Clarke To Leave NCTA
Torie Clarke, VP for public affairs for the National Cable Television Association, leaves NCTA at the end of the year to become president of Bozell/Eskew, a corporate reputation and issues advocacy ad agency. Before joining NCTA, Clarke was press secretary for the Bush-Quayle 1992 campaign. Her replacement has not been named. (NCTA, 202/775-3629)
Business Moves
- PR Newswire, parent company of PRN International, opens a new bureau in Hong Kong through a joint venture with Australian Associated Press, an independent news agency. The agreement helps expedite the distribution of releases from companies based in that region. AAP also is affiliated with AsiaNet, a consortium of 13 major news agencies in Asia Pacific. (PRN, 212/282-1929)
- A slew of M&As have recently been cemented: Shandwick International acquires Brown Powers & Associates, a marcom firm specializing in healthcare. BP&A becomes Shandwick's flagship healthcare division; Sandra Powers remains as president and the company still will operate under its name but will relocate to Shandwick headquarters in New York. (Shandwick, 212/591-9774)
- PR house Innis Maggiore, Canton, Ohio, merges with ad boutique Monter Creative Design to form a communications firm operating as Innis Maggiore Group. Monter's five-person staff is being folded into the new operation, with Jeff Monter assuming the role of creative director of the new agency. (Innis, 330/492-5500)
- San Diego-based marcom firm Media Dimensions merges with Harold Sweet Design, a marketing production boutique. Founder Harold Sweet becomes creative director. (Media Dimensions, 619/485-7425)
New Resources
- Document Technologies, Inc., which provides EDGAR conversion software, ushers in EDIT Ease to facilitate IR functions by helping companies modify business news and earnings releases for news wire specifications. The cost is $299. (Document Technologies, 212/681-1333)
- We doubt this will become status quo any time soon in PR, but Seton Hall University is joining the ranks of those offering virtual degree programs through http://www.setonworldwide.net/.
The Web site is for those seeking Master of Executive Communication credentials through a 20-month program that assigns registrants to learning teams mentored on a wide spectrum of "sequential modules." Studies include shaping organizational goals and leadership impact inventory.
Conference Wrap-Up
While you may be looking at the Internet as a way of elevating your company's reputation, there are those looking at it as a way to trounce on your good name - and maybe even steal it, attendees at a recent "Internet Hazards in International PR" learned.
Techniques commonly used by attackers are:
Mirror sites, which mimic a corporate site but contain negative information;
Co-opted domain names, which prevent a company from using a name that would be an obvious choice for the business; and
Anonymous, false press releases.
Those facts were shared at a seminar sponsored by the New York Chapter of PRSA. Presenters included Odile Vernier, president of PR firm Beau Fixe, Paris, and Tim Wallace, executive VP of Makovsky & Co., New York.
Ways of combating these attacks include: establishing an internal site for employees to get feedback on what they're hearing from customers, suppliers and competitors; considering prosecuting officers for copyright violations or slander; and inserting in news releases a special code disclosed only to journalists so you can distinguish your bulletins from pseudo announcements, says Lee Levitt, Levitt Management Consultants, moderator of the event.
(Lee Levitt, 212/727-7131)
Kudos
The Horn Group, Inc., a high-tech PR firm based in San Francisco snagged the 306th spot on Inc.'s list of the "500 Fastest-Growing Companies in the U.S."
The Horn Group's clients include PeopleSoft, Inc., Actuate Software and ChannelPoint. (The Horn Group, 415/905-4000)