The Travel Issue

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Communications & new media July 2014 I Vol. 28 No. 7

The Travel Issue

How industry shifts are changing travel PR’s role Rise of the iGen traveler Experience beats all for today’s traveler Special report: IPW Chicago Putting your travel brand on the map Travel marketers: publish or perish A peek at the next generation of cruise ships July 2014 | www.odwyerpr.com Rankings of top travel PR firms .... And more! Julymagazine_Layout 1 7/1/14 11:25 AM Page 2

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• Business Travel Consultants • Strategic Meetings Management • Government Travel Contractors Locations: • Over 200 Offices Worldwide North America Middle East • Competitive Online Booking Europe • One-on-One Travel Consultation Asia • Leisure Travel Experts Find out about cruises sailing from New York and other worldwide destinations 888-333-3116

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Vol. 28, No. 7 July 2014 EDITORIAL WHY DRIVING RESULTS IS ALL So, this is the “Information Age?” THAT MATTERS The goal of telling a brand story is to 6 17 create buzz and put the client’s narra- PR GROUP MAKES $1.2M tive in front of its target audiences. PLEA FOR NIGERIA Levick wants to build support for WHY PUBLIC RELATIONS Nigeria’s effort to find the more than 8200 SHOULDN’T FORGET PUBLICS 15 schoolgirls kidnapped by a terrorist group. Paradoxically, “public relations” faces 18 a grossly negative perception today. SOFTWARE UPDATE PUTS PR COLLEGE PALS HEAD GROWING NEWSWIRE ON CRACKDOWN TRAVEL PR FIRM A Google update has resulted in PR Two PR partners were friends before Newswire imposing new guidelines to 8root 19 founding a powerhouse travel agency. out low quality content. IPW CHICAGO PROMOTES MAYOR DE BLASIO GETS TRAVEL IN A BIG WAY LOUDER PR BULLHORN IPW held its 46th annual meeting in New York Mayor Bill de Blasio 20 Chicago, bringing in more than 6,000 has taken on a new PR chief and a 9new attendees from more than 70 countries. 20 multi-city “task force” role. www.odwyerpr.com PROFILES OF TRAVEL & Daily, up-to-the-minute PR news INDUSTRY SHIFTS ARE TOURISM PR FIRMS CHANGING TRAVEL PR 22 PR pros’ roles have evolved, and RANKINGS OF TRAVEL & now present more opportunities to redefine10 TOURISM PR FIRMS the role we play in brand development. 35 WASHINGTON REPORT THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF TRAVEL Today’s travelers seek to trade the 40 comforts of home for an authentic 12cultur- COLUMNS al experience. Here’s how PR can help. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADJUSTING TODAY TO 36 Fraser Seitel TOMORROW’S TRAVELERS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT The travel industry still relies on 37 Richard Goldstein strategies for an era of consumers 13 for whom these messages no longer apply. GUEST COLUMN 38 Gregory Kohs PUTTING YOUR TRAVEL PEOPLE IN PR BRAND ON THE MAP 39 Demand has surged for travel in 2014. However, consumer expectations14 PR BUYER’S GUIDE have risen along with it. 42 EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2014 AMENITIES ABOUND FOR January: Crisis Comms. / Buyer’s Guide July: Travel & Tourism NEW CRUISE SHIPS February: Environmental & P.A. August: Financial/I.R. A new breed of cruise ships with March: Food & Beverage September: Beauty & Fashion a score of new features are mak- 15 April: Broadcast & Social Media October: Healthcare & Medical ing their debut this year. May: PR Firm Rankings November: High-Tech June: Global & Multicultural December: Entertainment & Sports TRAVEL PR PROS: PUBLISH OR PERISH ADVERTISERS As the travel journalism industry Bob Thomas Productions...... 8 Lou Hammond...... Back Cover shrinks, brands have found a new opportu-16 Fahlgren Mortine/Turner PR...... 5 MMGY Global...... 13 nity to fill the content gap. Finn Partners...... Inside Cover Omega World Travel...... 3 JGAPeppercomm...... 7 rbb Public Relations...... 9 J Public Relations...... 11 Strauss Media Strategies...... 17 Log On...... 27 TV Access...... 19

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EDITORIAL This is supposed to be the “Information Age?”

free market fixes everything. So much, in fact, that we no longer rely on our corpo- EDITOR-IN-CHIEF rate employers merely for our healthcare, but now for our education as well. Jack O’Dwyer A [email protected] Global warming is a liberal ruse, but vaccines give children autism. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER The only acceptable solution to gun violence in America is more guns. John O’Dwyer If our workforce is paid less, somehow our businesses will bring in more customers. [email protected] Hollywood has proven that American audiences are so dumb we’ll see remakes of the ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER same films indefinitely. Kevin McCauley The House Budget Committee Chairman’s latest plan to “slash” government spending [email protected] called for cutting food stamps by $125 billion over the next five years, but increasing defense spending by $483 billion over the next decade. EDITOR Nevada militiamen who point sniper rifles at federal agents are now “patriots.” Jon Gingerich [email protected] Clean air is a bad thing. A terrorist group in Nigeria kidnapped more than 200 young girls, but the media was too SENIOR EDITOR busy reporting on a Malaysian airline that disappeared a month prior. Greg Hazley We hate “big government,” except when we want to regulate who can marry whom, or [email protected] who can be in the military, or when we want to ban abortion, or force kids to pray in school, or bail out our banks. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Apparently, science is now something you can simply choose not to believe. Fraser Seitel Richard Goldstein We can’t raise the minimum wage because it would kill jobs. The proof: a trickle-down myth from 30 years ago that has never been proven. Chandler Klang Smith Every time there’s a school shooting, donations to the NRA skyrocket. Editorial Assistant & Research The Supreme Court has decided that women don’t need “buffer zones” when visiting abortion clinics, but we can still get one for our funerals. ADVERTISING SALES Sharlene Spingler When we changed federal policies to save the country during the Great Depression, it was noble. When we do it today, it’s socialism. Associate Publisher & Editor [email protected] Every day, a “responsible gun owner” kills someone. We’ve grown so dull as a culture that our most popular Internet sites have gone beyond John O’Dwyer mind-numbing lists, to now simply offering lists of pictures. Most involve cats. Advertising Sales Manager The news has to pander to our uninformed worldviews just to get our attention. [email protected] We shouldn’t increase taxes for our top earners. The last time we did that, our GDP peaked O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 and the national debt disappeared. a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the Our cognitive biases are so strong that we’ll say — with a straight face — the President is J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., “weak” one day, and that he’s “a dictator” the next. 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. We’re still arguing about Iraq. (212) 679-2471 Fax (212) 683-2750. Somehow, by a bizarre economic alchemy that no one understands, cutting taxes is supposed to erase the federal deficit. © Copyright 2014 GMOs cause cancer, except for the 2,000-plus studies that have never proven this. J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc. Our feelings regarding drones, indefinite detention, unconstitutional wiretaps, and a grad- ual stripping of our privacy depend solely on who’s in office at the time. OTHER PUBLICATIONS & SERVICES: We hate welfare, unless it’s in the form of corporate tax breaks, which cost us $180 billion last year alone. www.odwyerpr.com 4 breaking news, commentary, useful databases and more. Young people love calling out others for their “privilege,” and they do this on social media sites, using Internet connections, from air-conditioned homes, in America. Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter 4 An eight- Between 2009 and 2012 alone, incomes for the top one-percent of Americans grew by page weekly with general PR news, media 31%, while incomes for everyone else grew by 0.4%. The incomes of the one-percent now appointments and placement opportunities. account for 20% of total U.S. income. Strangely, this is fine by us. O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms 4 has Going an entire year without reading a book now makes you normal. listings of more than 1,400 PR firms throughout We’re obsessed with projecting this narcissistic image of being morality conscious, though the U.S. and abroad. it has a habit of disappearing when we’re inconvenienced. U.S. retailers have learned that they don’t have to improve conditions in their third-world manufacturing plants, because, as O’Dwyer’s PR Buyer’s Guide 4 Products it turns out, we really like cheap clothing. and services for the PR industry in 50 cate- Has-been celebrities are quickly learning that all it takes is one homophobic comment to gories. thrust them back into the spotlight. jobs.odwyerpr.com 4 O’Dwyer’s online We always want to get back to the “good old days.” When was that exactly?£ job center has help wanted ads and hosts — Jon Gingerich resume postings.

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SPECIAL REPORT PR group makes $1.2 million plea for Nigeria Washington, DC-based Levick is attempting to build support for Nigeria’s effort to “find and safely return” the more than Genser, Managing Director of Perseus 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April by terrorist group Boko Strategies, and Founder of Freedom Now, Haram, according to its $1.2 million contract. By Kevin McCauley a non-profit that works to free prisoners of conscience. government’s efforts to mobilize interna- Meanwhile on June 25, a bomb deto- tional support in fighting Islamic break- nated in a crowded shopping center in he kidnapping focused internation- away group Boko Haram as part of the Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. It killed at least al media attention on the basic abil- greater global war on terror.” It is charged 22 and wounded dozens of others. Boko Tity of Nigerian President Goodluck with communicating Jonathan’s “past, Haram is suspected of planting this Jonathan to control his massive, oil-rich present and future priority to foster trans- device. country. parency, democracy and the rule of law In November, the U.S. State Dept. des- Nigeria was roundly criticized for its throughout Nigeria.” ignated Boko Haram a terrorist organiza- initial reluctance to accept outside help in Levick has partnered with Jared tion. £ tracking down and recovering the children. The BBC on June 25 ran an op-ed called “Does Nigeria Have an Image Google content update hits newswires Problem?” The article ridiculed Nigeria for believing such a plea for foreign assis- PR Newswire has now imposed stricter guidelines to root out “low tance to help its “clearly overwhelmed quality content” and will crack down on releases focused more on armed forces” might affect its image. gaming search engines than providing useful information. Jonathan on June 26 broke his silence By Greg Hazley about the missing girls via an op-ed piece in the Washington Post titled “Nothing is more important than bringing home oogle sent tremors through press was intended to ensure that authentic, Nigeria’s missing girls.” release services with its Panda 4.0 quality content makes it way to the top of Levick’s pact calls for “assisting the Gupdate in May. The Panda update Internet search results, over spam and junk results. A study by Seer Interactive on May 29 claims Google dropped the search rankings on millions of individual press releases online, particularly those published by Vocus’ PRweb.com. PR Newswire Senior VP Jason Edelboim said the recent update to Google’s algorithm amounts to a “technology-based editorial guidelines for content quality.” He said PRN editorial staff will review releases for analysis and original content, use of varied formats rather than template copy, length to cut down on short releases intended only as link-bait, and overuse of keywords. Sarah Skerik, VP of Strategic Communications for PR Newswire, said in a June 20 blog post that an audit of PRN’s site after the Google update iden- tified spam press releases garnering sub- stantial traffic because of “black hat” SEO tactics. Skerik said most of PR Newswire’s customers will not be affected by the beefed up content guidelines and stressed that, in addition to the millions of visitors to its website, the company’s proprietary distribution network reaches a large global audience. The Panda 4.0 update also whacked results from popular sites like eBay and ask.com. £

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Mayor de Blasio gets louder PR bullhorn

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who rose to power largely due to his “tale of two cities” inequality theme, is now taking his message on the road. de Blasio names PR Chief By Kevin McCauley de Blasio has named Andrea Hagelgans Director of Agency Communications to The breadth and reach of that organiza- handle his ties with various municipal he 53-year-old Democrat June 22 tion may soon be an irritant to the one- units and his cabinet. earned the Chairman post at the percent crowd, which deBlasio has Hagelgans was at Camino Public Tnewly created Cities of Opportunity pushed to “pay their fair share.” Relations and handled Planned Task Force of the U.S. Conference of The Mayor has been at Parenthood’s high-profile Mayors. The post gives deBlasio a nation- loggerheads with political response to the decision al platform to speak up for the 99% crowd. rival/Wall Street friendly of Susan G. Komen’s The panel is empowered to develop Governor of New York Foundation to pull fund- “aggressive equity agendas” around State Andrew Cuomo, ing. Chelsea-based deBlasio’s campaign platform of higher who has his eye on the Camino works for non- minimum wage, affordable housing and White House. profit working on pro- universal pre-K access. Both politicos will sup- gressive issues. In accepting the post, de Blasio said the port Hillary Clinton as the Earlier, Hagelgans was task force “is going to organize the pro- Democratic nominee for deputy press secretary for gressive ideas coming out of cities across the 2016 presidential NYC’s campaign finance the US, and put city issues back on the nomination. Post-Hillary, board. national agenda.” it’s a wide-open race The Mayor said in a The task force penciled an August 10- between the two men. statement that he expects 11 kick-off meetings in New York. As mayor of the Bill de Blasio. the new hire “will help The Conference says it’s a bipartisan nation’s media capital, de our cabinet and agencies entity consisting of the leaders of about Blasio enjoys a publicity clearly communicate this 1,400 cities with populations of at least advantage over Cuomo. Queens-born administration’s vision and policies to the 30,000. Cuomo owns the Albany media market. people of NYC.” £

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FEATURE Industry shifts are changing the role of travel PR Sometimes a PR professional’s job has leaned more toward media relations, while at other times it has included a bigger emphasis on corporate communications. Regardless, there was a time when our roles were clearly defined, and it invariably involved a heavy focus on editorial coverage. Today’s roles for PR pros have evolved, however, and now present more opportunities than ever before to redefine the role the industry plays in brand development. By Marty McDonald and Angela Berardino

attention not just to the editorial in your tar- to your department than good. With all the ow should PR pros use this chang- geted outlets, but also the sponsored content spaces in which PR professionals work — ing landscape to their advantage? that lies in the next column. When you’re from social media to traditional editorial, HHere are some trends we’re keeping meeting with editors, ask them about how and the gray space in between — it’s time an eye on — followed by some tips for how they’re tackling this issue. Educate yourself for us to be able to explain our impact on to embrace them in your daily work. and ensure you are an invaluable part of the brands in a meaningful, qualitative manner. Add “publisher” to your resume strategic team within your brand. And be Visual curation By now you’ve heard the phrase aware of the rise of the SuperFan, and the Strong written skills will always be “Content is King.” Smart brands are invest- role they can play in your PR program. important to a PR practitioner, and releases ing in smart content, and the travel industry Brand collaborations will continue have a place, but no longer at the head of is leading the charge. Budgets to pay for While the general concept isn’t new the table. Today’s audiences want to visual- quality content, from internal and external (there is a long history of high-end design- ize the narrative as much as they are will- sources, are growing — but ownership of ers collaborating with hotels on everything ing to read it. the content strategy at a brand level is still from one-off suites to entire brand con- Annual reports being defined. For example, it’s no longer cepts), today’s collaborations are more cre- heavy with statistics unusual for a DMO to go beyond visitor’s ative and multi-dimensional. Partnerships now need infographics. guides to attract guests to their destination; can lead to great PR stories, of course, but Pinterest boards are they are also producing apps, content-rich also present an important opportunity for editorial inspiration. websites with freelance contributors, multi- content generation across both parties’ Personalized video ple newsletters and blogs, and running a social channels and corporate blogs. They pitching (using Vine or vast social media network. can also lead to subsequent micro-partner- a private YouTube link Communications leaders have a unique ships that keep the story fresh. Kimpton’s showing a low-budg- opportunity to own content strategy, and in partnership with public bicycles, for exam- et/phone video pitch Marty McDonald the process, grow our presence in a space ple, isn’t just a great guest amenity — it’s immersed in an experi- that was once reserved only for the market- the basis for market-specific hotel pack- ence) are becoming ing department. We’ve always acted as sto- ages, restaurant-driven picnic baskets, and part of our everyday. rytellers; we now have the opportunity to loads of high-design visual assets for both Try a quick Google look at a narrative we might pitch to a jour- public’s and Kimpton’s websites and social search for “drone trav- nalist, and then extend that idea into content channels. el videos” and you’ll on social media, long form editorial in a PR leaders need to pay close attention to see just how quickly visitor’s guide, or listicle on a website. ways in which they can stretch a budget and the impact of technol- The space between paid, earned, owned initiate programs that bring in fresh ideas ogy is affecting how The lines between what, and who, is paid for their brand. One of the simplest — and we collect and use Angela Berardino to produce all of the content referenced oft overlooked — opportunities for destina- visual assets. PR pro- above will only continue to blur in the next tions is to partner with lifestyle brands that fessionals need to learn few years. PR departments are challenged are made or produced locally. Often these how to create a holistic version of their with figuring out when, how and if it is brands aren’t directly involved in the brand’s story — from visuals and interac- appropriate to compensate media, bloggers, tourism community, but they can lend tive social content to digestible and cre- and those hard-to-define influencers for the authenticity to PR programs, provide a ative pieces of information. creation of stories, images, and videos. At whole new army of expert sources, and cre- The travel PR industry is leading a shift the same time, we are seeing more travel ate endless opportunities for symbiotic in the field as a whole. PR professionals editors and well-known personalities social and website content. continually develop their stories to entice launch and expand business ventures and The “Great Reporting Overhaul” consumers; and because the travel con- pay-to-play programs. And we’re seeing For years, the public relations industry sumer experience has become nearly marketing budgets include outlets like has struggled with meaningful measure- entirely interactive, PR professionals need BuzzFeed and Yahoo Travel’s sponsored ment of our efforts. There have been signif- to evolve their capabilities to meet the content — all of which is designed to look icant changes in the last few years as major need. exactly like the editorial we’ve grown travel brands and DMOs have begun adapt- Marty McDonald is SVP and Tourism accustomed to pitching. ing more nuanced reporting. Practice Leader at Fahlgren Mortine. PR practitioners need to be prepared to This is it. This is the year that the shift has Angela Berardino is VP of Travel + counsel, recommend and defend strategic gained enough momentum to be main- Digital, at Turner Public Relations (an decision-making in this space. Push your stream, and in the very near future, old- independent, wholly owned subsidiary of way into the planning meetings; pay close school ad value reports will do more harm Fahlgren Mortine). £

