BOOK OF LISTS debt relief it forces everyone to stop

BOOK OF LISTS 2002 5 debt relief,it forces everyone to stop and pay attention.A trip to Africa with Paul O’Neill led to a Time cover, and placed this worthy issue in the spotlight like never before. 3 Eliot Spitzer In 2002,Spitzer took on Wall Street on behalf of the “little guy,”and became a near household name in the process. From his first e-mail-centered news conference to subsequent mysterious leaks of damning e-mails,he’s used the media with deftness not seen in quite a while.Definitely one to watch in 2003. Communicators that mattered 1 George W. Bush It’s hard to imagine the king of syntax screw-ups as a master communicator,but it’s hard to argue the opposite right now. His common speak has connected him with Middle America in a way that has Democrats scrambling. While homeland security chief was always going to be a tough job, 1 Martha Stewart Ridge’s color4 Dr. Phil McGraw She should have said,“I’ve called this coded warning After a decade of “talk-to-your-inner- press conference to own up to a missystem will go child”stylized therapy,his drill sertake.”Monday-morning quarterdown as one of the most ill-congeant approach to confronting family backing comes easy with this PR ceived communications devices of dysfunction seems like a breath of debacle,but as she continues to dethe last few years.Now seemingly fresh air to Americans.Having clare innocence,second-guessing be- ignored by most Americans,Ridge Oprah as mentor doesn’t hurt either. comes trickier.Still,what other vine might consider quietly abandoning could have lifted her out of the muck? the system. 5 3 Paul O’Neill W.Bush was supposed to learn from the mistakes of his father and the successes of Bill Clinton by finding a compassionate and competent voice on economic matters.After nearly two years with O’Neill at the Treasury helm,hopes now rest on his nominated successor,John Snow. ON THE BEAT Paul Cordasco Investor Relations, Financial Communications If there was a single theme to the business coverage of the late 1990s,it was infinite possibility. It was a time for phrases like “information superhighway,” “paradigm shift,”and “new economy.”Every stock investor’s favorite mantra was “buy on the dips”because another recordsetting rally would be around the corner.And an early,comfortable, and obscenely leisurely retirement awaited everyone with a 401K and an E*Trade account. Of course,that was a financial bubble.A year or so later,the bubble was marked by media and public disillusionment.It was like waking up with the worst hangover in history and spending the next day trying to orient oneself. What happened? How did we get here? What happens to us now? In 2002,the line of questioning shifted abruptly to “Who’s to blame?”It gave rise to a new vernacular,as the catch phrases became “Enronitis”and “perp walk.” In a way,2002 was predictable. Every collapsed market has its villains.The bull run of the 1980s was punctuated with the prosecution of junk-bond king Mike Milken and the guilty plea of icy insider-trader Ivan Boesky.And it’s no wonder this market seemed to produce a rogues gallery of disgrace proportional to its level of blithe excess. Therefore,it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that when the hyperactive 24-hour news cycle collided with this allstar team of white-collar criminals,the result was corporate America’s and Wall Street’s worst PR year in recent memory. Jeff Bezos,the beneficent entrepreneurial CEO of the 1990s,was replaced with the rapaciously greedy corporate wheeler-dealer Dennis Kozlowski.Amazon’s Bezos was the billionaire wealth creator who was filmed driving his old Honda to work during a love-letter 60 Minutes profile in 1999.By contrast,Tyco’s Kozlowski was the bloated deal-maker who paid $15,000 for an umbrella stand. The New York Post splashed Kozlowski on its front page in September,with the screaming headline “Oink,Oink.” Yet it was Wall Street that may have suffered the worst PR hit in 2002.In the 1990s,the Street had come closer than ever before to shedding its image as a clubby insiders world,a place where the little guy could never dream to compete.Articles and profiles about soccer-mom day traders and teenage stock-picking whiz kids went a long way towards altering that image for a time. However,this was the year of Eliot Spitzer’s seemingly bottomless trove of damning e-mails. Each new e-mail bombshell resurrected American worst preconceptions about the Street. Although few market watchers were surprised at the content,the e-mails brought back to main street all the old ideas of the insiders’ cabal. By the middle of the year,Wall Street’s elite firms were so vulnerable that budget brokerage giant Charles Schwab began running ads that parodied Wall Street’s eagerness to hoodwink the little guy.Wall Street was once again the clubby insiders world. In many ways,its image starts 2003 back at square one. Communicators that muttered 4 Tom Ridge 5 Bonnie Fuller She turned Us around with a full-frontal embrace of the cult of celebrity that borders on parody.Can’t wait for 2 Bono the Us Weekly-People When a rock star puts his fame behind fight over Ben and Jen’s wedding a good cause he merits kudos.When photos – the battle could last longer the cause is as abstract as third-world than that Cage-Presley marriage. 2 Harvey Pitt This was not a good year for the SEC chairman to be seen as an errand boy for special interests.Yet Pitt’s PR bungling morphed him into a caricature of just such an insider.Squandering several second chances,he ironically saved his best PR move for last: resigning during election night. 5 Tom Daschle As the nominal leader of the Democrats,Daschle gets most of the blame for the state of his party.At this point,Americans seem to view the Democrats as the party that opposes Bush (who remains very popular), but then grudgingly goes along with all of his major policies. 10 5 EchoStar & Hughes Electronics Many folks were surprised when satellite-TV upstart EchoStar outbid Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp for Hughes Electronics.Nevertheless, the ultra-competitive Murdoch helped orchestrate a stealth antitrust PR effort against the merger. The FCC bought the argument and scuttled the deal in October.Old man still has his fastball. Business deals that caused a stir 6 Edelman purchases The Headline Group While a top-ten agency snatching up a leading regional shop might have raised few eyebrows in most other years,the September purchase of the Atlanta-based Headline Group ended a six-month M&A drought among the big PR firms. 7 Qwest sells its Yellow Pages After years of pouring money into sophisticated hi-tech communications technology,when this former Baby Bell had to sell assets to pay off its crushing debt,what was its most desired property? It’s old-fashioned Yellow Pages business,of course. 1 Hewlett-Packard merges with Compaq Proxy fights are always contentious, but sometimes they can get personal. When HP management dissed its scion Walter Hewlett as a “musician and academic,”some labeled it a cheap shot.Still,he came within a whisker of derailing this megamerger.Not bad for a musician and academic. 8 ABC News-CNN The rumors of the marriage between ABC News and CNN have surfaced time and again over the past few months,but,so far,neither side seems quite ready to say,“I do.” Nevertheless, the cost of news gathering and the relatively low return on investment has people wondering whether this is the beginning of more news consolidation. 2 Pfizer buys Pharmacia Valued at approximately $60 billion when it was announced in July,this was the biggest deal of the year. The merger gives Pfizer full rights to the pain reliever,Celebrex,one of the biggest cash cows in the drug industry. 3 IBM buys PwC Consulting Monday never came for PwC Consulting.After choosing the curious new name “Monday”ahead of its planned IPO spin-off from its accounting parent,the consulting firm suddenly found itself swallowed up by tech giant IBM in a cash-andstock deal valued at $3.5 billion. 