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January 13, 2003 Issue of PRWeek

Amazon taps Burson as lead firm, hires MWW's Savitt as consultant

SEATTLE: Amazon has ended its lengthy search for a lead agency by revealing that Burson-Marsteller has won the business.

Ogilvy wins three-agency battle for Nasdaq account

NEW YORK: Ogilvy PR has emerged triumphant from a three-way shootout to be Nasdaq's agency of record.

Edelman joins forces with Viacom on HIV AIDS education initiative

LOS ANGELES: Edelman has been hired by Viacom to provide PR support for a multimillion-dollar media campaign to combat HIV/AIDS.

Sony Pictures TV wraps up revamp of PR department

LOS ANGELES: Sony Pictures Television, a division of Sony Corporation of America, has finished restructuring its publicity department by naming a new head of communications ...

Al Jazeera steps up efforts to establish presence in US

WASHINGTON: No longer content just being "The Arab CNN," the Al Jazeera news network is taking steps toward becoming a major force on the American ...

Burson takes on SVMG in pro bono deal

SAN JOSE, CA: The Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (SVMG) has tapped Burson-Marsteller to provide pro bono PR services.

Foray into film has Klores headed to Sundance fest

LOS ANGELES: Dan Klores, founder of the eponymous New York PR firm, has added another title to his card: filmmaker.

Former Bruins star taps WSW to head PR for foundation

CAMBRIDGE, MA: The Cam Neely Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families cope with cancer, has selected Weber Shandwick Worldwide as its first-ever agency of ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Biz360 signs deal with PRWeek

NEW YORK: Media-analysis company Biz360 has signed a deal with PRWeek to sponsor the annual Corporate Survey. The PRWeek/Biz360 Corporate Survey went live last week, ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: GE taps Perry Communications

INDIANAPOLIS: GE Medical Systems has tapped the Perry Communications Group to provide PR for the unveiling of the first all-digital, filmless, paperless, wireless hospital, which ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Weber Shandwick expands operations

SINGAPORE: Weber Shandwick Worldwide has expanded its Asia-Pacific operations to include Jakarta, Indonesia, which will be the tenth Asia-Pacific market where WSW has an operation. ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Dirksen Lehman joins Clark & Weinstock

WASHINGTON: Healthcare specialist Dirksen Lehman, formerly President Bush's special assistant for legislative affairs, has joined Omnicom lobbying shop Clark & Weinstock as a director. He ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Keating named agency of record

MILLBURN, NJ: Keating Public Relations has been named agency of record for Simulations Plus, developer of simulation and modeling software for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Parrish Blanchard Schaefer signs clients

DALLAS: New clients signed by Parrish Blanchard Schaefer PR in the first week of 2003 include: Global HealthNet, a Dallas-based company that produces medical billing ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Ketchum expands committee

NEW YORK: Ketchum has expanded its executive committee - the body which guides the agency - increasing the number of members to 11. Joining the ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: HSR Business to Business selected

CINCINNATI: Mahindra-British Telecom, a joint venture between British Telecommunications and Mahindra & Mahindra of India, has selected HSR Business to Business to provide PR services, ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Trimedia changes name

NEW YORK: Financial PR specialist Trimedia has changed its name to Intermarket Communications. Intermarket is a founding member of Global Financial Communications Network, a multinational ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: French/West/Vaughan selected

RALEIGH, NC: French/West/Vaughan has been selected to provide PR support for Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil's Raleigh performances of Dralion, which will premiere locally in the ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Weber Shandwick signs clients

CAMBRIDGE, MA: Weber Shandwick Worldwide has signed two new tech clients: Austin, TX-based ClearCube Technology, which develops client blade computing services, and Westborough, MA-based RemoteReality, ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Keen names CMO

SAN FRANCISCO: Keen, which offers online platforms for buying and selling advice, has named Marc Barach as CMO. Barach will oversee all elements of Keen's ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Gregory FCA adds accounts

ARDMORE, PA: Gregory FCA Communications has added nine new accounts. The new clients are: Proscape Technologies, FASTNET, Cadient Group, Hifi House, Wendover Corporation, RefurbDepot, Synergistix ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Warburg Pincus promotes VP to MD

NEW YORK: Julie Johnson Staples has been promoted from VP to MD in the marketing department at private equity and venture capital firm Warburg Pincus. ...

