» Announcements - The Cycle

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.

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Filed under: Announcements, Arts & Entertainment, Media

Tags:AFTRA, AMPTP, contract, entertainment, SAG

DFW decision pending

Posted April 15, 2009

On March 17, we announced that Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had issued an RFP that closed in early April. The decision is still pending with Brian Murnahan, DFW’s media relations specialist, saying that the announcement will be made at a company board meeting in either May or June. More to come…

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Filed under: Agency-client relationship, Announcements, Travel

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.”

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

Tags:NASA, Stephen Colbert

Comms assists homebuilders merger

Posted April 8, 2009

Good news today, given the abysmal state of the M&A business. Homebuilders had agreed to a $1.3 billion merger were accompanied by a variety of comms initiatives. A Web site has been established that talks about the benefits of the merger, a press release has been issued, and there was a conference call and Webcast this morning. There are no PR firms listed on the press release, however, based on these items, it’s clear that comms is playing an important role as the merger plays out.

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Filed under: Announcements, Corporate Communications, Financial/IR

Tags:Centex, M&A, merger, Pulte Homes

eBay sets live-blogging standards

Posted March 10, 2009

Two things that many in the financial communications probably didn’t expect to see together in the same sentence anytime soon: IR and Twitter.

On Friday, eBay announced on its blog, eBay Ink, that after three quarters of reporting its quarterly earnings via blog and covering the earnings calls on Twitter, the company has created some best practices for the earnings blogging going forward.

Those practices include a separate legal page to the Ink blog, rotating financial info every 90 days on the blog and Twitter, and special language that will designate some Tweets as a live-blogging session for the earnings announcement.

Ebay blogger Richard Brewer-Hay wrote that he was worried when he had to approach his legal team for the first time to talk about best practices and couldn’t find other companies who were using these social media tactics for their earnings announcements. But his fears were unfounded.

“I was worried I would be forced to cease this innovative way of reporting company information to our constituents,” Brewer-Hay wrote. “Thankfully that was not the case. Rather, it was mutually agreed that we could take this opportunity to set up a best practices approach to live-blogging and reporting company information via the Web - beyond traditional conference call and press release.”

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Filed under: Announcements, Blogs, Corporate Communications, Financial/IR, New Media, Technology, Web sites

Tags:blog, earnings announcements, Ebay, IR, Social Media,

SEC makes XBRL official

Posted February 6, 2009

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its written rule last Friday on XBRL, making it official - companies will be using the new electronic tagging system for financial reports in the not-so-distant future.

Michelle Savage, VP of communication for XBRL US commented on the report, saying it offered a couple of clarifications.

“In the final rule, issuers [from smaller companies] were encouraged to early adopt,” she said. “They can do the XBRL submissions at their own pace until it becomes mandatory.”

Savage said the report also made clear that the shorter 10Q form rather than the 10K can be used by the first wave of filers, this coming June.

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Filed under: Announcements, Corporate Communications, Financial/IR

Tags:EDGAR Online, IR, Michelle Savage, XBRL, XBRL US

Join in the measurement discussion

Posted January 30, 2009

Based on conversations I’ve had with a number of people in the industry, measurement (and measurement during this recessionary economy) is a hot topic. Join me and PR executives from SAP, FedEx, and Weber Shandwick on February 17 where we’ll be discussing this topic via Webcast. Details are below, including a link to register:

Measurement in an uncertain economy

Historically, PR measurement was one of the first things to go when organizations cut budgets. But smart PR client-side professionals are making the compelling case to their bosses that measurement is even more important during times of uncertainty. These PR professionals will discuss the cases they make for measurement, how it impacts the bottom line, and will show the audience how to answer questions that might come from their clients or the C-suite.

Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Time: 1pm est/10am pst

Featured speakers:
Saswato Das, director, global communications, SAP AG
Bill Margaritis, SVP of worldwide communications and IR, FedEx
Tim Marklein, executive VP, measurement & strategy, Weber Shandwick

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Filed under: Announcements, Events, Journalism 2.0, Measurement/Monitoring, PRWeek

Tags:FedEx, measurement, PRWeek, recession, SAP, Webcast, Weber Shandwick

Reaching the Hispanic and Latino community

Posted January 23, 2009

Last night, National Promotions & Advertising (NPA) launched its new Hispanic effort, NPA Español, with a panel discussion and party. Rick Del Mastro, a partner at NPA, introduced the two panels on “Who is the Hispanic and Latino consumer in the US in 2009?” and “How do you reach Hispanics and Latinos?” More information after the jump.
Read more »

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Filed under: Advertising, Announcements, Arts & Entertainment, Diversity, Events, Media, Multicultural, Music

Two PR vets launch LA firm

Posted January 15, 2009

Michael Donkis, former publicist at Endeavor, partnered with Joy Fehily, former SVP of PMH/HBH, to launch Prime, a new communications firm. The Hollywood Reporter said the agency, to be based in Culver City, will handle Hollywood clients, including all of Fehily’s clients from PMK/HBH, such as Gerard Butler, Olivia Wilde, McG, Aaron Sorkin, and Eric McCormack. The agency will also offer pro bono services to one local nonprofit each year. Donkis will continue to work with Endeavor as a consultant.

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Filed under: Announcements, Arts & Entertainment

Tags:Endeavor, Joy Fehily, Michael Donkis, PMK/HBH, Prime

SynthaSite demonstrates skills through contest

Posted January 13, 2009

SynthaSite, the free DIY Web site builder, recently held a Best of SynthaSite contest to rally people to use the site and demonstrate what can be done through the site. While the campaign was customer focused, said Jenny White, director of SynthaSite AOR Citigate Cunningham, SynthaSite also reached out to small business publications and the tech community about the contest.

“The two inaugural winners of ‘Best of SynthaSite’ show exactly how both businesses and personal users can leverage free, easy technology to do anything online from building a business to creating a community,” said SynthaSite CEO Vinny Lingham, in a statement.

By allowing users to show off what SynthaSite offers in terms of Web site building, the contest was a way to explain more about the company, build awareness for the brand and hopefully gain users. The company also recently announced that it has reached more than 1 million users, in a year since its launch.

The contest allowed visitors to vote on their favorite sites made through SynthaSite, with the winners— Cosmic Sensorium and Forty-something—earning $1,000, a SEO lesson with Lingham, and the use of a Best of SythaSite logo.

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Filed under: Announcements, Branding, Events, Technology, Web sites

Tags:Citigate Cunningham, SynthaSite

SAG and AMPTP reach agreement

DFW decision pending

Stephen Colbert and NASA come to an agreement

Comms assists homebuilders merger

eBay sets live-blogging standards

SEC makes XBRL official

Join in the measurement discussion

Reaching the Hispanic and Latino community

Two PR vets launch LA firm

SynthaSite demonstrates skills through contest

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