December 2007

THE PRESIDENT'S NEW HELPER

The Associated Press has reported that the next U.S. Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs will be James K. Glassman. He will replace the infamous PR czar, Karen Hughes, one of the most important people in Bush’s government. Glassman had served on the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, and he was chosen in part because he had already won Senate confirmation. It’s interesting to see that the appointment is played down in the U.S. no large scale announcement, as this is a case of the men/women of stealth moving into position. Unlike the frivolous arenas in the PR world, there is no intention of being too vocal - why show a winning hand in this game of poker? The silent masters are puppeteers, pulling the chords of power.

DOES ANYONE SMELL STUNT?

We are all aware that Britney Spears showbiz world is more than a little bit bizarre. Well - reports suggest that Britney is in talks to star in a spoof movie. Spears has reportedly been asked to play the Virgin Mary in a modern Nativity story called ‘Sweet Baby Jesus.’ by French producer Phillippe Rebboah. No surprise that leaders of a Catholic group have fallen into the trap and are helping to make Rebboah famous by mouthing off about the project to the media.

Come on it’s a publicity mechanic.
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FREDDIE FIELDS UBER AGENT RIP - ANOTHER GREAT BITES THE DUST

Whilst researching my book I interviewed the great Freddie Fields, former co-founder of CMA which then became ICM, former producer and then head of MGM-UA Studios. Frankly Fields was a legend. The sad news is that he died on Tuesday and the funeral is today at 2 PM in Hollywood.

It’s sad but Freddie told me back in 2006 that he was dying and said that he had inoperable cancer. He was very kind to give me so much time and to help me with my book. Freddie rarely spoke about his career but he gave me some extraordinary anecdotes about the fame game. I suspect that there will be many people there at his service today.

His life was to work for and with some of the greatest stars of all times from Garland to the Beatles. He saw and participated in everything but the early “talkies” because his was an era of his own - and a lot later. But he was no less a giant than Goldwyn, Warner, or even William Morris. He was in with the crowd wherever he went and was both tough as nails and sensitive as a baby’s butt. He was a giant in the industry which he definitely helped to shape. The business of show will miss him.

FAST TRACK

So Fast Track has bought Stuart Higgins Communications.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/11/marketingandpr.pressandpublishing

I am pleased for Higgy - an extremely effective operator. Alan Pascoe's company has been very quiet but there was a time when Pascoe was omnipresent. I have not got a sense that he flexes muscle. Fast Track desperately need Stuartm and Pascoe will benefit from Stuart's traction and contacts particularly with the London Olympics looming. I suggest that this clever acquisition will be used to help to harvest the opportunities that 2012 brings

6", 12" OR 2"

A pizza chain in OZ has produced a YouTube video suggesting employees of a rival chain have small penises, in a bizarre war over the size of their tasty treats.

I love this stunt which isn’t generating the ink it deserves. Eagle Boys Pizzas in Australia has attacked Domino’s Pizzas for secretly reducing the size of their pizzas, hoping it will go unnoticed by their customers, commenting that “It’s disgraceful and frankly un-Australian”. Domino’s chief executive, Don Meij, responded that his smaller pizzas were in response to similar action already taken by their largest competitor, Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut declined to comment on any of this and the bickering between Domino and Eagle Boys continued. The argument culminated in the Eagle Boys releasing a video on YouTube, a satire of a NSW Roads and Traffic Authority TV ad, which intimated that Domino’s delivery drivers had small penises. Mr Meij said Domino’s reserved its right to take legal action over the YouTube video. Upset that it degraded Domino’s team members (excuse the pun), Mr Meij said he would try to resolve the matter by writing personally to Eagle Boys Pizzas over the size of both company’s top selling assets. Look, I smell collusion but who cares - bravo for the effort.

MATTHEW FREUD'S BROTHER IN LAW

Matthew Freud's power and influence of will be boosted into the stratosphere due to the promotion of his brother in law, James. I expect the bitchy PR world will continue to take swipes at Matthew, especially when the small minds of the major PR networks finally comprehend the significance of the new shape of the Murdoch Empire and how it might aid Matthew over the next few years.

I loved all the Ricky Hatton hype – his showmanship and chutzpah were irresistible. I wish his boxing skills matched his ability to connect with the media. As always, on this amazing sporting occasion, Richard Williams in the Guardian provided a wonderful sound bite to earth the electricity of hyperbole.

"This is boxing, so there is no point in being less than brutally frank. At times it was like watching a competition between Picasso and an enthusiastic kid with an aerosol paint can. The gulf was as great as that. 

MEDIA GUARDIAN AWARDS FOR INNOVATION.

I spent most of the night studying the entries for the MediaGuardian Innovation awards, an idea cooked up by the MediaGuardian to celebrate innovations in the media industry. I’m judging the PR and Brand Identity sections and I have to admit I found the homework a depressing task. Hopefully when the judges all gather to debate my winners might near in the top

Clearly, many of the companies in my sector that have put their campaigns forward, on the whole, do not represent the best in class. On the other hand, they do represent the best in class in award winning! Concentrating on PR, it’s the usual suspects that put themselves forward for every award opportunity with a half baked campaign that neither champions the craft nor the industry, and results true PR is able deliver. The criteria, the most impressive turn of each of its entrants, is the justification of why the campaign was successful. There are extraordinary accounts of results measured by various matrixes that have been constructed to post rationalise (yet again!) each company’s success.

The media world is littered with countless awards that all have a fundamental design flaw - primarily that each company has been invited to enter the awards. There should be a module where the good and the great are monitored over a twelve month period by the media across advertising, marketing and PR and their own independent campaigns should then be evaluated at the end of that period, with a long list being invited to present their company and their results before a panel of industry stalwarts and trade body representatives. It would add a lot more gravitas to any award. Unfortunately it’s commercially flawed

I can see that participating in awards in the current format will give a number of companies the opportunity to use that success to hoodwink new business. I applaud their effort but lament the erosion of our craft!

"A PUBLIC CONVERSATION WITH MY OLD MATE TREVOR MORRIS"

I had an enjoyable evening last night, pontificating to 300 PR souls at the Old Cinema at Westminster University. The event was in “a public conversation with my old mate Trevor Morris, who prompted me to respond to issues that were pertinent to modern PR. The final half hour of the evening was taken over by audience questions many of them were very searching. After the talk, quite a few people de-camped to the bar next door where some of the issues where debated long into the night. It's thrilling to feel that there is a huge amount of passion for the craft of PR. I should get out of my silo more often.

CAMPAIGN FOR MEDIA DEMOCRACY STAGES THE "FALSIES AWARDS,"

At the end of each year, the Campaign for Media Democracy stages the "Falsies Awards," to recognize the people and players that take spin and propaganda to new lows. I have been told that 2007 is a vintage year and has some all time lows. Corrupt PR practice in the US plagues the media across the pond and CMD have been doing much to expose the issue. The major comms networks have, over the last decade made some major acquisitions of some meaningful indie agencies here, in their quest for global domination, so we should accept that there poor practices will inevitably pollute the news agenda in the UK. So will the conveyor belt of scam research results be investigated in 2008? It’s the lazy PR and client tool and I have read more fake surveys this year than in any other. OK I admit some are robust and serve a purpose but others are just "film flam".