November 2011 | www.odwyerpr.com Communications & new media Nov. 2011 I Vol. 25 No. 11 MARKETING IN AMSTERDAM: A SPECIAL REPORT THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUE WHY THE GAME HAS CHANGED FOR SUSTAINABILITY PR GOOGLE+ AND PR: A NEW FRONTIER SOLYNDRA: HOW A CLEAN-TECH BUST COULD REAWAKEN THE INDUSTRY O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OF TOP TECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS PG. 37 Communications lessons from Occupy Wall Street pg. 17 PR highlights from the Louisville U.S.O. pg. 12 Congloms report big Q3 PR earnings pg. 19
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N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 1 | w w w . o d w y e r p r . c o m
Communications & new media Nov. 2011 I Vol. 25 No. 11
MARKETING IN AMSTERDAM:A SPECIAL REPORT
THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUE
WHY THE GAME HAS CHANGEDFOR SUSTAINABILITY PR
GOOGLE+ AND PR:A NEW FRONTIER
SOLYNDRA: HOW A CLEAN-TECH BUSTCOULD REAWAKEN THE INDUSTRY
O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OF TOPTECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS PG. 37
O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. (212) 679-2471; fax: (212) 683-2750. Periodical postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mail-ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to O’Dwyer’s, 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. O’Dwyer’s PR Report ISSN: 1931-8316. Published monthly.
TTEECCHH IINNDDUUSSTTRRYY SSHHOOUULLDDCCEELLEEBBRRAATTEE IINNNNOOVVAATTIIOONNThe industry most responsible forchanging our world could benefit from itsown penchant for innovation.
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CCOONNCCEERRTT RREEVVEEAALLSS NNEEWWTTWWIISSTT OONN OOLLDD FFAAVVOORRIITTEESSPR pros worked the U.S.O.’s firstever Homefront Concert with an array ofnew technologies backed by old schoolknow-how.
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SSOOLLYYNNDDRRAA FFLLAARREE--UUPPCCOOUULLDD MMAAKKEE RRAAIINNSolyndra’s highly-publicized bank-ruptcy proves the company misread itsown market.
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FFIIVVEE PPRR LLEESSSSOONNSS FFRROOMMOOCCCCUUPPYY WWAALLLL SSTTRREEEETTPR pros can take a few lessons fromOccupy Wall Street’s numerous blunders andsuccesses.
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GGOOOOGGLLEE++:: WWHHAATT PPRR PPRROOSSNNEEEEDD TTOO KKNNOOWWWhile Google+’s benefits for con-sumers are clear, the vote is still out forwhat implications it will have on businessesand the communications industry.
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TTHHEE EEVVOOLLVVIINNGG WWOORRLLDD OOFFSSUUSSTTAAIINNAABBIILLIITTYY PPRRSimply “being green” used tobe a boon for companies looking to differ-entiate their brand. Now it’s not enough.
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20 BBRRAANNDDSS AANNDD MMEEDDIIAA:: AA SSYYMMBBIIOOTTIICC LLOOVVEE AAFFFFAAIIRRAs our media landscape continues toevolve, professionals and brands havebeen forced to change their approach-es to delivering compelling content.
19 QQ33 PPRR RREEVVEENNUUEESS SSTTRROONNGGDDEESSPPIITTEE ‘‘UUNNCCEERRTTAAIINNTTYY’’Third quarter earnings from the world’sbiggest ad/PR conglomerates show biggains despite global economic concerns.
22 AAMMSSTTEERRDDAAMM RREEVVEEAALLSS NNEEWWGGLLOOBBAALL MMAARRKKEETTIINNGG HHUUBBA surplus of local creative talent and aseries of attractive new tax incentiveshave transformed Amsterdam into one ofEurope’s biggest marketing centers.
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EDITORIAL
For more than a month, the Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park have raged on,seemingly with no end in sight. In case you’re unaware, the movement has actually goneglobal now, with a series of longstanding satellite protests in San Francisco, Portland,
Chicago, Washington D.C., Seattle, Philadelphia, not to mention an international glut of sim-ilar uprisings with every city from Paris to Santiago joining the fray.
Contrary to what the media will tell you — and boy, they will tell you — Occupy WallStreet doesn’t suffer from a “lack of message.” And this isn’t a partisan movement either (anideological one yes, but one trip to the park will show you anti-Obama sentiment is de rigueurof the cause). The Occupy Wall Street protests are the logical result of years-long percolatingcontempt and disillusionment with a sliding scale of economic favoritism in this country thatprovides a red carpet for one group while handing out brooms to the rest. Ever get the feel-ing you’ve been cheated?
The media has been predictably pitiful in their response to all this. For the first week of theprotests they couldn’t even be bothered to make the trek twenty blocks south to cover it. Itwasn’t until several poorly behaved NYPD officers responded with unnecessary force and thelocal news was forced to cover the event that the national press realized something of impor-tance might be going on. Two weeks late to the story. Is there any wonder why no one buysnewspapers anymore?
When national TV crews did arrive they came prepared, as they always do, with a laundrylist of preassembled narratives. The gross hypocrisy in their treatment of modern civil disobe-dience cannot be understated. When the Tea Party organizes by bringing loaded guns and mis-spelled signs to public parks they’re “patriotic” participants in the democratic process. Whenliberals do it they’re a “mob” that “doesn’t know what they’re protesting.” The only thingmore offensive than Fox New’s irresponsible coverage of this issue is their hilarious presump-tion to think we’re stupid enough to fall for these hillbilly Jedi Mind tricks.
The principle tenants of the Occupy Wall Street movement are obviously, abundantly,painfully clear. Current U.S. economic policies have given the top 95% of earners in thiscountry carte blanche to repeatedly run our economy into bankruptcy and financial destitu-tion through increasingly shady, irresponsible and woefully unregulated business deals thatoften bordered on illegal (sometime they were illegal outright). What’s worse, they mademoney doing it, with the tacit understanding that the jobless, the lower class and those recent-ly foreclosed upon as a result of the very mortgage mess our financial community createdwould pay for it. And we did. Now, those who bailed out the top earners find themselves withincreasingly fewer resources and absolutely no legal recourse available. Add insult to injury,those very top percenters are now running to their favorite in-pocket Congressman to slashsocial services and regulatory safety guards — benefits for first responders, Medicare, bankdisclosure — because they messed up their investments and ran us into two wars and nowclaim they operate in a regulatory environment that is “anti business.” What part of this don’tyou understand? Do I have to explain it with puppets?
Sadly, too many are still covering their ears. There’s this proclivity for Americans to rollout blanket statements of support and empathy for those who stand up against tyranny inthird-world nations, yet when we have the gall to question our own increasing economic dis-parity we’re simply Marxist hippies enacting “class warfare.” Our collective lack of criticalthinking in times like these is paramount to a diseased, crippling stupidity that affects us allas a culture.
I’m tired of it. I’m tired of people who make a hundred times my salary use their K-Streetinfluence to pay a smaller percentage in taxes than I pay, I’m tired of electing leaders thatforce the foreclosed and unemployed to bail the rich out after their foolish investmentsinevitably flop, I’m tired of corporations asking for tax breaks so they can ship more workoverseas, and I’m tired of multinationals investing in foreign wars and expecting my familyto donate blood for it.
Finally, I’m also tired of celebrities like Alec Baldwin (who, hypocritically, is simultane-ously appearing in a series of Capital One print and television ads this month … “what’s inyour wallet?” indeed) and Michael Moore (a noted one-percenter who makes millions bash-ing the free market) making impromptu appearances at Zuccotti Park in pathetic attempts tostrengthen their “down with the man” brands.
Similarly, I hope the protesters can learn something from this. We can all live better with-out being such blind, obsequious consumers to the mindless brine of products and gadgetsthat rule our lives. Want to make a difference? Stop buying the latest iPad/iPhone/iWhateverand start investing in your community. �
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Wall Street protests shine light on business, media
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The firm had $32.5 million in fees in1998 and 291 employees. It becamea division of BSMG Worldwide
which was owned by Interpublic and nolonger reported its fee and employee totalsseparately. More recently it became part ofthe MWW Group which bought itself outfrom IPG last year.
Pincus was stricken two years ago withmultiple myeloma (cancer of the plasmacells in bone marrow). He wrote a three-part series starting in April 2010 for theChicago Sun-Times describing his treat-ment.
Pincus called the disease incurable buttreatable and expressed his thanks for “anincredibly lucky life,” adding, “In no wayam I being short-changed.”
A partner in StevensGouldPincus as wellas a columnist for the Sun-Times andinvolved in many other activities, Pincussaid he had no thought of pulling back. Histreatment included a five-week stem celltransplant sequence that returned his bloodto near normal.Wrote Bio for Use with ObitPincus, in advance of his expected death,
wrote an extensive “personal backgroundupdate” which has been printed below.
Surviving are his wife Sherri BarrPincus, five children and 12 grandchildren.The children are Dr. Anne Zitron Casey,molecular biologist, New York; Prof. LauraPincus Hartman, DePaul University,Chicago; Jennifer Zitron Suomi, art educa-tor, New York; Mark J. Pincus, founder andCEO of Zynga, San Francisco, and SusanPincus Sherman, veterinarian, Glencoe, Ill.Personal Background Updateby Ted PincusTed Pincus has the distinction of being
the most disastrous quarterback in the histo-ry of American high school football. He fol-lowed this feat by achieving notoriety as theworst student in the U.S. Air Force pilottraining program.
Fortunately, he found better luck in work-ing with words.
Mr. Pincus has been ranked by PR Weekas one of the 20th century’s most influentialcommunications executives. In 2002 hewas named PR Professional of the Year by
The Public Relations Society of America.Beyond pioneering the Investor Relationsindustry over the past 45 years, he has beena leading crusader for more open corporatedisclosure and numerous concepts of cor-porate communications strategy now inwide usage. He also has been a leadingadvocate of more open, responsive U.S.government public diplomacy policies.
Mr. Pincus today is an educator, newspa-per columnist, consultant and lecturer. He isthe business columnist of the Chicago SunTimes, an adjunct finance professor at theDePaul University MBA program andadvisor to corporate top management thathave included both CEOs Jim Cantalupoand Charlie Bell, John Calamos, Jim Tyreeof Mesirow and others. He is alsoManaging Partner of StevensGould Pincus,a management consulting firm.
As a Director of Business for DiplomaticAction, he serves with 30 other communi-cations industry professionals who haveformed a new organization that has con-ceived and sponsored new initiatives tocounter anti-American sentiment abroad.Most recently, chairing a working sessionof The Ditchley Conference attended byU.N., U.K., U.S. government and mediaofficials, Mr. Pincus introduced new initia-tives for U.S. public diplomacy including aplan for a Global e-Pal Program for teenag-er connectivity, and a plan for the firstworldwide quarterly “fireside chat” to beconducted by The Secretary of Statethrough live webcast and teleconferencewith simultaneous voice-over translation.
The firm he founded, The FinancialRelations Board LLC, was the world’s old-est and largest financial public relationsagency. In building the field of financialpublic relations, he was credited with thedevelopment of several ideas that wonbroadscale acceptance during the ’60sincluding “corporate transparency” and thequarterly global teleconference withinvestors.
Under his guidance as CEO through 2001FRB was accorded more professionalawards for outstanding programs than anyother firm in the history of the field. Thisincluded the industry’s “Oscar”, the PRSASilver Anvil for Investor Relations, in six
years of the ’90s, and FRB was named TheDistinguished Agency of the Year byFinancial World and Equities magazinesfor thirteen consecutive years. By the timehe sold the firm, it had become the nation’sthird largest independent public relationsagency of any kind, with a staff of 300 infive cities, representing over four percent ofall listed public companies in America. Itsorganic fee growth rate since 1980 had set anew industry record— 86 per cent peryear.
Following his 2000sale of FRB for $40million to True NorthCommunications, heserved as ViceChairman of itsBSMG public rela-tions group, thenation’s sixth largestgeneral agency, andmore recently as sen-ior consultant to True North’s new parentInterpublic and its Weber ShandwickGroup — the world’s largest PR unit.
Over his 48 year career, Mr. Pincus hasbeen advisor on communications strategyto political candidates, the CEOs of morethan 1,000 publically held corporation,government agencies in the U.S.
His ideas have been credited with focus-ing national recognition upon some of thenation’s most remarkable Wall Street suc-cesses, including EMC Corp. which wasnamed Stock of the Decade for the ’90s,Citrix, Adobe Systems, Boston Properties,Alberto Culver, Radio Shack, GeneralGrowth Properties, Midas, Manpower,Samsonite, Walter Heller, Jenn-Aire, Jewel,Stone Container, Anixter, NYNEX, BEASystems, Combined Insurance, Culligan,Upjohn, Volvo, The No-Load Mutual FundAssn. Campaign to introduce the MoneyMarket Funds, The Chicago Board of Tradeprogram to make Americans commodities-conscious, the world-wide introduction ofthe Chicago Mercantile Exchange’sInternational Monetary Market, and theREIT industry program that vastly broad-ened investor interest in real estate invest-ment trusts in the ’90s.
Mr. Pincus is a nationally recognizedauthor, lecturer and outspoken critic of cor-porate communications. He presently is aDirector of Business for Diplomatic Action,and in recent times has been a public affairsconsultant to the U.S. Commerce Dept.,The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rightsand the American Jewish Committee. He isauthor of a book on Wall Street humor, two
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SPECIAL REPORT
Financial PR pioneer Pincus dies at 78Theodore H. Pincus, founder of the Financial Relations Board,which became the biggest financial PR specialist firm andwas sold to the former True North Communications in 1999 for$40 million, died Sept. 30 in Chicago.
By Jack O’Dwyer
�Continued on next page
Theodore “Ted”Pincus
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books published by The AmericanManagement Assn., and wrote the leadchapter of Dow Jones Irwin’s textbook oncorporate communications. Over the years,his articles on communications policy haveappeared in The New York Times, WallStreet Journal, Fortune, and other nationalmagazines.
He has served as Chairman of 44 nation-al and regional conferences on InvestorRelations and has been a frequent lecturerat the Financial Executives Institute, TheNational Investor Relations Institute,Nasdaq, graduate business schools atUniversity of Illinois and Northwestern,and the Medill Graduate School ofJournalism at Northwestern. He has con-ducted two-day seminars on IR strategy forCEOs and CFOs in each region of the U.S.sponsored by the National Assn. ofSecurities Dealers. He has been a featuredspeaker at national symposiums held byForbes, Financial World, and others.
In 1960 he served as a consultant to theNelson Rockefeller presidential nomina-tion campaign and in 1968 was Co-Chairman of the Illinois RockefellerCommittee during the nomination cam-paign. In 1974-75 he served as a communi-cations consultant to Army SecretaryHoward Callaway. In 1975-76, he servedas a professional consultant to then IllinoisTreasurer Candidate (and later U.S.Senator) Alan J. Dixon and directed cam-paign communications.
In 1983 the Reagan Administrationnamed him Chairman of a special USAIDadvisory mission to the government ofJamaica in a two-year project to improvethat nation’s image. In 1990 he served asPublic Relations Chairman and AdvisoryBoard member of The Four FreedomsFoundation, a private arm of the U.S.Information Agency.
In 2000, as Marketing Chairman of TheIllinois Coalition (of over 300 technologycompanies), he authored the marketingsegment of the strategic plan that GovernorGeorge Ryan used to win passage of his$1.9 billion Venture Tech legislation.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Pincus wasAssociate Editor of Omnibusmagazine andfreelance writer published in ChicagoTribune Sunday magazine and other peri-odicals. Prior he was a financial newswriter in the Far East, USAF InformationOfficer for the F-100 Thunderbird AerialDemonstration Team, and Chief of theRadio-TV Branch, U.S. Forces-Far Eastheadquarters, Tokyo. He holds a degreefrom Indiana University where he studiedJournalism. In his pro bono work, Mr.Pincus is a charter member of The NationalInvestor Relations Institute SeniorRoundtable and currently a director of The
Illinois Coalition, The American JewishCommittee Midwest Chapter, and TheNorth Bank. In past years he had been anadvisor to The U.S. Information Agency, amember of the advisory board of Nasdaq, adirector of The Chicago Film Festival, adirector of three corporations, a 17-yeartrustee of The Gateway House Foundation,pioneer network of drug abuse treatmentcenters, communications advisor to theCrusade of Mercy of MetropolitanChicago, a founding director of TheChicago Youth Success Foundation, andfive times chairman of theCommunications Industry annual cam-paign for Chicago’s Jewish United Fund.
He is a current member of The WorldPresidents Organization, The New YorkSociety of Security Analysts, and the SeniorRoundtable of The National InvestorRelations Institute.
Mr. Pincus was the recipient of TheAmerican Jewish Committee’s 1993 CivicAchievement Award and was named to TheIllinois Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame. In1998 he was named Entrepreneur of theYear by Ernst & Young, Merrill Lynch andNasdaq for the Midwest Services Industry.He holds the PRSA Silver Anvil and 52other national and regional awards. He alsohas a 1725 ranking in the U.S. ChessFederation. �
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FEATURE
We’ve exceeded these wildambitions, many of us havethe equivalent of a PC in
every pocket and our households areteeming with laptops, tablets, smartphones and media centers. Mobilephones have brought the power of com-puting well beyond the developed worldas well. I have seen the impact that asimple phone has on a Delhi seamstressand an Uttar Pradesh farmer.Technology is deeply embedded in thefabric of industry, government and soci-ety at all levels and in all parts of thisplanet.
Thirty years ago, the technologyindustry was on a mission to change theworld by creating the tools that usheredin the Information Age. Access to infor-mation has driven the interconnected-ness of humanity and commerce, andhas led to greater democratization ofsociety. The world is a profoundlychanged place.
Yet, in many respects the technologyindustry itself has not changed thatmuch. We thrive on improvement, bet-tering what has come before. This pur-suit of the next new thing is critical todriving the kind of change we have seen.But, we as an industry need perspectiveas well as pursuit. We need to take stockof the world that we have so greatlyimpacted. We need to put contextaround our invention. We need to recog-nize the impact and take responsibilityfor the profound effect that our technol-ogy has had on industry, governments,society and mankind. The technologyindustry must celebrate the change tech-nology has made.The rewards of innovationTechnology gives us the freedom to
work from just about anywhere.Productivity has increased thanks to allthe advances in technology.
According to Mahzarin R. Banaji’s
essay, “Unraveling Beliefs,” over thecourse of 150 years, the life expectancyof a white woman living in the UnitedStates has jumped from 40 to 80 years.Something that seemed to be deter-mined by biology, now seems to berelated to advances in technology andscience that have induced majorchanges to healthcare and nutrition.Banaji says our beliefs about the worthof life and health and prosperity haveimpacted the changes as well. Medicaladvances, like vaccinations, haveincreased life expectancy in third worldcountries. According to the WorldHealth Organization, nearly 250,000cases of polio were reported in 1990,whereas in 2010, thanks to vaccina-tions, the estimated number of poliocases worldwide was only 1,500.
