PERU PICKS DCI

Development Counsellors International has picked up a contract worth about $24K a-month to raise the visibility of Peru, according to Peggy Bendel, senior VP/travel management at the New York-based firm.

She expects Peru, which is South America’s third largest country, to receive a boost from the just-completed Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, which was held in Lima. Peru’s economic ties with the U.S. are on the upswing following the passage of a free trade agreement.

DCI will highlight the history, culture and architecture of Peru, which received more than 300K visitors last year. Visitors are attracted to sites such as Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas and one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World.”

Bendel also said DCI is to play up Peru’s diverse cuisine, which is a veritable melting pot of native and European/Asian influences. “Peru is noted for its wide varieties of potatoes,” added Bendel.

DCI’s contract is with the Peruvian Export and Tourism Promotion Board. A chunk of monthly fees ($8,000) covers work in Canada.

CONN. TO HIRE TOUR, ARTS HELP

The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism plans to hire a PR firm to develop an eight-month program to promote tourism and its arts, film and historic preservation and museum divisions.

A budget is set at $150K, and the work kicks off January 18. The Commission wants a “highly creative PR effort” to “meet the challenges of an evolving travel industry community within the state as well as a fast changing economic and marketing environment,” according to the RFP.

The tourism component, which accounts for 60 percent of the overall PR thrust, requires the PR firm to establish an in-state news bureau, create a media list, pitch stories, write eight press releases and develop content for www.CTvisit.com. The firm will target consumer and business press via traditional and interactive media in the Nutmeg State to support attractions, accommodations, recreation and travel-related services that “give Connecticut its appeal as a vacation destination.”

The winning firm agrees not to represent tourism organizations in New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania without written consent from the Commission. Current work for any of those groups does not disqualify bidding on the account.

Barbara Cieplak at 860/256-2745 and [email protected] has info.

DONNELLY HELPS TAJ HOTEL

Sheila Donnelly & Assocs. has been busy fielding media inquiries related to the terror attack on the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower complex in Mumbai as U.S. PR rep for that luxury property.

“We have been involved with media since the story broke,” Babs Harrison, senior VP, told O'Dwyer's via an email. “We are still working in close partnership with our PR counterparts in London and Mumbai.”

New York-based Harrison and Sheila Donnelly Theroux (Honolulu) are contacts for the Taj Hotel Group, which owns The Pierre (New York), Campton Place (San Francisco) and Taj Boston.

The Tata Group, which is parent of THG, has been posting bulletins online since the slaughter of nearly 200 people in the city began. Security officials handed over the damaged hotel to THG on Dec. 1.

Tata Group vice chairman Krishna Kuma on Nov. 28 vowed to rebuild the Taj and saluted the spirit of its employees, 10 of which lost their lives in the attack.

DOWIE GETS BACK INTO PR GAME

Doug Dowie, the former GM of Fleishman Hillard/ Los Angeles who has battled charges of over billing for more than four years, has established DRD Consulting. He has lined up clients in international energy, construction management, real estate, entertainment and PA.

Dowie also provides pro bono service to “LA’s BEST,” an after-school enrichment program, and other non-profits geared to helping disadvantaged children.

“For obvious reasons, it hasn’t been easy to build a business, but I’ve worked with some great companies and wonderful people,” Dowie told O’Dwyers.

The PR pro was convicted in May ‘06 of causing the over billing of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and other clients and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. In `07, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Dowie’s motion to remain free and stated, “The appeal raises a ‘substantial question’ of law or fact that is likely to result in reversal, an order for a new trial, or a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment, on all counts on which imprisonment has been imposed.”

It could be another year before the Appeals Court makes a ruling.

“That would be nearly six years since I left FH under a cloud,” Dowie said. “I’m very optimistic that I will eventually clear my name and get my life back, but it’s taking a very long time.”

Dowie can be reached at [email protected] or (310) 498-4818.