9 Fleishman-Hillard buys Quinn Gillespie Fleishman scored a major coup when it snatched up this Washington lobbying powerhouse in September. Founded just three years ago by former Clinton White House counsel Jack Quinn and veteran Republican strategist Ed Gillespie, this shop is one of the most plugged in the nation’s capital. It didn’t take long after author Anna Quindlen appeared on Today and said,“If you only have time to read 1 The Fall of Advertising & the one book this summer,it’s The Rise of PR by Al Ries and Laura Ries Lovely Bones,”for it to shoot to the The title says it all as top of several bestseller lists.A testato why this book gen- ment to the power of PR,and not a erated a buzz among bad review for Sebold’s debut novel. PRWeek readers.As many agency and 7 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides corporate communi- Long awaited since Eugenides’ cations heads have stirring The Virgin Suicides in 1993, believed for years,a Middlesex caught the attention of successful brand is many readers this year with its built on smart PR,not advertising, intriguing subject matter.Revealed according to this follow-up to The 22 on the first page,the book’s main Immutable Laws of Branding. character is a hermaphrodite whose genetic mutation is traced across 2 The Corrections eight decades throughout the rest by Jonathan Franzen of the novel. Last year’s winner of the National Book Award for Fiction got itself 8 Seabiscuit: An American even more press when its author said Legend by Laura he was “uncomfortable”with being selected as an Oprah book.The Hillenbrand Oprah incident may have thrown Everyone loves a this novel about a dysfunctional good underdog story. Midwestern family into the limelight That is probably why at the end of last year,but it was this book,set in the Franzen’s praised writing style that 1930s depression era,about an allowed it to hold its place as such a unlikely racehorse that ends up talked about book throughout 2002. garnering “more mention in the press than Roosevelt,Hitler,or 3 John Adams Mussolini”was such a hit this year. by David McCullough On the heels of his Pulitzer Prize9 The Emperor of Ocean Park winning portrayal of Harry Truman, by Stephen L.Carter This legal thriller that examines McCullough produced this comupper-class African-American socipelling biography of the second ety and the inner workings of an President.A book about politics, Ivy League law school became an war,religion,betrayal,friendship, and love,McCullough depicts one of overnight success when famed author John Grisham selected it in the Founding Fathers in a way that the first installment of the Today seems familiar today. show’s Book Club. 10 Books 5 War in a Time of Peace by David Halberstam A favorite of those who love learning about the intricacies of DC politics, but wanted a break from reading about the current George Bush and the war of terror.Halberstam examines how George Bush Sr.and Bill Clinton handled foreign policy in the post-Cold War world. everyone (said they’d) read 6 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold PHOTOS: GEORGE W. BUSH, TOM RIDGE, HEWLETT-PACKARD, ABC COURTESY OF REUTERS; BONNIE FULLER, NEWSCOM 4 How to Lose Friends and Alienate People 10 The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell The transformation of unknown books into bestsellers,the rise of teenage smoking,and the phenomena of word of mouth:a few of the typically ignored concepts that Gladwell tries to explain in this analysis of societal trends.Published in December 2001,sheer curiosity,if nothing else,made this book a hit in 2002. 4 Publicis Groupe buys Bcom3 The only major marketing holdingcompany deal of 2003 saw Publicis Groupe finally gain a strong foothold on Madison Avenue after previous forays had fallen flat.Publicis created the world’s fourth-largest holding company,which includes PR heavyweight MS&L. PRWEEK 10 GCI saves Wilson McHenry (then doesn’t) West Coast tech PR shop Wilson McHenry was on life support when GCI swooped in to mull a lastsecond buyout of the agency in April.Yet GCI quickly had second thoughts about the deal.Two weeks later,Wilson closed its doors. by Toby Young New York’s media culture is depicted as star-obsessed and shallow in this memoir about a British journalist’s unsuccessful attempt to take on the city. Young provides a platform for readers to laugh off their own foibles by cracking up at someone else’s – his. 15 DECEMBER 16, 2002 BOOK OF LISTS 2002 10 5 The iMac Apple rattled some cages with more than just the design of its new iMac. Giving Time magazine an exclusive upset other media outlets,but succeeded in making the iMac the talk of the country early this year.Apple worked with Edelman on the launch. Product launches you couldn’t miss 6 Purple M&Ms Masterfoods’ launch of a new M&M color shifted from a series of events to a sizeable media relations effort. Porter Novelli and the candy maker kept a buzz going for seven months, 1 Bally’s Total Fitness “Get Your first with a contest to pick the new 1 Coining “Axis of Evil” Body Started” Workout color,and ending with the announce- Say what you will about President Who better than a high-energy pop ment that purple had won. Bush’s unilateralist tendencies.His star to promote a health club? That’s bold revisualization of global allianwhy The MWW Group hired Pink to 7 Riddell’s Revolution helmet ces based not on ethnicity or geoshill for a new exercise class.Playing It’s not often that a piece of equipgraphy,but capacity for mayhem, off the success of her song “Get This ment grabs the spotlight,but changed the way we view foreign Party Started,” Riddell’s Revolution football helmet affairs – and made going after SadBally’s and changed that when Weber Shanddam seem like the least we could do. Pink unveiled wick Worldwide got attention for the the “Get Your helmet’s ability to reduce the risk of 2 Bush’s campaign spree Body Started” concussion.Both USA Today and Never mind that he told the same Workout,holdSports Illustrated jumped on the stories about every candidate (surely ing a series of bandwagon,and high-profile profes- not every congressman “married Pink dance sional players who switched to the above himself”?),President Bush’s contests across helmet helped give it cachet with last-minute campaigning motivated the US. the high school and college set. the GOP base and turned the midterms into a referendum on his very 2 Cingular 8 Sara Lee crustless bread popular Presidency. Not many CEOs are secure enough Sara Lee thought it had the greatest to invite Dana Carvey to make fun of idea since sliced bread.Well,it was them,but it helped Cingular get sliced bread,but without the crust. national media attention when the Doing what moms had been doing joint venture of SBC and BellSouth for their kids for years garnered Sara began operations early this year. Lee widespread attention.Alan Cingular allocated nearly $2 million Taylor Communications helped for launch events as it promoted its make the crustless bread a hit at the new name and image,and also did largest food-industry show of the extensive internal communications year after USA Today was given an to whip up enthusiasm. exclusive on the product to coincide with the show’s opening. 