Even the Fifth Amendment has beenimpacted by technology, as defendantscan now be forced to provide samples oftheir blood, saliva and other DNA evi-dence that could incriminate them. Nowwe hear stories about criminals convict-ed based on DNA evidence from threedecades ago, often freeing an innocentperson. Our ability to analyze DNA hascreated a fairer justice system wherephysical evidence plays a key role. It istime to celebrate these thousands ofextraordinary milestones made possibleby innovation. Assume responsibility for innovationKindergarteners don’t have fine-tuned
digit motor skills but their thumbs arevery adept. Many teens default to play-ing with their phones and only commu-nicating via text messages now, versusinteracting with people in-person. Irecently sat down with MIT Professorand author Sherry Turkle to discuss hernew book, “Alone Together,” the resultof over 10 years of research on the effectof technology on youth and relation-ships. Turkle feels we need to be awareof how technology is not only support-ing our relationships but also inhibiting
them, and create new societal norms andetiquette for technology use. She advo-cates having no texting zones in thehome and car. Understanding technolo-gy’s impact on our children and theworld that we are leaving them isimportant. We can and are inventingnew technologies to improve our envi-ronment, to educate upcoming genera-tions, to improve working conditionsglobally, to save lives. We can innovateto solve these and other important socie-tal issues.Change the conversationWith the global community as our
audience, we must use a simpler lan-guage and evolve the technology discus-sion in line with the people who areinfluenced by and using the byproductsof our invention. Itis time for us to ele-vate our conversa-tion from speedsand feeds and com-petitive features toone of how tech-nologies are appliedto daily life. Weare no longer in theInformation Age.We are now in whatI and others arecalling the Innovation Age.
Where innovation impacts everything.Innovation by nature is a state of con-stant change. We need to understandthat impact, and ensure that innovationis seen as an engine for positive progressglobally. This means we need to talkless about features and more about howtechnology truly can impact our worldand our lives. As communicators, this isour job. We need to guide our col-leagues and clients away from thearcane technical language that is ourindustry’s comfort zone and elevate theconversation to one of benefits, impactand application. Steve Jobs made tech-nology accessible and beautiful. We cando the same to the language of technolo-gy.
The Innovation Age is upon us and itis truly the most exciting era ever. TheInnovation Age is our time to use tech-nology to create a sustainable life andworld for all of us. Heidi Sinclair is President of the
Global Technology practice at WeberShandwick. �
Tech industry should celebrate its penchant for innovation
Heidi Sinclair
By Heidi Sinclair
This year, IBM celebrated the 30th anniversary of the personalcomputer. I remember it well; during the summer of 1981 I wastwo years out of college and working in Silicon Valley. Thosewere early days, but we dreamed big: for my client, Apple, Iwrote a story for the International Herald titled “A Computer inEvery Pot,” speculating on the time when everyone would havecomputing power. Bill Gates shared his vision of a PC in everyhome and on every desk.
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FEATURE
It’s always rewarding when you canimplement and successfully leveragethe latest technology to help meet the
goals of your client. The greatest rewardcomes from working with well-estab-lished organizations that have a traditionof successfully communicating with theiraudience, but tend to overlook the latesttechnologies as a cost-effective way toreach their audience.
When you hear U.S.O., it probablyconjures up black and white images ofMarilyn Monroe entertaining the troops.Or more recently, stars like JessicaSimpson, Kid Rock or Carrie Underwoodheading overseas to put on a show for ourservice men and women.
The United Service Organization(U.S.O.) has been supporting America’stroops since their first mission in 1941.The goal is the same as it was then — tolift the spirits of America’s troops andtheir families. Until recently though, the
focus was more troop-centric and lessfamily-focused.
The U.S.O. understands, more thanmost groups, the emotional strain put onfamilies when their loved ones aredeployed. Beyond the emotional strain,many families feel the financial strainand the stress of managing their house-hold without their significant other. Andwhile individual communities often rallyaround military families, the community-at-large often focuses on sending theirhelp straight to the troops rather thanlooking at the military family around thecorner.
So for one night this summer at theKFC Yum! Center in Louisville,Kentucky, the families of our troopsenjoyed a party just for them. The U.S.O.,in conjunction with The National Guard,hosted the first-ever Homefront Concertfeaturing country stars MontgomeryGentry.
The key to making this event a successwas two-fold: we had to getfamilies to the show and wealso wanted an event militaryfamilies across the countrywould enjoy. We had to getthe word out that the concertwas available online on thePentagon Channel as well asthrough cable providers andDirect TV.
Planning a virtual event is alittle trickier than just gettingbutts into the seats. There’s alot of virtual “noise” we hadto cut through to make surefamilies across the country“tuned in” online.Thankfully, the U.S. NationalGuard’s online presence isvast. Volunteers and mem-bers of the U.S. NationalGuard reached out to fami-lies, personally sharingdetails on the event. We allknow how powerful a recom-mendation from a friend can
be, and these volunteers and employeeshave established long-lasting relation-ships, and even friendships with thesefamilies. Their personal endorsement wasextremely valuable and was reinforcedthrough the online programs.
In PR, we often talk about the impor-tance of relationship building, especiallywhen it comes to brands connecting withconsumers. This event was evidence ofthe U.S. National Guard capitalizing ontheir strong, both real and online, rela-tionship with theirconstituents. Word-of-mouth was key.We wanted familiesto get excited aboutthis and tell theirfriends both onlineand face-to-face.
We targeted theU.S.O. and the U.S.National Guard’scurrent online audi-ence to promote theFacebook andTwitter feeds for the Homefront Concert.In addition, we populated these activenetworks with information on the con-cert, thus building the new HomefrontConcert brand as well as promoting theevent on the established National Guardbrand pages. The plan included a day-by-day social media strategy, online promo-tions, contests and a detailed media pitch-ing plan.
The social media component was aconstant reminder as well as a way forfamilies to engage with the event. Wenever wanted the concert to be a one-dimensional event but rather a back-and-forth between the event, in-house audi-ence and the online audience. Beyondsimply promoting the day and time, wecreated a message calendar that includedposts that encouraged followers and fansto share. We asked their favoriteMontgomery Gentry songs, asked themabout attending other U.S.O. events andrequested they post pictures, answer triv-ia questions and share stories about theirfamily members serving overseas. Thispromoted the family aspect by allowingthe U.S.O. Homefront Concert to reallyget to know its audience beyond just the“like” button.
In addition, we offered incentives for
U.S.O. concert reveals new twist on an old PR traditionWhen the United Service Organization wanted to spread theword about its first ever Homefront Concert, PR pros respond-ed with an array of new technologies backed by old schoolknow-how to build relationships and “tune in” their audience.
By Danielle Rudy Davis
�Continued on next page
Eddie Montgomery from the country music duoMontgomery Gentry riles up the crowd during a perform-ance at the first ever America-based U.S.O. HomefrontConcert held at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY. Theconcert was held in honor of the United States militaryservice members.
Photo by David Bolton, Kentucky National Guard.
Danielle RudyDavus
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families and large groups to “tune in.”Through the concert Facebook page, theygave away “watch party kits” that fami-lies could request with goodies to host aconcert party of their own. In addition,we created a top-of-the-line kit to begiven away to one lucky family. Thisdeluxe hit included an autographedMontgomery Gentry poster, Visa andiTunes gift cards, delivery of two PapaJohn’s pizzas for the party, party games,snacks and more. We created an easy-to-use application that allowed the U.S.O. tointernally manage the campaign throughtheir website, facebook and email mes-sages.
These kits allowed families to make theevent their own while enjoying a night offwith their friends and family. Besides get-ting a special show from MontgomeryGentry, the families in the arena had theopportunity to connect with their lovedones abroad. In addition, the audienceand all the viewers listened to a messagefrom First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr.Jill Biden.
Having a strong knowledge of the audi-ence gave us the ability to craft astronger, more effective message. In allaspects of public relations, it’s importantto know and understand with whom youare speaking before crafting a message.
Because of the amaz-ing relationship theNational Guard haswith its members’families, we wereable to use theirbreadth of knowl-edge to create a planthat fit this concert’sneeds — ultimatelyhelped make theevent a success.
The U.S.O. madea great decisionwhen they put thistwist on an oldfavorite. Not onlywas the concertitself a success withmore than 14,500family members inattendance, butmore than 2 millionpeople tuned in towatch the concert on the PentagonChannel online. In addition, there weremore than 8,000 watch parties hostedand attended by military families andtheir friends.
With a successful first mission underits belt, the U.S.O. and the NationalGuard have plans to host more
Homefront Concerts in the comingmonths. By taking a chance on a newconcept, the U.S.O. has done a greatservice for our service men and womenand those they love the most. Danielle Rudy Davis is an Account
Supervisor, social media and technologyexpert for Peritus. �
Merritt Group is proud to be named as one of America’s top technology firms by O’Dwyer’s PR Report.
At Merritt, we combine the right mix of communications channels—whether it’s PR, marketing strategy, creative design or social media—to ensure that your messages resonate with the audiences that matter most.
We have dedicated practices in Government, Enterprise Technology, Communications & Networking, Security, Healthcare and Clean Tech.
To find out more visit www.merrittgrp.com
We create and move markets for forward thinking companies.
Security
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Reston, VA | San Francisco, CA
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The July 26 U.S.O. Homefront Concert in Louisville, KY, featuredcountry music legends and attracted thousands of National Guardservice members as well as friends and family of service memberswho made history as being attendees to the first ever Americanhosted U.S.O. concert.
Photo by David Bolton, Kentucky National Guard.
U.S.O. concert reveals new twist on an old PR tradition
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NOVEMBER 2011 �WWW.ODWYERPR.COM14
FEATURE
Image consultants were urging compa-nies to go green before regulators orshareholders forced them to do so, so
companies could gain “first-mover”advantages for their corporate reputation.Now businesses are expected to focus onsustainability issues and U.S. media aremuch less likely to cover the latest corpo-rate greening initiative.
According to cleantech communica-tors, this shift has been occurring for awhile and companies will have to adaptto a changed media landscape. There arestill opportunities for coverage, but com-
panies will have to become better story-tellers and communicate their relation-ship to the issues of the day. They alsohave to be able to take advantage of thenew opportunities available to communi-cators.A shift in sustainability coverageWillie Brent, Global Cleantech
Practice Lead for Weber Shandwick,said he has “talked to a number ofreporters who feel like they’ve ‘beenburned’ by covering [sustainabilityadvances] that were supposed to hap-pen and didn’t.” As a result, “the ‘BS’meter has definitely been raised a notchor two by business media.”
Kimberly Kupiecki, Senior VicePresident and Cleantech Group Leaderat Edelman, has also witnessed the shiftin sustainability coverage. “In terms ofenergy and environment,” she noted,“most reporters are covering the news,environmental disasters, financial news(IPOs, mergers), policy etc. It’s expect-ed that companies will have sustain-ability programs now,” Kupiecki said.
Sustainability coverage has also beenimpacted by the broader decline inmedia. “I think trade media are sounder-staffed (and often staffed by verygreen reporters — no pun intended),”said Brent, “that their stories are oftencopy and paste.” And if it’s pressreleases they’re copying and pasting,chances are they are being printed butnot read.
But there are still opportunities tobreak through and get noticed. “USmedia who matter are looking to gobeyond hype and try to be more dis-cerning” in their coverage of sustain-ability, said Brent.
The ways to get noticed involvesomething old and something new forcommunicators. First, as Brent said“the level of story telling has to be ele-vated for success.”
Kupiecki agreed: “where did ‘clicks
and mortar’ or Internet coverage go?To the most interesting and innovativecompanies and business models(Twitter, Facebook, Four Square) andto the high growth companies (Google,Apple) and the drama along the way.”
There are other ways to succeed thatwill look familiar to long-time commu-nicators. Kupiecki advises “Offer[ing]your experts as sources on relevantissues the media arecovering todaysuch as natural gasfracking, price ofgas/oil drilling andspills (and itseffects), how themilitary is usingrenewable energy.We [Edelman]recently did thiswith SolarReserveCEO Kevin Smithwho spoke out onthe benefits and critical nature of theDOE loan guarantees during the recentbudgeting crunch.”New era, new opportunitiesBut new communication methods offer
new opportunities for companies to telltheir stories.
As Brent said, “... it’s not just story-telling to media, it’s also brands becom-ing their own storytellers. More and moreof the work we [Weber Shandwick] aredoing for our clients is oriented aroundhelping brands become their own contentcreators (or co-creators) and learninghow to distribute/syndicate/share thatcontent through digital and social chan-nels and use it to engage with people whohave an interest in it.”
Ultimately, one of the most effectiveways to react to the latest shift in main-stream media coverage (as well as pre-pare for future shifts) is to not complete-ly rely on them to distribute your mes-sage. While not abandoning what hasworked in the past, smart companies willlearn how to create their own media andcommunicate directly to the stakeholderswho matter most to their sustainabilityinitiatives.Nathan is the Director of Public
Relations for POET, the largest producerof biofuels in the world. This article orig-inally appeared on the Sustainable LifeMedia website. �
The evolving world of sustainability communicationsIt wasn’t long ago that choosing to focus on sustainability —or “going green” — stood to earn companies positive newscoverage and public praise. But as more and more companieshave jumped on the sustainability bandwagon, those dayshave largely come to an end.
Solyndra hired Glover Park Group, the well-connected Democratic PR firm, to introduce itsmanagement to members of the House Energyand Commerce committee six weeks before theAugust 31 announcement that the solar panelcompany was shutting down and throwing1,100 people out of work.
Catharine Ransom, former Climate andEnvironment Advisor to Sen. Max Baucus andsenior policy advisor to ex-Senator Bob Graham;Gregg Rothschild, ex-Legislative Director forSen. John Kerry and Deputy Chief of Staff forthe Energy and Commerce Committee, and AlixMistri, special assistant to former PresidentBush II and chief of staff to Rep. Bill Shuster,are registered as Solyndra lobbyists.
The committee on Sept. 22 asked the Dept.of Energy for additional documentation regard-ing the solar panel company’s $535 million loanguarantee.
McBee Strategic Consulting, which washired by Solyndra on Jan. 30 2009 to work onthe federal loan agreement, terminated tieswith the Fremont, Cal.-based company on Jan.31.
McAllister & Quinn, which filed June 15 towork for Energy Dept. appropriations, ended itsrelationship with Solyndra on Sept. 1.
Joel Johnson, managing director of GloverPark, has not been reached about whether thefirm still represents the interests of Solyndra.
Nathan Schock
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It’s a shame that the firm was a benefici-ary of the DoE’s loan guarantee program— to the tune of $535 million — for
which American taxpayers are now liable.Some important lessons may be learned
from this failure. Politically, expect theusual finger pointing, buck passing, andideological posturing. Don’t waste yourtime deciding who gets the blame, or evenwho deserves it.
What killed Solyndra is the same thingthat will propel more innovative Americansolar tech companies to success: competi-tion. The challenge ahead for the U.S. solarpower industry is going to be communicat-ing to its stakeholders that Solyndra was theexception, not the rule.A not-so-sunny outlookThrough advances in technology and
industrial experience, the cost of solarpower has decreased steadily in recentyears. As more firms around the worldentered the market — most notably in
countries like China and Taiwan — theprice of silicon fell sharply. This explosionin supply has caused the price of solar pan-els to fall by 40 percent in the last yearalone. Unfortunately for Solyndra, duringthat same year the company invested morethan $700 million into its state-of-the-art“Fab 2” production facility — $500 millionof which were federal loans.
It’s easy to understand why the companywas cast as an innovator by PresidentObama only one year ago, and by the Bushadministration before him. Production ofthe company’s touted thin-film photovolta-ic (PV) cells was cheaper than the manufac-ture of the conventional crystalline siliconpanels. At least it was, until the price of sil-icon plummeted, taking Solyndra and otherthin-film makers down with it.Public affairs, outreach suggestionsSo what’s the prognosis for American
solar PV industry? It’s going to be a toughtwo years ahead, but that’s true for manyindustries. Nevertheless, if you’re still in
business, now is the time for action.Currently the U.S. market represents five
percent of global demand for solar energy.The global transition to solar power is com-ing, and more quickly than many expect.But despite the chaos Solyndra’s failure hasrecently wrought on public opinion, domes-tic solar companies must remind the publicthat the future of the U.S. as a global renew-able energy innovator is at stake.
For the worst to happen, all industry hasto do is remain quiet. In the meantime, con-sumers who are distrustful of clean tech —because of its inextricable link to the issueof climate change — will use Solyndra’sdemise to “prove” the futility of greeninvestment. The solar power industry mustchange the discussionfrom preventing afuture climate catastro-phe to a simple, moreimmediate one aboutconsumers’ right to analternative low-cost,reliable energy option.
Industry advocacygroups such as theSolar EnergyIndustries Associationand the Solar ElectricPower Association will need to make con-certed efforts to reverse the damage thatSolyndra’s failure will do to the publicimage of solar power. To meet this chal-lenge, advocacy groups should partner withutilities that integrate solar power into theirgrid supply. These partnerships shouldenlist experts, including public officials indistricts with active solar industries, tobring their message to the American public:solar power is both viable and central toeconomic growth and competitiveness.
While convincing state and local author-ities that pro-solar incentives like feed-intariffs are important, the industry will alsoneed to directly engage residential cus-tomers. These end-users are the mostimportant constituency because they’re ahuge source of latent demand, and are thebest barometer for political and industrialactors to realize the importance of the sec-tor. Solar firms might educate this audiencethrough online advertising and social mediaabout the benefits of solar power and offerhouseholds free site assessments and anonline energy savings calculator to demon-strate solar’s cost offsetting potential.
A campaign directed at householdsshould help customers realize that their bestinterests, in terms of cash outlays and ener-gy independence, lie with solar power.Benjamin Gorelick is Associate Account
Executive for Spector and Associates. �
NOVEMBER 2011 �WWW.ODWYERPR.COM16
The highly-publicized bankruptcy of California-based solartechnology manufacturer Solyndra proves one thing: the com-pany misread its own market. By Benjamin Gorelick
REPORT
Solyndra flare-up could make rain
Benjamin Gorelick
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These demonstrations have clearlystruck a nerve, because the protestsare growing rapidly, spreading across
the country and garnering respectable cov-erage from mainstream media. At this earlystage, it’s unclear if the “Big Tent” approachwill be the nascent movement’s key to suc-cess or whether that all-inclusive ethos willlead to a premature demise as various fac-tions vie for control. But it’s undeniable thatthe protesters have used several brilliantcommunications strategies to gain so muchsupport in such a short amount of time.
Here are five lessons from Occupy WallStreet to consider when trying to gain trac-tion for your cause:Let protagonists be your target audience “We are the 99 Percent” has become a
motto of this movement. In this narrative,anyone who has been disenfranchised byWall Street’s greed can be a hero by step-ping up to fight back. This has inspiredthousands of debt-burdened students, laidoff workers and victims of foreclosures —the early adopters of the Occupy Wall Streetmovement — to share their own compellingstories on this website. The lesson here isthat people don’t just want to “support” acause; they want to be a part of the cause.Use powerful visuals to gain tractionAfter more than a week of occupation, the
only images most Americans had seen in thesparse media coverage were photos ofdreadlocked kids, topless women and peo-ple with gray beards banging bongos. TheOccupy Wall Street “brand” got a hugebump in mainstream credibility and atten-tion when hundreds of airline pilots dressedin their work uniforms joined the protest tocall for fair wages and benefits. The iconicimages featuring a sea of well-dressed, mid-dle class professionals undoubtedly madethe decision of other unions to throw theirconsiderable weight behind the tent-dwellers in Zuccotti Park much easier.Track coverage in real timeWhen pushing a controversial agenda,
controlling the narrative is crucial — andthe key to doing this successfully is con-stantly monitoring mainstream and social
media coverage. Was the October massarrest on the Brooklyn Bridge the result of areckless act of civil disobedience or a trapset up by the NYPD to ensnare peacefuldemonstrators? That answer depends onwho you’re talking to.Monitor the oppositionWe always advise our clients to familiar-
ize themselves with media outlets beforetalking with them. Sometimes heading intohostile territory can be strategic, likePresident Obama’s interview with BillO’Reilly, but you need to be prepared or elseyour frustrated response can play right intotheir hands. One of the most popular viralvideos to come out of Occupy Wall Street sofar has featured a calm, intelligent protesterchallenging the not so “Fair and Balanced”agenda of a Fox News reporter. Fox Newsnever aired the footage, but a bystander’svideo of the interview turned the quick-wit-
ted interviewee into an Internet sensation.Tap into cultural symbols for inspirationFrom the earliest stages, Occupy Wall
Street organizers have made explicit com-parisons between their vision and the suc-cessful occupation of Tahir Square that ledto the rapid downfall of Egypt’s dictator ear-lier this year. Most Americans associate theEgyptian occupation with images of joyouscrowds celebrating their liberation fromtyranny.
