RYANAIR FLIES TO EDELMAN

Irish discount airline Ryanair has selected Edelman to handle its PR in Ireland and the U.K.

The No. 1 independent PR firm landed on top after a hotly competitive pitch that included 30 firms, according to a statement from the carrier.

High-profile Ryanair split with Murray Consultants last month. That ended a marriage of 15 years.

Mark Cahalane, managing director of Edelman/Ireland, looks forward to supporting Ryanair and knows that the work will be both challenging and rewarding.

The plan is to “focus on partnering in the development of Ryanair’s story, as it continues to deliver lower airfares, increased routes and a no nonsense approach to everything it does,” he said.

Ryanair controls 29 percent of Ireland’s flagship carrier Aer Lingus. In a July announcement of three winter routes, Ryanair headed its press release with “Don’t Be Screwed By Aer Lingus’ High Fares.”

Ryanair also assured “Aer Lingus’ few remaining passengers that they can avoid being hit by the latest round of Aer Lingus’ strikes this autumn by snapping up one of Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares on over 120 routes to/from Ireland.”

KEKST STEPS DOWN

Gershon Kekst, a pioneer in the mergers and acquisitions and IR sector, is stepping away from daily management of Kekst & Co.

The 75-year executive chairman of the firm will continue to counsel key clients and mentor up-and-comers at the firm that he founded in 1970.

Larry Rand, 67, takes control of K&C, founded in 1970. He is supported by a trio of experienced hands: Thomas Davies, Jeffrey Taufield and James Fingeroth.

Kekst sold his 70-member firm to France’s Publicis Groupe in ’08.

TUTWILER TEAMS AGAIN WITH THAIN

Margaret Tutwiler has been named executive VP in charge of comms., marketing and government relations at CIT Group, rejoining CEO John Thain, who was hired by CIT in February in a bid to rebound from Chapter 11.

Tutwiler served with Thain when he helmed Merrill Lynch and the New York Stock Exchange. She was senior VP/global comms. & PA chief at Merrill and global comms. and government relations chief at NYSE.

Tutwiler, 59, served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush, where she headed public diplomacy and was Ambassador to Morocco.

IPG PR UP 8% IN Q2

Interpublic reported a 9.7% increase in second quarter revenue of $1.6 billion as its Constituency Management Group which includes its major PR units saw revenue rise 7%. PR itself was up 8.1%, said Harris Diamond, CEO of the CMG unit.

Profit rose to $82.5M compared with $27.8M a year ago in Q2.

“It’s feeling a lot better this year than last year,” Diamond said in an interview.

He said increased spending from existing clients was the bulk of revenue increases during the quarter.

“New business is returning to strength but I would have to say that organic growth among current clients is mostly driving our results,” he said, adding social media, cross-selling across practice areas, and expanding relationships to other regions has fueled such growth.

He said new business did show a spark starting in May.

The CMG division includes firms like Weber Shandwick, GolinHarris, MWW Group, and DeVries PR, as well as its Octagon sports unit, among others.

Diamond said the revenue differences across various sectors of PR were relatively small as no particular area is outpacing another. Asked about jobs, Diamond said: “Given the first half of the year, we’re headed towards now basically a hiring mode but it’s still not what it was in 2007. Caution is still in order. We are beginning to hire again but it’s selective.”

SKD ADDS ROSEN IN ONGOING RAMP-UP

Veteran Democratic communications counselor Hilary Rosen is moving from Brunswick Group to SKDKnickerbocker amid a continuing ramp-up at the firm.

The former Recording Industry Association of America chief joined Brunswick to head its D.C. office in November 2008.

SKD said in statement that Rosen will bolster its developing public affairs practice and follows the return of principal Anita Dunn from the communications director slot in the Obama White House.

Rosen’s hire also follows the addition of The Glover Park Group’s Alex Slater last month.

Rosen noted SKD’s Washington and New York PA prowess. She retired after 17 years at the RIAA in 2003, a term during which she founded the Rock the Vote campaign and ran her own consulting shop before Brunswick. She started out in Democratic politics as an aide to Sen. Bill Bradley and Gov. Brendan Byrne, both of New Jersey.