5 5 3 Lautenberg replaces Torricelli A sure loss was turned into a sure thing when the Democrats swapped Senate candidates at the last minute. A crude strategy? Absolutely – also the perfect foil to GOP candidate Doug Forrester,who was trying to get elected solely for not being Torricelli. ON THE BEAT Douglas DC, Public Affairs Quenqua Washington In the beginning, 2002 had just one thing going for it: It wasn’t 2001. It may not have been much, but considering what a colossal downer that year turned out to be for our nation’s capital (with terrorism, recession, plummeting PR budgets, and unsightly Jersey barriers mucking up the landscape), it was enough. But now that it’s ending, 2002 seems to have added very little to its list of accomplishments. It was the Year of the Non-Recovery.What happened? To be sure, 2002 didn’t fall completely short on its promise of rejuvenation.The federal government pitched in by awarding PR contracts all over town, as did a number of foreign governments; al Qaeda kept a low profile; worrying about international diplomacy became cool again; and midterm elections shook up the public-affairs agenda.As summer broke, the Jersey barriers yielded to a painted herd of party animals, and even those made way come autumn (much like the local media) for the ultimate PR animal, Chief Moose. But we wanted more than we got.We were looking for The Big Recovery.We wanted to, pardon the expression, party like it was 1999.“Next quarter has to be better” became our accidental mantra. But a perpetually sluggish economy and a handful of all-dominating news stories conspired with a general trepidation of what lay around the corner to keep us all in a state of mini-recession limbo.We went neither forward nor backward. Indeed, 2002 lived up to its number, with an ending that looked far too much like its beginning. Maybe we were asking too much.After all, you don’t just bounce back from a trashing like 2001. But we should be grateful for what we had.After all, things didn’t get worse. We were able to lay off the layoffs, for the most part. If you were in healthcare, you may even have had trouble keeping up with demand.And there were events – like Hill & Knowlton placing a non-public-affairs executive atop its Washington office, or the White House opening a full-time practice dedicated solely to nurturing America’s image overseas – that foreshadowed intriguing shifts in standard DC operating procedure. Perhaps 2002 will turn out to be like one of those Sopranos episodes wherein nothing seems to happen – until next week, when the payoff reveals the complexity of the setup. Either way, there are reasons to be optimistic about 2003.A litany of new legislation in a nonelection year promises to bring new players to the game, government outsourcing continues to rise, and the stock market has been showing new signs of life. And if nothing else, it promises not to be 2002. Best political maneuvers 4 Preempting the Pentagon Office of Strategic Influence with a leak Somebody on the inside – call him or her Deep Throat 2002 – didn’t want the Pentagon opening an operation tasked with lying to foreign media.The solution? Call The New York Times;wait one week;watch Donald Rumsfeld bitterly announce that the office has been scrapped due to public outrage. 5 Al Gore’s beard Gore certainly didn’t do much to change the national conversation in 2002,but by sprouting and then removing a professorial thicket,he at least managed to change what we said about Al Gore – for a while. 3 Being Paul O’Neill It wasn’t easy being Treasury Secretary with the economy in the toilet and seemingly daily doses of corporate corruption in the headlines.But O’Neill certainly contributed to his own departure.From prickly dismissals of market declines to high praise of the Enron collapse,O’Neill never ceased to confound his public and embarrass his boss. 3 Elvis 30 #1 Hits The King may be dead (or maybe not,depending on whom you ask), but his music lives on,and experienced a major rebirth with the release of the Elvis 30 #1 Hits CD late this year.BMG worked with Dan Klores Communications to make the CD stand out from the crowd of nostalgia offerings,playing on the image of the young,rebellious Elvis to attract new listeners. 9 Vanilla Coke There was nothing plain or boring about the launch of Vanilla Coke. A leaked story in the Financial Times forced Coca-Cola,working with WSW,to move up the announcement of the new offering from May to April. Vanilla Coke’s “unexpected personality”was played up, resulting in major coverage across the country on May 8, the official launch date. Worst political maneuvers 1 Turning Senator Paul Wellstone’s funeral into a political rally 4 Taking on the NRA There was a time when coming out strongly for gun control could help get you elected.But these days,due either to a tide of libertarianism or the increasing strength of the gun lobby,promising to take guns away from Americans will get you nothing but unemployment checks. 4 The Euro Trying to get most of Europe to use the same currency for the first time since the fall of the Roman empire was challenging enough;doing it on New Year’s Day seemed impossible. Yet the European Central Bank and national central banks across Europe limited problems and gained wide consumer acceptance among the 300 million citizens in 12 nations affected. 10 Virgin Mobile Did we really need another cellularphone carrier? Perhaps not,but Virgin Mobile thought it could do things differently,and set up a host of stunts to get that message out.Working with US Concepts and CooperKatz,chairman Richard Branson was brought in to push the launch. Democrats squandered a wellspring of sympathy by turning a memorial service for one of its most principled Senators into a vicious anti-GOP rally.The sour taste left in the public’s mouth led to the loss of a Senate seat the Dems could hardly afford. 5 Tom Ridge’s color-coded alert system It’s hard to turn national security into a joke,but then-homeland security director Tom Ridge did just that when he debuted his day-glo system gauging the likelihood of terrorist threats on any given day.The former Pennsylvania governor became a laughing stock,and nearly took himself out of the running to be director of the new Homeland Security Agency. 2 Gephardt sides with Bush on Iraq We’re not sure who told the Democrats they could unseat the Republicans by acting just like them,only whinier.But when we find out,we’ll be sure to get the news to Dick Gephardt – if anyone knows where he is. 5 PRWEEK PR anecdotes that tickled us A personal e-mail turned into a PR There was something in the air in snafu for one PRWeek reader.TakBoston,and it smelled like wedding ing a break from answering a barrage cake.Of the 12 PR staff at Morrissey of calls,she e-mailed a friend about a & Company,four got engaged and raunchy bachelorette party she had one married – all in the space of attended.“I was on a roll,”she said, seven weeks (see chart).“I wasn’t “typing miles a minute about the sure how to tell people at the office,” booze,the lap dances,the devices,the said Megan Orendorf (engagement disgust – all of which to anyone who #2),“but Kerry (#1) spotted the ring didn’t know the bride-to-be would right away.Heidi (#3) was standing have sounded like a weekend taping there at the time and told us she got of a budget porn flick.”She hit send engaged over the weekend too.It has and returned to work,unaware that been a little crazy in the office,but I the recipient was a journalist at a 1 Fear of bathing in Las Vegas say the more the merrier.”Allison national publication who had a Geek Factory CEO Peter Shankman Rumsey (#4) said that the best thing similar name as her friend.“Thanks was relaxing in a cabana by the pool so far is seeing each individual wedfor the pitch,”he replied,“but my at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas ding take shape.“Even though we all editor will likely turn down a piece after a business trip.He tried to call a got engaged within six weeks,”she about naked cowboys and drunken client,and eventually got through on said,“we have such different plans.” ‘horses’ for the marketing section.” a cell-phone number.“Yeah,Peter, that’s all doable,”the client said,“but can we talk about this on Monday? I’m in a meeting here.I’m kind of NAME TITLE PROPOSAL TOGETHER RING WEDDING swamped....”Bothered by a strange echo,Shankman went out onto the Don Martelli Associate Jul-11-01 3.0 yrs Three round stones Oct-26-02 patio in search of a better reception, Kerry Murphy Associate Sep-28-02 3.0 yrs 1920s Art Deco Sep-27-03 only to find his client stretched out Heidi Finnegan VP Oct-12-02 4.0 yrs Six-prong solitaire Mar-8-03 by the pool,cell phone in hand.