O'Dwyer's Blog: Covering PR, public affairs, marketing and the world of communications.

Keep an Eye on Zuckerberg's Hoodie

nospam@example.com (Kevin McCauley) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:25:27 -0400

Facebook investors should “sell everything” the moment that CEO Mark Zuckerberg ditches his hoodie.

During Facebook’s roadshows, some veteran Wall Street hands bristled over Zuckerberg’s choice of attire. They felt he didn’t respect the traditional bended-knee process of showing deference to Wall Street while asking bankers to fork over investment cash.

Those critics failed to realize that 28-year-old Zuckerberg wasn't exactly juiced about doing the initial public offering in the first place. He’s more concerned about not alienating Facebook users than heading a company that is valued at more than $100B. As for appearance, black turtleneck and jeans attired Steve Jobs did pretty well for investors at Apple. Wall Street needs Facebook (and ensuing IPOs from hot tech start-ups) more than the social networker needs it.

An Associated Press poll released May 15 found that nearly two-thirds of respondents who know of Zuckerberg are at least “somewhat confident” in his ability to run a large public company. Less than a quarter (22 percent) doubt that he’s up to that task. An astounding 81 percent of people aged 18-to-35 use Facebook.

The company today increased the number of shares in the IPO by 25 percent to more than 420M due to a robust demand from investors. Those potential Facebook buyers must be big fans of the hoodie.

If Zuckerberg decides to go native by donning a more Wall Street-friendly jacket, it would be the beginning of the end of his vision for the social network company. Investors would then be wise to move on to the next big thing.

Global Push for Energy Efficient Products Seeks PR Plan

nospam@example.com (Greg Hazley) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:31:22 -0400

A global energy efficiency consortium backed by countries and entities like the U.S., Japan, Australia and the World Bank is casting a wide net for an agency to develop a communications strategy for a key initiative.

The Washington, D.C.-based Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program, known as CLASP, opened an RFP through June 1 to create a PR plan for an international government collaboration to advance the market for energy efficient products.

The effort is known as SEAD – super-efficient equipment and appliance deployment – and aims to reduce energy consumption and emissions by lowering energy used by everything from refrigerators and televisions to power transformers. It encourages governments, for example, to buy energy efficient equipment and raise standards of energy use in their respective countries.

CLASP wants a PR strategy and implementation plan to increase SEAD’s impact and boost participation, as well as reaffirm commitments from current collaborations.

Outreach to supporters, stakeholders and media should be included. PR, messaging, media relations, event promotion and social media are to be incorporated into the plan.

Members of the SEAD initiative include Australia, Brazil, Canada, European Commission, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States. China is an “observer.”

Proposals are due June 1.

View the RFP at clasponline.com.

RFP: PR Project, Sustainability - CA

nospam@example.com (Greg Hazley) — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:58:35 -0400

Sustainability group wants PR firm or consultant for PR campaign. Budget $40K-$60K; deadline 5/31/2012.

View RFP (PDF, sub req'd) | All RFPs

Zynga Bolsters Communications

nospam@example.com (Greg Hazley) — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:48:04 -0400

Social gaming juggernaut Zynga has bolstered its corporate communications unit with tech PR vets Lisa Revelli and Stephanie Hess.

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Media Notes

nospam@example.com (Greg Hazley) — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:45:17 -0400

Steiger to step down at ProPublica... NYT Co. dumps Red Sox... Hall Returns to Philly helm... LA Times shutters Sunday magazine... NPR's Reber moves to Center for Investigative Reporting... HBO develops news show with Vice mag...

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Nicolazzo: Dimon Passes Crisis Test with Flying Colors

nospam@example.com (Richard Nicolazzo) — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:43:55 -0400

Jamie Dimon may ultimately lose his seat on the board of the New York Fed and his star may not shine as brightly as it once did, but so far he comes across as a stand-up guy who can take the “heat in the kitchen.”

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Webb Succeeds Tashjian at Engineering Giant Fluor

nospam@example.com (Kevin McCauley) — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:17:52 -0400

Clif Webb tapped to succeed Lee Tashjian as VP-corporate affairs at engineering giant Fluor Corp.

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Applied Comms Exec to Head Media Relations at HP

nospam@example.com (Greg Hazley) — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:42:41 -0400

Head of communications for $10B tech giant Applied Materials is slated to join HP next week to head corporate media relations and executive communications.

