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?

The New York Times with drug makers, a consumer watchdog group, the FDA, and Google about how a lack of specified rules for Internet marketing conflicts with the print and TV rules that the FDA currently applies to new media.

Fourteen pharmaceutical companies were warned by the FDA earlier this month for failing to include risk information in search ads. The consensus among communications professionals who spoke with PRWeek is that the FDA needs to develop a clear policy for digital communications. Search ads are used, in part, by pharmaceutical companies as part of a reputation management strategy.

The same sentiment was echoed in today’s story.

Mary Ann Belliveau, health industry director at Google, told the NYT that “… the sense in the industry was ‘that the F.D.A. sent letters about ‘you shouldn’t do this, you shouldn’t do that,’ as opposed to issuing clear digital guidelines that the companies should follow.’”

Now, companies will only use “generic-sounding Web addresses that redirect users to the brand’s site,” an allowance only made for pharmaceutical companies, and are questioning the FDA to evaluate the difference in online marketing techniques.

With technology changes on the horizon for the healthcare industry, Dell launched a social media site to generate ideas and solutions that would improve the improve the “delivery, efficiency, and quality of healthcare using IT,” the company said on April 6.

The site, called IdeaStorm for Healthcare and Life Sciences, is a branch of IdeaStorm, a brainstorming site which was launched in 2007.

Kerry Bridge, head of digital media communications for Dell, told PRWeek that the site is targeted at large healthcare organizations as well as influencers and key stakeholders in the healthcare blogging industry.

“It’s a huge social media community, specifically looking at healthcare IT,” she says. “And these are the people we want to be talking to, share ideas with. Dell would like to be a valuable member of that community.”

Dell plans to promote the site within healthcare social media communities, on its blog and company Web site, and through the newsletters that the sales force distributes.

“It’s definitely a stake in the ground,” she says. “…[to show] that we’re committed to the healthcare industry.

Much has been made about how to communicate with women, especially those who are considered healthcare decision makers, but an April 8 story in The Boston Globe at a look at the way men communicate health news.

The story says: “Men are raised with inhibitions or ‘rules of manhood’ that may keep them out of the healthcare system, Zoske explains. He says that most health messages are expressed in a ‘feminine form.’ The basic public health theme, he says, is, ‘Notice your body, pay attention when something isn’t working well, and seek help when needed.’ But, Zoske says, this statement doesn’t really speak to guys. He points out that men may be deaf to their body’s symptoms because they are brought up to ignore factors such as vulnerability and pain.”

Other key points include engaging men in a dialogue by letting them know that other men have similar symptons or ailments; communicating health messages by framing them in terms of safety, strength, and performance; and using numbers, statistics, and metaphors because men respond to those communications tools.

Clinical trial recruitment firms and the PR firms that offer this service are starting to look at social media as a means to better reach potential patients that may not be aware of certain trials, or that they could qualify for them.

Last week, the Los Angeles Times on the number of clinical trials that are postponed because enrollment numbers have not been met. And a March 10 Newsweek story at the types of social media networks that pharmaceutical companies are tapping into to recruit patients.

While Facebook and Web sites have been two major for pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies to recruit patients, one firm is eying Twitter - specifically because it is already a public forum, unlike a private Facebook page, says Carmen Gonzalez, manager of strategy and communications for Healthcare Communications Group.

“It’s a way to cut through the noise,” she notes.

The clinical trial recruitment firm recently drafted a set of guidelines to provide to clients who are considering Twitter as a part of their strategy.

From day one, Michelle Obama has had America at the edge of its seat waiting to solve the mystery of her next fashion choice.  The unlikely mix of mass market, quintessential American style with high-end, new fashion names gives her an edgy, accessible image, but that’s nothing compared to the promotional opportunities the endorsements provide the brands she’s worn. White House Black Market converted its Union Station store in Washington, D.C., into “inaugural dress headquarters – and offered a special collection for the balls; J.Crew issued statements; and Jason Wu… well, he didn’t have to do much besides cake on the pressure for his upcoming show during Fashion Week. The 26-year-old designer now has a name. I smell a Target Go International collection…

President Obama sadly could not do the same for established men’s wear company Hartmarx Corp. when choosing the brand for campaign events and the Inauguration. WWD reports that Hartmarx recently filed for Chapter 11. Read more »

Birnbach Communications’ predictions for the top media trends of 2009 – if they come true – will have a considerable effect on the ways that PR professionals pitch media outlets. Among the calculations:

-Dozens of newspapers and magazines will shift to an online-only model. The traditional media that stay in print will use more maps, graphics, lists, rankings, and statistics, all while running shorter articles.

-Media layoffs mean that freelancers and bloggers will become more important. CNN’s iReport coverage of the November Mumbai terrorist shootings are an example of citizen journalism’s growing clout.

-Marketers looking to reach broad audiences have their work cut out for them as well, as niche media and social media sites grow at the expense of broad-based media. “This will make it difficult for marketers to reach broad audiences, with only a few events each year – like the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards – that reach across demographics and interest groups.”

For this.

(Via )

The pharmaceutical industry has been preparing for the big healthcare changes that will be ushered in with the Obama Administration, reports The Washington Post.

Once recognized as a Republican-dominated industry, the industry has shifted its attention, and funding, toward the Democratic Party this year as one way “to burnish its image and align itself rhetorically with the health reform goals …”

Other image enhancers? A million-dollar advertising blitz “promoting Obama-style health coverage” is kicking off today, the industry’s trade organization introduced self-imposed marketing restrictions that went into effect this month, and pharma companies will follow stricter advertising policies, beginning in March.

In response to that Ogilvy & Mather was reducing its staff by 10%, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide CEO Marcia Silverman tells PRWeek that the PR firm is not laying off any employees.

“There will be no economic layoffs at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide,” said Silverman, who notes that the agency had a successful 2008.

AdWeek reported that affected units include Ogilvy & Mather, OgilvyOne, Ogilvy Interactive, and OgilvyAction. Earlier this week, The Observer wrote that WPP was expected to cut thousands of jobs globally; a WPP spokesperson had no comment then.