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Home > Blogs > The Cycle
The Cycle

Maddow takes on Burson (again)

Posted March 10, 2009

In an internal memo by Burson-Marsteller CEO Mark Penn, which PRWeek obtained last week, the agency’s top executive took issue with the way TV host Rachel Maddow characterized its past and current work. At one point in the letter, Penn writes, “Her commentary also significantly mischaracterized the nature of the firm’s past – for example, we never took a dime from Blackwater.”

However, as PRWeek has reported in the past, Burson subsidiary BKSH & Associates has worked for Blackwater. The agency has declined to comment.

Last night, Rachel Maddow returned to the subject. On her she pointed to the statement in the memo, and the seeming contradiction with a previous news report that showed BKSH had in fact worked for Blackwater. Maddow said:

Mr Penn also accused me of getting my facts wrong… If I’m wrong, I’m happy to do a correction… Is it possible that Burson-Marsteller could have worked for Blackwater but not been paid for it… Blackwater is their charity case? …I welcome any further opportunity to clear up the record.

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Filed under: Crisis Communications, Media, Public Affairs, Public Relations

Tags:Blackwater, Burson-Marsteller, Mark Penn, Rachel Maddow

AIG’s PR help becomes news

Posted March 4, 2009

The Web has been abuzz with news that ailing insurer American International Group (AIG) has added Kekst & Company to its list of PR firm representation. AIG is also working with Sard Verbinnen, Hill & Knowlton, and Burson-Marsteller. AIG declined to comment on the PR firms with which they’re working .

AIG has received $150 billion in government funds since September, when the federal government also took an 80% stake in the company. AIG reported fourth quarter net losses totaling $61.7 billion on March 2nd. The company also came under fire during from both members of the Senate Budget Committee and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said that “AIG exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system.” AIG may receive a fourth round of bailout funding to stay afloat.

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Filed under: Agency-client relationship, Crisis Communications, Financial/IR, New Media

Tags:AIG, Burson-Marsteller, Hill & Knowlton, Kekst & Company, Sard Verbinnen

Surveys show recall awareness is high, but brand confusion persists

Posted February 13, 2009

Consumers are well aware of the salmonella outbreak, but many are confused about what products have been recalled, says two surveys from Harvard University and Burson-Marsteller.

The Burson survey, which comes on the heels of its work with Peanut Corporation of America, the peanut butter manufacturer at the center of the salmonella investigation, notes that 93% of US consumers have heard about the recalls.

Harvard’s survey showed that 1 in 4 people think that national peanut butter brands are involved in the recall but only half are worried about the other foods - snacks bars, baked goods, ice cream - that have been recalled.

“There is a difference in consumer perception,” says Bill Zucker, MD and Midwest market leader for Burson-Marsteller. The Burson survey also showed that companies with a strong brand name will fare better in recall situations.

For communicators, the question should be: “Am I ready to communicate in that situation?” says Zucker.

The firm has announced, along with the food safety survey, that it has a one-day onsite checkup plan for companies that want to evaluate their crisis communications plans, in the case of a potential recall. It is providing proactive outreach to food trades and wire services about the plan.

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Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Corporate Communications, Crisis Communications, Food and Beverage, Public Relations

Tags:Burson-Marsteller, Harvard University, Peanut Corporation of America

Burson-Marsteller builds “bipartisan braintrust”

Posted July 11, 2008

Burson-Marsteller worldwide CEO and president Mark Penn said the recent appointment of longtime President George W. Bush confidante Karen Hughes as vice chair marks the start of an effort by the agency to create a worldwide “bipartisan braintrust.”

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Filed under: Agency-client relationship, Politics, Public Affairs, Public Relations

Tags:Burson-Marsteller, Karen Hughes, Mark Penn

Yes, lions roared

Posted June 27, 2008

I was hoping to keep it a surprise for some time, but someone got a little overzealous (Thanks Richard!). PRWeek recently held a luncheon roundtable with four legends in this industry: Al Golin, Harold Burson, David Finn, and Daniel Edelman. The transcription, as well as an amazing photo shoot, will be featured in an upcoming, special issue of PRWeek. Our Web site will feature podcasts and videos from the event. We were honored to be in such rarefied company.

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Filed under: Events, PRWeek

Tags:Al Golin, Burson-Marsteller, Daniel Edelman, David Finn, Edelman, GolinHarris, Harold Burson, Ruder Finn

Guardian catches Penn off guard

Posted June 3, 2008

In other Penn news, the Guardian’s Oliver Burkeman writes a first-person article about how he met with Penn, ostensibly to talk about Penn’s book Microtrends, but ultimately ends up talking about the Clinton campaign, or so the deck says -

As Hillary Clinton’s doomed presidential bid draws to a painful close, one man has been cast as the scapegoat. In his first interview, Mark Penn, the candidate’s former chief strategist, talks to Oliver Burkeman about what went wrong

That’s not really true, but it is an interesting read. Some snippets:

“Now, my understanding is that this interview is for the paperback edition of Microtrends,” Penn begins, referring to his book, a work of popular sociology. “I think I’ve made it clear that I’m not doing on-the-record interviews about the campaign.” Nobody told me about any restrictions on what we could talk about, I reply.

[SNIP]

But she’s not going to win. “Well, you know, when the campaign’s over, either successfully or not, we’ll talk about that.” I’m pretty sure I’m being filed away as a member of the “impressionable elites”, a microtrend Penn identifies whereby working-class voters get ever more adept at making rational choices based on data, while only the more privileged - people who aren’t “living through the difficulties with healthcare, and the economy, and the mortgage, and the job loss” - can afford to indulge in frivolous chatter about hope and change. Naturally, from Penn’s perspective, this includes many journalists.

[SNIP]

Does he wish he’d taken a sabbatical from lobbying? Penn’s answer is the closest he comes to expressing any regrets about his campaign work. “I think that we - you know, with the benefit of hindsight, we might have done things somewhat differently. I’ll spend some time analysing that.” He won’t quite admit to having any regrets about the campaign as a whole, though. “In these races, if you win you all win, and if you lose you all lose. You have to take your share of the responsibility. There is always, in everything, something that could have been done differently.”

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Filed under: 2008 Campaign, Politics

Tags:Burson-Marsteller, Hillary Clinton, Mark Penn, The Guardian

World Economic Forum tops for C-suite

Posted May 23, 2008

Burson-Marsteller released the findings of their Most Valuable Podiums study for 2008 this week, finding that The World Economic Forum is number one among “the most sought after forums” for senior executives. This is the second time the survey has been conducted; the first was in 2005. Also among the top ten: The Wall Street Journal (#2), Fortune (#4), the Detroit Economic Club (#6), and the Consumer Electronics Show (#9). The survey also found that while 75% of corporate communications officers look for ROI on conference participation, the big metric is “executive satisfaction.”

BM interviews 103 people in corporate communications, marketing HR, and PR in March 2008.

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Digital Roundtable

Posted May 19, 2008

Enjoy video from our Digital Roundtable, held recently in Boston.

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Tags:Burson-Marsteller, EMC, H&R Block, Weber Shandwick

Today’s Mark Penn watch

Posted February 14, 2008

His explanation for why Hillary is the candidate to beat (Real Clear Politics)

Karen Tumulty finds some Democrats blame Hillary’s woes on Penn (Time)

Clinton campaign in turmoil? ()

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Tags:Burson-Marsteller, Hillary Clinton, Mark Penn

The Cycle

For both journalists and communicators, the news cycle never ends. At The Cycle, PRWeek’s editorial team offers commentary and viewpoints on how the latest marketing, business, political, and cultural news impact the PR industry.

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