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Canadian Cancer Org Seeks AOR, PR Consultants

nospam@example.com (Greg Hazley) — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:27:42 -0400

The $250M government-backed organization focused on cancer control in Canada is screening for a media relations agency of record, as well as firms or individuals to support its communications efforts via two RFPs.

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Kramer Named USA Today Pub

nospam@example.com (Kevin McCauley) — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:25:32 -0400

Former head of CBS Digital Media and founder of Dow Jones & Co.’s MarketWatch, is the new publisher/president of USA Today, the flagship of Gannett Co.

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Newsweek's Tina Brown Is Way Too Cool

nospam@example.com (Kevin McCauley) — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:49:50 -0400

Thanks, Tina. We media snobs in New York and California “get” your Newsweek magazine cover anointing Barack Obama as the first gay president.

Actually, the multi-hued halo hovering over the president also serves to mock the institutional Catholic Church, which is hardly a friend of the gay community and a frequent target of the “media elite.” Well done!

The greatest impact of the nifty Newsweek cover will occur in the great American heartland, and serve as a measure of revenge for Obama’s unfortunate 2008 characterization of small towns in Pennsylvania and the Midwest.

He called those towns “places where the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing [has] replaced them. And it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Those good people probably won’t even read the Newsweek ode of Obama’s evolution—finally—on same sex marriage that was penned by Brown’s fellow Brit, Andrew Sullivan. Just hanging the cover on the walls of the local VFW post or Elks/Moose Lodge will do the trick and perhaps deliver just enough votes in swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Florida to make Mitt Romney the next president.

Tina, you could have been more subtle like the gang at The New Yorker. They put a White House adorned with rainbow columns on their May 21 cover. The cover was called a head-scratching “Spectrum of Light.” Conde Nast, parent of New Yorker, is already pitching 9x12 versions of the cover for a cool $125 a pop.

Or even better, you could have shunned the gay marriage furor like your rival Rick Stengel at Time. His cover of a three-year-old boy standing on a stool to breastfeed on his mother has as much “shock value” as Newsweek's without the political impact.

It’s understandable that hard-pressed Time and Newsweek are relying on shock covers to hike newsstand sales. It’s the “tabloidization” of the weeklies trends. In the race to the bottom, the sleaziest will survive. Good luck, Tina.

Perhaps, Brown anticipated the millions in reprint dollars from orders by Team Romney and anti-Obama SuperPacs to make sure that those Moose lodges are stocked with Newsweek magazines to dress up their walls to remind members and their families that president Obama was crowned gay president by the snobs in New York.

There will be payback time in November.

Bucks PR Staff Honored By NBA Reporters

nospam@example.com (Greg Hazley) — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:59:30 -0400

The media relations staff of the Milwaukee Bucks won the Professional Basketball Writers Association’s annual award for the top PR department in the NBA.

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LightSquared Owes B-M

nospam@example.com (Kevin McCauley) — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:52:39 -0400

Burson-Marsteller ranks among the unsecured creditors of Lightsquared, the Chapter XI wireless network company.

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PR Accounts on the Move

nospam@example.com (Greg Hazley) — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:49:58 -0400

New business wins at M Booth, Krupp Kommunications, R&J PR, Version 2.0 Communications, Gregory FCA, Warschawski, Environics Communications, Hewar Social Communications, Windfall Communications, Fetching Communications, Leonard & Finco PR, Hill + Knowlton Strategies...

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Brooks Charged with Cover-Up

nospam@example.com (Kevin McCauley) — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:49:31 -0400

Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service today alleged that Rebekah Brooks, former News International CEO and editor of the News of the World, attempted to hide evidence from authorities investigating the hacking scandal that has rocked the U.K.

Brooks and husband Charles, who was also charged, said they "deplore this weak and unjust decision after the further unprecedented posturing of the CPS." They were first told of the charges in January.

Alison Levitt, legal advisor to the CPS, announced the charges in the "interests of transparency and accountability."

Brooks and an assistant are accused of removing seven boxes of material from the archives of NI. She is charged with husband, chauffeur and a security consultant with concealing documents and computers from detectives.

Last week, Brooks, a mentee of News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, testified about her close ties with British prime minister David Cameron.