VP of human resources, Rx Mosaic Health

BALTIMORE: United Way of America launched its first large-scale public awareness campaign targeting online media.

Merck's $58 million payout should be a lesson to Big Pharma and its marketers. Although the pharmaceutical industry and PR agencies serving clients are eager to get into more social media work, this case will hinder those efforts.

LOS ANGELES: Hollywood publicist Warren Cowan died May 14 after a recent cancer diagnosis. He was 87 years old. Cowan, whose career spanned more than 60 years, became a partner alongside Henry C. Rogers at Rogers & Cowan in 1950, and went on to start Warren Cowan & Associates in 1994.

LAS VEGAS: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has embarked on a six-figure effort to boost the city's image in Mexico, Canada, and the UK.

This year, PRWeek will visit eight cities where an industry close to that respective region will be discussed. For each event, leading PR pros from a variety of firms, companies, and other organizations will gather in a roundtable discussion about the issues affecting them and their peers. Keith O'Brien and Alexandra Bruell were in Boston to discuss digital PR.

Many agencies see webinars as the next generation of press releases. Unlike webcasts, which function as online conference calls, webinars produce an interactive - and more interesting - experience for participants at home or the office, says Doug Winfield, VP of digital strategy at Waggener Edstrom, who points out that the technology has taken a foothold in retail, healthcare, and financial PR.

IRVING, TX: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) relaunched its 5K walks with a new name, "Walk Like MADD," and more national support for local grassroots efforts to back its issues.

Unilever launched an ongoing PR campaign, which focuses on encouraging healthy lifestyle changes, to coincide with the introduction of Omega Plus, its oil-blend spread.

The Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland (RMHC) needed to breathe new life into its 6th annual Tackle the Tower campaign, a fundraising event that challenges participants to run up the 37-story Erieview Tower.