“We Megan Orendorf Associate Oct-14-02 2.5 yrs Round solitaire Jul-18-03 sort of looked at each other,looked at our phones,looked back at each Allison Rumsey Associate Nov-10-02 2.5 yrs Oval solitaire TBD other,hung up,and then broke out Source: Morrissey & Company laughing,”said Shankman. 2 Four engagements and a wedding 3 You gotta cc this 4 Midwife crisis in the Midwest In April,PRWeek’s Chicago bureau chief John N.Frank delivered such a stirring speech to the Columbus,OH chapter of the PRSA,that he caused a pregnant administrator to go into premature labor.On returning to his office in Chicago,he found a note from Central Ohio president Susan Merryman.“Your presentation,”she wrote,“was very powerful.” PHOTOS: DONALD RUMSFELD, REUTERS/WILLIAM PHILPOTT; VANILLA COKE, AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS 5 Jack of all tirades Could this be the “client from hell” story to end them all? In November, Shelton PR in Dallas told us of Jack, CEO of Company X.Not only did Jack insult some conservative Japanese partners,thus provoking them to escort all Company X members out of the firm’s building,but during the pitch he told Shelton VP of PR Stacey Gaswirth that he expected to be on Time’s cover in the coming year – and that he’d measure the firm’s success on that metric.Then,after wrapping up a national press tour in San Francisco,Jack and Gaswirth discovered their rental car had been towed with Gaswirth’s purse inside – because Jack had parked illegally.Jack then hailed a cab for the airport,leaving Gaswirth with only her cell phone and the towing company’s number. Laud of the rings 17 DECEMBER 16, 2002 BOOK OF LISTS 2002 10 PwC’s involvement (strictly financial) highlighted the fact that in this climate, cost is just as important as talent. 5 AAHP hires William Morris (July 15) Tired of being negatively cast in everything from ER to John Q,the American Association of Health Plans hired talent mavens William Morris to persuade Hollywood writers to consult the group about scripts.A great plan, when you consider ER gets three times as many viewers as NBC Nightly News. ON THE BEAT 3 Visa puts its business up for review (June 10) By June,the PR industry had all but given up on seeing a multimilliondollar,mainstream,consumer RFP. When Visa put its business up for bid after a five-year relationship with Ketchum,everyone jumped,and some even prematurely predicted the longawaited upturn.We’re still waiting. Sara Calabro Healthcare, Suppliers IPG,USPS stated that PR was expected to lead,despite the involvement of the group’s ad agency giants.Maybe PR’s days as an add-on are finally over. As if the healthcare industry did not already have enough to contend with between rising drug costs,dwindling pipelines,regulatory crackdowns,bioterrorism preparedness,patent expirations, and increased M&A activity,the communications teams faced the added pressure of operating in a mid-term election year. The pharmaceutical sector took center stage as Congress struggled to reach an agreement over Medicare coverage for seniors’ prescriptions.Agencies and inhouse teams worked to educate stakeholders on the innovative research and development being done by drug companies.Communicating the benefit of spending millions of dollars to develop products that have the potential to cure ailments,but that will not be measurable for years,proved a challenging feat. In 2001,the healthcare PR sector was the number-one riser, reporting a growth rate of 7.7%, according to the Council of PR Firms.It remains to be seen how the numbers will turn out this year and beyond.But communications specialists in the healthcare industry will continue to be in great demand,if last month’s inaugural PRWeek conference,Pharma’s PR Diagnosis,is any indication. Industry experts addressed more than 150 delegates about the role PR can play in helping pharmaceutical companies deal with the branding,procurement,integrated marketing,regulatory,and ethical issues they face on a daily basis. Michael Durand,director of global healthcare for Porter Novelli and member of a panel at the conference,perhaps put it best when he predicted,“As long as companies value what reporters write,and what patients say,we [PR professionals] will be in a great position to contribute.” Meanwhile,enhanced multimedia capabilities emerged as the pervasive theme among newswire,broadcast,and information-management companies in 2002. It became standard for press releases distributed over newswires to be accompanied by internet links to extensive company information,such as annual reports,product demos,and streamlined video and audio clips. PR Newswire (PRN),for example,rolled out the first phase of its “Press Release of the Future,” which is a web-based interface that will allow users to listen to webcasts and buy stocks simultaneously. Pathfire took it a step further when it launched Digital Media Gateway (DMG) – a digital delivery system that brings broadcast-quality VNRs directly to the desktops of newsroom reporters. News Broadcast Network,DWJ, West Glen,and PRN all struck deals with Pathfire this year. Information management systems emerged from Bacon’s, Vocus,and MediaMap through which PR agencies and their clients can track all projects simultaneously and monitor results. Such notable leaps by PR vendors this year might seem to leave little room for much advancement in 2003.But at the enthusiastic rate developments have emerged,it does not appear as though any of these partners will rest until stories are literally writing themselves. Account moves that made the front page 6 NPR hires Fleishman-Hillard (September 16) National Public Radio tapped Fleishman as its first AOR to help widen its 1 Lower Manhattan groups seek 4 WorldCom hires APCO (July 15) audience.For years,NPR has tried to a PR agency (April 8) APCO had been talking to WorldCom reach a broader sector of the populaWith dozens of New York groups,from before the telecom giant admitted to tion.Thus,diversity,a key issue for the the Police Department to the Port Au- $3.8 billion in fudged expense reports PR industry,is clearly important to its thority to the Fire Department to the (later to grow to $3.9 billion).“The media partners as well. Mayor’s office,communications outcommitment,at first,was to be forthreach was becoming cacophonous.A right,open,and honest,”said APCO 7 Tyco picks RLM (October 21) PR firm was sought to create a single CEO Margery Kraus.The focus now Reversing the trend of companies tavoice,under the New York Economic is on distancing current management king PR in-house,Tyco decommisDevelopment Corporation.Edelman from Bernard Ebbers’ leadership. sioned its own PR staff and handed the was eventually hired in September. whole job over to crisis specialist Robinson Lerer & Montgomery.While 2 Nortel puts business up for RLM’s task is tricky,one might also review (April 22) ask:Could Tyco’s PR get any worse? Though Nortel’s budget had apparently been eroded significantly in the run8 Golin wins USPS (October 28) up to its agency review process,what At up to $2 million,USPS was a nice really stood out was Pricewaterhousewin for Golin/Harris.What made it Coopers’ role in helping it find a firm. better was that in centralizing into 9 HP goes down to three (November 4) No one was surprised when the newly merged HP-Compaq opted to whittle its 50-plus firms down to just a handful, though the eventual decision to hire three blockbuster agencies – Hill & Knowlton,Porter Novelli,and BursonMarsteller – caused some to wonder where the tech specialists had gone. 10 Dittus wins BSA (November 11) Those cheeky consumers,thinking they can just download movies and TV shows over the web.Hollywood just won’t stand for it,of course,but the Business Software Alliance thinks that’s just greedy.That’s why the BSA handed its six-month,$1 million contract to Dittus.But it won’t end there – insiders expect a long,ugly battle. 