Make no mistake: while Occupy WallStreet may seem like a disorganized mob attimes, they have some communicationsstrategists on their side who know exactlywhat it takes to win.Liam O’Donoghue is Senior Account
Executive at Fenton in San Francisco. �
Five communications lessons from Occupy Wall Street
By Liam O’Donoghue
Criticism has been aimed at the Occupy Wall Street movement fornot having a clear message. It’s obvious that frustration towardsWall Street’s harmful impact on “Main Street” and its corruptinginfluence on our political system is a motivating factor of theseprotests, but the lack of a specific platform or official leadershiphas resulted in confusion among many observers.
Photo by Jon Gingerich.
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We’ve seen the rise and fall of avariety of social networks overthe last five years but there has
never been a social network initiated by acompany with so much clout, such a signif-icant user base and global presence asGoogle. It’s not just that Google’s a finan-cial force to be reckoned with — it’s thesheer proliferation and infiltration ofGoogle Apps and Google Services in theevery day lives of businesses and con-sumers alike. Google+ is not building a userbase from scratch — it’s already light yearsahead of its predecessors in awareness andadoption in a broad spectrum of servicesand products. That kind of power positionsGoogle to be a significant player in thesocial media landscape — if not to becomethe dominant player that leaves its competi-tors in the dust.
Although the benefits for consumers onGoogle+ are fairly clear, the implicationsfor businesses are still convoluted. Googlehas announced it will be introducing a busi-ness offering but so far has only allowed asmall number of organizations into its betaprogram. However, it will be the businessand brand presences on Google+ that havethe potential to change the ecosystem andeconomics of social media and search.
The information and data Google+ willbe recording from the interactions andinterests of its users have the power to pushit into new frontiers. The most prolificsearch engine will now have access tounprecedented information about its usersand their relationships, and potential uses ofthis data will affect a variety of areas.
Search. Google is still the number onesearch engine, with approximately 65% ofweb searches. When coupled with the num-ber of Google-powered searches on corpo-rate websites, Google’s web domination ison very firm ground. With the advent ofGoogle+, Google will be able to furtherwiden the gap between itself and competi-tors, not just based on search volume, buton search intelligence and data. Google+data could be utilized to customize searchresults based on a user’s activities, interests
and relationshipsderived from theiractivity on the socialnetwork. This couldpotentially providemore accurate andpotent results —increasing Google’seffectiveness and
utility for end users and businesses. Personalization. If Google knows what
I’m searching for right now, imagine if italso knew what I searched for in the past,what colleagues and friends searched for,what companies I’ve done business with.Almost all of Google’s services have someelement of personalization and customiza-tion and Google+ can be that turbo boost ofintelligence that enables the company tosurpass any competitive offerings.
Advertising. Google has always been atthe forefront of niche target marketing.Google AdWords and AdSense platformsraked in $28 billion in 2010, helping com-panies advertise to individuals based ontheir active searches and related content. IfGoogle’s advertising solutions were to haveintimate knowledge about each individualadvertising target — beyond their transientsearch interests — the repercussions couldbe substantial. Now instead of just advertis-ing to people searching for a new laptopcomputer, an advertiser could provide spe-cial pricing to an individual that seems tohave more influence over his/her communi-ty on Google+ or customize the laptop offerbased on the users profession, special inter-ests or recent posts, for example.
Shopping. Google has a number of offer-ings and technologies that facilitate shop-ping for both merchants and consumers.The company has a foothold in this arenabut hasn’t gotten it completely right just yet.Google’s attempts to infiltrate shoppinghave been mixed. For example, GoogleProduct Search, formerly Google Products,formerly Froogle, has not had the runawaysuccess that other Google ventures havehad in the past. With the entire industrybuzzing about social shopping as the nextgreat frontier, it’s Google that will have theadvantage if Google+ continues to grow atits current adoption rate. AlthoughFacebook has already integrated someshopping capabilities, Google can easilyeclipse the features, functions and marketreach even with Facebook’s head start.Google+ content could even be integratedinto third party shopping or opinion sites toprovide recommendations from a user’spersonal group of trusted resources —
his/her Google+ Circles — rather than themost prolific reviewer on a site or astranger’s opinion.
Privacy. Although many organizationsare consistently berated for poor privacypolicies and practices, Google has for themost part, been able to keep its squeakyclean image. Somehow the brand has stillretained the trust of its customers in spite ofsome of the most aggressive tracking andtracing of user activity in the market. At thesame time that the privacy advocate voicesare increasing in volume, we are seeing anincreasing trend of users forfeiting privacyfor content customization and value addedservices. Google+ will provide significantleverage for Google to learn more and moreabout its customer base and utilize thatinformation to enhance their experienceand offer businesses more compelling andunique ways to reach them.
Customer Relationship Management.Could Google+ become your next CRMtool? Depending upon how Google rolls outits brand strategy on Google+, it couldbecome the most powerful social mediaplatform for customer interaction and rela-tionship management. If Google+ gets thebusiness offering right, it could combine thebusiness case for LinkedIn and the person-al appeal of Facebook, along with financialand shopping data to provide businesseswith extraordinary insights into customerbehaviors, interests, networks and con-sumption — not just with one company butwith others in the industry or across a broadspectrum of goods and services. In additionto the business intelligence, it could providebusinesses with a marketing and advertis-ing platform for both short and long-termCRM — potentially challenging stalwartssuch as Salesforce.com.
Google+ is going to have an impact onsocial media and many other areas in con-sumer and business marketing. In the past,organizations were often caught off guardwhen a social network entered and shookup the market. With Google+, the warningshots have been fired, and history hasshown us that early adopters will have sig-nificant benefits in this arena.
PR professionals need to be paying closeattention and preparing their organizationsnow by starting the conversation early andoften regarding Google+ and its potentialimpact. This is an opportunity to lead thestrategy and discussions on what already isa leading social media platform and a futuredriver of business value. Sandra Fathi is President of Affect in
New York. �
Google+: What communicators need to knowMost PR professionals are constantly on the look-out for the next communications frontier.Although we may be suffering from social mediafatigue, when Google decides to launch a newnetworking platform, we need to wake up andpay attention. By Sandra Fathi
REPORT
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CEOs pointed to reams of negativeheadlines about ongoing efforts toavert a European financial melt-
down, as well as sluggish growth in theU.S. in an apparent effort to showresilience in ad and PR spending andhighlight the strong figures for the quar-ter.IPG profits soarInterpublic on Oct. 28 reported Q3
operating income soared 73% to $173.2million on an 11.1 % rise in revenues to$1.7 billion.
CEO Michael Roth said the robustperformance stemmed from a “cross-section” of growth in its communica-tions portfolio both here and in emerg-ing economies.
Despite the “macroeconomic uncer-tainty,” Roth expects IPG will meet orsurpass its four to five percent organicgrowth and 9.5% profit margin targets.Harris Diamond, CEO of IPG’s con-stituency management group, toldO’Dwyer’s that the Weber Shandwick,GolinHarris and DeVries-led PR groupshowed 10.8% organic growth for thequarter and 8.8 % for the year.
He’s bullish as more and more chiefmarketing officers understand the needto commit PR dollars to IPG’s socialmedia offerings.
The ad/PR combine’s Q3 $217.5 mil-lion net income was bolstered by a$132 million gain from the sale of halfof its Facebook holdings.
For the nine-month period, IPG’s rev-enue advanced 9.8 % to $4.9 million. Itearned $273.2 million vs. $58.4 milliona year ago.OMC Q3 net jumps 17%Omnicom on Oct. 18 posted a 16.7%
rise in Q3 net income to $203.7 millionon a 12.9% rise in revenues to $3.4 mil-lion.
The Fleishman-Hillard, PorterNovelli and Ketchum-led PR groupshowed a 9.7% revenue gain to $307.1million during the quarter. PR was up6.9% to $905.2 million.
CEO John Wren spent a healthy $343
million for ’11 acquisitions, $72 mil-lion of that account were “earn-outs.”During Q3, OMC acquired India’sSampak, which had been a Ketchumaffiliate; TouchCast, a digital brandactivation company in New Zealand;Biz Group, an integrated marketingservices shop in Ho Chi Minh City, andJump, a below-the-line communica-tions firm in Amsterdam.
OMC’s nine-month profit increased17.1% to $680.7 million and revenuesrose 11.9% to $10 billion.WPP PR revenues riseWPP said Oct. 27 that third quarter
revenues jumped 9% to nearly £2.5 bil-lion (about $4 billion), although theincrease was a more modest 4.7%adjusted for acquisitions and currencyfluctuations.
The Ireland-based advertising and PRconglomerate, owner of firms likeBurson-Marsteller and Ogilvy PRWorldwide, said its PR and publicaffairs businesses were up 7.4% in Q3— 6.4% for the first nine months — onimprovement in “almost all brands.”Ogilvy, Cohn & Wolfe and specialistFinsbury in the U.K., andHeringSchupenerin Germany were sin-gled out for strong growth.
In U.S. dollars, Q3 PR/PA revenueswere up 11.1% to $358 million over2010, and up 9.9% for the first ninemonths topping $1 billion in revenue.
CEO Martin Sorrell said the companyto date has seen “little, if any” cutbackin spending amid six global risks —fear of Euro contagion, lack of attentionto the U.S. deficit, rising commodityprices, impact of Japan’s nuclear disas-ter, uncertainties from the Arab Spring,and the possible withdrawal of post-Lehman fiscal and monetary stimulus.He said a predicted slowdown in theU.S. and Western Europe has manifest-ed.
“However, the continuous macro eco-nomic gloom and despair in the mediaand elsewhere must have some impacton both corporate and consumer confi-dence,” he said.
In dollars, North American revenue
for WPP topped $1.3 billion on 6%growth in Q3.
WPP employs more than 112,000.Publicis climbs, warns of slowdownPublicis Groupe, meanwhile, posted a
5.5% increase in third quarter organicgrowth in North American on revenueof €685 million and 6.4% overall to€1.4 billion over Q3 of 2011.
Its U.S. business climbed 5.2% dur-ing the quarter, but chairman and CEOMaurice Levy warned of a slowdown inQ4.“There will be no lack of challenges,
but we have every confidence in thecapacity of our teams to overcomethem, and in our strong strategic posi-tioning,” he said, noting a “climate ofeconomic difficulty and uncertainty”and ZenithOptimedia forecasts whichhave been revised downward from4.1% in July to 3.6% now.
Levy said clients may cut mediabudgets “more heavily” because ofsales and profit woes in the fourth quar-ter.
Publicis, which acquired 186-stafferSchwartz Communications during thequarter, said key account wins for thefirst nine months at its MSLGroup PRdivision included TAQA (UK andDubai); Ancestry.com (USA); AQMD-Incremental (USA); AstraZeneca(China); ADP (China); Insinkerator(China); Star TV (India); Bosch(Germany); and Securite Routiere(France).Havas revenues rise on NA gainsFrance’s Havas, owner of Euro RSCG
Worldwide PR, reported third quarterrevenue rose 5.2% to €387 million ledby solid growth in North America,Asia/Pacific and Latin America.
North American organic growth –excluding currency rates and consolida-tion — rose 8.2% on revenue of €126million, compared with only 1.8%growth in Europe with €195 million inrevenue for the quarter.
CO David Jones stressed that allregions grew for the first nine months ofthe year with Q3 organic growth its bestin three years. He called Europe “morerestrained” in Q3 than in the first half ofthe year, but improved over 2010.
Key wins included global corporatecommunications and social media formusic platform Deezer, as well as largeassignments for Pernod Ricard, sanofi-aventis, and Turismo de Mexico. �
Q3 PR revenues strong despite ‘uncertainty’Despite global economic worries, four of the major advertisingand PR conglomerates reported robust third quarter earningsin late October, including solid gains at PR divisions as moremarketers spend on social media.
By Greg Hazley and Kevin McCauley
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System Requirement: A Passion for Technology
At Edelman we understand the need to expertly
communicate technical details to technologists. More
importantly, we recognize that increasingly what matters
most isn’t the technology itself, but how the technology
helps people work and live better every day. We’re
skilled at building compelling brand narratives and
human interest storylines around the industrial
designers, developers, product testers and
visionaries behind technology.
We are Edelman. Join us.
www.edelman.comTwitter: @edelman_careers
Enterprise Technology
Semiconductors
Telecommunications
Mobility
Data Privacy & Security
Sustainable Technology
Brand Technology
Digital Entertainment & Technology
Analyst Relations
So if you’re passionate about technology and
want to work with the top companies in the
industry and alongside smart, motivated and
fun people, then Edelman is the place for you.
With the abundance of informa-tion and cacophony ofsources creating so much
noise, these messages often get lost in ablack hole of oversaturation. Technologyhas enabled us to access content anytime,anywhere — and as a result, increasedstimulation and instant-access-demand hascaused a shift in traditional content con-sumption. In the past few years alone,notable publications such as the New YorkTimes and USA Today have seen declinesin circulation upwards of 3.6% and 7.5%respectively. However, nearly two-thirdsof Internet users — 65% — have paid todownload or access some kind of onlinecontent from the Internet, according to arecent Pew Internet study. People seem tobe more interested in accessing content viasocial media channels on-the-go, thanactually sitting down to consume it direct-ly on publication sites.
A recent study from the CTIA showedthere are currently more mobile devices inthe U.S. than people. According to PewInternet 35% of all adults own a smart-phone and 87% of smartphone ownersaccess the Internet or email on their hand-held, including two-thirds (68%) who doso on a typical day. This change in howcontent is consumed led publications suchas the New York Times and Wall StreetJournal to move from unlimited free con-tent online to paid subscription models.
This evolution of digital media hasresulted in a symbiotic relationshipbetween brands and the media, and hascreated an opportunity for companiesthemselves to create thought leadership ona variety of issues in the market. The land-scape for media opportunity has evolvedfrom the expert source to a content part-nership in which brands not only createtheir own content kingdom but supply it tothe media. Companies like Abextra, Bizoand even big names like Virgin andStarbucks have all seized the opportunityto take a strong stance on issues that affectnot only their companies directly, but theindustry and world as a whole. As the oldadage goes, “content is king”— but con-
tent is a living, breathing thing and as sureas the sun rises and sets, evolution ensuresthat a change in content itself is a directreflection of a changing demand.A new wave of contributed content At the 2010 Techonomy Conference,
Google’s then CEO, Eric Schmidt, sharedthe following statistic: “Every two daysnow we create as much information as wedid from the dawn of civilization up until2003.” This staggering statistic highlightshow user generated content has con-tributed to our world of information. Inthis new era, however, we have also seenmassive cuts in traditional journalism.Reporting staffs are being cut due to costefficiency in a downturn economy. Withthis cutback, media are increasingly turn-ing to outside sources for original thoughtleadership content. Publications likeForbes, Entrepreneur and Huffington Postregularly feature bylined pieces authoredby industry leaders, ranging from techevangelists to education gurus.
While just a few years ago “contributedcontent” may have been characterized bybylines, it has now expanded to take on aplethora of different formats, such as guestblogging, white papers and infographics.In turn, brand leaders are now actuallybecoming reporting staffs themselves andin the process, creating awareness and dia-logue around topics such as the economy,technology and even global issues like theArab Spring, once the sole domain of beatreporters. Their direct access to andknowledge of industry trends creates aperfect storm for strong thought leadershipamongst both industry professionals andspeculators alike. According to long timemedia reporter, columnist and editor, SamWhitmore, “Vendors have two things techjournalists want: a window into how tech-nology is evolving, and a window intowhat customers are doing with this tech-nology. Tapping into either or both is theshortest path to placement success.”Packaging data-infographicsWith the accessibility and prominence
of industry data, verifiable proof pointscan lend credibility and enhance readers’trust. Publications such as the Wall StreetJournal and the Atlantic turn out data-
centric articles about as often as they postreal-time news updates. Conference pre-sentations, keynotes and even customercase studies are no longer single purposebut can be re-purposed, excerpted orserve as the backdrop for media content.As publications turn to brands to providethem with this data content, an increas-ingly data-inundated audience hasbecome harder to engage — enter: info-graphics. The use of data visualizationand obsession with engaging and interac-tive content has now given birth to whathas been dubbed “click candy.” This hasresulted in an increased dependence onbrands to provide compelling trends viasuch channels as customer indexes.Companies such as Cisco have gone sofar as to release monthly infographics ontheir blogs in an attempt to engage thedata-hungry audience. The iPad has alsocontributed to the hunger for visuallyappealing data. While only 8% of USadults own a tablet, like an iPad, the high-est rates of tablet ownership are amongHispanic adults and those with householdincomes of at least $75,000 annually. An end in sight?So what does the crystal ball hold and
what can we expect to see as this trendcontinues to spur a new “bredia” (brand +media) revolution? The truth is in thenumbers. With 53% of tablet owners con-suming news daily, there’s clearly noshortage of demand for content. Whatremains to be told, however, is exactlyhow this demand will affect future rela-tionships. Brand leaders and reportingstaffs have a good thing going but asnewsrooms shrink and companies flour-ish, this good thing may go sour like abad romance; or, like a true happy end-ing, this love affair could end in mediamatrimony. David Racusin is an Account Associate
at Borders + Gratehouse. �
Brands and media: a symbiotic love affairAs the media landscape continues to evolve, reflective of anall-but-completely digital culture, media professionals andbrands alike have been forced to change their approaches todelivering the most compelling content to their audienceswhile still maintaining consistent key messages.
By David Racusin
FEATURE
Source: Manta SMB Wellness Index: Sept. 2011.
Novmagazine:Layout 1 11/1/11 11:53 AM Page 20
System Requirement: A Passion for Technology
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Novmagazine:Layout 1 11/1/11 11:53 AM Page 21
NOVEMBER 2011 �WWW.ODWYERPR.COM22
REPORT
Aperfect storm of contribut-ing economic, social andpolitical factors has
cleared the way for what someexperts believe could be an indus-try diaspora in the Dutch capital.
First there are the obvious fac-tors. The country is sitting on abounty of preexisting wealth.Ranked by GDP, the Netherlandshas the 16th largest economy inthe world. But its affluence is nim-ble. A large chunk of its nationalincome is derived from its bankingand insurance industries, but it’salso Europe’s second largest pro-ducer of natural gas (and ninth inthe world). Rotterdam holdsEurope’s biggest seaport. Longstanding trade deals with Korea,China, Japan and Brazil have laida healthy tradition of foreigninvestment. Then there’s tourism.Amsterdam is repeatedly Europe’smost popular destination, receiv-ing an average of nearly five mil-lion visitors a year. Not bad for atown whose urban cluster housesonly about 700,000.
