks in your back pocket to help amplify your perspective.

But we didn't consider the exploitation of what REALLY connects with the populace. In a piece titled "Babes in the Holy Land," Newsweek looks at a new PR initiative by Israel "to remake the Jewish state's public image." The government and several pro-Israel groups pro-actively pitched Maxim magazine for a racy photo shoot.

"But Israel's real PR problem, according to Saranga, is that Americans —particularly men aged 18 to 35 — either associate the country with war or holy relics, or don't think of it at all. 'We have to find the right hook,' he says. 'And what's relevant to men under 35? Good-looking women.'"

Hmmm. Somehow I don't see this happening in Saudi Arabia. (See photo top right.) But Wal-Mart might benefit by giving it a ride. Ooops. Been there, tried that....

"This effort is the latest volley in a long-running battle over how to sell Israel to the world. Tourism is a nearly $2 billion-a-year industry in Israel, and the art of public relations is something of a national obsession. In Hebrew it's called hasbarah, which means "'explaining.'"

And, as if Israeli weren't sufficiently obsessed with the country's public image, the winner of its top-rated TV show wins a job as a PR person:

"'We almost have a psychological disorder when it comes to public image,'" adds Eytan Schwartz, the first winner of Israel's top-rated reality TV show, "The Ambassador." Schwartz's prize is proof of that: the winner of "The Ambassador" gets to become a public-relations flack."

The piece went on to weigh this effort against exploiting its religious appeal to Christians around the world. Former tourism official Benny Elon:

"It's the only state where you can take the Bible as your tourism guide."

Harvard Law School professor and author of The Case for Israel disagrees:

"Benny Elon is just dead wrong. It puts Israel in the camp of arch-conservative people."

Whatever the approach, and if you're the least bit familiar with how things work in that country, you'll know that consensus is rarely achieved, most all agree that something must be done. This was made plain from recent brand evaluation from WPP's Wunderman:

"A recent study by the New York marketing firm Wunderman has concluded that Israel's 'brand' is perceived similarly to those of Philip Morris and the NRA."

Ouch.

Labels: Maxim, Newsweek, PR, public relations, State of Israel, WPP, Wunderman

Which of the following offers the most cutting edge PR tactics?

1. A large multi-national public relations agency
2. A large corporate communications department
3. A small, specialized digital PR firm (if there are any)
4. A non-governmental organization
5. A political campaign
6. The U.S. government
7. The government of Iran

It's hard to say. After all, a number of the presidential campaigns (#5) are effectively using social media to capture prospective supporters and a bigger online footprint. Then there's the real-time war room mentality that pervades the White House (#6), and increasingly besieged corporations (#2). As for the global PR firms (#1), the results are uneven. Who even can name a pure digital/social media PR firm (#3)?

The president of Iran (#7), with his Hitleresque underpinnings, simply controls the region's like-minded media, e.g., today one of the pan-Arab TV networks broadcast supposed "confessions" from two of the British soldiers captured in Iraqi waters.

Actually, selection #4 gets my vote. Check out the following video clip from the anything-but-green PR team at Greenpeace.

Remember that dopey, I mean weepy promotion last week for which Kleenex set down blue couches in New York's Times Square to tape allegedly unrehearsed man-on the-street interviews? People were asked to tell a tale that brought tears to their eyes, and, of course, an "impromptu" Kleenex. (Selected finalists got paid $200.)

Kimberly-Clark (#2), the makers of Kleenex, which uses virgin wood fiber from Canadian ancient forests, succeeded in making media waves, but not all the company had bargained for. Leave it to B.L. to expose this tearful ruse.

Ultimately this old school PR promotion will end up on the online video hit parade, but not before that of the edgier clip from a more nimble Greenpeace beat them to the post.

Labels: clear cutting, environment, Kimberly-Clarke, Kleenex, New York City, PR, public relations, times square