SIEMENS TURNS ON EDELMAN PR

Edelman PR Worldwide won the Siemens USA account in a pitch against "tier-one agencies that can handle a global business," according to Eric Jackson, managing director-corporate communications of the German-based electronics giant.

He said Edelman won the account because it was "smarter and hungrier" than the competition.

The high six-figured account is expected to quickly evolve into seven figures.

Jackson, who joined Siemens two month ago from Andersen Consulting, said his company has very low brand awareness in this country, but the brand is "omniscient" overseas.

Siemens USA wants to shed its "low key, product-driven, business-to-business image," and become more marketing-focused.

It plans to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange in March.

Siemens USA employs 73,000 workers and had $16.5 billion in sales.

Siemens AG has 447,000 workers in 193 countries generating $74 billion in revenues.

BRAGMAN, NYMAN FALLS TO WEBER

Entertainment firm Bragman Nyman Cafarelli PR & Marketing is the latest acquisition conquest of Interpublic's Weber Shandwick Worldwide combine.

"We were pursued by other firms, but we were impressed with the vision and philosophy of Larry Weber," [WSW's CEO] Michael Nyman, BNC's chief, told this NL.

Nyman's Beverly Hills-based firm has 85 staffers and an office in New York.

Clients include Philip Morris, Guinness Bass Import Co., Smirnoff, Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Paramount Studios TV, Pizza Hut, Whoppi Goldberg, Kate Hudson and Cameron Diaz.

MAKOVSKY WINS CANCER CENTERS

Makovsky & Co. won the Cancer Treatment Centers of America account in a pitch that came down to a half dozen finalists, said Jack Moore, chief marketing officer of CTCA.

He said M&C had the consumer and healthcare expertise that CTCA was looking for, but more importantly the firm recognized the need to be sensitive to the needs of patients and family members.

The first year budget is in the $250,000 range.

IABC OFFERS $1,000 `LIFE MEMBERSHIPS'

The International Assn. of Business Communicators, in a move to raise instant cash, is offering "lifetime memberships" at $1,000 each. Goal is to sell 500 such memberships.

An e-mail offering the memberships has been sent to IABC's 13,000+ members. Charles Pizzo, chair of the group, has personally asked each of the 25 board members to sign pledges for $1,000. Normal IABC dues are $175.

The group is suffering from a cash shortfall and has set up a Revenue Generation Task Force.

Lou Williams takes over as interim president and CEO on Jan. 15.

C&W MULLS SUIT VS. BREAKAWAY EXECS

Cohn & Wolfe is mulling legal action against former executives in its Atlanta office who are setting up a PR/venture capital firm called The Titan Network.

CEO Steve Aiello alleges the group headed by Tony DeMartino, who was CEO of C&W/Atlanta, used C&W's "computers and other resources" to establish a competing PR firm.

He says the executives were terminated after a preliminary investigation found they were soliciting C&W clients and staffers for their start-up.

Aiello believes DeMartino's actions were in direct violation of his employment contract, and a "spiritual" violation of his role as an officer of C&W.

He says DeMartino had a non-compete clause that precludes him from going into the PR business immediately after leaving C&W.

DeMartino Denies Charges

Ex-C&W staffers Michael Gavenchak and Matt Coleman also exited C&W for Titan.

DeMartino says his team neither solicited clients nor executives from C&W.

They also did not use C&W's resources to plan their business, he added.

While admitting that the trio were "technically" fired by C&W on Dec. 29, DeMartino said they were planning to resign on Jan. 2.

He does not recall signing a non-compete contract with C&W. That point is largely irrelevant, in his view, because it's "tough" to enforce a non-compete contract in Georgia.

Four other C&W staffers joined Titan last week.

DeMartino plans to announce clients this week but would not say if any of them are at C&W.

BRIDGESTONE MADE NO. 1 PR GOOF

Bridgestone suffered a PR crash of global proportions in the aftermath of its voluntary recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires, according to Fineman Assocs. PR, which put Bridgestone on top of its annual list of the ten biggest PR bloopers.

The Japanese firm earned the spot because its CEO took a month before making a public appearance to apologize. Instead, the company tried to blame consumer driving habits and Ford for its tire inflation recommendation.

The tire defects purportedly caused more than 125 deaths and resulted in at least 200 personal injury lawsuits. Ketchum does PR for Bridgestone/Firestone.

