Industry titans PRSA and Bacon's recently performed a survey of over 15,000 PR professionals (including members and nonmembers of PRSA) entitled "2006 State of the PR Profession" to access their opinions about issues and challenges the industry is facing. The results clearly point toward increased focus on ethics and integrity, and respondents also feel that PR is gaining more influence in establishing their companies' reputations.

"Ethical issues, individual privacy, and organizational integrity" were rated as issues most important to the PR industry, while trends such as the "proliferation of new communications channels, text messaging, and MySpace" were rated highest in importance of the six trends examined.

When asked to choose from among four different issues, respondents felt the greatest single challenge faced by the PR profession is "upholding credibility within an environment where the lines between PR, advertising and journalism are growing increasingly vague."

When asked if top management believes that PR contributes to moving the organization forward in terms of "reputation, market share and financial success/sales," the strongest response indicated that most felt that their top management or CEO believes that PR contributes to moving their organization's reputation forward.

Respondents were also asked to rate the usefulness of ten different sources for acquiring information about PR, or PR services companies. Of these ten, the "Internet" and "Web sites" were perceived as most useful. When asked about the importance of certain attributes when choosing a PR services firm, "quality of products/services" was seen as the most important attribute followed closely by "customer service"and "corporate reputation."

PRSA and Delahaye, a division of Bacon's Information Inc., jointly developed the custom research instrument. The questionnaire consisted primarily of closed-ended questions with an opportunity to explain some "Other" responses.

Technology

·         A collaboration between Ford and Microsoft has front-lined a new standard for staying connected on the road.  The Sync program will allow you to control almost all of your portable devices from a central computer via Bluetooth, and a USB for media devices, within the car – all voice activated.  Users will be able to play music from an iPod or other mp3 device by simply telling Sync which track to play.  Coming to the market in fall 2007, the Sync will debut on the 2008 models of the Ford Focus, Fusion, Five Hundred, Edge, Freestyle, Explorer and Sport Trac.

·        Fantasy league spin-offs have been popping up all over the Internet, bringing passionate, competitive gamers together and giving them a platform to flaunt their knowledge.  Fantasy Congress is a fantasy league in which players draft a team of real-life legislators from the U.S. Congress and score points based on the progress of each politician’s proposed legislation.  Fantasy Soap League is a fantasy league in which players score points depending on the specific actions of their chosen characters, with over-the-top moments like waking from a coma or coming back from the dead, generating major points.

• Last month, iVillage, the online community for women, began hosting a biweekly Girls Night Out in Second Life.  Every two weeks a different curator leads a group of iVillage members on a tour through Second Life, showing them interesting locations and letting them meet residents, attend music events, discussions and tutorials.  Tours start in iVillage's loft and are geared towards women, although all genders are welcome to participate.

Food & Beverage

·         The Coca-Cola Company is developing a vitamin and mineral-packed version of Diet Coke.  Diet Coke Plus, slated to hit shelves this spring, will be the first nutrient-enhanced carbonated soda offered by a major brand.

Fashion

·         Stay at home dads are becoming more and more common and the market for “dad friendly” gear—products that take men into consideration, rather than just expecting them to use traditionally more feminine looking baby gear—is growing.  Dadgear.com has designed a ‘diaper vest’ which looks like a normal outdoorsy vest but comes complete with enough pocket space for diapers, wet wipes and even baby bottles.   

     Media

·         Anheuser-Busch will join the online entertainment business next month, with the launch of “Bud.TV.”  The website, aimed at consumers between the ages of 21 and 27 who routinely visit sites like MySpace.com and YouTube, will have eight channels featuring comedy, reality and sports programming.  Bud.TV will feature original programming, with an emphasis on webisodes and humorous shorts that may include characters from previous ad campaigns. 

     Media Tidbits  

·         After only six months on newsstands in the U.S., Hachette announced that it will close Shock, effective February 2007.  The company will maintain the website ShockU.com and will work toward a redesign and relaunch of the Website in spring 2007.

·         When Rick Stengel was named Time's managing editor in May, he talked about hiring more "star writers" who would help push the magazine toward "a stronger point of view."  Making good on his promise: Michael Kinsley, the former editor of Slate, will write a biweekly column, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol will be a part-time columnist, and former Time managing editor Walter Isaacson will contribute essays on foreign affairs.  David Von Drehle, a longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, will be a political correspondent.

