Sally Dickson of CDB Passes Away Jan. 10
Sally Dickson, one of the founders of Sally Dickson Associates, which later became part of the Creamer Dickson Basford network, died Jan. 10 of congestive heart failure.
As a co-founder of the first PR agency owned and operated by women, she was considered a pioneer in the communications field. The firm's clients included Bristol-Meyers, Borden Inc. and Avon.
In 1971, the agency merged with Creamer Inc. and became CDB, with Dickson as president of the new operation. She retired in 1981. Among her professional accomplishments, she co-authored "A Woman's Guide to Financial Security," with Joyce Clarke.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Connecticut, 185 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT 06109, or to the Literacy Volunteers of America, 5795 Widewaters Parkway, Syracuse, NY 13214. (CDB, 203/226-1651)
On the Radar Screen
Octuplets Story Results in Birth of Media Deluge
When Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) announced news Dec. 20 of the world's first surviving octuplets, the hospital had about two weeks to prepare for a global media deluge.
From the get go, the top brass - including executive management, physicians, PR and security - set this communications agenda: everything the hospital does and says will be based on providing outstanding care to the Chukwu family.
This meant keeping the media at bay until it was medically safe for the mother to talk and making sure the coverage didn't stray from the medical status of the babies to intrude on the family's privacy.
A medical event of this magnitude requires quick-thinking, fast team-building and multi-tasking. It also requires not being too narrowly focused on following your plan to the letter. For TCH, the communications plan focused on:
- media coaching at least three physicians, the CEO and other spokespeople;
- working with the PR department of St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital's (from which the mother was transferred) on a coordinated media relations effort;
- media role-playing, which involved developing possible news scenarios and crafting responses for visual, audio and print reporters; and
- creating a command center for press conferences.
The hospital also discovered that the Web is an invaluable information tool in managing worldwide media attention. Web traffic to TCH (http://www.texaschildrens.org) surged 1,200 percent to 900,000 hits during the November-December time frame when the news of the octuplets broke.
To ease the pressure on the PR department to answer media calls about the babies' health status, the Web site posted daily updates on the condition of the surviving seven babies (the smallest octuplet died Dec. 27), news releases (updated daily), photos of the babies and profiles of physicians involved in their care. (TCH, 713/770-2323)
1999 Sponsorship to Peak at $7.6 Billion
Corporate sponsorship by North American businesses will jump to $7.6 billion in 1999, a 12 percent spike in sponsorship spending over last year, according to sponsorship research firm IEG, Inc., Chicago. This is a smaller increase, however, than the 15 percent hike between 1997 and 1998.
The sponsorship increase is linked to business sectors including e-commerce, OTC medications and supplements, prescriptions drugs, search engines and utilities, according to Lesa Ukman, president of IEG. On a side note, continued consolidation is earmarked as a continuing impetus for companies to seek sponsorship opportunities. (IEG, 312/944-1727)
Business Moves
- Omnicom Canada, a subsidiary of Omnicom Group Inc., acquires PR agency BenchMark Communications Inc. of Toronto. BenchMark's 25-person office will become an independent business unit of Copithorne & Bellows, a high-tech firm. Stan Didzbalis, founder and CEO of BenchMark, takes on the additional responsibility of CEO of the Canadian operations of Porter Novelli International. (C&B, 617/450-4300)
- The Delahaye Group opens its new European headquarters in Amsterdam. Stephen Debruyn, MD for international operations, will oversee the office. (Delahaye, 603/431-0111)
- The Independent Bankers Association of America is trying to help banks troubleshoot Y2K problems by making available a "Y2K Communications Action Kit" for member banks to provide them with guidance about communicating Y2K preparedness. The kits contains a checklist to help develop a communications plan, key message points about readiness, a slide presentation and a sample op-ed. To order a free kit, call 202/659-8111.
- Hill and Knowlton hires Wendy Wilson as senior MD and head of its financial communications practice in Chicago. She takes over for Jeff Zilka, who was recently appointed head of the U.S. financial communications practice. (H&K, 312/255-1200)
- PRSA's The Universal Accreditation Board has developed an online, 12-session study course to assist those preparing for the Accredtited in Public Relations (APR) examination. Call 212/460-0310.