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July 05, 1999 Issue of PRWeek

Gateway grabs Ford big wheel

NORTH SIOUX CITY, SD: Buoyant computer giant Gateway has lured a top level PR pro from Ford as it beefs up its global communications.

Doubting bidders consider dollars 300m tobacco business

WASHINGTON, DC: It's dollars 300 million of work, but no one's sure whether they want it.

GCI nails dollars 3m in new brand work

NEW YORK: The GCI Groups marketing practice has picked up over dollars 3 million in new business and has split into four divisions to manage ...

Dalai Lama New York visit calls for six PR volunteers

WASHINGTON, DC: Want to inject some spiritualism into your daily grind?

Hillary names vet as spokesperson

NEW YORK: Hillary Clinton last week named Howard Wolfson as her spokesman for the Senate race she hasn't yet officially entered.

Crisis pro contests banks' Y2K preparedness policy

WILLIAMSBURG, VA: Banking regulators are committing a PR blunder by refusing to make public their examinations of bank Y2K readiness, according to one crisis counselor.

Former ad execs start up integrated marketing firm

CHICAGO: Two former ad execs have teamed with a former mutual fund executive to launch an integrated marketing communications shop.

BM creates Year 2000 crisis units

NEW YORK: Burson-Marsteller has established a network of 24 'communications command centers' as part of its Y2K readiness activities.

WB loses two PR pros to programming departments

LOS ANGELES: Entertainment giant Warner Bros. is losing two experienced PR executives to network TV programming departments.

NEWS BRIEFS

NEW YORK: Betty Keepin was elected president of the Women Executives in PR (WEPR) at the group's annual meeting last week.

Weber continues Austin tech trend

AUSTIN: The Weber Group has set up shop in hi-tech hotbed Austin, tapping former Fleishman-Hillard VP Andrew Craig to lead the new office.

GCI's new research service aims to put positive spin on mergers

NEW YORK: GCI has pushed PR further into the consulting space, launching a pro-merger research service to test whether two companies' cultures are compatible.

Library seeking a Boston media pro

BOSTON: After serving as Boston Public Library's (BPL) PR officer for the past 10 years, Art Dunphy is retiring from his post. Dunphy, 65, will ...

United's PR head to run ads too, under new structure

CHICAGO: United Airlines is putting its former head of PR in charge of both PR and advertising as part of a new management structure.

Building a better network is focus of GOP gathering

WASHINGTON, DC: Getting more and better PR will be one of the hot-button topics at this week's Republican National Committee (RNC) meeting in Philadelphia.

Real estate firms hire inside IR pros

LOS ANGELES AND BOSTON: Real estate development companies CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) and Boston Properties (BP) have strengthened their investor relations operations by appointing internal ...

Top exec leaves in book PR merging

NEW YORK: Book publisher Random House is merging the PR operations of its Bantam and Dell/Delacorte imprints and is losing a senior member of its ...

The NBA

NEW YORK: The NBA, long regarded as the best marketers and communicators of the four major US sports leagues, has added another seven-footer to its ...

CRT sets up shop in Hampton Roads

RICHMOND, VA: Carter Ryley Thomas (CRT) has opened a Hampton Roads office and has charged healthcare PR vet Debbie Myers with running it.

Strat@comm forges a new alliance with DC lobbyists

WASHINGTON, DC: PR firm Strat@comm has forged a strategic alliance with several Capitol Hill lobbyists.

Hewlett-Packard taps hi-tech KMC

SEATTLE: Proving the power of boutique firms in the so-called dot.com realm, tiny Bellevue-based KMC Group recently won a lucrative piece of business from Hewlett-Packard.

BSMG snatches new healthcare business adding up to dollars 500,000

NEW YORK: BSMG's medical and health communications unit has landed a new account and new business from three existing clients, adding approximately dollars 500,000 to ...

In Brief

ANN ARBOR, MI: The University of Michigan Business School has chosen Stanton Crenshaw Communications to conduct a business media relations program.

Upstart Pro Air scores instant recognition by hiring brewing heir

DETROIT: Upstart airline Pro Air has snagged a well-recognized name in the Detroit business community to handle marketing and promotional activities in the Motor City.

Texas blind group hands dollars 1m account to Matthews

AUSTIN: Austin-based Sherry Matthews Advertising (SMA) & Public Relations has landed a dollars 1 million PR and marketing account for the Texas Commission for the ...

