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Communications & new media April 2011 I Vol. 25 No. 4

Special Issue: Social Media

Google wreaks havoc on newswires pg. 12

Should companies create their own social media departments? pg. 10

VNRs get interactive pg. 16

Special Section: Video & Broadcast FCC rehauls rules on closed captioning

Using radio during a crisis

Local TV news adapts

Profiles of video and broadcast service firms

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Vol. 25, No. 4 April 2011 EDITORIAL PROFILES OF SOCIAL MEDIA NPR doesn’t need cash ... it needs a PR FIRMS backbone. 6 18 AT&T’s T-MOBILE TAKEOVER NEW FCC RULES ‘SPELL’ TROUBLES EXPERTS CHANGE FOR PROGRAMMERS AT&T’s $39 million buy of T-Mobile Stations scramble to accommodate USA has left a lot of questions for policy8 26new closed captioning and description rules. makers, experts and consumers. 12 ONLINE CAMPAIGNS BRING RADIO DURING A CRISIS THE AUDIENCE TO YOU Though it often remains unused by Online campaigns should give social media savvy practitioners, radio reasons for Internet users to seek them9 27provides the ability to respond quickly to crisis. out, avoiding the spoon-fed informational approach of traditional media. LOCAL TV NEWS REMAINS WHO ‘OWNS’ SOCIAL VITAL FOR COMMUNITIES MEDIA? 28Area TV broadcasters have evolved Different companies implement with technology and the times to deliver quality social media strategies differently, making10 it content. hard to decide which way is “right” for your company. PROFILES OF VIDEO & BROADCAST FIRMS 17 GOOGLE CHANGES WREAK 30 www.odwyerpr.com HAVOC ON NEWSWIRES Daily, up-to-the-minute PR news An algorithm change at Google WASHINGTON REPORT that roots out “low quality” sites has12 sent ripples through the web search industry. 40 INCREASE YOUR INTERNET COLUMNS MEDIA TOUR IQ Organizations are increasingly focused on using video to earn14 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT media online. Choosing the right IMT is a 36 Fraser Seitel crucial step in acheiving this goal. GUEST COLUMN 37 Arthur Solomon CREATIVITY IS KILLED AT EVERY TURN BY BUSINESS OPINION How most companies squander 38 Jack O’Dwyer creativity in the development and marketing15 PEOPLE IN PR process instead of embracing it. 39 USES, OPTIONS INCREASE PR BUYER’S GUIDE FOR ONLINE VNRs 42 The Internet’s evolution to a video- EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2011 friendly medium has made video16 news releases a vital part of a marketing strategy. January: Crisis Comms. / Buyer’s Guide July: Travel & Tourism February: Environmental & P.A. August: Financial/I.R. ETHICS RULES FOR COLLEGE March: Food & Beverage September: Beauty & Fashion ATHLETES QUESTIONED April: Broadcast & Social Media October: Healthcare & Medical College institutions respond differ- May: PR Firm Rankings November: High-Tech ently when athletes violate school 17 policies or break the law. June: Global & Multicultural December: Entertainment & Sports

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O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. (212) 679-2471; fax: (212) 683-2750. Periodical postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mail- ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to O’Dwyer’s, 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. O’Dwyer’s PR Report ISSN: 1931-8316. Published monthly. Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:52 PM Page 5 Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:53 PM Page 6

EDITORIAL NPR doesn’t need cash ... it needs a backbone

epublicans’ efforts to cut taxpayer funds for National Public Radio is a testament to the EDITOR-IN-CHIEF extraordinarily low value they place on the public’s access to quality information. Jack O’Dwyer R The successful though ultimately pointless March passage of H.R. 1076 was noth- [email protected] ing short of a middle finger to those working in the public broadcasting industry. The bill would take away millions in federal funding to National Public Radio and prevent public ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER radio stations from paying NPR dues with federal money. Kevin McCauley It follows a similar February House vote aimed at eliminating $430 million in planned [email protected] future spending for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the parent organization of NPR. Like the January passage of a bill to nullify President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, H.R. EDITOR 1076 and the CPB bill will probably never see the light of day in the Senate. Jon Gingerich If it’s money they’re after, Republicans are barking up the wrong tree. Granted, there was [email protected] a time when NPR was primarily funded by the government. That ended about 30 years ago. Now, about half of NPR’s revenues — or $63 million — comes from the fees it charges mem- SENIOR EDITOR ber stations for programming and distribution charges. The rest comes from funds through Greg Hazley on-air pledge drives, corporate underwriting, and federal funding in the form of grants by the [email protected] Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 2009, member stations only derived 6% of their rev- enue from direct government funding. NPR received only about $5 million in federal fund- CONTRIBUTING EDITORS John O’Dwyer ing in 2010. Fraser Seitel Five million? Republicans would save more by slashing a single railroad subsidy. Or — Richard Goldstein God forbid — ending one of our ongoing wars. Granted, it’s not hard to push NPR around. The organization has spent the better part of six months being its own whipping boy. Senior News Analyst Juan Williams was canned in ADVERTISING SALES October for tepid remarks he made about Muslims on “The O’Reilly Factor,” airing person- John O’Dwyer al opinions that recently ousted NPR President and Advertising Sales Manager CEO Vivian Schiller said “undermines [email protected] [NPR’s] credibility as analysts.” Then things got really bad. A “sting” Jack Fogarty operation orchestrated by conservative National Advertising Representative [email protected] political provocateur James O’Keefe, who secretly videotaped NPR Senior VP of Development Ron Schiller (no relation to Vivian) mak- O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 ing disparaging remarks about the a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the Tea Party, Republicans, Zionists J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., and others, threw NPR’s remaining 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. graces in the fire. O’Keefe, who (212) 679-2471 Fax (212) 683-2750. pretended to be a representative from the Muslim Education Action Center, told Schiller his group was planning to make a $5 million donation to NPR. In what © Copyright 2011 is now a definitive palm-to-the-face moment, Schiller was quoted during the sting as saying J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc. NPR would be better off without receiving any federal dollars. D’oh. Impossibly, thing got even worse. Ron Schiller resigned (he had already announced plans OTHER PUBLICATIONS & to depart to the Aspen Institute, who, as a result of the snafu, rescinded their offer). Then, after SERVICES: Vivian Schiller condemned Ron for his statements, she also resigned, in a move to make a www.odwyerpr.com breaking news, good face for Republicans mulling a bill they ended up passing anyway. Wow. commentary, useful databases and more. In a public statement, NPR Chair Dave Edwards said the board accepted Schiller’s resig- nation, with “understanding, genuine regret, and great respect.” NPR later reported that Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter An eight- Vivian Schiller left because the board said she had to go. The fact is, NPR threw Vivian under page weekly with general PR news, media the bus to save face, just like she did to Williams. Does NPR make incoming employees sign appointments and placement opportunities. a scapegoat clause? Needless to say, Republicans hate NPR. They always have. But if NPR wants to prove O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms has itself worthy of taxpayer funding, the organization needs to do some serious soul searching. listings of more than 1,850 PR firms through- It should demonstrate that it has no agenda, and that it is led by competent and professional out the U.S. and abroad. management. It should also make the case for why it remains a fantastic public service. The O’Dwyer’s PR Buyer’s Guide lists 1,000+ fact is, NPR remains the nation’s only media group dedicated specifically to radio reporting. products and services for the PR industry in 54 In some rural areas, it’s the only station available. It is repeatedly voted the most trusted news categories. source in the U.S. NPR’s ability to explore the issues — to actually report — is a concept lost on most commercial broadcasters today; where most ‘mainstream’ news is now modeling jobs.odwyerpr.com O’Dwyer’s online itself after Fox — ‘reporting’ the regurgitated opinions back to a market segment — NPR job center has help wanted ads and hosts remains a lone voice in a media landscape where news has been reduced to a fable.  resume postings. — Jon Gingerich

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MEDIA NOTES AT&T’s T-Mobile takeover troubles experts, consumers

AT&T on March 20 announced plans to acquire T-Mobile USA, a competitors, but by the companies that move that would create the largest wireless provider in the own the lion’s share of the market. Indeed, AT&T’s plans to cannibalize their United States. Many consumers and policy experts are now 3G infrastructure had threatened to put T- watching the deal with a jaundiced eye, claiming such a takeover Mobile 3G phones on the chopping block. would dissolve competition in the U.S. wireless market, forming a The Consumers Union also said this conglomerate akin to the Ma Bell monopolies of yesteryear. lack of competition would mean fewer choices for consumers, and less incentive By Jon Gingerich for the two dominant companies to pro- vide better service or products. Already “breakup” fee AT&T must pay T-Mobile if AT&T has been lambasted by consumers t’s a merger of unprecedented scale. the deal doesn’t go through. Specifics of for removing unlimited data plans (even Dallas-based AT&T’s $39 billion buy the transaction have been submitted to the when they were used as a selling point on Iof T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Federal Communications Commission expensive phones), forcing capped data Telekom would merge the nation’s sec- and the Department of Justice for review. plans for tethering, and capping DSL ond- and fourth-largest wireless carriers, Consumer groups respond service on some products — not to men- surpassing Verizon as the largest mobile Not surprisingly, complaints are com- tion the notorious service complaints the carrier in the U.S. The deal would give ing in from consumers, policy experts, company received from legions of iPhone AT&T control of nearly 80% of the wire- nonprofits and even executives in the pri- users. less market, inheriting T-Mobile’s 34 mil- vate sector, claiming the deal would slash Parul P. Desai, Policy Counsel for lion subscribers for a total of about 130 service, eliminate consumer choice and Consumers Union, cited a recent survey million customers — or 42% of the total erode competition in the wireless market. of wireless customers by Consumer U.S. population. Media nonprofit Free Press blasted the Reports, where AT&T ranked last in cus- AT&T reported it would pay $25 billion merger, claiming in a press statement that tomer satisfaction and T-Mobile ranked in cash for the proposed acquisition, fork- “the FCC and the Justice Department the second lowest in many areas. Desai ing out the remaining $14 billion in stock. should confront the very real problems of said this raises serious questions regard- Deutsche Telekom would be allotted an runaway consolidation in the wireless ing how a proposed takeover could some- 8% stake in the company and an AT&T market.” how improve present consumer relations. board slot. Both boards unanimously “Don’t believe the hype: There is noth- Desai also said the loss of T-Mobile from approved the merger. ing about having less competition that the national market could increase the Inside the deal is a $3 billion dollar will benefit wireless consumers. And if likelihood of higher prices for wireless regulators approve this deal, they will fur- customers. Media Briefs ther cement duopoly control over the “Many consumers are already subject NY TIMES ANNOUNCES wireless market by AT&T and Verizon,” to high phone bills and cannot easily NEW PAY-WALL FEE said Free Press Research Director S. switch carriers for a variety of reasons The New York Times will charge online readers Derek Turner. “A market this concentrat- such as early termination fees or the $15 a month for access to its news and features, ed — where the top four companies inability to get the device of their choice. the paper announced March 17. already control 90% of the business, and Such concentration cannot be good news Starting March 28, readers of more than 20 two of them want to merge — means for consumers,” said Desai. “AT&T is articles a month will be presented with three options: $15 for a month of access and mobile nothing but higher prices and fewer already a giant in the wireless market- phone app, $20 for a web/iPad combo or $35 for choices, as the newly engorged AT&T and place, where customers routinely com- the works. Verizon exert even more control over the plain about hidden charges and other anti- Home delivery subscribers are not charged for wireless Internet.” consumer practices. From a consumer’s digital offerings. Readers, who are delivered to The Consumers Union, the nonprofit perspective, it’s difficult to come up with the Times from search engines, blogs and social Consumer Reports media, get access, even if they surpassed their publisher of and any justification or benefits from letting monthly story limit. owner of the consumer rights website AT&T swallow up one of its few major The Times believes its plan is designed to gen- consumerist.com, has urged Congress to competitors ... We plan to work very erate revenues from its heaviest users, while turn a leery eye toward AT&T’s proposed closely with regulators and lawmakers to allowing casual readers to access the site. In a letter posted on nytimes.com, Arthur buy. In a March 23 letter sent to key carefully scrutinize this deal and what it Sulzberger, publisher, calls the paywall “an impor- House and Senate lawmakers, the organi- would mean to people’s pocketbooks.” tant step that we hope you will see as an invest- zation warned lawmakers the proposed The deal has also left AT&T and T- ment in the Times, one that will strengthen our merger would stifle further competition in Mobile’s competitors jumpy. During a ability to provide high-quality journalism to read- the wireless market. March 22 panel conversation at the CTIA ers around the world.” Sulzberger believes the challenge is to price The Consumers Union also questioned conference in Orlando, Sprint CEO Dan the NYT “without walling ourselves off from the what the merger would do to innovation. Hesse was forthcoming in his feelings global network, to make sure we continue to The group noted that already the wireless regarding the prospects of his company engage with the widest possible audience.” industry is not currently as competitive as moving from the third-biggest largest car- The home page of nytimes.com and each sec- tion front will remain free to browse. Visitors to it should be, simply because the evolution rier slot to somewhere near last. NYTimes.com are still able to read up to 20 arti- of important technological developments “I do have concerns that it would stifle cles a month without paying. (like data roaming) are generally not led innovation and too much power would be by research or innovation from small in the hands of two,” Hesse said. 

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Online campaigns: bringing the audience to you One of the reasons the Internet has become so popular is that it 90 million people saw it. permits people to discover content as opposed to having informa- Niche and integration tion spoon-fed to them via the traditional formats of print and In many ways, digital is more similar broadcast. Internet users are a savvy and vocal audience who to traditional print media than TV and can discern what’s genuine and what’s phony, enthusiastically radio in that there is more opportunity to embracing the former and thoroughly rejecting the latter. reach niche audiences. The main differ- ence, of course, is that the web offers By Jim Ethridge immediacy and intimacy with target audi- cant, but if that backpack is a superior ences, whether in the form of comments, product you’ve got a bunch of new fans links to additional information, genuine interactive brand experi- who’ll spread the gospel for you and your audio/video and more. ence is the name of the game. client. Digital PR like Internet media tours AConsumers and Internet gate- will not make satellite or radio media Of course, everybody wants to know keepers want content delivered the way who they reach with their message. From tours obsolete any time soon. At the same they prefer to receive and share it, the everyday Twitterer who habitually time, PR pros are finding ways to inte- whether it’s video, audio, print, images checks their number of retweets to the PR grate old and new tools to optimize the arriving via social media, in e-mails, or pro who needs to quantify a publicity reach and impact of their campaigns. online newsrooms. campaign, we want to find out who’s Similarly, the lines between PR and Content must be highly visible and paying attention and if it’s making a dif- advertising are blurring due to the cross searchable as well as interactive and user- ference. platform nature of the Internet. A friendly. The best content wins online, Numbers can be very deceiving so it’s spokesperson hosting a satellite media which means you need the best distribu- our duty to educate our peers and clients tour can drive viewers to the client’s tion mode. In turn, that means inviting on what is realistic and what is not in the social media page, which in turn, high- the consumer and the media — or who- Internet world and avoid the temptation lights the creative YouTube videos ever you want to reach — to come to you. Quality and quantity to present or accept grossly inflated audi- described in the banner ads and the print ence reach figures. ads, and on and on. In the same way the Internet has Just because your client’s content is Jim Ethridge is the Online Media changed the information delivery game, someplace in cyberspace doesn’t mean Manager at KEF Media  it’s also changed the way we judge suc- cess. Where once it was all about media “tonnage” as measured in eyeballs and ears, the Internet is a far different model requiring entirely new metrics. Yet some still try to use the old meas- uring sticks to gauge Internet campaigns and it doesn’t work. I recently reviewed a report stating that a client’s content reached an Internet audience of 90 mil- lion. When I showed it to KEF Media founder Kevin Foley, he said, “Here we go again,” referring to the old days of reporting implausible video news release audience reach numbers. The Internet is about quality, not just quantity, so success looks considerably different than what you might expect from traditional broadcast media tools like satellite or radio media tours. Depending on the message, Internet audience impression numbers can be smaller, but that audience really cares about what you have to say. They’re engaged in the aforementioned interac- tive brand experience, and many times they become advocates for your brand. For example, an outdoor equipment company’s new backpack is presented on Backpacker Magazine’s website and a YouTube video demonstration is shared among a few thousand outdoor enthusi- asts. The numbers might look insignifi-