UNITED COMMS. CHIEF TO EXIT ON MERGER

Rosemary Moore, who heads corporate and government affairs for United Airlines, will leave the company after the soon-to-be-completed merger with Continental Airlines.

Moore, an eight-year veteran of the carrier, is one of a handful of top executives whose departures were announced by the Chicago-based carrier’s parent, UAL.

Continental said separately that Nene Foxhall, senior VP/comms. and government affairs who joined the carrier in 1995, will oversee the communications and government affairs functions at the combined company.

Moore worked with United chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton at Texaco and Chevron – including through the merger of those oil giants – before joining United. She handled image and reputation issues, government relations, corporate responsibility and strategic communications.

“Rosemary played a key role as we moved through our highly visible and complex restructuring, took on tough industry issues that constrained our ability to meet our goals and made equally tough decisions to transform our company,” Tilton said in a statement, noting Moore was his first hire at United.

United and Continental struck an $8 billion merger deal in May to create a giant, 10-hub airline with revenue of more than $28 billion. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

VERIPRIME BEEFS UP WITH B-M

The VeriPrime Beef Food Safety Cooperative of cattlemen has signed Burson-Marsteller to promote its “pre-harvest” safety protocol designed to protect against E. coli.

Veterinarians and nutritionists forged the VeriPrime Certified Safeguards to protect livestock.

In May, the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service published its first guidance document on the pre-harvest control of E. coli. It recommends that slaughter houses get cattle from ranchers that follow pre-harvest managment practices.

VeriPrime believes it safety system fits with the USDA guidance and stands ready to work with the feds and ranchers nationwide to implement an E. coli protection program. The Centers for Disease Control says 5,000 people die from E. coli Salmonella and other food borne illnesses each year.

Members of Wichita-based VeriPrime produce more than $13B of beef annually.
B-M has worked with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in the past.

Hill & Knowlton has teamed with the Shanghai PR Association to offer a scholarship to train the next generation of PR pros in the city.

David Zhao, managing director of H&K/Shanghai says the WPP unit wants to nurture “local talent in order to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the PR industry here.”

H&K handles the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and conducted PR duties for the Beijing Olympics. It opened in China in 1984.

BRAGMAN PLUNGES INTO GIBSON MESS

Top Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman is repping Oksana Grigorieva, the former girlfriend of Mel Gibson.

The 50-year-old “Mad Max” actor is being investigated for alleged domestic violence and child endangerment.

For his part, Gibson claims Grigorieva, an aspiring Russian singer, is behind an extortion effort, threatening to go public with the now widely circulated phone rants said to be made by Gibson.

Gibson allegedly lost a bundle by bankrolling Grigorieva.

Bragman heads Fifteen Minutes. He’s been quoted as saying that Gibson should concentrate on legal rather than PR issues in the matter.

Bragman also doubts that the “Passion of the Christ” financier/director will have a “mainstream Hollywood career again.”

Gibson’s future plans received a major setback last month with news that Leonard DiCaprio has decided to ditch the “Braveheart” star’s planned Viking movie about the 9th century invasion of Scotland and England.

That film is to use “Old Norse” language with English subtitles.

BP TAPS WITT

Incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley announced July 30 that the beleaguered company has hired Witt Associates to work on recovery efforts in the Gulf.

James Witt heads the public safety and crisis management operation that is part of GlobalOptions Group in New York.

Witt headed the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Clinton Administration.

Witt Associates’ strategic advisory unit offers government relations, PR and partnership development services.

In June, the State of Louisiana renewed WA’s disaster recovery preparation plan for another year.

Hired in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, WA is the Pelican State’s sole disaster advisor and recovery manager. The firm guided the state in the aftermath of Hurricanes Rita, Ike and Gustav.

BRISTOL SHUT DOWN

Saga Investments has shuttered Bristol Group, a top advertising/PR firm in Atlantic Canada with offices in Halifax, St. John’s and Moncton (New Brunswick).