Chances are you’re probablyfamiliar with a number of famousDutch brands: Unilever,Heineken, Philips or coffee giantDouwe Egberts. American compa-nies like Nike have set up flagshipoffices there. Tommy Hilfigerfamously moved their internation-al headquarters from the U.S. toAmsterdam. The Netherlands isnow currently home to nearly1,800 U.S. companies, and thenumbers keep growing every year.
Multinational ad conglomeratesseeking to take advantage of thismarket began setting up shop inthe capital a long time ago.Omnicom giants Fleishman-Hillard and Ketchum both haveoffices in Amsterdam (Ketchumhas a second office in The Hague,
along with Interpublic unitGolinHarris). WPP flagship Hill &Knowlton has run an Amsterdamoffice since the 1970s.
“It started with the big guys,”said Daniel van Vulpen, AreaDirector of the NetherlandsForeign Investment Agency, agovernment business forum that ispart of the Dutch ministry of pub-lic affairs. “Now there’s a nice mixof international and Dutch talent.There’s collaboration betweenindustries to make this growthhappen. There’s not that sense ofcompetition you see in otherplaces. In general there’s an under-standing that we need to bring inpeople who are specialized.”Embracing outside talentThe Netherlands’ plentiful
resources, monetary endowmentand groundswell of powerfuldomestic brands would be enoughto safely bet the country is in goodshape for growth in its creativeservices sector. But there’s some-thing else. A slew of recent eco-nomic initiatives spearheaded bythe Dutch government has begunattracting international attention,and now a swarm of internationalcompanies — both multinationalsand independent shops — aremoving to the Dutch capital at aclip faster than most Europeancities.
For several years the countryhas undertaken one of Europe’smost voracious foreign investmentcampaigns to integrate outside tal-ent into Amsterdam’s preexistingpool of creatives. Current corpo-rate income tax rates in theNetherlands — 25% — are attrac-tively low for a European nation.The Dutch tax system now pro-vides a new rate — 20% — for thefirst € 200,000 in taxable company
By Jon Gingerich
All photos by Jon Gingerich.�Continued on next page
Amsterdam is a city of contradictions. It’s a place that manages to blur the lines between old andnew; its spiraling canals, bicycle swarmed streets and storied museums hearken times past, yet it’sa culture that thrives with a youthful creativity. It’s a historic city that avoids being stoic, one thatcontinuously reinvents itself while maintaining a timeless veneer. And now, a deluge of local creativetalent, combined with a series of new government tax incentives to attract foreign investment, hasAmsterdam poised to become one of Europe’s most vibrant marketing epicenters.
Amsterdam reveals newest global marketing capital
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profits made by an internationalcompany.
Then there’s the country’sfamous 30% ruling. If you’re anemployee brought from abroad towork in the Netherlands, the Dutchgovernment will now reimburseyour company 30% of your salary,as long as your trade has been des-ignated by the government a scarci-ty in the Dutch market. An exampleof one such scarcity? Creative serv-ices.
Perhaps not coincidentally, aninflux of foreign advertising, PRand marketing shops are now tak-ing residence in the Dutch capital.A growing number of independentfirms already popular in their nativecountries — like Sixty Layers ofCake (South Africa) and power-houses Taxi and Sid Lee (both fromMontreal) — are now cropping upalong Amsterdam’s canals andthoroughfares.
London-based market researchagency BrainJuicer is one suchshop. The company opened its newoffice in Amsterdam less than fivemonths ago. Managing DirectorCarola Verschoor said many ofBrainJuicer’s clients are interna-tional, and for several years they’dbeen receiving a growing roster ofDutch clients who wanted localrepresentation. Though their boxesaren’t yet fully unpacked, alreadythe company’s new Amsterdamdigs are swarming with a range ofDutch business. Current clientsnow include Dutch telecom, phar-maceutical, energy and petroleumcompanies. Japanese running shoemaker ASICS and Dutch dairygiant Friesland Campina are alsoclients.
“We were growing and wanted tobe closer to our Dutch clients. Wealso wanted to be closer to the cre-ative community in Amsterdam. Itjust made sense to open an officehere,” she said. “Market researchhas the power to inform andinspire, and we believe we caneffectuate that change inAmsterdam. We want to be thechange agents, and that means wehave to have local experts on theground. We intend to keep it thatway.”
While Verschoor citedAmsterdam’s creative tapestry anda close proximity to their clients asa reason for BrainJuicer’s newsatellite, she admitted the alluring
tax cuts might have something todo with the recent glut of profes-sional migration into the city.
“What Holland has seen in inno-vation is key to the country’sfuture. [The Dutch] are creative inan applied sense, but they need acreative push to get them wherethey want to be and they’re lookingto the idea of import to maintainthat creative edge,” Verschoor said.“In general people see this as a pos-itive thing, as bringing a more cut-ting edge to the economy. TheDutch are very open in terms ofhow they look at their own borders.They believe a mix of culture anddiversity leads to great things. Theybelieve they need the best of allworlds.”A culture of creativityOne could argue that Amsterdam
is a town made for the ad and mar-keting industry, a place where cre-ativity is woven into the culturalfabric. For one, it’s an extremelydiverse city, a living test market.Amsterdam is currently home tomore than 170 different nationali-ties — about half of its citizens arefrom other countries. It’s also aneducated city. Its universities arealmost as famous as its museums,and Amsterdam has an unusuallyhigh penetration of print contentconsumption — magazines, news-papers — for a city its size. It’s alsoa city internationally famous for itstolerance and progressive legisla-tion. It’s a culture that encourages,even cultivates, creativity.
Then there’s the technologicalpenetration. According to HermanKienhuis, Manager of BusinessDevelopment for Sanoma Media— a top Dutch consumer magazinepublisher — the Netherlands takesresidence in the top group of smartphone adaptors, selling more iPadsper capita than anyplace in theworld (one in 16 people in theNetherlands own an iPad). It’s anunusually tech savvy culture, onethat adapts readily to change.
Already Amsterdam is teamingwith local industry talent. Dutchmarketing giants like DDB, FHVand 180 Amsterdam have been bigplayers in the local ad industry fordecades. Each operates globally butwith a sensibility that is patentlyDutch, offering an internationalmarketing and branding perspec-
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tive that was born and raised in thelocal market.
“Amsterdam is changing, but itneeds to move faster and stop split-ting itself down local and interna-tional lines,” said Chris Baylis,Executive Creative Director ofTribal DDB, a subsidiary of DDBAmsterdam. Baylis said this “split”can be illustrated in the fact that hisagency is the only office inAmsterdam that employs a majorityof Dutch natives while tackling amajority of international business.Most Amsterdam agencies, by con-trast, either employ locals who workon local campaigns or internationalagencies that employ solely expats.
“After all, the majority of awardshave been won in the last few yearsby internationally focused agenciesfor global clients, not local agenciesworking for local clients. WhatTribal have managed to do is use amix of local and international talentto go after international opportuni-ties. Other countries are often morelocal and, in an increasingly global-ized world where clients are lookingfor efficiencies and control, localbudgets are shrinking and the workbecomes small, tactical and irrele-vant. This is happening more andmore in London. New York still hasthe advantage that local means 250million people who all speak thesame language,” he said.“Amsterdam needs to protect itsbilingual and international advantageand continue doing great globalwork.”
Amsterdam is literally landlockedby its tracts of feeder canals built inthe 1600s. As a result, many of itsnewest business districts now lie on asprawling periphery. One area whereits creative fauna is flourishing is inthe Amsterdam-Noord (AmsterdamNorth) neighborhood. Located onthe northern shores of the IJ bay, theAmsterdam-Noord neighborhood ishoused on the banks of a formershipyard, accessible by passengerferry. It’s recently been heralded the“new creative capital” of the city.Already, companies like MTV, RedBull and VH1 have offices there.
Fronteer Strategy, a brand consult-ing and development firm, is anothercreative group that now calls
Amsterdam-Noord home. FirmPartner Martijn Pater referred to theneighborhood a “playground forartists,” a place that has been gainingtraction since the country began itsrebound from the global economicslowdown several years ago. Indeed,inside a former airplane hangaracross the lot from the MTV studios,a colony of set designers, architectur-al consultants and furniture makerswork in makeshift 200-square-footcubicles constructed side-by-sideacross the length of the hangar.Amsterdam’s new creative under-ground bears a striking resemblanceto a very large, very vibrant club-house.
Fronteer Strategy was formed in2008. Their clients include bignames like Heineken and Dutch air-line KLM. Pater is a proponent of themarketing strategy known as “Co-Creation,” an open source marketingequivalent of crowdsourcing thatunites a select cadre of interdiscipli-nary members across the brandingspectrum — developers, stake-hold-ers, even consumers — to share andcreate relevant brand solutions underone umbrella.
“We have a very international out-look, also because our own homemarket is so small,” Pater said. “Wehave a history of thinking biggerthan our local culture or market. Thismakes us [happen] upon to newideas. Also, we tend to have a rela-tively high level of creatives living inthe city. It is a playground with ahigh quality of life appealing to peo-ple tired of the London or New Yorkgrind.”
Back in Amsterdam proper there’sthe Miami Ad School’s Amsterdamcampus, located off the Herengrachtcanal just a short walk from thefamous Westerkerk church and theAnne Frank House.
Students from all over the worldflock to Amsterdam for an intensive10-week course on advertising. Theschool’s Director is Peggy Stein, a30-year ad industry veteran and Co-Founder of the shop One BigAgency, whose offices are located inthe same building as the school. City on the moveThe city’s successful “I amster-
dam” campaign has been cited asinstrumental in getting outsiders totake notice of the Dutch market. Amultifaceted marketing salvo in thevein of “I ♥ NY,” I amsterdam edu- T h e A m e r i c a s • E u r o p e • A s i a P a c i f i c • M i d d l e E a s t w w w . r u d e r f i n n . c o m
rfrelate@ruderfi nn.com
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socialnetworking
socialactivation
AAMMSSTTEERRDDAAMM MMAARRKKEETTIINNGG�Continued from page 23
cates visitors to the many travel, business and culturalactivities in the Dutch capital.
Apparently the campaign is working. Foreign directinvestment into the Netherlands for 2010 included 155foreign projects, accounting for planned investments of$1.3 billion and representing 3,793 jobs. North Americawas responsible for about 32% of this growth. The indus-tries taking the greatest share of these projects? Marketingand sales.
In October, Amsterdam ranked number-four inCushman & Wakefield’s annual “European CitiesMonitor” poll, which ranks international corporate per-ception of cities across Europe. Amsterdam’s gains aresignificant; they’re up two points from their previousposition of sixth in 2010.
“Amsterdam is renowned for its diversity and creativ-ity,” said Amsterdam Deputy Mayor Carolien Gehrels.Gehrels spoke with O’Dwyer’s from the roof of The MintHotel, a luxury hotel that held its ribbon cutting ceremo-ny that evening. A stone’s throw from Amsterdam’sCentral Station, the new hotel has created 230 new jobs inthe city.
“Our international reputation is growing, and we’revery proud to be in that league,” she said. “Our strategy isto bring Amsterdam to the world. I hope we can be a veryimportant place, a gateway between Europe and theUnited States.” �
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T h e A m e r i c a s • E u r o p e • A s i a P a c i f i c • M i d d l e E a s t w w w . r u d e r f i n n . c o m
rfrelate@ruderfi nn.com
socialstorytelling
socialnetworking
socialactivation
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AFFECT
989 Avenue of the Americas6th FloorNew York, NY 10018212/398-9680www.affect.comBlog: www.techaffect.comTwitter: @teamaffectwww.facebook.com/affect
Sandra Fathi, President &FounderLeslie Campisi, Vice President &Partner
Affect is an award-winningpublic relations and socialmedia agency specializing inbusiness-to-business technologycommunications. Located inNew York City, we combinesmart people, creative ideas andhard work to achieve stellarresults for our clients.
Our team of quick thinkers,engaging writers, fearless mediarelations specialists and mar-keters are passionate about whatthey do and are unafraid to popopen the hood to learn how ourclients’ technology works.We’re early adopters and applyour insatiable curiosity to everyassignment. We constantly pushourselves to raise the bar, comeup with new ideas and flexiblychange and shift our priorities asthe client demands. Affect has
been named Bulldog Reporter’s2011 Small Agency of the Yearand recently was named to theInc. 5000 list of America’sfastest growing private compa-nies.
For more information, visitour website www.affect.com,blog www.techaffect.com or fol-low us on Twitter @teamaffect.
AIRFOIL PUBLICRELATIONS, INC.
1000 Town Center Drive, #600Southfield, MI 48075248/304-1400Fax: 248/[email protected]
399 West El Camino Real, #300Mountain View, CA 94040650/[email protected]
Airfoil is a leading independ-ent marketing and communica-tions firm for both emerging andestablished technology brands.Airfoil is known for Higher
Thinking® — the company’sprocess for identifying and cre-atively communicating a client’sstrategic differentiators, helpingthem to compete and succeed.The deep expertise of theagency’s dedicated accountteams drives technology com-munications for clients in spe-cialized segments, includingconsumer, enterprise, SMB,health care, cleantech and indus-trial. The agency’s ClientSolutions Group provides serv-ices to inform and accelerateclients’ marketing communica-tions, digital and social media,and brand strategy programs.
Clients: Achates Power, AltairEngineering, Brookstone,Carbonite, CiRBA, DRSTechnologies, eBay Classifieds,eBay Motors, ePrize, Faurecia,Fry, LinkedIn, LPG,MarketTools, Metafile,Michigan First Credit Union,Microsoft, MobiTV, Modius,MotiveQuest, New EconomyInitiative for SoutheasternMichigan, NVIDIA, Parrot,PhotoMedex, PunchTab, Qgiv,Revation, Royal Oak Industries,Sacred Heart, SlalomConsulting, SpeedGauge, TrendMicro, VisualOn andZoomerang.
ATOMIC PUBLICRELATIONS
735 Market St., 4th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94013415/[email protected]
Andy Getsey, Co-Founder &CEOJames Hannon, Co-Founder &CIO
Atomic mixes top flight PRand media relations with socialmedia, events, guerilla pro-grams, video and search engineoptimization, enhanced with thesophisticated use of customcommunications analytics forstrategy building, creative plan-ning and detailed programresults measurement. ManyAtomic clients achieve increas-
es of 100% or more acrossnumerous measures of PR pro-gram impact compared to pre-Atomic baselines, often onlower budgets than before.Atomic PR has powered numer-ous breakthrough campaigns forprogressive consumer, technol-ogy and entertainment brandsfrom exciting start-ups likeMint.com, LivingSocial,DropBox, Fusion.io and Smule,to larger brands and leadingpublicly traded companiesincluding IMAX, SONY,Verizon, Intuit, LinkedIn,Polaroid and Pioneer.
Atomic has offices in SanFrancisco, New York, LosAngeles, London and Munich.Atomic is part of Grayling, a
leading global agency with 73offices in 40 countries acrossthe world. More information:www.atomicpr.com. FollowAtomic on Twitter:www.twitter.com/AtomicPRand like us on Facebook:www.facebook.com/AtomicPR.
Profiles
HIGH-TECH AND TECHNOLOGY PR11.11
O’Dwyer’sGuide to:
NOVEMBER 2011 �WWW.ODWYERPR.COM � ADVERTISING SECTION26
Andy Getsey, Co-Founder & CEO of Atomic Public Relations.
Sandra Fathi, President ofAffect.
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PROFILES OF HIGH-TECH & TECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS
ADVERTISING SECTION � NOVEMBER 2011 �WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 27
Barokas is the leading mid-sizePR firm in the Northwest; largeenough to offer the bandwith andrange of services you need to suc-ceed, but not too big that you’llget lost in the shuffle. Our sweetspot is venture and angel backed,tech and wireless companies inthe Northwest and the Bay Area.About one third of our business isin Silicon Valley where westrongly believe we can match thequality of local PR firms but at asignificant reduction from localmarket rates. Take a minute andvisit our site at www.barokas.comto see what our clients say aboutus, and then give us a call at206/264-8220.
BATEMAN GROUP
1550 Bryant St., Suite 770San Francisco, CA 94103415/503-1818Fax: 415/[email protected]: www.batemanbanter.com
540 President Street, 3rd FloorBrooklyn, NY 11215718/576-2463
Fred Bateman, CEOBill Bourdon, SVPTyler L. Perry, VPLisa Melsted, Dir.Shannon Hutto, Acct Mgr.
Bateman Group, Inc., is a full-service public relations andsocial media communicationsfirm focused on disruptive com-panies re-shaping the way wework, live and play.Differentiated by genuine con-tent expertise, exceptional writ-ing skills and a senior-levelstaffing model, Bateman Group’sobjective is to make a biggermarket impact for a smaller,more select group of companies.Bateman Group was among thefirst to architect a truly integrat-ed service offering combiningtraditional PR best practices withthe latest techniques in socialmedia marketing.
Clients turn to Bateman Groupto improve customer connectivi-
ty, corporate reputation and saleslead generation as well as nur-ture individual opinions and atti-tudes about their brands. Thefirm is headquartered in SanFrancisco with additional officesin Brooklyn, NY.
Clients include: AntennaSoftware, Baynote, BDNA,Cambium Networks,CoreMedia, Guardian Analytics,Jericho Forum, Motista,NatureBridge, Little Kids Rock,The Open Group, OPENLANE,Panda Security, PlatformComputing, Protegrity,Recyclebank and Sociable Labs.
CATAPULT PR-IR
6560 Gunpark Dr., Suite CBoulder, CO 80301303/581-7760Fax: 303/[email protected]
Ranked the leading technolo-gy PR agency in Colorado,Catapult PR-IR helps B-2-Btechnology companies establishmarket-leading positionsthrough strategic positioningand messaging, aggressivemedia and industry analyst rela-tions, and social media andcommunity building.
Hence the name, Catapult isexpert at coordinating and exe-cuting high-impact compa-ny/product launches. It stronglybelieves that relationships stillmatter and that it is vital forcompanies of all sizes and typesto connect with key influencerson a personal level. The result isclear and consistent messagingto the market, and an ongoing“win-win” relationship that ben-efits both parties.
Catapult’s success stems fromits personal and professionalservice, along with partner-levelaccount involvement and strate-gy. It is the preferred agency fortechnology companies lookingto establish and build market-leading potions.
COOPERKATZ &CO., INC.
205 Lexington Avenue, 5th FloorNew York, NY 10016www.cooperkatz.com
Andy Cooper, PrincipalRalph Katz, PrincipalAnne Green, President, CEO
CooperKatz & Company has a
15-year track record of develop-ing creative, high-impact market-ing and public relations programsfor national technology clientssuch as AWS Weatherbug,Capgemini, Collective Media,Corvil, FiberNet, Invest NorthernIreland, S1 Enterprise, TelcordiaTechnologies, Teliris,TowerGroup, MSN, VirginMobile, Windows Phone, ZiffDavis and Zipcar. Founded in1996, the firm serves a range ofneeds including brand position-ing, media relations, analyst rela-tions, social media / digital strate-gy and execution (through ourdedicated digital practice), edito-rial services, new product intro-ductions, meeting planning andexecution, special events, adver-tising, video production and col-lateral materials design. Find usat www.facebook.com/cooperkatzand youtube.com/cooperkatzandco.
