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November 24, 2003 Issue of PRWeek

Hetrick hired to help Indy symphony build audience

INDIANAPOLIS: The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra has hired a local PR firm and an ad agency to craft an image campaign it hopes will broaden its ...

Foxwoods brings in agency help as growth plans loom

MASHANTUCKET, CT: Foxwoods Resort Casino has hired its first PR agency, picking Euro RSCG Middleberg over other two finalists Dan Klores Communications and RF Binder ...

Foie gras maker fires back at animal-rights attackers

SONOMA, CA: After animal-rights activists allegedly stole ducks at Sonoma Foie Gras and vandalized a restaurant also run by Sonoma Foie Gras' owners, the company ...

Durig quits Burson to head Axialent in US

SAN FRANCISCO: Albert Durig, chairman of Burson-Marsteller's US tech practice, has left the agency to become president of US operations for Axialent, a management consulting ...

Olympus on display in photo book's tour

MELVILLE, NY: Olympus America is helping give 1,000 photographers a glimpse of what the country looks like.

Distributor Drinks Americas taps firm to help its brands

WILTON, CT: Beverage distributor Drinks Americas has hired the Bender Hammerling Group to handle PR for the company and its brands. Annual fees are in ...

Chicago press sees circus' animal care

CHICAGO: The Ringling Bros. circus was able to capture major Chicago media attention recently for something a bit more serious than its three rings of ...

Pernod Ricard to push Chivas Regal in new campaign

WHITE PLAINS, NY: Pernod Ricard is planning a major PR push next year to follow up a new ad campaign launched this fall for Chivas ...

Wisconsin prepares to issue tourism RFP

MADISON, WI: The Wisconsin Department of Tourism is preparing an RFP for its PR business that it expects to put out to bid at the ...

Companies try marketing to Muslims amid Ramadan

LOS ANGELES: The Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which ends with Eid ul-Fitr, or the Feast of Fast-Breaking, is gaining ground as a target of PR ...

Maples tapped by Fujitsu Computer after units merge

SUNNYVALE, CA: Fujitsu Computer Systems has picked Maples Communications as its US AOR, a month after the division was formed by the merger of Fujitsu ...

Atomic PR to make studios aware of Giant Killer Robots

SAN FRANCISCO: Atomic PR wants to unleash Giant Killer Robots (GKR) upon the world.

News Briefs

PR21 and Edelman working with new low-fare airline Ted

DENVER: New low-fare subsidiary airline Ted, unveiled by parent United Airlines last week, has hired Chicago-based PR21 and Edelman for PR efforts related to the ...

Pentagon to keep media away from Arlington funerals

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon took another step in distancing the media from US casualties of war last week with the announcement of new restrictions on funeral ...

Merging companies give media fair crack at story

NEW YORK: Breaking a tradition of leaking merger news to The Wall Street Journal's Monday edition, the Abernathy MacGregor Group employed a slightly different media ...

Lincoln Financial's Rudnay to take on VP role at Comcast

PHILADELPHIA: Cable giant Comcast has appointed D'Arcy Rudnay VP of corporate communications.

Eskew quits White House, but will stay in DC

WASHINGTON: Tucker Eskew, chief strategist for global communications at the White House, has resigned his post effective December 7.

Separate studies suggest uncertain influence of CSR

LOS ANGELES and HONG KONG: Two new studies suggest in two different ways that CSR is less important to some key stakeholders than many thought.

Burson lays off 2% of staff across all its practice areas

WASHINGTON: Burson-Marsteller reduced staff levels across the country last week, laying off slightly more then a dozen employees, or 2% of its workforce.

Horowitz returns to PwC to regain head global comms role

NEW YORK: Peter Horowitz has returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as senior managing director of global PR.

Supporters unite to launch effort defending 'The Passion of the Christ'

WASHINGTON: A campaign is underway to save the Mel Gibson film from from criticism that it is an anti-Semitic portrayal of the crucifixion.

Chi-Chi's taps CCG as media storm brews amid PA hepatitis outbreak

IRVINE, CA: Prandium, parent company of Chi-Chi's, needs help to deal with the media maelstrom around 500 cases of hepatitis A.