The move follows heavy losses from its Middle East operation that was set up in Qatar five years ago.

In its statement, Saga said “it was not possible for Bristol Inc. to recover from those losses which resulted in a structured voluntary shut down of its operation.”

Rival m5 Group is adding Bristol’s 78 staffers to its operation and hopes key clients such as Molson and Casino New Brunswick follow.

President/founder Gary Wadden says he will meet with Bristol clients as soon as possible.

M5 now has 230 staffers serving clients like GM Canada, Atlantic Lottery Corp and the Government of New Brunswick.

FDA TAPS NEWS PRODUCER

Former Scripps and MSNBC.com producer Paul Buckman has moved to the Food and Drug Administration as division director of online communications, a new post.

Buckman, an Army veteran, was director of broadband video programming and original content at Scripps, handling its FineLiving.com, Food.com and GACtv.com units in four years at the company.

An FDA spokeswoman told O’Dwyer’s that Buckman will provide strategic direction and leadership for the agency’s website “as we continue to build our online presence and expand our offerings for consumers, healthcare professionals, and other key stakeholders.

The FDA has said it is planning to ramp-up its social media and digital presence to be more transparent about drug safety issues, in particular, which included the launch of a new website mandated by Congress in June.

Buckman was previously a senior producer at MSNBC.com and handled day-to-day operation of the “Today” show website.

ROSENBUSH NAMED EDITOR OF HARPER’S

Ellen Rosenbush is the first woman to edit Harper’s Magazine in its 160-year history.

President & publisher John MacArthur calls her the “purest kind of editor, with an ear for language, an instinctive sense of style and an unerring drive toward clarity.”

Rosenbush moved into the acting editor slot Feb. 1 following the departure of Roger Hodge. She had been managing editor since 1989.

Earlier, Rosenbush was copy chief at GEO magazine and New Times.

JOBS FOR JOURNOS

Investigative reporter John Dougherty promises to hire journalists if he becomes the next U.S. senator from Arizona.

The former reporter for the Dayton Daily News, East Valley Tribune (Mesa) and Phoenix New Times is running in the Democratic primary that is set for August 24.

A campaign promise is to hire a team of investigative reporters as aides to track waste in government spending and corruption.

PERINO TO SHARE INSIGHTS

Dana Perino, who was President Bush’s press secretary, will teach a course at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management in the fall semester.

She will tackle a master class in political advocacy, politics and public affairs.

Larry Parnell, who directs the master's program in strategic PR, says Perino fits the bill in the school's effort to combine practical experience and sound academics.

Perino served Bush for seven years. She now heads her own firm and is a contributor to Fox News.

ZIEGEL DIES AT 72

New York Daily News sportswriter Vic Ziegel died from lung cancer on July 23. The non-smoker was 72.

Teri Thompson, DN's sports managing editor, said Ziegel’s “brilliant sense of humor, unique voice and elegant style made him among the best newspapermen in American journalism.”

Ziegel broke into journalism as a high school basketball writer for the Long Island Press. He was hired by the New York Post, working as a night sports editor, baseball beat writer and then columnist.

He left the Post in 1976 to work on pieces for Rolling Stone, New York and Inside Sports. He also worked on a TV series based on Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four."

Ziegel became executive sports editor at the News in 1985. He also penned a piece for the city side called “Helluva Town” about unique characters in the Big Apple.

‘SMART GUY’ BROWNSTEIN UPPED AT NJ

Ron Brownstein, political director at the National Journal Group, is taking on the editorial director slot to oversee Atlantic Media Co. properties such as National Journal, Almanac of American Politics, Congress Daily, Hotline and Global Security Newswire.

David Bradley, chairman/owner of AMC, called Brownstein “smarter than the human species was meant to be.” He lauded the “power of his mind-an extraordinary analytic skill-is simply in a class by itself.”

Brownstein is to advise editor-in-chief Ron Fournier on long-term editorial planning.

He joined AMC in ’07 from the Los Angeles Times, where he was national political correspondent and columnist.

Brownstein is the author of six books including "The Second Civil War: How the Extreme Partisanship has Paralyzed Washington and the Polarized America."