The other top PR gaffes of 2000 selected by FAPR are:

2) Dr. Laura Schlessinger, for bashing gays on her radio talk show, which led to protests and ads in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times attacking her for calling homosexuality "deviant" and "a biological error."

3) Fox TV, for airing "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire" without doing a thorough background check on its debut show's star, Rick Rockwell, who picked Darva Conger from 49 other wife wannabes.

4) Unilever's acquisition of Ben & Jerry's ice cream for $326 million. After Unilever installed its own president, Yves Couette, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders, said they might quit their ceremonial posts because the values upon which the company was founded were essentially no longer a part of the branded mix.

"Ben & Jerry's will become just another brand like any other soulless, heartless, spiritless brand out there-that's my concern," Cohen told The Associated Press.

5) Donald Trump, for clandestine support of a PR and ad campaign against the St. Regis Mohawk Indians, which drew the ire of New York State regulators.

In an effort to protect his gaming interests, Trump allegedly financed a grassroots group, The New York Institute for Law and Society, in its radio and TV ads against a Mohawk casino in the Catskills. The campaign accused the Mohawks "of habitual violence and illegality."
New York State fined Trump $50,000 and the Institute $100,000 for violating lobbying regulations.

6) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for its campaign that implied college students should drink beer instead of milk.

It was deemed "irresponsible" by the Mothers Against Drunk Driving and PETA's phones and website were besieged by complaints.

7) National Rifle Association and executive VP Wayne LaPierre, for accusing President Clinton of accepting a certain level of killing to further his political agenda.

8) DoubleClick, for planning to tie real names and addresses from its 90 million user profiles to its own direct marketing firm, which created negative press that its crisis management campaign could not dampen.

9) Perrier, for wanting to bottle Wisconsin's pure spring water. Citizens said the new jobs and increased tax revenues from its bottling plants were not worth the noise, traffic, construction, uncertainty or divisiveness.
Protesters with "Boycott Perrier" and "Keep your greedy hands off our water" signs appeared atop a full-page story in Time magazine.

10) Quinn Emanuel, a business litigation law firm, for allowing a "Business is war" technology-targeted marketing campaign which sent fake hand grenade paperweights through the mail.

The annual PR blunder list is assembled by FAPR as a reminder of how critical PR is to businesses and organizations. Selections are limited to offenses that occurred in this country.

'CAST AWAY' DELIVERS FEDEX THEME

The hit movie, "Cast Away," could well have been called "FedEx Delivers No Matter What." Tom Hanks is shown working feverishly for the company in Moscow, overcoming all obstacles to deliver packages. FedEx trucks and planes are highly visible as background in several scenes.

Shirlee Clark, director of corporate communications for FedEx, said the company did not pay for the product usage although it did supply "in kind" services such as air transportation of props and equipment to the movie's producers.

Competitor Airborne Express said it passed up an opportunity to be in the movie because it felt that the crash of an Airborne jet, as required by the plot, would be bad for its corporate image.

MERCEDES REPLACES GENERAL MOTORS

Mercedes-Benz will become the new sponsor of the annual "7th on Sixth" fashion show in New York, replacing General Motors.

Rich Anderman, general manager of marketing and communications for M-B, said the company's sponsorship of 7th on Sixth is part of a global campaign to identify its brand with fashion.

It could lead to sponsorships of shows in other world fashion capitals.

The DaimlerChrysler unit will finance the production of the 7th on Sixth shows for the next three years, starting with the fall 2001 collection, which is scheduled for Feb. 8-16 at Bryant Park.

The venue will become known as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

GM had sponsored the shows since 1998.

At the first Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the company will unveil its new C-Class sports coupe.

M-B also sponsors ballet in New York, independent films as well as several sporting and technology events including the American Pro Tennis and the Mercedes Championship event held annually with the Professional Golfers' Assn.

FITNESS MAGAZINE GETS NEW LOOK

A slew of new departments and columns are featured in the February issue of Fitness magazine, which went on newsstands Jan. 2. Editor-in-chief Emily Listfield said the "new and improved magazine mirrors the conversation women have when they get together. Does the new vitamin work? Did you find a good facialist? What's the fastest way to get in shape?"
Launched in 1992, Fitnesss has 6.5 million readers.

