On the Radar Screen: E&P Takes on Printer
Editor & Publisher decided last week to take the PR bull by the horns and issue a press release about a disagreement it had with the Richmond, Va.-based commercial printer, Cadmus Journal Services, that prints it publication.
The printer reportedly refused to process and print a copy of an ad showing bare breasts that was being used to allegorize a story in its Oct. 11 issue. The story spotlights the Beat's (a Phoenix weekly which runs ads for strip clubs, pornographic bookstores and the like) fight over an Arizona law regulating publications sold from news racks.
E&P, it seems, may be a champion for First Amendment rights but maybe not for diplomatic PR or contractual know-how. (E&P, 212/675-4380)
Industry Kudos
Einstein/Noah Bagel Corp. Wins 'Grand'Annual Report Award
Einstein/Noah Bagel Corp. received Oct. 15 the "Grand Award" at the Seventh Annual Golden Summit Awards from the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute. Other winners were: Under $200 million, Wild Oats Markets Inc.; $200-$700 million, Jones Intercable Inc.; Over $700 million, Boston Chicken, Inc.; Best President's Letter, Johns Manville Corp.; Best Operations Review, Adolph Coors Co.; Best Financial Review, US West Comm. Gp., Best Execution of Design, TeleTech Holdings, Inc.; and Best Execution of Theme, NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NIRI, 303/291-0550.)
New Hires
Eileen Murphy, who left ABC News in New York, as associate director/media relations, several months ago to join New Yorker, has come back to ABC as director of media relations, effective today. (ABC, 212/456-7129)
Burson-Marsteller appointed V. Lance Tarrance Jr. to managing director for the Washington, D.C. office's public affairs practice. (202/530-4674)
Tool
PR for Charity's Sake Now an Easier Tack
First Virtual Holdings Inc. and United Cerebral Palsy have now made philanthropy much easier. FVH, which specializes in communications and messaging systems for Internet commerce, is promoting its VirtualTAG service, which enables users to make online donations to UCP from various Web sites. UCP has hit on one of the preeminent tenets of smart PR: secure industry partnerships or backing. VirtualTAGs can be accessed via the http://www.ucpa.org and http://www.fv.com sites as well as other networks: NASCAR Online, Yahoo!, i-Village, Link Exchange and Columbia Healthcare. (FVH, 202/973-7119)
Below: this ranking was culled from the recently released fifth annual Thomas L. Harris/Impulse Research PR Survey. It details what companies consider when selecting a new agency.
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New Agency Selection Criteria (In Order of Importance) |
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1997 | 1996 | Change |
| 1 | Creativity | 57% | 45% | 12% |
| 2 | Quality of my account team | 56% | 40% | 16% |
| 3 | Client service | 49% | 44% | 5% |
| 4 | Chemistry | 43% | 43% | 0% |
| 5 | Knowledge of my industry | 43% | 38% | 5% |
| 6 | Strategic counsel | 40% | 26% | 14% |
| 7 | Meets deadlines, keeps promises | 38% | 44% | -6% |
| 8 | Media placement | 27% | 34% | -7% |
| 9 | Practice areas match our needs* | 23% | NA | NA |
| 10 | Access to influential people | 21% | 19% | 2% |
| 11 | Specialized services we need | 14% | 11% | 3% |
| 12 | Quality of writing | 13% | 24% | -11% |
| 13 | Stability of staff | 12% | 4% | 8% |
| 14 | Involve senior mgt. in my account | 10% | 14% | -4% |
| 15 | Quality of management | 10% | 10% | 0% |
| 16 | Thorough/attention to detail | 10% | 21% | -11% |
| 17 | Reputation* | 9% | NA | NA |
| 18 | Full service capabilities | 8% | 11% | -3% |
| 19 | Honest, accurate billing | 8% | 22% | -14% |
| 20 | Fair and equitable compensation | 8% | 10% | -2% |
| 21 | International capabilities | 7% | 6% | 1% |
| 22 | Measures results | 5% | 17% | -12% |
| 23 | Respected | 3% | 7% | -4% |
| 24 | Previous relationships w/agency staff* | 2% | NA | NA |
| 25 | Research capabilities | 2% | 2% | 0% |
| 26 | Internet capabilities | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| 27 | Ethnic communication capabilities | 1% | 2% | -1% |