In another move, Jeremy Jacobs is the new editor of the Hotline On Call blog. He joins from Campaigns and Elections magazine. Jacobs also wrote for The Hill and New York Observer.

DISNEY MAKES SOCIAL GAMING SPLASH

Walt Disney Co. is acquiring Playdom, which ranks No. 3 in social gaming on Facebook, for more than $750M.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has developed top titles like Social City, Market Street and Sorority Life and attracts 42M active players monthly.

Disney CEO Bob Iger seeks to blend Playdom's capabilities with Disney's characters, ESPN and Marvel. He sees an opportunity to engage a "new generation of fans on the platforms they prefer."

Disney has agreed to pay $563.2M in cash for Playdom and another $200M if growth targets are met.

John Pleasants, CEO of Playdom, is taking an executive VP post at Disney. He will report to Steve Wadsworth, president of Disney's interactive media group.

(Media news continued on next page)

CONDE NAST REVAMPS RANKS

Conde Nast has named Robert Sauerberg, group VP/consumer marketing, president of the upscale publisher. The move puts the 49-year-old in line to succeed Chuck Townsend, 66.

Sauerberg's initial responsibility is to generate more non-advertising revenues from properties such as Vanity Fair, Vogue, New Yorker, Cosmopolitan and Esquire by rolling new platforms and charging consumers more for print and digital publications.

Townsend said the company's reliance on advertising for about 70 percent of revenues is risky as the country emerges from the recession.

CN named Louis Cona, head of the media group, to succeed Sauerberg. COO John Bellando is added CFO duties.

FOX WINS HISTORIC ‘SATISFACTION’ RATING

A study of national customer satisfaction scores has found FOXNews.com has achieved the highest-rated score for a news and information site in the 10-year history of the ratings system, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index in Ann Arbor, MI.

ACSI released its findings in July, stating FOXNews.com was the highest-rated news website they had ever studied in terms of customer satisfaction. ACSI measures 70,000 consumers annually on products related to more than 250 national companies and 45 industries, from manufactured goods to retail outlets and banking.

ACSI scores all companies and products with universal 0-100 scale for company-level satisfaction. ACSI’s surveys ask consumers how satisfied they are with the product, and it also measures perceived overall quality, complaints and loyalty. The study also measures the causes and consequences of customer satisfaction and the perceived relationships companies have with their customers.

This year marked the first time ACSI measured FOXNews.com, and it debuted strong, outperforming all other ranked news sites (ABCNews.com, MSNBC.com, CNN.com, USAToday.com, and NYtimes.com) by a large margin.

The ACSI study also found most Fox.com viewers are older, have less formal education, and view far fewer news websites than viewers of competitor sites like nytimes.com (an average of two sites versus and average of ten, respectively).

“They have a very loyal customer base,” said Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results, which sponsored the ACSI study. “Say what you will about Fox users’ tendency to watch fewer news stations and look at fewer websites. From a Fox perspective, it’s a good thing.”

Fox’s dominance in the customer satisfaction comes despite (or perhaps because of) a well-known political bias and high public criticism. Freed claimed the Fox data is an excellent primer to understand how concepts like ‘customer satisfaction’ ride the fine line between what you get and what you expect.

“Traditionally, we’ve seen the other players in the news industry have a hard time differentiating themselves. They haven’t transitioned their brand and personality from the TV show or the newspaper into the Website. Fox has brought the same personality they have with broadcast, and I think that’s key,” he said. “You can’t be all things to all people.”

CQ-ROLL CALL NAMES PR CHIEF

Karen Gaither, senior manager for media relations at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has been named senior manager, promotions, for CQ-Roll Call, a new position that started Aug. 2.

Gaither is credited with a significant increase in on-air exposure for the Chamber’s leadership and policy experts.

She is a former producer for C-SPAN and previously worked at NewsChannel 8 and the Political Newstalk Network.

At CQ-Roll Call, she promotes the company brand and editorial talent and leads the group’s promotional and community engagement activities.

Leilani Brown, senior VP and chief marketing officer at the company, cited Gather’s experience in political communications and media relations for the new post.

