CEOs Urged to Convert Customers into Shareholders
The annual orbes-American Stock Exchange CEO Conference held April 11 in Cleveland provided more than an industry glimpse at the health of the stock market today: it underscored just how important the CEO is in ensuring a good investor relations program.
Nearly 200 CEOs of public companies were told that to succeed in the future, they are going to need these two components: a "management vision statement" that is shared with investors and recognition that they can "no longer pass the buck but must personally market the company." (Financial Relations Board, 312/266-7800)
PRx Inc. Wins Best Marcom Press Kit
PRx Inc., San Jose, Calif., walked away with the Best Press Kit award at the 6th Annual Marcom Awards gala April 7 in Las Vegas. PRx earned the award for its creation and production of the press kit for Webstock 96, which was held Nov. 1-4. The event was covered in around 100 publications, including USA Today, People magazine and NetGuide. (PRx, 408/287-1700)
DuPont Manager Named Working Mother of the Year
Jane Schindewolf, a marketing manager at DuPont Automotive in Troy, Mich., was named April 16 "Working Mother of the Year" by Working Mother magazine and the Regal Brand Team of Buick Motor Division. (Buick Communications, 810/236-4635)
Survey Points to Increased Brand Awareness
PR practitioners heading customer relations programs might cull some worthwhile information from a recent survey released by Wirthlin Worldwide, McLean, Va. The study of 1,002 adults found that nine out of 10 Americans buy store brand products at least some of the time, compared to eight in 10 of those surveyed in 1993. The finding is worth noting because as more and more PR operations are integrated with marketing and advertising, PR execs are going to be increasingly charged with heading brand promotions. (Wirthlin Worldwide, 703/556-0001)
Survey Shows Increased Credibility for PR
PR practitioners are always trying to get their hands on information that will shed new light on trends in the media. And a recently released survey, by Bennett & Company Marketing, Orlando, gives them just that but also a little professional ego boost: nearly eight out of 10 responding journalists think PR firms are becoming more credible.
The study, the company s seventh such annual analysis, touched on a range of topics from the credibility of PR to how journalists are using the Internet. Editors and reporters at 690 media outlets were questioned and here s what they revealed:
The number of journalists online has doubled in the past two years but less than one-fifth prefer obtaining information through e-mail or the Internet; and Due to evening deadlines, more than half of journalists prefer to receive phone calls before noon.
(Bennett & Co., 407/425-6040)
PRSA Membership Hits All-Time High
The Public Relations Society of America s membership has hit an all-time high: 18,007 as of last week. According to Debra A Miller, president of PRSA, there are 109 chapters in the United States heading professional development within the field. (PRSA, 212/460-1434.
IABC Hosts Senior Mentoring
During May in Boston It s no secret that the ranks of PR are filled with longtime practitioners who ve had to adjust to everything from computers to the Internet.
With that in mind, the International Association of Business Communicators has embarked on a new program that s meant to keep senior communicators in the technology loop. On May 20, it will host a Senior Mentor Forum at the Boston Harbor Hotel. (IABC, 800/776-4222)