The Envelope, Please
PR firm Campbell & Co. snagged this year's Thoth Award from the PRSA National Capital Chapter. The award, named for the Egyptian God of communications, went to the Alexandria, Va.-based firm for a campaign to prevent the spread of HIV among African-Americans. Mike McCurry, who seems to be this year's PR poster boy, was the keynote at the June 23 awards bash. Each year, the Thoth recognizes the premiere PR firms in the Washington metro area for outstanding achievement. (Campbell & Co., 703/759-5126; PRSA NCC, 703/691-9212)
And in Other Awards News...
The Creative Services Division of Louisville, Colo.-based investor relation firm Carl Thompson Associates landed the Silver Award from The Art Directors Club of Denver for its cover design of the 1998 Horizon Organic Dairy Annual Report. The report was the first for Longmont, Colo., dairy company. (Carl Thompson, 800/959-9677)
Findings: PR Specialists Land at Bottom of Credibility Index
The bad news is that PR specialists fall to the bottom of a just-released public credibility list. The good news is that the general public tends to cut leaders some slack. But a leader's credibility and the public's confidence in an issue may depend on the race, age and other factors of the constituent. PR executives need to take that into account when deciding who the best spokesperson is on certain issue.
That, according to a National Credibility Index survey just released by PRSA. The Index, which measures levels of trust Americans have in leaders on contemporary issues, found that the public views local spokespeople and local press as more credible; and older and better educated Americans are less prone to grant credibility to a "leader."
Among the public figure with the highest credibility scores: Supreme Court justice, teacher, "national expert," member of the armed forces. Aside from PR specialist, those falling to bottom of the list include TV or Radio Talk Show Host; "famous entertainer" and political party leader. Check out the results of the Index at http://www.prsa.org/foundation.
Online Marcom: Follow Up
For those of you doing online marketing communications, this fact should click with you: In a study of 50 leading e-commerce sites, only eight sent a follow-up marketing offer to customers who made purchases on their site in the last 30 days, according to Rubric Inc. Of these, only two were personalized. And vendors wonder why they have so many problems with customer retention.
A Firm to Watch
With 30% growth in the last 12 months, the Benjamin Group Santa Ana, Calif., office is the top PR firm in Orange County, says the Orange County Business Journal, outpacing the average worth of other county-based agencies by nearly 300 percent. With business from new clients like Toshiba America Information Systems, Conexant Systems, Inc., Ericsson CG Technologies, and Guidance Solutions, the firm had professional fee revenues of $4 million for the year ending in March 1999.
BG, based in Silicon Valley, is also adding two new offices in the San Francisco area in the next two months. Returning to BG as senior vice president and general manager of Northern California operations is Ellen Roeckl. Christine David joins as VP of business development. (Judy Anderson, 714/245-7500)
New Offices & Changes
- PR and marketing firm Collaborative Communications, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., specializing in technology-based products and services, is growing, growing, growing. To double its space, the firm has moved to Two Canal Park, in Cambridge. (CCI, 617/621-1800)
- Cone Communications, Boston and New York, has slimmed down its name and launched a new corporate logo and identity. Clients of what is now just Cone, Inc. include JC Penney, Con Agra, Time Warner and Gillette. (Susan McLean, 617/720-0131)
- Delahaye Medialink will launch an office in the U.K. at the London Medialink Worldwide facilities. Stephen Debruyn, Directory of DM's international operations, will manage the office and recruit a new sales force. The company also plans to launch a Medialink.com portal in the U.S. and U.K. this fall to distribute press releases, streaming audio and video, Webcasts and other content. (Katharine Paine, 603/431-0111)
- Boston-based PR consultant Karen Schwartzman launches her own firm Polaris Public Relations. Polaris will serve as a strategic communications partner to corporations and institutions facing significant public exposure caused by unusual events or circumstances. (617/437-9990)
- The Weber Group, Cambridge, Mass. plans to open a new office in Austin, Tex. headed by new senior vice president Andrew Craig. The new office is at 106 East 6th Street, Suite 900, Austin, TX 78701; phone 512/322-5745; e-mail: [email protected].
People News
John Kiker, who was VP of corporate communications at United Airlines, is adding the title of VP of advertising as part of United's management restructuring.
- Bernhard Schroeder becomes general manager of PR and advertising firm The Townsend Agency, San Diego. Schroeder will oversee strategic marketing. He comes from integrated marketing agency USWeb/CKS.