The hits keep coming, but not the media hits clients crave. Rather, today has surfaced a trio of PR faux pas’s that will surely leave those who’ve toiled in the business for any length of time scratching their heads. The first offense involves a thin-skinned upstate New York hotel, built by the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers…… Continue reading Shocking Stories From The PR Trenches
Category: The Flack
Israel Ups Its Social Narrative On Gaza
In my last post, I talked about the recent Online News Association and Twitter-co-hosted meetup that explored the issue of verifying news and images that spread unchecked via social media. The topic, and the tools/techniques showcased, were put to the test the very next day with the downing of a Malaysian airline by Russian-backed separatists in…… Continue reading Israel Ups Its Social Narrative On Gaza
News You Can’t Use
Last week, we found ourselves at Twitter’s New York City offices for an event whose topic couldn’t have been more timely in light of the downing of Malaysia Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine the next day. We met for the monthly gathering of the Online News Association’s NYC chapter, a vibrant Meetup group with 1750 members all…… Continue reading News You Can’t Use
Creepy Tales From Comcast and Verizon Support
Earlier today, Buzzfeed’s Charlie Warzel tweeted a link to his story that exposed Verizon for giving preferential help to customers with large social followings. The revelation went public via an accidental tweet to the 78,000 followers of Verizon Support’s main Twitter account. Warzel tried to contact them to ask about the inadvertent tweet: “When reached…… Continue reading Creepy Tales From Comcast and Verizon Support
Tech Monopoly Money
A little more than ten years ago, I found myself sitting in the green room of NBC’s “Today” show alongside the founder/CEO of one of our agency’s largest clients, Sun Microsystems. I was asked to accompany Scott McNealy on the morning following his testimony before Congress about Microsoft’s monopolistic ways. I hadn’t previously met Mr.…… Continue reading Tech Monopoly Money
That Errant Sex Tape
I stumbled across a post from the managing editor of BroBible, a site that I’m told is a must-read for the testosterone-driven set. In this particular post, J. Camm laments the inane PR pitches for this app or another that incessantly penetrate his inbox on any given day. “It’s exhausting opening all of them, knowing…… Continue reading That Errant Sex Tape
Look What Mark Cuban Started
I don’t know how many times I’ve shared this tale of how Mark Cuban, in the nascent days of citizen journalism (i.e., blogging, CGM), took to his blog to pointedly refute, line-by-line, a decidedly negative New York Times profile of him by Andrew Ross Sorkin. (The original interview was conducted via email, the full text…… Continue reading Look What Mark Cuban Started
Pitchin’ Nightmares
The new business pitch went down as one of the most memorable in the annals of new business pitches. The late Geoff Nightingale, a wicked smart, bigger-than-life PR agency creative executive turned up at the final presentation with a cute little dog on a leash and a brown paper bag in hand. He proceeded to…… Continue reading Pitchin’ Nightmares
Transformative Movie Marketing
I’ll never forget the request from the advertising production company for the Michael Jackson/Pepsi commercial in which the iconic performer took the stage as part of a simulated concert. The shot required recruiting thousands of extras off the street to serve as the audience, yet all were strictly forbidden to record or photograph any aspect…… Continue reading Transformative Movie Marketing
Apple, Ford & Obama
Sometimes change is good, sometimes it’s not so good. One thing however is certain: change is inevitable. In my world, the inevitable doesn’t get much bigger than the recently announced departures of communications pros from three of the biggest “brands” on the planet: Ford Motor Company, Apple Inc. and The White House. What? You were…… Continue reading Apple, Ford & Obama