The company is part of The Economist Group and includes Roll Call, CQ Weekly, CQ Today, CQ.com, CQ StateTrack, Capwiz, Congress At Your Fingertips, Congress.org and other properties.

AJC TAPS ZWEIBAUM

The American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group with offices in 26 U.S. cities, has named Kiersten Zweibaum to the new position of assistant executive director for communications and marketing.

She joins from Ogilvy PR, where she was a director in its global corporate practice. In a PR career spanning more than 20 years, Zweibaum held an executive VP post at GCI Group and senior VP position at Ketchum.

David Harris, executive director of AJC, lauded Zweibaum’s “wealth of experience” plus “global background and deep commitment to our mission.”

Founded in 1906 by American Jews concerned with pogroms directed at Russian Jews, AJC describes its mission as fighting anti-Semitism, supporting Israel’s goal of peace and security, advocating for strengthening Jewish life and pushing for energy independence.

PEOPLE ___________________________

Carl Sullivan, managing editor of Newsweek.com, will leave the website helm for an unspecified post at MSN.

He had been in the post since last summer after heading EditorandPublisher.com.

Mark Coatney, another editor at Newsweek who played a role in its digital presence, left for the blogging platform Tumblr last month.

Newsweek is up for sale.

Liza McGuirk, executive producer for Fareed Zakaria’s show on CNN, was named EP of the new Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer show on the network to debut this fall.

She worked on “Fareed Zakaria: GPS” since its debut in 2008.

B-M, GUTENBERG BACK INDIA TRAVEL IPO

Burson-Marsteller and Gutenberg Communications are working with MakeMyTrip Limited, the India-based online travel portal that filed for a $100M initial public offering on July 27.

Delhi-based Genesis Burson-Marsteller, the WPP firm’s Indian operation, handles PR there, while Gutenberg, a New York-based firm with roots in India, works the U.S.

MakeMyTrip, the top online travel site in India booking air, train, bus and hotel reservations, is eying a Nasdaq listing and has enlisted Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer & Co. and Pacific Crest Securities as it pursues the IPO.

Revenue for the recent fiscal year ended March 31 was $84M.

CYBER SECURITY OFFICE SEEKS MONITOR

The Office of Cyber Security & Communications within the federal Dept. of Homeland Security is on the hunt for a media monitoring and analysis program for its external affairs division.

An RFP issued July 23 calls for a web-based system to track media content – print/online, not video or radio -- relevant to the office’s public affairs efforts, gauging editorial tone, message resonance and other aspects of its PR mentions. That includes social media mentions.

The work also includes assessment of the effectiveness of the office’s public affairs efforts.

A one-year contract is planned with four options. It is a new requirement and there is no incumbent.

Proposals are due by Aug. 6. Info is at odwyerpr.com/rfps.

FERGUSON TO BRUNSWICK/D.C.

Rodney Ferguson, who founded Lipman Hearne’s public affairs practice in Washington, has moved to Brunswick Group in the capital as a partner.

Ferguson took up the post on July 21 and will focus on public affairs issues and communications strategy, Brunswick said.

At LH, where he leaves as a managing director and principal, he counseled The Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, U.S. Dept. of Education and RAND, among others. He advises the American Council on Education on crisis communications. He moved into the PR sector after three years in journalism and a management consulting postition.

BRIEFS: KGBTexas, San Antonio, has revamped its website and logo to reflect “the evolution of the agency from a traditional public relations and advertising firm to a full-service interactive communications company.” Info: www.kgbtexas.com. ...FoleyFreisleben, a Los Angeles investor relations and corporate comms. shop, and MC-Brand Studios, a design and advertising firm, won top honors from the National Investors Relations Institute Orange County Chapter for their presentation of the Calavo Growers, Inc. fiscal 2009 annual report. Complete list of winners is at http://www.nirioc.org.

VOCUS Q2 REV UP AMID ‘FLAT’ PR SPENDING

Vocus reported a 13% rise in second quarter revenue to $23.8M over Q2 of 2009, slightly ahead of expectations.

