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January 10, 2000 Issue of PRWeek

PR domain name auction fails to attract any bidders

WASHINGTON, DC: Ed Segal, owner of the domain name publicrelations.com, thought he would find a wad of cash in his Christmas stocking. He got coal instead.

Coke corks unrest by rehiring resigned vet

ATLANTA: Coca-Cola took a significant step toward steadying its PR ship last week by convincing 26-year veteran Carl Ware to rescind his resignation and stay with the ...

Y&R pumps up PR muscle with new division

NEW YORK: Acknowledging the dramatic growth in clients’ demand for PR services, Young & Rubicam has formed BrandBuzz, a new internal division designed to up the advertising ...

GCI plots a move into Boston area

BOSTON: Having set its sights on further expanding its hi-tech and healthcare groups, GCI Group may soon make a move into the Boston market.

NEWS BRIEFS

ARMONK, NY: IBM has lured Carol Makovich away from RJR Nabisco to serve as VP, worldwide media relations. Makovich, who was RJR’s VP of worldwide communications, has ...

Pac/West triumphs in Caltrans conflict

LOS ANGELES: Pacific/West Communications Group, once one of the 20 largest PR firms in the country, has won a dollars 2.3 million judgment against the California Department ...

Nonprofits prepare for social marketing brainstorm

WASHINGTON, DC: Thirty-five leading nonprofit groups are about to get together to discuss how they can improve their oft-criticized marketing and communications efforts.

NASDAQ MarketSite Tower unveiled

Size - as well as the perception of being a ’player’ - certainly matters in the financial services industry, and doesn’t NASDAQ know it.

FileNET replaces C&B with Ink for a fresh PR outlook

COSTA MESA, CA: FileNET has ended its five-year relationship with Copithorne & Bellows and filled the PR void with the Kansas City, MO-based Ink. The account is ...

Lerer to continue despite AOL post

NEW YORK: Despite persistent rumors that Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery (RL&M) partner Ken Lerer is quitting to join America Online, Lerer will continue in his current role ...

Shandwick adds Scanlon to roster

WASHINGTON, DC: Shandwick made another high-profile move to beef up its DC public affairs practice last week, snaring Capitol Hill veteran Mike Scanlon.

H.D. Vest emerges with free tax stunt

DALLAS: In a bold attempt to steal business - and publicity - away from competitors H&R Block and Intuit, Dallas-based e-financial services company H.D. Vest is offering ...

Pr pros let down by smooth Y2K transition

NEW YORK: During the days leading up to Y2K, hundreds of gung-ho PR pros fanned out across the globe, eager to prove just how well-trained they were.

Weber, Cunningham rail against reported rumors of acquisition

SAN FRANCISCO: The Weber/Cunningham wedding is apparently off - and the two tech titans were never even engaged, principals from both agencies swore last week.

Frank leads exodus of Abernathy execs

NEW YORK: Financial PR hot-shot Joele Frank has left Abernathy MacGregor Frank, taking most of the firm’s M&A team with her.

Subaru tags Ruder Finn to drive home image

CHERRY HILL, NJ: Subaru of America has placed its rugged yet practical corporate image in the hands of Ruder Finn.

WNBA passes the ball to Dan Klores

NEW YORK: Dan Klores Associates further solidified its sports PR practice late last month with four high-profile wins, including the marketing-happy WNBA.

Fleishman picks Michelman as GM

SAN FRANCISCO: Fleishman-Hillard has finally filled the San Francisco-based spots vacated last summer by Jerry Epstein and John Berard, announcing the appointment of Douglas Michelman as West ...

APCO prepares to launch Rome office

ROME: Public affairs and lobbying firm APCO is planning to launch its fifth wholly owned European office in Rome within the next month.

Delta’s hiring spree continues in Europe

MADRID: Following a comprehensive review of its PR requirements in Europe, Delta Airlines has continued its recruitment of agencies across the region - and more hires are ...

Amazon UK to tap Red Consultancy post split with longtime comrade JPR

LONDON: Following a repitch and the resignation of incumbent agency Joe Public Relations (JPR), Amazon.co.uk, the UK’s leading Internet bookseller, is expected to add The Red Consultancy ...

Putin names first press secretary

MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin, Russia’s acting president and prime minister, has named Alexei Gromov as his press secretary.

BSMG opens first US youth outpost

CHICAGO: BSMG Worldwide has opened a US outpost of its SLAM UK youth-oriented PR practice.

Publicis Dialog finally seizes Selz/Seabolt

CHICAGO: Publicis Dialog has finally completed its long-rumored purchase of Selz/ Seabolt Communications.

House GOP turns to DC pros in push to gain high ground

WASHINGTON, DC: The House GOP has turned to Washington’s PR pros for advice on how to improve the party’s positioning during a critical election year.

Golin/Harris opens door in Cleveland, aims to expand operation

CLEVELAND: Golin/Harris has finally decided to open an office in Cleveland.

Weber/Palo Alto grabs hi-tech biz

PALO ALTO, CA: In keeping with the west coast hi-tech industry’s seemingly permanent expansion mode, Weber’s Palo Alto branch celebrated the start of 2000 with five new ...