The new departments and columns are:
-Fitness forecast-Cutting edge trends, new products and celebrity buzz; edited by Natalie Jordet.
-Eat smart strategies-Nutrition news, weight loss and diet features; edited by Leah McLaughlin.
-Connections-Emotional and physical relationships; edited by Aviva Patz.
-Health report-The latest health and news features; edited by Amy Fishbein.
-Get it now guide-Highlights a body-specific goal and gives a plan to achieve it; edited by Martica Heaner.
-Beauty news-New looks, products, and celebrity trends; edited by Cheryl Kramer.
-Great escapes-Travel news and trends, such as "Inside the World's Most Expensive Spa"; edited by Anamary Pelayo.
-Innerview-Celebrity mind, body and spirit interview; edited by AJ Hanley.
-Eve Feuer, fashion director for Fitness, showcases the latest looks and trends with spreads and product features.

NBR PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON ENTREPRENEURS

My Prime Time will produce a new interactive segment, called "Great Entrepreneurs" for the Miami-based "Nightly Business Report," a daily business news program.

The weekly series will feature in-depth biographies of innovative business pioneers of yesterday and the most dynamic entreprenuers of today.

Debuting this month, each episode will feature a panel of biographers and scholars who will compare and contrast two business personalities in a roundtable discussion hosted by NBR's editor Linda O'Bryon and Donald Van de Mark of My Prime Time.

"Great Entrepreneurs goes beyond being just biographies by exploring techniques used and lessons learned by featured entrepreneurs," said O'Bryon.

Van de Mark said the discussions will focus on the "quirky to the magnificent."

Anyone with access to a computer will be able to weigh in with their own opinions through an online offering including tie-ins to local public TV station websites and access to the myprimetime.com's core audience of 2.4 million users.

John Williams, president of Sahlman Williams, Tampa, was elected president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council.

NEW WSJ COL. FOCUSES ON ECONOMICS

The Wall Street Journal will put a new focus on economic developments with a new front page column, called "Capital."

The column, which will run every Thursday, will be written by David Wessel. It will replace "Business Bulletin," and will center on the lifestyle of economic policy.

PEOPLE ____________________________

Larry Frederick, 56, formerly an editorial director at Cahners Business Publishing, was named articles editor of the Individual Investor Group of publications.

Andrew Lee, 30, previously executive editor at Manhattan File magazine, has joined New York magazine as senior editor.

Craig Reiss, 48, who had been senior VP, corporate editorial development at BPI Communications, which publishes Adweek, has joined Primedia Inc. as chief creative officer of the business-to-business unit, a new position.

Anne Fulenwider has joined Vanity Fair as assistant "fanfair" editor, succeeding John Gilles, who was promoted to fanfair editor.

Gail Sheehy and Diane Rehm received awards from the Assn. for Women in Communications. Sheehy, an author and political journalist, won the 2000 Headliner Award, and Rehm, who has her own talk show on National Public Radio, was this year's recipient of the International Matrix Award.

MEDIA BRIEFS _______________________

Scott American Corp., West Redding, Conn., has compiled an editorial calendar of travel media from around the world that shows what will be published in 2001, and when.

It is available for free to subscribers of Travel Publicity Leads, a newsletter. More information can be obtained at www.scottamerican.com.

E&E Publishing, the new owners of Greenwire, have begun doing original and enterprise reporting.

The publication had mostly quoted from what regular media published under its previous owner, National Journal.

Greenwire's Dec. 6 issue disclosed BP, the oil giant, is spending $75 million globally on an image-making ad campaign.

Sports Illustrated For Women, a magazine aimed at women ages 18-34, has established an editorial advisory board consisting of nine experts in the fields of competition, sports medicine, women's health, exercise, physiology, strength training/conditioning, sports psychology and nutrition.

MIT, Cambridge, Mass., will be the site for a four-day course in global climate change, April 24-28 by the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships program.

Applicants may be reporters, writers, editors, or producers with at least five years of full-time experience in journalism. Info.: www.web.mit.edu/knight-science.

Boyce Rensberger, who was a science writer at The New York Times and Washington Post, is director of the program. He is at 617/258-8249.

WBAL-TV in Baltimore, has started airing daily Bloomberg reports live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

"News Is People," a new book written by Craig Allen, who is associate professor in the school of journalism and telecommunications at Arizona State University, Tempe, gives a behind-the-scenes look at local TV news coverage.

He interviewed 200 station managers, news directors, producers and anchors.

The book is published by Iowa State University Press, and sells for $50.

(Media news continued on next page)

NEW STAFFERS JOIN FSB MAGAZINE

Hank Gilman, managing editor of FSB:Fortune Small Business magazine, has added several new writers, and promoted two staffers.

