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October 25, 1999 Issue of PRWeek

Shandwick jettisons Compaq for rival HP

NEW YORK: Shandwick has traded one hi-tech giant for another, ending its 17-year relationship with Compaq to take on Hewlett-Packard’s newly consolidated worldwide PC business.

Starry-eyed Ogilvy acquires dollars 8m entertainment firm

NEW YORK: Ogilvy became the most recent PR firm to go Hollywood last week, acquiring dollars 8 million entertainment shop Baker/Winokur/Ryder (B/W/R) in a rumored dollars 12 ...

Tierney tops two for Sunoco work

PHILADELPHIA: Four months after final presentations concluded, Sunoco has awarded its dollars 500,000-plus PR business to The Tierney Group, Philadelphia’s biggest firm.

Vote for best and worst campaigns

NEW YORK: There was plenty of amazing PR carried out this past year.

NEWS BRIEFS

NEW YORK: London’s Soho PR has branched out to the Big Apple in order to better service the growing number of its UK clients seeking access to ...

Dole’s dropout spurs GOP candidates to examine PR

WASHINGTON, DC: In the wake of Elizabeth Dole’s withdrawal from the race for the 2000 GOP presidential nomination, remaining candidates Sen. John McCain and Steve Forbes are ...

Press secretary exits post for election start-up site

OAKLAND: Highly regarded press secretary Stacey Wells has left her post with Oak-land mayor Jerry Brown for the promised land of a pre-IPO Internet start-up, eElections.com.

HP offers Internet research cheaply

SEATTLE: Hewlett-Packard has launched a new information resource for hi-tech PR pros.

Weber snags four new tech clients

CAMBRIDGE, MA: The Weber Group has added four Internet clients to its emerging business practice over the last two months, adding more than dollars 1 million in ...

iParty.com site spending on branding and marketing

NEW YORK: iParty.com, an e-commerce site offering everything from cake decorations to costumes, has invited Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners to the bash as its agency of record. ...

dollars 4m Newstream.com launched by Medialink and Business Wire

NEW YORK: Medialink and Business Wire have launched Newstream.com, a two-year, dollars 4 million joint venture angling to be the premier multimedia link between Internet news sites ...

CSC hands dollars 500k job to PepperCom

WEST ORANGE, NJ: PepperCom has bested two top-10 agencies for the dollars 500,000 CSC Consulting Group PR account.

Ford in need of VP public affairs but lacks frontrunner

DETROIT: Ford is on the hunt for a new head of PR following the surprise announcement that VP of public affairs Vaughn Koshkarian has been promoted within ...

Build prestige at colleges, says report on education

WASHINGTON, DC: Despite constant moaning by firms about the difficulty of finding well-educated practitioners, a new report unveiled today by the Commission on Public Relations Education takes ...

Cushman Amberg buys Chicago neighbor Werle

CHICAGO: Cushman/Amberg is buying crosstown neighbor Werle + Associates, adding 30 years of Chicago PR experience in the person of Chuck Werle.

Edelman fills two high-profile jobs

NEW YORK & DALLAS: Edelman last week filled two high-profile vacancies, naming Miller Bonner Jr. as GM of technology and co-chair of the global technology sector and ...

JC Penney on hunt for new manager

DALLAS: Retailer JCPenney is shuffling its in-house PR deck, losing a 22-year pro and looking to hire another to handle media relations.

FH signed for peace work in Middle East

WASHINGTON, DC: Fleishman-Hillard has been tapped to develop a high-profile marketing plan to promote the efforts of the Tel Aviv-based Peres Center for Peace.

H&K buys dollars 2.1m Polish PR agency

WARSAW: Hill & Knowlton has acquired Feedback, a dollars 2.1 million Polish PR firm.

Absolut may ditch C&W after review

LONDON: Absolut Vodka is reviewing its UK PR business, which may result in four-year incumbent Cohn & Wolfe being shown the door.

Text 100 opens Hong Kong location, Hamilton at helm

HONG KONG: Text 100 continued its recent Asia Pacific push last week with the opening of a new subsidiary in Hong Kong.

Internet.com and news bureau join

WESTPORT, CT: Internet.com, which bills itself as ’the e-Business and Internet Technology Network,’ has acquired online press release distribution service Internet News Bureau (INB), a two-person company located ...

IR firm Straus plans merger with Morrison

NEW YORK: Thirty-year-old mutual fund specialist Straus Corporate Communications has announced plans to merge with Morrison/Carlisle - assuming that an initial collaboration between the two agencies proves successful.

Software group taps firm to promote ratings system

LOS ANGELES: Responding to growing concerns over violence in video games, the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) has hired Greer, Margolis, Mitchell, Burns & Associates for an ...

Online radio network taps FH for dollars 250k publicity job

LOS ANGELES: The Digital Entertainment Network, an Internet channel with interactive programming and content targeting Generation Y (consumers between the ages of 14 and 24), has tapped Fleishman-Hillard’s ...

Healthcare group calls for ’off-label’ drug guidelines

NEW YORK: The Coalition for Healthcare Communication has released a position paper proposing new FDA guidelines for the dissemination of ’off-label’ information.

Chicago Tourism Bureau lands new VP for local convention focus

CHICAGO: Hoping to up its profile with convention planners, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau has hired PR veteran Bill Utter as its new VP of marketing ...