·         FHM announced in December, the closure of its US print publication.  The magazine will continue online.

·         Cosmopolitan and Men's Health are planning to swap editors for their May issues, giving Dave Zinczenko a special section of Cosmopolitan and Kate White a section of her own in Men's Health.  Each editor will have the chance to talk about the results of an unscientific poll focusing on readers' “perfect mates.”

Technology

• After five years hidden behind the wall of Microsoft's MSN service, CNBC has unveiled a redesigned Web site that relies heavily on streaming video.  CNBC.com hopes to combine and capitalize on both the explosive growth in broadband video and the resurgence of business news.  Inspired by the next generation of Web sites such as MySpace, the new Web site, CNBC.com, will feature more than 13,000 videos of business and financial leaders as well as licensed content.    

Food & Beverage 

• Pepsi is creating startup brands for Whole Foods, including its new high-energy protein drink line, Fuelosophy.  To compete with the more homegrown, lifestyle-oriented companies that appeal to the Whole Foods consumer, Pepsi’s new brands bear no trace of their corporate lineage.  Until now, most of the forays from big food companies into the natural-foods category have come from buying up successful niche brands already in existence.  Distribution in Whole Foods will allow the brand to test new products without the heavy costs of mainstream launches and establish much-needed credibility in health and wellness.
• Special K, the Kellogg Co.’s number one brand, is known for its “Special K Challenge” diet plan.  Last month, the brand rolled out a new line of protein waters and protein bars, in hopes of extending their diet credentials even further.  Special K Personal Trainer watches, which calculate calories burned and are already sold in the U.K., will also find their way to store shelves in the new year.  Advertising for the new diet lines will hit in January, touting their ability to help consumers stay on track with their weight-management goals throughout the day. 

Green Living

• The Solaire apartment building in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood is being billed as “Americas first environmentally advanced residential tower.”  Amenities include energy efficient designs, partial solar power, central water filtration systems and eco-friendly maintenance.  In addition to its eco-friendly features, the 20-story building includes luxe touches such as concierge service, maid service and valet.
• According to Organic Exchange, a nonprofit advocacy group, demand for organic cotton by clothing makers is increasing at an annual rate of 93%, and it projects that sales from organic cotton will total $2.6 billion by the end of 2007.  Vendors from American Apparel to Wal-Mart now offer clothing under the organic cotton banner, and Levi Strauss will soon introduce Eco Jeans, its first organic-cotton line.  

Fashion

• T-shirts these days are the ultimate form of self-expression and customization.  Hubwear lets its wearers display their favorite travel routes using airport codes (think JFK, AMS, MIA, HKG and so on).  The front of the t-shirt shows the two airport codes of the outbound flight, and the back features the codes of the return trip.  The shirts come in three classes:  Economy Class, which lets customers mix and match routes from over 20 popular airports, Business Class, offering travel-inspired, limited-edition graphic prints, and First Class, for fully-customized itineraries.   

Advertising & Marketing

• With water restrictions happening around the world, the Denver-based Sukle agency came up with an inventive ad campaign for Denver Water to encourage people to become more aware of their water usage.  The ads speak for themselves – check them out at: www.sukle.com
• Nokia has teamed up with the Italian car maker Lamborghini to create a limited edition phone.  The phone contains Lamborghini-made ball bearings for the sliding mechanism and its logo is laser etched on the front of the stainless steel casing.  Only 500 phones will be made, and they are reserved exclusively for Lamborghini customers.

                                                               Media

• VivMag is the newest women’s health and lifestyle magazine to hit the market, but you’ll never find a copy in your mailbox or at the newsstand.  The magazine is all-electronic and completely digital.  Created using Zinio software, both editorial and ad pages are interactive.  Readers can flip through pages and click on buttons to see models perform yoga moves or toggle between different fashion and makeup combinations.  The magazine, which launched December 1^st, will have six issues a year.  
• The Pulitzer Prize Board announced that newspapers will now be allowed to submit video and interactive graphics as part of their entries for the top award in U.S. print journalism.  Allowing more online material "was the next logical step," said Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzers.  "It emphasizes blended journalism and that's where newspapers are today."
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. plans to offer a live television service in cars by late 2007, setting content deals as early as January.  The mobile video, likely to be available in 2008 model lines, would be geared toward young viewers sitting in the back seat.
• This March, Time Inc. will launch “Project Y," a multiplatform In Style brand extension that will include a quarterly magazine, web site and mobile application targeting 16- to 20-year-olds.  Like its parent, Project Y will cover celebrities, fashion, style, beauty and parties.  The new magazine will target an audience of 400,000 of its current In Style subscribers who fit the age demographic and distribute additional copies to newsstands near college campuses and shopping centers.    

