Publicity for Roach Motels

I enjoyed reading New York Times travel writer Joe Sharkey’s interview with TripAdvisor.com CEO Stephen Kaufer in which Kaufer defends the integrity of the just-published, crowd-sourced “2010 Dirtiest Hotels” list.In the piece “A List No Hotel Wants to Be On,” Kaufer states the obvious: “…if you’re a hotel on that list, it is not a…… Continue reading Publicity for Roach Motels

Mommies Call for PR Blackout

The FTC’s focus on editorially compromised bloggers by opportunistic, if not nefarious marketers, (i.e., freebie-givers) is finally getting the mainstream media treatment. The Times yesterday tackled the thorny issue of the commercial courting of influential bloggers [The Flack, April 15]: “Marketing companies are keen to get their products into the hands of so-called influencers who…… Continue reading Mommies Call for PR Blackout

Truth-in-Blogging

The explosion in the number of syndicated content producers (i.e., bloggers) has created havoc in the regulatory environment, and specifically at the FTC, which oversees truth in advertising. So much so that the Commission is now weighing new regulations that would restrict what bloggers say about the products and services they receive as (quid pro…… Continue reading Truth-in-Blogging

The New Pitch

Engage, pitch, annoy, alienate… Whatever category you fall in, all PR pros have one shared lament: a desire for closure. How many story pitches have you made over your career that went nowhere?I’m not talking about having the phone slammed down after you deliver your spiel. I’m talking about no reply whatsoever…zero…zilch…silence.I don’t mind rejection.…… Continue reading The New Pitch

Conference Cornucopia

Who missed David Pogue and Steven Levy’s gushing coverage of the TED Conference in Monterey the week before last? Talk about a hot ticket!Then there was January’s Always On Confab in New York, and its sibling AO Hollywood skedded for the first week of May. I just attended the first Community 2.0 Conference in Vegas,…… Continue reading Conference Cornucopia