PN, GAS INDUSTRY TOUT ‘GREEN’ BENEFITS

Porter Novelli is helping a consortium of natural gas providers on a national outreach campaign touting the fuel as the environmentally responsible choice for consumers and builders.

The Council for Responsible Energy has incorporated as a non-profit group and claims more than 200 energy organization members in the natural gas arena. Working with a $2.5M annual budget, the group officially launched the effort Nov. 17 to reach consumers it found in a survey who want to do the right thing for the environment but are unaware of ways natural gas can help them comply.

"We've been working to help them build their membership and had a public launch on Tuesday," said account director Megan King, senior VP at PN/D.C. who also heads consumer marketing.

PN's agency of record duties include advertising and PR for the group and the firm's Atlanta office also services the account.

King said the CRE formed around the idea that natural gas is the solution to U.S. energy problems and that pitch is now touting the environmental benefits of natural gas.

The Council is working with HGTV host Carter Oosterhouse on the effort. It is planning a carbon calculator on its website, ComfortableResponsible.org, as well as tips for creative energy efficient homes and other information for consumers.

Donna Peeples, VP of sales and marketing communications for Atlanta-based energy giant AGL Resources, is serving as chairman of the group. Peeples noted that volatility in energy prices has consumers more conscious of energy consumption, which creates an opportunity for education.

Council members pay dues from $5,000 up to $350K to join the group. In its pitch to prospective members, the Council touts Porter Novelli’s environmental positioning and marketing savvy. Safety, reliability, comfort and being the right choice for our country right now are among the tenants PN developed for a “message map” to guide the campaign.

In addition to highlighting that natural gas emits less carbon dioxide than the top alternative, coal, the industry is promoting the fact that 80 percent of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. is produced in the country as well, a contrast to the political football oil has been for its foreign origins. Other members of the group include Atlanta Gas Light, Virginia Natural Gas, Texas Gas Service Company and Rocky Mount Public Utilities.

OSTROWSKI LOOKS AT BIG PICTURE

Helen Ostrowski says her decision to step down as chairman of Porter Novelli at yearend is part of a long-planned move to spend more time with family and friends.

As much as Ostrowski loves the PR business, she recognizes there are other things more important in life, she wrote in an email. She looks forward to a break after 40 years of work, especially while young enough to do some of the things she and her husband love to do, such as sailing, kayaking, hiking and travel.

Ostrowski will remain on the board of the Arthur Page Society, International Youth Foundation (PN’s global pro bono client) and Roger Williams University, where she chairs its strategic planning committee.

Down the road, Ostrowski will devote time to causes that she cares about since it is “a good time in our country to give back.” She was president of Wang Associates Health Communications before joining PN as head of healthcare in `93. She became CEO in `03, making waves as the first female head of a PR multinational.

Gary Stockman succeeded Ostrowski as PN CEO Jan. 1, `08.

EDELMAN EXITS EDELMAN

Justin Edelman has joined Madison Square Garden as VP-communications. He reports to Barry Watkins, senior VP-communications at the “World’s Most Famous Arena.”

Edelman will support initiatives such as the overhaul of the Garden and the support of its teams including the revamped and rebuilding New York Knickerbockers.

He will handle crisis, such as the ongoing Stephon “Starbury” Marbury saga surrounding the future of the Knicks guard, and target consumer, business and lifestyle media for coverage. The Rangers (hockey) and Liberty (women’s basketball) also play at MSG, which is owned by Cablevision.

Edelman joins from the sports and sponsorship unit of Edelman, where he worked for nearly a decade. He told O’Dwyer’s he is not related to the Edelman family that controls the No. 1 independent PR firm.

At Edelman, he handled the ING New York City Marathon, Canon’s NFL and U.S. Open marketing programs, Fox Interactive Media and the Millrose Games, the track and field meet at MSG.

Edelman also worked on the high-profile opening of the Prudential Center in Newark, the home of New Jersey Devils NHL hockey and Seton Hall basketball.

Earlier, Edelman was at Mastro Communications, where he was responsible for Major League Baseball Properties, Prince Sports Group, Total Sports and Macmillan Publishing.