Net loss widened to $2M for the period, compared with $343K in ’09.

Revenue was just ahead of its forecast of $23.5-$23.7M for Q2.

The PR software provider said it added 435 net new subscriptions like Chase Card Services and Duke University during the quarter, more than double the figure for ’09, for a total of 7,173 subscription customers.

CEO Rick Rudman said the revenues show success in driving growth and innovation in the PR software market despite “challenged” PR budgets. Rudman said in a conference call that PR spending is essentially flat in 2010 versus 2009.

Vocus has integrated the operations of acquisitions in France and China announced earlier this year and added the PR sourcing service Help A Reporter Out during Q2. Cash paid for acquisitions during the quarter was $8.9M.

Rudman said Vocus is seeing demand for premium offerings through its free HARO service, which will likely be offered down the road.

“[HARO’s] current model is an advertising model and it’s pretty immaterial in terms of revenue,” he said. “In terms of monetizing the service, we’re still working through a few different options. A lot of it will be based on new features and expanded capabilities that our customers are requesting. …Maybe in the form of premium content or quicker delivery times. It may be software or analytics related.”

Vocus has $95.6M in cash and securities.

Rudman said the company for the first time surpassed 1,000 small business customers (under $5M) and noted that the roll-out of Vocus’ social media monitoring tool, not yet offered to small businesses, attracted about 50 customers starting at a base rate of $3,000.

“I believe, over the next 12 to 18 months, we will emerge as one of the top social media companies out there,” said Rudman, citing Vocus’ sales and marketing prowess and large customer base.

Third quarter revenue is expected to be in the $2M to $24.2M range.

DEWHIRST TO SIMON

Lauren Dewhirst, VP and deputy director of U.S. creative/production at Edelman in Chicago, to D S Simon Productions, New York, as VP and director of its Midwest business.

Doug Simon, president and CEO of the company, said he was looking for someone “who has been a trusted advisor at the table with CMO’s and CCO’s at leading companies.”

Prior to Edelman, she was a field producer and worked the assignment desk at WLS-TV (ABC) in Chicago and served as executive producer at AKA Media.
She headed all production at Edelman west of the Mississippi.

RUBENSTEIN HANDLES STONE’S CRISIS

Rubenstein Communications is handling fallout from director Oliver Stone's interview in the London Times in which he belittled the Holocaust and blamed the Israeli lobby effort that has “f***** up U.S. policy for years.”

Stone told the Times that Hitler was a Frankenstein, but had a lot of support from the German people. He added that Hitler did more damage to Russians than Jews. Stone said “Jewish domination of the media” is why the Holocaust gets more attention than the millions of Russians who died in WWII.

Via Rubenstein, Stone apologized for a “clumsy association about the Holocaust” for which he is sorry and regretful.

In his statement, Stone said: “Jews obviously do not control media or any other industry. The fact that the Holocaust is still a very important, vivid and current matter today is, in fact, a great credit to the very hard work of a broad coalition of people committed to remembrance of this atrocity-and it was an atrocity.”

David Harris, executive VP of the American Jewish Committee, condemned Stone as an anti-Semite. “For all of Stone’s progressive pretensions, his remark is no different from one of the drunken, Jew-hating rants of his fellow Hollywood celebrity, Mel Gibson,” said Harris in a statement posted on the AJC website.

Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, said Stone's words “conjure up some of the most stereotypical and conspiratorial notions of undue Jewish power and influence.”

PUBLICIS Q2 REVENUE RISES

Publicis said second quarter revenue was up 21.3% to about 1.4 billion Euro, including an 8.1% boost in North America.

Organic growth rose 7.1% during Q2. For the first six months of the year, profit soared 27.5% to Euro 213M compared with ’09.

“Without lapsing into the euphoria that these half-year results for our group might warrant, I remain firmly convinced that Publicis Groupe will succeed in outperforming the market in terms of both growth and margin,” said president and CEO Maurice Levy.

RUSSIA ‘FIRST LADY OF COMMS.’ TO PBN

Tatiana Nikulshina has rejoined Washington-based PBN Co.'s Moscow office as senior VP and managing director. She oversees 35 professionals at the WPP operation.