1065 Avenue of the Americas28th FloorNew York, NY 10018212/938-0166
Thomas F. Coyne, CEODr. Norman Booth, VicePresident, Business andTechnology Practice
Coyne Public Relations hasestablished itself as one of theleading independent full-servicepublic relations firms in the coun-try representing an impressivecollection of international corpo-rations, top national brands andfirst-class organizations. Noagency possesses a better combi-nation of strategic perspective,business and technology experi-ence, unbridled creativity, andclient-centered service than ournationally recognized firm.Coyne’s Business andTechnology group has extensiveexperience representing clients ina variety of sectors, including:consumer and enterprise technol-ogy, business and financial com-munications, technology infra-structure and applications, profes-sional and consulting services,health care information technolo-gy, mobility and consumer elec-tronics. From creating momen-tum in advance of a new mobileapplication launch to promoting
breakthrough technology forQualcomm mobile applicationstechnology, our team possesses awealth of business and technolo-gy experience, which connectskey influencers and audiencesacross the entire business andtechnology spectrum.
Terri Douglas. Co-Founder andPrincipal of Catapult PR-IR.
Bateman Group CEO andFounder Fred Bateman.
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PROFILES OF HIGH-TECH & TECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS
EDELMAN
250 Hudson Street, 16th FloorNew York, NY 10013212/768-0550www.edelman.com
Pete Pedersen, GlobalTechnology Chair
Edelman’s Global Technologypractice takes a holisticapproach to PR by integratingclosely with each client’s strate-gic business objectives, buildingand growing brands credibly andmeasuring results in terms ofsales, reputation and sustainablecompetitive advantage. Whether
it’s solving complex systemsintegration problems, extollingthe benefits of cloud computingor showing how softwareaddresses a myriad of societal,enterprise, SMB and end userneeds, we connect clients andaudiences with stories thatunderscore the “who” and the“why” that makes it all matter.We can speak bits, bytes, pixelsand polygons with the best ofthem. But often, our clients arelooking to break out of the tech-nology echo chamber and attractthe attention of broader audi-ences. Edelman has subject mat-ter experts who work collective-ly to develop solutions to engagethe most important stakeholders
for each of our clients, from pol-icy makers to partners to share-holders to customers.
EDGE COMMUNICATONS,
INC.
17328 Ventura Blvd., Suite 324Encino, CA 91316818/990-5001Fax: 818/990-5016www.edgecommunicationsinc.comComing Soon:www.edgewise.us.com
Kenneth Greenberg, PresidentSara Flint, Vice President
Established in 1996, EdgeCommunications, Inc. is an inno-vative all-star team of senior-level communications profession-als, unified by a no-nonsenseapproach that builds companies,brands and reputations. Through“better thinking and relentlessexecution,” we express our workethic and our core value of premi-um, personal service. We com-plement our media relationsexpertise with a full suite of writ-ing services. Our clients rangefrom startups to members of theFortune 1000 — in technology,professional services, emergingmedia and consumer products.
FAHLGRENMORTINE
4030 Easton Station, Suite 300Columbus, OH 43219614/[email protected]: @FahlgrenMortine
Neil Mortine, President and CEODennis Brown, SVP, Technology
Fahlgren Mortine brings anew perspective to technologypublic relations and marketingdriven by a service philosophythat reflects our Midwesternroots and a solutions-orientedapproach that enables us to“think wider.” In addition toresults-oriented media relationsprograms, which represent thecore of our public relationsoffering, Fahlgren Mortine spe-cializes in helping technologycompanies (and B2B companiesdifferentiating on the basis oftechnology) crystallize theirmessages and develop contentthat supports inbound market-ing, drives media relations suc-cess, and fuels social media
engagement. Our Social MediaOpportunity Research andEvaluation (SMORE) tool cre-ates a competitive benchmark toprioritize and shape socialmedia plans, while our customlistening posts allow us to mon-itor activity around issues andbrands across platforms. Ourpublic relations services aresupported by a full complementof advertising and digital capa-bilities.
FEINTUCH COMMUNICATIONS
245 Park Ave., 39th FloorNew York, NY 10167212/808-4901Fax: 212/[email protected] www.feintuchcommunications.comwww.ecpglobal.com
Henry Feintuch, President
The recipe for smart andimpactful technology publicrelations isn’t complex – devel-op a clear and concise message,target it carefully, tell a storyand engage with your audience.
At Feintuch Communications,we have specialized in tech PRfor nearly three decades — fromyesterday’s bag phones, room-
Neil Mortine, President and CEO of Fahlgren Mortine.
Pete Pedersen, Global Chair ofEdelman Technology.
Qualcomm Incorporated charged Coyne Public Relations with gen-erating media coverage of its new mobile gift card application,SWAGG. To supplement tech-focused outreach, Coyne leveragedKelly Bensimon of the “Real Housewives of New York” for a day-long Radio and Internet Media Tour in NYC. The effort has generatedmore than 100 million media impressions. Key placements include:USA Today, The New York Times, CNNMoney.com, Techlicious.com,FOX Business News and CNN American Morning.
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PROFILES OF HIGH-TECH & TECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS
sized supercomputers and main-frame voice response systems totoday’s cutting edge mobileapps, security solutions, ad tech,biotech and green tech.
We are a strategic relationsfirm which delivers an integrat-ed set of public relations,investor relations, businessstart-up and marketing/creativeservices. We call it “integratedthinkingTM” because everyassignment doesn’t always fitneatly into a plain vanilla RFP.
Our team enjoys helping ourclients think through their busi-ness challenges and developingsmart solutions that impact theirbusiness. We welcome theopportunity to think throughyour needs.
GIBRALTAR ASSOCIATES
555 13th Street, NW, Suite 4 EastWashington, DC 20004202/[email protected]
Eric Bovim, CEO & Co-FounderThomas J. Pernice, Chairman &Co-FounderJames C. Lake, President &Partner
Since its founding in 2007,Gibraltar Associates (GA) hasgrown quickly to become one
of the country’s leading PRagencies, representing some ofthe world’s best known compa-nies and brands. We practice21st-century PR by fusing oldand new media strategies intobreakthrough campaigns for ourclients.
GA is a firm with a mission:to lead our clients through high-profile challenges with boldwork that makes a real impactin the world.
We are known for threethings: creativity, new mediasavvy and a culture that fostersconcierge-like service. We arefast and we are smart.
GA is led by seasoned, seniorpractitioners with award-win-ning experience in communica-tions, technology, politics,media, finance, marketing, pol-icy-making and management.
GA has offices inWashington, D.C. and LosAngeles, as well as closely-affiliated partners in Europeand South America. For moreinformation, visit our website atwww.gibraltar-llc.com or fol-low us on Twitter@GibraltarAssoc.
GIBBS & SOELL60 E. 42nd St., 44th FloorNew York, NY 10165212/697-2600Fax: 212/697-2646mbuhay@gibbs-soell.comwww.gibbs-soell.comspark.gibbs-soell.com
Cos Mallozzi, CEOLuke Lambert, Pres., New York
Gibbs & Soell, an independ-ent public relations firm since1971, has experience in a widespectrum of technology andindustrial markets ranging fromconsumer electronics, integrat-ed facility controls and telecom-munications products, networksand services, to e-business/newmedia models, software, scien-tific instrumentation and indus-trial automation equipment.
Gibbs & Soell also offers itsPR counsel to businesses deliv-ering greentech solutions whichleverage technology to achievesustainability.
Public relations servicesinclude corporate communica-tions, marketing communica-tions, event marketing, employ-ee communications, leadershippositioning, social network-ing/digital media outreach,communications research andevaluation, and communicationstraining including I Power™ , aproven, dynamic process forcreating and delivering clear,concise and compelling commu-nications.
Gibbs & Soell is a leadingB2B voice online with The G&SSpark (http://spark.gibbs-soell.com), the agency’s blogfor advanced manufacturing andenergy communicators.
Client Experience:ACC/Cybersecurity Program,Ag Software Designs BenQ,Chemical InformationTechnology Council, MitsubishiElectric Automation, Molex,Nitech Corporation, PNYTechnologies, Rexel, SageSoftware, Siemens, TridionCorporation and U.S. Robotics.
THE HOFFMANAGENCY
70 N. Second Street San Jose, CA 95113408/286-2611Fax: 408/[email protected]
The Hoffman Agency advisescompanies on applying commu-nications to build brands, fortifyreputations and sell prod-ucts/services.
With a heritage in the tech-nology sector, the firm todayfocuses on markets of complex-ity: telecommunications, energyand financial services, as wellas technology.
In contrast to the mega shops,
all of our senior consultantsmanage and are activelyengaged in client work. Oursenior people both oversee andcontribute to the implementationof client programs. This resultsin two key benefits — a high-level understanding of eachclient’s business and superiorimplementation.
Everyone, including our man-aging directors, vice presidentsand general managers, uses hisor her relationships and assets todrive the success of our clients’programs.
We take a holistic approach increating communication cam-paigns as opposed to solelydepending on media relations.Our work often combines socialmedia, digital, search engineoptimization (SEO), thoughtleadership as well as traditionalPR. Such an approach puts apremium on not just buildingcontent, but building the “right”content. Toward this end, theAgency embraces storytellingtechniques and even conductsworkshops on storytelling (forboth in-house communicatorsand executives).
For clients with global needs,The Hoffman Agency’s opera-tion extends across Asia Pacific,Europe and the United States.By taking a collaborativeapproach to implementing pro-grams, the company can lever-age content and thinking acrossgeographies. This mentality is
Feintuch Communications launched search and analysis softwareclient MIIAtech at CRM Evolution Trade Show with a show sponsor-ship (full page ad, booth, giveaway), a custom video and media andanalyst meetings. Luica Mak, Managing Director
of Hoffman’s European opera-tions.
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PROFILES OF HIGH-TECH & TECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS
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further cultivated by a financialstructure that does not place P/Lat the individual office level.
In short, our work reflects thesophistication of a large agencywith the handcrafted executionexcellence of a boutique.
HORN GROUP
612 Howard StreetSan Francisco, CA 94105415/905-4000Fax: 415/[email protected]
Horn Group is a digital com-munications firm specializing inpublic relations, interactivedesign and social media. Named“2011 Technology Agency of theYear” by the Holmes Report anda “Best Mid-Sized Agency” byPRSourceCode, the companyrepresents established brandsand hot start-ups in the technol-ogy, media and consumer sec-tors.
Horn Group was foundedtwenty years ago by SabrinaHorn and is based in SanFrancisco and New York. Theagency also co-founded theOriella PR Network, an allianceof like-minded agencies aroundthe world that partners togetherto service international clients.To learn more, visitwww.horngroup.com, call +1888.271.8989 or @horngroup.
HUNTER PUBLICRELATIONS
41 Madison Avenue, 5th FloorNew York, NY 10010-2202212/[email protected]
Hunter Public Relations is anaward-winning consumer prod-ucts public relations agency withdeep experience in the consumertechnology sector. In business for
22 years, the 80-person, inde-pendently owned and operatedagency offers strategic marketingPR services including creativebrainstorming and facilitation,traditional and digital media rela-tions, social media marketing,special event production, newproduct introductions, local mar-ket events, spokesperson toursand crisis counseling.
Hunter PR’s experience in thetech sector has been driven bypublic relations campaigns asinnovative as the products werepresent, including ground-breaking developments from cat-egory leaders such as 3M andMotorola. A strong foundation intraditional media layered with theviral power of social platformsdelivers clients with the kind ofhard-hitting, buzz-building place-ments that move products, buildbrands and redefine categories.
KAPLOW
19 West 44th Street, 6th FloorNew York, NY 10036212/221-1713www.kaplowpr.com
Kaplow West795 Folsom Street, 1st FloorSan Francisco, CA 94107415/291-2937
Liz Kaplow, CEO
Kaplow is an award-winning,full-service agency with deepexpertise in consumer technology,mobile and Internet communica-tions, e-commerce, software, andmedia.
Kaplow continues to build best-in-class technology brands and haslong-term relationships withindustry leaders Skype, GSICommerce, HauteLook andTheFind. In 2011, Kaplow addedto its roster sought-after technolo-gy trailblazers Demand Media,Kynetic, Lookout Mobile Securityand Manilla.
Kaplow’s technology expertisecoupled with the company’s indus-try-leading consumer lifestylepractice gives Kaplow a uniqueposition in the industry landscape,creating insights-driven conversa-tions between consumers and tech-nology brands, and making thosebrands relevant to consumers’lives. Kaplow’s Kdrive socialmedia strategies and Kstudio videoproduction divisions work togetherto strategically extend client storiesdirectly to consumers, buildingword of mouth and fueling conver-sations via social networks and
other online channels.After expanding Kaplow’s pres-
ence to San Francisco last year byopening an office in the city’sbustling South of Market technolo-gy district, Kaplow further bol-stered its technology PR capabili-ties with the addition of DavidRicheson to its senior leadershipteam, heading up consumer tech-nology and social media for theagency.
K/F COMMUNICATIONS
601 Fourth St., Suite 204San Francisco, CA 94107415/[email protected]
Julie Karbo & DaveFonkalsrud, Partners
K/F Communications is anaward-winning PR firm special-
izing in technology, with anexceptional track record ofestablishing clients as marketleaders. From consumer prod-ucts to networking and enter-prise software, K/F has consis-tently helped to drive many ofthe top tech trends.
Team experience includes Digg,Apple, Chomp, TwitVid,SimpleGeo, Edgewater Networks,ACDSee, SuperFish, TechBargains,Flock, Equinix, CompositeSoftware, Oracle, Billeo, CoviaLabs, Alacritech, Talari Networks,Cisco, Juniper, Peribit Networksand the Peninsula TrafficCongestion Relief Alliance.
Senior staff personally lead eachaccount’s day-to-day efforts in col-laboration with client teams.K/F employs a proprietarymethodology that results in adifferentiated market position-ing and strategic, effective pro-
To help build awareness — and explain the need for — an emergingcategory in projection (battery operated pocket-sized projectors),Hunter PR teamed with Epipheo Studios to create a 90-second ani-mated film that highlighted the product line’s functionality and pos-sible use scenarios. The film was distributed via the brand’s existingsocial media channels Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well asthrough blogger outreach and in-person event screenings.
When launching new financial services planning platform Manilla,Kaplow held a media showcase at Hearst with personal finance expertFarnoosh Torabi to demonstrate Manilla’s benefits for busy moms.
The December issue of O’Dwyer’s willfeature a company profiles section onentertainment and sports PR firms. Ifyou would like your firm to be listed,contact Editor Jon Gingerich at 646/843-2080 or [email protected]
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PROFILES OF HIGH-TECH & TECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS
grams that focus on our clients’specific business goals, such asincreasing revenues, maximiz-ing valuation, creating industry-leading stature for the companyand executives, and attractingemployees, partners and fund-ing.
LAUNCHSQUAD
116 New Montgomery St., Ste 620San Francisco, CA 94105415/[email protected]
443 Park Ave South, #310New York, NY 10016212/564-3665
222 3rd St., Ste 1321Cambridge, MA 02142617/945-1915
Jason Mandell, Co-Founder andPartnerJesse Odell, Co-Founder andPartnerJason Throckmorton, Co-Founder and PartnerBrett Weiner, PartnerJeff Davis, Editorial DirectorBrett Marty, Creative DirectorGavin Skillman, SVPMike Farber, General Manager
LaunchSquad helps emergingand fast-growing companiesmake a name for themselves,grow their businesses andbecome market leaders. The firmhas 65 professionals in SanFrancisco, New York and Boston,and provides a suite of both tradi-tional and digital PR services,including video and content pro-duction. Founded in 2000,LaunchSquad was named the2009 Boutique PR Agency of theYear and Crunchies Finalist forBest Tech PR Firm in 2010. It hasalso been listed as a Top TechCommunicator numerous timesby PRSourceCode. LaunchSquadworks with a wide variety ofinnovators in software, consumertechnology, media, entertainment,clean tech, mobile and infrastruc-ture, including: Brightroll,ClairMail, EcoFactor, Evernote,Fab.com, Get Satisfaction, i365,
Marketo, Personal Capital,SCVNGR and ShareThis.
LOIS PAUL &PARTNERS
One Beacon Street, 2nd FloorBoston, MA 02108617/986-5700Fax: 617/[email protected]
Richard Wadsworth, VicePresident, Business Development
Lois Paul & Partners (LPP) is aleading, national strategic com-munications agency that providesa wide range of public relationsservices to technology, life sci-ences, and clean energy compa-nies. For 25 years, LPP hashelped small, emerging and large,established companies meet theirbusiness goals through strategicand creative PR programs, specif-ically tuned to each client’s busi-ness goals. With a value-focused,integrity-based approach, LPPproactively pursues opportunitiesthat produce coverage, promotethought leadership, and dispersecompelling messages to the rightaudiences, helping clients differ-entiate themselves from competi-tors and gain visibility and credi-bility in crowded markets. As aleader in social media services,LPP also designs and maintainssuccessful digital communica-tions programs to help clientsengage new communities ofinfluencers. For more informa-tion, and to view current and pastclient lists, please visit ourWebsite.
Mike Crawford, PresidentPam Watkins, SVP, Businessand Media StrategyJim Terry, SVP, Account Service
Public relations for technolo-gy companies is not the same asPR for blue jeans or perfume.For example, one PR firm couldcompetently handle the jeansone minute and perfume thenext. Technology companies, onthe other hand, demand morethan cookie-cutter solutions.The buyers are different. Thenews organizations are differ-
ent. The kinds of stories thatinterest both are vastly differ-ent. And the depth and complex-ity of knowledge are much dif-ferent. As a result, the strategiesand tactics are different. Withall these factors unique to thehigh-tech market, you need aPR firm with real expertise intechnology, technology compa-nies and, most importantly,technology buyers.
At M/C/C, technology iswhere we started, and more than25 years later, it remains ourstrong suit. www.mccom.com
MERRITT GROUP
11600 Sunrise Valley Dr., Ste. 320Reston, VA 20191703/390-1500www.merrittgrp.com
Ben Merritt, CEOAlisa Valudes, EVP, Partner
With offices in Reston,Virginia and San Francisco,Merritt Group helps create andmove markets for forwardthinking companies. MerrittGroup determines the right mixof communications channels —PR, marketing, digital, socialmedia, Web — and implementsstrategic campaigns to make ourclients’ messages resonate in themarketplace. Bringing innova-tion and creativity to our clientengagements, Merritt Groupplaces a premium on buildinglong-standing relationships withour clients. Our expert-ise is focused in six practiceareas — Enterprise Technology,Security, Communications &Networking, Government,Healthcare, and Energy / GreenIT. Some of our clients includeVerizon Business, MicrosoftPublic Sector, Booz AllenHamilton, PGP, U.S.Pharmacopeia, and Teradata.