KETCHUM WINS NR TECH BIZ

Ketchum has won a multi-round review for Newell Rubbermaid’s Technology Global Business unit’s global PR account.

NR brands covered by the division, which was created in 2007, include label printer maker DYMO, business card scanner unit CardScan and mimio, which produces interactive whiteboards.

NR issued an RFP in the spring to name a single firm for the division rather than continue with firms handling individual brands.

Ketchum South, which comprises the Omnicom firm’s Atlanta and Dallas operations, leads the account (NR is based in Atlanta) with hub offices in Paris and Sydney assisting through Ketchum affiliate ICON International Communications.

The Bedford Group conducted the PR review and a recently completed review for the unit’s advertising account, which went to McCann Worldgroup Salt Lake city. Fleishman-Hillard handles corporate PR for NR.

NEWSEUM CUTS STAFF

The Newseum, the 250,000 sq. ft. museum of the news business in Washington, D.C., is cutting 10 percent of its staff (25 people) in reaction to the chaos on Wall Street.

Charles Overby, CEO, says the Newseum’s endowment has plunged from $600M to $450M. He told the Washington Post he normally doesn’t panic “at the first sign of a drop” because economic cycles go up and down. “But as we watched this year, it became apparent we couldn’t sit around.”

The $450M facility opened in April. It was originally based in Rosslyn, Va. The Post said the $20 adult admission fee “prompted a lot of debate in Washington, where most museums are free.”

Overby said attendance will easily top 500,000 this year, up from a previous high of 480,000.

The Newseum does not anticipate any further downsizing. It has ruled out cutting back on its hours of operation.

CR TARGETS CREDIT CARD DEBT

Consumer Reports doesn’t run ads but it is buying some to kick off the holiday season in a public education push highlighting the woes of credit card debt to consumers.

Lauren Hackett, communications manager for CR, told O’Dwyer’s that the publication is working with Attention PR (social media), the Rosen Group (traditional PR) and Visual Max (print and online creative) to warn shoppers of the “pitfalls” of credit card debt.

The campaign launched with a full-page ad in USA Today and digital ads across personal finance and consumer blogs. The USAT ad warns consumers, “There is no ‘bailout clause’ in your credit card contract,” while highlighting the nearly $1 trillion credit card tab run up in the U.S. Online ads point to CR’s “Tightwad” blog, which was launched last holiday season when CR was focused on the $8 billion in unused gift cards that consumer forget about.

CR says consumers should use credit cards as a last resort after cash, checks and debit cards.

CITI DEFENDS RUBIN

Struggling financial giant Citigroup took issue with a lengthy Nov. 23 New York Times piece for painting “a misleading and inaccurate picture of [Robert] Rubin’s role” in the company.

Rubin, the former Treasury Secretary who sits on Citi’s board, has been criticized for his opposition to regulating derivatives, which have been linked to the current financial crisis.

The article, headlined “Citigroup Pays for a Rush to Risk,” was answered with a Nov. 26 letter to the editor from vice chairman Lewis Kaden that Citigroup released to the media.

Kaden disagreed with the Times’ assertion that Rubin was an “architect” of the bank’s strategy related to so-called CDOs and other risky financial instruments.

“In fact, while Mr. Rubin is a member of the board and plays an advisory and client service role at Citigroup, he was never an ‘architect’ nor was he a drafter of Citigroup’s risk-taking plans and had no operating role,” wrote Kaden.

Kaden said he spoke to key executives who attended several meetings in 2004 and 2005 referred to in the Times article and “never did Mr. Rubin suggest in any way that those standards for intelligent and supervised risk-taking be relaxed or suspended in search of higher profits. Quite the opposite, it was entirely conditioned on such judgment and safeguards.”

FRIEDMAN UPPED TO EIC FOR SP&C

Nick Friedman has been named editor-in-chief of Scholastic Parent & Child starting with the December/January 2009 issue.