10 1 Charles Moose 3 Misty Clymer During the ugly battles between two would-be Miss Americas,Clymer,who represented North Carolina in the pageant when Rebekah Revels was forced to resign in a nude-picture scandal,seemed to be the winner.Until a judge ruled that no one could be recognized as the state’s beauty queen.In November,she returned to her old job, as an accountant at IBM.Duration of fame:Two swimsuit contests and one expressed wish for world peace 5 Jamie Sale and David Pelletier The Canadian figure skaters’ story of scandal and disappointment dominated coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics,resulting in a first-time double gold medal ceremony.The partners have since hung up their competition skates,turned pro,and settled down in Edmonton.Duration of fame: 15 triple axels and two medal ceremonies Storiesthatproved Andy Warhol was right The Montgomery County police chief was the public’s only source of information during much of the DC-area sniper case in October.Though seemingly inexperienced with the press,his ubiquity and simple messages led a nation through the suspense.Duration of fame: 12,435 newspaper stories,five cryptic messages,and two arrests 6 Alex Michel ABC’s first Bachelor got 15 minutes and no more,ditching “love”Amanda (chosen from a harem of women) and disappearing into reality-TV oblivion. Duration of fame: 25 makeout sessions month,making a new stipulation in Warhol’s theory:You can be sure your 15 minutes are up when the made-forTV movie of your story airs.Duration of fame: Eight morning talk shows 9 US Men’s Soccer Team They beat the odds (and some of the world’s best teams) to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals.However, while bringing hope and gratification to American soccer fans,the team,led by head coach Bruce Arena,reaped few rewards from their victories.The players failed to be purchased by European clubs,and promptly dropped out of sight and mind.Duration of fame: Five games,plus two days of coverage on how Germany cheated 4 Rally Monkey Born on a jumbotron on June 6,2000, the simian first exercised his power as a lucky mascot during an Anaheim Angels regular-season game,but rose to national fame as the Angels beat the Giants to win their first World Series. In the process,he appeared on ESPN, inspired his own website,and spawned a knockoff: the Indianapolis Colts’ Touchdown 2 TheJacobs, a.k.a.“theChipsons” Monkey. The Florida family that volunteered to Duration of be human guinea pigs for Applied fame: Three Digital Solutions’ VeriChip technolplay-off ogy was a PR practitioner’s dream, series (except appearing for interviews at the drop of in New York, a hat to show off computer chips conwhich lost taining medical information under the interest after skin.Duration of fame: Until even Big five games) Brother stopped watching 7 Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez The conjoined twins were surgically separated during the media’s “silly season”this summer,and updates of the infants’ status appeared daily in papers and TV news reports.Now recovering and hoping to return to Guatemala,the sisters’ story has been replaced by elections,talk of war,and new medical miracles.Duration of fame: Until election season started 10 Justin Guarini WhileAmerican Idol winner Kelly Clarkson has numerous holiday appearances and a new album dropping next year,the mop-top runner-up 8 Pennsylvania miners returned from reality-TV oblivion to The nine miners whose entrapment lip-synch on a float in the Macy’s pacaptivated and dominated the media rade on Thanksgiving.Perhaps we’ll for nine days this past summer watched see him next on Celebrity Boxing. their own story on the small screen last Duration of fame: 12 shows and a parade 10 Daunting jobs in PR 1 Mark Palmer, VP, corporate communications, Enron He must tell potential investors that buying shares in Enron may not be wise.He works with every possible media source,from The Financial Times to Playboy.But with a managementboard seat,Palmer plays a critical,but tough role in Enron’s ongoing saga. taught the world that coffee is hot? Positively reasonable by comparison. But Riker faces more painful challenges,including terrorists who target McDonald’s as emblematic of American cultural imperialism.Being a global symbol is still proving to be a heavy burden for this PR team. 5 Big Tobacco First,California banned smoking in all public places,now New York City may follow.Lowprice competitors are gaining ground as cigarette taxes send retail prices soaring.And that litigation problem,like a die-hard smoker,won’t quit.Ask most PR pros an industry they’d never touch,and the answer is almost unanimous:Tobacco. 8 San Francisco Tourism Dot-com whiplash helped the city’s tourism drop faster than the Nasdaq. Meanwhile,its homelessness problem gained national attention when a “Care not Cash”initiative was recently voted in.Mayor Willie Brown made a plea to the PR world,while speaking at the PRSA conference.Skip the meeting,he said.Go spend money. 3 Glenn Greenspan, director of communications, Augusta National Golf Club The home of the Masters should be a fun place to work.But this year’s imbroglio over admitting women as club members prompted former CBS chairman Thomas Wyman to resign.CBS,of course,broadcasts the event each year. Greenspan’s PR challenge? Getting the world to focus on golf.Fore! 9 Jack Welch Is the venerated ex-GE CEO a bit bored in retirement? Taking down his estranged wife is looking a little like erstwhile campaigns against pesky environmentalists.Of course,the king of the perquisite had to renounce many of his freebies.Maybe he needs a job? We hearThe View has an opening. 6 Michael Jackson’s publicist Jacko’s denunciation of Sony Music head Tommy Mottola earlier this year had even Mariah Carey confused. Lately,he’s dangled offspring off balconies,or draped them in veils. Even Al Sharpton won’t go near him. Can Jacko’s reputation even be saved? PHOTOS: RALLY MONKEY, PENNSYLVANIA MINERS, REUTERS 4 Ed Adler, SVP, corporate communications, AOL Time Warner Adler and his fellow Time Warner alumni survived the PR reshuffle that ousted Robinson,Lerer & Montgomery and brought back Kekst.That was the easy part.The AOL division is now trying to convince Wall Street that its recovery plan is sound,even while huge ad-revenue declines are forecast. Ed Adler:You Have Headache! 10 Philippe Krakowsky, SVP, 7 Rosemary Moore, SVP, corporate director of corporate communications, Interpublic Group affairs, United Airlines The White House refused United’s request for a $1.8 billion loan guarantee,pushing it into bankruptcy.With the industry’s highest operating costs, United can’t compete with lean,slick airlines like Jet Blue.Moore took to the Friendly Skies from ChevronTexaco. Here’s hoping the aircraft levels off. Restatements,profit dips,plunging revenues.The holding company of familiar PR brands like Golin/Harris and Weber Shandwick Worldwide has its own PR and IR woes to navigate. Those tired of bad news can’t help but root for him,and his industry brethren, as they brazen out the scrutiny. 2 Walt Riker, VP, corporate communications, McDonald’s McDonald’s is being sued for making people fat.Remember the case that PRWEEK 19 DECEMBER 16, 2002 BOOK OF LISTS 2002 ON THE BEAT Anita Chabria Los Angeles, Entertainment, Ethnic PR Last February,PRWeek predicted “cautious optimism”in 2002 for LA’s PR industry.As the year whimpers to a close,that forecast holds true – but with caution outweighing optimism. According to a recent study by the Southern California Association of Governments,job growth is expected to rise only 1.1% in 2003 and 1.6% in 2004.Those figures translate to an increase in unemployment next year,and a slow economic recovery.For the southland’s communications firms,layoffs continued mostly in the single digits.Companies began scooping up high-profile talent in specific practice areas, but remained hesitant to hire lower in the ranks. Staff cuts also hit in-house departments at clients,making them more dependent on their agencies.Many firms believe this could lead to their largest area of “organic”growth:building new business with old clients.But those internal cuts also made long-term relationships more difficult to manage,as company liaisons faced more responsibilities with smaller departments. “[Clients] do depend more on us to become an extension of their departments,”says Ketchum LA’s managing director Sean Fitzgerald.