Perception Versus Reality in Public Relations

When many people think of Cleveland, the term “vacation destination” does not immediately come to mind. Cleveland is where I spent my recent vacation, however, and it’s where I thought a lot about public relations. It had been almost ten years since I’d been to Cleveland; all I remembered was a rundown city filled with half-empty factories and decaying housing. But what I saw on my trip was a city moving forward–and dealing with the very real public relations problem of perception versus reality. (Read more…)

Learning from Public Relations Disasters (and Triumphs)

Public relations disasters (and triumphs) come in all shapes and sizes, and from all corners of the country. Here’s a look at a few of each, along with a few tips to help you avoid the disasters — and repeat the triumphs. (Read more…)

A Black Friday for Public Relations

Everything is on sale. That was the big message public relations and advertising departments were desperate to get across last week and earlier this week, as retailers tried to pry money out of the wallets of cash-strapped consumers. The message was received, to a certain extent. (Read more…)

Giving Up on Wal-Mart

Dumbstruck. That’s how I felt after reading Jeffrey Goldberg’s article in the April 2nd edition of The New Yorker entitled “Selling Wal-Mart.”

“The Edelman team assigned to Wal-Mart, I learned, is divided into three groups: ‘promote,’ ‘response,’ and ‘pressure.’ The Jobs and Opportunity Zones notion came from the promotions team. The response-team members - veterans of political campaigns - are supposed to quickly counter criticism in the press or on the Web. The pressure group works on opposition research, focussing on the unions and the press,” Goldberg wrote. (Read more…)

Making News in 2006

Welcome to 2006: a year that will see mid-term elections, Winter Olympics, and the release of Paris Hilton’s first (and dare we hope last) album.

As is the case every year, the news cycle will be driven by known and unknown events. Being prepared for the unknown events is difficult. Being prepared for the known events can be easy. With the latter statement in mind, here are the events and emerging trends I think will dominate headlines this year. (Read more…)