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REPORT

Who ‘owns’ social media? Other ways marketers can socialize their efforts include announcing new products Where does social media belong in an organization? Is it a and services and giving community mem- bers the first chance to try or buy; posting public relations or marketing tool? Is it owned by customer special coupons or offers to fans and fol- service? Is it in a category by itself? Is it even relevant to put lowers; promote marketing events through social media in a category at all? By Stephanie Schwab social platforms; and generating casual marketing research through polls, Twitter chats and blog comments. Business-to- gies before moving on to educate other business companies use whitepapers, webi- here are no clear answers. You can departments on the use of social media nars or blogs to drive leads into their implement social media strategies tools. pipeline, and support that content with Tand enjoy success without choosing Consider these departmental uses of social network engagement. Master storytellers a classification. But classifying it may social media. Which of these is your organ- Customer service prove critical when you’re creating social ization currently doing? Which make sense Many organizations now use social for the conversation economy. media policies and planning across the for you to consider in the future? media as a way to manage customer service Public relations organization. concerns. I say “Twitter is the new 800 Unbound by channel. Many companies and social media prac- Have a new product or service? Have number” — customers expect to connect to titioners would have social media live in exciting plans in the works? Social media your company using whatever platform And always on. either PR or marketing. And it’s easy to see makes it easy to spread the word. Start a they use the most, and they don’t care if you why: the length of social media’s arm and buzz and encourage others to help you pro- personally don’t understand Twitter. Why? the receptiveness of online audiences make mote your products or services. Request Because social media allows customers to it an optimal tool for public relations reviews and testimonials and make sure feel connected to your organization, by giv- departments. And socially-oriented cam- everyone gets to read the great things peo- ing your company a more personal face. paigns, promotions and coupons fall into ple are saying about your company. Often, Use social media to answer questions relat- the marketing realm. But social media is people who would be utterly disinterested ed to your products and services, solve cus- much more; it’s become an important tool in another new site or product are eager to tomer problems, and monitor customer for R&D, customer service, even employee check it out when someone in their network issues before they get out of hand. Use the recruitment. recommends it. feedback you obtain to enhance the cus- Companies may have different strategies Other PR uses of social media include tomer experience, plan for the future, and when it comes to deciding which depart- using social media to find, communicate, revise policies. ment owns social media, but more and and develop relationships with journalists Whether you like it or not, people discuss more it’s becoming classified as an organ- and bloggers; and staying informed of their products and services online. They share ization-wide endeavor. However, current topics of interest. You can also the good, the bad, and the ugly, in the open when ownership of social media is spread deepen customer understanding by produc- for customers and prospects to see. By throughout an organization, communica- ing online video and sharing it through your being engaged and responsive you can tion and collaboration are key. Different corporate site as well as YouTube and enhance your company’s image and build departments must work together to coordi- Facebook. Companies are also successful- customer loyalty. nate the use of social media tools and ly supporting their corporate cause market- Recruiting talent ensure the organization’s goals are met and ing programs by using their social pres- Social media tools make it easier to target everyone is on the same page. Internal com- ences to draw attention to their supported talent from various geographic regions and munication and collaboration are critical for charities or causes. attract tech-savvy candidates. Use social Marketing avoiding brand confusion and ensuring media to mount and enhance employee consistent implementation of cohesive Social media and marketing are a natural referral programs and to attract talent that strategies that benefit the organization over- fit. Social media allows marketers to isn’t actively visiting employment boards all. Many companies have established engage with audiences — providing valu- but is actively using social networking. “social media councils” for this very pur- able content, interaction, tools and tips Post jobs (try using Twitter hashtag #jobs) pose, bringing stakeholders from across the which engender customer loyalty and and search for talent on popular social organization to regular meetings and online attract new fans to the mix. media sites, but don’t forget the importance collaboration communities to work togeth- Social media marketing is increasingly of personal networking. Your former er on the company’s social media efforts. dependent on creating a steady stream of coworker might refer you to a top-notch Another school of thought is that social quality content which becomes an enter- candidate. They could be just a Facebook media should stand on its own, as its own taining or helpful resource to customers and message away. department. Some think it’s better for social potential customers. In order to become a Questioning the ownership of social media experts to hold the reins, communi- trusted resource for your fans, be attentive: media may not result in easy answers, but cating and planning strategies with repre- listen to what your market wants and then with some planning and organizational sentatives of the organization’s other offer it. Use your own original content and alignment you can benefit both your com- departments. Others believe it’s a better curate from smart, non-competitive pany and your customers. idea to gradually spread ownership out over sources. Provide 90% value and 10% Stephanie Schwab is the Principal of a range of departments as long as one sales/company information — or go even Stephanie Schwab Consulting. She www.mslgroup.com/learnaboutus department holds the reins initially. In this lighter on the company info. This content blogs about social media at case, one group — say, public relations — mix works for Twitter, Facebook, your cor- www.stephanieschwab.com and may explore social media and create strate- porate blog or any other social platform. www.socialmediaexplorer.com. 

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Master storytellers for the conversation economy. Unbound by channel. And always on.

www.mslgroup.com/learnaboutus Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:53 PM Page 12

REPORT Google changes wreak havoc on newswires

By Greg Hazley PRN’s Google Page rank or its Google News pick-up. Traffic February algorithm change in the to PRN customers’ own U.S. by Google sent ripples through investor relations sites was Athe closely monitored realm of web “unchanged.” search, including the major news dissemi- “Maintaining high visibility nation services, as one acknowledged tak- for PR Newswire.com is some- ing a significant hit in traffic in the weeks thing we take very seriously, following the move. and we’re in contact with Google’s revamp, referred to as Google regarding the drop,” he “Farmer” or “Panda,” was intended to root said. out what the company called “low-quality Matt Albers, Director of sites — sites which are low-value add for Software Engineering and Web users, copy content from other websites or Services for BusinessWire, said Experian chart of web traffic to major newswires showed sites that are just not very useful,” while the algorithm change could be a decline for PR Newswire and Marketwire, and slight boosting sites with original content and an opportunity for content up-ticks at PRWeb and BusinessWire in the week fol- lowing Google's algorithm change. valuable information and analysis. It affect- providers like newswires, ed 12% of all search results run through which he says fall on the posi- Google’s search engine. tive side of Google’s intentions if As the viable shelf life of press releases they play by the rules. releases it publishes are the type of content grew from a week or so as a printed page or Albers said March 15 that BW had seen that Google wants to showcase in its search fax to basically infinity as digital tenants of an increase in traffic since Farmer was results. He said that the day Google the ‘Net, search engine optimization, or implemented, while he needled PRN for the announced the initiative, PRWeb showed SEO, has been added to a range of digital Sistrix report. its best traffic day of the year. offerings provided by PR services compa- Of course, BW says its “best practice” Media reports precede ‘farmer’ nies and agencies over the past decade. and solid SEO skills paid off with the Google’s decision to tweak its algorithm Newswire services especially tout their Google change, but Albers admits that “we in the U.S. followed two widely read New SEO prowess in disseminating press releas- don’t know specifically why some press York Times stories of companies appearing es and other content, offering programs that release services were dinged.” to manipulate search results to attain unde- scan text for search-friendly keywords and Ted Weissman, Principal of Lois Paul & served, even nefarious, rewards in traffic adding identifiers known as tags to attract Partners who blogged about the algorithm and customers. the scanning eyes of search engines. change, said a lesson from it is that PR pros On Feb. 12, the Times’ David Segal Marketwire, for example, says it scans should pay more attention to SEO tactics as penned a 3,700-word piece “The Dirty news releases with 20 “complex algo- well as capabilities. Little Secrets of Search,” outlining search rithms” and provides a report ranking the “All PR people need to understand more manipulation on behalf of the retailer J.C. text on a scale of 1 to 100 to estimate its than just the SEO tools and tips each wire Penny by asking an online search expert to readiness of search pick-up. service provides by pressing their providers study the performance and even question- The problem for PR services is that while for specifics about their SEO practices and ing whether Penny’s ad spend with Google SEO is a technical science, it is far from how they are staying in the good graces of influenced its results. exact or guaranteed. Google and its algorithm,” he said. Segal’s piece followed a 5,600-word Two days after the Farmer change was Google acknowledged that the change November article in the Times about a announced, PR Newswire, the PR dissemi- would cause some upheaval in its rankings, small eyeglass company that gamed nation service with the largest web traffic, but stressed that the goal was to improve Google results with reams of negative feed- was cited by the German analytics firm searches while rewarding good behavior. back. Sistrix as one of the top 100 domains that “We can’t make a major improvement Neither article was flattering to Google lost a significant percentage of top rankings without affecting rankings for many sites,” but both were heavily discussed online and from the change — a 70% loss which wrote Google fellow Amit Singhal and the may have sparked the company to crack amounted to 15,162 positions for PRN, company’s so-called “spam cop” Matt down on its SEO tactics. As Ruder Finn according to Sistrix. Cutts in announcing the changes on the digital strategist Dave Cannon noted, web Rod Nicolson, VP of User Experience company’s blog Feb. 24. “It has to be that users now expect Google to make such Design & Workflow for PR Newswire, some sites will go up and some will go changes. acknowledged March 8 that the company’s down. Google depends on the high-quality “Because users can’t be expected to alter website traffic took a hit following the algo- content created by wonderful websites their search habits — after all, what is more rithm change and noted its web traffic was around the world, and we do have a respon- natural than asking a direct question? — running at about 20% below levels before sibility to encourage a healthy web ecosys- the public eye is on Google to keep its algo- the update. He added that some of the drop tem. Therefore, it is important for high- rithm up to date, dynamic and well-guarded was cyclical as the flurry of releases that are quality sites to be rewarded, and that’s against subversion and low quality con- sent in earnings season was winding down exactly what this change does.” tent,” he said. “It’s oft quoted motto of ‘Do and said the hit from Farmer was not near- Jiyan Wei, Director of Product no evil’ has transformed into a public ly as bad as the Sitrix data indicated. Management for PRWeb, said he thinks the expectation that Google fight all evil doers Nicholson said the change did not alter changes will benefit the service because the of SEO manipulation.” 

12 APRIL 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:53 PM Page 13 Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:53 PM Page 14

FEATURE

Increase your Internet media tour IQ posts and frequently provide video, they’re often overwhelmed. The added By Douglas Simon This uses a video or a webisode you have responsibility, often without added salary, created and distributes the content, includ- can make them even grouchier than nor- ing earned media, across the Internet. mal. You may have experienced this your- video interview with Santa on Frequently, these three types of tours can selves. When a reporter compares two behalf of a major beverage compa- be combined into a more robust communi- similar opportunities for interviews at a Any gets posted on Beliefnet.com. A cations package. But it is important to use trade event and learns that one of them major tech company hires an apartment the right tour for you. Here is a brief will include a video provided to them for decorator to talk about their product and overview of the different IMT options and easy posting (and a happy boss), which do the story is placed on USAToday.com. how they can be utilized to meet your you think they’re more likely to cover? Engadget features a company CEO in a needs: Again, the production can be handled with video the client recorded for them at a trade Internet Interview Tour (IIT): a new style crew and onsite editing. show on its site. Organizations are increas- For the IIT to be successful, you need a It is important to confirm how you will ingly focused on using video to earn media spokesperson and a story angle that will provide the video file and in what format online. This has made the Internet Media allow you not only to provide a full sched- to allow for easy posting of your segment, Tour a core part of any effective communi- ule of interviews but generate placements just as with an IIT. An additional benefit to cations strategy. with valuable online media outlets. It is both the IIT and VPJ is that you own the If you are reading this you probably important to identify target media in footage unlike traditional TV station inter- know and understand the power of the advance and pre-pitch the story to deter- views and can distribute these video seg- Internet to communicate to your target mine your potential for success. When we ments with third party media endorsement audience and motivate them to take action. introduced IMT’s in 2009 you needed an to employees, vendors, clients, and But are you still asking “why?” The proof “A” list celebrity to generate sufficient prospects. You’ll also want to create a is in the numbers: coverage. As the strength and breadth of generic or webisode for further distribu- • More than 172 million U.S. Internet online media has grown along with their tion. Viral Video Media Placement (VVMP): users watched video online in December of demand for video, an informed spokesper- 2010. (comScore) son with an interesting story and good This type of Internet Media Tour relies • 84.6% of the U.S. Internet audience visuals can generate a strong lineup. on promoting a completed video or video views online video. (comScore) Depending on your talent, budget and series and does not require the expense or • Microsites with video are 53 times pitching team you can expect to schedule time commitment of a talent or spokesper- more likely to be featured on the front page between 10 and 20 web interviews in a 4 son. The concept is “shoot once, play any- of Google Search. (Forrester Research) to 5 hour tour. where.” In the D S Simon Productions • 84% of media websites use outside Many IIT’s are completed as an add-on 2011 Web Influencers Survey, we found produced video. (D S Simon Web to a Satellite Media Tour. That’s because that 76% of web media surveyed uses Influencer Survey 2011) you already have the spokesperson, cam- embed codes for video on their sites. About There are actually three types of Internet eras, set and story ready to go. 68% will link to your completed video. Media Tours. The first is the Internet Increasingly, we’re seeing stand-alone This is a huge opportunity to extend the life Interview Tour, which is similar to a satel- IIT’s with no need for live satellite trans- of your IIT, VPJ or simply as a way to gen- lite or radio media tour. The second option mission. A video crew, onsite editing and a erate coverage of a video that has been part is called a Video Press Junket. This is often portable phone system, which will allow of your initiative. used at trade shows or events where multi- your spokesperson to hear the questions This technique gets you the widest cov- ple members of the media have gathered. through an earpiece, allow you to conduct erage for the lowest cost. It also can have a The third is Viral Video Media Placement. an IIT without the expense of satellite significant positive affect on Search PR News Briefs transmission. It’s possible to incorporate Engine Optimization if you place the video via Skype. A point to remember is that on a microsite and design the campaign to Huntsworth acquires Atomic each interview will require some post pro- drive traffic. It’s components include earn- Britain’s Huntsworth has acquired high-tech firm duction work to create the file that is sent ing media online, web syndication, viral Atomic PR for $13.3M. to the media outlet. Typically the turn- video media distribution on social media The price tag could hit up to $50M based on prof- around for this is less than one day. sites like Twitter and Facebook, placement it performance of the San Francisco-based firm Remember, when doing an IIT create a on media websites, B2B and B2F through 2015. generic interview or webisode that can be (Business to Friends and Family) outreach Atomic CEO Andy Getsey says the deal with Huntsworth provides his firm the “scale and geo- used for further distribution and will which turns your customers and prospects graphic reach‚“ to provide the best service to clients. increase campaign reach. into BFFs! The firm handles clients such as LinkedIn, Verizon, Video Press Junket (VPJ) These tools present an enormous oppor- Intuit, Pioneer Electronics and NETGEAR. It becomes While an IIT allows you to be inter- tunity for Public Relations professionals. part of Grayling under the management of Getsey and James Hannon, Chief Digital Officer and Atomic Co- viewed from thousands of miles away, the For the third straight year our D S Simon Founder. Video Press Junket is used when you’re at Web Influencer Survey has found signifi- Previous to the deal, Atomic had a joint venture the same location as the media. It’s perfect cant increases in web media using outside with Grayling. Atomic has offices in New York, Los for trade shows, press events, conferences produced video. The demand is there, now Angeles and London. It registered a 46 percent surge or any location where there is a significant you can choose the best Internet Media in `10 fees to $11.1M. Atomic PR was ranked the fastest growing independent firm on O’Dwyer’s Top gathering of media and bloggers who Tour to meet it. 50 list. cover your beat. As traditional journalists Douglas Simon is President & CEO of are now required to file multiple blog D S Simon Productions. 

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How business kills creativity at every turn

Sadly, in almost every industry, companies squander a creative ordinary work. I.M. Tough environment in every step from product development to operations The bosses and clients who revel in instead of embracing it. being ‘tough’ distrust employees and ven- By William J. Comcowich Killing Creativity dors — thinking vendors are only out to make a killing off their accounts. They’re The worst bosses and clients — the also tough about time schedules. They assassins of creativity — are among the create crises by demanding extremely fast pple and McDonald’s produce favorite subjects of discussion at compa- turnarounds. They make continuous consistently well-accepted prod- ny cafeterias and creative services compa- changes right up to the “drop dead” date. Aucts and employ superior logistics nies. Some of these villains can be repre- They’re often too inexperienced to know along with well-conceived and well- sented as cartoon-like characters. Noah Nothing that toughness seldom produces superior implemented marketing and sales pro- work. grams to achieve superior financial results Noah Nothing is the foremost assailant B.B. Sniper quarter after quarter. Most of their direct of creativity. Most businesses have many Then there’s B.B. Sniper. Old B.B. competitors languish. different types of know-nothings. Some never has an original thought. Every time Why can some companies get consis- decision-makers don’t know enough someone floats an idea, B.B. takes aim tently better products and creative servic- about their businesses, the marketplace or and shoots it down. Old B.B. often plays es than their competitors? Is it because competitors. The worst assassin, howev- devil’s advocate. In fact, B.B. is an they have better management? Is it er, is the boss who simply doesn’t under- obstructionist. It’s a wonder that B.B.’s because of their corporate cultures? Is it stand or appreciate the power of creativi- group produces any work at all. because they have different advertising or ty, one who can’t distinguish a good idea Hiza Charmer public relations agencies? from a bad idea. This boss truly can’t see Finally, there’s Honorable Hiza Often, it’s the corporate approach to the difference between a Rembrandt and a Charmer. Charmers are good guys who innovation and creativity that distinguish- painting by his mother-in-law. This boss get by on personality. They have a lot of es wildly successful companies. From (or client) absolutely, positively thinks good qualities: they are very sensitive and product research and development to TV commercials for local car dealers are supportive of the creative process; they’re operations and communications, the way as good as a Federal Express campaign. concerned about people’s sensibilities. companies nurture creativity often pre- They also somehow believe that the two However, they’re often ill-informed, dicts long-term corporate success. require the same effort and resources. Dr. Noah Tall unfocused, and indecisive — resulting in Two inevitable outcomes undergird the incomplete work or late delivery. quest for superior creative performance. In contrast, there is Dr. Noah Tall. The Each of these leader types lack an First, innovation and superior creativity know-it-alls can do everything better than understanding of the creative personality inevitably produce superior sales results. anyone else. They enforce their own and what motivates creative individuals. Second, a boss or client gets the level of vision on product design. They have the William J. Comcowich is Founder and creativity he or she deserves. strategic solution to every problem. They CEO of CyberAlert, Inc, a worldwide Through the decades, companies, also write better copy. They do better lay- media monitoring service for news and which develop innovative products or outs. They are better video directors. In social media.  breakthrough production processes, are the end, know-it-alls get work from businesses that usually succeed. employees and vendors corresponding to News Briefs Innovative products supported by creative their personal ineptitude. The products marketing and communications invari- and communications programs they cre- Study: big demand for social ably become the market leaders. ate write their corporate obituary. media jobs in Q2 Colonel Dick Tator Advertising research has shown that a Nearly 10% of marketing and advertising execu- great creative idea can generate up to 10 Then there’s Colonel Dick Tator, the tives plan to add full-time staff in the next three times the selling power of an ordinary dictatorial leader. These bosses and months, up five points from the first-quarter, accord- ing to a recent national study developed by The idea. Powerful ideas can generate spec- clients exercise coercive power. They Creative Group. tacular returns with relatively small media move things forward through threats. A growing demand for professionals in the social investments. Mediocre ideas produce They are sandpaper on people’s sensitivi- media, media services, account services and mediocre results — even if millions are ties. In war, they’re the kind of leaders brand/product management fields was cited for the increased hiring activity. According to the study, these spent on media. who would be shot in the back by their areas were ranked as the strongest demand among When all is said and done, the buck own troops. Creative employees and ven- executives who plan to hire in the second quarter. stops with company leadership. dors shoot them figuratively by delivering Nearly 20% of executives polled said they plan to Employees and vendors can deliver only less-than-sterling work. add staff with social media expertise. Experts with what bosses and clients allow and encour- Fred E. Cat media services experience saw a close second, at 16%. age them to deliver. The corollary is that At the opposite extreme is Fred E. Cat. More than one-third (36%) of executives said they bosses and clients usually get the work The fraidy-cats never take any creative are concerned about losing top creative talent to they deserve. Occasionally, a vendor risks. They do things the way they have other job opportunities in the coming year. Nearly rises above a bad client. Sometimes, a always been done. They are stand-pat- 40% of executives polled said finding skilled profes- vendor fails a good client. But, on the ters. They are usually sticklers for rules sionals in these areas remains challenging. whole, clients get what they deserve. and regulations. They expect and receive