MWW GROUP
One Meadowlands PlazaEast Rutherford, NJ 07073201/507-9500Fax: 201/507-0092www.mww.com
Michael W. Kempner, Pres. & CEOEphraim Cohen, Exec VP, Techand Digital ContentEric Villines, Senior VP, GeneralManager, Deputy HeadTechnology
MWW is one of the nation’stop mid-sized public relations
firms and one of the ten largestindependent global agen-cies. From IT infrastructure toonline video and mobile apps,technology is everywhere andintegrated into almost everyaspect of our lives. OurTechnology practice helps brandscut through noise, find the rightchannels and connect with theright audiences to make ourclients matter more than the com-petition. We are defining a newapproach to PR in a vastly alteredmedia landscape — one that willcatalyze our clients among influ-encers, customers, key stakehold-ers and employees. We not onlyknow how to find the influencersmost relevant to your brand, buthow to engage them in a mean-ingful dialogue. We call thisNetwork PR and it isn’t an upsell— it’s how we do business. Our technology expertiseincludes: Strategy Planning;Consumer, Business and TradeMedia Relations; IndustryAnalyst Relations; IndustrySpeaker’s Bureaus, Trade ShowMarketing;
Consumer and IndustryCustom Events for ProductMarketing and Leadership;Online/Offline CommunityBuilding; Media BeetupPrograms; Tech and ContentInfluencer Social MediaOutreach; and Custom News andContent Hub Sites
Luca Penati, Managing Director,Global Technology Practice
We understand we are in anew age of PR. One where techmedia has migrated online andtech pages in business media areshrinking. Where we recognizenew influencers in bloggers andTwitterers. Where a video isbetter than a thousand words.Where having good relation-ships with your beat reporters isnot enough. Where companiesare becoming publishers in theirown right. We believe in listen-ing as much as talking. Webelieve that an agency should
KK//FF CCOOMMMMSS..�Continued from page 31
View and download profiles of hundredsof PR firms specializing in more than adozen industry areas at:
www.odwyerpr.com
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live and breathe the technologyindustry but also go beyond it.The Ogilvy PR TechnologyPractice goes beyond “techonly” PR. We offer somethingmost tech agencies don’t: theopportunity to pull in PRexperts from other backgrounds,including digital influence, rep-utation management, publicaffairs, sustainability, CSR,consumer marketing and more.Our clients value the combinedthinking made possible byblending disciplines and wethink it’s a requirement for thisnew age of PR.
PERITUS
200 South Fifth Street, Suite 503Louisville, KY 40202502/585-3919www.perituspr.com
Tim Mulloy, CEO
Peritus is a national, full-serv-ice communications agency withoffices in Kentucky, Tennessee,Indiana, Ohio and Alabama, thatoffers layered expertise in publicrelations, public affairs, market-ing and creative services. Acrossall sectors, businesses are in needof sound consultation, clearadvice, and a team of experts thatdeliver results. That’s why somany have turned to Peritus. Wefind the right mix of publicaffairs, media relations, andgrassroots strategies to succeed.We implement and leverage thelatest technology, strategic mediacampaigns and social media plat-forms to help meet the goals ofour clients in cost-effective waysto reach their audience. Poweredby our diverse backgrounds, top-level experience, and relentlessenergy, we serve our clients witha keen eye on winning. We knowtelecom issues. We know technol-ogy. We know how to win.Contact us, and we will take itfrom there.
RF | BINDER
950 Third Avenue, 7th FloorNew York, NY 10022212/994-7600www.rfbinder.comTwitter: @RFBinder
Amy Binder, CEOGerald Kimber White, SeniorManaging Director, Boston office
RF|Binder stands at the fore-front of the increasingly dynamicdiscipline of communications.
The art and practice of publicrelations continues to evolve inthe wake of the democratizationof information, and we are bothstudents and masters of the newstrategies and tactics whileremaining committed to the time-less principles of effective com-munication.
RF|Binder’s technology prac-tice, combines technology expert-ise, business acumen and commu-nications excellence, to deliverprograms that significantly influ-ence consumer and business-buyer beliefs and behavior. Wework closely with our technologyclients to effectively communi-cate their messages throughwords, images, sounds and expe-riences. We help technologycompanies transcend traditionalproduct-centric messages in away that builds lasting marketvalue.
Our clients run the gamut —from the world’s leading multina-tionals to emerging venture-backed start-ups. But no matterthe size of the organization,RF|Binder works with our clientsto develop communications pro-grams tailored to meet their spe-cific business goals and reachtheir target audiences.
ROGERS & COWAN
PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER8687 Melrose Ave., 7th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90069310/854-8117310/854-8106www.rogersandcowan.com
Tom Tardio, CEOSallie Olmsted, Executive VicePresident
Rogers & Cowan specializes inworking with emerging andestablished technology brandswhose products and services areat the intersection of technology,entertainment, digital content andhealthy lifestyles.
Our dedicated team of special-ists has in-depth knowledge andexperience working with con-sumer electronics hardware,mobile content/devices, embed-ded and core technologies andsoftware, distribution technolo-gies, video game products, con-sumer health and wellness, sus-tainable / green technologies, andsocial / digital media companiesto introduce their products andservices to the trade, business andentertainment communities aswell as ultimate end-users.
We take a 360 degree approachto helping our clients introduce
technologies, products and serv-ices to current as well as newindustry sectors. Our clients ben-efit from senior level counsel andadvisory services derived fromdecades of hands-on work,including new category introduc-tions.
From concept creation to tradeand B2B outreach and consumerlaunch to sustaining critical massand momentum, we maximizemedia exposure, brand position-ing and consumer buzz for ourclients’ digital content, servicesand devices. We are adept attranslating buzzwords and jargoninto “Plain English” to delivermarketing solutions that can beclearly understood and absorbedby both B2B and consumer targetaudiences.
301 East 57th StreetNew York, NY 10022212/715-1600212/593-6400www.ruderfinn.com
Peter Finn, Co-CEO, Ruder Finn& Founding Partner, Finn Partners
Ruder Finn, through its FinnPartners business unit, pridesitself on a long standing tradi-tion of generating visibility andindustry buzz for its diverseclient base in the technologysector. Through integrated cam-paigns that combine the best oftraditional media expertise andforward-looking social mediaprograms, we help our clientsexpertly navigate the 24/7media landscape and drive posi-tive outcomes that are truly tiedto a company's business objec-tives.
With a national team of sea-soned professionals and aproven record of maintainingthe top business and technologymedia and industry analyst con-tacts, plus a finger-on-the-pulse
mentality, we have establishedsuccessful partnerships withambitious start-ups to globalenterprises across a wide varietyof enterprise and consumertechnology companies.
Our expertise spans the fullspectrum of enterprise, net-working, mobile and consumertechnologies, with specializedcapabilities in vertical marketslike Consumer, Healthcare,Financial Services, Manufacturing,and Telecommunications.
Our services include: CEOpositioning, thought-leadershipprograms, executive platformdevelopment, new product andservice launches, industry analystrelations, social media programdevelopment and execution, tradeshow and special event support,competitive monitoring andanalysis, and issues management.Programs are often augmentedwith support for investor rela-tions, internal communications,government relations, socialresponsibility initiatives and cre-ative design.
Current clients include: 3LM,Acorn, Active Network, Altair,AVG, Bill.com, Boxtone, CTIA,Entropic Comm., GT Nexus,IEEE, IPC Systems, KyoceraMita, Logitech, MarvellTechnology, Radware, RoviCorp., Silver Spring Networks,Slimware Utilities, StubHub!,SunGard, Teleca, TomTom, UC4,Vonage, WiSpry, Women inTechnology International (WITI),and Z-Wave.
SAGE COMMUNICATIONS
8229 Boone Blvd., Suite 410Vienna, VA 22182703/748-0300Fax: 703/564-0101www.aboutsage.com
Sage Communications is a lead-ing, full-service integrated market-ing firm that provides advertising,public relations and strategic mar-keting services. Based in theWashington D.C. area, we combinesound marketing strategy and greatexecution to ignite action anddirectly impact our clients’ bottomline. We help our clients breakthrough the noise and stand out inan overly saturated market, posi-tioning our clients in front of theright influencers and decision mak-ers.
Sage specializes in B2B, B2G,
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PROFILES OF HIGH-TECH & TECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS
B2C, G2G and G2C communica-tions. Current clients include:National Cherry Blossom Festival,SAIC’s Linguistics and CulturalIntelligence Group, MotorolaSolutions’ Federal GovernmentDivision, T-Mobile, DynamicsResearch Corporation, theDepartment of Veterans Affairs andthe General ServicesAdministration, among others. Sageproudly supports The Children’sInn at NIH, St. Jude’s ChildrenResearch Hospital and TheChildren of Uganda.
SCHWARTZ MSL
300 Fifth Avenue, First FloorWaltham, MA 02451781/[email protected] Twitter: @schwartzmsl
Bryan Scanlon, President ofSchwartz MSL & North AmericaTechnology Practice Leader,MSLGROUP
Schwartz MSL is a full-serv-ice global PR and engagementagency. We specialize indesigning award-winning com-munications programs for tech-nology innovators of all sizes,combining the best of traditionalmedia relations and publicaffairs with cutting-edge social,digital and content marketing.
Over the past two decades,Schwartz MSL has establisheditself as a leader in the technologyspace with a vast and impressiverange of expertise in a number ofareas, including: informationsecurity; data center and cloudinnovations; sustainability; cleantech; enterprise software; hard-ware and services. We’re proud tohave supported the following inno-vators: MicroStrategy, E Ink,Epocrates, Software AG, VMware,GE Healthcare, Ancestry.com,Qualys, ESET, Getaround.com,Elster, Netezza and Red Hat. Formore information on ourTechnology capabilities, visitwww.schwartzmsl.com/industry_expertise.php.
SHELTON GROUP
12400 Coit Road, Suite 650Dallas, TX 75251972/239-5119Fax: 972/[email protected]
Shelton Group is a full-service,strategic PR and IR agency pro-viding customized programs andservices to public and privatelyheld companies across multipleindustries. Shelton offers a teamof professionals with diversebackgrounds that uniquely blendbusiness acumen with creativityto deliver the highest quality ofservice. Applying an integratedapproach to corporate communi-cations, Shelton Group delivers acompany’s unified story to all tar-geted audiences. Through a dedi-cation to value-added service anda national network of key strate-gic relationships, Shelton Grouphas built a trusted reputation withthe media, industry experts andthe financial community that pro-duces immediate results foremerging and established compa-nies. The company has offices inTexas, California and Taiwan. Formore information visitwww.sheltongroup.com.
SPEAKERBOXCOMMUNICATIONS
LLC
7900 Westpark Drive, Suite T410McLean, VA 22102 703/[email protected]
Elizabeth Shea, Pres. and CEOLisa Throckmorton, ExecutiveVice PresidentKatie Hanusik, Vice President
SpeakerBox is the high-techsector’s dedicated public rela-tions firm, built specifically tomeet the rigors of tech-basedbusiness communications: crys-tallizing complex ideas, targetinghighly intelligent buyers, andmoving at the speed of technolo-gy.
Since 1997, we’ve given voiceto the industry’s top thinkers andperformers; influenced hundreds
of successful product launches,acquisitions, valuations, andIPOs; and helped raise nearly abillion dollars of institutionalinvestment.
They know business tech influ-encers — we are business techinfluencers. Impressions, engage-ments, page views. They’re alljust means to an end.
So instead of padding our cliplist, we focus on sustained, long-term win scenarios in strategicalignment with sales, marketing,and top management.
True influence takes more thanmedia hits; it demands tacticallydiverse, outcome-driven pro-grams with custom parameters —from social media strategies todigital and inbound marketing,
Elizabeth Shea, Presidentand CEO of SpeakerBoxCommunications.
SSAAGGEE CCOOMMMMSS..�Continued from page 33
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NOVEMBER 2011 �WWW.ODWYERPR.COM � ADVERTISING SECTION36
PROFILES OF HIGH-TECH & TECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS
thought leadership campaigns,industry analyst validations, andmuch more.
Initiatives that directly enhanceyour sales, valuation, and recruit-ing imperatives—augmented byindependent counsel you cantrust.
Because we’re not here togrow our retainer; we’re here togrow your market value.
Clients include: Red Hat,Symantec, Belkin, OutSystems,MobileAcess, Rapiscan, Surety,Disruptathon, WhosHere andYippity.
TREVELINO /KELLER
949 W. Marietta St., Ste. X-106 Atlanta, GA 30318 404/214-0722 www.trevelinokeller.com www.trevelinokellerlive.comwww.wheelhousetk.comwww.prstarbase.comwww.prspeak.com
Dean Trevelino & Genna Keller,Principals
Trevelino/Keller, a full-servicepublic relations, social media andbrand communications firm, fea-tures one of the Southeast’slargest technology practices. Itworks with established andemerging brands on a regional,
national and international level.Client experience includestelecommunications, wireless,manufacturing, network security,software, SaSS, SAP, retail tech-nology, business intelligence,ecommerce, online applications,fintech and consumer electronics.Services include media relations,analyst relations, executive visi-bility, crisis preparedness, awardprograms, trade show representa-tion, social media, mobile applaunches, online communities,SEO, brand identity, marketingcollateral and interactive.
As an independent PR firm,Trevelino/Keller is recognized forproprietary methodologies andvalue-added partnerships. In2005, it created the AtlasAlliance, a group of like-mindedboutique firms that deliver inte-grated marketing and public rela-tions services domestically and inEurope, Asia-Pacific and theMiddle East. In 2006, it createdthe Start-Up Council, focused onsupporting start-up companies bydelivering multi-disciplinedcounsel in a gratis environment.In 2010, it launched Wheelhouse,its social marketing branddesigned to deliver web 2.0 andbeyond services in partnershipwith traditional public relationsand brand communications.Recognized as a Best Places toWork firm in Georgia andAtlanta, it’s also recognized asone of the 30 best firms to workfor in North America.
TRYLON SMR
41 East 11th Street, Suite 1100New York, NY 10003212/[email protected]
Lloyd P. Trufelman, President
Since 1990 Trylon SMR hasbeen an innovator in developingand implementing successfulstrategic media relations cam-paigns specifically for clients inthe technology, media, telecomand related industries, utilizing awide portfolio of integrated new,social, digital and mainstreammedia strategies. Trylon SMRdevelops and implements indi-vidually designed, cost-effectivecommunications campaignsbased on precise strategic plan-ning and tactical execution thatconsistently produce tangibleresults. The agency’s process isbased on a proprietary “reversereporting” model. Trylon SMR
serves domestic and internation-al clients from its headquartersin New York City, leveraging itsknowledge of, and relationshipswith, top national, consumer,business and trade media/blogs,all without strict billable hoursor long term contracts.
Vine Communications loves allthings tech and specializes inworking with consumer technolo-gy companies — gizmos andgadgets if you will.
We are experts at giving yourproducts the “it” factor and get-ting your products into the handsof people that matter — trendinfluencers, reviewers, editors,bloggers and ultimately cus-tomers.
We work alongside your salesteam to ensure that media cover-age is leveraged into sales toolsthat can be used to get your prod-ucts into desired retailers andmake your products fly off theshelves.
Social media channels are thenext generation of the customerdatabase, only interactive, and wehelp you humanize your onlineimprint. We help you to create anonline platform that allows you todirectly communicate with yourcustomers and allows your cus-tomers to directly communicatewith one another.
Give them good products andservice and they will be your fansfor life…we help you capture thatand use it to grow your company& bottom line.
Heidi Sinclair, President ofGlobal Technology Practice
This is the age of innovation
— a time where technology isnow deeply embedded in thefabric of industry, governmentand society at all levels. Wherethe consumer is in control andwe are our own best storytellers.Media is but one platform facil-itating idea sharing and engage-ment. We are not restricted byboundaries — everything isglobal.
Weber Shandwick lives at thecrossroads of technology inno-vation and consumer experienceby going vertical and horizon-tal, and we have been at the epi-center leveraging our positionas the consumer and technologypowerhouse every day. Thelaunch of the first desktop com-puter — we were there.Emerging technology such asthe mobile phone and theInternet — we were there, too.Regardless of the time, theissues or the innovations, ourclients have depended on us tounderstand their business chal-lenges and to create programsthat exceed their goals. Forexample, we helped establishthe VeriSign checkmark as themost recognized symbol of truston the Internet, worked along-side Samsung to create a sur-prise concert with the BlackEyed Peas to globally launch itsnew 3D LED TV and helpedVerizon Wireless become theperceived 4G leader. Our technology practice issteeped with seasoned profes-sionals and tech-savvy playerswho understand the issues,trends, devices, services andplatforms that are influencingwhat we now call the InnovationAge. This robust network of500+ specialists delivers best-in-class public relations, digital,social and mobile marketing,content development and strate-gy and reputation managementservices to leading and emerg-ing companies in nearly everysector of the industry. Ourexpertise extends into clean-tech, consumer products andcomponents, consumer elec-tronics, digital media and enter-tainment, healthcare IT,mobile/telco, services, storageand more.
Edelman New YorkWaggener Edstrom Belleview, WAText 100 Global PR New YorkAPCO Worldwide Wash., D.C.Ruder Finn New YorkSchwartz Comms. Waltham, MAQorvis Communications Wash., D.C.Atomic PR San FranciscoThe Hoffman Agency San JoseHorn Group San FranciscoPAN Comms. Andover, MAMWW Group E. Rutherford, NJDavies Murphy Group Burlington, MAMerritt Group Reston, VALaunchSquad San FranciscoFahlgren Mortine Columbus, OHAllison & Partners San FranciscoMatter Communications BostonCapstrat RaleighCoyne PR Parsippany, NJJackson Spalding AtlantaShelton Group DallasAirfoil PR DetroitPeppercom New YorkGibbs & Soell New YorkAffect Strategies New YorkKaplow New YorkCRT/tanaka Richmond, VAMakovsky + Co. New YorkBorders + Gratehouse San FranciscoTrylon SMR New YorkBateman Group San FranciscoGregory FCA Ardmore, PABlack Twig Comms. St. LouisSchneider Associates BostonLambert, Edwards & Assocs. Grand Rapids, MI Middleberg Comms. New YorkRF|Binder Partners New YorkLevick Strategic Comms. Wash., D.C.Trevelino/Keller Comms. AtlantaM/C/C Dallas
K/F Comms. San FranciscoCatapult PR-IR Boulder, COCasey Comms. St. LouisDye, Van Mol & Lawrence NashvilleCJP Communications New YorkDawson + Murray + Teague DallasZeno Group New YorkFeintuch Comms. New YorkLinhart Public Relations DenverRon Sachs Comms. TallahasseeGibralter Assocs. Wash., D.C.The Rogers Group Los AngelesEdge Comms. Encino, CADukas Public Relations New YorkCooperKatz & Co. New YorkOpen Channels Group Ft. WorthWinning Strategies PR NewarkRL PR and Marketing Los AngelesMichael A. Burns & Assocs. DallasGuthrie/Mayes & Associates LouisvilleMoore Consulting Group TallahasseeHunter PR New YorkL.C. Williams & Assocs. ChicagoLane PR Portland, ORMcNeely Pigott & Fox NashvilleRasky Baerlein BostonFrench | West | Vaughan RaleighPowell Group DallasKatcher, Vaughn & Bailey NashvilleSeigenthaler PR NashvilleTransMedia Group Boca Raton, FLPublic Communications ChicagoKohnstamm Comms. St. PaulZeppos & Assocs. MilwaukeeThe Kotchen Group W. Hartford, CTMaccabee Group MinneapolisRosica Public Relations Paramus, NJRed Sky Public Relations BoiseRichmond PR SeattleBridge Global Strategies New YorkBoardroom Comms. Plantation, FL
If anybody is poised for a one-termpresidency, it’s Barack Obama. Asnice a guy as the president might be,
he’s been a disastrous chief executive,seemingly inca-pable of deliveringthe nation from itseconomic plight.
And while oncethe president’s goodhumor and articu-lateness helpedcover up a lack ofmanagement expe-rience and leader-ship depth, Obamahas today dissipatedhis public relationscapital to a pointwhere his job is ripe
for the picking.Thank goodness for him that his oppo-
sition is eminently capable of snatchingdefeat from the jaws of victory.