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FEATURE The brave new world of travel Today’s travelers increasingly seek to trade the comforts of home for an authentic cultural experience. Here’s how PR pros trend. St. Regis Deer Valley in Park City, can wear the hat of exploration guides. By Lou Rena Hammond Utah, now offers an Olympic ski experience with freestyle medalist Shannon curious about how ordinary locals live, Bahrke. The program allows guests to growing number of travelers opt to work and re-create. experience a half- or whole-day Olympic- venture outside the cloistered gates Russ Alan Prince’s well-researched book style training regimen and coaching ses- Aof resorts in order to engage the Middle Class Millionaires summarizes the sions with the champion. broader culture of the surrounding locale. impact of the latest recession on today’s The Inn at Dos Brisas, centered on a Words like “exclusive,” “manicured” and affluent class: “78% of the ‘working rich,’ magnificent 313-acre Hill Country ranch “pampered” are apt to draw shrugs, while or ‘middle-class millionaires,’ defined [as] midway between Austin and Houston, they perk up at terms like “authentic,” having a net worth of between $1 million which hosts one of the best equestrian pro- “indigenous,” and “experiential.” and $10 million and still working for a liv- grams in the country, encourages guests to Perhaps it’s partially fueled by the ing, consider themselves ‘very or extreme- get their hands dirty on the ranch’s 24-acre “Anthony Bourdain effect,” but the trend, ly concerned about their ability to maintain USDA certified organic garden. Later they propelled largely by the “working their current financial position.’” Prince’s enjoy the fruits of their labor (along with a wealthy” and millennials, focuses more on research shows that as early as 2008, 21% bottle from the ranch’s stellar 7,000-bottle soaking up local color than soaking up of these “middle-class millionaires” had wine cellar) in the rays. already begun curtailing their spending. ranch’s restaurant — A November 2013 Travel and Market Shocked by the reality of the recession, the Texas’ only Forbes Report article cites Resonance working rich have adjusted their priorities. Five Star dining estab- Consultancy president Chris Fair as While they still seek to enjoy the hard- lishment. attributing the trend largely to the fact that earned fruits of their labor, they are less The staff at Deep millennials, being more culturally diverse acquisitive than they were before the reces- Water Cay, a 2 ½-mile than older generations, are more enticed to sion. sliver of an island just travel abroad and closely engage other cul- “They want the experience of flying on off the east end of tures. Such travelers, rather than regarding the private jet; they don’t want to own the Grand Bahama Island, Lou Rena foreign (particularly indigenous) cultures jet,” says Steve Zacks, Chief Marketing long revered for its Hammond as odd and exotic, view them as part of a Officer of 3rd Home, an exclusive web- world-class salt water shared humanity that should be savored based home exchange club for owners of fly-fishing, encourages and explored. Rather than considering a luxury vacation homes. “They’re mindful guests to engage with the local community. foreign culture as an artifact to be viewed of their money, and are more concerned Most staff members grew up either on from the outside looking in, as older gener- with spending on experiences than on own- Grand Bahama Island or one of the other ations might be more prone to do, they are ership — they want to experience the nearby cays and are still deeply connected more likely to perceive the culture as world and its rich diversity, not acquire it.” to the close-knit community. It’s not something to be experienced first-hand. The recent Travel and Market Report unusual for a staff member to pull a boat up Fair goes on to cite the impact this trend is article echoes Zack’s assessment. to a waterfront bar on tiny Sweetings Cay asserting on affluent consumers as well, as “Conspicuous Leisure” is the “signaling of and introduce them to the locals , or stop in they become increasingly more motivated social status through consumption of expe- a yard of a friend in route to the resort to by “the consumption of experience than rience rather than through consumer pick coconuts. Every October the resort the consumption of consumer goods” — a goods. Unique experiences, and not just for takes guests to nearby McClean’s Town for trend he calls “conspicuous leisure” (as the affluent, are social currency.” the annual Conch Cracking Festival (and opposed to conspicuous consumption). Now a home exchange club like 3rd usually a guest or two will amuse the A 2011 New York Times article refer- Home allows affluent consumers to use an skilled locals by trying a hand at the com- ences the work of economist Emanuel asset they already own (their vacation petition). Saez, who observes that “in 1917 the rich- home) to exchange for trips to new places Whether flying to worlds away or sim- est one-percent of Americans received only and seek fresh adventures. In today’s shar- ply driving to the next state, recently grad- one-fifth of their income from paid work” ing economy, for example, a family who uated millennials and financially estab- while in 2004, “in contrast, paid work owns a vacation home in the Hamptons can lished working rich — two groups that on accounted for 60% of the income of that exchange the time they’re not using the the surface appear at such opposite ends of same sector.” Unlike their early 20th-cen- house to book trips all over the world. the social spectrum — are writing the itin- tury predecessors, today’s rich tend to “Such a family can trade a week in their erary for the future of travel. And now as maintain the working or middle class val- house in the U.S. for a week in a tradition- experiential travel increasingly intersects ues they grew up with rather than aspiring al Thai villa, which they can use as a base with the other hot travel trend, the sharing to the aloof aristocratic values of the for exploring nearby Buddhist shrines and economy, more and more people will opt Gilded Age, which tended to deem “for- artisanal shops, or go elephant trekking,” to emerge from the safety of their comfort eign” (i.e., non-Western) cultures as inferi- says 3rd Home Founder and CEO Wade zones in order to meaningfully engage the or. The shifting attitude of today’s affluent Shealy. wider world. consumers extends to their travel habits, But even resorts, both large and small, Lou Rena Hammond is Chairman and where they are much more prone to be are wising up to the experiential travel Founder of Lou Hammond & Associates. £

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Adjusting to tomorrow’s travelers, today In 2013, iGen — the generation after Gen Y — started becoming adults. They began attending college, voting, and now they’re traveling. There’s no doubt that the travel industry, as a whole, has cial and exclusive. It must appeal to the senses in ways that technology cannot spent time and resources in order to market and communicate capture. Finding the right experiential with Gen Y, yet there may be an assumption that this generation qualities of a destination will trump trav- isn’t much different. el needs that can be satisfied through By Stefan Pollack technology. iGen wants many loved ones no longer requires plane of the same things y 2020, the entire iGen genera- tickets. On a business level, this means their predecessors tion will be adults. Today, more national and global relationships can be want, but they must Bthan 50% of children under the handled in-person, but from thousands be first convinced age of eight have a mobile phone or of miles away. through authenticity, tablet of their own. Social needs that once required travel trust and experiential Also consider the fact we have trained can now be facilitated remotely. engagement. This iGen will not remember a time when altruistic and highly- this generation to be different from any Stefan Pollack other generation. We have taught them travel was required to experience the engaged new gener- to know the following: world, connect with loved ones or man- ation will be your They have access the history of age business nationally or globally. biggest advocate when these pre-qualifi- human knowledge on phones in their If destinations, travel companies or cations are met. pockets. attractions do not fundamentally inte- Stefan Pollack is President of Pollack With instant access to trusted peers grate this change in the marketplace, PR Marketing Group, with offices in Los and authorities, they should not trust they will see tried-and-true tactics falling Angeles and New York. He is author of ads, commentary or really any message short. Reasons for travel must now tran- Disrupted, From Gen Y to iGen: coming from a brand or untrusted scend the days when it was required. Communicating with the Next source. Travel must now be experiential, spe- Generation. £ They should not click on ads. They should DVR past commercials. They should not trust official statements from companies or organizations. Customer service issues should be dealt with in real time. Travel industry should evolve The travel industry still uses legacy strategies and tactics, relying on advertising and traditional media. While traditional media still has an important place for travel, it is equally critical that destinations, travel companies, or attractions concede control of their messages to those that influence their audience. Think, also, that the nature of travel has fundamentally shifted. iGen is growing up in a world with Skype, FaceTime and SnapChat. There are no longer geographical boundaries, inhibit- ing their ability to connect to each other globally. The rapid-fire ascension of social media has made this doubly poignant as global events unfold real- time, not vetted, filtered or hampered by media or governments. On an individual level, this means that the desire to see the world and become embedded in other cultures is no longer experience that requires travel. On a family or community level, this means that staying connected with

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REPORT Putting your travel brand on the map With the economy on the rebound, a surge of demand has returned to travel. However, consumer expectations have now ideas and collaborate on execution. Reach climbed along with it. By Vicky Hastings out to several media outlets among your target audience for proposals on how to and recommend their top things to do can obtain the outcome you’re seeking. Listen, respond and help ptions have grown for today’s trav- help hotels, attractions and destinations elers. As your target audience pon- recruit guests. Social media is a great customer service Oders going to Croatia or Cancun, A small investment in search engine tool. Keep an eye on your social channels Chicago or Charleston, they’re using their marketing and sponsored posts featuring and quickly respond to comments and tablets, smartphones and computers to do this content will increase website visits. questions about your brand. If there is a so, making it easier than ever to plan where Tell visual stories problem, take the dis- that next trip will be. Show people what your destination cussion offline and do More than 90% of travel planning now looks like. Once you’ve attracted potential what you can to takes place online, where travelers are visitors to your website, show them what resolve it. researching and booking getaways. they will see and do on their trip. Images Sometimes flights Moreover, they’re now sharing vacation and videos generate the most clicks and are cancelled, guests photos and videos via social media, both prompt the greatest engagement of any check in to find dirty during and after their trip. online content. Because consumers trust towels in their rooms, For savvy travel brands, the opportunity “real” photos from people like them, and more. Most people is not only to inform and inspire, but also to streaming a local Instagram feed on your call for assistance, recruit, respond and reward potential visi- website is a great way to affordably show- while the disgruntled Vicky Hastings tors online. With so many devices and case authentic experiences from the travel- but vocal few may hop communication platforms to choose from, ers’ lens. on Twitter to complain. By monitoring the the challenge is how to be there with the A compelling image or video has a long social media conversation about your right digital content at every step of travel life. It can be repurposed and reused in in brand, you can step in to apologize and planning and purchase. The most success- many ways, including sponsored content make good, as well as offer helpful tips and ful communications programs demonstrate — search and social media ads — enabling recommendations. Reward customers for their business that you “get” travelers as they dream, you to attract the attention of potential vis- plan, book, experience and share about itors. When planning your content calendar, their journeys. What are you doing to Partner with influencers weave in ways to thank your fans. attract their attention? Tapping into the loyal audiences of Airlines provide inspiring examples of Think media coverage when defining influential online media can help you grow delighting customers. In Amsterdam, KLM travel PR? That’s just the start. Today’s your consumer base. For example, Tasting surprised travelers checking in on tourism PR toolkit includes earned media Table, a popular lifestyle brand publishing Foursquare with gifts related to their trips. and also paid, owned and shared media. daily emails about food trends and happen- In London, when cancelled Christmas Eve Successful travel promotion programs ings, created a microsite featuring flights left hundreds stranded at the airport, include both “push” (brand reaches out to “Oregon’s Tastiest Trails” featuring edi- SpanAir sent wrapped presents for each potential visitors) and “pull” communica- tors’ recommendations for their favorite passenger down the baggage claim tions (consumers seek out the travel brand) Oregon restaurants, hotels and attractions carousel. Both companies scored big-time communications. — plus contest prizes of seven Oregon social media conversations, acknowledge- Based on our expertise attracting visitors culinary trips. ment from travel industry influencers and to destinations, hotels and attractions, we Sponsored by Travel Oregon and man- media coverage as a result. Measure, optimize online performance offer this travel PR roadmap. aged by our firm, this PR initiative was one Be easy to find online of Tasting Table’s most successful promo- Regularly review your social media and Make it effortless for people to get the tions, garnering substantially more engage- website analytics, swapping out underper- information they want. When considering a ment than other programs. The reputation forming content for more engaging materi- destination, people most often search for of Oregon as a foodie destination earned al. At least once a quarter, evaluate overall “flights,” “hotels,” “restaurants,” “things to through extensive national media cover- progress. It’s easy to get inundated with too do” and “events.” To ensure your website age, combined with the chance to win a much data, so select one or two key metrics is served up when visitors are wondering free trip to this storied place, was com- relating to your communications objectives where to go and what to do, develop con- pelling. For our client, validation from and build a story around it. tent with staying power based on these Tasting Table, a culinary travel thought Content with staying power. Great pho- terms. leader, and the opportunity to connect with tos and videos. Surprise and delight. Try A blog post generated as a result of a its loyal, influential following, was a win. one or two of these approaches to increas- food blogger trip we organized, “Top 6 Special interest media opportunities are ing consumer loyalty and putting your trav- Things To Do In Astoria and Warrenton, abundant, ranging from foodies to families, el brand on the map. The results will be Oregon,” is one of the top referral sources Millennials to Baby Boomers and outdoor rewarding. to our client’s website — two years after it adventurers or urbanites. Some of the best Vicky Hastings, APR, is Managing was posted. paid media partnerships result when the Director, Studio West, at Maxwell PR + Commissioning travel writers to visit editorial and advertising teams brainstorm Engagement. £

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Amenities abound for new generation of cruise ships Cruise operators are going to great lengths to ensure that passengers of all ages have plenty to do while their vessels traverse the oceans. As a result, a new breed of cruise ships ums, more and diverse dining options, to with a score of new features are making their debut this year. more specialty restaurants. By Gloria Bohan Highly acclaimed spas such as Canyon Ranch and Mandara are featured on many Highlights include The Haven by ships. Rejuvenating is now as much a part he Quantum of the Seas, a 4,180- Norwegian — a two-level luxurious com- of the cruise experience as relaxing. passenger, 1,141-ft. long vessel, is plex. It has 55 suites, an outdoor terrace Seeking new horizons in 2015, Disney Tset to be launched in November by and its own restaurant. Another showcase Cruise Line’s popular Disney Wonder will Royal Caribbean. It will be the Royal feature is The Waterfront outdoor prome- be exploring the Hawaiian Islands on 10- Caribbean’s largest ship. A sister ship, nade which has numerous bars, eateries night sailings and will also offer cruises Anthem of the Seas, will be launched next and lounges. Cruisers will have their from San Diego. Upscale Regent Seven year. choice of 25 dining options. Seas Cruises introduced several new pro- One of the many amenities onboard Following her successful sister ship, ductions, including on the Seven Seas Quantum of the Seas is a capsule that takes Royal Princess, the 3,560-guest Regal Mariner, called “Cirque Rock ‘n Roll” with passengers 300 feet above the top deck and Princess, which launched in May, is anoth- music that includes Elvis Presley and sides. Quantum of the Seas will also fea- er vessel from Princess Cruises. A three- Michael Jackson. Enjoy “The Piano Men” ture the first skydiving simulator at sea, deck-high piazza offers a signature on Seven Seas Navigator and a tribute to “RipCord by iFLY.” Passengers “float in International Café, The Pastry Shop, Paris on the Seven Seas Voyager, called the air” above giant fans. Bumper cars, Alfredo’s Pizzeria, Crooners Bar with a “Cirque L’Amour,” complete with an aeri- solo cabins and “virtual” balconies that piano and a ‘60s feel, as well as a Vines al ballet. Shoppers will want to head to the have floor-to-ceiling LCD TV screen offer- wine and tapas bar. new Michael Kors boutique on Celebrity ing sea views are other features that will be The Retreat Pool and Bar are an adults- Cruises’ Celebrity Equinox. included. Expanded dining options include only Sanctuary. Dining includes Sabatini’s, Ships take new routes, new terrain 18 restaurants. a Tuscan-inspired restaurant. Regal Unique cruise itineraries to destinations Launching in October is the 3,725 pas- Princess has one of the biggest health facil- such as Kotor, Montenegro, a senger Costa Diadema, the largest vessel ities at sea, The Lotus Spa, a tranquil hide- Mediterranean coastal town, are now for Italian cruise line Costa Crociere. Costa away offering numerous rejuvenating treat- offered by Royal Caribbean. will have 15 bars, including one for wine, ments. Also featured is the retreat-within-a- Other cruises now go to the Amazon, and seven restaurants. There is a two-deck retreat, The Enclave, with such features as China, Cambodia and Vietnam. One popu- gaming area, with videos and lasers; a a hydro-therapy pool, heated stone beds lar route is the river cruise along the Country Rock Club, 4D cinema, three- and four “sensory showers.” Mekong Delta. Worldwide itineraries today deck theater and a large visit uncommon ports, some Portobello Market piazza filled of which are close to home, with a diverse array of shops. such as Bequia, in the Designed to reflect her home- Caribbean’s Grenadines. port of Miami, Norwegian Luxury line Crystal Cruise Line’s 4,028-passenger Cruises is making a maiden Norwegian Getaway sails to the call in Oban, Scotland and Caribbean. It has numerous din- Luanda, Angola. Holland ing options, 12 bars, an outdoor America Line, which has boardwalk, lined with eateries; cruises out of Singapore, has an Aqua Park with five water also added Myanmar, slides — including free falls — Labrador and Angola. sure to keep the kids thrilled, River cruising continues plus a multi-level Sports to grow in popularity, with Slated for release in November, Quantum of the Seas will be Royal Complex with a zip-line, rock- more than 30 new ships climbing wall and a ropes Caribbean’s largest ship, and takes cruise line amenities and experiences to a new level. making their debut this year. course. Entertainment includes Passengers are able to dock “Legally Blonde” and in the hearts of cities and Passengers offered pampering, vistas “Illusionarium,” a dinner combining magic towns and immerse themselves in shore and special effects. A cruise offers fun, pampering and a excursions. Christmas Market itineraries Norwegian line launches biggest ship convenient way to see the world. Only one and special wine tasting voyages are also NCL’s largest ship to date, the 4,200- packing and unpacking is needed. Cruise popular. Viking Cruises recently made it passenger Norwegian Escape, will debut in lines are offering intriguing new destina- into Guinness World Records by christen- the fall and sail year-round from Miami to tions, more dining options and onboard ing 16 Viking Longships in one day. All sail the Eastern Caribbean. First of the line’s amenities than ever before, such as pools, to Europe. Breakaway-Plus class, it will be followed restaurants and elegant cabanas. New Gloria Bohan is President of Omega in 2017 by sister ship Norwegian Bliss. onboard features range from expanded atri- Travel. £

