When Should An Agency Fire A Client?
Towards the end of season four of “Mad Men,” we see Don Draper take out a full-page ad in The New York Times to announce that his firm will no longer accept tobacco clients. The ad paints the move as an ethical decision and even implies that the agency’s split from its largest client, Lucky Strike, […]
Read MoreTrust And The Age Of Prank PR
It seemed like a bold PR strategy and a decisive move toward corporate responsibility and transparency. Chevron Vice Chairman George L. Kirkland said. “We’ve got problems and challenges, and we too make mistakes, but we’re telling truths no one usually tells, and looking wide-eyed into the future.” Wow. Except he never said it, of course. […]
Read MoreCrisis Management: Lessons From The Chilean Mine Rescue
As the world watched, the government of Chile showed not only leadership, but remarkable PR and communications savvy as it sought to free 33 miners trapped underground for over two months. Its handling of the ordeal was like a mirror image of the BP disaster. Here are some crisis management learnings we can unearth from […]
Read MoreThe Gap’s New Logo: Bad Fit Or Savvy PR Move?
It almost seemed like a PR stunt. When the Gap replaced its iconic logo with a new visual identity, Gap-watchers were not just alienated. They seemed to take it personally. It was as if a fortyish suburban dad suddenly hired a downtown stylist. Branding experts decried the Helvetica font with its tech-y box as “lazy,” and fashion bloggers rejected […]
Read MoreFive Things I Learned On The Client Side
Guest post by Patricia Gibney After many years in the agency world – from boutiques to multinationals – I found myself in that magical place called in-house. As a client, I looked forward to developing a company-wide communications strategy. I envisioned following an orderly protocol for media relations, being the internal expert and adviser to senior […]
Read MoreOfflining: The New Digital Detox
I’ve known for a while that multitasking is a lie. I don’t know anyone who can truly spread their attention across multiple jobs with equal focus. Like most people, I tend to toggle back and forth among tasks – blogging, watching Top Chef, listening to my daughter, ruminating about tomorrow’s schedule. It’s like trying to […]
Read MoreDid The Media Create Terry Jones?
In an interesting sidebar to the Terry Jones firestorm, web host Rackspace today shut down the pastor’s website for violating its acceptable use policy. A good move, I thought. Then I read criticism of the move, on the grounds that it gives Jones even more attention and may trample his right to free speech. It’s a fair point. Not about free speech – […]
Read MoreHow To Be Creative Under Pressure
An episode of “Mad Men” featured Don Draper and Peggy Olson wrestling with a tough creative challenge – how to dream up a breakthrough campaign for Samsonite. Don dismisses a celebrity pitchman as a “lazy” strategy, then criticizes Peggy’s next round of ideas as variations on a theme – a boring one. At Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, a booze-soaked all-nighter […]
Read MoreWeb of Lies: Astroturfing Threatens The PR Business
Astroturfing is like the underbelly of the PR business – large, hidden, and when it pops out, really ugly. A decade ago, that kind of fake grassroots campaigning was at the edge of public relations, and it happened primarily in politics. Today, the rise of social media has put a new spin on astroturfing, with faux reviews […]
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