Crisis Control
Starbucks: So Far, The Way to Handle a Crisis
Corporate heads who should be savvy enough to realize that public perception and prompt reaction to a crisis can be crisis antidotes might want to watch Starbucks and take notes. Three of Starbucks' employees were slain at a Starbucks coffee store in the posh Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, D.C. last week and by the middle of last week, the company had done all it could to be emphatic and responsive.
Among its crisis tactics? Company chairman Howard Schultz called off his vacation and flew to D.C. to meet with employees and to remain in the area as long as needed, and the company also stepped up security in its shops, according to The Washington Post.
Tool:
More Media Help is on the Way With New Weber Service
If you need some brushing up on your media relations skills, here's some good news: Weber Public Relations Worldwide, Cambridge, Mass., launched July 1 InterComm, an international service group dedicated to helping corporate execs be more effective when dealing with those in the media in both traditional and new media communications channels. Guidance is provided for broadcast media outreach; road shows; analysts tours and speaker presentations. (617/520-7009)
PR for the Nation's Capital
Cohn & Wolfe to Help Bring Olympics to D.C.
Cohn & Wolfe, a PR house specializing in sports marketing, is slated to help bring the Summer Olympics Games to Washington, D.C., in 2012. The company was chosen by the Greater Washington Exploratory Committee, a non-profit association formed in February to research the feasibility of bringing the Olympics to D.C. (a report has been completed) as well as lobby to bring the event to the nation's capital.
In addition to consulting for GWEC, Cohn & Wolfe will help develop marketing plans and materials and dish up media support. Cohn & Wolfe, which has had its hand in the Olympics since the Lake Placid Games in 1980, worked with 18 sponsors for the Atlanta game. It has also overseen PR for World Cup Soccer and the Goodwill Games. (Cohn & Wolfe, 202/530-4762)
Global Moves
APCO Associates Inc., Washington, D.C., has entered into a partnership with the independent consulting arm, the China Economic and Trade Consultants (CONSULTEC), of China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC).
The deal calls for APCO and CONSULTEC to exchange business information so that APCO, which specializes in public affairs, has more insight into what is happening in PR in this pocket of the world and so CONSULTEC has a communications ally in the Western world. Although the timing was perfect, Jan Hausrath, senior VP of APCO, said the alliance has nothing to do with the recent handover of Hong Kong to China. (APCO, 202/778-1000)
Acquisitions
LobsenzStevens, New York, has acquired Siegel Associates International, a firm specializing in U.S.-Japan cross-cultural communications and international PR. Founded by Lucy Siegel, the firm will be moving into the headquarters of LobsenzStevens at 460 Park Avenue South and is now a wholly-owned division of LS. Siegel will continue to serve as president and will become a senior VP of the parent firm as well. (LobsenzStevens, 316/263-0124)
Wichita-based Sullivan Higdon & Sink acquired June 26 The Avion Group, a Kansas City-based firm specializing in the aviation industry. On July 1, as part of the deal, The Avion Group's name was changed to Sullivan Higdon & Sink, although its address will remain the same: 12351 West 96th Terrace, Suite 201, Lenexa, Kan. 66215-4410; Phone: 913/888-0884; fax: 913/888-0883.
New Division
The Garfield Group, a Trenton, N.J.-based marcom agency specializing in communications for high-tech companies, has established Garfield Group PR to focus on online PR. (Garfield, 609/396-0946)