On Inside PR this week, Joe Thornley, Martin Waxman, and I chat about Rupert Murdoch’s appearance before Parliament.

What started the conversation was a really interesting blog post from Jeff Jarvis called “PR and Corruption Theater.”

Side note: I totally have a crush on Jarvis. It started when I read “What Would Google Do.” It’s only increased since reading his blog consistently. But I’m finally willing to admit it publicly after he went off on Washington about the debt ceiling. I won’t repeat the vulgarity here, but it’s worth a trip to his blog to see it.

Back to Murdoch. You see, Edelman counsels News International and, by way of that relationship, also Rupert, and his son James, Murdoch. Continue Reading »

Esther Steinfeld is the public relations manager for Blinds.com, the premier online retailer of custom window treatments.

Recall a few weeks back when Spin Sucks featured a post called “How ‘No Comment’ Has Edelman in Trouble.” It revealed how both Edelman and Best Buy dropped the ball on having someone on-hand and well-versed to discuss the new video program they were launching. Though the situation could have been handled far better than it was, and it is incumbent on large organizations either giving their people talking points or appoint a spokesperson early on, I was expecting a different article than the one to which I clicked through. I was expecting something more like the one you’re about to read.

As the public relations manager for Blinds.com, I don’t often get a chance to use my crisis communications skills like I would were I working for Nestle or Toyota in the last few years. Sure, window treatment-related emergencies present themselves (“I can’t sleep, it’s too bright in my bedroom!” and “We have odd-shaped windows!”), but as an organization, we don’t often find ourselves in controversial situations. That changed one day after one of the national radio hosts we advertise with made salacious comments live on-air. Members of the media were up in arms, demanding this person’s resignation, and because of our association to the show, we were caught in the middle. I began receiving hateful emails, demanding we revoke sponsorship. I was less than surprised to receive a voicemail from the head writer for an online publication/activist group that “reports” on matters such as this. He just wanted a quote. Continue Reading »

Well, it’s the end of January already and it’s been crazy around here! I was telling my friend Rusty Speidel that January will be more profitable for us than 2008 and 2009 combined. I guess the economy has turned!

Between that and all of the brand building we did last year (speaking, blogging, networking, guest blogging, featured columns, social media, email marketing, and more) things are set to explode here and we’re hiring…again! Just goes to show that it doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen if you’re consistent and work hard at it.

With that lesson of the week, following are the top five stories. Continue Reading »

Uh oh. Edelman is in trouble again…this time over a media request from Ragan about Best Buy On. Mark Ragan, who most of you know if you’re in the PR industry, asked one of his reporters to contact Best Buy to interview them about their new On, the new “magazine” they’ve created for customers. Mark, like a lot of us, see the trend of companies becoming publishers and wanted to know more about what Best Buy is doing in order to provide a case study to his readers.

A seemingly simple request that Best Buy (and Edelman) should jump all over because a) it’s an unsolicited request for an interview that will make them look good and b) it provides the opportunity to take a leadership position in content marketing. Mark, according to his words, admits Ragan isn’t the New York Times, but they do have more than a quarter of a million readers. Pretty darn good exposure, if you ask me!

Here is, according to Mark, what transpired earlier in the month: Continue Reading »

Arment Dietrich is a boutique marketing and communications firm. There are a lot of really good boutique companies. From Canada to Sweden to the U.K. and throughout the U.S., I can easily name the top 10, but Edelman is not among them. Sure they’re a top 10 firm, easily, in the world of large companies, but boutique? I don’t care how you skin it, that is not the appropriate category. Continue Reading »

I’m having a hard time believing it’s already October. Just a year ago I was wondering if we were going to make it through the recession and trying to figure out what it would take to move us back into growth mode. Guess I lost sleep for nothing…and man it went by fast!

Following are the top five stories for week ending Oct. 1, 2010. If you feel like I missed something fun or important, please hit me over the head and send me the link! Continue Reading »

On today’s InsidePR, Martin Waxman, Joe Thornley, and I discuss how Netflix screwed up in Canada. There were a few American news items about it, but I didn’t realize the severity of the issue until they had me read some Canadian stories about it.

The gist of it is that Netflix hired PR and marketing firms to help them launch in Canada. Reasonable, right? But one of the firms (and we’re hearing that it was not the PR firm) hired actors to pretend they were Netflix customers. These “customers” roamed the streets and did interviews with media, as if they were truly excited about the brand’s availability in the country. Of course, the media discovered these people were actors and Netflix had to do damage control, as well as issue this apology. Not fun when you’re launching a new service and you end up in crisis mode. Continue Reading »

It’s been a while since something in the news has gotten me fired up, but it happened this week. I saw the headline “Younger employees help senior executives unlock social media mystery” and clicked on the story to learn more. I expected it to be another story about using Gen Y to set up social networking, set strategy, and execute.

Imagine my surprise, then, when it started off by talking about the executives at Edelman (THE LARGEST INDEPENDENT PR FIRM IN THE WORLD) working with younger employees to understand social media. They have what they call their “Rotnem” program( which is mentor spelled backwards – in case you missed that) where 95 percent of their senior executives are mentored by Gen Y.

At first blush, it’s not a bad idea. I like that the Baby Boomer generation has decided this is not a fad and they’d better learn more about it.

What I do have a problem with is THE LARGEST INDEPENDENT PR FIRM IN THE WORLD just announced in the Chicago Tribune that the people who are supposed to be setting social media strategy in conjunction with communication strategy for their clients HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY’RE DOING!

If you haven’t read the article, you should. It’s linked above. I met Janet Cabot a few weeks ago. She’s smart. She has a big job. She’s experienced. She knows what she’s doing. And this article makes her look like an out-of-touch bufoon. I mean, come on! Her social media experience is on delish.com?? Don’t even get me started on Kathy Kregner being “so cute” with her 500 Facebook friends.

Maybe I’m a fool to think a piece of social media belongs in the communication department and with PR firms. This article certainly set back our industry a good number of years. The scary thing, though, is Edelman will still do social media for clients. They just clearly won’t have experienced communication strategy attached because 95 percent of their leaders don’t know how to use the tools or how building better relationships online can affect business growth.

Baby Boomers. Gen Xers. Senior leadership. CEOs. Entrepreneurs. Business owners. Anyone in the c-suite. And general counsel. Listen up. Social media is changing the way you relate to your customers, to your employees, to your stakeholders, to your prospects, and to your potential talent. This is not a “cute” or “fun” thing to do. It is how we all will communicate and receive our information into 2010 and beyond. It’s changing customer service, HR, sales, communication, marketing, and advertising.

Learn how the tools can help you do just that or be left wondering how your competition beat you up and stole away all of your customers without so much as an ad campaign.