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FEATURE Uses, options increase for online VNRs Seven in 10 adult Internet users go online to watch or download video. That represents 52% of all adults in the United States. is little value in an online video news release that’s a series of long talking head Despite video’s explosive growth, many communicators still cling soundbites. exclusively to the traditional text news release. But today, we can If you’re promoting a product or serv- combine the traditional release with modern video technology ice, let’s see the product in use or the serv- and the instant and extensive reach of the Internet to effectively ice in action. Let’s say you’re marketing a new pair of running shoes. You’ll want to and convincingly deliver a client’s message. show someone wearing the shoes while By Ernest Landante, Jr. running either on the street or a track. Let’s see a new pair being removed from Here’s another reason why to post your its box. Get close-up shots of the runner hat is an online video news video news release on the Internet: slipping on and tying the shoes. Let’s see release? Think of it as your Indexed video stands about a 50 times a retail sales person stacking them on Wnews release put to video. Just greater chance of ranking on the first page shelves. like how your news release features of Google search results than a text page, Notice that action and movement is quotes from knowledgeable spokespeople according to Forrester Research. occurring with the shoes in each shot I and testimonials from customers, a video Where can I post my online video described. This is video, not still photogra- news release features soundbites. Your news release? YouTube, iTunes, phy, so let’s see something happening. news release is written in the style and for- Facebook, Twitter, your website — you Who wants to look at a pair of running mat that newspaper articles are written. name it, that’s where it can be posted. shoes doing nothing? Video news releases look and sound How do I make sure people can find Are there non-sales uses for online exactly like taped news reports on televi- my online video news release? Once video news releases? I believe online sion. Video news releases are about two you’ve decided where to post your video video news releases are particularly effec- minutes long, the typical length of televi- news releases, the next step is making sure tive in reporting a company’s corporate sion news video packages, and include b- the people you want to view them can find social responsibility program. For exam- roll, which is video of the scene or sur- them. That’s where video search engine ple, I know a company that has made an roundings you see while hearing the optimization comes in. Just like how you enormous impact preventing spread of a reporter describe the action or explain the search engine optimize a news release or dangerous but preventable disease in story. web page, you can search engine optimize Africa, Latin America and the Middle Why distribute a video news release a video. An important step is creating a East. Its story is impressive and full of via the Internet? Most text news releases Google video sitemap for your online visual images, including the people and today are available online, so they’re easi- video news releases. This helps get your communities that this company has helped ly available to both reporters and the gen- video news release indexed by Google, so provide medical care. eral public. This enables communicators when someone is searching a term related Whether it’s disease, hunger, education to get their message out quickly and easi- to your video news release, Google will or other issues, corporate social responsi- ly. The same holds with video news releas- find and return it in the user’s search bility lends itself to strong and compelling es. Posting them online means they’re results. visual images that can tell a company’s available instantly to reporters and the Can I broadcast email an online video story movingly and convincingly. general public around the world. news release? Sort of. While you can’t How can I learn more about online attach a video file to a broadcast email, video news releases? After you’ve visited PR Services Briefs you can embed a still image of your video Online VNR (OnlineVNR.com) you can Brunswick phones in for and link it to where your video can be learn more about video at Izzy Video viewed. By clicking the image, the recipi- (izzyvideo.com) and the New York Video AT&T, T-Mobile deal ent is directed to YouTube or your client’s School (nyvs.com). These subscription Brunswick is providing PR support for AT&T as web page to view the video. sites are terrific. If you want to learn about the mobile phone giant pursues a $39 billion acqui- Research by GetResponse suggests this scripting a news report, read anything by sition of Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA unit, announced March 20. is an effective way to deliver your online Mervin Block. Reel SEO (reelseo.com) is Mike Buckley (San Francisco) and Steve Lipin video news releases. Emails containing a a good place to learn about video market- (New York), partners at Brunswick, are serving as video image received, on average, a 5.6 ing and video SEO. Matt Ballek at media contacts and advising Dallas-based AT&T in percent higher open rate, and a 96 percent vidiSEO (vidiSEO.com) has several good a deal that would create the largest mobile carrier in the U.S., surpassing Verizon. The firm has a higher click-through rate than non-video videos on YouTube SEO and his four pil- Dallas/Fort Worth office headed by Jim Wilkinson. emails. Email marketer Campaign lars to optimizing YouTube videos. Shawn Regulators are expected to take a close look at the Monitor observed that an embedded Montano is a video editor for proposed combine, which would give DT an 8 per- screen grab of a video linked to a video KWGN/KDVR in Denver. He authors cent stake and a board slot at AT&T. Both boards player was clicked more than 5 times as Edit Foundry (editfoundry.com), an edu- have approved the merger. AT&T is the No. 2 carrier and T-Mobile slots at often as text links to a video. cational blog about video editing. It’s No. 4 in the U.S. What should an online video news excellent. AT&T said it will pay $25 billion in cash and the release contain? The best use of an online Ernest Landante, Jr. is President at Online remainder of the $39B in stock. video news release is delivering a message VNR (www.onlinevnr.com) and Novita Issue or telling a story with strong visuals. There Communications (www.novitaic.com). 

16 APRIL 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:54 PM Page 17

Ethics practices questioned for college athletes Three different instances of college by allowing Wittels to play. athletes charged with criminal or ethics “FIU should have suspended violations revealed widely differing Garrett Wittels” said a headline on a policies from the institutions affected. column by veteran Miami Herald By Jack O’Dwyer sportswriter Linda Robertson. ESPN said it was “ridiculous” that Wittels was allowed to play while righam Young University, operated under rape charges. The AP, covering by the Church of Jesus Christ of the the game, interviewed Wittels after BLatter Day Saints, suspended star his hitting streak was broken and got basketball player Brandon Davies from the him to admit that he lied to the team in late February after he allegedly umpire about being hit during one of broke the school’s policy against pre-mari- his at-bats. tal sex. Robertson attacked the rationale The Salt Lake Tribune said Davies admit- offered by athletic director Pete ted to having sex with his girlfriend and Garcia that Wittels is “innocent until apologized to teammates. The loss of proven guilty.” Calling that reason- Florida International University star baseball player Davies was a blow to the BYU basketball ing “flawed,” Robertson said it is the Garrett Wittels has been accused of raping a seventeen- team which at that time was ranked third in duty of a judge and jury to “presume year-old woman at a Bahamas resort. FIU officials have the U.S. innocence” during a trial or hearing thus far declared him “innocent” of the charges, and Middle Tennessee State University sus- but standards outside of a court are have allowed him to continue playing for the team. pended two baseball players from the team different. in February, one day after rape charges A politician who resigns while facing The Better Business Bureau gives the were placed against them. The players corruption charges isn’t “innocent until Atlantis an “F,” its lowest rating. admitted having sex with a student while proven guilty,” she wrote. It says the Resort failed to respond to eight she was under the influence of alcohol, NYT was interested pre-rape charges of the ten complaints against it over a peri- according to a story on WSMV.com. A New York Times coverage of Wittels and od of 36 months. friend told Channel 4 News that the victim his streak was extensive until he was hit BBB said it “does not have sufficient was so disturbed by the incident that she with rape charges. Times reporter Karen information to determine the size of the quit the school. Crouse, in a lengthy article June 2, 2010, business” nor can it obtain “sufficient back- Athletic director Chris Massaro took per- said the Wittels streak had been “a ray of ground information on this business.” sonal responsibility for the suspensions. sunshine” for FIU after the fatal stabbing of The complaints concerned “advertising The case has yet to go to court. football player Kendall Berry on campus issues,” “billing or collection issues,” “cus- FIU let baseball star play March 25. tomer service issues,” “product issues,” and Florida International University was crit- That had “cast a pall” over the athletic “sales practice issues.” icized from both within and outside of the program, she wrote. Crouse wrote that PR staffers at Kerzner International school for letting Garrett Wittels play base- “Because of Wittels, the country is seeing Resorts, which operates the Atlantis, have ball while under charges of raping a 17- FIU baseball in a positive light. No matter not responded to e-mails or phone calls from year-old woman at the Atlantis Resort & when his streak ends, it is, for the O’Dwyer’s. The NYT would not comment Casino in the Bahamas on Dec. 20, 2010. University, the start of something good.” when its PR dept. was asked about the He and two other FIU students similarly There have been only two brief mentions skimpy coverage. SI/CBS examined law-breaking athletes charged are free on bonds of $10,000 each of the rape charges in the NYT and both pending a hearing April 18. The trio met were AP pickups — the first on Dec. 28 and Sports Illustrated and CBS made 7,030 two 17-year-olds, identified as being stu- the second on Feb. 19 after the streak background checks on 2,837 football play- dents at the University of Arkansas by Dr. ended. The paper covered extensively the ers who were on the magazine’s preseason Michael Wittels, father of Garrett, when all dismissal of BYU’s Davies after he admit- top 25 as of Sept. 1. The March 7 SI said the were at a resort bar. A videotape reportedly ted having premarital sex. six-month investigation showed that more shows the women were drinking although “Honor Code Separates BYU from Other than 200 of the athletes including 23.5% of the legal age for alcohol in the Bahamas is Teams,” said the headline on a story March the scholarship athletes on one team 18. 2 by NYT reporter John Branch. NYT (Pittsburgh) have been “in trouble with the Wittels, who had hit in 56 straight games, Reporter Lynn Zinser also wrote extensive- law.” two short of the NCAA record, was allowed ly on the same topic March 3. NYT cover- Some schools ignore such backgrounds, to play in the opening game Feb. 18 against age of rape charges against three Duke ath- feeling that “ignorance is bliss when it Southeastern Louisiana. ESPN televised letes in 2006 totaled many thousands of comes to knowing a player’s arrest record,” the game during which the Wittels streak words. said the article. was snapped. Atlantis, NYT Advertiser, gets an “F” Other schools told SI they were afraid to Students, ESPN, Herald rap FIU The Atlantis Resort & Casino, where the check police records of athletes because FIU student media said the school should alleged rapes took place, is a major advertis- other schools would use that against them in have pulled Wittels from the team until the er in the NYT, spending millions each year. recruiting efforts. rape charges were settled. It frequently runs full-color ads in the Four Pitt players were arrested on charges It said a “dark cloud” was placed over the front news section at a cost of about of violent crimes between mid-July and late image of FIU and a “horrible precedent” set $130,000 each. September, 2010. 

APRIL 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 17 Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:54 PM Page 18

Profiles

O’Dwyer’s Guide to: SOCIALMEDIA

4.11

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Coyne PR’s internal 212/279-3115 digital group, Studio C, took the weekly HotSheet to the next level by national client base across many www.cjpcom.com industry sectors. designing and developing the Coyne PR HotSheet app. The app high- The firm was an industry-leader lights the industry’s coolest campaigns, web 2.0 promotions and adver- Jennifer Prosek, CEO in establishing a practice devoted to tisements in a weekly digest updated every Friday. The app gives users Wilson Cleveland, SVP, CJP Digital helping clients develop and execute easy access to archives, videos and regularly updated content. The effective social media and digital HotSheet app is available for free download in the iTunes app store. strategies. CooperKatz takes an Since 2006, CJP Digital, a integrated approach to digital unit of PR + marketing agency strategies and factors them into expanding their relationships CJP Communications, has been every client engagement. ALLISON & with consumers, reaching influ- a pioneer in social and digital Capabilities include: conversa- encers and growing their cus- PARTNERS media and entertainment. tion monitoring; influencer engage- tomer base through social CJP Digital takes an earned ment; social channels development media. Our services include media approach to branded (including building / managing 505 Sansome Street digital media audits, social entertainment; producing origi- profiles and pages on sites like San Francisco, CA 94111 media strategy and implementa- nal digital programming Twitter, Facebook and YouTube); www.allisonpr.com tion, blogger outreach, content designed to tell client stories creative campaign ideation / execu- creation, video strategy and that resonate with audiences, tion; Web content development; Scott Allison, President, CEO more. Jonathan Heit, Partner and enhance brand perception, Web video production; and online Head, Technology & Digital Media increase PR opportunities and crisis preparedness / support. Tom Biro, VP, Digital Media AURITT drive growth. CooperKatz has won numerous COMMUNICATIONS CJP Digital is widely credited industry awards like the SABRE, Following our role in bring- with creating the web’s first and and has been honored as ‘Best ing top digital companies such GROUP longest-running brand-spon- Agency of the Year’ in its size cate- as YouTube and Ning to the sored series: The Temp Life, gory and ‘One of the Best Agencies forefront of the social media 555 Eighth Avenue, 7th Floor produced for Spherion Staffing to Work For’ by The Holmes landscape, Allison & Partners New York, New York 10018 since early 2006. CJP has since Report. continues to introduce the next 212/302-6230 developed and produced a string generation of digital brands to www.auritt.com of successful branded web orig- the marketplace. Today, the inals including Bestsellers, The COYNE PR agency is helping to build pow- Nothing engages a target Webventures of Justin & erful, relevant brands for com- demo online better than social Alden and Suite 7, a seven- 14 Walsh Dr. panies that include social travel media. Our execution of online episode anthology for the Better Parsippany, NJ 07054 guide Gowalla and community activities from Twitter Parties to Sleep Council, distributed online 973/316-1665 marketplace Airbnb. Our expe- Facebook campaigns and online by Lifetime and starring Illeana Fax: 973/316-6568 rience launching and growing video syndication make our Douglas, Shannen Doherty, www.coynepr.com new digital platforms has given social media strategies the per- Brian Austin Green, Jaime us unprecedented insight into fect way to channel your mes- Murray, Eddie McClintock and Thomas F. Coyne, CEO Rich Lukis, President powerful strategies for leverag- sage. Milo Ventimiglia. Tracy Shea, SVP of Digital ing them on clients’ behalf, pro- When you want to create buzz Our client experience also Creative viding companies that include about your brand and/or get includes award-winning digital Rick Liebling, Director of Digital Progressive Insurance, measurable online outreach for marketing and social media pro- Strategy GoodSkin Labs, Open your spokesperson, we have the grams for GE Capital, BMW Solutions and eHarmony with experience, knowledge and key North America, MINI USA and Coyne PR’s Social Media insights into building and talents to make your social NBC Universal. efforts are driven by Studio C, the

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agency’s in-house digital design Three-time winner of “PR and content creation department. Agency of the Year,” rbb gives its Consisting of graphic designers, Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial PR professionals and former jour- clients award-winning counsel and nalists, Studio C offers clients inte- results, and the individual attention grated, strategic solutions built available only through a boutique around developing engaging con- agency. rbb’s bilingual staff excels tent. Today, every brand is a pub- in media relations, corporate com- lisher and understanding how to munications, digital/social media, produce content that people want product introductions and crisis to engage with and share - whether counseling. The firm’s capabilities educational, informational or encompass a variety of practice merely entertaining - is an essential areas, including consumer prod- part of the marketing mix. ucts, B2B, travel & leisure, health Sure, we keep up with all the and fitness, food and beverage, real new platforms and know our estate and crisis communications. Quoras from our Gowallas, but rbb is a founding member of the what really matters is having a Converge network of PR firms. partner that understands when and Explore how rbb’s employee-driv- how to use these tools in service of en workplace results in extraordi- larger marketing and business- nary client satisfaction at building objectives, something www.rbbpr.com or call 305-448- we’ve done for brands like Disney 7457. On behalf of client Kraft Foods, Hunter Public Relations leveraged and General Mills. Social Media the power of Facebook and passion of fans of Kraft Macaroni & isn’t just about Klout scores or D S SIMON Cheese to support the launch of its newest variety, KRAFT Macaroni chasing Facebook “likes,” it’s PRODUCTIONS LLC & Cheese “Cheddar Explosion.” Hunter PR aligned the product with about making a human connection the implosion of the Dallas Cowboys’ former home, the legendary with other people. That’s what we Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. In one week, the program attracted do best. New York Headquarters more than 180,000 brand target Facebook fans on the KRAFT 229 West 36th Street Macaroni & Cheese Facebook page. DIGITAL PARK New York, NY 10018 212/736-2727 Fax: 212/736-7040 A division of rbb Public Relations Placement, which is frequently based marketing, our team has the www.dssimon.com used with Internet Interview creativity and business acumen to 355 Alhambra Circle, Suite 800 www.vlogviews.com Miami, FL 33134 Tours and Video Press Junkets . support b-to-b and b-to-c organiza- [email protected] It’s a distribution plan for taking tions. 305/448-7450 [email protected] www.rbbpr.com [email protected] your video viral. This includes We are a strategic relations firm [email protected] earned media coverage, web syn- which delivers an integrated set of Christine Barney, CEO & dication, targeted placement on public relations, investor relations, Managing Partner Chicago: 312/255-0240 media news sites, viral social business start-ups and market- Lisa Ross, President Los Angeles: 213/346-9927 media and the ability to drive traf- ing/creative services. We call it Tina Elmowitz, Executive Vice TM President fic and increase search engine “integrated thinking ” because , President & CEO , Vice Douglas Simon optimization for your messages. each client’s business challenge Christine de la Huerta Eric Wright, Sr. Vice President, President, Digital Park isn’t always met by the same, cook- Marketing and Business Dev. ie-cutter PR program. Christine Deerin, Divisional VP, FEINTUCH Digital Park is the new media Los Angeles Office We enjoy helping our clients division of rbb Public Relations, Lauren Dewhirst, Divisional VP, COMMUNICATIONS think through their business chal- the largest independent PR firm in Chicago Office lenges and develop smart solutions Florida (O’Dwyer’s 2010 rank- 245 Park Ave., 39th Fl. that help them to grow their busi- ings). Using creativity and best We offer Internet Media Tours New York, NY 10167 ness. We welcome the opportunity practices, Digital Park delivers (IMTs) as a stand-alone option or 212/808-4901 to think through your needs. measureable results for strategic in conjunction with our SMTs, [email protected] social and interactive programs for RMTs, Web Video and B-Roll www.feintuchcommunications.com HUNTER PUBLIC consumer, corporate and B2B projects. We offer three types of prniblets.blogspot.com clients. Services include: Online IMTs. RELATIONS Reputation Management, Web Site First, the Internet Interview Henry Feintuch, President Assessment & Development, Tour, patterned much like a SMT, 41 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor Search Engine Optimization with provides you the ability to gener- The impact of social media on New York, NY 10010-2202 iPR, Digital Park’s Proprietary ate earned media online with web the public relations and marketing www.hunterpr.com SEO Syndication Tool, Social influencers that reach your target mix is profound; yet too many mar- [email protected] Media Marketing and Monitoring, audience. keters focus on the tactics and not Grace Leong, Managing Partner Online Content Development, Second, our Video Press the strategy behind the campaign. Jason Winocour, Agency Blogger Relations & Blog Junket, which expands on the At Feintuch Communications, Partner, Social and Digital Media Creation, Podcasts & Vidcasts, media coverage you compete for we build social media elements into Practice Leader Online Video Production & at trade shows and events and client programs as appropriate — Samara Farber Mormar, Senior Editing. provides custom client controlled not as a separate project or expen- VP, Business Development The Digital Park blog at video that gets posted on leading sive add-on – but as an additional www.rbbdigitalpark.com provides TV stations, radio stations, news- channel for reaching targeted audi- Social media offers a rich, con- insight on the constantly evolving papers, magazines, web media ences. From smart blogging and tinually expanding platform to public relations and digital market- and blogger sites. LinkedIn groups to custom devel- Continued on page 20 ing fields. Third is Viral Video Media oped mobile apps and location- 

