New York Public Relations

With the blogosphere becoming increasingly influential and a lot of the big blogs a major media source, its easy to see why publicists are starting to reach out to more and more bloggers (especially since bloggers are more likely to respond to pitches). But ladies and gents of the PR world, you know better than to pay off bloggers for coverage of you or your client's brand. Let me grab my megahorn and say this loud and clear: IT'S UNETHICAL. Apparently Ann Taylor and their PR crew didn't get the message. Last week, Ann Taylor's LOFT line held a preview exclusively for bloggers and basically bribed them with gift cards in exchange for coverage of their line and the event. Their invite read: Come take a sneak peak at LOFT's summer 2010 collection before anyone else! Bloggers who attend will receive a special gift, and those who post coverage from the event will be entered in a mystery gift card drawing where you can win up to $500 at LOFT! But wait, it doesn't ...

If you’ve been walking around the Meatpacking District lately or took a stroll to the High Line, you may have witnessed some raunchy exhibitionist behavior in the window of The Standard Hotel. As part of their PR tactic, the luxury hotel is encouraging their guests to engage in various sex acts - much to the distaste of the tourists who are walking to the new High Line park, which is the direction that the hotel faces.  On their Facebook page, they suggest that their guests “ exercise your inner exhibitionist. Please share your intimate, and explicit photos with us -- those floor to ceiling windows aren't just for the views.” In a puritan, conservative country, the PR gimmicks of The Standard Hotel are less than amusing for passer-byers witnessing the romping going-ons in the ceiling-to-floor window display. Still, this luxury hotel is generating a hell of a ton of buzz around New York City and on the web. Frankly, I'm surprised that city council hasn't done anyth...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on a PR Newswire press release that he expects New York to bounce back from the recession before other cities. Read all about it here .