Joining the staff are: Joel Dreyfuss, Heather Chaplin, Jennifer Keeney, Mac Montandon, Louis Rosen, Sasha Smith, Liz Borod, and Erica Beckman.

Dreyfuss, who previously worked at Fortune, Black Enterprise and PC Magazine, will write a new column, "The Tech Reader."

Chaplin, who was freelancing for Salon, American Demographics, The New York Times and Worth.com, joins FSB as a senior writer.

Keeney, who was at SmartMoney magazine, will be a writer/reporter assigned to the "Capital Ideas" section and will also contribute to special sections and issues including the annual investor's guide.

Montandon, a freelance writer, joins as a reporter.

Rosen was named a reporter for the "Live Wire" section. Previously, she wrote for Newsweek.com, the New York Times, Forbes and UpsideToday.

Smith, formerly a researcher for The New Yorker, has joined as a reporter for the "Off Hours" section.

Borod, previously a freelancer, who writes a monthly column for Dotcommandos, a website, will write for FSB.com.

Beckman joins FSB from Fortune as a photo researcher.

Two Promoted

Maggie Overfelt was promoted to writer/reporter from reporter and will continue to cover technology, and Julie Sloane, who writes for the "Tech" section, was elevated to reporter from reporter/news assistant.

FSB is a general interest business magazine published ten times a year as a joint venture of Time Inc. and American Express Small Business Services.

Each issue provides coverage that impacts small business. FSB is sent to one million small business owners and is sold on newsstands.

NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PAPER FOR JAPAN

The International Herald Tribune and Asahi Shimbun will co-publish a new English-language edition of IHT for distribution in Japan.

Asahi Shimbun will stop publishing Asahi Evening News, an English-language daily.

The new editorial section of the IHT will appear in all copies of the IHT sold in Japan. The joint newspaper will be printed in Tokyo and Osaka for daily distribution throughout the country. The target date for publication is second quarter of 2001.

This partnership is the seventh one undertaken by the Paris-based IHT, which is owned by The New York Times Co. and The Washington Post Co.

Other Joint Ventures

The IHT co-publishes sections with Ha'aretz in Tel Aviv; Kathimerini in Athens; Rizzoli Corriere della Sera in Milan; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Frankfurt, Germany, and with JoongAng Ilbo in Seoul. IHT also has an agreement with El Pais of Madrid to publish together in the spring of 2001.

Since 1987, the IHT has operated a joint venture with the Mainichi Shimbun called Tribune Japan Mainichi that handled printing, distribution and marketing of the IHT, but with no editorial collaboration. TJM will liquidate its holdings in Japan.

The IHT is edited in Paris and distributed in more than 180 countries worldwide. Its Asia-wide circulation grew 13% in 2000.

EDITOR: JOURNALISTS LIKE TO BE SPUN

Michael Kinsley, who is editor of Slate.com, said journalists like it when politicians put a spin on the news.

"Getting spun is flattering, like being seduced, or like being admitted to the club," Kinsley writes in the "Viewpoint" piece for Time magazine.

If politicians didn't spin, "reporters and pundits would have nothing to interpret and act wise about," said Kinsley, who believes spinning is not a "euphemism for lying, but actually something more insidious: indifference to the truth."

"Lawyers are, in a way, the fathers of spin," said Kinsley. "They call it `vigorous representation of my client.'"

In the private sector, spin "goes by the name of marketing," said Kinsley. "For intellectual-integrity buffs, marketing has an advantage over political spin: you can often design the product around the sales message," he said.

PITCH TIP: CONNECT THE COMPANY TO NEWS

Steven Alschuler, a principal in the New York PR firm of Linden Alschuler & Kaplan, believes it is "most important" to identify ways a client company is connected to news events when making a pitch.

"The media needs expert sources to comment on the breaking stories of the day. If executives in this company can offer a fresh or interesting perspective, they can often be included in such stories," he said.

"Positioning a business and its executives as thought leaders-having them quoted in news and trend stories that affect their clients and the business community at large-can be an extremely effective way of branding a company and creating a clear and compelling identity for it," he said.

Shoot For New Trends

One way of doing this is to react to news when it breaks. Another is to think about business trends that are newsworthy, that haven't been in the news yet, and how your company can benefit by being identified as a leader in dealing with these issues.

"Being the first to be able to tell a journalist about a newsworthy trend that he or she hasn't heard about before will not only get you quoted in that story, but will build your credibility and reputation with that media outlet," said Alschuler.

