When Choosing A PR Firm, Does Size Matter?
Sure, it does, for PR agencies, and other creative services. From the agency perspective, size can be a powerful differentiator. But just how it stacks up depends on your point of view. Smaller firms are a better value, right? Not necessarily. I’ve held senior positions at firms that range from mega-agency to midsized. When I was […]
Read MoreHow To Be Quoted In The Press: Nine PR Tips
One of the mysteries of media relations is the process whereby an interview becomes a feature story. Quality in, quality out, right? Not always. What goes in does not always come through in the final piece. And there are few things more frustrating than offering up your best insights, quotes, and experience, only to be cut […]
Read MoreA Summer’s Eve Debate: Why ‘Offensive’ Ads Can Be Good
Can men effectively market to women? Can whites sell to people of color? Sure. Yet, some recent ad campaigns make you wonder. The latest is for Summer’s Eve cleansing wash, and it’s definitely a fresh take on the “feminine products” category. Each of the three ads features a woman’s hand that is meant to be a […]
Read MoreWas The Murdoch’s "Humble Pie" Good PR?
As he prepared to face a day’s worth of questioning by British lawmakers about the News Corp. phone-hacking crisis, Rupert Murdoch was set to serve up a carefully crafted statement that began,”This is the most humble day of my life.” But Murdoch was rushed into questioning and had to wait until later to try to […]
Read MoreAll Facebook "Likes" Are Not Created Equal
Even before Facebook popularized the “like” button, there’s been online discussion about the value of a single Facebook fan, or, now, a “like.” Some is pure speculation, while some is more research-based. Last year, social measurement firm Syncapse put the revenue potential of Facebook fans for certain brands at an impressive $136.38. More recently, revenue optimization […]
Read MoreRecipe For A Twitter Fail: Was Entenmann’s #Guilty of Hashtag Hijacking?
Call it a half-baked attempt to be topical…or perhaps, just a mistake. As Twitter erupted following the surprise guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony murder trial, Entenmann’s adopted the rapidly trending #notguilty hashtag to tweet a whimsical update about “eating all the tasty treats you want.” The tweet lasted only minutes. Someone realized the juxtaposition wasn’t […]
Read MoreCraft Beer Fight Over B-Word Rages, With Good Press On Tap
The Bitch is back. That’s Flying Dog Brewery’s Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA. Now maybe the name should offend me, but it doesn’t. I don’t actually have a dog in this fight, but I do think it’s fitting that on Thursday, just in time for the July 4th weekend, the state of Michigan reversed a decision […]
Read MoreAre There Just Too Many PR People?
PR people have taken a beating in the past few weeks. Currently, it’s due to our increasing numbers. A recent example, among many, is a May piece in The Economist subtitled “Flacks Outnumber Hacks.” It compares PR professionals to “urban foxes” and calls us “slime-slingers,” among other things, while, oddly, positioning bloggers as the new […]
Read MoreApology PR: What Happened To The ‘Good Wife’?
For the record, I thought Rep. Anthony Weiner’s apology was fairly strong. He accepted responsibility, admitted that he lied, vowed to change, and issued apologies to practically everyone in the universe, even the Democrats’ Darth Vader, Andrew Breitbart. (Who, in a surreal move, nearly hijacked Weiner’s air time…but that’s another post.) Weiner then subjected himself to endless […]
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