» Education - The Cycle

Sick bats are in need of some positive PR

Posted April 6, 2009

Bat biologists in New England are looking for some help when it comes to getting positive PR for bats. An article in the today discusses how a mysterious illness affecting bats is causing concern among wildlife biologists, and they are in need of funding.

Despairing bat biologists want to hire a publicist - a kind of public relations batman - to give bats an image makeover and educate people about the night creatures’ ecological benefits. If they could get people to care even half as much as they do about polar bears, these researchers say, desperately needed dollars and attention may follow to save the misunderstood animals.

The future of news is baby bats
I'm a firm believer that while large, national newspapers suffer challenging economic times, local p...
Wal-Mart’s data re-run
As they say, if Wal-Mart sneezes, everyone gets sick. News of the retail giant's weaker September sa...
Schooled by shellfish at Cleantech XII
Just how much do you know about biomimicry? That’s what I thought. The fascinating process of stud...
Don’t touch that bird!
You’re never too old for “Sesame Street” or booster shots

Filed under: Consumer, Education, Media, Public Relations

Tags:animals, Boston Globe, wildlife

A Friday morning with Arthur

Posted April 3, 2009

Just stopped in for the Friday morning panels at the Arthur Page Society’s spring seminar, which took place over two days at the Jumeirah Essex House - a great spot that faces Central Park.

Saw lots of top agency CEOs, a number of academics, and plenty of the group’s corporate-side members as well. The membership group emphasizes recruiting senior-level PR pros that work in or on corporate communications.

The morning’s speaker that probably impressed me the most was Carlos Gutierrez whose resume includes stints as US Commerce Secretary and chief executive of Kellogg Company. In describing the value that communicators offer - whether distilling a 700-page new bill or a new product - Gutierrez remarked that “the real genius is in simplification.” He surmised that “people can’t agree with something they don’t understand,” nor can they “fall in love” with what they don’t understand. That really struck a chord.

He ended by telling the receptive audience that their jobs are “one of the most strategic roles” in a corporation.

Too bad I missed Thursday’s session. I hear CNBC’s Charlie Gasparino stirred up the strongest reaction.

Arthur W. Page Society dinner
Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Arthur W. Page Society dinner, where I discussed tre...
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Filed under: Agency-client relationship, Corporate Communications, Education, Events

Tags:Arthur W. Page Society, Carlos Gutierrez

Pay-for-coverage programs not new, or easy, says professor

Posted March 11, 2009

Asked about blogger-payment programs conducted by what many believe to be a growing number of communications professionals, Don Bates, professor at George Washington University, told PRWeek via e-mail that such efforts aren’t controversial, or new. Said Bates: “A minority of PR firms has been using paid advertising and paid media for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been around the business for more than 35 years.”

“Paid media is a reasonable extension of PR services, and to my way of thinking, something that should be considered, especially in this era of digital communications when so much is moving to the Wild West of online,” he said.

However, Bates added, the practice “is not for the uninitiated.”

“It may look easy but it isn’t. The required research, art, copy, placement, billing, administration – all are different than their counterparts in PR,” he added. “Then there’s the potential impact on your media relations work. Once you start advertising, the media will start to treat you like an ad agency with potentially negative consequences for your client’s or employer’s press coverage.”

McCain takes turn on ‘People’ cover
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Brauchli defends media’s pre-Wall Street crisis work
Easy viral

Filed under: Advertising, Agency-client relationship, Blogs, Consumer, Corporate Communications, Education, Guerilla/WOM, Journalism 2.0, Media, New Media, Social Media, Web sites

Tags:Don Bates, George Washington University

Attracting females to executive MBAs

Posted January 21, 2009

The Wall Street Journal how business schools are working to attract women to their executive MBA programs, including Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Cornell is focusing on a less male-dominated persona, featuring a female executive on its Web site, while UPenn has a faculty member who devotes time specifically to increasing female enrollment.

“A handful of schools have taken similar steps to boost female enrollment by creating personal networks to recruit women, changing classroom-time requirements and adding more outreach staff,” the WSJ article says. “But while interest in part-time, fast-track degrees geared toward professionals with 10 or more years’ experience has risen in recent years, many schools say they still have work to do to attract more women.”

MBAs
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Executives salute pampering at beauty awards
It was only fitting that my second luncheon in two days, the 14th Annual CEW (Cosmetic Executive Wom...
Battle of the Social Networks
On August 27, I blogged about Facebook’s expanded ad system that enables marketers to target users...
Executive search firms change tactics during downturn
NIRI Conference comes to a close

Filed under: Branding, Careers, Diversity, Education, Web sites

Tags:Wall Street Journal

More World AIDS Day events

Posted December 1, 2008

There are so many events and activities for World AIDS Day than I wasn’t able to fit them all in my article from the December 1 issue of PRWeek.

Day With(out) Art is one campaign from Visual Arts, which increases awareness of AIDS through visual arts. Positively Aware magazine released a special World AIDS Day issue, which highlights individuals who are making a difference in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Meanwhile, the Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps Symphonic Band is performing its “A Family Outing” concert on December 1 in honor of World AIDS Day, in addition to its fall concert on December 6. Also, look for blogs discussing HIV/AIDS on December 1 as part of a Blog Catalog event with AIDS.gov.

Have you heard of any others? Post below!

