» Arts & Entertainment - The Cycle

Icahn and Lionsgate continue battle

Posted April 22, 2009

The has an update on the conflict between Carl Icahn and Lionsgate, which recently hired Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher for PR support. Activist shareholder Icahn extended his offer to buy up Lionsgate’s convertible debt to May 1.

But some on Wall Street saw the corporate raider’s remarks as little more than classic spin.

“That’s his PR twist,” said Alan Gould, a New York-based media analyst with Natixis Bleichroeder Inc. “I don’t think the price he was offering was that much better than what the bonds are trading at.”

Icahn blogs!!
At long last, Carl Icahn's blog went live on his site, The Icahn Report. With just seven entries sin...
Marketing challenges of dark and depressing films
Lionsgate is trying to figure out how to market its much-discussed Sundance acquisition, Push: Based...
Healthcare battle continued
It looks like last week's battle over the future of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S...
Morgan Stanley vs. NYT Company

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Crisis Communications, Financial/IR, Internal Communications, Media

Tags:Carl Icahn, Joele Frank, LA Times, Lionsgate

Disney plants trees for ‘Earth’

Posted April 22, 2009

Disneynature, the Mouse House’s nature-themed label, pledged to plant a tree for every ticket purchased for Earth, its first film. So far 500,000 people have bought advance tickets to the film, which opens on Earth Day, April 22.

Disney begins testing its toy products
You had to figure it was only a matter of time before other major toy providers started getting proa...
A Disney character for every stage of life
In case you're already wondering about what presents to buy your daughter for Christmas, Disney has ...
Disney and Pixar announce animation lineup
When Walt Disney announced its upcoming animated films with Pixar Animation Studios this week, prett...
Mattel and China
Famous last words

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, CSR, Green

Tags:Disney, Disneynature, Earth

Studios still beholden to TV spend

Posted April 20, 2009

As the season for summer blockbusters approaches, movie studios find themselves wedded to similar “blockbuster” marketing spends that rely heavily on TV advertising, the .

Despite a sharp decline in consumer spending and DVD sales that have long been the underpinning of the movie business, the studios are about to embark upon the costliest summer for movie marketing campaigns they have ever pursued. A dozen big-budget pictures are set to crowd into theaters over the short 16-week popcorn movie season, many with worldwide marketing budgets that will top $100 million each.

And much of that budget is going to pricey TV ads, say the executives. Jeff Blake, Sony’s worldwide marketing and distribution chief, told the paper: “Television is still the No. 1 medium to sell our product,” and added that although the Internet “is a rising medium,” it “doesn’t yet have the reach of TV.”

Might the PR industry have something to say?

Universal Studios shuts down Back to the Future
The Web page for "Back to the Future: The Ride" says it all: “The ride is history.” As of 9 am ...
Who will you be for Halloween?
Consumers this year will spend an estimated $4.96 billion on bite-size candy, fake blood and fangs, ...
And the backlash continues
With the holiday season just around the corner, this is not good news for retailers and toy manufact...
CRT/tanaka to build Web site for TMNT25
US studios don’t see the market at Cannes

Filed under: Advertising, Arts & Entertainment, Consumer, Marketing

Tags:Arts & Entertainment, Marketing, Sony

SAG and AMPTP reach agreement

Posted April 20, 2009

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) National Board of Directors approved the tentative agreement that the union developed with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) last week.

The two organizations released a joint statement on Friday, saying they have reached a tentative agreement for the TV and theatrical contract that expired June 30, 2008. The SAG board voted on Sunday to approve and recommend the agreement to members. SAG then released the details of the agreement.

The situation and communications between the two sides have been followed since the contract originally expired on June 30, 2008. The proposed contract expires on June 30, 2011, putting SAG in sync with other unions, such as American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), for renegotiations with AMPTP.

SAG and AMPTP: Still going
After several days of talks last week, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPT...
SAG and producers’ talks break down
Despite mediation, talks between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture an...
Autoworkers strike again
Tens of thousands of Chrysler LLC autoworkers walked off the job this morning after the company and ...
Coke bulks up its health, wellness messaging with fitness show
Diversity agreement: is PR next?

Filed under: Announcements, Arts & Entertainment, Media

Tags:AFTRA, AMPTP, contract, entertainment, SAG

Fashion PR show a reality

Posted April 16, 2009

It has a name and network! Kell on Earth on Bravo. This, coupled with another season of The Rachel Zoe Project, might save my Bravo dinner parties from the loss of Project Runway.

So meta, your head will explode
AdAge reports that reality show king Mark Burnett is producing a reality show where people compete b...
The ‘nitty gritty’ from Cutrone
People's Revolution owner Kelly Cutrone is at it again, doing PR for her PR for her PR, and everythi...
WGA continues to boycott FremantleMedia
Following up on its American Idol Truth Tour, the Writers Guild of America is encouraging members to...
‘Starter Wife’ gets into fashion
Agencies, start your engines

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Culture

Tags:Bravo, Kell on Earth, Kelly Cutrone, Project Runway, The Rachel Zoe Project

Stephen Colbert and NASA come to an agreement

Posted April 15, 2009

NASA avoided some PR drama when it agreed to name something in its new International Space Station after comedian Stephen Colbert: the treadmill. Colbert encouraged his fans to write in his name in the contest to name the new wing of the station, and NASA responded to the outpouring of votes saying they have final say in the naming of the node.

Astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams appeared on The Colbert Report on Tuesday night to announce the naming of the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT).

“I think a treadmill is better than a node…because the node is just a box for the treadmill,” Colbert said. “Nobody says, ‘Hey, my mom bought me a Nike box.’ They want the shoes that are inside.”