     Media Tidbits

• Condé Nast is making its second foray into Asia, in fall of 2007, with the launch of Vogue India.  Condé will own and operate the Indian title, based in Mumbai, rather than publish it under license.
• Bauer Publishing's Life & Style has replaced editor Debra Birnbaum with general manager Mark Pasetsky.  Bauer is looking to make the title a “style bible.”
• James K. Glassman, who has been a financial columnist for the Washington Post and who was the publisher of the Atlantic Monthly and The New Republic in the 1980s, has relaunched the public affairs journal of the American Enterprise Institute as The American, a glossy bimonthly with an ambitious approach to business, economics and culture.
• Jeremy Langmead has left Wallpaper for Esquire UK with plans to make the title more grown-up, aimed at successful men who want to further their successes.

Technology

• Yelp , a cross between a social networking site and a city guide, is composed of restaurant, bar, and shopping reviews written by its registered users.  You can check out the profiles of registered users to read what else they like and see if their taste is in line with yours.

• MTV Networks is making its biggest move into the "social networking" area with plans for a television channel devoted to content created by its users.  The channel, MTV Flux, will feature video clips sent in by the audience, let them vote on what programs they will see next, and allow them to chat with each other live on national television. The channel, which will launch September 6 in the UK, will have no traditional schedule — the all user-generated content will be monitored by MTV.

Retail

• Wal-Mart Stores is kicking off a multimillion-dollar campaign focused on its new organic food offerings.  The TV, radio, online, print and in-store ads showcase the first-ever "organics" Wal-Mart logo and the taglines "What will you bring to the table?" and “Introducing Organics at the Wal-Mart price.”  As Wal-Mart continues to try and win over more affluent shoppers, the focus on organic food comes in the one category where it consistently beats rival Target Stores.

• Jellyfish, a new online, comparison shopping site, is hoping to revolutionize web retail by sharing its advertising revenue with its consumers.  Called “e-bay in reverse,” retailers do the bidding as consumers sit back and collect extra savings.  Product listings move higher when retailers pay more in advertising, and Jellyfish then lowers their product price.  The more a retailer wants consumer attention, the more they pay to get to the top of the rankings and the lower the end price goes.

• Lucky will introduce a mobile marketing program titled “Live Buy It” in its September issue, as well as online.  Readers will be able to instantly purchase products via PayPal from 18 different marketers and retailers simply by texting in the product’s code word.  Expect to see other media companies adding similar programs as a value added service for their advertisers, allowing marketers to create a campaign that can be tracked in terms of sales.

Advertising

• CBS will use “On-Egg Messaging” for its new advertising campaign set to begin in September, with the start of the fall TV season.  The CBS logo and slogans promoting the network’s series will appear along with coded expiration dates on eggs sold in grocery stores.  More than 35 million eggs will be marked, using laser technology, with phrases such as "CSI: Crack the Case on CBS" and "The Class, New Grade-A CBS Comedy" as part of a deal between the CBS Marketing Group and EggFusion, an egg-coding company.

Media Tidbits

• Meredith Corporation has named Denise Brodey Editor-in-Chief of Fitness.  She joins Fitness from More, where she had served as Special Projects Editor since May 2006. Prior to joining Meredith, Brodey was Executive Editor of Shape.

• Fox Television Stations has announced the launch of a new, live, national morning show featuring entertainment and general interest programming.  Scheduled to debut in January 2007, the as yet unnamed, hour-long show will air from 9 to 10 a.m. and is designed to extend morning programming on Fox stations.  Originating from New York, the new show will be hosted by Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy, currently of Fox News Channel’s “DaySide.”

• Time, Inc. has just announced that it will cease publication of Teen People —effective with the September 2006 issue — but plans to continue to invest in the brand through TeenPeople.com.  The move is part of an overall effort at Time Inc. to reduce the number of magazines it publishes.