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go-to source for media and blog- HUNTER PR gers looking for new product Continued from page 19 information. At JB Cumberland PR we combine what we do best with what we are: social media build stronger and more mean- users and enthusiasts! ingful relationships among con- Global e-commerce sales will sumers, products and brands. reach a predicted $963 billion by Hunter Public Relations — an 2013 and advertising spending on independently owned, mid-sized Facebook worldwide is predicted marketing communications firm to top 4 billion dollars in 2011. JB — harnesses the enormous power Cumberland PR helps you get the of Twitter, Facebook, the blogos- most out of these expanding phere, social communities, online opportunities. By employing a full video, and an ever-evolving ros- spectrum of traditional and social ter of emerging social media media strategic tactics, we provide channels to revitalize brands, cre- our clients measurable increases in ate buzz around new products brand recognition, customer loyal- and build awareness among key ty and sales. influencer groups. Named a Best Digital PR Firm in 2010, the firm’s unmatched acumen and JSH&A insights into social media — cou- pled with thoughtfully tailored Member of IPREX programming and precise tactical 2 TransAm Plaza Drive, Ste. 450 execution — benefit some of the Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 most respected companies in 630/932-4242 www.jsha.com America including Hasbro, www.facebook.com/jshapr Diageo, Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, @JSHAPR Campbell’s Soup Company, Johnson & Johnson, E&J Gallo Jonni Hegenderfer, CEO Winery and 3M. Jim Kokoris, President Miguel Cano, Director, Digital JB CUMBERLAND and New Media PUBLIC Known for its innovative, cross- RELATIONS media PR strategies, JSH&A’s Twitter is the ultimate source for keeping up to date with trends Social LIF™ approach drives fully and sharing news and relevant information. JB Cumberland PR integrated campaigns that launch 133 W. 25th St., Floor 9E brands and support marketing pro- engages with key media contacts via Twitter, especially to capi- New York, NY 10001 talize on live-time communication during product launches, motions both online and offline. 646/230-6940 While the social media land- events and trade shows. Fax: 646/230-6935 [email protected] scape rapidly evolves, the digital www.jbcumberlandpr.com team at JSH&A is leading the way with break-through programming. Joanna Cumberland, President The Hershey’s S’Mores Snacktivity Cristina Villa, Digital Strategist Suite at BlogHer drew crowds and chatter. Celebrity Twitter Parties, JB Cumberland PR (JBCPR) is such as Alexia’s tweet fest with recognized as one of the first full- chef Tyler Florence, created con- service, boutique PR agencies to versation with consumers. A fully capitalize on all forms of MasterLock video series for teens social media for their clients, win- on Facebook and YouTube success- ning industry awards for ground- fully launched an innovative lock breaking online campaigns. As targeting the school locker set. specialists in marketing consumer Facebook contests for recipes, tool products for the past 25 years, JB tips, and shared experiences gener- Cumberland has stayed ahead of ated fans for JSH&A clients such as the curve by constantly adapting to Hershey’s, Jim Beam Global emerging trends. Brands, Dremel Rotary Tools, From generating chatter about Master Lock, ConAgra, Life green initiatives online to develop- Fitness and Purina. ing a highly interactive communi- At JSH&A, our digital team ty for clients’ Facebook pages, works with clients to customize JBCPR identifies your target audi- social and new media marketing ences and brings them together. initiatives to ensure programs are To help launch Master Lock’s Speed Dial combination lock, JBCPR also creates and maintains strategic and align with business JSH&A developed a humorous online video series and sweep- popular YouTube channels for objectives. JSH&A Social LIF™ stakes targeting teens and asking the question, “what is the clients and supports the launches services include: social media mon- secret combination to surviving the teen years?” More than of smart phone applications with itoring, digital business intelligence 13,000 teens had an answer. coverage in the top tech blogs. Our research, content marketing, estab- company Twitter page serves as a lishing a digital presence on key

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social networks, integrating loca- Shannon Quinn, Senior VP tion-based services such as Foursquare, influencer and ambas- In an age when everyone is sador programs, local-market “tweeting,” “liking” and “blog- events and home parties, and more. ging,” it’s difficult to determine The results can be seen in the cus- how best to break through all the tomized JSH&A measurement noise to interact and build rela- models and the growth of a brand’s tionships with target audiences loyal customer base. online. As a member of the IPREX net- While it’s typical for a social work, JSH&A offers best-in-class marketing firm to apply a “cook- PR & New Media capabilities for ie cutter” methodology, L.C. clients around the globe. Williams & Associates (LCWA) crafts customized plans for each KAPLOW client that employ the best mix of At MMC’s offices, leaders from P&G Beauty and a cadre of online techniques to achieve the greatest influencers gather to discuss the future of beauty on the Social Web. impact. This can include creating 19 West 44th Street, 6th Floor buzz for a new product through New York, NY 10036 that creates consumer action, and services include: Social Listening 212/221-1713 viral videos, designing eye-catch- ing Facebook pages, conducting rigorous measurement that assess- and Reputation Management; www.kaplowpr.com es message penetration, influence Digital Brand Strategies; Content [email protected] online contests and creating online destinations that increase and real-world impact. Creation, Optimization and Kaplow West search engine optimization. NODE may be best known for Distribution; Influencer 795 Folsom Street, 1st Floor Our philosophy is that social orchestrating the campaign that Engagement; and Consumer San Francisco, CA 94107 marketing should be a part of launched OfficeMax’s Activation via the Web and 415/291-2937 every communications program. “ElfYourself” holiday Web site, mobile devices. MMC’s Social And, we practice what we preach. which achieved a #1 Alexa rank- Media team has produced Liz Kaplow, CEO ing for Web traffic in its debut year unique programs with measure- Evan Jacobs, CFO We pitch story ideas to journalists via our Twitter account, con- with 444 million pageviews and able results for a broad range of tribute to the websites of some of coverage from TV’s “Good Consumer and Health & Well- Kaplow is an independent, Morning America” to USA Today. Being clients including: P&G, award-winning public relations the most influential bloggers in our clients’ industries and attend Other clients that have benefitted Bimbo Bakeries USA, Kimberly- agency dedicated to changing the from NODE’s expertise: Deluxe Clark, Pfizer and Eisai. conversation. For twenty years, professional development work- shops to keep on top of the latest Corp, Hazelden, Gold’n Plump Kaplow has helped best-in-class Poultry and AmericInn Hotels. companies tell their stories in the trends. MAYO beauty & wellness, fashion, retail, LCWA also counsels clients on COMMUNICATIONS lifestyle, and emerging technolo- how to best respond and mini- MARINA MAHER gies industries. We create pro- mize the impact if faced with COMMUNICATIONS grams that put consumers first by extremely negative chatter and online criticism expressed by INC. 7248 Bernadine Ave., 2nd Floor identifying the media, events and West Hills (L.A), CA 91307 people that influence them and bloggers and those on social 818/340-5300 ensuring our brands are front and media networks. Member of the Worldcom Public Fax: 818/340-2550 center in those places. Relations Group www.MayoCommunications.com Kaplow is creating the commu- MACCABEE 830 Third Avenue [email protected] nications agency of the future, GROUP / NODE New York, NY 10022 redefining the PR practice in the 212/485-6800 Aida Mayo, President Fax: 212/355-6318 George McQuade, V.P. changing media landscape. www.mahercomm.com Kaplow’s digital services division, 211 N. First Street, Ste. 425 Minneapolis, MN 55401 MAYO Communications, Kdrive, pushes PR beyond the Robert J. Ricci, Group Senior edges of traditional media to build 612/337-0087 founded in 1995, based in LA www.maccabeegroup.com Vice President, Social Media with offices in New York, San word of mouth buzz, fueling the Samara Finn, Vice President, conversations where they occur. Social Media Diego, Buenos Aires, AR and Paul Maccabee, President Bern, Switzerland, has been Kstudio, Kaplow’s content creation Mike Weiner, Dir., Web and and distribution center, uses video Interactive Strategies Experts in marketing to offering high-tech, corporate, development to allow a brand to act women, Marina Maher government and nonprofit clients as its own storyteller. Kaplow con- NODE, Maccabee Group’s Communications’ (MMC) Social social media and traditional trols the media message and uses social media marketing and online Media Group partners with influ- media services for more than a our stories to help people fall in communications practice, guides encers, brand advocates and decade. Last year MAYO love with our clients’ brands. clients with a thoughtful and disci- thought-leaders to reach target Communications produced and plined process for tapping into the consumers where they live: online moderated a social media work- L.C. WILLIAMS & brand-building power of online and on the go. Combining key shop “How to Create a Buzz for engagement via social media plat- insights with key strokes, they your film” at the LA Femme Film ASSOCIATES forms such as Facebook and draw upon these deep relation- Festival, Hollywood, CA. The Twitter, and multimedia content ships to generate awareness, Festival is a multiethnic and mul- ticultural festival was developed 150 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 3800 for distribution across multiple inspire conversations and deliver Chicago, IL 60601 channels, including sites like highly-measurable outcomes. Led to empower women. The films 312/565-3900 YouTube and Vimeo. Beginning by an active digital pioneer and are by women, and the four day Fax: 312/565-1770 with our NODE Web Blueprint member of WOMMA’s Ethics event (open to the public) hon- [email protected] process, we produce every ele- Sub-Committee, the team uses its ored actresses Angela Bassett www.lcwa.com ment of our clients’ social media connections and strategic ability (Green Lantern, 2012), Angela Kim Blazek Dahlborn, President outreach: video that tells the brand to identify “what’s next.” Their Continued on page 22 and CEO story, social media engagement evolving suite of products and 

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socialactivation

The High Impact Digital Division of Pierson Grant Public Relations created Facebook and Twitter campaigns to engage the global yachting community and promote the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the world’s largest in-water boat show.

influencer marketing and innova- country and one of the top 10 MAYO Communications’ George McQuade with actress Angela Kinsey, tive experiential marketers. Our most active in social media to who portrays the feisty, tightly-wound head of accounting “Angela diverse team of experts listen, ana- creating and managing the online Martin” on NBC’s critically acclaimed show “The Office.” Kinsey lyze and create provocative cam- presence of Anthony’s Coal Fired paigns that build brands, engage Pizza, a fast-growing specialty received an award at the Le Femme Film Festival (Oct. 2010), where MAYO audiences, protect reputations and pizza brand, O&G takes pride in socialstorytelling Communications and O’Dwyer’s sponsored a social media workshop. rally employees. helping its clientele become part of the social media conversation, O’CONNELL & rather than a sideline player. MAYO COMMS. MSLGROUP GOLDBERG PUBLIC PIERSON GRANT Continued from page 21 AMERICAS RELATIONS PUBLIC 1675 Broadway 450 North Park Rd., Suite 600 RELATIONS New York, NY 10019 Hollywood, FL 33021 Kinsey (NBC’s the House) and 212/468-3893 954/964-9098 Music Artist Carmen Carter Fax: 212/468-3007 6301 NW 5th Way www.oandgpr.com (Dancing with the Stars, 2010). www.mslgroup.com Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 [email protected] MAYO’s social media workshop [email protected] 954/776-1999 featured top social media experts www.piersongrant.com , President that attracted film makers from , SVP, North Barbara Goldberg www.highimpactdigital.com Stephen Marino , Dir. of Social Media France to Hollywood. Before that American Head of Social Media & Toby Srebnik All4Media.TV teamed with Digital Maria Pierson, CEO MAYO Communications to An independent, full-service Jane Grant, President launch The First Annual Noble MSLGROUP is the Publicis creative public relations firm, socialnetworking Awards event in Beverly Hills, Groupe’s flagship speciality com- O’Connell & Goldberg prides High Impact Digital, a division where a dozen charities honored munications and events network. itself on connecting clients with of Pierson Grant Public Relations, Hollywood celebrities who made MSLGROUP is the leading next- their key audiences and keeping is composed of early adopters with noble contributions to the com- generation agency offering trusted them relevant in the marketplace. over ten years of skilled Internet munity. Some of the celebrities advice and unbounded creativity Recognizing the rapidly-chang- marketing experience. The division honored included: Morgan and value in the always-on con- ing way in which consumers specializes in social media market- Freeman, Teri Hatcher, Joel versation age. We bring together receive information, the agency ing, search engine optimization, Madden, Norman Lear, Lionel industry-leading experts, cutting- works with clients to engage the brand monitoring and Web devel- Richie, Laila Ali, Nancy O’Dell, edge tools and global reach to pro- most impactful methods of com- opment designed to integrate online Brett Ratner, Kenny Babyface vide comprehensive solutions not munication, encompassing both and offline PR. Edmonds, Emily Bear and Brian found in traditional public rela- traditional and social media High Impact Digital crafts win- McKnight. This year PERI tions firms. channels. ning social media strategies for Software, based in Newark, With more than 2,500 people, Social media, a fundamental national and regional companies retained MAYO for social media, our offices span 22 countries and shift in how people and business- such as American Debt Counseling branding of its smart grid tech- cover virtually every discipline es are communicating, has and Show Management and the nology hardware and software required for our clients to engage become a mandatory discipline Fort Lauderdale International Boat products, along with on camera creatively with their audiences 24 for O&G clients. Working with Show, as well as law firms, real media training. MAYO hours a day. Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, estate developers, restaurants and @ Communications, which also In the Americas, MSLGROUP LinkedIn, YouTube and other other businesses seeking to connect rfrelate ruderfi nn.com offers reputation management represents some of the world’s channels, we help steer our with customers and enhance their can be found on Facebook, most powerful brands from con- client’s social media ship while Web-based marketing. Working Twitter, Google Buzz, and on sumer goods to financial institu- maintaining a fresh and unique together with Pierson Grant publi- most social media networks and tions and pharmaceutical compa- personality for each. cists, High Impact Digital delivers websites. Last year MAYO nies. From launching and oversee- creative thinking, thoughtful execu- earned 250 million media. Our more than 1,000 seasoned ing the social presence of tion and measurable results, impressions. “We don’t guarantee professionals are strategic coun- Aventura Mall, one of the five employing the best practices in dig- media, we just get it!”™ selors, digital pioneers, masters in highest grossing malls in the ital marketing. The Americas • Europe • Asia Pacific • Middle East www.ruderfinn.com

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socialactivation

socialstorytelling

socialnetworking

rfrelate@ruderfi nn.com

The Americas • Europe • Asia Pacific • Middle East www.ruderfinn.com Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:54 PM Page 24

