New York Public Relations

PR stunts go on all the time.  Companies strategically do things to get people paying attention and to start talking.  But what if a plan goes sour?  People are still going to talk but is it good for your company?  They're still talking... right? One of the most notable stunts-gone-wrong was back in 2006 when LifeLock CEO Todd Davis put his social security number on billboards to instigate people into attempting to steal his identity and prove LifeLock's reputation.  The only problem is that his identity was stolen... 13 times to be exact and 87 steals were attempted but failed.  Sorry, guy, but that's just not good publicity.  Even the CEO's life wasn't on lock. Another PR stunt that... melted, was in 2005 and right here in town.  Snapple wanted to show off the worlds biggest popsicle in Union Square.  The only problem: it was mid June and this popsicle didn't stand a chance to the summer weather.  The 25-foot-tall pop began to melt...

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 ...

Mediabistro.com put up a great post by freelance writer and book publicist Marian Schembari on its blog about the 5 mistakes to avoid when pitching - everything from blindly emailing press releases to sending irrevelant pitches. The key to the perfect pitch? Personalize it. Marian writes these 5 tips below: "Hello New York Journalist” is not a greeting. New York Journalist will stop reading there. Even if the pitch is perfect and 100% relevant – if it hasn't been addressed an actual person, it's is going in the bin. Take five minutes and find a name. Acknowledge something by said journalist. Reference an article or award. No need to be gimmicky or go overboard on the praise, just stick to why the product is worth their time. Ex: if pitching a book on automobiles to the auto blogger for the Times, say something like, “I read your piece on the new Mercedes. Our author, Bob Jones, loved that car and spends a whole chapter in his new book discussing the features.” But don’t ...

After Pittsburgh teenager Sarah Deluliis was allegedly attacked by her ex-boyfriend, 17 year-old Robertino DeAngelis, the girl's family hoped that DeAngelis would receive the appropriate punishment for his crime. Instead, he would be tried in juvenile court  and charged with attempted homicide after beating Deluliis over the head with a hammer. The family made several appeals to the office of the district attorney but were repeatedly denied. Desperate, the family turned to Forge Communications in order to have their voice heard. The family explained, " We're desperate. The juvenile system is not equipped to deal with such a violent act... I'm just a mom of a young daughter that we're trying to protect. If this alleged violent predator is released into our community once more, we believe we are all at risk."  The PR firm has since set up a Facebook group, a Twitter page , and a Website callled "Adult time for Adult Crime" in order to gain s...

New York has been taking Public Relations blows over the past few months/year. From the NY Governor Spitzer prostitution scandal to Bernie Madoff to the current investment banking debacle and slumping economy that many are blaming Wall Street and the rest of new York for. The New York housing market has taken huge hits and the general feeling of rich New yorkers is that they may need to move because of the new taxes.

Bats are already looked at with a largely negative bias. This bias could stem from Hollywood images of blood sucking and hair tangling. East coast scientists feel that this negative perception many people have of bats could be thwarting an effort to analyze and stop a mysterious illness that is sweeping the bat populations from Vermont to Virginia. The scientists are seeking a Public Relations Bat Man of sorts to deal with the negative PR the bats inspire. They feel that if people understood that most fears of bats are unsubstantiated, then they would feel better about helping scientists fund and solve the deadly situation East Coast bats find themselves in today.

It's an unfortunate public relations problem that the New York Mets, Citi Field is opening at the same time the new Yankee Stadium is opening. Visitors say they like the new field, but they liked both new fields. The problem was with how the two New York City Baseball stadiums made people feel. General consensus was that the new Yankee Stadium located in the Bronx, felt more like the city. People felt that Citi Field didn't have the New York feel to it. I'm sure NY Mets fans will eventually love their stadium, but if you are in the NY Mets Marketing or Public Relations department, you cant be happy with your task of getting new Mets fans.

Most will know the title of this post is Reminiscent of our beloved Mugatu 's immortal words, "Hansel... So Hot right now... Hansel." Barack and Michelle Obama have been welcomed everywhere they've been so far in this European tour. The Public Relations face lift for America that most expected to get when they elected Obama is happening right before our eyes. America 's allie's citizens seem relieved that it looks like the US wants to cooperate with the rest of the world, after 8 long years of destructive and stupid Cowboy talk. Technological advances in telecommunications and travel have made the world a much smaller place. It is essential, now more than ever that the world figures out how to work together proper. That is what Barack Obama seems to be reflecting to us at home and the rest of the world. How much easier will it be to have Russia and China as actual allies instead of Frenemies. They might handle North Korea instead of us and the Russians migh...

Public Relations is proving to be Cost Effective Promotion during the latest economic downturn. Some companies have decided to cut back on public relations efforts, but according to Stefanie Guzikowski , you cant afford to not spend a good amount on your public relations budget. Public Relations Firms offer non-traditional and cutting edge marketing ideas. And we have found that a lot of the time, non-traditional and cutting edge methods mean they are cost effective ... until everyone else has figured it out.

The writing is on the wall, and it's been there for awhile. Digital Media is quickly and most certainly taking over Print Media . Advertising in the Print Media has dropped by 23% in the last 2 years. Almost 1 out of every 5 journalists that were working for newspapers in 2001 are now not working for newspapers. Public Relations people are trying to monetize online media and divorcing themselves from the dying print media at the same time. Read the whole story here .

Statistics are showing that magazine marketing and other print material advertising efforts have drastically decreased because of the struggling economy. Social Media PR is a cheap but very effective way of getting your message out. Read more about it here .

Social Media PR - Skittles, the 35-yr old candy company changed their homepage into an online portal that opens up into all the social networks they currently have a presence on. With ever decreasing marketing budgets, big and small companies alike are doing their creative best to make their presence known on Twitter , Face Book , etc... To read the whole story Click Here .