“But we have decreased access to these guys, and we’re yet another thing for them to have to deal with.” Agencies also met with decreasing budgets from clients. In Q3,the outlook was more upbeat as state and local agencies began issuing more RFPs.But recent budget announcements (California is facing a $21.1 billion deficit over the next 18 months) have put many of those contracts on the back burner. Private-sector spending has also decreased in Q4. But the entertainment industry always provides a year-end bright spot,as the studios begin gearing up both for holiday releases and the upcoming awards season. Smaller agencies that specialize in these fields have entered their busy season.This year was also the first that DVD launches became PR events,with studios spending lavishly on premierestyle parties to draw media. Another area of growth has been in multicultural and youth marketing.With census data indicating that increasing numbers of Americans consider themselves multi-ethnic,companies are expanding niche programs to reach this complicated but powerful demographic. “You will see growth in multicultural marketing as more Fortune 500 corporations begin to address those markets and bring on ethnic agencies of record,”predicts Dan Durazo of Durazo Communications. That often means greater interest in both entertainment marketing and street-marketing tactics – both growing concerns for LA PR firms.“We’re taking to the street a lot of work we’re doing even for state clients,”says Bonnie Goodman,head of Hill & Knowlton’s LA office. However,2003 is still expected to start off slow.Cautious optimism has morphed to anxious anticipation,as West Coast agencies wait to see if slowly improving economic indicators will translate to higher budgets. 10 Movies 2 8 Mile Eminem’s controversial image had this film’s backers worried about protests – enough that the studio hired crisis specialists Sitrick & Co. to plan an advance strategy.But the rapper’s big-screen debut met with reviewers’ raves instead of angry mobs,leading the media to dub him the voice of a generation. first-world county? Is there anything we can do about it? And who advised Charlton Heston to let Michael Moore into his house? Moore’s latest documentary certainly left enough questions to keep us talking long after the credits rolled. 8 Sum of All Fears One of the first terrorist-themed films to hit theaters post-September 11 featured Ben Affleck playing the Jack Ryan character made famous by Tom Clancy’s books.Debates over whether audiences were ready for the story kept the media busy for weeks.A respectable $118 million gross proved viewers could stomach terrorist fiction.Now we’re trying to digest J.Lo-Affleck overload. 6 Jackass The butt-baring, vomit-spewing antics of MTV’s hit television show apparently just weren’t enough to satisfy the viewing urges of males aged 14-25.But the film version gave them plenty to talk about – and to try at home,regardless of disclaimers. that got you talking 1 My Big Fat Greek Wedding It started off a skinny indie that could have come and gone,and became the top grossing romantic comedy of all time with a hefty $200 million-plus box-office take. Thanks in part to a publicity campaign by LA-based GS Entertainment Marketing Group,which included grassroots efforts such as screenings for Greek community leaders,the film is still playing in theaters. 3 Swept Away One thing Hollywood shares with the media is the love of rehashing an old story.So when this remake was panned,the press pounced on the chance to remind Madonna that blond ambition has its limits. 9 Pluto Nash The film itself didn’t get people talking.But the fact that it came and went at the speed of light left some wondering if Eddie Murphy had lost his star power.But don’t feel sorry for the eighties icon.His $20 million payday should last him until the next Dr.Dolittle sequel. 4 Barbershop What won’t Jesse Jackson protest? When the nation’s foremost black activist took umbrage at a Barbershop character’s comments regarding Rosa Parks,Martin Luther King Jr.,and the reverend himself, the resulting publicity was a ticketselling dream for distributor MGM. 7 Journeys with George Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s daughter took a hand-held camera and a snarky attitude on the road with George W.Bush as he raced for the Republican primary.Even diehard liberals were surprised by the charisma Alexandra Pelosi caught on tape,along with a subtle flirtation between the President-to-be and the documentarian. 10 A Beautiful Mind Spurred on by rumored negative Oscar campaigns that raised issues over the film’s accuracy,this movie landed John Nash Jr.(whose life it was based on) in the media hot seat. But when the Academy votes came in,they proved controversy can pay off – with four Oscars. salad”?) repainted the Queen of Clean as the Queen of Mean.And that’s not a good thing. 5 Bowling For Columbine Why does America rack up more gun deaths each year than any other 5 1 HBO 2 JetBlue Most airlines spent the year looking for federal handouts.Meanwhile, JetBlue became the standard bearer for low-fare airlines,offering quality and low prices in an era of reduced flights and increasing hassle. 3 The Osbournes Maybe they’re just a perversion of the Ozzie and Harriet archetype.We don’t care.Foul-mouthed mum and hapless dad stumbled through 2002 looking everything and nothing like the rest of us.Even the President hailed Ozzy’s family values.Now that’s !*@#@ funny. Brands that scored a hit 5 1 Enron 3 WorldCom If Enron taught us to open our eyes to corporate malfeasance,WorldCom convinced us to keep them open.Every time it seemed the little accounting errors couldn’t get worse, another billion or so was thrown on the pile.We eventually lost track of the numbers,but we’ll always remember the culprit. Brands that took a hit Granted,most of us had never heard of Enron prior to January,but that won’t stop this Texas utility group from going down in history as having ushered in the Era of Bad Feelings toward corporate America. 4 Arthur Andersen Unlike Enron,America knew and trusted Arthur Andersen.Accounting firms used to be considered staid, button-down operations.Thanks to these Enron Enablers,the entire industry is being reconsidered a shifty enterprise.That’s quite an accomplishment for one year. 4 Sony Ericsson We can’t help but love the way the T68i mobile phone/digital camera was launched – legions of “tourists” asking passersby to take their picture, and products intentionally left behind in bars and restaurants.The Wall Street Journal was outraged;we were tickled.Sublime guerrilla marketing. 2 Martha Stewart That’s the problem with being perfect – normal folks love it when you screw up. A questionable stock sale followed by some hostile reactions (does it get any better than, “I’d just like to concentrate on my from registered dietitians,hopes to trim America’s waistline.Coverage spans from three monthly radio talk shows and a biweekly TV broadcast to monthly releases,generating 15 to 20 articles in local media. The Sopranos,Six Feet Under,Curb Your Enthusiasm,The Sopranos,The Mind of the Married Man, Sex and the City,The Wire,and those damn Sopranos.Once known for re-running the same two-star ’80s flicks till we wanted to gag,HBO has now branded itself the undisputed leader in high-quality original programming.If it’s Sunday night,it’s HBO. 5 Cablevision Not that “the cable company”was ever a sympathetic entity,but depriving New Yorkers of Yankees games over some petty back-room political grudge was the last straw.It’s no easy task to out-evil George Steinbrenner,but Cablevision certainly managed to pull it off.Somewhere, Billy Martin is laughing. in the Houston,TX area by promoting the partnership of Soraya,a Columbian singer with breast cancer,with the Susan G.Komen Foundation and P&G.Interviews with Soraya have appeared on TV and in many papers and magazines. 