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building on Facebook for Scharffen New York and London. Our highly content and opinions. Therefore, QUINN & CO. Berger. experienced team of professionals public relations agencies need to While we recognize that all is at the forefront of social media, understand this trend and develop clients have unique objectives, we implementing social media com- expertise in using New Media 520 Eighth Ave. New York, NY 10018 always begin our social media pro- munications, designing and execut- methods to effectively reach ever- 212/868-1900 gramming with an understanding of ing comprehensive, integrated widening audiences. Fax: 212/465-0849 the client’s social media footprint, social media campaigns and creat- Rosica PR adeptly integrates tra- www.quinnandco.com with a focus on answering two ing custom applications for a ditional and online PR and market- www.quinnandco.com/wordpress WHOs, a WHAT and a WHERE. diverse roster of clients. ing. Our agency's services comprise [email protected] WHO are the influencers? WHO As innovators in navigating the blogging, search engine optimiza- Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter: are their audiences? WHAT are world of social media, we offer tion, and online reputation manage- @Quinnandco they saying? WHERE are their con- clients our knowledge, insight, rela- ment as well as competitor and rep- versations happening? tionships and a deep understanding utation monitoring. Along with our Florence Quinn, President By integrating our social media of the quickly evolving social sister company, Interact Marketing Quinn & Co. combines our sig- talent with our traditional public media space to assist them in devel- (interactmarketing.com), our PR nature creative approach with relations expertise, we are able to oping and executing communica- efforts incorporate all aspects of strategic digital media initiatives to quickly and effectively reach our tions strategies that put them in the social media, including blogs, develop dynamic and highly effec- clients’ target audiences at multiple mix of the online conversation with Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and tive integrated PR programs. We touch points and successfully influ- consumers about their brands. others. Clients include: Exergen, help clients in our core areas of ence their conversations. Whether we are targeting influ- La-Z-Boy, BJ Global and Food, Wine + Spirits, Real Estate To do so, we employ tactics that encers via the power of the blogos- Telebrands. strengthen brand/consumer rela- phere, driving a brand’s message Interact's targeted blogger pro- and Travel achieve their goals. SM , We were the U.S. PR firm behind tionships while also ensuring that home or engaging consumers on grams, such as MommyOutreach utilize online PR to generate posi- the worldwide, blockbuster The all communications and messaging social networking sites, or building tive word-of-mouth and leverage Best Job in the World (Queensland, are on-point and on-brand. As a mobile application, Rogers & the buying power of influential Australia) viral campaign. We experts in public relations, we Cowan will help influence the way demographic groups. At Rosica and crafted a Blowout Sale at a NYC understand how to build online our clients’ audiences think about Interact, we excel at identifying condominium project, the center- communities to activate programs their brand while respecting and emerging online trends to keep our piece of which was an e-video cam- and amplify messaging. We dili- building dialogue with key online clients ahead of the competition. paign of weekly chats with the gently monitor these communities, communities. When it comes to the developer. This "first" in NYC res- and know how to leverage our tra- digital community, we find the idential development helped spike ditional and social channels to influencers who matter, get them RUDER FINN sales 25%. deploy an early response to any the information that is relevant to The agency offers a Digital Audit emerging developments that can them and their target audience, and build relationships that benefit the 301 East 57th Street that identifies opportunities and impact the brand (either positively New York, NY 10022 challenges, and generates recom- or negatively). consumer and the brand. 212/593-6463 mendations. We have conducted Our core digital services include Some clients/projects have Fax: 212/715-1556 audits and SM campaigns for developing and managing pro- included Avon Voices global talent www.ruderfinn.com grams on mainstream and emerging search, Kraft’s Real Women of www.rfistudios.com Hilton, Westin and Marriott hotels, [email protected] real estate firms, restaurants, The social platforms, ranging from Philadelphia with Paula Deen, 52nd Grand Dalles Vineyard and the Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Grammy Awards social media cam- YouTube to Tumblr, Foursquare, paign, Scion Reinvent the Wheels Scott Schneider, EVP, Managing Finger Lakes. We have led clients in Director, RFI Studios, New York YouTube contests, SEO programs, SCVNGR, and Stickybits. We also web series and web/mobile widget Facebook campaigns, online press have extensive expertise in conver- development project, 19 sation monitoring, ROI reporting, Entertainment’s If You Can Dream Not all brands and companies rooms, Twitter engagement and understand social media. In fact, blog posts. website development, search web series, GlaxoSmithKline alli engine optimization, and pay-per- mommy blogger campaign, many of them are still seeing strate- Our entire staff is immersed in gy and tactical execution as an digital media on a daily basis. An click marketing. Wrinkle Free Eyes Twitter and We currently provide strategic Facebook campaigns, Fanta’s appeasement to internal or external internal Digital Media Team keeps pressure. We’re here to tell you — us abreast of all things digital. digital counsel for clients such as Search for the 4th Fanta blogger consumersearch.com, calo- campaign, Pauly Shore’s Adopted there’s a better way. Digital chan- riecount.com, Dr. Praeger’s and DVD launch and other campaigns nels offer an opportunity to gain RF | BINDER McGraw-Hill Education, and man- for Classmates.com, Wheaties Fuel, more context and interact directly age social presences for brands like AllGov.com, RockYou and Kohl’s. with your end audiences. But we 950 Third Avenue, 7th Floor Dunkin’ Brands, Hershey’s firmly believe that solely focusing New York, NY 10022 Scharffen-Berger, Kayem, and ROSICA PUBLIC on a digital channel instead of the 212/994-7600 CVS. larger problems or needs of the end www.rfbinder.com RELATIONS user will lose your brand one of its Twitter.com/rfbinder greatest opportunities — a continu- Facebook.com/rfbinder ROGERS & COWAN al, authentic, one on one experience Linkedin/rfbinder 95 Rt. 17 South Paramus, NJ 07652 with your audience across the inter- Pacific Design Center 201/843-5600 net. Amy Binder, CEO 8687 Melrose Ave., 7th Floor Nada Arnot, Chief Digital Officer www.rosica.com RF’s Social Media Practice uses Los Angeles, CA 90069 intent-driven social media pro- Social media is an effective vehi- 310/854-8117 grams to extend the reach of a mes- Fax: 310/854-8106 Chris Rosica, CEO cle for reaching influencers and [email protected] sage through the Social Web. We engaging with target audiences. www.rogersandcowan.com Internet-enabled tools have offer our global clients a range of RF|Binder has developed and exe- transformed the media landscape, social media marketing capabilities, cuted many successful social media Tom Tardio, CEO and conventional media outlets including: online landscape analy- programs for various B2B and B2C have had to adapt to an era of two- ses, social media monitoring, blog- clients, ranging from thought lead- Rogers & Cowan is the leading way conversations. Online social ger relations, content creation, and ership on Twitter for The McGraw- entertainment marketing and PR media networks have become the application development. Hill Companies to community agency with offices in Los Angeles, dominant way to create and share Our award-winning digital

24 APRIL 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM  ADVERTISING SECTION Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:54 PM Page 25

PROFILES OF SOCIAL MEDIA FIRMS

agency, RFI Studios, creates and [email protected] implements integrated, digital com- munications platforms and pro- Dean Trevelino, Genna Keller, grams across channels. Principals Measurement continues to The agency continues to mature evolve in the digital realm and we and scale its “Social” platform, work with each of our clients to cre- speaking regionally and nationally ate systems that best measure pro- on the importance of having a gram and overall business objec- “Social” strategy, whether you are tives. a B2C or B2B company. Its four- step methodology — Listen. SCHNEIDER Build. Engage. Measure. — has been refined and clients are gravi- ASSOCIATES tating to its simplicity and effec- The Schneider Associates team and Boston Tweetup at the media tiveness. More important, the firm Member of the Worldcom Public distinguishes between a communi- and consumer launch event (tweetup) for Mojo Motors, an innova- Relations Group ty-based social media program and tive online service offering the best way to buy a used car. 2 Oliver Street, Ste. 901 a marketing-driven social market- Boston, MA 02109 617/536-3300 ing program that leverages the dialogue in a secure, off-the-inter- bloggers and sites and effectively Fax: 617/536-3180 firm’s web 2.0 capabilities under its net environment. communicates with online com- [email protected] Wheelhouse brand, which includes munities to integrate client mes- www.schneiderpr.com interactive, video, SEO/SEM and ZCOMM sages and move the needle. web-tainment. Effective and cost In addition to online conversa- Joan Schneider, President & sensitive, clients such as Ritz & Creative Director tions, zcomm helps support Wolf Camera & Image, TCBY, 7830 Old Georgetown Road agency and corporate programs Phil Pennellatore, COO Mrs. Fields and Verizon Wireless Bethesda, MD 20814 Julie Hall, Executive VP/Partner with online contests, mobile are leveraging the firm’s “Social” www.zpr.com apps, online placement of audio Schneider Associates (SA) capabilities more aggressively in and video on news or gaming 2011. Risë Birnbaum, Founder & CEO began building social media capa- Joan Carrese, EVP sites and terrestrial radio contests bilities when we witnessed blog- Robin Lane, Dir., Social Media that incorporate texting and gers being issued press credentials WEBER streaming audio and video. And, at the Democratic National SHANDWICK zcomm, a woman-owned this red-hot shop produces audio Convention in 2004. Seven years national marcomm agency, has and video content that is pitched later, we include a social strategy as been “talking” with consumers, or placed on TV, radio, fitness a vital, integral component of virtu- 919 Third Ave. reporters and businesses on behalf clubs, airports, bars, family cen- New York, NY 10022 of agency and Fortune 500 clients ters, grocery stores and pharma- ally every campaign we develop www.webershandwick.com for a wide range of clients in con- for years, so it’s only natural for cies. sumer retail, technology, home Chris Perry, Pres., Digital Comms. this boutique powerhouse to make With outreach to Hispanics and products, professional services, Stephanie Agresta, Exec. VP & social media part of the mix. other diversity/niche audiences public affairs and creative services. Managing Dir. of Social Media Beyond designing facebook you’ve got a forward-thinking We apply core components of lis- Chris Vary, Senior VP, Emerging and twitter sites, contests and pro- agency that keeps no stone tening, engagement, measurement Technologies motions and successful blogger unturned on behalf of its varied events, zcomm keeps tabs on key  and evaluation, while constantly Weber Shandwick’s Digital clients. scanning the horizon for new ways Communications practice helps to activate engagement — whether clients understand, apply and bene- it’s mobile marketing, video, fit from social and emerging media mommy blogger engagement, in measurable ways. The group location based social networks, consists of more than 250 digital digital couponing or augmented and social media specialists reality. At SA, we help clients inno- embedded in 34 offices around the vate in a digital age while cultivat- world. Our firm works to infuse its ing and fostering communities that award-winning Inline strategy — a strengthen campaigns. Schneider combination of channels both Associates is a full-service public online and offline that will be most relations and integrated marketing effective in driving advocacy for a firm specializing in Launch Public ® specific brand, issue or company Relations , a proprietary method of — in real-world, real-time land- launching products, services, com- scapes for clients across all practice panies and communities. Learn areas/industries. more at www.schneiderpr.com Our pioneering digital work for clients has received the highest TREVELINO industry honors in both marketing KELLER and public relations categories, and the firm was named a Top 4 Employer for Social Media 949 W. Marietta St., Suite X-106 Professionals by Mashable and a Atlanta, GA 30318 404/214-0722 leading Digital Firm of the Year by Fax: 404/214-0729 PR News. Weber Shandwick also www.trevelinokeller.com recently introduced crisis simula- www.pr-speak.com tor, Firebell, an award-winning www.prstarbase.com proprietary application that allows Risë Birnbaum, Founder & CEO of zcomm. www.trevelinokellerlive.com clients to participate in real-time

ADVERTISING SECTION  APRIL 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 25 Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:54 PM Page 26

REPORT New FCC rules ‘spell’ change for video programming Accessibility of video programming has been a hot topic in to do so. Washington recently, and the recent passage of a new law updat- After the top 25 markets, the FCC has the ing captioning and video descriptions will have a significant authority to expand the rules to the top 60 impact on the creators and distributors of video programming — television markets in the country (and potentially beyond), following further as well as broadcast television stations, cable and satellite oper- reports to Congress on the issue. Similarly, ators, and networks — for years to come. By Brendan Holland the Commission could also expand the spe- cific hourly requirements, if it finds that the However, the rules were challenged by the benefit of the descriptions outweigh the Motion Picture Association of America (and costs of providing such programming. he October passage of the Twenty- others), and vacated by the U.S. Court of Thus, in another ten years, video descrip- First Century Communications and Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2002. Now, tions could be as common as closed cap- TVideo Accessibility Act of 2010 by enacting the CVAA, Congress has given tions are today. Closed captioning revises and expands current accessibility the FCC explicit authority to promulgate laws and seeks to improve access to televi- such rules, and the Act requires that the FCC With respect to closed captioning, the Act sion programming and other communica- update and restore its earlier video descrip- requires new regulations such that once a tions technologies for blind, visually tion rules by October 8, 2011, which is one television program is aired or exhibited on impaired, deaf, and hard of hearing con- year from the enactment of the new law. television with closed captions, any subse- sumers. While the Act addresses such The FCC recently began a proceeding to quent distribution of that programming issues as the accessibility of digital equip- restore its rules, which would require that using Internet protocol would be required to ment, including televisions, set-top boxes, large market broadcast affiliates of the top similarly include closed captions. and digital video recorders, and navigation four national broadcast networks and most The real work on the captioning of televi- devices, such as on-screen menus and cable operators and satellite television sion programming distributed on the guides, perhaps the most notable elements providers provide programming with audio Internet has only just begun, and the FCC’s of the new law are the adoption of video narrated descriptions beginning as soon as future rule making, which will need to descriptions for television programming to first quarter 2012. Specifically, as proposed, determine the specific responsibilities of describe the on-screen action for blind or the reinstated video description rules would video programming providers and distribu- visually impaired viewers, and the exten- require the following: tors, as well as content creators and owners, sion of closed captioning requirements to Broadcast affiliates of the top four nation- will undoubtedly be an active and closely certain video programming distributed on al networks — ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC watched proceeding. the Internet. — located in the top 25 television markets So far, the Commission has established These two changes mark a significant would be required to provide 50 hours per an Advisory Committee, as required by the expansion of the current accessibility calendar quarter of prime time and/or chil- CVAA, to develop recommendations on a requirements for television programming, dren’s programming with video descrip- variety of issues, including the captioning of which today consist primarily of closed cap- tions. television programming on the web. Within tioning requirements. The closed caption- The top five national non-broadcast net- six months after the Advisory Committee ing rules, which have been in place for near- works would be required to provide 50 submits its report (which could be as late as ly a decade, have become both accepted by hours per calendar quarter of prime time April, 2012), the FCC will need to revise its the television industry and expected by con- and/or children’s programming with video regulations and adopt a phase-in schedule sumers. By expanding the law to include descriptions. Although the proposed rule for the captioning of television program- video descriptions and captioning of televi- would be applied to multichannel video pro- ming delivered via the Internet. sion programming exhibited on the Internet, gramming distributors, such as cable opera- While some online video providers — Congress seeks to further improve the tors and satellite television providers, with such as Hulu and YouTube — currently pro- accessibility of video programming as the 50,000 or more subscribers, practically vide some captioned material and are technology for producing and delivering speaking, this burden will fall on the top- exploring ways to provide more, many oth- such programming evolves. In signing the five networks, as the distributors will con- ers do not. Accordingly, it will be interest- Act into law on October 8, 2010, President tractually require them to provide the requi- ing to see how the FCC’s future captioning Obama heralded the CVAA as an important site amount of programming with video rules are implemented on the web. The update to the Americans with Disabilities description. recent Act is one of the first attempts to reg- Act, and one that would allow “Americans Live and “near live” programming ulate video programming content on the with disabilities [to] take advantage of the (which the FCC proposes to define as pro- Internet in a manner similar to traditional technology our economy depends on.” gramming created within 24 hours of when television, and as more video programming Video description it is aired) is exempt from the rules. migrates to the Internet, it seems likely that The idea of requiring video descriptions, All broadcast stations, regardless of mar- Congress and the FCC will follow in order that is audio narration describing a televi- ket size or affiliation, and all cable and satel- to ensure that such programming remains sion program’s key visual elements tucked lite providers, regardless of the number of accessible to all. into breaks in the dialogue, is not new. In subscribers they serve, must “pass through” Brendan Holland is a communications fact, the Federal Communications video description when such descriptions attorney at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Commission previously adopted rules are provided and when the station or pro- Washington, D.C. He writes for the broadc- requiring video descriptions in 2000. gram distributor has the technical capability st legal blog www.broadcastlawblog.com. 

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Using radio during a crisis to communicate By Lynn Harris Medcalf with them regularly the issue you’re responding to and what and build those your organization is doing about it. Do ongoing relation- ships, not just reach- hat’s the first thing you think not have overly complex wording, ideas ing out to them dur- of when you hear about a cri- or legal wording. ing a crisis. Wsis? Speed, responsiveness Your primary mission is to communi- Don’t offer exclu- and immediacy probably come to mind cate. This means to be clear and concise sives. This is no first and foremost. If you are an individ- and communicate in a forthright and Lynn Harris Medcalf time to get into a ual impacted by the crisis, you want confident manner with factual, helpful media competition information and you want it now. If you information and an action step for listen- about what outlet is going to break this are an organization responding to a cri- ers to take if they have been impacted. story. Get the story out to the right contacts sis, you want to get out information and The step could include providing a web- at the right time, and don’t delay. If a tele- you want to do it now. site or a phone number to get more infor- vision station is coming out to interview Where these two worlds tend to col- mation. No stonewalling and no “let me your CEO, don’t wait for them to arrive to lide is in the media. Radio often pro- get back to you on that” messaging. begin communicating. Every delay means vides the ability for people to respond Go to the media contacts you know that someone else is telling your story with- quickly during a crisis. Without need for first and quickly. These are people with out your input, and those impacted by the highly produced video, both radio sta- whom you have had a productive rela- crisis could be suffering in the meantime. tions and their affiliated websites pro- tionship in the past who can help get your message out quickly and accurate- Lynn Harris Medcalf is Executive Vice vide media outlets with information that President of News Generation, Inc.  can be updated as quickly as news is ly. This means prior to a crisis, you have breaking. Recent examples of using radio during a crisis include coverage of the earth- ORDER PR’S MOST USEFUL DIRECTORY! quake and tsunami in Japan, which according to Radio Info, “News of the Only $95 for the 370-page quake has taken over radio reports [with] Japan’s NHK Radio providing 2011 O’Dwyer’s Directory around-the-clock coverage.” The protests in Wisconsin are another exam- of Public Relations Firms ple of radio use during a crisis. Union representatives and the Governor regu- O’Dwyer’s Directory gives you quick access to larly engaged with radio reporters. large, medium-sized, and small PR firms and even Outlets like Fox News and ABC News experienced freelancers who work out of their homes. Whether you seek a long-term, worldwide Radio reported regularly from the front- relationship or need extra help on a project, lines of the debate to provide the latest O’Dwyer’s Directory is the place to shop. developments in the budget battle and collective bargaining. Listed firms have expertise in: In a 24/7 news environment, it’s not only imperative to get there first but for • Public Relations • Crisis Communications reporters to get it right. This means that • Social Media • Integrated Marketing as a communications organization, you • Branding • Corporate Advertising Why O’Dwyer’s Directory of must prepare in advance of a crisis in • Investor Relations • Lobbying PR Firms is so popular ... order to get the facts right when it counts • Employee Communications • Proxy Solicitation  Has brought billions of dollars in most. Here are some tips for dealing • Internet PR • International PR business to PR firms. Authoritative industry rankings, based on with a crisis: • Product Publicity  CPA statements, tax returns.

