On the Radar Screen
Even Marketing Materials Need a PR Check
The Foundation for American Communications probably won't be authoring any "How to Win Friends and Influence People" books anytime soon if its recent brochure for its upcoming "Reporting on Managed Care and HMOs" conference is any indication. One paragraph reads:
"The content will be journalist-friendly. That means interactive teaching, few graphs and charts and no complex formulas or higher math." Some might ascertain it was banking on journalists not being able to read either.
FACS spokeswoman Christina Gardner said the brochure isn't meant to be condescending. Instead, it's meant to stress that the conference is socratic-based and not in a classroom environment. (FACS, 323/851-7372)
Market Research
Handling Y2K Calls For Communications, Too
Companies primarily focusing on technology snafus concerning the Year 2000, but may be forgetting to address how they are going to communicate with external audiences. Consider this: one-third of 1,200-plus American adults say Y2K computer malfunctions are a "very serious problem," based on a poll conducted for Shell Oil Company by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, according to Maury Tobin of Tobin Communications.
Unlike other measurable aspects of communications, the image toll you'll end up paying if you don't heed this kind of research likely knows no end. (Tobin Communications, 301/229-0369)
Resources
- For $1,500 per candidate, BayResearch claims it can seek out "hidden" talent and serve up six fully researched prospects for your firm to consider if it's in hiring mode. Clients who've already taken the 12-year-old recruitment business up on its offer include 3Com [COMS] and Amazon.com [AMAZN]. ( BayResearch, 847/413-4000)
- West Glen Communications, which produces and distributes video, audio and multimedia programming for corporations, is distributing audio-quality news releases over the Internet in files small enough to be downloaded over a standard modem. The Digital Audio New Release (D-ANR) service was developed through an agreement with E-Spot Network, an affiliate of Global Music Outlet. (West Glen, 212/704-9128)
- Small firms and up-and-coming experts struggling with how to wrestle up exposure, might want to log onto TalkNetRadio.com. The company is accepting registration from people who want to create their own Internet talk programs. Free broadcast software and homes pages are part of the offer mix. (TalkNetRadiom 408/844-8814)
Business Moves
- Clif Kagawa, president and CEO of Communications Pacific, Inc., joins Burson-Marsteller as chairman and CEO of the firm's Asia-Pacific region. He replaces Ferry de Bakker who becomes vice chairman of BM. (BM, 212/614-4082).
- Amy Rice, a five-year veteran of Deloitte & Touche, joins Cohn & Wolfe, Washington, D.C., as finance director. (Cohn & Wolfe, 202/530-4755)
- British Telecommunications plc [BT] brings on board from Hill and Knolwton Richard Delevan as communications manager in North America. (BT, 212/418-7635)