5 Dell Computer “Steven”was really starting to wear out his welcome.But Dell replaced him with a gaggle of interns stumbling through their first days at work, and we fell in love again.Dude, you’re getting another chance. meeting generated more than 77 million impressions and reversed caustic media coverage for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation with favorable editorials in The New York Times and Newsday. 10 campaigns 6 A+ Parents = A+ Kids Warm and fuzzy The MWW Group developed a yearlong campaign to help make the 3 Emerging Venture Network 630-plus McDonald’s restaurants in SheaHedges Group in McLean,VA the New York Tri-State area synonylaunched the Emerging Venture mous with family involvement in Network,a nonprofit that helps education.With more than 570,000 connect minority entrepreneurs and participants,the campaign received 1 Donations for Handicapped the VC community.Through training 111.6 million media impressions Children sessions and networking events for from 498 articles in the local media. In a campaign developed by minority-led companies,more than Ketchum Argentina,the Buenos 500 business plans and 52 place7 www.CareCareers.net Aires Hilton and its guests donated ments in target media were secured. The post-September-11 loss of jobs all coins and bills left in rooms,plus a in the hospitality sector coincided matching amount from the hotel,to 4 Project Safety Net with a nationwide shortage of longa local foundation for handicapped To increase awareness of temporary term caregivers.Edelman and the children.In the last four months,the homelessness,HomeAid America American Health Care Association donations have purchased one linked job seekers to openings in and Magnet Communications gave wheelchair every two days,drawing long-term care with www.CareCahigh school students a taste of what significant media interest. it’s like to be homeless.More than 46 reers.net.More than 40,000 openings were posted at launch,and the site million impressions in the LA mar2 Listening to the City ket convinced HomeAid America to has received thousands of visits. In July,more than 4,500 New Yorkers go national with the campaign. attended Listening to the City to 8 Increase breast-cancer awarediscuss the rebuilding of downtown 5 Operation Trim down America ness among Hispanic women Manhattan.Organized by CoopWith the help of agency Scott Peyron Proctor & Gamble commissioned erKatz for the Civic Alliance to & Associates,Albertson’s Dietitian PowerPact to increase breast-cancer Rebuild Downtown New York,the program,which offers free advice awareness among Hispanic women 9 Firefighter Stephen Siller Towers to Tunnel Run TBC helped the family of a firefighter who died in the September 11 attacks publicize the first annual Firefighter Stephen Siller Towers to Tunnel Run to benefit the NYC Firefighters Burn Center and the Stephen Siller FDNY “Let Us Do Good”Children’s Foundation.More than 36 million impressions were generated across print and TV. PHOTOS: MARTHA STEWART, SORAYA; NEWSCOM 10 Domestic Violence Awareness Month In October,The MRA Group raised awareness of domestic violence issues across Verizon Wireless’ upstate New York territory.Various activities helped MRA collect more than 900 old wireless telephones for victims of domestic violence, generating more than 2 million impressions. DECEMBER 16, 2002 PRWEEK 20 BOOK OF LISTS 2002 5 dent’s garbled vocabulary.Even though Rudy Giuliani was the spokesperson for 9/11,Bush’s own style matured into dogged determinism and muscular leadership.The drubbing of the Democrats at the midterms underlined how badly the American public wanted a leader it could,yes,understand. PR makeovers a long time coming 4 Ozzy Osbourne Once a one-man, bat-munching, (barely) walking commercial for 1 Eminem “Just Say No,” The homophobic,misogynistic,matriOzzy has becidal misanthrope gets Oscar buzz come the naand oodles of obsequious press over tion’s favorite his movie debut.His semi-autobiopic dad,devoted 8 Mile was not only a box-office to his wife and smash,but also acted as a handy 110bratty kids.Not minute VNR showing the world that since The Brady Bunch have oldwomen were really mean to him.And fashioned family values been so hey,one of his best friends is gay. popular,and his frequent,muttered regrets over his druggy past keep the 2 The stock market bears Nancy Reagans happy. Vindication! After being continually criticized and ridiculed throughout 5 Charlie Sheen the late 1990s,a two-and-a-half-year Sheen was all but another Hollywood stock-market slide has turned the write-off,a 1980s burnout seen only bears from worrywart sticks-in-thein zit-cream-movie reruns and in the mud to patient soothsayers.The revolving doors of the rehab clinic. trickiest part was trying not to say But after ABC took a chance on him “I told you so”too obnoxiously. to replace Michael J.Fox in Spin City, and a cute Visa ad campaign with his 3 President Bush father Martin,a quietly successful The “Make the Pie Higher”poem comeback was beautifully executed, is still making the rounds across the complete with Golden Globe.(And internet,but there are now far better with his June wedding to Denise things to talk about than the PresiRichards,he got the girl,too.) 5 vanishing face,and,of course,the babydangling incident.You know you’re in trouble when Al Sharpton beats it. ON THE BEAT 3 Wall Street’s analysts Market watchers weren’t surprised that sell-side analyst research was at least in part influenced by investment banking.(It’s called “sell-side”for a reason).Yet the media firestorm resulting from the analysts’ internal e-mails has left the profession in need of soap and water. AndrewHi-Tech Gordon Bay Area, Lots of four-letter words could sum up hi-tech PR in 2002.But it was a two-letter acronym – HP – that was the year’s biggest story.Hewlett-Packard’s merger with Compaq led to the consolidation of numerous PR firms – more than 50 around the globe – down to just Hill & Knowlton, Burson-Marsteller,and Porter Novelli. HP’s PR consolidation capped a year of many account moves. PeopleSoft jumped from Phase Two Strategies to Porter Novelli, while ePiphany left Blanc & Otus for Applied Communications.Nortel’s corporate work is now in the hands of Magnet Communications,after cutting ties with Fleishman-Hillard. And Agilent consolidated most of its PR with Weber Shandwick Worldwide. With an eye on a hi-tech industry recovery in the second half of 2003,the same recovery predicted for the first quarter of 2002,agencies wait and wonder what the new year will bring.No one believes it will be as painful as 2002,with its shrinking budgets,faltering firms,and brutal competition.If there’s any proof that it’s still deadly out there, agencies need not look any further than Texas,where everything is bigger,except Cohn & Wolfe’s hopes for a thriving tech practice.The agency just closed Springbok/Cohn & Wolfe,an office C&W at one point hoped would lead its tech practice. And then there’s telecoms, which almost singlehandedly reminded everyone how important PR is to not just nurturing, but also salvaging a company’s image and reputation.WorldCom,Global Crossing,and Qwest faced communications challenges that continue to this day.And they met those challenges by bringing most PR inhouse.Qwest,in fact,broke its ties with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide after five years. Agencies are not only focused on trying to capture new clients, but on offering more to existing ones.Diversity was the mantra for 2002,from agencies’ capabilities to the hi-tech sectors they chase.The global firms tout various practices,from consumer to corporate governance,as the edge that will help their hi-tech practices survive.Midsize agencies such as the Hoffman Agency and the Horn Group tout new partnerships that extended their abilities into areas such as strategy development and branding. And too many firms to count have told tales of survival,thanks to client lists that are spread across numerous hi-tech sectors, and are no longer putting all their eggs into one basket. But more than anything, there’s a sense of exhaustion. Agencies seem tired of waiting – waiting for the recovery,waiting for budgets to increase,waiting for new clients.If the recovery comes in late 2003 as some predict,expect a flurry of activity as many clients take a hard look at their PR needs. But no one is placing bets just yet.If 2002 taught them anything, it’s not to get your hopes up. PR makeovers a long way off 1 The Catholic Church A classically mismanaged scandal.As the first shocking cases emerged,jaws dropped.But even as more cases surfaced,the church failed to pass a zerotolerance motion – in some instances denying the issue.That it hasn’t made as many headlines lately has more to do with Iraq’s headline domination than the church putting things right. 