Chicago PR icons band together for custom seminars

CHICAGO: Three veterans of the Chicago PR scene are joining together to offer customized seminars for corporate marketing and public relations departments.

Ogilvy joins forces with Dutko to offer lobbying services

WASHINGTON: Ogilvy PR announced a formal alliance with lobbying agency The Dutko Group last week, acknowledging the difficulty of surviving in DC these days as ...

Clonaid reversal turns spotlight to reporter

NEW YORK: When you are under fire for having suspicious-sounding ties to a religious group that thinks aliens created the Earth, you need PR help.

Ogilvy report finds slowing market for big trade shows

ATLANTA: As cleaning crews were sweeping up the Las Vegas convention hall after last week's Consumer Electronics Show, Ogilvy PR released a report citing a ...

US Air and Raytheon kick crisis plans into high gear

CHARLOTTE, NC: Companies involved in last week's crash of a US Airways Express flight in Charlotte jumped quickly into crisis mode, following what has become ...

New Hilton comms boss looking to fill four regional slots

LONDON: Hilton Group's recently appointed global PR chief Leslie McGibbon will hire new PR heads for four global regions as the leisure group tries to ...

WSW adds to Africa and Mideast forces

WASHINGTON: Weber Shandwick Worldwide has increased its presence in the Middle East and North Africa by merging forces with two prominent shops: Rimon Cohen in ...

Associated Press expands desktop content offerings

NEW YORK: The Associated Press has beefed up its news-delivery capabilities, and can now deliver its own content, along with third-party material, directly to the ...

CKPR Chicago lands two big accounts

CHICAGO: CKPR has won two accounts that will likely mean more than $300,000 in new revenues for its Chicago office.

MGM makes new hires in publicity group

LOS ANGELES: MGM Distribution, the division of Metro Goldwyn Mayer that markets and distributes theatrical releases, has brought on board two new vice presidents in ...

Fleishman teams with Wirthlin to strengthen public affairs offering

WASHINGTON: Fleishman-Hillard has formed a partnership with Wirthlin Worldwide, a Reston, VA research firm whose founder, Richard Wirthlin, gained widespread notoriety as a strategist and ...

Center For Jewish History hires first director of comms

NEW YORK: The Center for Jewish History has named Steven Greene as its director of communications. In the newly created post, he will work alongside ...

Goodrich brings in new PR head after TRW acquisition

CHARLOTTE, NC: Goodrich has named Lisa Bottle its new VP of corporate communications. Bottle joined Goodrich after its October takeover of TRW Aeronautical Systems, where ...

LJ Consulting wins first job in Network Associates accord

NEW YORK: A newly formed New York-based IR, PR and management consultant firm, LJ Consultants, has signed its first client, internet security company Network Associates. ...

Reality TV producer brings in PR chief to tout mainstream programs

LOS ANGELES: Leave My Name Off (LMNO) Productions, a reality-programming producer, has hired Larry Goldman as VP of corporate communications.

CCBN hires Topaz to brand it beyond the finance world

MALDEN, MA: Corporate Communications Broadcast Network (CCBN) has hired PR agency Topaz Partners as it looks to build its brand beyond the financial community. The ...

Fleishman pulls consumer potato work from Ketchum

DENVER: The US Potato Promotion Board has handed its nearly $1 million consumer account to Fleishman-Hillard, breaking Ketchum's lock on the board's PR work. Ketchum, ...

Former Pataki aid joins Mower in top public affairs role

ALBANY, NY: Robert Bellafiore, a former high-level aide to New York Gov. George Pataki, is joining Eric Mower & Associates as director of its public ...