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FEATURE Travel marketing pros: publish or perish As the travel journalism industry continues to shrink, brands specializing in hospitality and leisure have not only a newfound opportunity to fill the content gap — they have a professional Quantum of the Seas, not only with a obligation as well. global media event, but also by utiliz- By Alice Diaz ing Mediaco, our brand publishing unit that provides an end-to-end solution helping brands become full-scale media agencies are not Condé Nast Traveler networks. hen staff members at The and should stay out of the publishing The plan was to facilitate expanded New York Times opined in business. Everyone is in the publishing media coverage but Wtheir leaked May internal business these days, and the publishing also to self-publish Innovation Report that “we are falling business itself changes every day. Trip stories to ensure behind in …. the art and science of get- Advisor is not a traditional publisher, consumers learned ting our journalism to our readers,” you and yet the experience and editorial about the worlds’ know the debate about how to connect judgment that Travel Advocate Wendy most technological- with consumers in a fragmented, dis- Perrin brings to the site from her days ly advanced ship. tracted, on-demand culture has reached as a writer with Condé Nast Traveler is We provided the a new level. a valuable development none of us expected “new The now-infamous Times report is would have predicted a year ago. And cruise ship” content telling. The fact is, public relations pro- as the contraction among travel writers and dissected the Alice Diaz fessionals and communications teams continues, our clients have not only an cruise story to cre- in the travel industry are faced with the opportunity but an obligation to cus- ate culturally rele- very same challenge. tomers to fill the content gap. vant lifestyle topics that would expand Travel is a vast global industry. It’s The expert’s experience, insider’s voice our reach. crucial to the health of economies, and Why does public relations need to But publishing the story is just the it’s seen as a fundamental element of a lead the charge in storytelling for trav- beginning. The New York life well lived. Yet traditional spaces el clients? In our Travel & Lifestyle Times Innovation Report proved that for telling our stories are becoming less practice at Weber Shandwick, we are an publishers need to promote their own numerous. extension of the client team and content. Doing so ensures greater reach Most travel editors disappeared years immerse ourselves in the business and with the right audiences. ago, and the pages they oversaw have the experience. For many years, editors Our Royal Caribbean team worked dwindled in many cities to a lifestyle had to hear the passion in our voices directly with contacts at Gizmodo, add-on. Glossy travel magazines have and listen to our stories. Because we Eater, The Wall Street Journal and inde- shuttered, and survivors are remaking dive deep into our clients’ experience pendent influencers to drive themselves to appeal to readers who are and learn its nuances, we frame richer coverage. In addition, we saw publishers on the bus, waiting in line or walking stories that go beyond the features and like Yahoo! Travel, Just Jared and Condé down the street. benefits of a display ad. We can also Nast Traveler pick up the content we How do destinations, cruise lines, tell a story through the lens of con- produced, demonstrating the need to hotels and others break through when sumers’ passions in a way that ensures work with journalists as publishing part- broad circulation publications struggle, the content is being discovered and ners. No standard press release or native multi-tasking readers cherry pick con- shared in travelers’ news feeds. ad could have ever been as effective at tent and consumers, especially Last, and most certainly not least, we reaching media and consumers. Millennials, are no longer trustful of or are exceptionally well connected to edi- The Times is a titan of journalism. As influenced by advertising? tors, reporters, producers, bloggers and its soul-searching treatise says, the goal Why storytelling matters influencers. We know the story needs to is “to get more out of the journalism we Boomers may travel for bragging be strategic, consistent with business are already creating.” It’s a good time rights, and Millennials may travel for goals and well framed, but it also needs for marketing professionals to begin experience. In either case the story is to be handled as a dynamic piece of asking themselves if they are fully uti- the essential, and public relations pro- content that must travel well from the lizing the talent and knowledge of their fessionals long-ago mastered the art of drawing board to the brand publishing public relations agencies, and whether figuring out the story. Now we can pair platform and on to the wider web of they even have a public relations that expertise with the science — connections through new and emerging agency that is prepared to take advan- understanding where travelers get social channels to capture the attention tage of the opportunities that change in information, keywords they search for, of consumers. the media industry has created. You can and real-time analysis of what they talk Publishing is just the beginning publish and yet perish without the strat- about — enabling us to be the best sto- The Weber Shandwick Travel & egy and connections to find, be found rytellers of today. Lifestyle practice has already evolved and be shared by engaged consumers. Traditionalists in the travel industry alongside many clients, including Alice Diaz is Executive Vice President may take exception to this approach; Royal Caribbean International, which and leader of Weber Shandwick Travel they may feel that public relations introduced the line’s newest ship, & Lifestyle Practice. £

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Why driving revenue is all that matters We have a habit of putting PR initiatives under two categories: conveying the brand story and driving business. While a campaign typically involves one or the other, both strategies duced significant revenue was the TLC build awareness, and on occasion a program accomplishes both. (Tender Loving Comfort) Movement, a By Florence Quinn service offer for Affinia Hotels, which also improved customer satisfaction. waiver and they came with a fire extin- TLC took home he goal of telling the brand story guisher — for Jake Melnick’s Corner Best of Show at the is to create buzz and place the Tap in Chicago rocked Super Bowl sales HSMAI Awards. It Tclient’s narrative and key mes- by 400%. garnered $1.2 mil- sage points in front of its target audi- lion in revenue. ences. These initiatives typically take More than 50% of the form of creative ideas, such as the Americans were creation of New York’s first outdoor exposed to the TLC bedroom for AKA, delivering bees to story via 1-billion the Waldorf Astoria New York via a media impressions, Florence Quinn town car and developing a Mermaid including the front Wedding for Sheraton Fort Lauderdale page of USA Today. Beach Hotel. Customer-service scores rose to #1 Sure, on occasion someone will book among upper upscale hotel brands. a hotel room upon reading about rooftop Driving revenue is the ultimate goal. beehives. However, it’s a rare occur- Everything we do, including the cre- rence and rarely track-able. Mostly we A 110th anniversary rate for the Hotel Wolcott ative, must lead to that. The only meas- can’t prove these unique ideas positive- drove 1,812 room nights and $222,795 in urement that matters in the end is the revenue during one month. ly affect business even though we sale. strongly believe they do. This can be Florence Quinn is the Founder and frustrating for us creative types who A good example of a successful cam- President of Quinn, a lifestyle PR firm find ourselves living in a world of click- paign that told the brand story and pro- with offices in NYC and Miami. £ throughs and measurements. On the other hand, initiatives that are measurable and directly produce revenue are high-fived by everyone. These campaigns often include a discounted offer to entice consumers to take action. Here are two examples: A compelling $110 110th Anniversary rate for Hotel Wolcott in NYC produced 1,812 room nights and $222,795 in revenue in one month. The hotel team had never seen the phone lines light up like they did for this offer. A well-priced summer offer for Marriott New Orleans resulted in 543 bookings for $450,000 in revenue. Revenue-producing programs can also take the form of ads placed on social media sites. A strategically targeted Facebook advertising campaign for the Guerlain Spa New York spiked gift card sales a dramatic 68%. I mentioned that sometimes the creative idea is revenue generating. Here are some examples of the right and the left side of the brain working together: The glamping package on the newly renovated deck overlooking the ocean at The Westin Hilton produced over 55 bookings. It was so popular that the hotel is bringing it back this September. Hot wings — so hot you had to sign a

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REPORT Why public relations shouldn’t forget its publics We work in an industry that helps organizations manage their reputations, yet paradoxically, “public relations” itself faces repository for information rather than a col- a grossly negative perception today. laboratively edited encyclopedia. They By Sam Ford don’t understand why adding that bio of their founder or an entry for every product “announce,” but we rarely listen, they sell is a violation of the very raison ust in the past two weeks, I’ve seen empathize, and advocate on the audience’s d’etre of the Wikipedia project. the following statements being behalf. As a result, the volunteer Wikipedia edi- Jlobbed against our profession: I don’t mean to imply that ethics aren’t tor community is now so cynical of our pro- A commenter on Reddit referred to PR deeply important to people in our field. fession that they are hesitant to believe any- as “... companies that are paid to lie.” Quite the opposite. From top to bottom, the one speaking on an organization’s behalf From the comments section of TechDirt, vast majority of professionals I’ve engaged could even have a helpful suggestion to one poster said that “PR firms and spokes- with care deeply about behaving ethically make an entry more accurate or compre- people are only needed when it’s neces- — from senior leaders to interns. Some hensive. sary to lie, conceal, deceive, mislead large agencies have Chief Ethics Officers, Ultimately, who suf- …That’s why they exist. That’s what they and leaders throughout our field work hard fers from the current do.” to maintain ethical standards and educa- situation? Wikipedia Experienced editors struggle to restrain tional programs for their clients. readers. We have a and control the venal PR gusher every sin- Further, many of our industry organiza- larger obligation to the gle day … the predictable eruptions of the tions are passionate about “best practices” publics our clients common money grubbers. To each his or in ethics. I’ve personally worked with the look to serve — and her own. My tombstone will say some- Word of Mouth Marketing Association and we often have infor- thing inspiring, I hope. (From the com- the Council of PR Firms and know first- mation that would ments section on Harvard Business hand how those organizations have put serve the interests of Review.) their energy behind ethics in our industry those publics who Sam Ford I don’t blame people for such senti- (as have others, like the Arthur W. Page come to a Wikipedia ments (even if their particular tone is Society, the Institute for Public Relations, entry trying to find an unfair and their lack of empathy frustrat- and the Chartered Institute of Public objective, accurate, and up-to-date ing for starting a productive conversation.) Relations.). overview about the subject in question. We describe the benefit we bring to the But that dedication hasn’t yet manifested PR professionals who are acting ethical- public very poorly. We, as a whole, have itself in overt, everyday, industry-wide dis- ly have the same goal as Wikipedia editors too often taken a seat far down the deci- cussion about our obligations to the audi- should have—to ensure that entries on the sion-making chain of an organization, ence. Instead, almost all the conversations site are accurate, objective, and up-to-date. accepting roles as vendors rather than as focus on what we owe our brands/clients. That will likely mean there will be some strategic consultants. Thus, our organizations, and our profes- information included that our clients are And, if we’re being honest, we unfortu- sion, suffer from a lack of trust. And, as a proud of…and perhaps some they wouldn’t nately talk far too little about ethics as a result, we have a limited ability to truly help put on a brochure. But we as PR profession- profession … at least compared to the improve the long-term reputation of our als have to think of every article we read flood of panels, articles and blog posts organizations. that isn’t about our clients and consider about the most successful tactics for The quotes that began this article came in what we’d want an objective entry to pro- Facebook likes or the best way to achieve response to news that my agency, vide. “ROI” on earned media. Peppercomm, and several others had issued Jack O’Dwyer’s recent column on the When ethics do come up, it most often a statement pledging to engage with the Wikipedia debate makes the point that, becomes a conversation about compliance Wikipedia project in an ethical manner, despite our firms’ pledges, many others will with laws and governmental guidelines — consistent with the Terms of Use of the continue to act deceptively. He’s right, but as if we are content to outsource our ethi- Wikimedia Foundation and the guide- that doesn’t change the need for us to act cal due diligence to external parties. lines/policies of the Wikipedia editor com- ethically for our own sake — and, more Instead, we talk in our industry jargon munity. importantly, for the sake of the reader. about how we can “leverage,” “convert,” The reality is that bad actors in our indus- Transparency and disclosure are not “drive,” and “manage” people/communi- try have been intentionally lying on their purely Wikipedia issues; they are a vital ties. clients’/employers’ behalf when engaging issue for our industry as a whole. I hope we What’s missing in that conversation is with Wikipedia for years —adding in mar- can all come together to make this a priori- the “publics” we’ve supposedly been keting copy, deleting unflattering informa- ty. The audiences we’re charged with serv- tasked with “relating” to. We’re communi- tion, and/or making edits/suggestions with- ing depend on it. cation professionals, yet 90% or more of out disclosing their own relationship with Sam Ford is Director of Audience our work — and our focus — has been on the organization in question. Engagement at Peppercomm and co- what our organizations want to say, rather And they are surrounded by a much author of the book Spreadable Media: than on serving those audiences we seek to greater number of communications profes- Creating Value and Meaning in a reach. We “release,” “state,” and sionals who have seen Wikipedia as a Networked Culture. £

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College pals head fast-growing travel PR firm Jamie Lynn Sigler and Sarah Evans met at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, in 1997. In the years since they became not only lifelong friends but successful business partners, now leading a fast-growing travel and hospitality PR Firm. By Jack O’Dwyer

Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, Public Relations, grew 26% to Mayflower Grace, The White Barn Inn, $3,308,00 in 2013, an increase Twin Farms, The Lodge at Glendorn and Jmatched or topped by only 15 The Goring. other firms among the 100 largest in Sigler and Evans moved to San Diego O’Dwyer’s rankings of PR firms. Since after graduation from ECU in 2001, 2011 JPR has grown nearly 100%, and working in PR and also waitressing in has received numerous accolades. order to meet expenses. Sigler launched Jamie Lynn Sigler & Sarah Evans, Partners Additionally, the agency is listed on Inc. JPR in San Diego in 2005, and they part- at J Public Relations. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 List, ranking #12 nered in early 2009. Today they have in the country for fastest growing hospi- robust offices in New York City and tality companies. In the digital space, California, with a presence in Arizona. “We are experienced at launching JPR is listed #5 on UWire’s list of the They are on track to bill over $5 million brands and maintaining relevancy Top 25 PR Firms on Social Media. in 2014. through solid, newsworthy PR cam- Luxury lifestyle and hospitality brands “Boutique powerhouse” paigns, brand partnerships and creative brought revenues of $2,432,570 in 2013, Sigler and Evans describe their firm as programming,” said Sigler. giving JPR the No. 9 spot on O’Dwyer’s “a boutique powerhouse of more than 30 JPR staffers are “travelers, foodies and travel/hospitality ranking. Restaurant experienced, passionate publicists spe- trendsetters who live and breathe these and food clients are also an important cializing in hospitality and luxury industries personally and professional- part of the business, generating $875,435 lifestye PR on both coasts.” ly,” said Evans. £ in fees in 2013. Clients in that realm include Suja Juice, Tessemae’s and Block 16 Hospitality. Testimony to their expertise and that of more than 30 other staffers is a client list of world-renowned brands such as Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, Triumph Hotels, Grace Hotels, Autograph Collection, Vail Resorts Hospitality, Four Seasons Lana’i, MetWest Terra Hospitality, Rancho La Puerta, and Relais & Chateaux properties, including

PR News Briefs Barokas PR aids Atari’s latest comback Video game pioneer Atari has engaged Seattle’s Barokas PR as it plots its latest comeback attempt, a bid to leverage its iconic history in the online era. The “Pong” pioneer spent 2013 in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection but said June 18 that it has a new corporate strategy to produce online video games, apps, casinos, and video content. Licensing is also expected play a key role as its portfolio of more than 200 classic games, including “Asteroids” and “Centipide,” will be rented out to adorn everything from slot machines to t-shirts. Sixteen-year-old Barokas PR is led by CEO Howie Barokas, a veteran of Imagio, the storied Seattle tech advertising and PR firm that was sold to JWT in 2000. Paris-based Atari, which also has offices in New York, was founded in 1972.

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REPORT IPW Chicago promotes travel in a big way The U.S. Travel Association’s annual IPW — formerly known International PowWow — brings together tourism officials from every corner of the globe, as well as professionals representing hotels, museums, amusement parks and other travel attractions. The largest single generator of travel in the United States, IPW held its 46th annual meeting in Chicago this year, bringing in more than 6,000 attendees from more than 70 countries. By Carla Marie Rupp and Jason Rupp

knew, rightly, that international visitors style band to Indian to Mambo music, to he U.S. Travel Association event would be attracted to the glamour of the sounds that might be found on hosted nearly 1,400 international filming that occurs in the Windy City. So, Chicago’s Southside, Wicker Park, and Tand domestic travel buyers at the it was no accident that during IPW’s Bucktown, as well as music from the 2014 IPW, the highest since 2001. Sunday grand opening night the chosen city’s noted Latin culture. Even celebri- Appointments were made — 95,000 this venue was Cinespace Chicago Film ty Jennifer Hudson made an appearance. year, generally for intensive deal-mak- Studios, where Chicago Fire and Chicago Great Chicago neighborhoods were ing — and billions in travel billings PD are filmed for television. It was a shared in a Chicago Film Tour. One of were accounted for at the trade show, reminder that Chicago is one of the most requested tours from overseas the travel industry’s premiere annual America’s major television and film journalists, it was a hit. marketplace. Publicists pitched thou- hubs. The large studio was transformed The vibrant Chicago theater scene sands of story ideas and PR material to into an ultimate entertainment, network- was the focal point of another IPW hit 500 international and domestic travel ing and food attraction, with even tour, which made stops at the Cadillac writers and broadcasters during sched- Grammy-nominated Janelle Monae giv- Palace, Second City, the Goodman uled media events. ing a headlining performance. Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre “IPW is the place we come to cele- Broadway’s “Motown: the Musical” and Company. brate the travel industry, and I’m A Segway tour of Chicago’s happy to be part of that story,” scenic Lake Michigan and other said Caroline Beteta, President sights followed. and CEO of California Travel and Rock-and-roll legends play Tourism. During an upbeat event held on IPW Chicago 2014 also provid- Monday, entertainers were ed unforgettable experiences for scheduled to perform after lunch. public relations professionals and They included classic rock-and- journalists, with extensive net- roll legends from bands Journey, working and pitching opportuni- Boston, Steppenwolf, Lynyrd ties that resulted in scores of sto- Skynyrd and Santana. Sponsored ries about American destinations. by Brand USA, the United States “At IPW, the most important destination marketing organiza- travel industry professionals in tion, the event included news of the entire international market- Brand USA continuing with place come to the U.S.,” said U.S. efforts in Canada, Japan, and the Travel Association President and United Kingdom and expanding CEO Roger J. Dow. “The IPW into Australia, Brazil, China, delivers more impact than the Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Super Bowl!” Mexico and South Korea for a Chicago-style hospitality bigger share of travel visitation Of course, all 6,200 IPW atten- to America. dees were entertained royally as A Taste of America Networking well: at luncheons, receptions, and Luncheon, in its second success- on specialty sightseeing tours and ful year, allowed plenty of net- at extravagant events throughout working and elbow-rubbing the city. The U.S. Travel Association’s 2014 IPW, held in April at between tables featuring regional Choose Chicago, the official McCormick Place in Chicago, drew 6,200 travel professionals foods. It was a special highlight public relations and tourism organ- from all over the world. during IPW. Sponsors Visit ization for Chicago, and other Photo: Choose Chicago Anchorage, Visit Florida, sponsors showed off the city to Louisiana Office of Tourism, global travel professionals, with Travel Oregon (which provided numerous delegate and press tours, exclu- other acts were also on the bill. regional wines), and Texas Tourism pro- sive invitations and extravagant parties Chicago’s iconic Museum of Science vided plenty of fun activities as guests featuring Chicago-style food, attractions, and Industry was the location of the mingled among the state’s offerings of neighborhoods and entertainment. closing night party, with a dazzling vari- Continued on next page Chicago was well-prepared. The city ety of musical acts, from a Rat-Pack 0

