If there is one lesson a PR practitioner should learn early in the business, it is that basics count, such as correct spelling and choice of words. The two gaffes on the part of Mitt Romney and President Obama should not have occurred. Someone forgot to use a spell checker and a speechwriter neglected to […]
Posted on May 31st, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 168 Comments »
When I saw Mary Meeker present at Conversational Marketing Summit, it was a race between my hands and my keyboard as to which one would fail first. The keyboard won as she moved through her Internet trends presentation with the substance of an academic and the speed of an auctioneer. Meeker’s All Things D presentation maintained her […]
Posted on May 31st, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 164 Comments »
Some times a person is so arrogant that he doesn’t realize his big mouth makes him sound like an idiot. Here is one such individual. Typical of his total self-belief, he traded insult for insult with George Will, the political commentator. There are times when one’s self-confidence is enough to sweep others along with one. […]
Posted on May 30th, 2012 by admin
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The inevitable has arrived for the once-major law firm of Dewey & Leboeuf LLP. It has filed for Chapter 11 liquidation as the last of its partners have fled the firm. The demise of the legal giant holds several lessons, not the least of which is that uncontrolled growth and over-promising in a partnership are […]
Posted on May 30th, 2012 by admin
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The ex-CEO of Olympus is now suing the company for $60 million for fraudulent accounting. He is the fellow who found the discrepancy, notified the board and was fired for the impertinence of telling the truth. He tried to return to the company as CEO but was rebuffed by the Japanese directors. Now […]
Posted on May 28th, 2012 by admin
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This is an interesting story of cyber warfare and an unusual way to do publicity. Attack the enemy’s web sites with truth. Let the Muslim public know the facts rather than the promises of terrorists. Al Qaida in Yemen must be unhappy with the exposure of the number of Muslim civilian deaths from its activities. […]
Posted on May 25th, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 199 Comments »
One of the more irritating aspects of human nature is to pile on when there is failure. Critics come from everywhere — Monday-morning quarterbacks; knowing pundits; prognosticators; sapient, gray-haired fools who tell you that you should have known before you took that step. Here is an example. The fellow might be right, but who […]
Posted on May 24th, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 191 Comments »
Only a few days ago, Skechers paid the government $40 million in reparations for making misleading claims about its shoes. Now it is the turn of Pom Wonderful, the packager of pomegranate juice. There is no need to go into the bad PR from this kind of deceptive advertising, but note that the judge forbade the company […]
Posted on May 23rd, 2012 by admin
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Mockery as a form of publicity can be profitable — especially if you are a comedian like Stephen Colbert. As a rhetorical technique, it is not one used that often by PR practitioners. Maybe it should be. Colbert’s target, of course, is the Citizen’s United decision that allows unions and corporations speech rights in elections. […]
Posted on May 22nd, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 185 Comments »
Why do smart people do dumb things? Take this case. Any half-aware executive should know that when making dubious claims, sooner or later regulators will come after you. One is justified in asking what the Skechers’ executives were thinking. Maybe they believe what they are promoting and indeed, the company is standing by its product. […]
Posted on May 17th, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 184 Comments »