Identify your messaging in certain Separate rankings for independent and scenarios. Play out ways that a crisis 1,700 FIRMS LISTED IN 2010 DIRECTORY  ad agency-related PR operations. INCLUDES 300 IN 42 COUNTRIES! Firms ranked by 17 geographical regions in could unfold given your organization  the U.S. and know what your messaging would “O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR “Up-to-date, indispensable Leaders ranked in 12 specialized categories: be under each circumstance.  agriculture, beauty & fashion, entertainment, firms is the finest source of resource. Saves time and money. environmental/PA, financial, food & beverage, Once a crisis breaks, fine-tune your information on PR firms.” Every PR pro should have one.” healthcare, home furnishings, professional - Howard Rubenstein, President, - Robert L. Dilenschneider, The svcs., sports/leisure, technology and travel. messaging. Depending on each circum- Rubenstein Assocs. Dilenschneider Group Easy-to-use, PR firms sorted geographically stance, it will be vital to tweak your  and by 17 types of PR specialties. Firms listed “The first source we turn to when “A phenominal job-seeking aid.” alphabetically. doing an ad agency search.” messaging to respond to the particulars - Marie Raperto, The Cantor - Stan Beals, Jones Lundin Beals Concern Articles on how to hire and use a PR firm by of each circumstance. Don’t skip this  industry experts Jack O’Dwyer and Fraser Seitel. step or you will seem like you aren’t “The O’Dwyer Directory is an “Single most important source excellent tool when searching of information on PR firms.” 7,000+ clients are cross-indexed. O’Dwyer’s credible and don’t know what is going for outside PR counsel.” - Thomas L. Harris, Author,  Directory of PR firms is the only place you on. - Art Stevens, Managing Partner, Choosing and Working can look up a company and determine its outside counsel. Keep it simple. Always keep in mind StevensGouldPincus LLC with your PR firm

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FEATURE Local TV news remains vital for consumers, communities Evolution is often a cruel process in which weak, underdeveloped species perish in the face of stronger, more adaptable ones. We grown to know and saw it with the dodo. We’re seeing it in the television news indus- trust. Having the try right now. By Kevin Foley community take part in the show ensures we’re keep- Where once local market television news ing that vital link hen I started my public rela- operations were lavished with fat budgets open between tions career in New York City and ample time to tell their stories, we now broadcaster and Wsome 30 years ago, it wasn’t see news directors trying to stretch every viewer.” unusual for a local news crew to show up dollar as far as it will go. Even in the Force multiplier at a media event with a producer, a cam- largest markets, camera operators act as For public rela- Kevin Foley eraman, a sound man and a grip: four peo- reporters and reporters act as camera oper- tions professionals, ple to tell a 70-second local news story. ators. In Atlanta, several network affiliates TV news presents a This was back when the news opera- pool news gathering resources, something very different medium than the one I tions in New York and everywhere else unthinkable just 20 years ago. encountered when I started KEF Media 25 relentlessly battled for the coveted ranking Naturally, it’s the lack of money that’s years ago this month. It’s a smaller audi- of number one in their markets. They had pushing news directors to these unprece- ence, and older now. But — and this is helicopters and expensive anchors; satel- dented extremes. National advertisers no important — TV news audiences are still lite trucks and top-of-the-line Sony camera longer place spot ads on local air with the very relevant and this is where the fate of gear. No expense was spared to find and frequency they once did. In the same way the dodo and local TV news diverge. report news that mattered. TV viewers have millions of other Internet TV newscasters may have been slow to Before he became a cable news fop, options, so do advertisers. adapt, but adapt they have by using the Geraldo Rivera was once a serious jour- “Now stations want talent to multi-task. Internet to interact directly with their audi- nalist at WABC-TV in New York where he Anchors must produce and shoot. Sports ences, creating a conversation between won a Peabody Award exposing patient and weather departments have been cut newscaster and news consumer that didn’t abuse at Willowbrook State School in the back. They are asking folks to double their exist 25 years ago. early 1970s. Such was the quality of local work load, but paying less than ever,” says Station web sites today are loaded with market television news. Brunner. news and feature content from a wide vari- In Chicago, the ABC affiliate had a These days advertisers are a sorry ety of sources. In fact, they actually deliv- reporter who did nothing but cover parade of personal injury lawyers, chiro- er more news and information because “media.” The CBS affiliate there featured practors, trade schools and title pawn bro- there is more time and space available. a guy who only reviewed restaurants. kers hawking their services during local Herein resides the opportunity for PR Sports staffs consisted of five reporters newscasts. It’s all decidedly low budget professionals because these web sites with a ten-minute segment every evening. despite the happy faces you see on the serve as a force multiplier for your client’s Golden age anchor desks. message. When your spokesperson or B- Times were flush because advertisers Local connection roll appears on a local newscast, the had few options in those heady days. In the If you’re a TV station general manager, spokesperson or B-roll will also appear on late 1980s and early 1990s, the vast major- you might wonder why you should present the newscast’s web site. ity of Americans said they got their infor- a local newscast at all. Wouldn’t it be Given the limited resources at hand, any mation from their local newscasts, so it cheaper and easier to offer re-runs of content that informs, educates or entertains was almost literally the only game in town “Hogan’s Heroes” instead of producing a will get a hearing in most newsrooms. The for many national, regional and local local newscast? trick is (and has always been) to offer this advertisers. It might, but if you did, your local sta- content in ways the TV newscasters can “It certainly was the golden age for TV tion would lose pretty much its only visi- make it relevant for viewers in Scranton or news and the folks working in it,” says ble connection with your market. For all Sacramento. One size does not and never David Brunner, a former long-time news the problems facing TV news in the sec- has fit all because news consumers in director. “Management hardly ever cut ond decade of the 21st century, local mar- Scranton look and sound different than corners and salaries for talent were ket news programs and the anchors and those in Sacramento. It takes more time to through the roof.” reporters who staff them remain the sta- do it right, but the rewards are manifold But like the aforementioned dodo bird tion’s vital link to the communities they when you develop and adapt your message who decided he really didn’t need his serve. for the intended audience. wings, the future finally caught up with “Community involvement is so impor- Happily, local market television news TV news rooms in the form of the Internet. tant that we’ve created a community-driv- continues to stave off extinction by adapt- In the wake of the dot-com boom of 1999- en program, 3 Plus You,” notes Julie Beaty ing to forces — both evolutionary and rev- 2000, consumers of information suddenly of WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tenn., a olutionary — at work in the mass commu- found they had thousands of new options. television news veteran and the show’s co- nications field. Today they have millions. host and producer. “Management has Kevin Foley is CEO of KEF Media, Adapt or die staffed our show with many of the long- which is celebrating its 25th anniversary The consequences have been stunning. time faces and personalities viewers have this month. 

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Profiles

O’Dwyer’s Guide to: VIDEO & BROADCAST 4.11

www.caplancommunications.com ment applications. The compa- ny offers easy-to-use products Aric Caplan, President that allow customers to monitor their brand, watch media cover- Caplan Communications is an age, analyze the results and award-winning full-service present insights to selective practice specializing in public audiences. Cision provides the advocacy, legislative strategy largest broadcast library in the and literary publicity. At the industry with continuous, com- grassroots and on the national prehensive monitoring of stage, we advance social justice national, cable and all 210 local causes, the environment, and markets, online viewing of clean energy and sustainability video, broadcast-specific ana- practices lytics, unprecedented sharing O’Dwyer’s honored Caplan capabilities and convenient pre- Communications with the view video functionality. “O’Dwyer’s Award for Public Companies can now optimize Communications Excellence” in their monitoring through the use Alan Weiss Productions Executive Producers Alan Weiss (left) and the environmental/public affairs of our award-winning platform Al Primo (right), on the set with the Teen Kids News reporting team. category for orchestrating a CisionPoint which allows users proactive media campaign that to monitor their television, effectively prevented the U.S. [email protected]. radio, newspaper, internet and Environmental Protection social media coverage in a sin- ALAN WEISS Want to connect with the hard- Agency from “blending” by to-reach college crowd? Put your gle application. In CisionPoint, PRODUCTIONS relaxing safeguards that prohib- users can watch a video preview story on HotNewz.TV. ited the dumping of largely Seen on more than 200 college of their broadcast hits, run press untreated sewage into reports, share video, analyze 212/974-0606 campuses, HotNewz.TV reaches America’s rivers, streams and www.awptv.com 30% of all U.S. students through results and present findings to lakes. stakeholders. Cision also The University Network. Also Caplan Communications’ Marilou Yacoub, VP available online at offers DVDs and professionally practice is centered on imple- edited digital clips, transcrip- www.hotnewz.tv menting targeted, often times 14 Emmy Awards … and a Procter & Gamble, AXE, Hard tion services, compilation reels rapid-response, campaigns on and project-based monitoring to proven reputation for thinking Rock, Wrigley’s and Sears are behalf of the Alaska Wilderness outside the TV set. examples of sponsors. accommodate any range of spe- League, American Rivers, cial requests. If you’re a new We’re innovators who will Contact Phillip Anastos to find Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, partner with you to create the out how HotNewz.TV can help you customer, mention that you saw Environment America, Friends of O’Dwyer’s most effective and cost-efficient tap into this highly desirable demo- us in and get your the Earth, Greenpeace USA, first digital clip for free. solutions to your video produc- graphic. [email protected] Human Rights Campaign, Lambi tion and website needs. At AWP, we do it all: award- Fund of Haiti, League of CRITICAL Even before the luster began to winning documentaries, (“A&E’s Conservation Voters, National fade on traditional B-rolls & Biography: James Earl Jones”); Audubon Society, National Parks MENTION SMTs, we were advising clients highly effective fundraising videos Conservation Association, National to consider alternative options — (“Jessye Norman Sings for the Wildlife Federation, Natural from social media outreach to Healing of AIDS” with Whoopi 1776 Broadway, 24th fl. Resources Defense Council, New York, NY 10019 independent distribution — that Goldberg & Elton John), as well as Physicians for Social deliver guaranteed viewership. PSAs, SMTs & corporate videos. 877/262-5477 Responsibility and Union of www.criticalmention.com For example, “Teen/Kids We excel at “same-day turn- Concerned Scientists. News.” About to enter our 9th arounds.” year, this 30-minute weekly AWP has producers fluent in Critical Mention provides newscast airs on 200 TV stations, Spanish and Italian. CISION real-time searching, viewing, including Fox 5 in NYC. School … and we’re nice people to alerting and reporting on global TV programming adds more than work with. 332 S. Michigan Ave. broadcast coverage. Our com- 7-million middle & high school Chicago, IL 60604 prehensive and industry leading students across the country. CAPLAN 888/422-2667 CriticalTV platform lets you NewLine Cinema, GM, Ralph www.cision.com monitor your organization, COMMUNICATIONS client, competitors, industry Lauren, Royal Caribbean and Steve Bainnson, VP, Broadcast Nintendo are just a few of the Sales news and more. Edit and down- load broadcast quality files min- companies to sponsor program 1700 Rockville Pike, Suite 400 segments. Rockville, MD 20852 Cision (formerly Bacon’s | utes after your segments air. To pitch stories or to learn 301/998-6592 multivision) is recognized as Our account management team about sponsorship opportunities, Fax: 301/983-2126 the innovative leader in provid- is always ready to help you suc- contact Tania Wilk at [email protected] ing premium broadcast manage- ceed.

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PROFILES OF VIDEO & BROADCAST FIRMS

in popularity as communications D S SIMON tools among both marketers and the media web sites and bloggers PRODUCTIONS, that crave online video content. INC. Increasingly, they are being used in conjunction with a satellite media tour, to turn a press confer- New York Headquarters ence into a video press junket, 229 West 36th Street New York, NY 10018 with B-Roll or as a standalone 212/736-2727 service. Fax: 212/736-7040 www.dssimon.com DWJ TELEVISION www.vlogviews.com [email protected] [email protected] One Robinson Lane [email protected] Ridgewood, NJ, 07450 [email protected] 201/445-1711 www.dwjtv.com Paul Gourvitz, giving instructions to Pee Wee Kirkland, during a Los Angeles Office: [email protected] [email protected] Satellite Media Tour. Pee Wee, a Rucker street ball legend, was pro- 213/346-9927 moting his book, "Soul of the Game." After the tour Gourvitz challenged Chicago Office: 312/255-0240 Daniel Johnson, President Pee Wee to a game of HORSE. Pee Wee declined. Michael Friedman, Executive Vice President Doug Simon, President & CEO ning videos that engage their access to the most visited sites Eric Wright, Sr. Vice President, Marketing and Business DWJ Television uses multiple audiences. Several dozen text- on the web including: Development media platforms, ranging from books now come with DWJ Huffington Post, People.com, Christine Deerin, Divisional Vice television to social networks, to DVDs. Popeater.com, Wonderwall.com, President deliver client messages to broad And our PSA division, Planned RadarOnline and countless oth- Lauren Dewhirst, Divisional Vice or narrowly targeted audiences. Communication Services (PCS), ers. If you want your brand to be President Whatever you need — satellite is an industry leader. the talk of the web, Gourvitz can media tours, public service deliver this for you. Celebrating its 25th anniver- announcements, webcasts, video GOURVITZ Gourvitz Communications sary in 2011, D S Simon podcasts, video emails, multime- has branched out into the world Productions, Inc., is a leading dia or social media news releases, COMMUNICATIONS of live streaming. We have video communications firm that training or marketing videos, worked with UStream to pro- produces and syndicates content convention coverage or media 875 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1708 duce numerous high quality live to Broadcasters, Online Media as placement, DWJ does it. New York, NY 10001 broadcasts including successful well as captive audiences through Our media tours, whether they 212/730-4807 x11 productions for Weight a variety of distribution channels. feature celebrities or experts in a Fax: 212/730-4811 Watchers starring Jennifer For years, the company was www.gourvitzcommunications.com Hudson and Electrolux starring particular field, get on the air [email protected] known primarily for its expertise because we can develop the kinds Kelly Ripa. High quality, low in generating earned media cov- of stories that include the client’s Paul Gourvitz, President cost, live streaming is here and erage on broadcast outlets message and fit the news agenda. we are experts. through the use of SMTs, B-Roll, A strong placement department Broadcast public relations Satellite Media Tours (SMT) RMTs and PSAs, while also pro- makes sure station gatekeepers has changed. The blogosphere is are alive and thriving. Gourvitz ducing award-winning corporate understand just why the story is equally as important as TV and produced over 100 SMTs in video for clients valuable. radio. No company understands 2010. We offer responsible As the media landscape And whether we are producing this better than Gourvitz expectations and create one-of- evolved, we created a suite of a PSA, podcast, marketing video, Communications. In January a-kind sets that add value to online media communications training video, or other longer, 2010, GC launched a new inter- your story. Our reputation with services which includes Internet documentary-style video, the active division concentrating tv, radio, and internet outlets is Media Tours (IMTs), Video Press DWJ staff comes up with a exclusively on Interactive unequalled, outlets often take Junkets, Branded Editorial Video unique look that matches the Media Tours. material from us while they and Viral Video Media client’s goals. Gourvitz delivers unparalleled refuse others. Placement, all of which take on a Another plus: DWJ’s experi- comprehensive, targeted ence in field production. Our approach to promoting a cam- crews have traveled the world, paign or initiative to the online shooting supertankers on the world. These tactics are growing open sea, tattooed teenagers in St. Louis, masterpieces in St. The May issue of O’Dwyer’s will rank the Petersburg’s Hermitage, shoppers from Tokyo to Wayne, New largest independent PR firms in the U.S. Jersey, “golden rice” fields in Accompanying this issue there will be a Louisiana, tulips in Holland, air- profiles section where the top-100 craft factories in Italy and oil rigs ranked firms can discuss their practice in on Sakhalin Island off Russia’s far eastern coast. their own words. If your firm has been For training and educational ranked by O’Dwyer’s and would like to videos, we’ve also created fic- be listed, contact Editor Jon Gingerich at tional scenarios, hired the actors, Behind the scenes at a DWJ satellite media tour about gardening. 646/843-2080 or [email protected] designed the sets, shot the scenes and produced some prize-win-

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PROFILES OF VIDEO & BROADCAST FIRMS

Leading the Travel Industry by Providing Professional The pros at newscast mount a video camera on the hood of a car for a production on teen driving. Travel Services Since 1972

“The Getaway Girl, Casey Wohl, in mid interview as she talks spring sage. Every project includes designers, Web developers, edi- break travel on set in Orlando. KEF averages 30 bookings for satel- writing, production, tracking, tors, and experienced communi- lite media tours, including TV, radio and Internet outlets. verification and reporting, along cations professionals possess with oversight by highly skilled top-level, national and interna- staffers who know radio. tional press experience. Our MediaTracks has experience resources, combined with global in a wide range of practices, capabilities to produce and dis- News Network, whose prime- including healthcare, consumer, tribute content are what attract KEF MEDIA time news program reaches corporate, public affairs, high professional communicators to more than 35 million house- tech and not-for-profit. Its digital partner with newscast. holds nationwide. 512 Means Street production facilities provide We work closely with our Atlanta, GA 30318 clients with multiple methods of clients to understand the overall 404/605-0009 MEDIATRACKS distribution, including mp3, wav PR campaign strategy, enabling www.kefmedia.com COMMUNICATIONS file, html links, and CD. us to produce video that is pow- MediaTracks produced and erful across multiple platforms Kevin E. Foley, Founder & CEO Yvonne Goforth-Hanak, Co- syndicated the 40-segment in a variety of formats. Our pro- 2250 E. Devon Ave., Suite 150 Merck “Milestones in Medicine” duction capabilities include web President Des Plaines, IL 60018 Linda Buckley, Co-President national radio series. We also video, webcasting, b-roll pack- 847/299-9500 ages, corporate video, VNRs, Amy Burton, VP, Business [email protected] syndicated “A Healthier World,” Development www.mediatracks.com a weekly national radio series for PSAs and EPKs. Mark Edwards, VP, Media Rels. Pfizer, Inc. Radio media tours Clients including BMW, Jim Ethridge, Mgr., Digital Media with consumer product messages Rolls-Royce, Madame Tussauds, Shel Lustig, President have included the George SOYJOY and many others come The most trusted name in Reed Pence, VP Foreman Grills “Knock Out the back to newscast because of the • Business Travel Consultants broadcast and digital media Fat” campaign, “Child Safety” strong visual content that deliv- services, KEF Media partners Now in its 22nd year, for Ross Products/Wal-Mart, and ers their message on the web, • Strategic Meetings Management with a wide range of agency and Chicago-based MediaTracks CDW’s “Social Media TV or in print. corporate clients to produce Communications provides spe- Recruitment.” Our client roster results that matter. We value cialized radio and Internet audio includes AstraZeneca, Alzheimer’s NEWS • Government Travel Contractors Locations: long-term relationships built on services to PR professionals, Association, Walgreens, Bayer, GENERATION, INC. credibility and honest counsel. including guaranteed placement Takeda, Eli Lilly, Novartis, North America Celebrating its 25th anniver- radio news releases with broad- MetLife, Genentech, Medtronic, • Over 200 Offices Worldwide sary this month, KEF Media casts on-air, and streaming Arm & Hammer, Kraft, Coca-Cola 7508 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 300 offers customized electronic online. We offer custom feed and McDonald’s. We share long- Bethesda, MD 20814 Middle East communications services radio news releases, radio media term agency relationships with 301/664-6448 • Competitive Online Booking including SMTs, B-roll, PSAs, tours, podcasts and radio PSAs. Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & www.newsgeneration.com Europe RMTs, ANRs, Internet Media Our expertise extends to place- Wolfe, Cooney/Waters, Edelman, twitter.com/newsgeneration • One-on-One Travel Consultation Tours, secured media, in-market ment opportunities in both the Fleishman-Hillard, GCI, tuninginradio.blogspot.com Content website: Asia media tours, multi-media releas- Hispanic and African American Ketchum, Ogilvy, Porter Novelli, es, webcasts, podcasts, micro- markets as well. www.radionewssource.com WCG and Weber Shandwick. [email protected] • Leisure Travel Experts Find out about cruises sailing from New York sites, corporate film and video As producer and syndicator of and other worldwide destinations productions, commercials, spe- the award-winning national NEWSCAST cial events, and much more. radio programs, Radio Health Susan Matthews Apgood, Our wide ranging expertise Journal and Viewpoints, President 888-333-3116 includes healthcare and pharma, MediaTracks maintains contacts 526 West 26th Street, Suite 515 sports, entertainment, food and at thousands of major stations New York, NY 10001 News Generation’s services 212/206-0055 beverage, travel and hospitality, and networks throughout the include: radio media tours, Fax: 212/206-0101 audio news releases, audio bite fashion and beauty, and numer- U.S. Whether clients need www.newscastus.com ous other categories. national reach, targeted market lines, public service announce- ments, radio broadcast alerts, KEF Media is the only firm placement, or distribution Jim Sulley, President with an exclusive agreement to through the internet, and podcasts. 212-563-3500 • OmegaNewYork.com produce and place our clients’ MediaTracks can provide the newscast’s award winning Continued on page 34 content with the Independent appropriate services for the mes- photographers, video producers,  World Headquarters • 3102 Omega Office Park • Fairfax, VA 22031• 703-359-0200