Indeed, despite a wounded presidentand a failing presidency, the RepublicanParty seems poised, once again, to blownext year’s election — especially if theParty continues to careen down its cur-rent, perilous public relations path.
Not that there’s anything wrong, mindyou, with what Republicans stand for.Few working people can argue with thesentiment of cutting governmentexpenses, reducing taxes, and incentingthe business system so that it can hirepeople and make money. That’s basiccapitalism, and it’s what this countryshould be all about.
Nor is the problem with the travelingcast of curious characters currentlycompeting for the Republican nomina-tion. Sure, Rick Perry is brawny andMitt Romney is squishy and NewtGingrich is scary — but hey, they’repoliticians, the lowest form of humanlife, so cut ‘em some slack.
No, the real problem the Republicanshave is PR. The image they’re buildingmay single handedly keep them frombeating a wounded opponent, who iseminently beatable.
Specifically, the Republicans haveallowed themselves to be characterizedin three disastrous ways which, ifallowed to persist uncorrected, may
spell impending doom for whomeverthey push to the head of the candidateconga line.The party of ‘no’This is the prevailing moniker for
Republican intentions, and the party’sCongressional storm troopers continueto give the pejorative characterizationnew life.
“No” on raising the debt ceiling.“No” on taxing millionaires.“No” on extending the payroll tax cut.“No” on disaster relief.Republican lawmakers, like Sen.
Lamar Alexander, have tried to explainthe rationale in opposing such propos-als, e.g. “We don’t need short term ges-tures, we need long term strategies thatbuild into our system simpler taxes,lower taxes, fewer mandates, lowercosts, lower energy costs, more certain-ty.”
Noble sentiments perhaps, but youknow you’re in trouble when someoneas rhetorically-challenged as HarryReid can cut your argument to shredswith one line, as he did recently,“Americans shouldn’t have to decidebetween disaster relief funds and land-ing a job.”
Eventually, Republicans relented ondisaster relief but, such incessant neg-ativity — with few alternatives offeredin exchange — serves to fuel critics,intensify opponents, and cause all ofthose in the middle to wonder if thenaysayers have anything at all “posi-tive” to recommend beyond obstruc-tionism. The party of ‘stall’Channeling Rush Limbaugh, Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnellfamously told a reporter last Octoberthat, “The single most important thingwe want to achieve is for PresidentObama to be a one-term president.”
And that image — of a party dedicat-ed to running out the clock withoutallowing the incumbent to pursue anylegislative agenda — continues to pre-vail. In theory, there’s nothing wrongwith blocking potential legislation thatone believes would be deleterious tothe best interests of the nation.
But it’s hard to justify asking peoplewho are suffering to hang in there for14 months till we get a new administra-tion. The Republicans sniffed this when
they reacted conciliatorily to theObama “Jobs Bill” speech at the start ofSeptember.
House Republican leaders JohnBoehner and Eric Cantor both steppedout immediately after the speech tounderscore how they planned to “workwith” the President on portions of hisproposal. But a week later, there wasCantor blogging as to how Obama’s proposal would “tax soup kitchens,”thus impairing the 47 millionAmericans who live in poverty.
The specific section in the Obamaproposal Cantor referred to dealt withlimiting charitable deductions for high-income taxpayers — a significant leapfrom “a tax on soup kitchens.”
Such politics-as-usual shenaniganssuggested that despite their initialcooperation declaration, even on aspressing a need as job creation,Republicans might still opt for stallingrather than “rewarding” the incumbentwith any success.The party of arroganceWere the Republicans to continue to
encourage their perception as stallersand obstructionists, by the time thepresidential election rolls around, theywill also have succeeded in being per-ceived as “arrogant.”
And as everyone from Robert Bork toDonald Trump to Tiger Woods haslearned, if there is one trait with whichAmericans will not abide, it is arrogance.
Nobody likes anybody who is too bigfor his britches, as my mother used tosay. And as they pursue their path ofoverall obstinacy, the Republicans riskthe perception come next fall that theyare too arrogant to lead.
Consider an instant perceptualimpression of RepublicanCongressional leaders.
Mitch McConnell is textbook lugubrious.
John Boehner is borderline creepy.Eric Cantor, not so long ago the
party’s “Golden Boy,” is now comesacross as mean-spirited and nasty.
Clearly, their Democrat counterparts— Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, NancyPelosi, et al. — are no “Dream Team,”but the Republicans stunning lack of
Fraser P. Seitel hasbeen a communicationsconsultant, author andteacher for 30 years. Heis the author of thePrentice-Hall text, ThePractice of PublicRelations.
How the GOP can still lose the White HouseBy Fraser Seitel
Professional DevelopmentOPINION
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Iwas a young teenager in 1968 and notvery politically aware. I did watch alot of network news that featured the
weekly tally of enemy dead andAmerican dead. The former number wasalways much higher than the latter. I was
impressed. Of course, I came
to realize this lethalscoreboard was a PRtrick. Americanswere supposed tobelieve we were“winning” inVietnam because theNorth Vietnameseand the Vietcongwere dying in fargreater numbers thanour troops and their
South Vietnamese allies. In January 1968, the enemy launched
its Tet Offensive, a decisive defeat forthem and the war’s pivot point for us.Americans finally saw the enemy’s willto fight had never been diminished aswe’d been repeatedly told. The weeklybody count was a cruel ruse.
Young people took to the streets inprotest back then because they had skinin the game. Unless you were political-ly connected like George W. Bush, youcould pretty much rest assured youwould be drafted and quite likely sentto Vietnam.
The Occupy Wall Street protestersremind me of their 1968 counterpartsbecause they’ve also got skin in thegame. They understand a successfulmiddle class future — the AmericanDream — is in serious jeopardy.
The jobs that once awaited their par-ents and grandparents that ensured thatfuture have been eliminated, down-sized or off-shored. Manufacturing isan anachronism in America.
Meaningful employment on whichyou can feed and house your family,save something and even invest in yourfuture is drying up. The OWS protest-ers know it because they live it everyday. Meantime, they’ve watched a for-tunate few walk off with billions while“99%” of us paid for it.
The far right noise machine has beenworking overtime to convince us thatthese young people are just dirty, shift-less, pot-smoking lay-abouts, preciselywhat conservative commentators saidabout anti-war protesters in 1968.
“The tea partiers have jobs, showersand a point,” huffed Ann Coulter incomparing OWS with the Astroturf,corporate funded, FreedomWorks-driv-en Tea Party movement.
OWS doesn’t have the deep pocketsof the Koch bros behind it. Rather, it’sa truly organic movement with a longlist of grievances emanating from theself-inflicted financial meltdown of2008-2009 and two pointless and end-less wars.
These young people want to know
why nation building is more importantin Iraq and Afghanistan than here athome. They’re outraged that Americancorporations receive tax incentives tosend jobs elsewhere. They want toknow why they’ve had to endure adecade of economic decay and political disillusionment.
Like the anti-war movement, OWSstarted small and has grown exponen-tially as more and more young peoplerecognize what their leaders inWashington are up to and what it couldultimately cost their country.
“It’s easy to forget that this is a veryyoung nation,” says a post on the OWSweb site. “It’s also easy to forget thatthis nation is a great and fragile experi-ment whose success is by no meansassured. We should feel grateful to havethe privilege of being a part of thisexperiment, but we should also feel acorresponding sense of responsibilityfor helping to ensure its success.”
Along with their hygiene, conserva-tives have made much of OWS’s lackof focus. But a detailed list of the pro-tester’s demands is sure to cause themdeep consternation as the movementcontinues to gain traction and popularsupport.
The young people who stood up to thegovernment in 1968, in the end, turnedout to be right. Vietnam was an unjustwar fought for all the wrong reasons.
The young people in the streets todayseem to have taken the same moral highground. I wonder if history will provethem right, too. �
Occupy Wall Street echoes 1968By Kevin Foley
Kevin Foley owns KEFMedia Associates, Inc.,an Atlanta-based pro-ducer and distributor ofelectronic publicity.
“likeability” will be easy to run againstnext November.
So what kind of public relations strat-egy should Republicans adopt so thattheir candidate makes it over the finishline as president?First, they have to have ideasSaying “nyet” all the time doesn’t
work. Neither works: a Democrat plat-form based solely on raising taxes andspending taxpayer money or aRepublican platform based on cutting
spending and taxes and hoping for thebest.
Somebody needs to come up with apositive plan.Second, they have to play for the teamCleaving loyalty to defeating Obama
isn’t good enough. Standing in the pres-ident’s way and stalling, regardless ofwhat he proposes, is a Tea Party recipefor disaster. It can’t help but be per-ceived as obstructionist and arrogant.
Some compromise for the good of thecountry — even with your ardentenemy — is necessary if you want vot-ers to trust your motives.Third, they have to be nicerClearly, our nation’s deep-rooted
problems can’t be solved with “charm.”
But we’re not dealing with geniuseshere; we’re dealing with politicians, allfundamentally flawed and suspect. SoRepublicans need to lighten up a bit andstart showing some warmth. (I meanhave you ever listened to MitchMcConnell?!)
But there is something to be said forbehaving with an element of kindnessand sensitivity. Even Democrats admitthat their president has been an abysmalfailure in coming up with ideas, rally-ing the country, and managing mean-ingfully to get us out of our hole.
But at least he’s a nice guy. And inAmerica in 2012, that quality, alone —unless the Republicans wise up —could get him reelected. �
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OPINION Guest Column
It’s time for a preview of the majordomestic issues public affairs profession-als and the nation will confront next year. 1. Fear. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s line that
“the only thing we have to fear is fearitself” was a crock. We are a nation fight-ing for survival on all fronts and thingsseem to be getting worse for everyone but
the very, very rich.Fear is endemic
now. Facing up to itand defeating it willbe America’s No. 1task in 2012 andprobably wellbeyond.2. The economy.
While the adminis-tration and mosteconomists talkednot long ago about arecovery, I cautionedthat the recessionwas still with us.
Interventions by the administration andthe Fed have not helped. Party vs. partyrancor in Congress has so far blocked anyhope for solutions there. A full-scopedepression looms if matters continue toworsen. It is Save Your Money Time nowas rarely before. a. Poverty/joblessness. Poverty, the
evil stepchild of joblessness and catalystfor riots in the streets of impoverishedthird-world countries, has wiped out thedividing line between the upper and lowerclasses in the U.S. More than 40 millionAmericans from both social sectors, orone out of every six, are living below thepoverty line, says the Census Bureau, andthe number increases each month.
Children are special victims. Nearly 40percent of black kids kids feel the pain ofpoverty. That is twice the number forother children.
Lack of jobs is, of course, the majorcontributor to the problem of poverty. Theofficial rate of unemployment is given at9 percent. That does not factor in thosewho, jobless for years, drop out of thelabor market in desperation, I have, inprevious analyses, put the real rate ofunemployment at 18 percent.
Squabbling leaders and parties mustrecognize this. Businesses must interveneand take a major role in seeking practicalways to put America back to work. Ourpoliticians have demonstrated a near total
lack of fitness for the job. b. Housing. Economists, mortgage ana-
lysts and builders predict the weakenedeconomy will depress housing prices foryears. If so, it will restrain consumerspending, push more homeowners intoforeclosure and darken prospects for anysustained recovery. Home prices areexpected to drop 2.5 percent this year.They have fallen 31.6 percent since 2005. c. Debt reduction. Get real. Nothing of
substance or real worth is going to comeout of this Congress. Perhaps not even thenext, post-election, one. The president’snew plan, short on operational details, ispropelled chiefly by overblown rhetoric.3. The weakened states. A majority of
the states are in monumentally bad finan-cial shape. Most cannot keep operatingwithout further federal assistance. Theissue has been on every list of this sort foryears, but Washington has yet to grasp thetrue severity of the states’ problems. Thiscould be the year when state agencies andthe federal system take their greatest hitsin decades. 4. The elections. The campaigns are
already all-stops-out mean, and they aregoing to get worse. Clintonian politicalstrategist Jim Carville has counseled thepresident to “panic.” Obama has done justthat in the wake of public disdain for thenew programs for recovery he had seen ashis keys to re-election. In Congress, mem-bers are bipartisanly opposed to any sen-sible proposal to get us out of this mess.
If incumbents cannot get their collectiveacts together with further delay, they cankiss re-election goodbye.
As for the presidency, the Wall StreetJournal’s Peggy Noonan has said it best:Mr. Obama “can’t win this election butthe Republicans can lose it by beingsmall, by being extreme, by being unnu-anced.” Michael Gerson, in theWashington Post, has called the president“increasingly irrelevant to the politics ofhis own country.” He’s showing backbonetoo late in the game5. Cyberwar. The military considers
this the most important threat to U.S.security yet. China has led rogue-nations’trial runs at hacking into Pentagon andcorporate cyber facilities. Top Defenseofficials warn that invasion of U.S. Webcommunications could leave us defense-less against attacks on governments, com-panies, hospitals and more. It’s not sci-ence fiction, it’s real. Special militaryforces are being created to counter the
threat. Freelance hackers abound. The FBI
reports an international trend toward“hacktivism,” linking hacking with politi-cal activism.
One cybercollective, “Anonymous,”has, the Financial Times reports, “terror-ized law enforcement and leading compa-nies on five continents.” MasterCard andVisa were among Anonymous hits thisyear.
Legislation is being considered inCongress and in other legislatures abroadto control hacktivism. 6. Immigration. Republican candidates
for the presidency are focused on illegalimmigration as perhaps the leading threatto America’s social fabric, economy, lawand national security. It isn’t.
The Department of Homeland Securitysays the big story is the fact that fewerLatinos are trying to get into the U.S.Border apprehensions are at their lowestpoint in four decades. For 2010, arreststotaled 463,000, down from 724,000 in2008. In 2006, more than a million arrestswere made.
Increased border security has con-tributed to the decline, but editorial writ-ers point out that perhaps a greater reasonhas been the fact that the shabby U.S.economy has made job openings lessattractive.7. Regulation. The glaring lack of
effective government watchdogs inalmost every phase of business is going toget worse if the Republicans and busi-nesses have their way.
Democrats haven’t much cause to com-plain. They have been astoundingly lax onsome regulatory fronts. A new study byConsumers Reports, for example, looks atregulations in the food industry and findsthat some are so loose as to be meaning-less.
The amount of insects, insect parts androdent hairs permitted in some productsis a glaring, and nauseating, example. 8. Diversity. Championed for the
nation by Obama early on, diversitylagged, even in the White House. It’s akey issue now for women and people ofcolor. Only now has the president signedan executive order calling for greaterdiversity in the federal work force,something many federal employeesrecall being mandated a half centuryago. 9. Terrorism. The U.S. remains the
No. 1 target for terrorists. We lucked outon the tenth anniversary of 9/11 — no
10 domestic issues for 2012By Wes Pedersen
Wes Pedersen is aretired Foreign ServiceOfficer and principal atWes Pedersen Comms.and Public RelationsWashington, D.C.
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My last column discussed the mer-its of a limited liability companyversus an S corporation. This
column will discuss the merits of convert-ing a C corporation to an S corporation.
During my travels Isee many small andmiddle market PRagencies structuredas a C corporation.There may benumerous reasons toconsider making anS election, specifi-cally if the princi-pal’s are consideringselling the agency. Tax structure of a C
corporationUnlike proprietor-
ships, partnerships,and S corporations, C corporations aresubject to an entity-level Federal incometax. This results in what is known as a dou-ble taxation effect. A C corporation reportsits income and expenses on Form 1120.The corporation computes tax on its tax-able income. Tax rates are generally grad-uated and go as high as 35%. When a Ccorporation distributes its income to itsshareholders, the corporation’s sharehold-ers generally report dividend income ontheir own tax returns. Thus, income thathas already been taxed at the corporatelevel is also taxed at the shareholder level. S corporationsS corporations, which generally do not
pay Federal tax, are similar to partnershipsin that net profit or loss flows through tothe shareholders to be reported on theirseparate returns. Also, like partnerships, Scorporations do not aggregate all incomeand expense items in computing profit andloss. Certain items flow through to theshareholders and retain their separatecharacter when reported on the sharehold-ers’ returns.
The S corporation net profit or loss andthe separately stated items (interest
income for example) are allocated to theshareholders according to their stock own-ership interests. Personal Service CorporationI think we can all agree that a PR agency
regardless of how it is structured renders aservice. A Personal Service Corporation(PSC) has as its principal activity the per-formance of personal services. C corpora-tions, not S corporations can be classifiedas a PSC. One disadvantage of a PSC is itcannot use graduated corporation tax ratesand is taxed at 35% from the first dollar itearns. If more than 95% of the time spentby employees is devoted to the perform-ance of services the test is passed. Becausethe tax rules pertaining to PSCs are com-plex, most if not all service corporationswill opt for S corporation status.
Is there a cure? In order to avoid the 35%tax, I have seen many a C corporation PSCbonus out all its income. This eliminatesany tax at the corporate level but in manycases is taxed at the individual level. Reasonable CompensationConsider a profitable C corporation PR
agency earning $6 million in fees and$1.2 million pretax profit. In order toavoid possible double taxation and PSCissues, the entire $1.2 million is paid tothe sole shareholder. Accordingly, there isno profit and all the problems disappear.Wrong!
A salary payment to a shareholder that isdeemed to be “unreasonable compensa-tion” is frequently treated as a construc-tive dividend. Assume the IRS after audit-ing the PR agency determines that a rea-sonable salary for a similarly situatedemployee is $400,000 and the CPA and/orattorney representing the firm cannot jus-tify a higher amount. The IRS will bifur-cate the $1.2 million into a deductiblecompensation payment of $400,000 and adividend of $800,000. The $800,000 is nolonger tax deductible because it is a divi-dend. The shareholder would be entitledto a tax refund because qualified divi-dends are only subject to a 15% tax rate.The interest and penalties associated withthe corporate tax due may very wellnegate the benefit of the dividend rate tax
saving. Additionally, the now nonde-ductible $800,000 will now in most casesbe subject to state and local taxation at thecorporate level. Again, these issues just donot apply to an S corporation. As can beseen, there are many reasons for a taxadvisor to recommend an S corporationversus a C corporation. (See my prior col-umn.)Sale of a PR agencyOther than in a tax-free type merger
transaction, when a PR agency is sold, theshareholders can sell either stock or assets.Most sellers want to sell stock in order toinsure one level of tax at capital gain rates,and most buyers want to purchase assets inorder to get some tax benefit for themoney paid and avoid possible contingentliabilities associated with purchasing thestock.
If a sale of assets takes place by a C cor-poration in a profitable transaction, thecorporation will be subject to tax on thegain realized. This gain can be both ordi-nary income and capital gain. Since thereis no preferential capital gain tax rate for aC corporation, the character of the incomewill generally not matter. If the corpora-tion has an unused capital loss carryover,the loss carryover can reduce the capitalgain portion.
The next step is to transfer the after taxcash to the shareholder(s). This is done inthe form of liquidation. A corporate liqui-dation exists when a corporation ceases tobe a going concern. The corporation con-tinues solely to wind up its affairs, paydebts, and distribute the remaining assets(cash) to its shareholders. Legal dissolutionunder state law is not required for a liqui-dation to be complete for tax purposes. Inthe case of a complete liquidation, the taxlaw provides for sale or exchange treat-ment for the shareholders. Thus, the differ-ence between the fair market value of theassets received from the corporation andthe adjusted basis of the stock surrenderedis the gain or loss recognized by the share-holder. Observe the sale and corporate liq-uidation resulted in a tax at the corporationlevel and another at the shareholder level.