"20/20," USA TODAY, NYT HIT ANALYSTS

Three major media-"20/20," USA Today, and the New York Times-have blasted security analysts for their alleged lack of objectivity. The stories ran during the holiday season.

USA Today was first with a feature on Dec. 21 that covered more than three columns headlined: "Wall Street's secret code spoils investors' aim." Subhead was: "Firms' interests in selling can influence `buy' rating."

Analysts' claims that they're doing a good job "are being drowned out by investors outraged by the recent and unexpected profit warnings from companies like Gateway and Lucent," said the piece by Noelle Knox.

The article gave numerous examples of analysts connected with banks who kept their "buy" recommendations on stocks underwritten by the banks even though the stocks plummeted almost 100%.

USA Today said analysts are upbeat with the public but "speak candidly with institutional investors in private."

Investment banks grossed a record $14 billion+ in fees in 2000 for initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, according to the paper. Some "analysts" make $10 million and more yearly writing positive reviews of stocks floated by their banking wings. Their commissions are based on stock sales.

"The most critical analysts can have a hard time keeping or finding jobs on Wall Street," said the article, providing two examples.

Analysts Mislead Investors-NYT

The headline on the NYT story Dec. 31 said "Analysts Often Send Investors Astray as They Do Little but Shout `Buy.'"

The feature occupied the top half of the first page of the Sunday business section and a full page inside.

Analysts were rapped for not making sufficient disclosure of their personal ties to stocks they are recommending.
Mutual fund manager Robert Olstein, who has been in finance 32 years, told the Times he is "shocked by what passes for research on Wall Street today."

Stefan Abrams, chief investment officer at the Trust Co. of the West, New York, told the NYT: "Research analysts have become either touts for their firm's corporate finance departments or the distribution system for the party line of the companies they follow."

Several cases of analysts loyally touting stocks despite months of declines are provided.

The article notes that not all analysts are connected with investment banking houses.

However, according to Zacks Investment Research, only about 1% of analysts' recommendations are to "sell" a stock. "Buy" accounts for 37.2%, "strong buy" for 33.3%, and "hold" for 28.5%.

The segment on "20/20" aired Dec. 22 and was described in last week's NL. John Stossel interviewed Jim Cramer of thestreet.com who said unsophisticated investors fell for the air of impartiality that analysts presented on TV. Some stocks were "hyped" by the very people who were dumping them, he said.

NIRI Urges Equal Treatment for Press

Bonnie Dennis, chairman of the National Investor Relations Institute, said that, "in the interests of fairness," the group is urging its members to treat analysts and reporters "the same."

Reporters at a NIRI seminar several years ago complained that IR pros were giving a much better grade of information to analysts than to the reporters.

Dennis, founder of Value Partners, said the recent "Fair Disclosure" initiative of the SEC is pushing companies in the direction of equal treatment for press and analysts.

About 70% of IR officers surveyed by NIRI now have "primary responsibility in their companies for financial media relations," which is a "considerable increase over previous years," she added.

Companies that give "guidance" on earnings must do so in a public manner now, said Dennis. "For all practical purposes, one-on-one discussions with analysts about earnings are over," she said.

Analysts Oppose FD

Analysts and portfolio managers dislike FD and believe it will hurt individual investors more than it will help them, according to a survey by Pondel/Wilkinson Group, Los Angeles IR firm.

The poll found that 88% of respondents believe companies were less communicative during their third quarter conference calls because of Reg FD. The same percentage called FD "bad."

More than 90% said the rule will make their jobs more challenging and will do nothing to help "level the playing field" for individual investors.

Companies will "spoon feed" investors the data they want to disclose, said one respondent.

Roger Pondel, president of the IR firm, said the analysts' remarks appear to be "self-serving" but "underscore what we are finding to be the general opinion of the investment community professional with whom we speak on a daily basis...we are hearing essentially the same things from CEOs and CFOs."

Pondel said his firm has always favored wide public disclosure of corporate news.

NYSSA Head Issues Warning

John J. McCabe, chief investment strategist at Shay Assets Mgmt. and president of the New York Society of Security Analysts (7,000 members), said he was well aware of the charges that analysts lack objectivity in making their recommendations.

He provided a newsletter by Vanguard Brokerage Services that pointed out the pressures on analysts by their banking wings and pressure from companies they write about. The article quotes a study by Professors Roni Michaely of Cornell and Kent Womack of Dartmouth showing that analysts tied to underwriters tend to issue more upbeat reports on stocks handled by their underwriter sister firms.