• The market for celebrity gossip is going strong and Life & Style, in an effort to increase its online presence and compete with sites like perezhilton.com and pinkisthenewblog.com, announced plans to launch a blog.

Not enough people entering the PR profession can write. It's the common complaint you hear from agency CEOs and corporate PR directors. For the most part, they are right. When I sit and interview job candidates and ask them what they believe is the most important skill needed to be successful in the PR business the answers usually range from "good people skills" to "being well organized." Seldom do I hear the answer I am looking for -- an ability to communicate via the written word.

In the PR business, we communicate with the media through press releases and media alerts. We report back to clients with call, meeting and month-end reports. We probably send an average of 75-100 e-mails a day and still many PR practitioners don't seem to grasp the art of persuasion is most often practiced through written communications.  Sure, verbal communication is also very important but one's ability to write well is the one skill all PR hiring managers look for.

At our agency, 80% of all job candidates that make it through the initial screening process fail our writing test due to poor sentence construction, sloppy editing or an inability to string cohesive and persuasive thoughts together. Some of these people have been in the business for years.
 
So if you're a job candidate reading this blog -- good for you -- you now have the answer to the question that is likely to advance you to the next round of the interview process. Now you have to show us you can write like the journalists we pitch our stories to on a daily basis.

                           Trend Center

June 2006

Technology

·         The first offering from Yahoo Media Group is here: Yahoo Tech, an interactive site for technology needs and entertainment.  Just introduced to the site is “Hook Me Up,” an online reality series with weekly episodes starring unsophisticated consumers in need of a technology makeover.  Yahoo Tech also features links to magazines like Consumer Reports, blogs (each focused on a specific audience such as “moms” or “working guys”), user generated product reviews and a “MyTech” bar that can be personalized to remember favorites, the products you’ve checked out and/or purchased.  Visit Yahoo Tech at: http://tech.yahoo.com/

·         Music, videos, TV shows—here’s what’s next for your iPod:

o        Podfitness.com lets you train with 50 of the world’s best trainers and fitness experts.  Workouts are customized based on your goals, type of exercise and musical preference then downloaded on your MP3 player or iTunes library. 

o        Churches are also joining the craze.  Companies like Olive Tree Bible Software and FaithMobile offer Scripture, Bible verses and sermons for BlackBerrys, MP3 players, iPods and cell phones.  

·         Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. announced plans to start an online social network similar to MySpace.com, but aimed at adult women.  The network would appeal to women aged 25 to 45, and allow members to share photographs, scrapbooks, recipes and similar projects with each other and home design experts.  The community is tentatively scheduled to launch in the second half of 2007 and will debut as part of the marthastewart.com Website.

Media Tidbits

• Good Housekeeping editor-in-chief Ellen Levine, who helped launch O: The Oprah Magazine, is ascending to the newly created post of editorial director at Hearst Magazines.  Rosemary Ellis, the editorial director of Prevention, has been named as her replacement.
• Meredith Corp. has announced it will pull Child from newsstands and move it primarily to the Web.
• Bundle, the year old New York-based magazine for "pregnant women and moms with babies and toddlers,” has published its last issue.
• Former Rolling Stone publisher, Steven DeLuca, who left Wenner Media after a spat with Jann Wenner, has returned as Associate Publisher at Maxim.
• News Corp.'s London-based newspaper The Times will introduce a U.S. edition on June 6^th.  The new edition will be available in New York and New Jersey by subscription and at area newsstands for a $1.
• Hearst Magazines has acknowledged a key business opportunity in a celebration known as “quinceanera,” in which Hispanic teen girls celebrate their 15^th birthdays.  Already familiar with the prom-magazine genre, Hearst has planned a 16-page removable section called "Mis Quince" for inclusion in October subscriber copies of CosmoGirl! and Seventeen, as well as the fall newsstand issue of Teen.

Fashion & Retail

·         In conjunction with Hollywood boutique Intuition, Target is launching a new, higher- end collection featuring the chain store’s signature bullseye logo.  The “Targèt Couture” collection includes handbags by Intuition owner Jaye Hersh, denim by J & Company, fine jewelry by Lizzie Scheck Jewelry, accessories by Madeline Beth, t-shirts by Doe, and cashmere by Raw-7.  Pieces in the collection, ranging in price from $25 to $3,000, incorporate each designer's interpretation of the bullseye.  The goods can currently be found exclusively at Intuition, but will roll out to other specialty boutiques in the fall.