Passing out red ribbons
It's World AIDS Day today and the various organizations, individuals, etc., involved in finding some...
Dancer man
Hamilton Nolan's analysis on the White House Correspondents dinner made it around the blog world, wi...
LGBT Community Center gets Real
One New York community center will play a prominent role in the 21st season of MTV's Real World: Bro...
ASA and LG go political with latest action sports event
Merck’s Isentress on track

Filed under: 2008 Campaign, Arts & Entertainment, Blogs, CSR, Education, Events, Healthcare, Media, New Media, Technology, Web sites

Tags:December 1, health, World AIDS Day

Sara Lee goes back to ‘High School’

Posted October 8, 2008

Sara Lee partnered with Disney’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year, hitting theaters on October 24, for its latest campaign, “Lunchtime is Showtime,” which educates kids on the benefits of whole-grain nutrition.

Launched in early September, the integrated campaign includes a “Dance with Joy” ad featuring HSM3 stars, a sweepstakes, a satellite media tour, and a video contest for kids. Students can shoot their own video about eating whole grain foods, and the winner will receive a visit to his or her school from HSM3 stars Justin Martin and Corbin Bleu, who is also serving as the campaign’s ambassador.

Reaching out to mothers and school-aged kids, the campaign also has a robust online portion, with a Web site, and a Facebook . Sara Lee and its agency, O’Malley Hansen Communications, will be posting the videos on YouTube and are reaching out to HSM fan sites and blogs.

Phase two of the PR campaign will kick off around the DVD release of HSM3.

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‘High School Musical 2′
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Gallaudet troubles continue
The campus uproar over the appointment of Jane K. Fernandes as the president-elect of Gallaudet Univ...
Tama-what?
Bring a good report card home, get a free Happy Meal

Filed under: 2008 Campaign, Arts & Entertainment, Education, Food and Beverage, Social Media, Technology, Viral Video, Web sites

Tags:High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Sara Lee

Former drug king gives back

Posted October 7, 2008

Frank Lucas, the basis for Denzel Washington’s drug king character in American Gangster, is changing his image. The New York Post’s Page Six reports that Lucas will speak out against violence during a 20-city tour with his son, rapper Frank Lucas Jr.

New HIV drug is here
Today the FDA has granted accelerated approval to Pfizer's HIV medicine Selzentry (or maraviroc). Hi...
Kudos, Burger King, kudos
For this. (Via M Booth)
Merck’s Isentress on track
A FDA advisory panel recommended the approval of Merck's new HIV drug Isentress yesterday. If approv...
New drug war
Give me my Vioxx back!

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Education, Media, Travel

Tags:Frank Lucas

Unlikely allies: video games and books

Posted October 6, 2008

Publishers are always on the lookout for ways to make reading more attractive to kids and teens. Lately, several publishers have introduced online games to promote their books, including Scholastic for The 39 Clues series and Random House for Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance series.

reports:

To be sure, some of the experiments pairing electronic games with books will be little more than marketing gimmicks. But publishers and authors suggest that some projects may push creative boundaries, helping to extend storytelling beyond the traditional covers of a book.”

Much ado about McClellan’s memoir
Checking in with PR and public affairs professionals around town, I find that the new Scott McClella...
All revenues are nice
Sony is looking to bolster its PS3 revenues by signing a deal with Nielsen, the Boston Globe reports...
Finally time for Twilight
The movie version of Twilight, the teenage vampire saga based on the book by Stephenie Meyer, came o...
Target takes violent video game out of its stores
Books going digital

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

Tags:Book Publishing, Random House, Scholastic, video games

Britney boosts reputation by visiting kids

Posted October 3, 2008

Britney Spears is in New York this week, promoting her new single “Womanizer” and her fragrances. She stopped by a school in the Bronx on Wednesday to present a check for $10,000 for their music program. The money was donated in her honor from Elizabeth Arden, the company behind her fragrances. On Monday, the singer told New York radio station Z100 that she is planning a world tour for 2009.

Britney loses custody of her sons
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Building Britney Buzz
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Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Branding, Education

Tags:Britney Spears, New York

Debate about vaccines focuses on celeb moms

Posted October 1, 2008

Actresses Jenny McCarthy and Amanda Peet are in the news this week, thanks to a disagreement about vaccines. McCarthy, whose 6-year-old son has autism, is currently fighting to prove a connection between vaccines and autism, and in an interview the July issue of Cookie magazine, Peet, a spokeswoman for vaccine advocacy group Every Child by Two, said that parents who don’t vaccinate their children are “parasites.”

Peet has apologized for her use of the word “parasite,” but McCarthy has not forgotten.

“I am a parasite,” McCarthy told Spectrum magazine, which covers autism issues, in September. “I am so proud to be a parasite.” And McCarthy has support. Autism United is planning a boycott of Peet’s movies, including this summer’s X-Files: I Want to Believe.

Moms like us…
Previously, Michael Bush wrote about McDonald's "mom's quality correspondence" campaign. His words b...
Stars, maybe they DON’T know???
My column this week focuses on the stars on your team- and the debate over whether or not employers ...
No Paris for ‘Us’
The subtle war between People and Us Weekly just got a bit more ridiculous. It's no secret that Peop...
Question of the day…
Debate 2.0

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Education, Healthcare, Media

Tags:Amanda Peet, autism, Cookie magazine, Jenny McCarthy, Spectrum magazine

Sick bats are in need of some positive PR

A Friday morning with Arthur

Pay-for-coverage programs not new, or easy, says professor

Attracting females to executive MBAs

More World AIDS Day events

Sara Lee goes back to ‘High School’

Former drug king gives back

Unlikely allies: video games and books

Britney boosts reputation by visiting kids

Debate about vaccines focuses on celeb moms

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