PR OPINION/ITEMS

A triple hit has been made on the too cozy relationship between public companies and the analysts who follow their stocks.

Reporters have been barred from this private party for years. The companies, aided by their IR pros, speak to the analysts in a strange language of numbers, ratios, and corporate/accounting/legal jargon that only the companies, analysts and IR pros can understand.

The analysts translate this for the public but their translations are all too predictable: "Buy the stock."

The question arises: what useful role do the high-priced IR pros serve when such advice is virtually assured because the analysts fear loss of banking business or being "blackballed" by the companies.

The SEC, with its historic "Fair Disclosure" regulation, is trying to break up this rigid, stylized behavioral pattern which an IR executive has compared to Japanese Kabuki theater.

But based on history, we'd say the odds of the SEC succeeding are very small. The National Investor Relations Institute issued harsh words about FD (10/18/00 NL) and a survey of analysts showed 90% of them oppose FD.

NIRI chair Bonnie Dennis said NIRI tells members to treat analysts and the press "equally." She believes FD will foster such behavior.

We wouldn't bet on it since the SEC's "plain English" in financial communications initiative is 30 years old and is a dismal failure. Former SEC figure Stanley Sporkin said financial obfuscators have left even the financial press in the dust (11/22/00 NL). As an example of accounting gobbledygook, Sporkin, a CPA, noted it takes him 40 hours to do his income tax.

NIRI should first set its own house in order. It insists that the $425 dues that members pay it are a "gift." This flies in the face not only of common sense but accounting rules which say paying dues to a group is an "exchange transaction" in which the payer expects something in return. A NIRI director told us that NIRI and its CPA firm are using the word "gift" in a special way that is different from ordinary usage and is perfectly legal.

The NIRI resolve that its members be as responsive to the press as they are to analysts can be easily tested. We called up eight IR pros and four returned our calls or e-mails. This can be an ongoing test. We hope the IR pros don't try to shift us to corporate PR which even IR people admit knows far less about company finances and affairs than the IR staff. As a NIRI officer has pointed out, corporate PR departments "experience a press call as a drive-by shooting." Corporate PR units typically use aides to block and screen press calls.

Corporate PR many years ago and now agency PR have "flipped" from being oriented to reporters' needs to being almost totally oriented to employer and client needs. This has been the operative philosophy preached by PR Society of America for decades. Kathy Lewton, 2001 chair of PRSA, says in an interview in the January PRSA Tactics that "Yes, media relations and shaping/delivering information are part of what we do-but they're only one part, they're the tactical part, and they're the last stage of a PR program."

It's easy to see why companies, analysts and IR pros generally want the press excluded from their conversations. Reporters will ask much broader and tougher questions. For instance, in the PR/ad field which we cover, we would ask ad/PR conglomerates such as WPP, Omnicom, Interpublic, and True North what are they going to buy now that almost no independent ad or PR firms remain? It looks like the above companies are becoming classic conglomerates, buying almost anything to keep up their growth rates. But the life cycle of conglomerates is well known. They go through a rapid expansion phase; purchases are then combined with each other when profits fail to keep pace at the units and/or their founders leave; the holding company finds it takes too much time to manage businesses about which it knows little; the holding company is itself acquired, split up, or spins off most of its components. Is there any reason to believe this cycle does not apply to ad/PR groups?

While on vacation in Nassau, Bahamas, we came across a perfect example of coercive marketing at a golf course. We couldn't find the usual markers on the fairway at 200, 150 and 100-yard distances to the green. Some courses even mark fairways at 25-yard intervals and a few provide satellite "triangulation" via an electronic device in the golf cart, which gives exact yardage. A course without markings is almost like a football field without ten-yard lines. The only place to get yardages was from was a booklet bolted to the golf cart that referred to landmarks such as trees, bushes and sand traps.

Each page in the booklet, of course, had signage by IBM, Coke, Pepsi, Heineken, etc. Signs posted at each hole identified the "sponsor" of the hole. Ball washers were placed on the far side of the tee box, forcing golfers to hoof it over there (eyeballing an ad on the way). Leisure Time Displays, Orlando, which makes the booklets for $15,000, said 500+ courses use them but not all take ads and sponsors (www.gcyb.com). Commercial blight is spreading: golfers are apt to find an ad at the bottom of the cup.