Pfizer invites top teams to bid on cardiovascular unit

NEW YORK: Pfizer has invited the world's three largest marketing holding companies to assemble their strongest PR teams to pitch their cardiovascular franchise.

EDITORIAL: Anticipated business growth is only good news for PR agencies who are ready for it

Are PR agencies prepared for a rebound? At the risk of jinxing it, I can report that the latent whisper that business is improving has ...

OP-ED: Companies find a brand new way to reach consumers

Brand. Brand. Brand. Every company today wants to be a brand company. "We're a brand experience company," or "We have just completed a rebranding campaign" ...

ANALYSIS: Recovery of fund industry hinges on rebuilding trust

Fund companies will not be able to defend their reputation until they begin to talk more to individual investors, some of whom are pulling out. ...

PAUL HOLMES: A corporation's best spokespeople are often its employees - as long as the words are their own

Halliburton, under fire for winning several lucrative Iraqi reconstruction projects without going through the messy, unpredictable process of competitive bidding, needed to find a credible ...

CORPORATE CASE STUDY: Boeing adjusts PR course to elevate commercial unit

Amid falling sales and stiff competition, Boeing's commercial arm is revising its airplane designs - and the accompanying PR strategy - to win over various ...

THE AGENCY BUSINESS: A strong internship program can foster agency development

Melanie Shortman finds that a growing number of agencies are discovering that involving interns in account work can have significant benefits for everyone, including the ...

MEDIA ROUNDUP: Press invests more in mutual funds

Recent scandals have led to more scrutiny of mutual-fund companies, and, as David Ward finds, a low-key PR strategy is proving to be the best ...

JOURNALIST Q&A: Leah McLaughlin

McLaughlin oversees Fitness' 15-plus pages of nutrition, food, and weight-loss editorial each month. As diet and nutrition editor, she also serves as a public face ...

MEDIA WATCH: Rosie, G+J both lose despite trial standoff

The recent Rosie O'Donnell-Gruner + Jahr USA trial ended in a stalemate. Though neither side won the millions in damages they sought, it marked the ...

MEDIA BRANDS: In simply criticizing Dean's comments, the press missed a chance to facilitate meaningful debate

In a week in which Howard Dean consolidated his lead in the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination by securing the endorsements of two major ...

PROFILE: Passion readies Denton for AMD's comms challenges

Morris Denton learned during his days at Cunningham that corporate credibility counts. He brings that experience and his entrepreneurial spirit to AMD's struggle against Intel.

Tech PR: the comeback kid

Tech PR is making a return, though some say it never went away.

MARKET FOCUS: Entertaining opportunities

Anita Chabria hosts a panel discussion of Hollywood publicists who debate dealmaking, divas, and the oh-so-desirable corporate tie-in.

PR TECHNIQUE: Getting ready for the world premiere

A video news release may have international appeal, but before unleashing it on the world, several tasks must be crossed off the checklist.

CAMPAIGNS: Coneman directs Pittsburgh drivers onto other routes

PR Team: Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and MARC Public Relations (Pittsburgh) Campaign: Coneman Time Frame: March-August 2002 Budget: $250,000

CAMPAIGNS: Home Depot gives a better sense of color to customers

PR Team: Home Depot (Atlanta) and Richards/Gravelle (Dallas) Campaign: The Home Depot Time Frame: February - August 2003 Budget: Under $220,000

CAMPAIGNS: Mexico heralds its closeness for US, Canadian tourists

PR Team: Mexico Tourism Board (Mexico City) and Fleishman-Hillard Miami/ Latin America (Miami) Campaign: "Mexico, Closer than Ever" Time Frame: 2002 Budget: $2 million

THE PUBLICIST: Officials know the rules about effective PR for a worthy cause

Although numerous professions are subject to bad publicity (lawyers, cops, accordion players) only one is accustomed to having its members' well-being teasingly (or sometimes actually) ...

PR PLAY OF THE WEEK: Flynt refrains to expose the White House

LOS ANGELES: The notion of restraint doesn't immediately come to mind when porn purveyor Larry Flynt's name comes up. But when the sometime First-Amendment crusader ...

TOY BOX: Audiovox's radios are clearly too big

Audiovox claims that its GMRS7000CH model two-way radios have a seven-mile range. Living in Manhattan, it's hard to judge distance (seven miles is more than ...