The 37-year-old has counseled Barclays, McDonald's, Russian Federal Service on Financial Markets, Basic Elements, Dunkin' Donuts and TNK-BP in a career dating to 1993.

PBN CEO Peter Necarsulmer bills Nikulshina as “Russia’s First Lady of Communications,” a pro who was active in communications when PR there was “wilder than the Wild West.”

Nikulshina exited PBN in ’06. During the past four years, she launched BBDO’s PR operation and did PR for Xerox. PBN’s client roster includes Bank of America, SABMiller, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.

TEXAS CITIES SEEK TRAVEL PR PLAN

Waco, Texas, is on the hunt for tourism marketing consulting to develop a unified plan to reach travelers in a growing region encompassing six cities between Austin and Dallas.

An RFP released by Waco on July 19 calls for an outside firm to create a regional comprehensive marketing and promotional plan for Ballmead, Hewitt, Lacy-Lakeview, Robinson, Waco and Woodway and their various attractions to pitch the “authenticity” of the area.

Waco, which is growing rapidly and is undertaking a master planning process for its downtown area, says tourism generates $463M in direct spending to the area via five million visitors annually. Attractions include the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Waco Convention Center, Dr. Pepper Museum, Cameron Park Zoo and the pending Waco Mammoth National Monument.

Deadline for proposals is Aug. 5. RFP is online at odwyerpr.com/rfps.

S.A. BLOWS HORN OF U.S. PR FIRM

South African Tourism honored its U.S. PR firm, Portfolio Marketing Group, with a hand-made beaded vuvuzela horn as a tribute to the agency's work during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

PMG president Noel Mignott and VP Alison Ross received the gift at a reception at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York on July 22.

SA Tourism CEO Thandiwe January-McLean said the country is “still on a major high” from the event and noted U.S. TV viewership was up 41% over 2006.

PMG's efforts included a campaign on Facebook; endorsements by political, business and entertainment figures, media tours and special events.

SV, JF IN RENT-A-CAR FIGHT

Sard Verbinnen and Company is assisting Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group as it tries to fend off an acquisition bid by Avis Budget Group, an attempt to thwart Dollar Thrifty’s planned merger with Hertz Global Holding.

Avis, which first moved to torpedo Hertz’s $1.17 billion deal for DT in May, is supported by Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher. Avis also has the proxy firm MacKenzie Partners working in its corner.

Avis released a $1.33 billion offer for DT last week. DT said it has already executed a merger deal with Hertz and continues to be bound by the terms of the agreement, but the company said its board will review the Avis bid.

Four PR groups met in Barcelona, Spain June 10-18 and came up with the lofty “Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles.”

They are:

1. Importance of goal setting and measurement.
2. Measuring outcomes is preferred to measuring outputs.
3. Effect on business results can and should be measured.
4. Media measurement requires quantity and quality.
5. Adv. Value Equivalency (AVE) is not the value of PR.
6. Social media can and should be measured.
7. Transparency and replicability are paramount to sound measurement.

We came up with the “New York Declaration of PR Principles” as follows:

1. Goal of PR is increased public understanding via truth telling, fact providing, and answering press questions.
2. “Outcomes” (sales or whatever) depend mostly on quality and price of product involved.
3. Ditto for “Business results.”
4. Ads/PR bring customers to store; product does selling.
5. Editorial mentions are gold to advertising’s brass.
6. Expert websites and bloggers should be tracked and engaged.
7. All media, big or small, should be treated equally.

The “Barcelona Principles” position PR as marketing when that is only one aspect of PR.

The most telling of the seven “principles” crafted by the participants is No. 5: “Advertising Value Equivalency is not the value of PR.” Participants could only define “PR” in the negative. This begs the question, “What is the value of PR?”

We like the definition given by Prof. Tim Penning in PRSA’s Tactics of September, 2008: “dialogue, negotiation and mediation.” PR pros, in order to “contribute to informed decision making in a democratic society, must seek opposing views for the good of the public,” he wrote. The PR Society refuses to put the Penning essay on its website although other essays by him are there.