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photo opportunities, games and food media. It was also a sneak peek of the Spanish language monthly magazine. areas. Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders Brooklyn Boulders-Chicago branch, for “It’s a great honor for me. I’m a journal- were on hand to pose for photos and rock-climbing and adventure activities. ist for 50 years,” Galvan said. “This is sign autographs. In announcements, the press was told my third PowWow. It’s a great event, Chicago’s John Hancock building’s that Brooklyn’s shoreline has bounced and I have a lot of friends here.” 94th and 95th floors were spectacular back from Hurricane Sandy, and that Regions, media join travel forces viewing sites and the setting of a media this borough could serve as a stand- Don Welsh, Choose Chicago CEO, brunch, which featured an enormous alone visitor destination apart from said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s selection of the city’s best eating fare. Manhattan because of all of its attrac- newfound attention to tourism has paid Live jazz musicians performed for jour- tions, restaurants, parks, sporting events off and that Chicago has now opened 10 nalists as they sampled foods from some and “cool neighborhoods.” international tourism offices in China, of Chicago’s best restaurants. Travel journalists honored Japan, Brazil, the U.K., and other desti- Travel PR pros face the press Travel writer awards were announced nations in the last several years. A reverse media marketplace, where at a reception sponsored by CityPASS, Interestingly, the delegation to IPW publicists walked around and pitched presided over by IPW executives. from China, a critical emerging travel stories to journalists, was required for “If you don’t write it, it didn’t hap- market, set a record this year with 109 the international journalists, who sat at pen,” said Dow. He urged journalists to attendees. tables in sections listed by country. stay excited about travel journalism Several states worked with Choose United States journalists were given because, he said “travel inspires and Chicago to line up post-IPW tours for spaces at tables with name placards if educates our minds. Through your writ- delegates. These included the State of they registered in advance. ing, we readers are able to discover new Illinois, the State of Michigan and oth- U.S. travel media personnel staffed places. With your help, we are able to ers. Pure Michigan, the promotion arm the press room to help the journalists discover the world and we appreciate of the state, took a group of journalists with their schedules and answered ques- it.” and other IPW delegates on a road trip tions. Computers and internet access Winning one of the IPW Travel Writer through various towns and cities of and spaces for materials were provided Awards was a prestigious honor that Michigan, such as Ann Arbor, Flint and for the journalists’ comfort. also included a $1,000 check. Frankenmuth, ending in Detroit for a Brand USA Media Marketplace gave “It’s not really about the money. It’s look at Motor City, including a visit to plenty of time for journalists and publi- about getting exposure for quality narra- Greenfield Village, the Motown cists to interact and talk about potential tive traveling writing,” said Spud Museum, and the Detroit Institute of Art. stories. That evening, there were a vari- Hilton, Editor of the San Francisco The event also broke news regarding ety of parties and receptions around the Chronicle travel section. He was one of several upcoming media team-ups as city. One noted event was a Visit four winners this year, and won for his well. A Brand USA press conference Phoenix media reception for selected story, “A Cruise Up the Mississippi on a announced that the destination market- invitees to attend the restaurant Paddle Wheeler,” in the category of best ing organization had recently partnered Tavernita, with culinary spe- with National Geographic to cialties, welcome cocktails create “The Great American and music from solo guitarist Road Trip: Five Different Ivan Martirena. Networking Journeys,” a campaign fea- was intimate and hospitable turing renowned “Digital with the hosts, who also Nomad” Andrew Evans. The included the Arizona Office campaign will showcase of Tourism, Glendale CVB, Evans embarking on classic Visit Mesa, Scottsdale CVB, road trips across America for Visit Tucson, Arizona international audiences. Biltmore, Pointe Hilton Brand USA also partnered Resorts, Sheraton Phoenix with Producer Peter Downtown Hotel, Sheraton Greenberg, known in the Wild Horse Pass & Spa, industry as “The Travel Talking Stick Resort, and The Detective.” Greenberg is Westin Phoenix Downtown. developing upcoming seg- Many of the hosts kept in Several sightseeing tours of Chicago were arranged for travel pros, ments on the impact of inter- close friendly contact with including visits to the city’s vibrant downtown and theater district. national travel in 10 destina- the media guests, inviting Photo: Cesar Russ Photography tions: Austin; Portland, OR; them to visit their properties Myrtle Beach; Chicago; for possible stories. Miami; Phoenix; Lansing, San Francisco’s party bash, with lav- U.S. destination story. MI; Richmond, VA; Loudon County, ish entertainers, even offering a charm- There was a total of 200 entries in VA; and Baton Rouge, LA. ing “drag queen” Hecklina, brought out three categories. Peter Ellegard, a jour- The next IPW is set to be held May the laughter and the dancing spirit. The nalist from the United Kingdom, won 30-June 3, 2015, in Orlando, FL, with Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce host- first place in the category of writing the the theme of “Bringing the World to ed a special “Brooklyn Night” event, a best story on last year’s host city of Las America,” followed by Miami in 2016; lively party with plenty of Brooklyn Vegas. Long-time journalist Carlos Washington, D.C., 2017; Denver, 2018; hand-outs that was organized for invited Perez Galvan, from Mexico City, won Las Vegas, 2019, and 10 cities vying for clients and domestic and international first place for his travel trade article in a IPW for 2020. £

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O’Dwyer’s guide to: TRAVEL AND TOURISM PR

Loews Regency, Tzell of public relations, marketing, their audiences and attracting 5W PUBLIC Travel/Travel Leaders Group, social media, destination brand- positive attention from both Luna Park at Coney Island, ing, strategic communications, consumers and the media. RELATIONS Fareportal, EL AL Airlines, Oyster media training and organizational BLAZE also offers full public Hotel Reviews, Buckingham structure at conferences around affairs capabilities through its 1166 Avenue of the Americas Hotel, 1-800-CHEAPSEATS, the world, most recently in parent company DAVIES. 4th Floor Roomer.com, Cheap-O-Air, The Canada, Norway, Madeira, Clients include: AmaWaterways, New York, NY 10036 Israel Ministry of Tourism, and Uganda and the US. Anaheim Marriott, Citadel Outlets, 212/999-5585 The Ice Rink at Rockefeller Current tourism clients include Claremont Hotel, Club & Spa, Los , President & CEO Center. Peter Sommer Travels (petersom- Angeles Airport Marriott, Long Ronn Torossian mer.com), offering historic and Beach Renaissance Hotel, 5W Public Relations helps some BENDEL culinary gulet sailing and land Manhattan Beach Marriott, Marina tours of coastal Turkey, Greece del Rey Marriott, Monterrey of the world’s most admired travel COMMUNICATIONS and hospitality brands reach travel- and Sicily; Montana-based Marriott, TAITRA, and Toro Ride. ers, providing inspiration for their INTERNATIONAL Ecology Project International next adventure. (ecologyproject. org), pairing US BPCM Whether it’s introducing a desti- high school students with their New York • Arizona • California • peers in Mexico, Costa Rica, nation to travelers, launching a North Carolina • Oregon • 537 West 25th Street, 3rd Floor new property or promotion, build- Washington, DC • Sydney, Ecuador and the Greater New York, NY 10001 ing engagement or developing Australia Yellowstone Ecosystem to 212/741-0141 strategies to dominate a market, 917/969-9919 enhance and restore wildlife and bpcm.com our team of professionals creates www.BendelCommunications.com habitat; the Outer Banks National sophisticated programs that cap- Scenic Byway, one of the most Vanessa Von Bismarck, Partner , President ture attention for travel and hospi- Peggy Bendel remarkable destinations in the Carrie Phillips, Partner Sue Lomenzo, Strategic , Lifestyle tality brands in a crowded, distract- country; TerraVelo Tours (terrav- Sarah Pallack Communications/Social Marketing elotours.com), the only company Department Supervisor ed world. Leora Lanz, Hospitality We help our clients garner ongo- Marketing to offer luxury cycling combined ing publicity, educating business Bill Baker, Destination Branding with mobile luxury camping; and BPCM is a fully integrated and leisure travelers, media and Villa le Barone, 28-room 4-star agency with offices in New travel influencers about destina- Travel is our passion, and hotel in the beautiful countryside York, Los Angeles and London tions, properties and tourism pro- among our team, we’ve covered of Chianti, Italy. Peggy sits on the that specializes in brand build- grams. We’ve helped our clients the globe — well, not Antarctica Boards of the Destination and ing and communications for create news that breaks them out of (yet)! Headed by HSMAI Travel Foundation, the luxury travel, tourism, and glob- travel media, generating coverage Lifetime Achievement public Association of Travel Marketing al hospitality companies. that spans lifestyle, digital, busi- relations award-winner Peggy Executives, and the Society of Founded by Carrie Ellen ness and more. Our clients have Bendel, we’re a consortium of American Travel Writers Phillips and Vanessa von benefitted from experiential events senior travel industry profession- (satw.org). She is the author of Bismarck in 1999, BPCM began that help them imagine themselves als with more than a century’s It’s a Crisis! NOW What? A Step- with a focus on fashion and has at a destination, and have reached real world experience, represent- By-Step Crisis Communications since proven the ability to build passionate travelers through digital ing almost every facet of the trav- Handbook for the Global and grow brands to become approaches that reach consumers el industry, including countries, Hospitality Industry. leaders across all luxury mar- as they’re making decisions about regions, cities, NGOs, hotels, kets. where to go, where to stay and trade shows, cruise lines and tour BLAZE We believe in a comprehen- what to enjoy. operators. sive style and in addition to 5W Public Relations’ clients in We’ve created award-winning 225 Santa Monica Blvd., 3rd floor global media coverage some of the Travel & Hospitality division solutions to marketing chal- Santa Monica, CA 90401 our greatest successes have recognize our PR agency’s ability lenges, led teams of top mar- 310/395-5050 been in partnership develop- to drive brands to the ultimate level keters, handled crises of startling Fax: 310/395-5001 ment, event planning and influ- within the consumer market. We proportions, escorted press trips, [email protected] encer engagement. BPCM’s understand the need for results and planned special events and pro- www.blazepr.com hallmark is developing pro- target a broad arena of media to motions, solved thorny problems, Matt Kovacs, President gramming that elevates brand yield consumer interest, brand spoken at conferences and trade awareness on a global scale, recognition and overall, to estab- shows around the world, written BLAZE is the nationally rec- taking hospitality brands lish authority of our travel brands articles and books — and had an ognized PR firm that attracts beyond travel and into the on a local and global level. 5W exciting and fulfilling time doing compelling and aggressive con- lifestyle sphere. Public Relations has quickly estab- so. sumer brands that need to win. Current clients include: The lished itself as a leader in travel We also enjoy working in part- BLAZE develops campaigns Luxury Collection Hotels & and hospitality PR, with a unique nership with other firms to tackle that help our clients create or Resorts, Mustique, Monte-Carlo talent for developing integrated special assignments that might reclaim relevance in the market- SBM, and Langham Place, Fifth communications campaigns that disrupt ongoing client services, place. Utilizing comprehensive Avenue. Past clients and consul- get results. from crisis communications to strategic communications cam- tation projects include: Client experience includes special events. paigns to differentiate and ele- Marrakech International Film Travel Alberta, The Wyndham Public speaking is a forte, as vate our clients from their com- Festival, Le Meridien Hotels, Hotel Group, Gray Line NY, well: among us, we have served petitors, we are able to exceed Moroccan National Tourist Marriott Hotels, Tourism Ministry as keynote speakers, workshop our clients’ expectations when it Office, Krug Champagne, of Morocco, NY Sightseeing, The leaders and panelists on the topics comes to positioning them to Volkswagen, and more.

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represented more than 400 desti- COYNE PR nations around the world, stimu- lating visitor arrivals and invest- 5 Wood Hollow Road ment through economic develop- Parsippany, NJ 07054 ment and tourism marketing. 973/588-2000 DCI’s Tourism Practice features www.coynepr.com three divisions: public relations/consumer marketing, 5 Bryant Park, 28th Floor travel trade marketing/representa- New York, NY 10018 tion and meetings/incentive sales. 212/938-0166 Our Tourism Practice’s digital/social media team designs 604 Arizona Ave., Suite 10 Santa Monica, CA 90401 digital strategy and tactical pro- 310/395-6110 grams for DMOs. DCI’s current client roster includes some of the Tom Coyne, CEO most dynamic destination brands Rich Lukis, President in the travel space including such John Gogarty, Executive Vice states as California and North President Carolina; cities such as Coyne PR and South African Tourism welcomed Blair Underwood Jennifer Kamienski, Senior Vice Louisville, Park City, and and Alfre Woodard, actors and co-founders of Artists for a New President Toronto; and international desti- South Africa (ANSA), to accept South African Tourism’s “Friend of Lauren Mackiel Gory, Vice South Africa Award” on behalf of ANSA at the ﬁfth annual Ubuntu President nations including Australia, Dubai, Chile, Namibia and Awards at Gotham Hall in New York. (Photo by Diane Bondareff/Invision for South African Tourism) Coyne PR’s Travel practice Scotland; as well as the U.S. possesses the creativity, experi- Travel Association. These desti- ence and passion to make a game- nations are served by our staff of changing impact on your busi- more than 50 destination mar- ored with HSMAI’s Platinum Current clients include the ness. Our team has managed and keters, from our New York head- award for its work with the Croatian National Tourist Board, executed world-class events and quarters and regional offices in “Today Show” and an Emmy CroisiEurope, Extraordinary promotions, brand building cam- Denver, Los Angeles, Tampa and nomination for bringing WNYW Journeys Africa, Finnair, paigns, social media programs Toronto. Fox 5’s “Toni On!” to Quebec Geringer Global Travel, Perillo and media relations for some of for segments in Mount Tours, Tourism New Zealand, the travel industry’s most promi- DQMPR Tremblant and Quebec City dur- Tourism Quebec and Zicasso nent brands and destinations. ing its 400th anniversary. Handcrafted Travel. Clients include South African 25 E. 21st Street, Floor 11 Tourism, Disney Parks & New York, NY 10010 Resorts, Adventures by Disney, 212/598-1160 Disney Cruise Lines, Heathrow www.dqmpr.com Airport, TripAdvisor, Hong Kong Yves Gentil, President Tourism Board, Outrigger Resorts and Hard Rock Headquartered in New York International. The Coyne Travel City with a satellite office in team has developed ideas and Miami, DQMPR is an award- campaigns that take our clients winning, multi-lingual boutique where they want to be — and travel and lifestyle public rela- beyond. Our in-depth knowledge tions agency. DQMPR leverages of the travel industry and long- its extensive network to organ- standing relationships with the ize coast-to-coast targeted media travel media help brands stand campaigns on behalf of clients, out in the crowded travel market- from morning television to print place. and online coverage. Clients rely on the agency’s industry DEVELOPMENT experience, compelling storytelling and relationships in the COUNSELLORS execution of media events, press INTERNATIONAL trips and trade shows. In addition to media relations, (DCI) DQMPR’s trade division works with the travel trade and cruise 215 Park Avenue South, 10th Fl. industries on behalf of clients. New York, NY 10003 DQMPR’s excellence in public 212/725-0707 relations has been recognized by www.aboutdci.com Hospitality Sales & Marketing Twitter: @AboutDCI Association International with Andrew Levine, President/Chief 12 Gold Adrian Awards as well Creative Officer as the Society of American Karyl Leigh Barnes, Executive Travel Writers with two gold Vice President/Partner and one silver award for work with Extraordinary Journeys DCI is the leader in marketing Africa, Finnair and Tourism DQMPR’s (L to R) Erin Levi,Yves Gentil and Julia Levi at the HSMAI awards places. Since 1960, our firm has Quebec. The agency was hon- in January 2013, where they received six Gold Adrian Awards.

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PROFILES OF TRAVEL & TOURISM PR FIRMS

Resorts, Groupe Floirat, Hotels & Department of Commerce/Tourism; Resorts of Halekulani, Preferred Hocking Hills Tourism Association; Hotels & Resorts, Rosewood Hotel and many other destinations, & Resorts, The Lanesborough and regions, festivals, hospitality prop- Wheels Up, amongst many others. erties and more. Our client work has garnered numerous awards and accolades, FINN PARTNERS and we are consistently recognized for excellence in creativity, strate- TRAVEL AND gies and tactics. ECONOMIC Mathew Evins, the firm’s Chairman, has lectured on luxury DEVELOPMENT and hospitality at the Cornell Hotel School and NYU’s Graduate 301 East 57th Street School of Business, and has con- New York, NY 10022 tributed to numerous industry pub- 212/715-1600 lications and business media. www.finnpartners.com Questex Hospitality + Travel appointed Mr. Evins to serve on Gail L. Moaney, Director the Boards of the International and Managing Partner, Travel / Hotel Investment Forum Berlin Lifestyle Group (IHIF), the leading international Morris Silver, Managing Partner Members of the Fahlgren Mortine Team at the PRSA Tourism Section meeting place for the hotel invest- Virginia M. Sheridan, Managing conference in June. ment community; Luxury Travel Partner Exchange International (LTX), the leading event for today’s travel The Finn Partners Travel / catalyze brand passion and professional focused on luxury and Lifestyle Group is one of the engagement. EVINS premium niche markets, and of largest travel practices in the pub- We cultivate and nurture brand ULTRA Luxury Exchange lic relations industry. Our team is COMMUNICATIONS engagement to foster brand advo- (ULTRA), an invitation-only con- unrivaled for the creativity, execu- cacy and storytelling. ference engaging the world’s elite tion and commitment we bring to We optimize brand mind-share 635 Madison Avenue travel professionals. our clients. Our capabilities and New York, NY 10022 through brand advocacy and story- experience has been proven by 212/688-8200 telling. our successful representation of www.evins.com FAHLGREN We transform brand mind-share some of the world’s top travel facebook.com/EvinsCommunications into brand market-share. twitter.com/EVINSsct MORTINE brands. EVINS is the leading branding, We have consistently gained marketing, communications and and retained clients through our Mathew L. Evins, Chairman public relations firm in the luxury 4030 Easton Station, Suite 300 Louise R. Evins, CEO Columbus, OH 43219 measureable bottom-line results Elyse Heckman, Vice President / and prestige sectors, with specialist 614/383-1500 and by comprehending their Director of Travel & Hospitality expertise in travel and hospitality. www.fahlgrenmortine.com unique histories, preserving and David Harrison, Director, Digital Over nearly thirty years, we have bolstering their reputations and & Social Integration made an invaluable contribution to Neil Mortine, President and CEO understanding their vision for the the growth and development of Marty McDonald, SVP, Tourism future. We help to define a brand’s numerous industry icons, includ- Practice Leader Our commitment to our clients essence and create emotive experi- ing American Express is to be an extension of their ences that bring brands to life. Centurion/Platinum, DEPAR- Fahlgren Mortine works with brands — a true partner in every We utilize brand experiences to TURES Magazine, Exclusive clients in 29 states and is a top 30 way. When that commitment is independent firm nationally. The combined with unsurpassed skill agency has been recognized with and experience in all the critical dozens of national PR and tourism areas of travel and lifestyle mar- awards, including Silver and keting, we deliver results that pro- Bronze Anvils from PRSA and a vide an elevated, long term brand Mercury Award from the U.S. life, a stronger share of mind and Travel Association. In 2013, an increased share of market. Fahlgren Mortine was recognized Our services include strategic with a PRSA Bronze Anvil for public relations planning and exe- media relations for the Office of cution, global consumer / travel TourismOhio, and a Travel + and trade media relations, crisis Leisure Magazine SMITTY Award communication, reputation man- for work on behalf of Myrtle Beach agement, brand development, Area Chamber of Commerce/CVB. social and digital applications, Headquartered in Columbus, partnership alliances, promotions Ohio, Fahlgren Mortine also has and special events. Finn Partners Travel/Lifestyle Group secured a partnership between locations in West Virginia, With a staff of over 50 highly Manhattan’s elite members-only Core Club and their client, the Colorado, Florida, Kentucky and skilled professionals, we represent Jamaica Tourist Board, to host a private “Journey to Jamaica” bash South Carolina. Travel industry airlines, cruise lines, domestic and in June 2014. Festivities included Grammy-winning Jamaican client experience includes Office of international destinations, hotels, TourismOhio; Myrtle Beach Area resorts, rail companies, real estate recording artist Shaggy (pictured here) entertaining the audience. Chamber of Commerce/CVB; developers, travel associations Experience Columbus; Hyatt and travel service providers. Photo by: Zoe Hiigli Studio Regency; Hilton; North Dakota The greatest measure of our