·         After successful collaborations with Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney, H&M will once again feature a designer capsule collection.   Set to launch in November, the fast-fashion chain will this time feature the designs of Paris-based duo Viktor & Rolf.

·         Apple and Nike have unveiled the Nike+iPod Sports Kit, the first product coming out of a new partnership between the two companies.  The wireless kit lets Nike's new Air Zoom Moire shoes ($100) send fitness data to your iPod Nano ($149), via a sensor you tuck inside the running shoe and a small receiver that attaches to the Nano.  As you run, the sensor records your distance, time, pace and calories burned in real time and displays data on the Nano.  At the push of a button, audio feedback is delivered through the Nano's earbuds.  The $29 kit will be available two months from now at Apple stores and shops where Nike footwear is sold.  Six other iPod-ready Nike shoe models are also in development.

Healthcare

·         There’s a new retail approach to routine medical care catching on at Wal-Mart, CVS, and other chain stores across the country.  Walk-in health clinics are springing up as alternatives to the inconvenience and expense of full service doctors’ offices or emergency rooms.  For a flu shot, treatment for an ear infection, or other routine services, patients can visit nurse practitioners in the independently operated clinics (e.g. RediClinic, MinuteClinic) set up within the chain stores, whose own pharmacies can fill prescriptions.  The licensed nurse practitioners typically have advanced training and referral arrangements with local doctors for cases beyond the clinic’s scope.  About 100 of these clinics, which typically lease space from the host stores, are now operating around the nation.

Television

• Mid-May saw the launch of a first-of-its-kind TV channel designed specifically for babies, BabyFirstTV.  The new, round-the-clock channel is only available by satellite through DirecTV for $9.99 a month, but will later be available through cable TV providers as well.  TV offerings already abound for older toddlers and there are a number of baby-oriented videos already on the market, but until now, there was no ongoing TV programming aimed at infants.  The channel is marketed as a way for parents and infants to interact in a completely safe, commercial-free environment in which a baby’s development can be enriched by appropriate content. A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 43% of children under 2 watch TV every day. The report also said 19% of babies under a year old have a TV in their bedrooms.

Music

·         MTV Networks Inc. has introduced a new online music service, Urge.  The service comes integrated into the newest version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media Player; current Microsoft's Windows users will receive the player as an upgrade, but before that, it will be available for download at the Urge and Microsoft websites.  Urge will have more than 2 million tracks, which can be purchased individually for 99 cents.

The other day I heard the editor of the PR industry's most widely circulated trade journal describe the Fleishman-Hillard (F-H) case in L.A. as the Dowie-Stodder trial, as opposed to how the city's newspapers have chosen to cover the trial as an indictment of the billing practices of one of the world's largest PR firms.

Technically, the editor was correct -- F-H wasn't on trial. But only because it settled with the city for millions of dollars before indictments were handed down. The parties on trial, and convicted last week, happened to be the two most senior (and now former) executives in the agency's L.A. office. F-H chose to deflect blame upon the pair, claiming it knew nothing of their decision to over bill the firm's client -- the city's water department -- among several other clients that later learned they had also been over billed.

The fact is it's an old story and even older corporate defense tactic. Rather than accept responsibility for lax management oversight of one's employees and acknowledge the company had benefited from the ethical lapses in behavior -- as F-H did in this case through unearned client billings it was paid for prior to getting caught -- it blames the rogue employees. Whether its Enron, Arthur Andersen or Tyco, the defense is always the same: we knew nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing. If that is in fact true than these executives and their board of directors have no business running these large companies because they are clearly incapable of properly governing and managing their organizations.

Which brings me back to how the trade editor described the case over lunch and then later implied that F-H was a 'victim' and that something like this could happen to any of us who run large firms in the industry. Maybe, but not likely, because most of us don't encourage our employees to do whatever it takes to meet artificial financial goals in order to satisfy Wall Street's expectations for increased quarter over quarter earnings. From my perspective F-H was anything but a victim -- the victims are the rest of us in the PR industry who operate ethically and also received a black eye due to that firm's inappropriate behavior and lack of proper management controls.