Net Opens Up Possibility For Jurisdictional Lawsuits
Issues such as copyright have certainly opened a can of worms when it comes to the Internet, but communicators may find themselves tasked with being corporate middle men for additional Net-related legal concerns, according to Russell Beck, an attorney with Epstein Becker & Green, Boston. Corporate liaisons charged with explaining issues to concerned publics are also going to need a general understanding of what kind of problems doing business online can trigger.
Even if the company's selling domain is cyberspace, Beck warns that Web sites that support customer transactions can potentially lead to lawsuits levied by buyers in particular states. Beck details the case of one corporation (whose name he won't disclose) that found itself embroiled in a legal controversy after a Pennsylvania company alleged the corporation was using a word which violated its trademark. The courts used evidence such as the company's 3,000 Pennsylvania subscribers and its ISP contracts to find in favor of the plaintiff. (David E. Gumpert Communications, 781/444-5543)
Celebrity Speakers May Want To Open Your Wallet Very Wide
If you want to turn your PR event into pure poetry, try recruiting Maya Angelou as a keynote speaker. But remember, it'll cost you: about $35,000 a pop. That's according to Laura Fenamore, president of Golden Gate International Speakers Bureau, San Anselmo, Calif. Fenamore offers tips about celebrity speakers at http://www.ggisb.com.
Suffice it to say $135,000 might lock in self-help guru Tony Robbins for one of your key gatherings, but these communications divas aren't a must to guarantee you'll get a savvy speaker. "For $7,000 to $10,000 you can get a keynote speaker who isn't necessarily a household name, but gets powerful results for your organization," Fenamore advises. (Golden Gate, 415/459-2331)
Viagra: A Pharmacist's Best Friend For Life?
The buzz about Viagra may have fizzled, but the launch is likely to go down in history as the most successful drug introduction, according to health care consultants Scott-Levin, Newtown, Pa. The company reports that Viagra spawned 592,000 prescriptions in its first month on the market. Other close all-time contenders:
- Oral diabetes agent Rezulin, 78,000 prescriptions in April 1997;
- Lipid-lowering drug Lipitor, which triggered 139,000 in March 1997; and
- Obesity drug Redux, 153,000 prescriptions in June 1996.
Despite the success of Viagra, though, the PR lessons concerning this launch need to be tempered with some advice. If Pfizer had failed to stay on track about its messaging and, indeed, touted the drug for the laundry list of alternative treatments pursued by the mainstream press, it would have faced a crisis it wouldn't have recovered from for some time. Keep this in mind if you're hoping for a similar sales windfall for a new drug. (Scott-Levin, 800/982-5613)
Hispanics, Growing Market - So, How Are You Reaching Them?
Your corporation needs to hire firms that specialize in the Hispanic market if you're planning on reaching this growing segment. You can't rely on tried-and-true tactics used with other niches, according to RBH Direct, a marketing design firm based in Austin.
RBH reports that the Hispanic market in the U.S. is the fastest-growing buying sector and will have $350 billion in purchasing power in the year 2000, so keep that in mind when you're devising your long-term customer communication strategies. Based on the firm's research through the years, RBH reports others nuances about the Hispanic market:
- Hispanics are conservative in their lifestyles, making few decisions that are risky so that their quality of life is maintained, not necessarily heightened;
- Hispanics are brand loyal, with 80 percent using the same brands annually;
- 73 percent of U.S. Hispanics speak Spanish at home, even if they are comfortable speaking English; and
- Hispanics are committed to their families and extended families tend to live together (3.6 per Hispanic household versus 2.6 for general households). (RBH, 512/480-0065)