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success is the satisfaction of our Coffee, Moe’s Southwest Grill clients, the longevity of our client restaurants, the International relationships, and the recognition Gemological Institute (IGI) and we’ve received from industry Hood River Distillers. The influencers and clients alike for agency’s fully integrated creative delivering high-quality, substan- and digital team provides award- tive work. winning advertising, graphic design and digital and social media FRENCH/WEST/ services for a wide range of clients. VAUGHAN GRAHAM & 112 East Hargett St. ASSOCIATES Raleigh, NC 27601 919/832-6300 www.fwv-us.com 111 Maiden Lane, Ste. #650 San Francisco, CA 94108 Rick French, Chairman & CEO 415/986-7212 David Gwyn, President / Principal Fax: 415/986-7216 Natalie Best, Executive Vice [email protected] President / Director of Client www.graham-associates.com Services / Principal French/West/Vaughan (FWV) is Graham & Associates is the Southeast’s leading public rela- renowned for award-winning tions, public affairs and brand com- expertise in strategic national and munications agency, independent international PR, communica- or otherwise. Founded in April tions, branding and social media 1997 by Agency Chairman & CEO programs for travel and hospitali- Rick French, FWV now employs ty, and consumer lifestyle clients. 89 research, public relations, public The agency also has established affairs, advertising and digital mar- expertise working wi th compa- keting experts among its Raleigh, nies with an environmental and N.C. headquarters and New York socially responsible focus. City, Dallas, Los Angeles and Founded in 1996, the agency is Tampa offices. known for its successful launch- FWV’s dedicated travel and es, relaunches and highly creative tourism practice, ranked as the #12 and results-driven campaigns. firm for Travel and Tourism PR by Graham & Associates has a suc- O’Dwyer’s, boasts extensive desti- cessful track record with hall- The Dude Ranchers’ Association (DRA), a non-proﬁt representing 95 nation marketing experience, spe- mark and emerging companies dude ranches across North America, engaged FWV to increase cializing in lifestyle and leisure and properties, including Cavallo awareness of dude ranches and encourage consideration of the marketing and public relations. Point, Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Western U.S. as a vacation option through an earned media campaign. Current travel and tourism industry Islands Resort, Post Ranch Inn, clients include the Dude Ranchers’ El Capitan Canyon, Evergreen Association, the Wilmington and Lodge, Wyndham Worldwide, Janine Gordon, President there, educated UHNWI regard- Beaches CVB (N.C.), Carolina and more. Maggie O’Neill, Partner & ing the finer points of travel and Beach, Kure Beach, Wrightsville Graham is recognized in the Managing Director counseled some of the world’s Beach, and Tweetsie Railroad — industry with more than 80 top leading financial and consulting North Carolina’s Oldest Theme national PR awards including JGAPeppercomm is the luxu- groups on the relationship Park. In addition, FWV has worked Stevie’s Best Communication ry and lifestyle specialty team among lifestyle, leisure and with Divi Resorts and its nine Campaign, North America; within Peppercomm, an award- investment. Caribbean properties, and co-oper- PRSA’s Silver Anvil; a Special winning, independently owned The key to success, we ative destination marketing with Creativity Award from the 19-year-old integrated market- believe, is to understand premium each of the tourism organizations International Public Relations ing communications agency brand values. We craft compelling for Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, St. Association (all in tourism); and headquartered in New York, storie s based upon a thorough Croix (U.S.V.I. Dept. of Tourism) the Magellan “Best Agency with offices in San Francisco appreciation of your brand’s attrib- and St. Maarten; Gatlinburg, Tenn.; Communications Campaign and London. utes. Our approach is focused on Cabarrus County, N.C. — home to Worldwide.” Graham operates Our approach marries fully “outside-in” thinking: strategy and NASCAR’s Lowe’s Motor throughout Europe via Plexus, an integrated marketing strategy execution that let clients envision Speedway; Oakland County, ex clusive organization of agen- with high-touch service and — and realize — the potential of Mich.; Branson, Mo.; the Old cies it co-founded. depth of experience in the trav- connecting with their target audi- Salem Moravian Village in N.C.; el, tourism, hospitality and lux- ences more effectively and more the Greater Raleigh CVB; and JGAPEPPERCOMM ury lifestyle categories. With meaningfully than ever before. America’s Historic Triangle, locat- clients ranging from developers We listen to our clients’ needs ed in Williamsburg, Va. of choice real estate to world- 470 Park Ave. South, 4th Flr. North and to those of their stakeholders. In addition to its portfolio of New York, NY 10016 class hotels, four-star destina- By putting ourselves at the table travel and tourism clients, FWV 212/931-6185 tion resorts and more, our team with your customers, we are able to works with many of the world’s [email protected] of experts has the know-how fully engage and build powerful leading companies and brands, www.jgapeppercomm.com and passion to build and nurture connections with them — where including international utility brands. We’ve partnered multi- they live, work, play, shop and provider ABB, Saft Batteries, Ed Moed, Managing Partner & million dollar residential prop- Continued on page 26 Wrangler, Justin Brands, Melitta Co-Founder erties with the jets that get you 0

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and travel brands the agency rep- radio and Internet), the launch of resents have been featured in tar- new hotels and resorts, marketing geted media on a local, regional, consultation, crisis communication, national and even international social media campaigns, speech level with placements in outlets writing and publishing services. such as Huffington Post, Yahoo!, KTCpr’s client roster runs the CNN, Wall Street Journal, Men’s gamut of the diverse niches in Journal and many more. the travel and tourism industries From international luxury and includes: Brite Spokes by resorts, boutique hotels, world Kuoni, Apple Vacations, cruise lines, adventure destina- CheapCaribbean.com, Travel tions, spas, travel accessories, Impressions, Fareportal, the lifestyle brands and more, the Society of American Travel team at K. Sutherland PR executes Writers (SATW), April Travel innovative, personalized and tar- Protection, the Caribbean Hotel geted campaigns comprising of & Tourism Association, Spice both traditional and new media Island Beach Resort in Grenada, avenues that help clients achieve Mango Bay Hotel Group in their business goals. Barbados, Magdalena Grand K. Sutherland PR, from left to right: Stephanie Fasi, Kerry Sutherland, In addition, everyone within the Beach & Golf Resort in Tobago, Jill O’Driscoll and Sarah Hinckley. agency has a deep appreciation for Morritt’s Resort in the Cayman and love of travel and culture. The Islands, Victoria Cruises in agency’s team is multilingual and China, Aranui Cruises in the works with travel clients from South Pacific, Pacific Delight JGA PEPPERCOMM relations, social media and digital around the world. Learn more at Tours, St. Maarten Tourist campaigns, and has elevated the art KSutherlandPR.com. Bureau and Interval 0Continued from page 25 of brand positioning and messaging International. through development of creative KTCPR Key placements over the years programs and packages for hospi- have been TV exposure on share. To insure optimum results, tality clients and global hotel “Today,” “The Early Show” and we repeat these high-impact tactics, brands. The agency’s client roster 77 N. Centre Ave., Suite 215 Rockville Centre, NY 11570 local New York news stations as refining, as needed. includes many of the world’s most well as feature print coverage in highly esteemed hospitality brands, 516/594-4100 This approach drives the strategy www.KTCpr.com The New York Times, The for all our integrated marketing hotels, restaurants, spas and luxury [email protected] Washington Post, The Los Angeles services, including PR/social lifestyle brands. The agency has Times, New York Newsday, The media, branding, grown more than 250 percent in the Richard S. Kahn, President Boston Globe, Miami Herald, experiential/events, crisis commu- past three years, ranking among Theresa M. Oakes, Senior Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast nications, celebrity endorsements, O’Dwyer’s top 100 fastest growing Accounts Supervisor Traveler, Sports Illustrated, Black co-branding/strategic alliances, agencies in the U.S. JPR has also Josh Kahn, Senior Accounts Enterprise and many more in addi- Supervisor licensing, digital/creative services earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 list tion to all the major travel trade and more. At JGAPeppercomm, of fastest growing private compa- publications. Internet coverage has KTCpr, formerly known as we consistently deliver exception- nies, placing 12th in the nation for been prominent as well including Kahn Travel Communications, is a al, business-building results for the fastest growing private companies Frommers.com and the Huffington 23-year-old boutique public rela- brands we serve. in travel and hospitality. Post. To learn more, please visit us at JPR achieves results designed to tions, marketing and publishing www.peppercomm.com, drop us a enhance each client’s brand and agency created by Richard S. LANE line at [email protected] directly impact revenue. Areas of Kahn, former editor-in-chief and or call President Janine Gordon, at expertise include media relations, associate publisher of Travel Agent 212/931-6185. digital and social media strategy magazine. KTCpr has developed 905 SW 16th Avenue and management, media events and its practice around the niche travel Portland, OR 97205 tours, brand launches, property and tourism markets with clients in 503/221-0480 J PUBLIC www.lanepr.com openings and repositioning cam- the public and private sectors. RELATIONS paigns. True to the company motto Kahn, having spent 22 years as a 500 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2720 “don’t let the pink fool you,” JPR is reporter, writer and editor for news- New York, NY 10110 530 Seventh Avenue, #1108 a powerhouse of savvy specialists, papers and magazines, has a strong New York, NY 10018 experienced at launching brands understanding and connection to Wendy Lane Stevens, President 212/924-3600 and keeping them relevant through the media — the end game for any Fax: 212/898-1361 consistent innovation, creativity public relations agency. Kahn was LANE delivers results that build www.jpublicrelations.com and enthusiasm. the 2014 recipient of the HSMAI business for clients. Drawing on twitter: @jprpublicity Winthrop W. Grice Lifetime more than 20 years of experience in Instagram: jpublicrelations K. SUTHERLAND Achievement Award for public the travel and tourism industry, we Facebook.com/jpublicrelations relations excellence. create integrated public relations PUBLIC RELATIONS KTCpr was launched with a pur- strategies that connect with key A bi-coastal force with offices in pose — to be responsive to the audiences and stakeholders across New York and California, and a California • Nevada media and act as a “go to” resource. all communication channels. We presence in Arizona, J Public KSutherlandPR.com With that mantra at the forefront, track trends, monitor consumer Relations (JPR), has become one of 949/328-4895 the company has sustained steady sentiments, and place stories where the most admired companies in the growth based on achieving results key audiences seek information: competitive travel, hospitality and K. Sutherland PR is a boutique thanks to Kahn and his staff’s rela- online, in print or over the air- luxury lifestyle PR industry. The public relations agency that spe- tionships with the media. KTCpr’s waves. We reach our clients’ audi- agency continues to develop and cializes in the travel and tourism expertise covers media relations, Continued on page 28 manage highly successful media industry. The resorts, destinations, the creation of promotions (print, 0

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Lots of horsing around on this press trip! Showing off the best of Montana at The Resort at Paws Up, Jessica Foreman (3rd from right) LH&A agency client Wild Dunes Resort partnered with James Beard from LDPR takes the media riding through Big Sky country, as part of award-winning cookbook authors and TV personalities, The Lee a recent “glamping” (i.e. “glamorous camping”) trip. Brothers, to share an unforgettable, authentic Southern experience for meetings and groups. With package choices ranging from conversa- tional cooking classes to a traditional Lowcountry oyster roast to cus- sionalism and enthusiasm. We tom dinners, groups sip, savor and shuck their way through Charleston LANE are a highly driven and innova- led by the Lowcountry’s culinary pioneers — Ted and Matt Lee. tive travel/lifestyle agency with Continued from page 26 0 a global roster of clients from destinations and tour companies prestigious Adrian Awards over to some of the world’s leading LOU HAMMOND & the past 16 years than any other ences wherever they reside, gar- hotels and resorts. Our integrat- entrant. nering proven results in markets ed approach to our clients’ com- ASSOCIATES Last year the agency launched that matter most. munications programs delivers its boutique digital firm, Whether elevating a property the right mix of traditional 900 Third Avenue Hammond Digital+, which is led or a destination, we use fresh media outreach, strategic part- New York, New York by an experienced specialist. ideas and creative energy to edu- nerships and strong digital and 212/308-8880 The agency’s latest enterprise cate, inform and inspire people to social media solutions designed Fax: 212/891-0200 offers custom social media and action. Our award-winning cam- to enhance every program. E-mail: [email protected] digital marketing services that paigns have produced measurable LDPR prides itself on a cul- www.louhammond.com capture the media’s attention, www.twitter.com/louhammondpr results for clients such as Travel ture defined by our collaborative www.facebook.com/louhammondpr drive consumer engagement, Oregon, Brasada Ranch Resort, and strategic approach to work- www.pinterest.com/louhammondpr and build long-lasting following Cannon Beach Chamber of ing with clients, media and our for clients. Backed by the com- Commerce, Eagle Crest Resort, staff, leading to successful part- Lou Hammond, Founder and pany’s nearly 30 years of quality Evergreen Wings & Waves nerships with measurable Chairman PR service, HD+ combines tra- Waterpark, Sokol Blosser Winery, results. Stephen Hammond, President ditional and new strategies to Wines from Spain, The Heathman Our client roster includes Terrence Gallagher, Executive develop attention-grabbing cam- Hotel Group and Travel Portland. Abercrombie & Kent, Rocco Vice President paigns across all platforms. Forte Hotels, VisitScotland; Although LH&A celebrates LAURA DAVIDSON Sydney/Destination New South Marking three decades of its past, most brilliantly through Wales, Australia; Bal Harbour, service this year, Lou Hammond the longevity of its client rela- PUBLIC RELATIONS Florida; Kittitian Hill, St. Kitts; & Associates (LH&A) has long tionships, the past year marked Eden Rock, St Barths; Curtain set the gold standard as the rec- exciting changes for the agency 72 Madison Ave., 8th Floor Bluff, Antigua; Waterfall ognized leader in travel and that signals its continued vitali- New York, NY 10016 Resorts, Alaska; The Resort at hospitality public relations. The ty. This March, LH&A left its 212/696-0660 Paws Up, Montana; The company’s passion, as well as iconic townhouse on East 51st www.ldpr.com Thinking Traveller luxury villas an unwavering commitment to Street for more spacious accom- Facebook.com/lauradavidsonpr in Italy and Greece; Grand Hotel quality, is driven by its leg- modations on Third Avenue in www.twitter.com/ldpr Excelsior Vittoria, Sorrento, endary founder and chairman, Midtown East. The agency also Italy; Atlantis Paradise Island, Lou Hammond, who is regarded Laura Davidson, President embarked on a rebranding cam- Leslie Cohen, Executive Vice Bahamas; Residence Inn by as one of the most well-known paign in late 2013, resulting in a President Marriott; Mayflower Renaissance, and enthusiastic advocates in revamped website and a Meghna Patel, Senior Vice Washington DC; The Ocean the industry. redesigned logo that honors the President House, Watch Hill, Rhode Island; LH&A is renowned as an agency’s past as it strides boldly The Ritz-Carlton and JW innovator in the field, as evi- into the future. LH&A’s offices For over 20 years LDPR has Marriott Grande Lakes Orlando; denced by its award-winning in Charleston, SC, and Miami, guided some of the world’s most Marriott Marquis Washington, work. In fact, the Hospitality FL, also continue to see marked prestigious travel brands DC and Millennium Hotels & Sales & Marketing Association growth. through an evolving media land- Resorts, North America, among International (HSMAI) has hon- Over the past year, the agency scape with creativity, profes- others. ored the agency with more of its welcomed as partners two cruise

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lines (Oceania Cruises and Willamette Valley Visitors Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Association; and Oregon Coast including the launch of Regent’s Visitors Association. new ship Seven Seas Explorer in 2016) and one rail service MIDDLETON & (Premier Rail Collection); one hotel group (Groupe Lucien GENDRON Barrière, France) and five resorts (Elbow Beach, Bermuda; 845 Third Avenue Pink Sands, Bahamas; St. Regis New York, NY 10022 Deer Valley, Utah; JW Marriott 212/980-9060 Guanacaste, Costa Rica; and www.mg-pr.com The Inn at Dos Brisas, Texas); Yvonne Middleton, Chairman three destinations (Fort Worth; Le Massif de Charlevoix, Middleton & Gendron repre- Quebec; and Paducah, sents best-in-class travel, hospitali- Kentucky); and one home- ty and lifestyle brands. Over three exchange travel club (3RD decades, the agency has launched HOME). iconic hospitality brands and directed groundbreaking PR and MAXWELL PR + social media campaigns. It has put an airline client’s name on a major ENGAGEMENT fireworks display at the Brooklyn Bridge, and persuaded a sitting U.S Cape Cod’s beloved Chatham Bars Inn celebrates 100 years with the 3934 SW Corbett Ave. president to play sax at a casino’s help of Middleton & Gendron. Portland, OR 97239 grand opening. 503/231-3086 M&G’s award-winning legacy www.maxwellpr.com business provides comprehensive, fessional success and relationships 47 Maple St. customized public relations servic- in various niches, including: culi- MMGY GLOBAL Burlington, VT 05401 es from strategy through execution nary, adventure, ski/snow, family, 802/338-2556 and is supported by the agency’s romance, arts/culture, Caribbean, 245 Fifth Ave., Ste. 902 digital and production practice. wellness/ spa, culture, wine/spirits New York, NY 10016 Jennifer Maxwell-Muir, Founder The agency continues to prove and fitness/sports. The agency 212/219-7560 and Principal that the most effective PR pro- specializes in strategic media rela- www.mmgyglobal.com Vicky Hastings, Managing grams integrate traditional media tions; social media strategy and Director, Studio West with online and social networking. management; partnership develop- , President & CEO Chrystie Heimert, Managing Clayton Reid Director, Studio East In recent months, M&G teams ment; event facilitation; Julie Freeman, EVP & Managing Director, PR Erika Simms, Vice President have applied that approach to suc- spokesperson positioning; and cri- cessful campaigns ranging from the sis communications. Our team of David Perez, Vice President, PR An independently owned public re-launches of Jade Bar at agile, professional marketers pairs relations and consumer engage- Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain innovative thinking and never- At MMGY Global, “We Inspire ment agency, Maxwell specializes and The Umstead Spa in Cary, N.C. say-never attitudes to deliver sig- People To Go Places.” in media and blogger relations, to the 100th anniversary of Cape nificant results and exceed expec- As the leading integrated market- social media engagement, content Cod’s Chatham Bars Inn. tations. ing communications firm specializ- marketing, consumer promotions M&G enjoys great bench depth Industry experience includes: ing in the travel, hospitality, lifestyle and paid media. We work with while also cultivating up and com- The Art Museums of Colonial and entertainment industries for leading consumer brands, premier ers among its talented staff. Clients Williamsburg; Aspen Ski Co.; more than 30 years, our mission is tourism destinations and attrac- are guaranteed a team that thinks Auden Bar & Bistro; Cayman to help travel companies grow rev- tions, and businesses advancing creatively, acts nimbly, and pursues Airways; Cayman Cookout; The enue by motivating their cus- new models that leave the world a their goals with absolute purpose. Cayman Islands Department of tomers. With offices in New York better place. Tourism; Charlie Bird Restaurant City, Kansas City, Orlando, Ft. The Maxwell team members are MISSY FARREN & (NYC); The Colonial Williamsburg Myers and Denver, and an interna- experts in: Generating news and Foundation; Colorado Ski Country; tional partner network, Consul, we conversation; Packaging destina- ASSOCIATES (MFA) Disneyland; Disneyland Food & serve many of the world’s premier tions and experiences; Building Beverage; Golden Horseshoe Golf travel and tourism brands. community and relationships; 33 E. 33rd Street, Suite 905 Club; Intrawest; Learn to Ski and Our public relations team has a Prompting consumer engagement New York, NY 10016 Snowboard Month; Limelight track record of developing and and strengthening loyalty; Helping 212/528-1691 Hotel; The Little Nell; The Lodge implementing award-winning, destinations speak louder, break www.mfaltd.com at Woodloch; The Mark Anthony strategic campaigns that are rooted through the clutter and integrate Group; Michelin Food & Travel; in research and insights. We are Missy Farren, Founder & CEO master storytellers and content cre- across channels to increase Agatha Capacchione, Vice Mission Hill Family Estate; overnight stays. President Montagna Restaurant; National ators. Through integrated traditional Our 15 years of award-winning Samantha Lacher, Director, Trust for Historic Preservation; and social media programs, travel and tourism client experience Travel, Culture & Design The Ritz-Carlton Hotels of New we reach our audiences where they includes Travel Oregon; York; Roadtrips Inc.; Royal live, work and play. McMenamins Pubs, Breweries and MFA is a mid-sized agency Plantation Collection; Sandestin We offer personalized, senior Historic Hotels; Argyle Winery; offering a powerful combination Golf and Beach Resort; The Spa of level service with the resources of Inn at the 5th; Travel Astoria- of customer assistance, attention Colonial Williamsburg; Squaw the larger agency in traditional and Warrenton; Tourism Walla Walla; to detail and dynamic, meaningful Valley; Steamboat; Trapp Family social consumer and trade media Portland Walking Tours; Oregon coverage and social media results. Lodge; Twin Farms; Whistler Continued on page 30 Garden; Woodland Park Zoo; Our passion for travel drives pro- Blackcomb; and more. 0