Friedman had been a senior editor for the title since returning to Scholastic in 2006.

Scholastic noted it is the first time a father has headed the parenting magazine. The publisher noted that since 2006 SP&C has posted a 109 percent increase in ad pages and a 37% hike in 2008. Circulation is up nine percent.

In the new role, Friedman oversees all planning and management of the editorial content and design for the magazine and coordinates content for the publication’s website, scholastic.com/parents.

He is a former senior editor at Sports Illustrated for Kids and first joined Scholastic in 1993.

LAT NAMES PUBLISHER FOR MAG

The Los Angeles Times has named Time and Hearst veteran Penn Jones as publisher of LA, Los Angeles Times Magazine.

The LAT revamped its weekly glossy to the monthly LA in September.

Jones was VP of West Coast corporate sales and national sales director for Instyle and held similar posts at Cosmopolitan and Popular Mechanics.

Nora Gervais, who has been with the Times since 1990, has been promoted to associate publisher.

The glossy claims readership of more than three million and subscriber circulation topping 850K.

GH SEAL TURNS 100

Hearst said the Good Housekeeping Seal, an iconic quality mark connected to the magazine, will mark its 100th year in 2009.

The magazine unveiled a redesigned seal in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and is planning a year of features and events in print, online “and beyond.”

Products that get the seal pass evaluation by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute in New York. If a product becomes defective within two years of purchase, the magazine will replace the item or refund the consumer. The seal came about at the turn of the century to protect consumers from tainted food and “adulterated ‘remedies,’” the magazine noted.

The magazine said the seal remains relevant to consumers as concerns extend to product claims like “anti-aging, low-fat, organic, pesticide-free, and environmentally-safe.”

(Media news continued on next page)

MEET AP'S NEWS ENTERTAINMENT VEHICLE

“We’re probably the original viral content,” said Associated Press North American TV Entertainment editor Alicia Quarles. “I always say, why go to 'Extra' when you can come to me and get in 300 outlets around the country instead.”

AP, the world’s largest and oldest news organization, has made significant forays into showbiz this year.

An internal reshuffling at the wire service has resulted in a new, massively expanded division dedicated to entertainment coverage. More than 20 new employees were added in 2008 to fill out a total editorial staff of 70 who now scoop solely for entertainment news in the company’s Los Angeles, New York and London bureaus.

Now the AP is reaching out to publicists for entertainment exclusives. It’s somewhat of a rare occurrence in the PR/press symbiosis, but in wake of the newfound market, New York PR pros were treated to a Nov. 20 International Cinematographers Guild panel where key AP staff revealed what entertainment items are wanted from the venerated news agency.

Rule No.1: forget AP’s old format.

The collective has pooled its entertainment resources and the expanded coverage in this arena now places an emphasis on multiple-platform applications. The more diverse the media, the better. Pitchable news items go beyond print, as AP’s entertainment arm encompasses TV and radio networks, digital photo services and online coverage.

As a result, AP’s entertainment arm doesn’t house a “normal” newsroom. Regardless of content, entertainment pitches can (and usually are) routed to the right person.

“More platforms mean more content for your client,” said Entertainment Editor Genetta Adams. “Text-wise you might not give me the greatest story, but if it has good video I’ll pass it along to the right person.”

In fact, the company is itching to use its own media resources on celebrity clients. A video deal with People.com was signed earlier this year, and company officials have alluded to the development of new multimedia products to follow.

“One thing we’re trying to do is expand on our photo sessions,” said New York Entertainment photo editor Jeff Christensen. “It takes 15 minutes. Our photographers are very adept and very fast.”

Some old adages remain at the company, however. Just like before, the AP wants exclusives.

“If you’re making the rounds to everybody, it ruins the content for everybody,” said Lou Ferrara, managing editor for Sports, Entertainment and Multimedia.

Given the embrace of new media, the panel warned of several faux pas that have crept into the press/PR relationship. First and foremost, don’t manipulate photos. Most news agencies have strict rules regarding doctored “news” items, and even removing or superimposing items like logos can be a deal-killer.

