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August 16, 1999 Issue of PRWeek

Burson chair Phillips returns to his ad roots

NEW YORK: Less than one year after taking the reins at Burson-Marsteller, chairman Graham Phillips has returned to the advertising world. And word on the street is ...

UN opens its arms to press with first media guidelines

NEW YORK: For the first time, the United Nations is preparing to give members of the media unfettered access to its staff.

Top 100 hi-tech firms account for 25% of business

NEW YORK: The top 100 hi-tech firms raked in half a billion dollars in 1998, according to the most comprehensive study conducted of the US hi-tech PR ...

Gateway realigns PR team for closer ties with business

SAN DIEGO: Gateway’s PR department, which has already seen its share of change in recent months, is in the midst of another overhaul.

NEWS BRIEFS

LOS ANGELES: Rogers & Associates has tabbed John Sonego as a management supervisor. A 12-year PR veteran, Sonego will oversee several of the firm’s consumer and hi-tech ...

Hi-tech pros buzzing over computer mag’s criticism

SAN FRANCISCO: An online haranguing of the hi-tech PR industry has PR pros in Silicon Valley buzzing.

Sports shop Alan Taylor goes hi-tech

NEW YORK: Sports specialist Alan Taylor Communications is not the first firm that comes to mind when it comes to dot-com clients, but a host of new ...

Mercedes USA snatches pro from Saab

MONTVALE, NJ: The corporate PR shuffle among automobile manufacturers continued last week when Mercedes-Benz USA hired Elke Martin away from Saab Cars USA.

Third Age seeks full-time agency

SAN FRANCISCO: Third Age Media, a San Francisco-based company that operates a content portal aimed at the 45 to 65-year-old men and women demographic, has launched a ...

After M&As, solid PR leads to solid growth

NEW YORK: A mere 11% of companies involved in mergers and acquisitions measure the effectiveness of their M&A corporate communications plan.

Citigate acquires stockwatch firm for at least dollars 500k

NEW YORK: Citigate has bulked up its information capacities by acquiring the stockwatch and shareholder identification arms of Wall Street tracking firm Kissel-Blake from Georgeson Shareholder Communications.

Hilfiger publicist moves to gym PR

NEW YORK: Former Tommy Hilfiger publicity manager Amy Glickman is joining Crunch Fitness International as director of marketing and public relations.

First cars, now casinos hit Detroit, with dollars 1m for pros

DETROIT: As casino gambling hits the Motor City, PR firms in the Detroit and Lansing, MI are likely to be among the big winners.

Stanton cruises with dollars 1m Mitsubishi work

CYPRESS, CA: Concluding a PR agency search that included such major multinational agencies as BSMG, Edelman and Ruder-Finn, Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America last week announced the ...

Waggener set to launch DC branch in hi-tech hotbed

WASHINGTON, DC: Waggener Edstrom, the number-one ranked firm in PRWeek’s hi-tech ranking, is moving eastward.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Gadhafi seeks firm for peace event PR

TRIPOLI: The Libyan government is looking for a PR agency to help it capitalize on the climate of detente between Colonel Moammar Gadhafi’s regime and the West.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Rome millennium drive on cusp of securing agency

ROME: The city of Rome is on the verge of appointing an agency to promote its millennium activities and raise its profile throughout the world as a ...

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: GCI buys a former Denmark affiliate

COPENHAGEN: The GCI Group has acquired Mannov Consult, a former affiliate and one of the largest firms in Denmark.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: H&K sets up in Guatemala as private industry booms

GUATEMALA CITY: Hill & Knowlton has established a Central American presence, launching its first office in the region in Guatemala City.

Disney finally fills television team top spot

LOS ANGELES: Disney took a big step last week toward getting its television and cable network PR team in order by promoting television PR veteran Dina Weinberg.

Party girl agency lands top fashion jobs, opens in LA

NEW YORK - Publicity firm Harrison Shriftman, co-headed by two of the subjects of New York magazine’s article about young publicists, is continuing to make gains ...

Poultry powerhouse Tyson hands Golin dollars 1m account

SPRINGDALE, AR: Tyson Foods has chosen Golin/Harris International over four other suitors to be its first agency of record. The assignment will mean between dollars 1 million ...

In Brief

LOS ANGELES: The National Black Public Relations Society will hold its first annual conference in Detroit on October 7-10. The event will be sponsored by auto giant ...

Investment giant Delaware adds PR head for visibility

PHILADELPHIA: Financial giant Delaware Investments has plugged a longstanding gap in its PR staff by hiring Tom Gariepy to head corporate communications.

Fleishman West Coast boss abandons ship for Internet start-up

SAN FRANCISCO: Proving that the start-up’s siren song has begun to snare even the highest-level agency personnel, Fleishman-Hillard West Coast leader Jerry Epstein announced last week that ...