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Leading the Travel Industry by Providing Professional Travel Services Since 1972

• 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

212-563-3500 • OmegaNewYork.com World Headquarters • 3102 Omega Office Park • Fairfax, VA 22031• 703-359-0200 Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:54 PM Page 34

PROFILES OF VIDEO & BROADCAST FIRMS

tion needs. In the past decade to tell your story to media out- alone, NewsWatch has aired lets across the country. We cre- over 3,000 SMTs and 5,000 ate feature articles for our VNRs. Topics range from health clients and send them to 10,000 & medicine to consumer elec- newspapers, including 8,500 tronics to food, fashion and weeklies and 1,500 dailies. public awareness campaigns. Clients receive 100 to 400 Many of America’s best-known placements per release. NAPS celebrities, politicians, scien- also produces Video Feature tists and business leaders have Releases that are distributed to appeared on NewsWatch. Our 1,000 broadcasters nationwide, clients consist of virtually every as well as Radio Feature Fortune 100 company as well as Releases sent to 6,500 stations many of the top PR agencies across the U.S. NAPS clients and production companies in include most Fortune 500 com- the U.S. and abroad; giving you panies, the top 20 PR firms, and the confidence to know your hundreds of associations and business is in good hands. government agencies. Let NAPS create a free proposal for NEXTPERT you. Visit www.napsinfo.com Katlean de Monchy, Editor in Chief, Nextpert News, produces 1-minute for more information. feature segments airing every 15 minutes on the New York Taxi TV. DIGITAL PLANNED needs. Since the 1990s, 1521 York Ave., #2 TELEVISION ARTS NEWS GENERATION NewsWatch has been helping New York, NY 10028 clients reach national audiences 212/229-1234 Continued from page 32 Fax: 212/229-1002 1110 Second Avenue for their broadcast campaigns, [email protected] including Satellite Media Tours New York, NY 10022 www.nextpert.com 212/583-2718 and Video News Releases. As www.plannedtvarts.com the leading independent con- Why we rock: At News David Post, Executive Producer [email protected] Generation, we pride ourselves sumer TV news program in the country, NewsWatch provides on holding the highest standards Nextpert is a leader in the the kind of guaranteed, verifi- Brian Feinblum, CMO in media relations and on pitch- broadcast market for more than able results that will exceed ing the best stories in the indus- 10 years. Katlean de Monchy, even the most demanding Planned Television Arts, a try. No other medium reaches as host, is natively fluent in many people, in as many places client’s expectations. division of Ruder Finn, has been Spanish, French and English, serving clients since 1962. The as radio, and our goal is to make Since its inception, allowing her to reach a diversi- your experience with radio both NewsWatch has strived to pro- firm is known for delivering ty of consumers in many forms broadcast service to the enter- simple and rewarding. vide our clients with unparal- of media. Nextpert creates, pro- Our media relations team is the leled results for their media tainment, book publishing, duces, hosts and delivers con- healthcare, association, and cor- most experienced, knowledge- projects. That’s why we’ve built tent to all media platforms. The able and responsive team work- one of the most extensive TV porate worlds. end? No, just the beginning. Specialty services include the ing in media relations today. distribution networks in the ONLY from Nextpert: Taxi TV Through our long-standing rela- industry. A placement on Satellite TV Tour (15-18 local — Katlean hosts a weekly seg- TV interviews from one location tionships with radio reporters, we NewsWatch means 100% guar- ment of one-minute features; have the know-how and tenacity anteed airings on more than 60 in a single morning), a trade- Gas Station TV — coast to marked service; national and to get the best earned placements full-power broadcast stations, coast — Katlean hosts monthly with the right contacts. including all of the top 20 U.S. local television and radio servic- segments; Branded Social es and the trademarked Morning Our station and network data- markets. Combined with a pow- Games, developed and distrib- base is updated daily with the erful network affiliation, each Drive Radio Tour (guarantee of uted with your brand, and Next 20-22 interviews with local and potential to reach more than week NewsWatch airs in over Island — the first 3D virtual 13,500 outlets with over 35 dif- 190 markets reaching more than national radio shows in one world for the mass market and morning). Our targeted online ferent format categories. All serv- 100 million households across brand friendly. ices are available in English and the country. Once your airings media campaign generates cov- Spanish. are completed, we provide you erage with influential blogs and with a detailed, verified report NORTH AMERICAN top Web sites. NEWSWATCH TV that contains the kind of viewer- PRECIS Sample media clients include ship data clients demand. As Jeff Foxworthy, Price-Chopper, the face of digital distribution SYNDICATE, INC. Suzanne Somers, Judge Judy, 10875 Main St, Suite 214 Consumer Reports, People, 1- Fairfax, VA 22030 evolves, NewsWatch is primed 703/359-5480 to deliver real and measurable 415 Madison Avenue, 12th Floor [email protected] broadcast results in and beyond New York, NY 10017 View and download profiles of PR firms www.NewsWatchTV.com television. 212/867-9000 from our online database, which now fea- Located in the Washington, 800/222-5551 tures hundreds of firms listed in 12 different Ed Tropeano, President DC area, the NewsWatch staff www.napsinfo.com specialty areas, now searchable by Google: offers over three decades of The NewsWatch Television broadcast experience and has , President Dorothy York WWW.ODWYERPR.COM Network is the one-stop answer the skill and expertise to meet to all your TV distribution your most challenging distribu- NAPS is a cost-effective way

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PROFILES OF VIDEO & BROADCAST FIRMS

800-FLOWERS, Motion Panasonic and others rely on Picture Association, American our expert video services, inter- Heart Association, AAA, active news releases, digital Orbitz, Lonely Planet, Hilton media centers, and thenews- Hotels, Lance Armstrong, market.com, the world’s largest President Jimmy Carter, content community for journal- Random House, McGraw-Hill, ists and influencers, to tightly Warner Books, St. Martin’s manage their messages across Press, and Simon & Schuster. on-air, online, social media and syndication networks. We are PLUS MEDIA, INC. privately held and headquar- tered in New York, with offices in London, Ahmadabad, 20 West 23rd Street, 3rd Flr. Atlanta, Beijing, Chicago, New York, NY 10010 Denver, Los Angeles, Mumbai, 212/206-8160 Fax: 212/206-8168 Munich, San Francisco and www.plusmedia.com Washington, DC. [email protected] Our underlying C.O.D.E. for [email protected] success is: Create Once, Deploy [email protected] Everywhere. Contact us today for a demo or to learn more. Natalie Weissman, VP, Sales Andrea Goldberg, Sales Exec. WASHINGTON Melodie Sisk, Sales Exec. INDEPENDENT PLUS Media’s team is a PRODUCTIONS group of passionate, creative and client-focused industry pro- fessionals. Through creativity, 1819 L. Street, NW, Suite 100 flexibility and journalistic Washington, DC 20036 savvy, we consistently deliver 202/638-3400 SusanStolov@WashingtonIndepen top 50’s markets and ensure that dentProductions.com our clients’ ROI is not only met but surpassed. With over 25 years of experience in Susan Stolov, President Broadcast PR, PLUS Media has the passion, know-how and Share. Post. Tweet. Tell a commitment to deliver on its friend. Washington Independent promises. Productions produces and dis- PLUS Media Cares tributes videos that make peo- Services include: Single & ple talk. That’s what makes us Co-Op In-City Media Tours; TV different. Satellite Media Tours; Radio WIP puts issues, ideas and Media Tours; Radio News products on the nation’s agenda Releases. on behalf of associations, Fortune 500 companies, PR SYNAPTIC DIGITAL firms and government agencies. Our strategy: To impact your audience with powerful video 708 Third Ave. that gets your message across New York, NY 10017 and achieves goals. Raw and 212/682 8300 web ready or for the big screen. www.synapticdigital.com Our videos raise money, www.thenewsmarket.com [email protected] explain a cause, teach or pro- mote. Our strength is in mak- ing complicated issues, simple. John Haake, VP, Global Marketing Winner of more than 25 industry awards, WIP strate- Synaptic Digital connects gizes, produces and distributes brands with their audiences videos, b-roll feeds, TV/Radio across relevant channels using PSA’s, multimedia news releas- the power of video. We are the es and HTML emails with premier content creation and “click here” video links. multichannel distribution plat- Whether you are doing same form for brands, organizations day shooting and distribution or and their agencies. General a longer format HD video shot Motors, Honda, American in several cities, we use the lat- Express, GlaxoSmithKline, est technology to get your mes- Google, Intel, NATO, Ericsson, sage across and out. 

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OPINION Professional Development

Transparency PR primer informed decisions. By Fraser Seitel bility of information — financial and This assumes, first, that the material is non-financial — that management pro- presented clearly without legalistic vides to key constituents. overkill; and, second, that consumers are ublic Relations Society of In other words if even a good company motivated to make a more informed deci- America’s “Statement of hides information that would be of sion. Some will be; others will not. PProfessional Values” includes, “material” knowledge to its shareholders Take hospitals, for example. In a setting among the profession’s most important — like the extent of the illness of its of third party payment, many consumers ethical standards, the CEO, for example — than that organiza- find hospital cost data to be meaningless practice among its tion is suspect when it comes to trans- because their insurance pays the bill. So members of “trans- parency. they will welcome quality data, but may parency.” Literal translation: It can’t be trusted. ignore pricing. And, if data on quality is Constituents And who among absent or confusing, some patients will us would dispute the Every organization has a number of key tend to view higher prices as a signal of importance of com- constituents with which it must commu- better quality. Presumed benefit #2: municating clearly, nicate and about which it must be sensi- Inside the without obfuscation tive. Among them: organization, there’s another result: Fraser P. Seitel has or deception? Investors. Stockholders and bondhold- Supervisors and staff will become more been a communications aware of the organization’s performance, consultant, author and President Obama ers have a clear right to know what’s teacher for 30 years. He told his departments, going on in terms of the institution’s busi- understand where improvement can be is the author of the “My Administration ness and finances. Regular communica- made, and know their role in improving Prentice-Hall text, The is committed to cre- tion with investors is usually the best pol- it. Practice of Public This assumes an enlightened culture of Relations. ating an unprece- icy. Just ask Warren Buffet, whose dented level of open- Annual Letter to Shareholders is not only continuous improvement and constant ness in Government. We will work cherished but, more important, believed. communication. together to ensure the public trust and Consumers/Customers/Clients. Client It is axiomatic in public relations that: establish a system of transparency, public “transparency” is the primary 21st centu- You won’t be able to persuade the people participation, and collaboration.” ry thrust of state and federal legislation — outside that you are a top-quality organi- Google the words “transparency + cor- whether dealing with hospital patients, zation, unless the people inside believe it poration,” and you’ll come up with 48 mortgage borrowers, or consumers of first. million listings. every stripe. Stated another way, for them to be with Herb Baum, former CEO of Dial Employees. With recession-inspired you, employees must be told “why” deci- Corporation and Quaker State, and author salary freezes and layoffs abroad in the sions have been made. Answering the of the book, “The Transparent Leader,” land, the employee public has become “why” is the critical question. Presumed benefit #3: says, “Transparency is a long-term com- increasingly brittle in the 21st century. Nationally, if mitment of being honest and open in Winning management trust isn’t easy and organizations share actions taken and everything you do.” requires constant credible communica- lessons learned, they will be considered CNN’s Anderson Cooper agrees, “It’s a tion. by markets, evaluators and commentators good thing that there are bloggers out Media. Like ‘em or not, the local media as the “top of class.” there watching very closely and holding play a key role in most communities. The world is awash in ratings agencies people accountable. I’m for as much They’re the last public you need as ene- — from J.D. Power rankings of airlines Consumer Report’s transparency in the newsgathering mies when you’re on the wrong side of a and banks to ratings US News & World process as possible.” crisis. of autos and cribs to Report’s And then there’s everybody’s favorite, Legislators/Regulators. It also makes assessments of colleges and hos- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who sense to keep on the right side of legisla- pitals. Such rankings are important in a intones, “Transparent government tends tors and regulators, with periodic updates society overwhelmed by uber competi- to produce just government.” of how the organization is doing. tion in every sector. Transparency, in short, has become the General public. The public needs to One way to enhance an organization’s new “watchword” for openness in society. look at each local institution as a “com- status in these competitive rankings is to practice “transparency.” And since PR professionals should be the munity resource.” To accomplish that The risks “keepers of the transparency flame” with- task demands regular communication. The benefits in the organization, here’s a primer on Becoming a “transparent” organiza- what each of us ought to know about the There are a number of presumed bene- tion is not without risks. Among them: Presumed risk #1 subject. fits to greater transparency. Here are : Great expecta- A definition three: tions. Transparency is about being open, hon- Presumed benefit #1: If organizations Transparency in communication pre- est, and accountable in how you conduct report more information about their sumes “leadership.” And a leader is held your business and how you communicate. philosophies, policies, and programs, in a to great expectations. Once an organiza- A transparent organization demonstrates meaningful, consumer-friendly format, Continued on next page its integrity through the quality and relia- customers can make better and more

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Opinion Questions regarding Libya begin sounding familiar By Arthur Solomon

Why is it that no matter what happens Why is it that when all is said and done, to Qaddafi, I feel that the Arab Street will I fear that any Libyan military action will hy is it when I listened to blame the West for attacking another be similar to that of President Bush’s President Obama talk about Muslim country? “coalition of the willing,” prior to the WLibya, I thought I was listen- Why is it that no matter what the out- U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003? ing to President come of the Libya situation, the Arab Why is it when I think of the U.S. again Bush II? Street will say that the West just got getting involved in a war against another Why is it when I involved in order to ensure a supply of Muslim country, it reminds me of Iraq listened to Secretary oil? and Afghanistan? of State Hillary Why is it when I think of U.S. intelli- Why is it that I feel that the U.S. never Clinton talk about gence in Libya, and the other countries in has enough money to feed the hungry, Libya, I thought I the Mideast, I think of our military intel- clothe the poor, provide decent housing was listening to ligence prior to our sending troops to for the homeless, make certain that all our Secretary of State Iraq? citizens receive the healthcare they need, Colin Powell talk Why is it whenever I hear Sen. John but always has money enough to provide Arthur Solomon is about Iraq? Kerry say that the U.S. must act against tax relief for the wealthy or for another a former Senior Vice President and Senior Why is it when I Qaddafi, I think I am listening to Sen. war? Counselor at Burson- listened to Obama John McCain? Why is it that I no longer believe any- Marsteller. talk about removing Why is it that whenever I hear Sen. thing that Obama says about America’s Colonel Qaddafi, I McCain urge action against Qaddafi, I foreign policy? thought I was listen- think I am listening to Sen. Kerry? Why is it that I feel certain that the U.S. ing to President Bush talk about regime Why is it that when I hear Sen. Joe has no idea of what type of government change? Lieberman talk about action against will emerge from Libya, or any other of Why is it when I listened to Obama talk Qaddafi, I think I am listening to some- the Mid-East countries now facing revo- about the Arab League supporting the one who should have retired years ago? lutions? U.N. resolution against Qaddafi, I Why is it that when Obama said, Why is it that the U.S. doesn’t wake up thought why don’t they offer troops and “American leadership is essential, but to the fact that not all successful revolu- money instead of talk support? that does not mean acting alone,” he tions work to America’s benefit? Why is it that when President Obama means that if military action is needed, Finally, why is it that when I listen to said, “Let me be clear, these terms are not many more U.S. servicemen lives will be the Obama administration speak about its negotiable,” I thought he was reading put at risk than that of all other nations Mid-East policy, I think I am listening to from a recycled President Bush speech? combined? the Bush agenda? 

