Exclusivity: A Thing of the Past?
If you want to prove invaluable to journalists, think "media branding" and help journalists deliver stories tied to specific audience interests and demographics instead of slotting your subject into a topic category. That was the conclusion of a "Media 2000" workshop, presented by West Glen Communications, Inc.
Panel presenters concluded that the Internet and 24-hour cable programs make it tough for reporters to uncover exclusives. Seeking that same "audience of one" as PR practitioners, news hounds are most likely to break new ground by providing analysis of a story or trend and framed in a way to capitalize best on their medium. It's no secret that those in PR often trip themselves up by pitching cookie-cutter ideas, failing to make their story pitches meaningful to to multiple audiences or on multiple levels.
On the panel were Frank del Olmo, assistant to the editor at the Los Angeles Times, Daniel Webster, news director at KPIX-TV San Francisco and Mike Yamonoto, managing editor, CNET. (West Glen, 212/704-9128)
Business Moves
FH&K Acquires Maggie Springer
Marcom house FH&K Ideas that Deliver, Neenah, Wisc., acquires business-to-business marketing firm Maggie Springer & Associates, Appleton. FH&K President and CEO Mike Kruse says part of the reasoning is based on FH&K's B-to-B work, which comprises 42 percent of its business. (FH&K, 920/722-4014)
COMSAT Selects Ruder*Finn
COMSAT Corp. has chosen Ruder*Finn, Washington, D.C., as its worldwide PR agency. Ruder*Finn will handle PR for COMSAT and its multiple subsidiaries, including COMSAT International. (Ruder*Finn, 202/974-5019)
The Silver Lining Online
Best practices is one of the hot PR topics. Taking a gander at what your peers and cohorts are doing - or have done - can be a promising tool for unearthing new business ideas. The Public Relations Society of America has archived summaries of Silver Anvil Award winner at http://www.silveranvil.org. Sponsors of the site are Ketchum, Business Wire and Heyman Associates, Inc. (PRSA, 212/460-0310)
Milk Campaign Targets College Students
The wildly popular "Got Milk?" ad campaign, featuring mustached celebrities, is targeting college students thirsty for an opportunity to showcase their PR and marketing skills. The outreach effort, the "Ultimate Milk Mustache Internship" contest, is sponsored by Rolling Stone magazine and the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board and calls for aspiring student marketers or PR pros to launch an event, ad campaign or promotional idea that gets their campus to drink more milk.
In May, four contest winners will be selected and given a summer internship at Rolling Stone.
The contest has its own promotional agenda - to reverse the dramatic decline in milk consumption among college students. Students are abandoning milk in favor of nutrient-vacant drinks like soda and coffee. Eight out of 10 college-age women and seven out of 10 college-age men don't get enough calcium in their diets, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Colleges nationwide will receive contest kits that include the rules and Milk Mustache promotional materials.
The contest is being promoted through a special college edition of Rolling Stone this month, college student organizations and the student arm of the Public Relations Society of America. Rolling Stone is working with Chicago-based BSMG Marketing to promote the contest. (BSMG, Mark Masino, 312/988-2474)