Witeck launches service for untapped gay market

WASHINGTON, DC: Believing that many companies are failing to use PR to tap into an important marketplace - and one replete with disposable income - Witeck*Combs (WC) ...

Donnelley boosts team with IR pro

NEW YORK: RR Donnelley Financial has upped its PR critical mass by adding Mitchell Karig to oversee communications for its capital markets business.

Hispanic site adds to Peppercom tech boom

NEW YORK: PepperCom continued its hi-tech hot streak last week by besting Burson-Marsteller and Middleberg & Associates to snap up highly touted Hispanic web portal Quepasa.com.

High-profile jobs breathe dollars 6m into Ruder healthcare

NEW YORK: Ruder Finn’s healthcare practice has added dollars 6 million in new accounts over the last few months, revitalizing the agency’s business in the arthritis, cardiology ...

Forbes builds up PR troops to curb GOP switch fallout

WASHINGTON, DC: When Rep. Michael Forbes recently switched political parties, it was a PR boon for the Democrats. But with Republican operatives vowing revenge - and an ...

Terpin lands dollars 300k in wins, new LA boss

MARINA DEL RAY, CA: The Terpin Group, which specializes in new media and Internet start-ups, has hired a new general manager and picked up four new clients ...

GNTO has again named Spring, O’Brien as its PR agency

NEW YORK: The Greek National Tourist Organization (GNTO) has again named Spring, O’Brien as its PR agency of record in the US. After a review of its ...

Tumbleweed IPO leads to two hires

REDWOOD CITY, CA: Tumbleweed Communications, a Silicon Valley-based provider of secure online communications services that announced its IPO last week, has added two new pros to its ...

NCAA taps Caldwell for dollars 1m Hall of Champions hype job

INDIANAPOLIS: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has awarded PR work worth nearly dollars 1 million in annual fees to Caldwell VanRiper Public Relations.

BW beefs up Web offerings in dollars 4m Medialink venture

NEW YORK: Business Wire has fortified its Internet offerings, forming a dollars 4 million alliance with Medialink and linking itself with online IPO information provider www.ipo.com.

EDITORIAL: After all, it’s just a damn fine movie

The remarkable success of the new movie, The Blair Witch Project, once again highlights the potential of public relations to generate widespread publicity for a minuscule cost. ...

ANALYSIS: Mergers & Acquisitions - Lighthouse sets its sights on US growth

Lighthouse Holdings isn't a household name to most PR people, but that's about to change. The Chicago-based company made its first splash on the PR ...

THINKPIECE: There’s no time for off-the-shelf PR analyses and the same-old, same-old campaign plans

Not long ago, The Wall Street Journal ran a damaging story about a personnel-consulting firm that had charged different clients for essentially the same report. The article ...

INSIDE THE BELTWAY: Serious issues are stuff of Nielsen nightmares for ratings-mad network television executives

What do you suppose would happen if, say, Al Gore and George W. Bush were to walk on to a network news set late one afternoon, unannounced ...

THE POWER OF PR ANALYSIS: Public Affairs - The war on poverty - a fight PR hasn’t won. PR helped to highlight the plight of America’s poor, but it has been an uphill battle. Steve Lilienthal analyzes PR’s effectiveness in war on po

The leading role of PR in the government’s war on poverty became clear once again last month when President Clinton promoted greater economic development in impoverished areas. ...

ANALYSIS PROFILE: Hospital head Doyle has a new lease on life. Lori Doyle balances a busy family life with her top communications position at an 18,000-strong healthcare organization - but she was most surprised to find herself there. Matthew Zinman catch

Some of the best career opportunities arise when you least expect it. Witness Lori Doyle, whose dream job came completely out of the blue.

WEEKLY WEB WATCH: Can the new prohibition beat the Internet untouchables?

The Internet has an irresistible attraction for politicians who want to restrict individual freedoms, especially the freedom enshrined in the First Amendment. The latest such attempt is ...

MEDIA: Can’t get to Today? Look Later - An offshoot of the popular but hard-to-pitch NBC morning show Today is coming to town. Claire Aktinson discovers the opportunities that lie ahead for pros

Katie Couric and Matt Lauer are the face of breakfast television for six million Americans. As the co-anchors of NBC’s Today show, they interview a constant round ...

MEDIA WATCH: Bewitching movie marketing casts spell over Web

The low-budget indie movie The Blair Witch Project, about three students who disappear while making a documentary on local witch lore, has been praised as one of ...

NEW WORLD NETWORKS: Networks of small agencies are helping a new breed of clients to expand globally. How big a threat do they pose? Mark Tungate reports

What do McDonald’s, Xerox, the European Commission and the International Special Olympics have in common? Answer: they all use independent agency networks to help get out their ...