TRANSPARENCY “more disclosure.” A CEO and board organization must ask, “Do we want the Continued from previous page  must be prepared for the inevitable light to shine from your own institution demands for “more.” — or emerge from somewhere else?”  Presumed risk #4: Accountability. tion is perceived as a “leader,” it is PR news briefs expected to offer up information on a Finally, transparency about your constant and consistent basis. actions is de facto acknowledgement Chrystler cans ‘F-bomb’ firm Presumed risk #2: No turning back. that management and board accept Chrysler says it isn’t going to renew the con- Once an organization discloses data, “accountability.” And sometimes, it’s tract of an Arlington, Va.-based social media firm “the horse has left the barn,” and it’s too tough to be “accountable” to all con- that was responsible for dropping an “F-Bomb” late to lock the door. You’re now com- stituencies simultaneously. For exam- March 9 on the company’s Twitter account. ple, securities holders might feel enti- “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the mitted to a policy of disclosure. Motorcity and yet no one here knows how to “f- A hospital which discloses cost and tled to certain information that if -----’ drive,” read the offending tweet on the quality data or a university that disclos- exposed to the staff might cause prob- ChryslerAutos site. es admissions policies and results are lems. Since management is “account- The tweet was removed and the automaker issued an apology to say that its “account was forever obligated to releasing that data. able” to both constituent groups, walk- compromised early today. We are taking steps to There is no turning back. ing the tightrope of transparency is not resolve it.” Presumed risk #3: More, more, always easy. Pete Snyder, CEO of New Media Strategies, more! All of this suggests that the decision to posted a blog March 10, regretting “this unfortu- nate incident. It certainly doesn’t accurately When asked “what he wanted,” the become more “transparent” should not reflect the overall high-quality work we have legendary labor leader Samuel Gompers be taken lightly. Some of the nation’s produced for Chrysler. We respect their decision famously replied, “More.” So it is when most formidable companies — Apple, and will work with them to ensure an effective an organization proclaims itself, “trans- Goldman Sachs and Disney, to cite three transition of this business going forward.” Snyder and NMS have counseled blue-chips parent.” The stark reality is that trans- — are among the least “transparent.” such as Burger King, Time Warner, CBS, Revlon, parency is “inelastic” it knows no In the end, “disclosure” is generally Northwest Airlines, Reebok and Coca-Cola. bounds. Constituents always want preferable to “exposure.” And so, an

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OPINION Mideast shows difficulties tossing the corrupt By Jack O’Dwyer available to pitch the “Business Case for security checks to enter. Staff of 50 or so PR.” has 22,000 sq. ft. to rattle around in. All but 3. Failure to post throughout the year the seven of staff names are now hidden. he spread of revolts in the Middle list of Assembly delegates with their e- 20. Roadblocks put in way of member East shows how hard it is to topple an mails (reachable by a single e-mail). interaction including removal of the former Tentrenched regime no matter how 4. Refusal to audiocast the Assembly single list of 110 chapter presidents. Visits corrupt it may be. when it would be cheap and easy to do so. to 110 websites needed to get such info. Insiders have their hands on the army, the 5. Failure to supply a transcript of the Society committed theft treasury, usually the press, and most impor- Assembly since 2005 after doing so for There’s no question that the Society tantly the flow of information. many years. committed massive theft of the intellectual A populace kept in the dark is a weak 6. Substandard and misleading financial property of authors from 1980 to 1984. populace. reporting marred by booking dues as cash Chief victim by far was the O’Dwyer Only a few members and providing late reports (IRS Form 990 Co. whose articles comprised up to a quar- of a country or group not given to Assemblies). ter of the materials in some of the 1,000 can be counted on to 7. Lack of financial information in the packets that were sold at prices up to $55. voice opposition. The web press room. Financial reports available To those Society members and leaders American Revolution to members only. who ask us why don’t we also cover the in the 1770s was 8. Cronyism on the board now lets any positive aspects of the Society, we reply backed by a small member return indefinitely — negating the that if some neighbor stole something valu- percentage of the intent of the founders who barred returnees. able from their house and wouldn’t return population. 9. Making huge decisions such as cancel- it, there would be nothing good to say Jack O’Dwyer Some members of ing the printed members’ directory and about that neighbor. the PR Society of moving to downtown New York without The victim would not want to hear about America staged their own revolt last year any input from the Assembly. how hard the head of the family works, nor via the “Committee for a Democratic 10. Refusal to discuss providing a PDF of how kind he or she is, nor what his or her PRSA” (CDP). the membership list. charitable activities are. The revolt against 35 years of a monopoly 11. Failure to have a press conference. The victim wants the property back or on Society leadership by APRs went Last conference involving CEO and board adequate compensation paid for it. nowhere. Only 305 signatures were was in 1993. Lying and thieving at national level obtained on a petition in spite of a six-month 12. Interference with coverage of 2010 Lying and thieving at the national level campaign. Assembly including barring photos or is responsible for the three-year recession It’s easy to see why. The PRSA board recording any part of the Assembly — new that has caused severe pain to many wouldn’t let the CDP e-mail the 21,000 policies instituted in 2010. Americans and lesser pain to the rest. members, a list reserved for pitches to mem- 13. Refusal to let the only reporter who The Financial Crisis Inquiry bers for seminars and webinars. has covered the Assembly for the past 15 Commission concluded that the melt- Tactics online never mentioned it. A story years (Jack O’Dwyer) attend the 2010 down was avoidable and not due to inex- in printed Tactics finally appeared in Assembly lunch. orable economic forces. September. 14. Refusal to give this reporter creden- The cause was Bernard Madoff-type The board itself was noticeably cool on tials to cover the 2010 conference although corruption in the banks and big Wall St. this, saying it only favored the APR propos- credentials were given to us for the houses and complicity with government al that had already been defeated in 2009. Assembly (a contradictory policy that regulators who abandoned their responsi- “Revolt” was 11 years old in 2010 defies explanation). bilities. The revolt against the APR monopoly is 15. Ignoring bedrock Robert’s Rules (that One duty of PR is to be a “corporate now 11 years old. The first Strategic make the Assembly the “ultimate” authori- conscience.” It’s supposed to be more Planning Committee in 1999 urged removal ty and bar proxy voting) while pledging than just a tool of business. It’s not sup- of APR throughout the bylaws. The 1999 obedience to RR. posed to be “a secret weapon,” as treated board pledged a fight against any such 16. Ignoring the Assembly which asked by Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld. change. for an investigation of e-mail elections PR’s largest group of PR people should Following is a list of 20 abusive policies (BigPulse would handle such votes for a be setting an example of openness, hon- and practices of the Society that need few thousand dollars). esty and democracy. reforming. Dogged adherence to them by 17. Wining and dining chapter presi- The Society needs outside counsel but Society leaders and staff damages the image dents-elect, district and section chairs in can’t have it because no PR firm would of PR, the Society itself, and all APRs. New York each June at a cost of $100K- allow its name to be identified with such 1. Refusal to listen to or dialogue with plus when this should be a Spring member and press-dodging and members including Fellows who send ques- Assembly. stonewalling. tions to the board. 18. Refusal to settle with the authors it None of the major CPA firms will work 2. Elected officers who spend the year ripped off from 1980 to 1994, a practice for it, either. Deloitte & Touche and Ernst dodging questions and speak to a half dozen that earned it hundreds of thousands of ill- & Young split more than ten years ago. or fewer of the 110 chapters and never to the gotten dollars. New leadership of this “revolt” is need- New York chapter. Schedule of 2011 chair 19. Excessive costs of staff and the isolat- ed. Acting head Art Stevens says he and Rosanna Fiske is unavailable. No one is ed downtown h.q. that requires airport-level the CDP are on “winter break.” 

38 APRIL 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:54 PM Page 39

PEOPLE IN PR

November 2009 after a short stint. The clients such as Siemens, Fresh Direct and G&S makes consumer last long-term VP in the post was Perrin MAC AIDS Fund and created its splash Kaplan, who left in 2009 to form the mar- VoiceBoxx approach to line up speaking keting and PR shop Zebra Partners with opportunities at venues spanning the globe. other Nintendo vets in Seattle.  Kate Cronin, Ogilvy’s New York ibbs & Soell has recruited 25-year Managing Director, praised Risi’s skills PR vet Greg Sherry to expand its in creative problem-solving, CEO posi- Gconsumer practice at the New Barbour taps Dyke for tioning and knowledge of the evolving York-based shop that is celebrating its media landscape.  40th anniversary. comms. counsel Sherry takes staffers and clients of his SK Communications (U.S. Tennis Assn., he political action committee for HEAD USA, BenQ, Archdiocese of Mississippi governor and possible Oestreicher, Pearson Newark, Wenger/Swiss Army and Tpresidential candidate Haley tell all Commonfund ) to Barbour has brought in seasoned GOP PR G&S’ consumer operative Jim Dyke as a communications lifestyle practice advisor. eteran communicators Paul group. Dyke, who runs six-year-old PR and PA Oestreicher and Bob Pearson have He founded The Vwritten the latest “must-have” shop JDA Frontline out of D.C. and Sherry Group, South Carolina, is charged with manag- books for any PR library. which was acquired ing and raising Oestreicher, formerly of Hoffman-La by Publicis/BCOM. Barbour’s profile Roche, Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Earlier, Sherry nationally. Sanofi-Synthelabo, Edelman Health, Hill served as Director Haley PAC & Knowlton and Zeno Group, has written Greg Sherry of Communications Treasurer Henry “Camelot, Inc.: Leadership and for Spalding and Barbour said Dyke Management Insights from King Arthur Evenflo Cos. and will “help us man- and the Round Table.” was a VP at Robert Marston Assocs. age the increased The book charts Arthur’s evolution M&M/Mars, Campbell Soup, LG USA national media from clumsy youth, to wise King to tired Miller Brewing, Avon, Cadillac, FedEx interest and demand ruler. Oestreicher examines how Arthur’s Jim Dyke and Perrier have also received counsel for the governor.” successes/failures can be applied to  from Sherry. The Washington today’s business challenges. Post had named Dyke one of the six top The book is written for a broad audi- “free-agents” still available for the 2012 ence of business leaders and is filled with Gordon plugs into campaign. quotes from various Arthurian legends. Dyke was Communications Director Oestreicher views Nintendo for the Republican National Committee Camelot as a “great during President George W. Bush’s re- read while commut- gency vet Cynthia Gordon has election and Press Secretary for the RNC ing or traveling” plugged into the vacant prior to that. and a resource for AVP/Corporate Affairs post at Earlier, he was Press Secretary for training programs in Nintendo of America. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans and business, entrepre- The recent VP at Boston-based 360 PR worked on K Street as a communications neurship, human is based in Redwood City, Calif., to help strategist for Quinn Gillespie & resources and PR. Nintendo’s kick-off of the U.S. launch of Associates. Pearson, who is its 3DS gaming sys- Barbour is a former lobbyist and RNC Chief Technology tem. Chairman.  Officer and Media Officer at WCG, wrote Gordon previous- “Pre-Commerce: How Companies and ly ran PR and new Customers are Transforming Business media for Universal Weber Shandwick’s Together.” It explores how social media Studios as a VP and has upended the way customers make held in-house posts Risi to Ogilvy buying decisions, learn about a product at Dunkin’ Brands and why choose and support a brand over (Director/Corporate ennifer Risi, co-founder of Weber competitors. Communications) Shandwick’s global strategic Pearson sees a world moving from e- Cynthia Gordon and Togo’s. She Jmedia practice, joined Ogilvy PR commerce to pre-commerce. He notes also headed the Worldwide on March 1 as Executive VP that less than one percent of online time Chrysler account at and chief of its 360 media influence involves a transaction, while 99% of the GolinHarris in Chicago. operation. time is spent in researching, and socializ- At 360 PR, she headed digital and She will tackle media relations, brand ing about the product before the actual social media for the agency. innovation and work with clients to purchase. The VP/Corporate Affairs post had develop impactful “content-rich” cam- “Companies that develop excellence in been vacant for more than a year follow- paigns. pre-commerce will be the ones to drive ing the exit of Denise Kaigler in At Weber Shandwick, Risi counseled e-commerce success,” notes Pearson. 

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WASHINGTON REPORT NPR CEO Schiller quits

PR CEO Vivian Schiller resigned March 9 in the after- math of the “sting” operation orchestrated by conserva- Ntive political operative James O’Keefe, who secretly videotaped the network’s chief fund-raiser making disparaging remarks about the Tea Party and Republicans. O’Keefe, who pretended to be a rep from the Muslim Education Action Center, also told fund-raiser Ron Schiller (no relation to Vivian) that the group was considering making a $5M donation to NPR to counter “Zionist coverage” of other news outlets. Ron Schiller is also quoted as saying NPR, which is fighting off Republican Atlanta and Press Aide for Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Vivian Schiller efforts to cut its taxpayer funding, would campaign, among other posts. be better off without federal dollars. The He can be reached at [email protected] or 571/223/3888.  senior VP-development officially resigned March 8 though he had already announced plans to depart to the Dodd becomes lobbying star Aspen Institute. He has now dropped the Aspen job. On March 8, NPR released a statement in Vivian Schiller’s name that called the money-raiser’s remarks “contrary to what ormer Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd took the helm of the NPR stands for and are deeply distressing to reporters, editors Motion Picture Assn. of America on March 17. F The 66-year-old Dodd, who will earn a $1.5M salary, is the and others who bring fairness, civility and respect for a wide vari- ety of viewpoints to their work every day.” consummate D.C. insider who views his new post as a continua- In the next day’s announcement, NPR Chairman Dave tion of work on Capitol Hill. Dodd says he is eager to work to pro- Edwards accepted Vivian Schiller’s resignation with “under- tect intellectual property rights and expand international trade. standing, genuine regret and great respect for her leadership” He was elected to Congress in 1974 and moved to the Senate during the past two years. in 1981. Dodd succeeds Dan Glickman, former Kansas Joyce Slocum, Senior VP-Legal Affairs and General Counsel, Congressman and Secretary of Agriculture, who did a five-year moved to the interim CEO slot and the board has established an stint. Los Angeles Times executive transition team to hunt for new leadership.  The reported that Dodd’s appointment is a move by MPAA to regain some of the political clout that it enjoyed under the 40-year reign of Jack Valenti, a former aide to President Parnell sets up shop Johnson who “turned the lobbyist’s role into a starring turn.” Dodd takes the helm as the movie business suffers from plum- meting DVD sales, shrinking theater attendance, piracy and the gency veteran and PR professor Larry Parnell has set up a digital upheaval. MPAA members are Paramount Pictures, Sony Washington, D.C., area firm after spending the last few Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Universal Ayears building up the PR masters program at George City Studios, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Walt Disney Washington University. Studios.  Parnell said he’ll handle strategy development and implementa- tion, CSR and management training while developing a network of GOP gets Spicer for RNC specialized PR practitioners. Recent clients have included Discovery Communications and the Defense Information Security Agency. ean Spicer, a Bush Administration PR hand who Parnell said he’ll continue as an Associate co-founded D.C. PR firm Endeavour Global Strategies in S2009, has been named Communications Director for the professor at GWU while taking clients. “Our students benefit because we can give practi- Republican National Committee under new chair Reince cal, real life examples to support learning Priebus. and our clients benefit from our classroom Spicer and Endeavour co-founder experiences and the interaction with our Gretchen Hamel worked public and media exceptional students and colleagues,” he relations in the Office of the U.S. Trade said. Representative during the recent Bush Parnell’s resume touches every corner of administration. Larry Parnell PR — corporate, public sector, agency and Spicer previously worked for the House academia. He was Director of Global PR at Republican Congress, Dept. of Defense Ernst & Young, Senior VP of Corporate Criminal Investigation Task Force and Relations for Barrick Gold Corp. and VP for Hill & Knowlton National Republican Congressional Sean Spicer Canada. Other roles were at Beacon Advisors, Committee. StevensGouldPincus, Ketchum, Gavin Andersen and MS&L The RNC also hired former Rudy Group. Giuliani aide Rick Wiley, a former top Wisconsin GOP official, Parnell started out in politics as a speechwriter for the mayor of as political director heading into the 2012 election cycle. 

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International PR News

Morocco signs $2.5M ment with 90 days notice. The contract however states that it is anticipated that the engagement term will be extended for an pact with Gerson Global additional two years.  he Kingdom of Morocco is paying Gerson Global Strategic NATO’s Stopford stops at Advisors $2.5M through 2012 to oversee and supervise efforts Tin the U.S. to promote political and economic goals of the Weber Shandwick northern African state. Morocco is the site of a growing pro-democracy movement that has pressed King Mohammed VI for constitutional reform. On ichael Stopford, who was NATO's Deputy Secretary March 9, the King promised to relinquish some of his powers. General for Strategic Communications, has joined Human Rights Watch reports that security forces have alternated MWeber Shandwick as Executive between allowing peaceful demonstrations and breaking them up. VP/Senior Global Corporate Strategist. More than 35,000 people marched in the capital city of Rabat and Based in Washington, Stopford reports Casablanca on March 20. to Micho Spring, Global Corporate Under GGSA’s agreement, the New York-based firm shall recom- Chair. mend “appropriate third-party resources” to promote the Kingdom’s Stopford joined NATO in 2008 strategic interests as well as cross-border trade and business develop- from Coca-Cola, where he was Group ment between the Morocco and the U.S. Selected contractors are to Director of Corporate Reputation for be compensated separately by Morocco three years, ahead of the celebration of GGSA was founded by financier Russ Gerson, a Drexel Burnham the military alliance's 60th anniversary. Lambert alum and advisor to John McCain’s presidential campaign; Establishing a media operation in Afghanistan Stephen Norris, Co-Founder of the Carlyle Group — who recruited was among issues that he tackled. President Bush I, ex-Secretary of State Jim Baker, and former Earlier, Stopford handled PR duties for Syngenta International in Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci as advisors to Carlyle — and Switzerland and ExxonMobil in Texas. He also held posts at the Rabie Mansouri, a Moroccan who has advised multinationals in the United Nations (information center director) in New York, Geneva middle east and northern African region. and D.C. and served as the World Bank's chief of media and PR at Either GGSA or Morocco may terminate the representation agree- its International Finance Corp.  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.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Washington, D.C., registered March 2, 2011 for Embassy of Japan, Washington, D.C., regarding counseling and advising on U.S. international trade law and communicating with U.S. government officials about issues impacting the principal.

Reid Collins & Tsai LLP (f/k/a Reid Davis LLP), Austin, Texas, registered February 15, 2011 for The United Mexican States (Mexico), Washington, D.C., regarding providing legal services.

Quinn Gillespie & Associates, LLC, Washington, D.C., registered March 1, 2011 for Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) New York, New York, N.Y., regarding providing reports on the state of deliberations within the U.S. Congress and Administration concerning energy and environment policy and more. Lobbying News  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 http://sopr.senate.gov.

American Continental Group, Washington, D.C., registered March 9, 2011 for International Intellectual Property Institute, Washington, D.C., regarding appropriations funding and government contracting.

Bockorny Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., registered March 4, 2011 for Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Washington, D.C., regarding tax issues related to the health industry.

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Washington, D.C., registered March 10, 2011 for ATM Industry Association, Sioux Falls, S.D., regarding imple- mentation of Dodd-Frank with regard to the ATM industry and legislation impacting the ATM industry.

Mercury Strategies, LLC, Washington, D.C., registered March 13, 2011 for Qwest Communications Intl., Inc., Denver, Colo., regarding S. 3480-Cyber and Communications Act Infrastructure Security Act and general telecommunications and Internet legislation.

Raffaniello & Associates, Washington, D.C., registered March 7, 2011 for Nuclear Energy Institute, Inc., Washington, D.C., regarding nuclear facility depreciation and allocation of nuclear facility production tax credits.

Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, Boston, Mass., registered March 8, 2011 for Association of Information Protection, Washington, D.C., regarding data privacy issues.

APRIL 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 41 Aprilmagazine:Layout 1 3/31/11 3:54 PM Page 42

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