“AP has a very strict policy that you can’t do anything in Photoshop that you can’t do in a darkroom,” Christensen said.

Moreover, cumbersome press kits — in both the analogue and digital domains — are a common irritation for the press. Music Editor Nekesa Moody implored the panel not to “send 5 megabyte attachments that clog my email.” Television Writer Frazier Moore described a room at the AP’s New York offices filled with press kit ephemera (a “pop culture museum,” as he called it), items the company periodically donates to charity.

“I’m not going to look through a press kit because I don’t have the time,” said Alicia Quarles, North American TV Entertainment editor. “My voicemail says, 'Please don’t leave pitches.' Email me instead. And if I turn you down, it means no.”

Finally, celebrity publicists shouldn’t overstep their boundaries. Easily defined as it may be, the division that separates publicist and reporter should maintain a mutual understanding of the other’s intentions and objectives.

“If there’s a subject your client isn’t supposed to talk about, tell them not to answer,” Ferrara said. “In a free society, they have the right to say no and we have the right to ask.”

The panel was moderated by Henri Bollinger, principal of Los Angeles-based PR firm Henri Bollinger Associates, and was hosted by the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society.

CNN MUSCLES IN ON AP

Time Warner’s CNN is challenging the Associated Press with a test of a competitive and cheaper wire service, according to a report in the New York Times (Dec. 1). The CNN Wire has been installed at some newspapers for the past month. Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, has invited about 30 newspaper editors for a summit in Atlanta this week as a “kind of get-to-know-you” session.

He recognizes that CNN's strength is based on the core relationships with TV stations throughout the world, not print publications.

The Times notes that many of the AP's subscribers are not happy with its service, and may be open to a courtship by CNN.

Walton says CNN already has an internal wire service for CNN.com and its global bureaus. That could be the foundation for an expansion to print outlets.
CNN, last year, dropped Reuters and plans to end its AP subscription during the next year.

DROBAC JOINS OPA

Michael Drobac, who was director of government affairs at IAC/InterActive Corp., has moved to the Online Publishers Assn. as VP-government affairs.

Earlier, he worked as Congressional aide to Republican Senators Gordon Smith (Ore.), Kay Bailey Hutchinson (Tex.) and Norm Coleman (Minn.).

Pam Horan, OPA president, calls Drobac's background a "perfect blend of experience for leading our PA efforts." He will play a "critical role in making certain the voice of quality online publishers is heard on Capitol Hill and throughout Washington," said Horan in a statement. The OPA was founded in `01 Its members boast of a combined unduplicated reach of about 150M, which is about 80 percent of the country's total Internet audience.

The New York Post has come down hard on the board of Citigroup, blasting it for saddling the U.S. with a $351 billion bailout and calling for the resignation of the entire board.

The inept board, which “snoozed through the massive buildup of bad debt,” richly deserves this attack by the NYP, which details the many millions paid to the directors including Robert Rubin, who got $107M from 1999 to August 2008.

We’d call for the resignation of the PR Society board, which similarly has “snoozed” through massive stonewalling and trampling of member rights this year, but more than half of its members will be gone by Jan. 1 when nine new directors arrive.

The 2008 board was overpaid—not in money but in titles. All were “APR” and six were also “Fellows”—Mary Barber, Rhoda Weiss, Tom Eppes, Jim Haynes, Vince Hazleton and Kathryn Hubbell.

For the rest of their careers they will brag about being on the board of the “world’s largest PR association” although they did little to earn this.

The board has ceded too much power to the staff which is doing most of the stonewalling and making too many big decisions.

The new board will behave exactly like the old board unless it hears from rank-and-file members who need to organize. Staff and leaders are organized to the teeth and pull political strings every day of the week. They control the PRS press (website & Tactics) where never a discouraging word is heard.