Next month I will discuss the possibilityof killing the C before a sale, the impact ofowner goodwill, and a way to possiblyconvince the buyer to take stock. �
To kill a C CorporationBy Richard Goldstein
Richard Goldsteinis a partner atBuchbinder Tunick &Company LLP, NewYork, Certified PublicAccountants.
hits in any states. That has promptedsome to assume that the terrorist threatto mainland America is over. It isn’t,despite the success by security forces in
keeping the U.S. more secure. Theattacks on the American Embassy inKabul the day after the 9/11 anniversaryare testimony to the potential peril thatfaces American businesses and charita-ble organizations abroad. 10. Crisis communications. We are
dealing with crises in the stock market,
politics, healthcare, business and moreevery day. This is a must: bring your cri-sis communications plan absolutely upto date. Don’t wait to be told by otherswhere dangers lie. Get back to in-housemonitoring and watch for the economic,political and other trends that spell trou-ble for your company. �
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The National Press Club,Washington, D.C., has expressed“disappointment” with PRSA’s
blocking access by O’Dwyer reporters toits Assembly Oct. 15in Orlando.
A statement wasreleased to businessand media reportersat print and broad-cast outlets through-out the U.S. on Oct.19 via PR Newswireby Mark Hamrick,President of thePress Club.
Hamrick is a business and financialnews reporter for the Associated Press inWashington, D.C., where he has workedfor nearly 25 years. He works in TV,radio and print and has numerous awardsfor spot news, documentaries and news-casts.
The statement said the NPC attemptedto convince PRSA to admit O’Dwyer Co.staffers to the Assembly but “PRSA wasunwilling to do this.”
PRSA elected officers and staff thatNPC reached out to included ChairRosanna Fiske; Chair-Elect Mickey Nall;President and COO Bill Murray, and VP-PR Arthur Yann.Society continues boycottYann put a statement on the Society’s
website saying the organization wouldcontinue to block O’Dwyer Co. staffersbecause it “cannot tolerate and acceptunethical behavior on the part of a repre-sentative of the media.” It added that dur-ing three days at the recent conference I“initiated a number of unwanted, unwar-ranted and uncomfortable interactionswith conference attendees, presenters andexhibitors.”
A current question to the Society ishow ethical is withholding IRS Form 990from the Assembly for the third year in arow? Yann has given no indication ofwhen it will be released except to say thelaw is that the Society has until Nov. 15to provide it.
Hamrick noted that I have covered theAssembly for more than 40 years andshould be admitted to the 2011 session aslong as I did not behave in a “disruptiveway.”
Hamrick and NPC Executive Director
Bill McCarren had been sent the 23 pagesof charges against the O’Dwyer Co. andits staffers and both examined them.
Said the statement: “While we findmany of the points in the letter unfortu-nate and even highly disagreeable we donot think they constitute a reason to ban areporter who has been allowed access for40 years.
“PR professionals might have someethical issues with individual reportersand no doubt journalists must cover andreport on the activities of PR people theyfind to be unethical.”
Hamrick said that in general reportersshould be allowed at events as long asthey do not disrupt the events.
Asking difficult questions designed toget answers that an organization wouldrather not provide is not disrupting theevent. We would rather see a group likePRSA allow reporters who might writenegative stories about them into theirevents than not. We think it sets a goodexample for their members whereas ban-ning reporters does not.
He added: “We live in a world wherejournalist access is too often and too eas-ily denied. We hope PRSA will reconsid-er its approach and decide next year tohold a convention that does not ban anyreporters who wish to cover their activi-ties.”Justice says O'Dwyer complaint 'live'A spokesperson for the U.S. Justice
Dept. said that my charge that PRSociety of America “retaliated” againstme when I sought hearing assistance atits conference last year “is being lookedat to see if action will be taken.”
The complaint remains “live” and hasnot been dismissed, said the spokesper-son.
Fiske and Murray put in writing thatthis writer would not be given “creden-tials” for either the 2011 Assembly orconference.
The complaint to Justice, which doesnot require a lawyer’s assistance, wasmade in writing on Aug. 26.
It noted that when I sought hearingdevices for the Assembly and confer-ence last year in Washington, D.C., theWashington Hilton provided suchdevices which were used for theAssembly.
I was allowed to cover the Assemblybut under a new policy was not allowedto record anything or take pictures onpain of being permanently banned.Those rules were followed.
Letter charged O’Dwyer not ‘ethical’The PRS letter, signed by Fiske and
Murray, and which barred all O’Dwyeremployees or any “assign,” accused thisreporter of not being an “ethical”reporter.
Yann also charged PR Watch withbehavior that “falls well outside the eth-ical standards espoused by the Societyof Professional Journalists” and saidBob Conrad of thegoodthebadthes-pin.com should examine his own values“as they apply to blog etiquette, civildiscourse and journalistic accuracy, bal-ance and ethics.”
Conrad had criticized Fiske for declar-ing that a member survey showed thatmembers were “incredibly satisfied”with the Society. He said the return ratewas only about 5% of the 21,000 mem-bers who were sent e-mails and that wasfar too small for any conclusions to bedrawn.
This writer’s view of the 23 pages ofcomplaints against us is that they areworthless tripe and flapdoodle becauseneither Fiske, Murray, Yann or anyonefrom the Society will present them inperson. We have challenged Societyleaders and staff for years to meet us inperson or even talk on the telephone tono avail.NPC respondsNPC, founded in 1908, has 3,400
members including journalists and com-munications professionals. Its SpeakersLuncheon Series is regularly televisedlive on C-SPAN and aired on other broad-cast outlets. More than 250,000 attend its2,000+ events yearly.
It is D.C.’s most frequently used sitefor news conferences. Its activitiesinclude education for journalists and pro-viding scholarships for journalists. Itoperates the nation’s only non-academicresearch library for journalists.
The full NPC release (released Oct. 19)is below:The National Press Club was disap-
pointed to learn that the Public RelationsSociety of America (PRSA) banned veter-an reporter Jack O’Dwyer from coveringthe PRSA General Assembly last weekendin Orlando. We understand that Mr.O’Dwyer has covered the event for morethan 40 years. We also understand thatMr. O’Dwyer and the PRSA have had along running series of disagreements thathave tested and continue to test their
National Press Club ‘disappointed’ by PRSA banBy Jack O’Dwyer
OPINION
Jack O’Dwyer
OPINION
�Continued on next page
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relationship. The nature and content ofthese disagreements is of great concern toboth PRSA and Mr. O’Dwyer.What we find concerning is the solution
chosen by the PRSA, which was to ban areporter who will write stories that maybe critical of their organization. We askedPRSA to reconsider its position and toallow Mr. O’Dwyer in. We suggested thatif he behaved in a disruptive way heshould be removed. PRSA was unwillingto do this.
They have prepared a 23-page letterthat says Mr. O’Dwyer is not an ethicalreporter. Mr. O’Dwyer sent us the letterhimself (twice) for our review as did thePRSA. While we find many of the pointsin the letter unfortunate and even highlydisagreeable we do not think they consti-tute a reason to ban a reporter who hasbeen allowed access for 40 years. Publicrelations professionals might have someethical issues with individual reportersand no doubt journalists must cover andreport on the activities of public relationspeople they find to be unethical. And weare sure this discussion will still be goingon years from now as it was years ago.
On the issue of access for reporters,however, we are generally in favor of it aslong as the reporters do not disruptevents. Asking difficult questionsdesigned to get answers that an organiza-tion would rather not provide is not dis-rupting an event. We would rather see agroup like PRSA allow reporters whomight write negative stories about theminto their events than not. We think it setsa good example for their members where-as banning reporters does not.
We live in a world where journalistaccess is too often and too easily denied.We hope PRSA will reconsider theirapproach and decide next year to hold aconvention that does not ban anyreporters who wish to cover their activi-ties.
PRSA’s statement on the Press Clubsupport (also released Oct. 19 ) follows:The Public Relations Society of
America (PRSA) today issued the follow-ing statement in response to concernsraised by the National Press Club regard-ing PRSA’s decision to deny media cre-dentials to its Leadership Assembly andInternational Conference to industry pub-lisher Jack O’Dwyer:
On Oct. 14, I had a very cordial andextended conversation with BillMcCarren, executive director of theNational Press Club. I appreciated hiscourtesy in reaching out to the PublicRelations Society of America (PRSA) tobetter understand the circumstancesunder which PRSA denied industry pub-
lisher Jack O’Dwyer media credentials toattend PRSA’s Leadership Assemblymeeting and International Conference,which took place Oct. 15-18, in Orlando,Fla.PRSA has excellent relationships with
the national and international media,many of whom attended our events thisweek. As I explained to Mr. McCarren,the PRSA Code of Ethics, which all mem-bers of PRSA are required to follow as acondition of membership, promotes the“free flow of accurate and truthful infor-mation.” As such, our policy is to giveany member of the media access to ourleaders, volunteers and events.
However, as we espouse and requireethical behavior on the part of our mem-bers, we cannot tolerate and acceptunethical behavior on the part of a repre-sentative of the media. Furthermore, wecannot allow a journalist to disrupt ourmeetings or degrade the experiences ofthe PRSA members and other profession-als who attend our events. Even withouthaving been given press credentials, Mr.O’Dwyer was a guest at our conferencehotel for more than three days, duringwhich time he initiated a number ofunwanted, unwarranted and uncomfort-able interactions with Conference atten-dees, presenters and exhibitors.We have provided Mr. O’Dwyer with a
23-page document that outlines our con-cerns with his professional conduct. Hisconduct also prompted the Society ofProfessional Journalists (SPJ) to inviteMr. O’Dwyer to resign his membership inthat organization. And in its own state-ment, the National Press Club could nothelp but concede that many of Mr.O’Dwyer’s actions are “unfortunate”and “even highly disagreeable.” Itstrikes us as ironic that the NationalPress Club would question PRSA’sactions, while at the same time excusingMr. O’Dwyer’s.
[O’Dwyer interjects: The SPJ refusedto explore the many facts surrounding theban on me, saying I have been singing thesame tune 20 years and SPJ does not wantto get into the middle of this “battle.”Executive Director Joe Skeel said that if Idon’t like the SPJ’s stance on this I canquit and get my money back. Neither henor SPJ is accusing me of any unethicalconduct. I think SPJ should take action onthis and not sit on the sidelines].
We encourage Mr. O’Dwyer to makethis document public, so that the casualobserver can better understand the con-text in which our decision was made, andappreciate the reasons why we have takenthis unprecedented step.Arthur Yann, Vice President, Public
Relations. �
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44 NOVEMBER 2011 �WWW.ODWYERPR.COM
WASHINGTON REPORT
Fairfax seeks eco dev PR,marketing
The Food and Drug Administration issued two solicita-tions in September for PR programs funded under the2009 law that imposed new warnings and regulations on
tobacco products and gave the FDA authority over the sector.Virginia’s Fairfax County is searching for agency help to
pitch the region as a business and technology center to compa-nies eying expansion on the East Coast.
The Northern Virginia, D.C.-area county’s EconomicDevelopment Authority is reviewing its account to develop acomprehensive campaign working under its VP of communica-tions to position the county as well as the EDA itself as a catalyst for economic growth.
The EDA is based in Tysons Corner with a satellite operationin Los Angeles, as well as outposts in Bangalore, Seoul, TelAviv, Munich and London.
Its advertising, PR and marketing budget is $1.5M and a two-year contract is expected to be awarded. Siddall and TheHodges Partnership are the incumbent firms.
Among recent victories, the county attracted Hilton Hotelsfrom California in 2009 and Northrop Grumman last year fromLos Angeles. The area, the most populous in the Washingtonmetro region, claims a labor force topping 600K with unem-ployment well below the national average at 4.5%.
Fairfax is home to several government agencies as well,including the CIA, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agencyand Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
RFP documents are available at fairfaxcountyeda.org. �
National Public Radio, which has been rocked by scandaland the ouster of its CEO, has named Sesame WorkshopCEO Gary Knell as its CEO effective Dec. 1. He replaces
Joyce Slocum, general counsel and interim head, since the forcedresignation of Vivian Schiller.
The 57-year-old Knell wants to “calm the waters” and “depoliti-cize” the network. David Edwards, NPR chairman, noted that theSesame Chief “led a large, complex organization through a tumul-tuous media environment.” Knell “has the skills, experience, talentand vision to lead NPR into an even more dynamic future,” saidEdwards in a statement.
Knell joined Sesame in 1989 and took over the top spot in 2000.Earlier he was managing director of Manager Media International,multimedia company that operates in Hong Kong, Singapore andBangkok; senior counsel at WNET/Channel 13 in New York andcounsel to the Senate’s Judiciary and Government AffairsCommittee.
NPR used Spencer Stuart to assist for the search for Knell, adirector at Herrick & Struggles, an executive recruiter competitorto SS.
More than 27 million listeners turn in to NPR each year. The net-work suffered a string of PR black eyes during the past year includ-ing the firing of news analyst Juan Williams and an undercoversting operation by conservative operator James O’Keefe.
Those mishaps intensified Republican calls on Capitol Hill to“defund” NPR. �
Sesame St. chief takes NPRhelm
The Colorado farm that was at the epicenter of a deadly listeria outbreak in cantaloupes has reached out to aWashington, D.C., PR firm versed in produce crisis
issues.Watson/Mulhern, the five-year-old Wisconsin Avenue firm
founded by two veterans of the Fratelli Group, is helpingJensen Farms of Granada, Colo., navigate the Sept. 14 recall ofcantaloupes shipped throughout the United States since lateJuly.
Thirteen people have died and more than 70 have fallen ill,according to the Centers for Disease Control. The Food andDrug Administration and CDC have not yet pinpointed a causeof the bacteria in the melons but traced the outbreak to RockyFord cantaloupe from Jensen Farms.
Amy Philpott, former VP of the United Fresh ProduceAssociation now at Watson/Mulhern, told O’Dwyer’s she isserving as spokeswoman for Jensen Farms and the firm is han-dling communications and media relations strategy. One of theowners, Eric Jensen, has been speaking with reporters andJensen and brother Ryan Jensen have released media state-ments, Philpott noted.
She led the UFPA’s crisis communications and media rela-tions during several produce outbreaks, including a salmonellascares in 2008 linked to chili peppers. �
Farm gets cantaloupe crisis aid
Christopher McCannell, chief of staff to formerBrooklyn/Staten Island Congressman Mike McMahon,has joined APCO Worldwide as VP in its D.C. office.
Democrat McMahon fell to Tea Party-backed Michael Grimmin the 2010 election.
McCannell joins the independent PR giant from Ameriprise,where he held the VP-government affairs post doing outreachto the House Financial Services and Senate Banking commit-tees. He also managed implementation of new rules under theDodd-Frank reform law.
McCannell has additional government relations experience,earned from repping U.S. Chamber of Commerce,PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Bank of America while at QuinnGillespie & Assocs.
Earlier in his career, McCannell served on the staffs ofDemocratic Congressmen Joe Crowley, Steny Hoyer and PaulKanjorkski. �
McCannell to APCO
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Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C., registered September 23, 2011 for Principality of Liechtenstein, Embassy of the Principality ofLiechtenstein, Washington, D.C., regarding representing the government of Liechtenstein in enhancing its relations with the United States gov-ernment and the United States private sector.
Davis-Block, LLC, Washington, D.C., registered October 5, 2011 for Ambassador Jorge Ramon Hernandez-Alcerro on behalf of theGovernment of Honduras, Washington, D.C., regarding providing public affairs and policy consulting, including media relations, during themonth of October 2011.
Squire Sanders & Dempsey, LLP, Washington, D.C., registered September 26, 2011 for Czech Republic, Ministry of Finance, Prague,Czech Republic, regarding representing the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic in the Ministryʼs Bilateral Investment (BIT) negotiationswith the United States. The firm will also provide legal analysis and strategic advice to the principal.
Below is a list of select companies that have registered with the U.S. Department of Justice, FARA Registration Unit, Washington,D.C., in order to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, regarding their consulting and communications work onbehalf of foreign principals, including governments, political parties, organizations, and individuals.
� NNEEWW LLOOBBBBYYIINNGG DDIISSCCLLOOSSUURREE AACCTT FFIILLIINNGGSSBelow is a list of select companies that have registered with the Secretary of the Senate, Office of Public Records, and the Clerkof the House of Representatives, Legislative Resource Center, Washington, D.C., in order to comply with the Lobbying DisclosureAct of 1995. For a complete list of filings, visit www.senate.gov.
Access Partnership LLC, Washington, D.C., registered October 14, 2011 for Dell Inc., Washington, D.C., concerning Free Trade agreementsand information technology.
Cassidy & Associates Inc., Washington, D.C., registered October 6, 2011 for BMW of North America, LLC, Washington, D.C., regardingCorporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (CAFÉ) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards; electric and clean fuel vehicle legislationand automotive safety.
Conservation Pathways, LLC, San Anselmo, Calif., registered October 4, 2011 for Open Space Institute, Inc., New York, N.Y., regardingfunding for land conservation programs through authorizing and appropriations legislation.
Crowell & Moring LLP, Washington, D.C., registered October 11, 2011 for Gibson Guitar Corporation, Nashville, Tenn., regarding the LaceyAct.
Ernst & Young LLP (Washington Council Ernst & Young), Washington, D.C., registered October 11, 2011 for Air Transport Association,Washington, D.C., concerning aviation security fee, aviation departure fee, excise taxes and FAA reauthorization.
International PR News
Lobbying News
Podesta Group has assigned a $100,000 a-month con-tract inked with Serbia in May to Roberti White,according to Justice Dept. records.
The initial pact inked by Tony Podesta called for the firmto develop “beneficial and efficient political and economicrelations” between Serbia and the U.S.
The well-connected Democrat agreed to enhance diplo-matic relations, increase investments and trade between thetwo nations.
RW, “hereby assumes and covenants to perform” all obli-gation of Podesta and guarantees to hold it “harmless fromany claim or demand made thereunder.”
The firm’s services will include “consulting and counsel-ing (lobbying) directed at facilitation of strategic goals ofthe Republic of Serbia,” according to its filing.
A call to Podesta’s office about the Serbia assignment wasreferred to Missi Tessier, who heads its strategic communi-cations unit. She has not yet been reached.
The Podesta contract with Serbia was not filed with theJustice Dept. It’s an attachment to the RW filing of Sept.23. �
Podesta ‘assigns’ Serbia pact
The New York office of Britain’s Portland PR is reppingKazakhstan, providing strategic PA counseling, digitalservices and media outreach for the second largest energy
and economic power of the former Soviet Union. It also is tar-geting academics and public officials.
Kazakhstan is taking criticism from human rights groups for alaw put into place this month that requires religions to register withthe government. Susan Corke, Senior Program Manager ofEurasia for Freedom House, says the “provisions are very trou-bling as they grossly curb Kazakhstani citizens’ right to freelypractice and express their faith.”
Kazakhstan strongman of more than 20 years, NursultanNazarbayev, defends the measure as a means to root out extrem-ism in the aftermath of a terror plot that was foiled in August.
Porland was founded in 2001 by Tim Allan, a former senioradvisor to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and ex-communications director of BSkyB, which is partly owned byRupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
The New York outpost is helmed by Charles McLean, formersenior managing director of Hill & Knowlton and communica-tions and PA chief of the World Economic Forum of Davos. �
Portland buffs Kazakhstan
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