NASA vs. climate change, revisted
The issue of global warming politics has reared its ugly head again at NASA, this time with a newly ...
Boozing at zero gravity
A report alleging that NASA astronauts were allowed to fly drunk compounds the reputation woes of th...
An interesting board meeting
Blogger and Knight-Ridder veteran Ken Doctor has a suggestion for the newspaper industry: while you'...
Messy situation for NASA
Live it up Jetsons-style by 2020

Filed under: Announcements, Arts & Entertainment, Branding, Technology

Tags:NASA, Stephen Colbert

#amazonfail

Posted April 13, 2009

Blogs and Twitter are abuzz with , the coined after several books were removed from the ranking system on Amazon.com. The books, largely with homosexual themes, included Brokeback Mountain, Ellen DeGeneres: A Biography, and Heather Has Two Mommies. It seems ranks have now returned to some titles, but some blogs are keeping track of those that were affected.

Mark Probst, the author of gay romance book The Filly, first noticed that his book was de-ranked and contacted Amazon. After receiving a response saying it was due to a policy where “adult” materials were not included in rankings, he blogged about it. But when consumers pointed out that some heterosexual “adult” materials were still included in rankings, Amazon said the original de-ranking was due to a .

The news has quickly spread through social media like Twitter, and some groups are urging a of the retailer. Amazon does not have a press release up on its Web site and representatives from the online retailer and its PR agency OutCast Communications have not yet returned PRWeek’s calls for comment.

UPDATE: Patty Smith, director of corporate communications for Amazon, replied to PRWeek with a statemtn via email, saying “This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection.”

No related posts

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Blogs, Corporate Reputation, Crisis Communications, Diversity, Social Media, Technology, Web sites

Tags:#amazonfail, Amazon.com, LGBT, OutCast Communications

Gershon Kekst rubs elbows with Martha Stewart

Posted April 8, 2009

Vanity Fair did a piece about the heavy-hitters who frequent The Four Seasons, which turns 50 years old. Martha Stewart, Tom Brokaw, and Liz Smith are among those featured in a photo taken in the restaurant’s Grill Room. Standing on top, fourth from the right, is PR’s own Gershon Kekst. Click for video as well.

Networking on Marthapedia
Homemakers who find that MySpace (or Facebook) just isn’t their cup of coffee may soon be able to ...
Publicis acquires Kekst
NEW YORK: Publicis Groupe has acquired corporate and financial PR firm Kekst and Company. Kekst will...
Martha pulls the plug on Blueprint
Martha Stewart's lifestyle magazine, Blueprint, will cease publication as a stand-alone title after ...
AIG-Kekst relationship not new
Private is as Private does

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Food and Beverage, Public Relations, Viral Video, Web sites

Tags:Four Seasons, Gershon Kekst, Vanity Fair

Phoenix Suns get Twackled

Posted April 7, 2009

The Phoenix Suns, which has been a leader in social media in the NBA, launched its own Twitter-based platform, which will collect Tweets from fans and Suns players and staff and display them on its Web site.

The new platform, Suns Twackle, was developed in partnership with Octagon Digital and, in addition to fans, will pull in Tweets from Shaquille O’Neal (@The_Real_Shaq), Steve Nash (@The_Real_Nash), the Suns Dancers (@SunsDancers), various staffers, and Alvin Gentry (@AlvinGentry), the NBA’s first head coach to join Twitter.

Department of confusion
First banks, then beers, now colleges? News comes in from Arizona, where the NFL's Cardinals have s...
In terms of stereotypes, the worlds of professional athletes and the tech-savvy users of Twitter don...
Arizona PR pro launches sports video Web site
Curt Blakeney, the president of Edge PR in Phoenix, AZ, launched MadGame.com, a sports video-sharing...
Everything is getting pinched
Toyota gives Phoenix teens lessons in defensive driving

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Social Media, Sports, Technology, Web sites

Tags:NBA, Phoenix Suns,

Marketing your book on the Web

Posted March 19, 2009

On Wednesday evening, I attended a panel on online marketing for books. The NYC Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association hosted Getting the Word Out: Marketing Your Book on the Web, held at the Jefferson Market Library in New York. The well attended event focused on topics including being authentic when using social media, how blogging and social media translates to book sales, and ().

Susannah Greenberg, principal of Susannah Greenberg PR, moderated the panel, which included several authors and book publishing insiders: Fauzia Burke, founder and president of Internet marketing firm FSB Associates; Peter Costanzo, director of online marketing for Perseus Books Group; Ron Hogan, founder of Beatrice.com and senior editor at MediaBistro’s Galleycat; Kelly Leonard, executive director of online marketing at Hachette Book Group USA; and Abby Stokes, author of Is This Thing On?: A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers, Technophobes, and the Kicking and Screaming. Read more after the jump.
Read more »

O.J. book won’t go away
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‘Washington Post’ closes stand-alone book section
The Washington Post is the latest major news outlet to change its stand-alone book section. Book Wor...
PRWeek’s List, Book (of)
In case you missed it elsewhere on the Inter-blog-o-Web, here is a free link to our 2006 Book of Li...
Manhattan Madam Tell-All TK
Oh, the holiday joy

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Blogs, Branding, Events, Media, Social Media, Web sites

Tags:Abby Stokes, Beatrice.com, Book Publishing, FSB Associates, Hachette Book Group USA, online marketing, Perseus Books Group, Susannah Greenberg PR,

Icahn and Lionsgate continue battle

Disney plants trees for ‘Earth’

Studios still beholden to TV spend

SAG and AMPTP reach agreement

Fashion PR show a reality

Stephen Colbert and NASA come to an agreement

#amazonfail

Gershon Kekst rubs elbows with Martha Stewart

Phoenix Suns get Twackled

Marketing your book on the Web

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