The nine new directors (a majority on the 17-member board) and their e-mails are: Gary McCormick, [email protected]; Catherine Huggins, [email protected]; Steve Grant, [email protected]; Gail Liebl, [email protected]; Gail Winslow-Pine, [email protected]; Kathy Barbour, [email protected]; Lynn Appelbaum, [email protected]; Don Kirchoffner, [email protected], and Deborah Silverman, [email protected].

The latest PRS communications atrocity is the attempt by leaders/staff to block member and even delegate access to the 136-page transcript of the 2008 Assembly.

The three-and one-quarter page “minutes” that are being distributed are no substitute for the 136-page word-for-word transcript.

Members have e-mailed and written PRS leaders for the transcript but are being rebuffed by COO Bill Murray and VP-PR Arthur Yann of the PRS staff.

Supposedly, the only purpose for the transcript is to make the minutes.

But the minutes are so skimpy that anyone with a pencil and notepad could have made them.

They’re only a barebones record of motions, names of the new directors and officers, and procedural minutiae.

Why did PRS spend thousands of dollars recording the Assembly and making a 136-page transcript when the intention was to produce a report with no dialogue whatsoever?

The skimpy minutes give a false impression of what went on.

Nowhere is there any indication that Tecker consultant Jean Frankel occupied about two full hours of the meeting, causing it to be one hour behind schedule as of 3:30 p.m.

The minutes do not live up to the PRS Code promise of “the highest standards of accuracy and truth.”

The Frankel session and another two hours of presentations by leaders erased any hope of a “town hall” for the second straight year.

Veteran PRS members who are fed up with h.q. stonewalling are taking their case to the New York City Supreme Court, which hears pleas of members seeking information from their trade associations under Section 621 of New York State non-profit law.

The information control practices of PRS involve not only directors and other leaders but leaders of the PR Student Society.

Attempts to dialogue with the ten members of the national committee of the Student Society have been blocked under orders from national h.q.

PRSS leaders have told us that if we have any “questions” for them we must “go through” PRS h.q. to do this.

This is a conscious mis-statement by students of e-mails that we sent to the leaders. This is not a good lesson for students to be learning. We don’t want to ask them any questions. We want them to sample the five O’Dwyer information products which would help them in job-seeking and in understanding PR.

Evidence indicates they have been told by h.q. to have nothing to do with us or the O’Dwyer products.

The 2008 O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms were sent to most of the ten along with postal forms that if filled out would bring PR students a free one-year subscription to O’Dwyer’s PR Report, the monthly that focuses on the PR specialties such as healthcare, tech, financial, travel, etc.

This was several weeks ago and not one filled-out form came back.

The bar against PRSS members dealing with us is an anti-competition tactic that is in violation of the agreement that the Society was forced to sign in 1977 by the Federal Trade Commission.

PRS had promised never again to indulge in any anti-competitive behavior after the FTC made it remove two such articles from its “Ethics Code” barring members from pitching each other’s accounts and barring contingency fees.

PRS, whose Assembly in 1976 had turned down the FTC suggestion to amend the code, was forced to publish nationwide a letter admitting its wrongful practices and promising never to engage in such practices again.

Disappointing was the behavior of a member of PRSS from a New York area college who sat next to us on the flight to New York from Detroit.

We gave her our job-seeking advice for PR grads, recommending she read “Always Live Better than Your Clients.” It details the success of Ben Sonnenberg, who cultivated businesspeople and celebrities and helped them with personal and business problems. She said she had never heard of some of these tips and was anxious to pass them on to chapter members.

We also promised her a free O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms and subscriptions to O’Dwyer’s PR Report for her and her chapter members.

This delighted her no end as we gave her copies of the O’Dwyer Newsletter and our contact info.

But to our surprise, we didn’t hear from her. After about a week, we contacted her but got a cool response. Someone from the school, or someone from national (perhaps national faculty advisor Prof. Steve Iseman, who also did not return a phone call or e-mail), put the “hex” on us.

We would like to know what negative things are being said about the O’Dwyer Co. and its products to result in such behavior.

--Jack O'Dwyer