PR Society Practices Stonewalling

How the Society, in the form of chair Gary McCormick, could get involved in anything dealing with “research” is beyond us.

The Society’s information-blocking, anti-democratic practices are so blatant that there is a full-blown revolt against them by the “Committee for a Democratic PRSA.”

More than 350 supporters have signed a petition including nine PR professors and nine Society Fellows, one of them a Gold Anvil winner.

PRS won’t allow the Committee to post its arguments on the PRS website; won’t cover the subject in its online news report; won’t provide to the Committee or anyone a list of the 300 or so 2010 Assembly delegates (who were elected Jan. 1); won’t let the Committee e-mail the 21,000 members; stopped publishing the transcript of the Assembly in 2005; and refuses to audiocast the annual Assembly meetings when it would be cheap and easy to do so.

The Society’s press policy is to be as nasty, dismissive, and unhelpful as possible.

For instance, for the first time in its history, there was no “press room” at the 2009 national conference—only a table in a hallway staffed by local volunteers who couldn’t answer any questions.

What the Barcelona attendees should be studying is how secrecy and information-blocking are affecting the PR industry.

Institute for PR Was Hijacked

Another participant in Barcelona was the Institute for PR, which broke away from the PRS in 1989 because of demands that all its directors be APR.

That was a good thing. But IPR went too far—all the way to Gainesville, Fla., to the University of Florida. It is a minor factor in the PR world, a captive of ivory tower-dwelling academic interests. It should be in New York where there is a huge communications industry. It could easily afford such a facility.

IPR, whose staff is headed by Bob Grupp, says it provides “the science beneath the art of PR.” We’d like to know what is the science that blocks information flow and relishes secrecy? Such activities are the opposite of science. IPR’s board is headed by Michael Fernandez of State Farm Insurance, a member of highly secretive PR Seminar and also its offshoot, the Arthur W. Page Society.

Seminarians comprise about two-thirds of Page’s 30-member board.

About 30 of the 45 trustees of IPR are either Page members or both Page and PR Seminar members. Among those belonging to both are Angela Buonocore of ITT; Ray Jordan, Johnson & Johnson; Maril MacDonald, Page president in 2009, and Gary Sheffer, General Electric.

PR Seminar Has Huge Turnover

The PR Society and IPR should be researching the decline in influence of PR which is under heavy pressure from corporate financial, legal and marketing departments. One result is high PR job turnover and job loss. PR Seminar inducted 43 new members in 2010 after taking on 47 new members in 2009. Fewer than ten new members were inducted yearly in the 1970s and 80s.

Since Seminar limits its membership and ousts anyone after one year who loses a job, this means that about 90 members lost their jobs. Declining attendance also means Seminar has to work hard to attract members. Blue chips are clamping down on expensive conferences at plush resorts.

Page members tell us that about 40 members are job-searching and were miffed when the $200K presidency of Page went last month to a non-member—Julia Hood of PR Week.

Page reportedly looked at 200 resumes and conducted interviews but some members feel Hood was a lock from Day One.

Hostility to Media Apparent

The Barcelona materials reflect the attitude that media are there for one purpose—promote client aims.

About half the journalists working in 2001 have lost their jobs because of declining ads and circulation. This means a smaller news hole for press releases and a deluge of at least 50,000 reporters mostly seeking “PR” jobs. PR has become a very insecure industry in which to work.

Katie Paine, “the Queen of Measurement,” has told us that measurers want to find out what is not working so that changes can be made.

How about calling up editors and reporters and asking them how well PR is serving them?! It is a rare corporate website that names any PR pros. What reporters mostly get is an e-mail box where they can leave a question.

Kraft describes its PR unit (it calls it “corporate affairs”) as its “secret weapon.” PR is the “war department” and reporters are “the enemy.”

Viacom has a 48-page PDF that sets up PR as the corporate “gestapo” ready to pounce on anyone who utters a negative word about Viacom. The Village Voice described it as “corporate terrorism.”

--Jack O'Dwyer