Ruder Finn adds two hi-tech pros to Bay Area shop

SAN FRANCISCO: Ruder Finn has added two seasoned veterans of the local hi-tech public relations scene to its San Francisco office.

North Light lands public affairs vet to run new group

COLLEGE PARK, MD: North Light Communications has selected Tim Ayers to be president of its new public affairs unit.

Weiser tabs IR pro to run NY operations

NEW YORK: The Weiser Group is expanding its IR practice, hiring PR vet Peter Warrick to spearhead its New York operations.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Burson bolsters Swiss presence

LONDON: Burson-Marsteller has consolidated its PR operations in Switzerland, buying the remaining 30% of shares in Swiss partner Jaggi Communications.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: F-H and KWE to spearhead Mexico City tourism push

MIAMI: Fleishman-Hillard and travel and lifestyle marketing communications specialist KWE Associates were chosen last week to lead a comprehensive year-long international PR program to promote ...

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: H&K bags Gillette hi-tech toothbrush launch

LONDON: Gillette Group UK has hired Hill & Knowlton to handle the product PR launch for a hi-tech toothbrush from the UK's biggest-selling brand, Oral-B.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Horn and Herald seal partner deal

SAN FRANCISCO: The Horn Group and Europes Herald Communications have inked a strategic partnership to share clients, projects, resources and staff across the Atlantic.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Palace publishes its PR expenditure

LONDON: Buckingham Palace has published its communications costs for the first time.

COMMENT: Editorial—Credibility is key to good relations

It's not just us hacks who don't believe the hype. A cynical European public believes that the vast majority of companies think about nothing other ...

ANALYSIS: Crisis Management - Much-criticized Coke finally pulls out stops/Facing a crisis, Coke acted too slowly for its communications critics. But, Jonah Bloom discovers the soda icon may escape long-term damage

Coca-Cola: two words estimated to be worth more than dollars 20 billion.

THINKPIECE: US pros can learn lessons from the creative world of communications in Latin America

The US has long been the marrow of public relations development and with much reason.

INSIDE THE BELTWAY: With too many people controlling information, the Internet is an arena for data trespassers

Here in Washington, PR practitioners, politicians, media heavyweights, regulators, civil rights lawyers, and even hi-tech Web executives are beginning to worry about the Law of ...

ANALYSIS: History of PR - UFO euphoria invades Roswell for 52 years/THE POWER OF PR/A press release fuels the fire over the existence of flying saucers Sherri Deatherage Green takes a look at this PR encounter of a positive kind

While the rest of the nation celebrates its independence with fireworks, folks in Roswell, NM, will commemorate July 4 as the day when something other ...

WEEKLY WEB WATCH: WWW - 'Disintermediation' continues, with sports fans able to question their heros directly on the Net

The name says it all. Athlete Direct is all about that Nethead buzzword 'disintermediation.' And the middle man being cut out in this case is ...

Profile: Best-connected man in PR - A rough exterior, dedication to his students and a powerful network of former students-turned-PR-pros may make Gerald Powers one of the most formidable men on the PR scene

Professor Gerald Powers has some very incriminating stories. He's not naming any names, but after teaching PR at Boston University's College of Communication for 35 ...

MEDIA PROFILE: The Wall Street Journal loosens its tie for Weekend - Do you have a leisure product perfect for a business person? If so, WSJ's Weekend Section is a prime candidate for your pitch

It is not often that subjects like wine, travel and entertainment are given the same kind of rigorous treatment by journalists as topics like the ...

MEDIA WATCH: Women's soccer and star striker Hamm score big

An unprecedented number of corporate sponsors are supportting the 1999 Women's World Cup (WWC), which has been billed as the largest women's sporting event ever.

Who's master of the Web?: Public relations and advertising are embroiled in a battle to control the content of client Internet sites Rebecca Flass polls advocates from the two camps.

Advertising professionals don't want to write press releases and PR pros don't want to develop ad campaigns. But ask who should develop Webcontent and the ...

MARKET FOCUS AGRICULTURAL PR: Genetically engineered crops are a PR pro's potential nightmare. Are we only limited to a defensive role in talking about GE foods?

The agricultural PR world got a wake-up call from an unlikely source recently—the monarch butterfly.

PR TECHNIQUE MEDIA RELATIONS: How to write an op-ed - Does your client have an expert opinion? The op-ed page is a hidden market for placements, and Jennie Phipps shows how to get results in nine easy steps

An op-ed is a great strategy for a prominent business or political leader—and often works for authors and leaders of not-for-profit groups, too. Op-eds have ...