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Karen Murphy, Chairman and CEO, and Brett O’Brien, Managing Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations, AOR for Westin Hotels & Resorts, Director, of Murphy O’Brien Public Relations. “running” a wellness press trip with resident running concierge Chris Heuisler for the launch of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

MMGY GLOBAL MURPHY O’BRIEN and Wine and Vogue, to name a few, Than the Storm, created to drive as well as prestigious awards visitor traffic to the Jersey Shore 0Continued from page 29 PUBLIC RELATIONS including Hermes Creative Awards, after Hurricane Sandy, has been rec- PRWeek Awards, HSMAI Adrian ognized with top industry awards, 11444 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 600 Awards, and more. including “PR Campaign of the Los Angeles, CA 90064 In addition to creating award- Year” at the 2014 SABRE Awards, relations, corporate and brand 310/453-2539 winning campaigns that move the a PRSA Silver Anvil, and multiple positioning, partnership market- www.murphyobrien.com needle for their clients, Murphy American Business Awards. MWW ing, promotions, event market- O’Brien is consistently ranked as was also selected as 2013 “PR ing, and crisis communications. Twenty-five years ago, Karen one of the 10 Best Places To Work Agency of the Year,” by the MMGY is the author of the Murphy O’Brien and Brett by the Los Angeles Business International Business Awards, widely acclaimed Portrait of O’Brien launched Murphy O’Brien Journal. 2013 “Midsize Agency of the Year” American Travelers annual Public Relations out of a Century by the Bulldog Stars of PR Awards research study. City apartment with a single client MWW as well as 2014 “Best Places to Our PR clients include cities — the Sunset Marquis Hotel and Work in New Jersey” by NJBiz and and states, international destina- Villas. 2013 “Top Places to Work in PR” Sunset Media Center tions, hospitality brands, air- Today, in addition to its impres- by PR News. lines, iconic attractions, travel sive lifestyle and real estate clients, 6255 W. Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028 technology and services and Murphy O’Brien continues its reign 213/405-3788 NANCY J. industry associations. as a leader in travel PR, represent- [email protected] Other MMGY Global areas of ing such luxury brands as The www.mww.com FRIEDMAN PUBLIC expertise include research and Peninsula Hotels, Shutters on the insights, strategic communica- Beach, Esperanza, and Auberge Jamie Foley, Vice President RELATIONS, INC. tions planning and implementa- Resorts, among others, and tourism MWW’s Travel & Tourism prac- tion, traditional and social boards such as Nicaragua Tourism 35 East 21st Street, 8th Flr. media buying, digital/social Board. Murphy O’Brien’s cam- tice can take you anywhere you want to go. From hotels and desti- New York, NY 10010 media strategy, website devel- paigns have resulted in story place- 212/228-1500 opment and management, e- ments in national outlets such as nation marketing to airlines and Fax: 212/228-1517 CRM, and travel industry rela- “Today Show,” CNN, Conde Nast travel publishers, we’ve worked [email protected] tions. Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Food with both established and emerging www.njfpr.com brands within the travel industry. Through our strategic, award-win- 2014 brought many firsts to ning campaigns, we connect these NJFPR! The travel, hospitality and brands to consumers and key stake- lifestyle PR firm entered its 27th holders alike. year with the opening of an LA out- Our team is made up of the top post. In addition to launching the hospitality industry strategists, who Santa Monica office, the agency rely on years of deep-rooted experi- will debut Hotel Week LA™, ence in the space to create ownable which it pioneered three years ago campaigns and positioning pro- in New York. To date, Hotel Week grams that elevate brand awareness NYC™ has resulted in nearly 200 and increase traffic and bookings. million impressions and generated We have proprietary research and over $400,000 in incremental rev- MMGY Global is helping Fairﬁeld Inn & Suites connect with analysis on the travel and tourism enue for participating hotels. The Millennials by launching "Every Day Connect." The PR and social industry, which we combine with agency will follow Hotel Week media campaign offers advice on mentorship and networking as the power of the social media land- NYC and LA with Miami, Chicago ways to ignite and maintain momentum throughout their careers. scape to develop digital strategies and Washington, DC. that engage and resonate with trav- NJFPR also added a social Pictured here are the campaign's ambassadors, all of whom are fea- elers. media practice led by strategist tured in this year's Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Our recent work for Stronger Kristin Heise. The division consults

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clients on best practices and assists ed brands across a variety of travel with creating compelling online industry categories including hospi- and social media initiatives in tan- tality, tour, cruise, airline, trans- dem with the agency’s comprehen- portation, technology and destina- sive PR offerings. tions. Clients include: 66 Rockwell, Our combination of research- New York; Apple Core Hotels, based strategy, breakthrough cre- New York; Battery Maritime ativity, and flawless execution Building, New York; Borgata Hotel delivers strong media talkability Casino & Spa, Atlantic City; and business-building impact. Our Condado Vanderbilt, San Juan, work has helped clients to reach Puerto Rico; Cooperstown, New potential travelers where they work, York; Copamarina Beach Resort & live and play. Relevant travel and Spa, Guanica, Puerto Rico; Dermot tourism clients include Tourism Real Estate, New York; Farmer’s Fiji, Tourism New South Wales, Museum, Cooperstown, NY; Hilton Hotels, Tourism Australia, Fenimore Art Museum, PROEXPORT Colombia, Brazil, Quinn’s work promoting the sustainability efforts of the Waldorf Cooperstown, NY; Gansevoort Brand USA, Guinness Storehouse Astoria New York took home this year’s HSMAI Adrian Best of Show Park Avenue NYC; Gansevoort and British Airways. award for top travel PR program of the year, worldwide. Turks + Caicos; Gemma at The Bowery Hotel, New York; Hotel El PADILLACRT Convento, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Miami Beach, FL 33139 initiatives, which are recognized 786/600-3954 globally, have resulted in a number Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort 320 West 13th Street, 7th Floor Casino & Spa; Marmara Park of industry “firsts.” New York, NY 10014 Florence Quinn, President We believe there is magic to be Avenue, New York; Parker & 212/229-0500 John Frazier, Executive Vice Quinn, New York; Pier A Harbor found at the intersection of creative www.padillacrt.com President, Head of Travel Group thinking and value-driven strate- House, New York; Refinery Hotel, , Senior VP Morgan Painvin gies. Many of the world’s most rec- NYC; Rendezvous, St. Lucia; Riff Greg Tarmin, SVP and Managing Jim Lee, Senior VP, Miami Hotels, New York; Sea Island, Director, New York ognized brands believe as well. Georgia; Sheraton Hotels & Patrice Tanaka, Chief Counselor Quinn is a lifestyle public rela- That’s why companies like the and Creative Strategist tions agency with global impact. Waldorf Astoria, Guerlain Spa, Resorts; SIXTY SoHo, New York; , Vice President Spring Creek Ranch, Jackson Hole, Marcy Walsh Our disciplined, strategic approach Etihad Airways, and The Ritz WY; St. Petersburg/Clearwater, to PR has built some of the largest Carlton Residences choose Quinn. PadillaCRT is one of the top 15 audiences in the world. Florida; The Body Holiday, St. independent public relations and Lucia; The Bowery Hotel, New We develop creative strategies that RBB PUBLIC marketing firms in the country and build the reputations, tell the stories, York; The Elysian Spa & Health one of the largest employee-owned RELATIONS Club, Chicago; The Jade, NYC; and grow the businesses of lifestyle firms in the world. With nearly 200 brands around the world. With The Jane, New York; The Ludlow, employees in Minneapolis; New New York; The Maritime Hotel, offices in New York and Miami and 355 Alhambra Circle, Suite 800 York; Los Angeles; Richmond, Va; Miami, FL 33134 New York; The Marlton, NYC; The affiliates worldwide, we serve Washington, D.C.; and Norfolk, clients in Travel, Real Estate, Spa, 305/448-7450 New York Palace, New York; The Va., PadillaCRT helps national and www.rbbpr.com Pod 39 Hotel, New York; The Pod Experiences and Retail as well as regional clients articulate and Food, Wine & Spirits. Hotel, New York; The Waldorf Christine Barney, CEO achieve their purpose as a powerful We work collaboratively to Astoria Chicago; The Water Club - way to build brands, protect reputa- Lisa Ross, President & Travel develop narrative-based ideation, Practice Leader A Signature Hotel by Borgata; and tions and reach business goals. Westin Hotels & Resorts. resulting in strategies that capture Tina Elmowitz, EVP PadillaCRT’s travel and tourism the attention of today’s sophisticat- John Quinn, EVP experience includes work for the ed consumer. We integrate multiple rbb is a marketing communica- OGILVY PUBLIC Greater Houston Convention and communication channels with part- tions firm and four-time U.S. RELATIONS Visitor’s Bureau, Air New Zealand, nerships, events and ideation to pro- Cambria Suites (Choice Hotels Agency of the Year that has duce work that is highly effective Continued on page 32 International), Minneapolis St. Paul — and measurable. Our innovative 0 636 11th Avenue International Airport, the New York, NY 10036 212/880-5345 Minneapolis St. Paul Regional [email protected] Economic Development Partnership Jefferson Lines, Meet Mitch Markson, President, Minneapolis, Wyndham Hotels & Global Brand Marketing Resorts, State of Connecticut Tourism, South African Tourism Ogilvy Public Relations knows and Coasts Cruises. tourism. Our team consists of travel and tourism experts with specific strengths in the areas of consumer QUINN and brand PR, corporate communications, crisis communications and 520 8th Avenue, 21st Floor reputation management, events New York, NY 10018 management, trade marketing, part- 212/868-1900 www.quinn.pr nership and alliances, sponsorship Facebook: @WeAreQuinn Since 2007, rbb Public Relations has worked with AMResorts, a leading creation and leverage, content cre- LinkedIn: @Quinn PR brand marketing and sales company, on award-winning PR campaigns ation and development, and digital Twitter: @QuinnPR_ for its six luxury resort brands. Recent work includes a partnership with and traditional media relations. celebrity athlete Rafael Nadal (pictured at Secrets Aura Cozumel). Ogilvy PR has successfully elevat- 407 Lincoln Road, 10H

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Cars driving on the ocean? It’s the best way to get media attention for a new ship launch in cruise-ship-saturated Miami. A partnership Mummies of the World: The Exhibition, currently on view in Buffalo, with Fiat to leverage a ﬂeet of Fiat 500 Personal Watercraft helped showcases new galleries exploring the study of mummies linked to Redpoint score the cover of the Miami Herald, plus WSJ, AP, and discoveries in modern medicine, including “MUMAB” (pictured). more for client MSC Cruises. Created in 1994, MUMAB answers many mysteries concerning the techniques of ancient mummiﬁcation. Rogers & Cowan executes all media and event coordination for the nationally traveling exhibition, Brands, rbb inspires companies which has toured 9 cities and viewed by over 1 million people. RBB PUBLIC RELATIONS with insights on creating customer Continued from page 31 passion to increase sales and cus- 0 tomer loyalty. Its multicultural staff of 38 delivers award-winning creativity, media relations, strategic include the Saint Lucia Tourist tural exhibits, live shows, air- earned a reputation for continual- counsel, launch campaigns, digital Board, MSC Cruises; Woodstock lines, cruise lines, sporting ly delivering results to its clients media, content creation, reputation Inn & Resort, VT; Ripley’s Believe events and travel media. through award-winning cam- management and results/analytics. It or Not! Times Square; US Tour We create marketing commu- paigns. The agency’s hospitality In addition to travel & leisure, Operations Association; Hidden nications and social media portfolio has included national other specialty practices include Pond Resort, ME; The Tides Beach strategies that elevate a client’s and international brands across consumer products/services, Club, ME; Morey’s Piers and core messages beyond travel all travel segments ranging from health, sports & entertainment, Beachfront Waterparks: The Dylan outlets and into lifestyle media hotel chains, boutique resorts and B2B and higher education. Find Hotel, Amsterdam; Collette; through the influence of enter- destinations to airlines, cruise lines out how rbb can help your brand Montauk Blue Hotel; Water’s Edge tainment. Our distinctive and online travel agencies. break out by visiting Resort & Spa, CT; and Essex approach goes beyond core rbb is recognized for creating www.rbbpr.com or call rbb presi- Resort & Spa, VT. media relations to include desti- programs that blend creativity with dent Lisa Ross at 305/448-7457. Redpoint executives bring a nation integration into entertain- traditional and social media cam- “nose for news” to every client ment content, Facebook promo- paigns, marketing activations and REDPOINT challenge, ensuring that marketing tions, influencer seeding and affinity partnerships to boost brand ideas have just the right dash of risk outreach, special events and awareness, drive bookings and sup- MARKETING PR, to make them significantly news- social media strategies. The port clients’ business goals. INC. worthy without being operationally agency’s work has included In 2014, rbb was awarded five challenging to implement. building awareness for hotels HSMAI Adrian Awards, including and resorts through celebrity two Platinum awards, for its work 161 Avenue of the Americas ROGERS & COWAN seeding programs, introducing with Homewood Suites by Hilton, Suite 1305 new travel services in key mar- New York, NY 10013 Home2 Suites by Hilton, and 212/229-0119 8687 Melrose Avenue, 7th Floor kets through influencer events, AMResorts and its six luxury resort www.redpointpr.com Los Angeles, CA 90069 creating online content tied to brands. Recently, rbb and [email protected] Tel: 310/854-8117 entertainment properties, acti- AMResorts were also awarded the Fax: 310/854-8106 vating sponsorship of sports and Public Relations Society of Victoria Feldman de Falco, [email protected] entertainment events, managing America’s prestigious Silver Anvil Principal www.rogersandcowan.com PR for consumer-focused travel for the industry leading “Flu Free Christina Miranda, Principal shows, and driving ticket sales Guarantee” in response to the Tom Tardio, CEO for shows and exhibits, among H1N1 epidemic. Specializing in travel, hospitali- others. Recent work includes the launch ty, interior design, and home fur- Rogers & Cowan offers sig- Current / past clients include of Norwegian Cruise Line’s nishings, Redpoint is a full service nificant experience in creating Mummies the Exhibition, USA Getaway; TV show integrations marketing PR firm with an entre- and executing integrated mar- Pro Cycling Challenge, LA Times with “The Bachelor” and “Extra”; preneurial style, brand building keting, PR and social media Food & Wine Festival, LA Times promotional partnerships with expertise, and a passion for results. campaigns for clients in the trav- Travel Show, Madame Tussaud’s Jamba Juice and jetBlue; and We orchestrate compelling cam- el and tourism industries, Hollywood and Las Vegas, celebrity endorsements with paigns that integrate traditional PR including resorts and resort Bodies the Exhibition, Titanic Kourtney Kardashian, Rafael with sophisticated digital and social developers, hotel associations, the Artifact Exhibition, Etihad Nadal, and more. media marketing initiatives. government tourism offices, vis- Airlines, American Airlines, As the Champion of Breakout Select travel/hospitality clients itors bureaus, museum and cul- Canadian Tourism Commission,

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Travel Alberta, Royal Caribbean, InterContinental Hotels Group, TJM Miami Boutique Hotels, How to Train Your Dragon, Fuerza COMMUNICATIONS Bruta, Yo Gabba Gabba Live!, The Seaport and the Rock N Roll 2441 West SR 426, #1061 Hall of Fame. Oviedo, FL 32765 407/977-5004 Fax: 407/977-5009 SPRING O’BRIEN [email protected] www.tjmcommunications.com 30 West 26th Street, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10010 Treva J. Marshall, President 212/620-7100 [email protected] TJM Communications is an award-winning boutique lifestyle Chris Spring, President , Senior VP public relations firm specializing in Lauren Kaufman travel, food, wine and the arts. Since 2001, the agency has serv- Spring O’Brien is an award- iced international and domestic Spring O’Brien was first to launch a Digital Detox campaign, encour- winning, full-service marketing clients from its Orlando, Florida communications agency spe- location and is a proud recipient of aging consumers to unplug and escape their everyday technological cializing in travel and hospitali- the Hospitality Sales and dependencies in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, garnering the des- ty PR for over three decades. Marketing International (HSMAI) tination +50 million media impressions in the first year of the North We have successfully represent- Silver Adrian Award for Public America campaign. ed new and established compa- Relations. As a boutique agency, nies across every segment of the we focus on delivering personal- travel industry including ized service with an emphasis on agency specializing in media South America. Founded in tourism boards, cruise lines, air- innovation, creativity and strategy. relations, brand collaborations, 1997, we live and breathe our lines, railways, hotels, resorts, Comprised of a team of sea- influencer programming, social clients’ cultures and deliver tour operators, websites, associ- soned communications profession- media and digital communica- meaningful results from our ations, and credit card compa- als, we are especially proud of the tions, representing some of the deep industry relationships with nies. diverse nature of our company, world’s best hotels, resorts, des- journalists and influencers. What sets us apart is our abil- with staff members representing tinations and brands. Our two Our dedicated 360 approach ity to make a Visible Difference origins from around the globe. specialty divisions are travel, to delivering integrated social for clients, uniquely achieving a TJM Communications has been tourism & real estate and active media, digital and PR campaigns competitive edge with integrat- called upon to service clients in lifestyle, outdoor & fashion continues to deliver bottom-line ed solutions, developing cus- Spain, South Africa, Canada and brands. We represent all of the results for our clients through tomized public relations, social throughout the United States. We places you’d like to go, and the powerful media exposure, influ- media and branding campaigns, have represented domestic and items you’d pack for your encer followings and consumer as well as digital marketing and international destinations, hotels adventures. engagement. We are a relation- travel trade programs. We con- and major tourism entities. Our We have two U.S. offices in ship agency, acting as in-house sistently achieve high visibility travel practice currently includes New York and Denver to best support for our clients, and we broadcast, print and online cov- clients such as: Walt Disney World service our worldwide clients are proud of our culture — we erage to catapult client brands Swan and Dolphin Resort, based in the U.S., Canada, work hard, we get results and we beyond the fray. We pride our- Westgate River Ranch Resort, Mexico, Europe, Caribbean and give back to our communities. selves on our inventive along with other noted hotels, approach to partnerships, pro- resorts and tourist attractions. motions, package and product Find us on Facebook at development, rebranding, spe- www.facebook.com/TJMCommun cial events and strategic coun- icationsInc. sel. Spring O’Brien offers the flexibility and hands-on TURNER PR approach and nimble, fast turn- around of a smaller agency with A wholly owned, independent the specialist resources and subsidiary of Fahlgren Mortine expertise to achieve big results. The agency has created an 250 West 39th St. #1602 Asia Division to handle the New York, NY 10018 China National Tourist Office, 212/889-1700 regional tourist boards and in- country travel related clients. 1614 15th St., 4th Floor Denver, CO 80202 303/333-1402 The August issue of O’Dwyer’s will profile PR firms that specialize in investor relations Christine Turner, Founder & and professional services. If you would like President your firm to be listed in the August maga- Mariana DiMartino, Senior VP zine’s profile section, contact Editor Jon Angela Berardino, Vice President, Gingerich at 646/843-2080 or Travel and Digital Christine Turner and Turner PR’s Colorado team celebrates a new [email protected] Turner PR is a creative office space earlier this year, in Denver’s hot LoDo neighborhood.