Healthy prognosis for DC public affairs in year 2000

WASHINGTON, DC: 2000 will be a prosperous time for public affairs shops in Washington, DC.

Bender launches office in San Fran

SAN FRANCISCO: Hoping to take advantage of the growing convergence of entertainment and new media, the LA-based PR firm Bender Helper Impact has opened its doors in ...

NY Democrats tap press secretary

NEW YORK: The New York State Democratic Committee has tapped Peter Kauffmann as its new press secretary.

Allstate switches to H&K, drops Edelman in PR shift

NORTHBROOK, IL: Insurance giant Allstate has decided to move its six-figure PR account from Edelman to Hill & Knowlton, the company announced late last month.

Anti-abuse organization hands D&B dollars 1.4m PR push

SACRAMENTO: Concluding a comprehensive agency review, California’s Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) last week awarded its two-year, dollars 1.4 million contract to independent public affairs firm ...

Deregulation means new PR challenges for utilities

SAN FRANCISCO: Continued utility deregulation is forcing utilities, traditionally not a group mindful of their public image, to pay as much attention to their brand as to ...

LA Times’ investigation blames paper for Staples Center fiasco

LOS ANGELES: Trying to resolve a PR crisis of its own making, the Los Angeles Times published a scathing report of its internal investigation into November’s controversy ...

Information Resources begins hunt for new VP media relations

CHICAGO: Information Resources, a packaged-goods market research firm, is searching for a new VP of media relations.

EDITORIAL: Can Daft reverse PR tide at Coke?

Coca-Cola used to be one of the few companies that PR pros pointed to as truly ’getting it,’ truly understanding the constant nurturing its image as the ...

EDITORIAL: Town changes name for web site

Of all the issues sure to impact the PR profession in this new century, it’s a safe bet that many advances will emerge from the ultra-competitive hi-tech ...

THE BIG PITCH: What mistakes have you made in the past that taught you a lesson about PR?

Paul Shinoff, The Shinoff Group, San Francisco.

ANALYSIS: Client profile - Gillette battles back as cuts start to heal. Gillette is the leader in most of the categories it competes in, yet profits and stock price have fallen in the past two years. How is the world’s number one razor manufacture

When Gillette launched the Mach 3 razor during the summer of 1998, the company was taking a tremendous risk. It had invested seven years and dollars 750 ...

THINKPIECE: How can you replace the trusty press kit with web sites when none of them seem to work?

Has the spirit of Marie Antoinette surfaced in the world of publicity?

INSIDE THE BELTWAY: The media sounded all alarms about the Y2K bug Want an apology? Maybe next millennium.

Five hundred billion dollars? To hype the biggest flop since the Comet Kahoutek? The Y2K bug is now well on its way to becoming an answer to ...

ANALYSIS: Music PR - Hip-hop hype moves to a rhythm of its own. The one market challenging hi-tech IPOs as the most over-hyped lure of easy money is the music business, specifically hip-hop and rap. Purveyors of this form of popular music have honed a mar

The young Turks of hip-hop and rap are challenging the way big labels do business, capturing the imagination of today’s youth and cashing in big. Antonio ’L.A.’ ...

ANALYSIS: Profile - Gorney: never-say-die campus crusader. Although she single-handedly built Lehigh University’s PR program to prominence, Carole Gorney still isn’t satisfied. The struggle to validate public relations as a respected acade

Tucked away on 1,600 picturesque acres in Bethlehem, PA, less than two hours from New York City and Philadelphia, rests a small, private liberal arts college. While ...

WEEKLY WEB WATCH: Do you really have the skills to prosper from dot-com mania?

Most CEOs or senior managers in PR agencies are probably too caught up in the day-to-day pressures of running their businesses to spend too much time worrying ...

MEDIA: Behind the political mask of The Washington Post. The Washington Post isn’t just about politics any more. But, as Claire Atkinson discovers, it’s still the paper’s bread and butter

Documenting national politics has long been at the heart of The Washington Post’s mission. Uncovering Watergate and the Pentagon Papers in the early seventies were the greatest ...

MEDIA WATCH: Having rung the sales, e-tailers must ring changes

After unprecedented holiday sales, online shopping is expected to go through more changes as retailers seek to establish themselves at the dawn of what many see as ...

Ten predictions for PR in the new millennium: Public relations is destined to be a major force in the new millennium, but it won’t be the same industry we know today. Steve Lilienthal takes a look at the future of PR

PR’s future is so bright it has to wear shades. But that doesn’t mean it won’t face many challenges in the new century - and millennium.

MARKET FOCUS: INVESTOR RELATIONS - Should financial PR pros wear two hats? IR and financial PR pros are supposed to give the same messages to different people - investors and journalists. Should a company’s IR and PR functions be filled by the sam

Call it the case of the two-hatted communicator.

PR TECHNIQUE: INTERNET - Eavesdropping in the chat room. Chat rooms are becoming a PR battleground. Rebecca Flass reports on the best ways to combat negative online publicity and uncovers the success stories

Online forums are a dream for stock traders, angry consumers and activists, but they can create nightmares for corporations. Nearly every company, celebrity or product ’sucks,’ according ...