EDITORIAL: Hiring of familiar faces for top comms posts signals PR's rising relevance in eyes of CEOs

Last week, we broke the story of Merrill Lynch's search for a new PR chief, in advance of Paul Critchlow's planned retirement. Given the brokerage's ...

OP-ED: Full communication will help the staff feel like a family

Employee relations took a hard slap upside the head from the media last summer. The signature image was of people stumbling out of their office ...

ANALYSIS: Health is taboo in feeding information on organics

Even though consumers perceive organic foods as healthier, there's no conclusive proof. So producers are pushing taste, quality, and the environment, finds John N. Frank.

PAUL HOLMES: Nestle needs to consider the costly fallout of its demand for $6m repayment from Ethiopia

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

CORPORATE CASE STUDY: Half Price Books' business is bound to a social agenda

Half Price Books started in a converted laundromat, but it's now a literacy and recycling beacon with stores in 11 states. Sherri Deatherage Green looks ...

MEDIA WATCH: Raelian sect gains more copy than its curious cloning claims

The scene for the invitation-only press conference was a South Florida Holiday Inn. Dr. Brigette Boisselier, CEO of little-known biotech company Clonaid, announced the birth ...

MEDIA ROUNDUP: Wedding outlets give good reception to fresh ideas

Though its focus is narrow, the wedding media constantly seeks - and finds - new angles and audiences, which affords PR people more avenues to ...

MEDIA PROFILE: Gene Simmons' Tongue sticks out by keeping things clean

Tongue talks to, not at, its 18-40 male audience. However, finds Anita Chabria, while it shuns impudence and welcomes PR pitches, its famous publisher will ...

PROFILE: From OK to DC, Keating's candor is the talk of the town

Frank Keating always speaks his mind. And while it irked some during his terms as OK governor, it prompted the American Council of Life Insurers ...

MARKET FOCUS: Judging books by the coverage

Sales are everything in the books sector, and PR drives them.

PR TECHNIQUE: Net gains: why your website is crucial

A professionally designed website offering easy access to the specific details visitors need can be a key factor in establishing your firm's reputation.

CAMPAIGNS: 'Blood Work' finds way to tap pulse of US Latin audience

PR Team: Warner Bros. (Burbank, CA) and S+S Communications (Irvine, CA) Campaign: Blood Work Time Frame: June-August 2002 Budget: $50,000-$60,000

CAMPAIGNS: Museum of Glass invites the media to see everything

PR Team: Museum of Glass (Tacoma, WA) and Ruder Finn (New York and Los Angeles) Campaign: "Shattering Expectations" Time Frame: June 2001-present Budget: $80,000

CAMPAIGNS: Burdines teaches the Florida media a lesson in giving

PR Team: Burdines (Miami) and O'Connell & Goldberg (Hollywood, FL) Campaign: "Burdines Florida Teacher of the Year" Time Frame: July 2001-July 2002 Budget: $65,000

THE PUBLICIST: Pilfered penguins prove that crime can pay for PR people

I did a fair amount of traveling over the holidays, visiting friends and relatives in the great Midwest. I also sought snow, and was willing ...

PR PLAY OF THE WEEK: Big Apple choice appears fruitful for GOP

NEW YORK: After snatching both the White House and Congress, Republicans continued to march into Democratic territory last week by picking New York over New ...

TOY BOX: Arctic 180s can be music to cold ears

Cover your ears, unless you want to hear about how to keep them warm. After all, it's hardly balmy in most of the US, and ...

BOOK REVIEW: A delicious ode to simpler PR times

The self-described "unofficial king of culinary PR," author and PR pioneer Leo Pearlstein charts his history through the early days of TV and film publicity ...

PRWeek Awards: The finalists 2003

The PRWeek Awards acknowledge the industry's most outstanding accomplishments each year. Now, it is with great pleasure that we announce the Finalists of the PRWeek ...