ADVERTISING SECTION 3 JULY 2014 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 33 Julymagazine_Layout 1 7/1/14 11:26 AM Page 34

PROFILES OF TRAVEL & TOURISM PR FIRMS

Aruba takes over Super Bowl as the title sponsor of the top celebrity gift lounge, ﬂocked by celebrities including Terrell Owens, Deion Sanders, Peter Facinelli and Tom Arnold. Aruba is a Zimmerman client.

ness, Geoffrey Weill Associates, a New York-based boutique THE ZIMMERMAN company specializing in upscale travel, tourism and cultural AGENCY clients, has developed a reputa- Nestor Lara-Baeza, Weill President Geoffrey Weill, and Ann- tion for creativity, originality, 1821 Miccosukee Commons Rebecca Laschever accept HSMAI Awards in February. and honesty. WEILL is con- Tallahassee, FL 32308 stantly pursuing ways to show- 850/668-2222 case its clients in new and inter- www.zimmerman.com as creative directors, more than esting ways, including through , President WEBER 600 digital and social media spe- television, blogging press trips Carrie Zimmerman cialists, digital and video produc- SHANDWICK and elaborate fashion and cata- The Zimmerman Agency blends tion experts, and other specialists. log shoots at its properties that bold basics and endless energy Our Travel & Lifestyle practice highlight the luxury travel with strategic creativity to capture 909 3rd Avenue operates like a boutique agency angle. revenue-driving results. Ranked by New York, NY 10022 with all the attention and account- WEILL also integrates food www.webershandwick.com O’Dwyer’s as one of the largest ability that might imply, but also and wine, showcasing its prop- two hospitality public relations gives us the resources to continue erties with celebrity and firms in the United States, the Alice Diaz, Executive Vice to evolve our approach to market- President, Travel Michelin-starred chefs, promot- agency maintains its leadership ing communications for travel ing recipes and cookbooks from position with a platform combin- The Weber Shandwick Travel clients in a vastly changed media its clients and featuring the ing its public relations division & Lifestyle practice is the leading marketplace. We work hard to not world-class wines produced at with its robust 40-person in-house specialist in travel and tourism just know our clients, but to part- Castiglion del Bosco, Tuscany; digital/social discipline. public relations. If you watch ner with them in creating strate- Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado; Global hospitality clients “GMA,” “Jimmy Kimmel,” read gic programs that deliver against and Bouchard Finlayson, Red include everything from Hard USA Today, TIME, Travel + business goals. We inspire. We Carnation’s vineyard in South Rock Hotels & Casino (nine coun- Leisure, Popular Mechanics or incite. We shape ideas to move Africa. tries) to Club Med (seven coun- the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit travel and lifestyle companies The company prides itself on tries), award-winning resorts like Issue, you’ve probably seen our and organizations forward. We the longevity of both its staff Little Palm Island in the Florida work on behalf of many of the get people thinking and acting in and clients, with some clients Keys, Waikoloa in Hawaii and world’s most respected brands. If new ways so they connect with being with the company for 8, Casa de Campo in the Dominican interesting content has found you and advocate for your brand. 12, and 17 years, and staff mem- Republic, as well as destinations while you were reading about bers with an average stay of 10 like North Carolina’s Southern your lifestyle passions — food, WEILL years. Outer Banks and the country of wine, fitness — you’ve probably WEILL continues to expand Aruba. seen our work as well. 27 West 24th St its luxury portfolio. Its newest Its newly-energized consumer At Weber Shandwick, we have New York, NY 10010 clients include Hotel Regina brand division touts national built a culture of “tomorrowists,” 212/288-1144 Isabella on the Italian island of brands including Party City, Pilot a collaborative group of col- Toll free: 866/PR-WEILL Ischia; the legendary Hotel Pens, Cooper Tire, Firehouse Subs, leagues who are energized by cre- Fax: 212/288-5855 d’Angleterre in Copenhagen; Homes.com, Nature’s Own® and www.geoffreyweill.com ating award-winning, pride-earn- The High Line Hotel in New TPC. ing, success-driven work for our Geoffrey Weill, President York City, and The Milestone in The Zimmerman Agency clients and leading the industry in Ann-Rebecca Laschever, Exec. VP London — WEILL’s second in WOW! platform of planning has bold new directions. To comple- Tania Philip, Sr. VP the Red Carnation Collection. proven to be a magnet for some ment our deep travel and tourism Mark Liebermann, VP In June 2014, WEILL signed on of America’s most iconic brands, expertise, the agency has invested the iconic One & Only hotel in and out of the world of hospi- in a diverse range of talent such During its 19 years in busi- group. tality. £

34 JULY 2014 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 4 ADVERTISING SECTION Julymagazine_Layout 1 7/1/14 11:26 AM Page 35 O’DWYER’S RANKINGS TOP TRAVEL AND TOURISM PR FIRMS

1. Edelman New York $20,530,219 2. Zimmerman Agency Tallahassee 8,589,200 3. Finn Partners New York 6,274,591 4. Lou Hammond & Associates New York 6,069,296 5. Turner PR (Fahlgren Mortine) Columbus 4,531,168 6. Development Counsellors Int’l New York 4,392,417 7. APCO Worldwide Wash., D.C 3,494,418 8. Nancy J. Friedman PR New York 3,332,806 9. J Public Relations New York 2,432,570 10. Zeno Group New York 2,407,133 11. MWW New York 2,250,000 12. French | West | Vaughan Raleigh, NC 2,117,000 13. Allison+Partners San Francisco 2,000,000 14. Jackson Spalding Atlanta 1,464,355 15. 5W Public Relations New York 1,400,000 16. rbb Public Relations Miami 1,027,000 17. Coyne PR Parsippany, NJ 833,000 18. BLAZE Santa Monica 795,351 19. PadillaCRT Minneapolis 650,486 20. Maxwell PR + Engagement Portland. OR 426,643 21. LANE Portland, OR 353,788 22. Seigenthaler Public Relations Nashville 281,637 23. McNeely Pigott & Fox PR Nashville 259,053 24. LEVICK Wash., D.C. 216,464 25. Linhart Public Relations Denver 150,975 26. Formula PR New York 134,614 27. Bridge Global Strategies New York 130,483 28. Schneider Associates Boston 122,500 29. The Buzz Agency Delray Beach, FL 109,114 30. Gregory FCA Ardmore, PA 95,000 31. Standing Partnership St. Louis 85,051 32. Landis Communications San Francisco 75,000 33. Hope-Beckham Atlanta 42,040

OPINION Professional Development Obama’s real Bergdahl problem: tone deaf PR By Fraser Seitel deserter, an anti-American, or a jihadist. Inappropriate rhetoric But the Obama team certainly did know As any first-year PR student knows, resident Obama is in hot water for his that Bergdahl was a kook, with a free-spirit everything at a press conference needs to be prisoner swap to secure the freedom background and a questionable history as a scripted — the speeches, the staging, the Pof Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from the soldier. They knew about the instances of answers to questions; everything must be Taliban. his going AWOL, including his disappear- rehearsed. That way, you can keep the sur- What Obama did — working to free an ance in Afghanistan (why he was automati- prises to a minimum. And if there’s any- imprisoned American solider — was the cally promoted — twice! — in captivity, thing a PR professional finds abhorrent, it’s right thing. What was wrong was the PR despite his military record, is another good “surprises.” surrounding Bergdahl’s release. question). Nonetheless, the Obama team presum- In fact, what has been wrong with the The point is the Obama Administration ably had no time for rehearsals. The Obama administration almost from the start knew, in advance, that Bergdahl was a con- Bergdahls, in D.C. to attend rallies for their is its amateurish, troversial character, who would clearly son, were notified late and whisked to the tone-deaf PR. Indeed, attract detractors when his record became White House to share spontaneously in the it may prove to be an public knowledge. In addition, there were good news. And so at the Rose Garden Achilles’ heel in the five real nasty jihadists being released in soiree, when the hirsute Bergdahl ensuring the legacy exchange. Certainly, their release would approached the podium, he chose the of a mediocre presi- also provoke instant outrage. phrase, “In the name of God, the merciful, dency. Time and PR 101, therefore, called for reviewing the compassionate,” to welcome back his again — from health- the “worst case scenario” and realizing that son. Nothing surprising about that. care to IRS, from what was called for, in light of all these But what was surprising is that he chose Benghazi to the VA potential land mines, was a low-key to say it in Pashtu, also known as Afghani, Fraser P. Seitel has scandal — the announcement, preferably via written state- because he felt his son might have difficul- been a communications Obama team has ment from the White House, to be back- ty after five years in captivity of under- consultant, author and failed to assess accu- stopped by a ready standby plan to defend standing English. Accordingly, Bergdahl teacher for 30 years. He is the author of the rately the fallout the decision. looked into the cameras and intoned the Prentice-Hall text, The resulting from inferi- Instead, the Obama PR brain trust organ- phrase, “bismillah al-Rahman al Rahim,” Practice of Public or PR. The Bergdahl ized a high profile, unprecedented Saturday which turns out to be a major pillar of Relations. case is the latest stun- morning Rose Garden media extravaganza, Islam, featured prominently in the Koran. ning example. with the President in the spotlight to bask in It’s a wonder how anyone with the least In the first place, as The New York the glow of his bold and courageous action. bit of PR-consciousness could have permit- Times’ often head-scratching columnist Disastrous photo op ted such a statement at such an event. David Brooks correctly concluded, Our 21st century, dumbed-down society Out-of-control agenda “President Obama did the right thing.” is dominated by pictures. It shouldn’t be In any PR opportunity or crisis, the key is Bergdahl, whatever his motives, was an like that, but it is. When we see the to control the agenda. Leaks of negative American soldier and somebody’s son. In disheveled mug shot or the scowling face, information must be anticipated and pre- respect of his service and sacrifice, we draw hard and lasting conclusions. A empted, either with clear advance state- Bergdahl’s country — and its citizens — picture is worth a thousand tweets. ments or strong responses. In the Bergdahl owed him and his parents their best efforts And so when Bergdahl’s father, Bob, case — where all the negatives were appar- to free him from captivity. Period. showed up at the White House, looking like ently well known in advance — the White That Obama, in the face of obvious, a member of ZZ Top, it didn’t take an House corkscrewed itself into the no-win imminent criticism — in light of both Edward Bernays to realize that daddy’s position of being immediately on defense. Bergdahl’s checkered service experience long beard would dominate the coverage. Why wasn’t Congress contacted? and the five terrorists for whom he was The always subtle Bill O’Reilly thundered Why did we have to free those five par- traded — still had the courage to make the that he “looked like a Muslim.” ticularly bad dudes? deal is a credit to him and to the ideals for Predictably, what followed for the Why did we choose to liberate this which the Presidency should stand. Sawtooth, Idaho mountain man /UPS driv- American captive and not others? So, despite the self-righteous sniping of er was a rigorous scrutiny of his own histo- And so here we are. The questions and the McCain-inspired Monday Morning ry, past actions and statements. Equally pre- defensiveness continues, with the President Quarterbacks, the President did the right dictably, what the truth-seekers found was alternately apologizing and then standing thing in ensuring the soldier’s freedom. that since his son’s capture, the senior by the decision and then back-tracking, as What he didn’t get right was the Bergdahl had immersed himself in Islam, the agenda slips further from the White announcement of Bergdahl’s release. The had made a three-minute video for the House’s grasp. Traditionally, Presidents PR handling of the Bergdahl announcement Pakistani government, and had thanked the have used the White House PR bully pulpit, was but the latest indication of the Obama Taliban for taking care of his son. in tight situations, to convert skeptics to team’s naiveté at best, stupidity at worst, in What was most predictable from this converts. In the Obama Administration — terms of basic PR. Here were their most flood of incriminating information about as the botched Bergdahl liberation demon- egregious screw-ups in Bergdahl’s release. the elder Bergdahl was that it would imme- strates — the considerable White House PR Poor planning diately launch a national backlash against apparatus has too often been used to con- We still don’t know if Bergdahl was a the release of his son. vert lemonade into lemons. £

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Financial Management Report card on PR agency profitability By Richard Goldstein industry standards; tors listed above. Their bonuses were • Inaccurate or no time keeping; based on their ability to meet profit goals. ack in 2013 I wrote a series of • No records of individual client prof- The COO of an East Coast firm wants to columns on managing for prosper- itability; or install a disciplined approach to profit Bity in 2014 and beyond. In fact I • Over-servicing clients which can generation. He would also like to speak to wrote about this topic in 2012 for 2013. usually be pinned on either improper clients he is convinced are not carrying So how did the PR agency world do? budgeting or good intentions leading to their weight. He does not really know GouldPartners published its 2014 Best more time invested in the client’s behalf how to go about this because the firm Practicing Report which gives insight than he or she is paying for. And which, does not track staff time or individual into the profitability of the PR agency in turn, leads to one of the most profit- client profitability. He is also held back business. pruning actions of all — write-offs. because of “internal political issues;” i.e., Bottom line profitability All of these factors are inexorably the CEO/owner won’t make a move to As many of you know who follow my roped together in determining the health adjust how much clients pay for fear of column, it seems to of your bottom line. Putting it differently: upsetting them. me the agency stan- if you ignore or mishandle just one of the It is perfectly okay if you are satisfied dard benchmark for above factors, it will show in an unhappy with single digit profits or below 20% bottom line prof- way on your P&L statement. profitability. It is perfectly okay if you do itability is 20% of Discipline not mind working as hard as you can and pre-tax adjusted prof- There is also another personal factor taking home as little as you do. It is per- it (profit with that impacts on how well you avoid the fectly okay if you have high staff “excess” compensa- above profit traps. It is called “disci- turnover because you cannot afford to tion and perks sub- pline.” It is easy to avoid paying attention match competitive salaries or provide Richard Goldstein tracted that may be to the economic fortunes of your business good benefits. It is perfectly okay if you is a partner at taken by agency prin- by convincing yourself that you are too want to hand clients a lot of staff time Buchbinder Tunick & ciples). 20% will busy taking care of your clients. Chances they do not pay for. They will love you Company LLP, New keep you working are, the real reason your operating profit for it — and continue dumping on you. York, Certified Public More next month, but first ... Accountants. hard but not make is terrible is because you spend more time you rich. The goal being an account executive than a busi- First, there is an overemphasis on rev- should really be 33% ness manager. You just do not have the enue per staff. Personally, I ignore this but 25% would be a good start. discipline to focus on what is really because I do not know the employee So how did the agency business do? wrong with your profits. makeup or what they earn. Revenue per Without getting into regions or type of Examples of poor business discipline professional account personnel is a much PR, 115 agencies that reported their A very large agency was making about better indicator. The trend was slightly up results by size had an average profitabili- four percent on a lot of income because according to Gould. Last year the average ty in 2013 of 15.8%. The highest percent- the chairman had carried a legacy of dis- for all firms reporting was $209,945. age by size reported was the $10 million dain for time-keeping and other business Firms with Net Revenues in excess of to $25 million range of 18.6%. The management functions from his time at $25 Million averaged $210,539. Firms in region of the country reporting the high- an international firm. However, reality set D.C averaged $240,638. £ est percentage was the Southeast at in after a few years of high growth and 18.5% (Note that 11 Canadian forms low profits. The agency recruited a big reporting reported average profitability of time CFO; spent a bundle on a very good PR news briefs 20%.). I would have expected higher accounting and time-keeping software across the board. package; imposed time-keeping and ICR aids Everyday Health The Medicine for Low Profitability budgeting discipline on its staff; and will in WebMD suit Frankly, there are many prescriptions be in double digit profits on track for Everyday Health, the publicly traded digital being sold for high profitability. Do they much better numbers in future years. health media company, is relying on ICR for its PR work? I guess they do if you feel that less The partners of a small but growing and IR defense as it faces a trademark infringe- than 20% profitability is the goal. ment and false advertising suit from rival WebMD. firm claimed they were entrepreneurs, not WedMD Health Corp. filed the suit on June 19 Al Croft, way back in the year 2000, good business managers. They used that in federal court in New York, seeking a permanent put forth one of his “medicines” to high- as an excuse to let employees pretty much injunction and claiming EH uses the WebMD trade- er profitability. He said “Pay Attention To dictate how much business was being mark on web pages, search adverting to “deceive The Basics.” run. Result: single digit profits and and mislead consumers” into believing they are visiting WebMD properties. Al’s view was then, and it is my view employee complaints about low salaries EH contends the claims are without merit and today, that low profitability (Dismal and weak benefits. Wake-up time: a new related to “only a small portion of the company’s Results as he put it) are usually caused by web-based time keeping system is on search engine marketing efforts” and a “very management not paying attention to one line, account managers have been given immaterial” part of its traffic and revenue. or more or all of some very basic eco- ICR managing Directors Denise Garcia and Bo responsibility for both client service and Park are advising and providing media and investor nomic facts: profit. They were also given all the relations services for EH. The firm was hired to • Hourly rates are too low; agency data they need to manage their handle EH’s $100 million IPO in March. • Staff utilization rates that are below accounts in line with the economic fac-