Vermont taps KSV for telecom work

BURLINGTON, VT: The Vermont Department of Public Service has hired KSV Communicators to conduct a statewide outreach program to increase awareness and usage of the Vermont Telecommunications ...

Anti-GM site by auto ad vet stirs up online controversy

DETROIT: Following Ford’s battle with an enthusiast’s unauthorized web site (PRWeek, Sept. 7), General Motors has become the latest auto giant to face an online nuisance.

Burson scores sporting goods e-commerce site BigEdge.com

SAN FRANCISCO: Better known as the agency of record for established blue-chip tech companies like Sun Microsystems and Hewlett Packard spin-off Agilent, Burson-Marsteller is showing that it ...

’Nonstop’ political races blur lines between governing and running

WASHINGTON, DC: While rising activity in government affairs and grassroots organizing may provide PR agencies with a wealth of opportunity, a study being assembled by the American ...

S&G lures former Variety chief Lieb

NEW YORK: Former Variety bureau chief Rebecca Lieb has been appointed vice president, communications at corporate branding firm Siegel & Gale.

New site approves copyrights online

RENTON, WA: iCopyright.com, which bills itself as the first automated copyright permission and reprint clearinghouse, has begun its trial phase.

New Englanders divided on using taxes for tourism

BURLINGTON, VT: Northeast states considering using PR to generate tourism should think twice before asking taxpayers to pick up the tab, according to a recent study.

Fleishman pulls out of Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE: Fleishman-Hillard is closing its Milwaukee outpost and transferring three key staffers to Chicago.

New firm Morrissey lands dollars 750k in billings

BOSTON: Morrissey & Company has landed five new clients within the past two months, adding more than dollars 750,000 in annualized billings.

MedicaLogic taps Publicis Dialog SF

SAN FRANCISCO: Medica-Logic, an Oregon-based medical records management company - which is set to launch an online health network and a new Internet software product for doctors ...

Editorial: Want top talent? Go recruit at Ivies

It’s known that cream rises, and management consultants have made it their business to scoop off the top talent from colleges.

The Big Pitch: What steps should ABC take to counteract its image as a struggling network?

Brian Cummings

ANALYSIS: THE POWER OF PR - Public Affairs - Open lines: how AT&T monopolized phones

Consumer watchdogs argue that the proposed merger between MCI Worldcom and Sprint will lead to a duopoly, with AT&T remaining number one. Dimly remembered in today’s deregulated ...

THINKPIECE: Size doesn’t matter: your clients should value results, not how gargantuan your PR agency is

The CEO of a budding web site recently asked me why he should hire us instead of a ’name’ firm. Having been in the business for ...

Recruiting: Wider nets needed to catch prized recruits

It happens every year. As soon as the leaves begin to fall on the pristine campuses of elite colleges nationwide, representatives from the top management consulting firms ...

INSIDE THE BELTWAY: In an ironic twist, an unpopular sport proves popular for the most part in political lexicon

Of all American sports, it’s fair to say boxing is the least popular.

ANALYSIS: Profile - The all-conquering queen of controversy Conjuring a PR strategy to make Monica Lewinsky’s book a best seller following ’that’ giggly ABC interview was not the easiest of tasks. But then Lynn Goldberg is no stran

Newsweek chairman Richard Smith doesn’t quite know what to make of book publicist Lynn Goldberg: ’I am not sure whether Lynn takes on controversial books or they ...

Weekly Web Watch: OK, so smoking is bad, but I’m a nice guy, says Marlboro Man

The Marlboro Man (aka Philip Morris) has been on the defensive of late. Battle-weary, not to mention rather nicotine and tar-stained, he’s decided it’s time to try ...

MEDIA: Los Angeles Times - laid back, but not easy to pitch. The Los Angeles Times business section is just as hard-hitting as its New York competitors, it just delivers the news in a more laid-back style Claire Atkinson shows pros the best way to approac

It’s not often you see a rendition of a dollars 100 bill featuring Benjamin Franklin in a pair of shades, but it’s an appropriately irreverent image for ...

MEDIA WATCH: Media divided over Garth Brooks’ split personality

Recognized simply by his silhouette, Garth Brooks appears to have had the music industry and the media scratching their heads in recent weeks with his decision to ...

Something to write home about - What are travel journalists looking for in a press junket? A four-star meal? A massage? A little pampering, sure. But mostly a strong story. Diane Clehane reports

Give journalists something to write home about and they will. That’s what PR pros say about dealing with travel writers. Sure, an exotic locale helps. But even ...

MARKET FOCUS: EDUCATION PR - Campus counselors. PR departments at colleges and universities are struggling to gain adequate budgets - and respect - from their administrators. Ana Vargas reports

With bruising competition for new students, PR is more important than ever for colleges and universities. But it maintains a precarious position on campus. Administrators want good ...

PR TECHNIQUE: ANRs - is anybody listening? They’ve been in existence for years. But audio news releases are often treated as inferior tools compared to satellite media tours and video news releases. Rebecca Flass tells you how to reach listeners

The smooth voice of a radio personality reading a company’s news story is music to most presidents’ ears. And in their pre-packaged format, ANRs seem to provide ...