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OPINION Guest Column Renegotiating paid PR editing on Wikipedia By Gregory Kohs point of view. missive approach that embedded Whether this constituted a controversy Wikipedians take to assisting PR firms, this t’s been a momentous month on or not was debated for the next couple of new PR pledge bodes a lot of pain and suf- Wikipedia, for those following the end- weeks on Wikipedia, where thousands of fering for clients who will just have to sit Iless battle over encyclopedia content words were typed, many protesting how I through long periods of inaccurate informa- that is generated by public relations profes- had been banned without any cause com- tion, incomplete data, and even outright sionals. municated to me. O’Dwyer’s covered that defamation residing on their Wikipedia arti- Essentially, this is a content war that fiasco on its website. cle pages. engages three combatants: (1) experienced Hypocrisy at the New York Law School? Wikimedia Foundation ratchets up rules Wikipedia editors One British scholar of medieval philoso- On June 16, the Wikimedia Foundation who have limited or phy was so offended by WikiConference imposed a new Terms of Use on all writers no real-world creden- USA’s opaquely discriminatory attendance of Wikipedia and its sister projects. Editors tials and therefore policy, he wrote a letter to the head of New who receive payment for helping to grow hide behind pseudo- York Law School, Anthony Crowell. Wikipedia must “… disclose your employ- nyms, (2) noteworthy Crowell responded within hours, saying: er, client, and affiliation with respect to any and accomplished “…this conference was organized by an contribution for which you receive, or individuals and cor- independent organization ... we had no expect to receive, compensation.” porations who have control or supervision in setting or imple- Many have already disobeyed this new Gregory Kohs is limited or no experi- menting the decision making policies and rule. For example, a gigantic edit was made Founder of MyWikiBiz. ence editing processes regarding acceptances and rejec- to the Wikipedia article about the Wikipedia, and (3) tions for participation. We also had no Association of State Green Parties, by paid PR consultants power over those individuals who did.” Wikipedia user “Mfeinstein.” It’s possible and employees whose Wikipedia-editing But the WikiConference USA’s that this is Mike Feinstein, Founding Editor talent can range from pristine to sloppy. Conference Director, Jennifer Baek, is a of Green Pages. Mfeinstein has issued no Lording over it all from a distance, and Legal Fellow at the New York Law School, disclosure statement, and he’s been editing collecting his five-figure speaking fees where she received her Juris Doctor in with this apparent conflict of interest on from whoever will pay them, is Wikipedia 2013. And when you try to find out more Wikipedia since June 2007. Co-Founder Jimmy Wales. about Anthony Crowell, you might arrive A new article about Logan LaHive, the In June, a consortium of 11 PR firms on his biography on Wikipedia. It was CEO of the Belly loyalty program, was cre- announced they’ll cease directly editing authored by Wikipedia editor “Ajuncos.” ated in June by Wikipedia user Wikipedia articles about their clients. Andrea Juncos is the Communications “AlexandraHuber.” Alexandra Huber is the Then, the Wikimedia Foundation imposed Director of New York Law School. PRmanager at Belly. a new policy that forces editors paid for Ajuncos has edited Wikipedia frequently Finally, there was a hilarious edit in June their Wikipedia work to disclose their about New York Law School and about by someone who almost certainly works for employer and clientele. But first, a little Carole Post, the law school’s Chief Arthur J. Gallagher & Company. User background on this brewing storm. Strategy Officer. “Belle624” has never edited anything but Banned from speaking or showing up So, the New York Law School hasn’t Wikipedia’s article about Arthur J. I’m the founder of the first service that been abiding by Wikipedia’s guidelines Gallagher. After the new Terms of Use went offers Wikipedia content management in against editing where one has a topical into effect, this user modified the Wikipedia exchange for payment. I launched conflict of interest. page to include a section about Gallagher’s MyWikiBiz in July 2006. By October of PR firms release preemptive bomb “recognition & awards,” including that year, Wikipedia head Jimmy Wales On Tuesday, June 10, with considerable Gallagher being named one of the World’s pronounced that being paid to edit fanfare several large PR firms issued a joint Most Ethical Companies by Wikipedia was “unethical,” even though statement, promising that they will “act in Ethisphere.com. The edit becomes amusing Wikipedia still endorses a “Reward Board” accordance with Wikipedia’s policies and when you consider that Gallagher is listed where cash is traded for editing. guidelines, particularly those related to con- by the Wikimedia Foundation as a donor of When chapters of the Wikimedia move- flict of interest” and “abide by the between $5,000 and $24,999 to the founda- ment decided to hold a WikiConference Wikimedia Foundation’s Terms of tion. And according to the Wikimedia USA at the New York Law School, I regis- Service.” Foundation logs, employees of Arthur J. tered to attend. I even offered to deliver a Essentially this means that the firms Gallagher visited the Wikimedia presentation about my experiences with (which included Ogilvy, FleishmanHillard, Foundation headquarters in October 2013 paid editing on Wikipedia. Not only was Burson-Marsteller, Ketchum, Porter and again in December 2013. my talk rejected, eighteen hours before the Novelli, and Edelman) will shun editing the As a matter of practice, many corporate conference began I received an e-mail from Wikipedia pages about their clients and PR folks don’t have a good grasp of what a New York lawyer telling me that I was only engage other Wikipedia editors on the constitutes acceptable Wikipedia content, forbidden to attend the conference as an “Talk” pages of articles, in hopes that one of and certainly most are completely unfamil- observer. No formal reason has ever been those pseudonymous “neutral” editors will iar with Wikipedia’s new Terms of Use given for this censorship, yet the confer- come along and make the requested placing restrictions on PR editors. ence was advertised as “open” and wel- changes to article pages. Don’t hold your breath for Jimmy Wales coming even to those with a “skeptical” Given the notoriously slow and often dis- to admonish his top financial donors. £

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PEOPLE IN PR Kelley held posts at Yahoo, Martha a “media relations powerhouse who also Cohn & Wolfe Co- Stewart Living Omnimedia and USA brings great perspective and experience Today, where she rose from Intern to working with a range of top consumer Founder dies at 87 Senior VP-advertising and part of the brands.” £ team that put the daily in hotels through- orman Wolfe, Co-Founder of out the US. Ogilvy snags social Cohn & Wolfe with Bob Cohn, She starts at Bloomberg on Sept. 1. £ Ndied June 2. standout The former Executive Editor of the Edelman expands Orlando Sentinel gilvy’s Washington office has launched the con- financial savvy added Tony Silva as Executive sumer-oriented OVP/group Director for its Social shop in Atlanta in delman has added David Ryan, a Marketing practice. 1970. He directed financial communications pro, to its He takes over for Jennifer Wayman, PA and crisis com- ECorporate Practice in Toronto. who was upped to Managing Director of munications before As Senior VP, he will build out the the US social group. selling the shop to firm’s financial communications practice. Silva served at ICF International for Young & Rubicam His capital market savvy includes more than a decade, rising to the Senior in 1984. Wolfe takeovers, proxy fights, disclosure, VP slot. Wolfe retired in restructurings and going-private transac- He has public diplomacy savvy 1992, but continued tions. gleaned from work for the State Dept.’s to counsel some key accounts. Ryan has worked for Karyo “US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Donna Imperato, current leader of Communications (Vancouver), Colour Cancer Awareness and Research,” which C&W, called Wolfe a “visionary leader” (Halifax) and Longview included input from the First Lady, for- who with Cohn had the “foresight Communications (Toronto). eign politicos and corporate/NGO part- and determination to imagine a public He handled CNOOC Ltd’s Nexen nerships. relations agency unlike any other.” £ acquisition, Accelero Capital’s bid for Rob Mathias, North America CEO, Allstream, Maple Leaf Food’s effort to praised Silva’s skills in “sustainability fend off West Face Capital and Placer communications and behavior change IPG’s Kelley to Dome’s transactions with Barrick Gold. related to energy, environment and health Bloomberg Media COO Scott Thompson heads Edelman’s augments.” £ Canadian corporate practice. £ nterpublic’s Jacki Kelley was named Borges brings in COO/media at Bloomberg Media in Youth marketing wiz Icharge of business operations for TV, Access’ Young in SF print, radio, mobile, digital and event lands at MWW platforms and creating new marketing ichael Young, Senior VP at opportunities. heena Stephens, who helped put Access Communications, has Reporting to Razor USA scooter company on Mmoved to Miami-based tech CEO Justin Smith, Sthe map as PR/social media direc- firm Max Borges Agency as an Executive Kelley’s focus is on tor, is now at MWW’s Los Angeles VP in its new San Francisco outpost. driving revenue office. Young, who will split time between growth, spurring As VP in its con- Miami and the Bay Area, spent nine years brand strength and sumer lifestyle mar- at Access, part of creating new marketing practice, Omnnicom’s keting opportuni- Stephens will guide Ketchum, leading ties. the independent its enterprise tech She leaves the Kelley firm’s programs tar- and b2b practice helm of IPG geting youth and and playing a key MediaBrands North America and as family segments. role in business Global Clients President. Prior to a more development. He Kelley was in charge of purchasing $36 than decade stint at Stephens was a Partner in billion in media buys for clients such as Razor, Stephens consulting group Young Sony, ExxonMobil and BMW. was director of con- Agency Analytics Most recently, she helped guide the sumer lifestyle at Carryon for two years in IPG team that notched Microsoft’s global Communication, handling Got Milk?, Chicago after VP and SVP stints at Porter creative and deployment work. Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Novelli, Ketchum and Tech Image. Smith said Kelley’s hire is a “coup for Bureau and Nature Made Vitamins. “I have the utmost respect for our organization and important talent Earlier, she held PR slots Ritz-Carlton Michael’s experience, leadership abilities milestone.” She’s a “force of nature, a Hotel (Marina del Rey) and the Regal and accomplishments, and I look forward perfect mix of shrewd business acumen Biltmore Hotel (LA). to working with him to build our busi- and creativity with a clear track record of JP Schuerman, MWW’s executive ness,” said Founder and CEO Max success,” he said in a statement. VP/western region GM, called Stephens Borges, to whom Young reports. £

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WASHINGTON REPORT Koch Industries to add new D.C. communications director

att Lloyd, who stepped down as Chief of Staff to Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) in May, is slated to join MKoch Industries as a Washington-based Communications Director. The hire — first reported by Politico — comes as Koch launches a new image campaign touting its “heartland” roots. This week the industrial conglomerate also announced a $25 million grant to the United Negro College Fund. Wichita, Kan.-based Koch in January hired Burson- Marsteller and Edelman veteran Steve Lombardo as Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, working out of Washington and Wichita. Another Burson alum, Robert Tappan, to speak for top tech companies like Amazon, Uber, Google, directs external relations for politically active company’s pub- Airbnb and Facebook. lic sector operations in Washington. TIA was set up in 2012 to handle lobbying and PR for sec- Lloyd spent the past year as Chief Communications and tor in the capital. Theran heads the group’s communications Policy Advisor to Stutzman. He was previously “as Internet companies look to engage the public and poli- Communications Director during a decade on the staff of Rep. cymakers on issues important to our industry,” said CEO Mike Pence (R-IN), who is now Governor of Indiana. He Michael Beckerman. worked in the US Dept. of Agriculture press office during the Theran worked PR for the former Private Equity Council Bush administration and started out on the Hill as Press and picked up a Silver Anvil Award through the industry’s Secretary to Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Rick Hill (R-MT). 2011-2 turn in the spotlight amid Bain Capital founder Mitt Koch’s public sector business on June 9 enlisted former Romney’s presidential campaign. Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles for lobbying on campaign finance £ He was previously with Rasky Baerlein Strategic and repeal of the wind energy production credit. Communications in DC. In recent months, TIA has pushed Virginia to revoke a ban Sands plays hand with Keelon on taxi and ridesharing services Uber and Lyft, advocated for patent reform at the federal level. It handed out its first in online gambling play Congressional Internet Freedom Awards in February to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). £

heldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. has hired Keelon Group to monitor federal policy toward online Akin Gump flaps for Amazon’s Sgaming. The 80-year-old billionaire and top contributor to the air-package dream Republican party says he’s morally opposed to Internet gambling, a position that runs counter to the stance of Las Vegas kin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is working to make casino owners. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ dream of delivering packages During June’s annual shareholders meeting, Adelson made the Aby air a reality. business case against online betting when he told investors: Amazon Prime Air “Once the employment of land-based casinos is done away with is using Akin Gump by Internet casinos, they can’t be replaced.” for “federal advocacy Matt Keelon is a Republican operative who has worked on with regard and testing Congressional campaigns for Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan and South of unmanned aerial Carolina’s Jim DeMint, who now heads the Heritage vehicles in the US.” Foundation. The Seattle electron- He has appeared on “Fox and Friends,” “Rush Limbaugh ic commerce giant Show” and “The Kudlow Report.” believes putting Prime Frank McCarthy, Aide to former Republican Congresswoman Air into commercial Sue Kennedy, joins Keelon on the Sands account. £ use will take a number of years to advance technology and line up the required Federal Aviation D.C. trade group for Internet Administration rules and regulations. It hopes Prime Air will take off in 2015 to provide customers companies plugs in Theran with package delivery in 30 minutes of less. Greg Walden, one-time chief counsel at the FAA; Ed Pagano, oah Theran, who directed communications for the ex-aide to Sen. Pat Leahy, and Michael Drobac, former legisla- Private Equity Growth Capital Council, has plugged tive director for Sen. Norm Coleman, are members of AK’s Ninto The Internet Association in Washington, D.C., Amazon crew. £

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International PR News

Turkey taps Alpaytac for PR tract. It targets the US government, donor/philanthropic communities, NGOs and media. urkey’s D.C. embassy has lined up Chicago’s Alpaytac The one-year contract is worth fees of $240,000. for a one-year contract pegged at $1.4 million for PR and Kir and rival politico Riek Machar met this month to negoti- Tcommunications services. ate a truce, but are now boycotting the talks. Thousands have Huma Gruaz, Turkey’s former national swimming champion, been killed and 1.3 million people have been displaced since member of its national team and ex-President of Turkish the outbreak began in December. American Cultural Alliance, launched the Windy City shop in South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011, 2004 after 15 years in marketing/PR. which makes it the world’s youngest nation. £ She began a communications career at Ogilvy & Mather, where she counseled Shell Oil, Unilever, Hoover, Spice Islands Sanitas reps Afghanistan’s and Philips Electronics. Under the contract, Alpaytac is required to maintain a presidential hopeful Washington office staffed by a PR-savvy Turkish speaker who understands the political dynamics between Turkey and the US. anitas International is repping Abdullah Abdullah, the Bi-monthly meetings between the two parties are required, as leading candidate to succeed Hamid Karzai as president well as monthly activity reports. Sof Afghanistan. The Embassy must approve the dissemination of all PR The D.C. shop is backing the “free and fair” advocacy cam- information and materials released on its behalf. It acknowl- paign designed to promote a secure and transparent election. edges that “pre-approved information and materials released by That fairness goal took a major hit blow following allegations Alpaytac on its behalf may be changed and edited at the discre- of fraud raised by Abdullah. He believes voter turnout in the tion of broadcasters and publishers in a way that may render second round of election on June 14 was inflated in areas, where information less accurate,” according to the pact. his rival Ashraf Ghani enjoys strong support. The contract runs through May 12, 2015. Either party may ax On Jun 18, Abdullah charged Ghani and Karzai of committing £ the pact after Nov. 12 with 30-days of advance notice. “industrial scale” voter fraud. He demands an end to the count. Abdullah, a doctor and former Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, also claims that a number of his observers were KRL boosts embattled S. Sudan intimidated and roughed up by political opponents. He beat Ghani by a 45 to 32 percent margin in the April vote. Rival can- RL International is working Washington to boost the pro- didates withdrew from the race following that tally and file of embattled South Sudan, which has suffered six endorsed Abdullah. Kmonths of bloodshed during battles between forces loyal Pitched as Afghanistan’s first democratic vote in the history, to the country’s president and VP. the election is key to continued western support for Riva Levinson’s firm’s advocacy program supports efforts to Afghanistan. “consolidate peace, reconciliation and the development priori- Karzai, who is term-limited, was scheduled to hand over ties” of President Salva Kir’s government, according to its con- power to his successor on Aug. 2. £ FARA News ¸ NEW FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION ACT FILINGS Below is a list of select companies that have registered with the U.S. Department of Justice, FARA Registration Unit, Washington, D.C., in order to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, regarding their consulting and communications work on behalf of foreign principals, including governments, political parties, organizations, and individuals. For a complete list of filings, visit www.fara.gov.

Madison Group, LLC, Washington, D.C., registered June 10, 2014 for Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka, for assisting the Ministry of External Affairs with creating situational awareness of current affairs in Sri Lanka.

Prime Policy Group, New York, NY, registered May 25, 2014 for All Progressives Congress Party through Delano Family and Burson-Marsteller, Abuja, Nigeria, to introduce party platform and party officials to policymakers (Congress, Agency and Administration) In Washington, D.C through visits that the firm will plan and execute.

Potomac Square Group, Washington, D.C., registered June 17, 2014 for Standing Together for Unity and Development, Nigeria, to enhance Nigeria’s standing in the global community by arranging academic and political salons, engaging the press and interacting with public officials. Lobbying News G NEW LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT FILINGS Below is a list of select companies that have registered with the Secretary of the Senate, Office of Public Records, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Legislative Resource Center, Washington, D.C., in order to comply with the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. For a complete list of filings, visit www.senate.gov.

Squire Patton Boggs, Washington, D.C., registered June 21, 2014 for Lennar Ventures, LLC, Miami, FL, for issues related to home energy efficiency standards, including the use of solar panels on homes.

Gephardt Group Government Affairs, Washington D.C., registered June 21, 2014 for Bayer Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA, regarding pollinator health and habitat promotion; R&D tax credit.

Capitol Counsel LLC, Washington, D.C., registered June 18, 2014 for The Chubb Corporation, Washington, D.C., regarding flood insurance, natural catastrophe insurance, terrorism risk insurance, Dodd-Frank regulation related to insurance.

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