4 Jack Welch His inspirational and uncompromising management elevated Welch to guru status,and made his book,Straight from the Gut,an airline lounge favorite.But his hands-on approach to Harvard Business Review editor Suzy Wetlaufer and the subsequent humiliating divorce proceedings left him winded. 5 Major League Baseball Without even noting the on-again-offagain labor dispute,MLB made more errors than the Mets this year.The AllStar Game fiasco and the steroid scandal are just two of the most glaring. 2 Michael Jackson Another off-the-wall year for Jacko:A ridiculous outburst against Sony,subsequent court appearances,the ever- 10 5 9/11 as History Client: Families & Work Institute with Bank One Agency: Edelman This education program,funded by Bank One,offered parents and educators resources for discussing the terrorist attacks with children in the runup to the anniversary of 9/11. Patriotic plays that had flags waving 1 Duck Tape Flag Day Client: Henkel Consumer Adhesives Agency:Liggett-Stashower The concept for the 50’ x 90’ flag,made entirely from Duck Tape by a Henkelsponsored enthusiast – and unfurled in New York’s Union Square – predated 9/11.But its quirky patriotism and use of the brand’s cultish appeal really stuck in the aftermath of the attacks. 6 Maytag brings Bern, KS to DC Client: Maytag Appliances Agency: Carmichael Lynch Spong To thank the tiny town of Bern,KS for testing Maytag’s Neptune high-efficiency clothes washers as part of a Department of Energy water conservation study,Maytag shipped 250 Bern residents to Washington,DC,where they sang God Bless America on the steps of the US Capitol after meeting with Sen.Bob Dole and congressmen. 10 1 David Copithorne 2 Helen Ostrowski ranks,the move was symbolic of the “old economy”crew gaining new relevance as AOL faltered. 6 Howard Paster Global communication monolith WPP Group signaled its dedication to its PR by elevating Hill & Knowlton chairman and CEO Howard Paster to EVP of PR/public affairs.Many saw it as a reassuring commitment to PR and public affairs,considering PR’s battering during the down economic and the subsequent toll it’s taken on WPP. Staff shuffles that made the news A little more than half a year after being named Porter Novelli’s new global CEO,Copithorne resigned not to take another job,but to spend more time with his family.He helped guide the merger in 1999 between Porter Novelli and Copithorne & Bellows, the technology PR firm he founded. Ostrowski shattered the glass ceiling in May,becoming the first woman global CEO at a top-ten firm.By reaching the top at Porter Novelli,she changed the gender-equity question from “When?”to “Who’s next?” 7 Tim Marklein When Marklein left Applied Communications as SVP to become corporate media relations director at HewlettPackard,many asked how this would impact Applied’s chances during HP’s PR consolidation.But Marklein chose to focus only on the opportunity to work for the tech icon.“The new HP will set the industry agenda,”he said. 7 Drugs and Terrorism campaign Client: Office of National Drug Control Policy Agency: Fleishman-Hillard DC The ONDCP’s push equating illegal drug use with terrorism was called cynical and disingenuous by libertarians and legalization advocates.But it may have helped sink an array of ballot initiatives that threatened to undermine the government’s war on drugs. 2 SPAM Museum Jam Client: Hormel Agency: Fleishman-Hillard SPAM hammed it up on Flag Day with a gala opening of its SPAM Museum in Austin,MN.The event,featuring Tom Brokaw and Al Roker,honored the 1,750 Hormel workers who fought in WWII,and drew more than 30,000. 8 Jason Vines, Arthur Liebler, Bruce MacDonald Stratacomm brought the Big Three’s top communicators under one roof when it snapped up former Ford VP of communications Jason Vines and former DaimlerChrysler SVP,marketing Arthur “Bud”Liebler in January.They joined former GM VP of communications Bruce MacDonald.But reality kicked in when the recession forced Stratacomm to part ways with Liebler and MacDonald later in the year. 8 Ruby’s Diner Postwar Nostalgia Client: Ruby’s Diner Agency:The Blaze Company The West Coast chain of 1940s-style diners and its agency sought to capitalize on the post-9/11 cocooning mood and the ongoing tributes to “The Greatest Generation”with a suitably subdued campaign full of patriotic nostalgia for the diner’s glory days. PHOTOS: OZZY OSBOURNE, MICHAEL JACKSON, REUTERS/FRED PROUSER; HELEN OSTROWSKI, SUNRISE ALEXIS WINBURN 3 Marcia Silverman In an industry where people change jobs and firms like they’re changing socks,it’s nice to see persistence and loyalty pay off.After 21 years with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Silverman became CEO in August, after Bob Seltzer stepped down.And her rise to the top made Silverman the second woman to reach such heights. 3 Give Thanks, America Client: Compaq (Hewlett-Packard) Agency: Hill & Knowlton The campaign,launched in the early aftermath of 9/11,allows military families and others to e-mail digital video messages of support to US troops in Afghanistan.It won the PC maker congressional recognition. 9 Vietnam Memorial iPAD project Client: Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Agency: Michael Burns & Associates To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Vietnam Memorial,Fujitsu donated iPAD handhelds to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund for use as “digital directories”to help visitors find the names of loved ones. 9 Karen Hughes As President Bush’s original director of communications,Hughes knew a thing or two about crafting messages, and her influence only increased when she became Bush’s counselor.So the White House’s efforts to minimize the impact of her decision to leave in April only solidified how important her communications skills were. 4 Marilyn Castaldi Castaldi’s career came full circle when she became GM of Hill & Knowlton’s New York office.Her initial taste of agency life came at H&K’s Los Angeles office in the early ‘80s.She replaces Phil Sheldon,who took the MD job at Lippe Taylor. 4 Home Depot Declaration of Independence Road Tour Client: Home Depot Agency: Ketchum Atlanta The multiyear,multimillion dollar road trip,which kicked off in DC last year, aims to reconnect young Americans with civic fundamentals,and will see Norman Lear’s original copy of the document through Presidential libraries and cities coast to coast. PRWEEK 1 Lady Liberty Look-Alike Contest 0 Client: Hotels.com Agency:Weber Shandwick Worldwide To push traffic to its relaunched site, hotels.com sponsored a Lady Liberty look-alike contest presided over by luminaries like former mayor Ed Koch and The View’s Joy Behar,along with a series of events featuring her likeness. 10 Agency staff cuts The recession not only made new clients and healthy budgets harder to come by,it also forced PR agencies to cut staff,including global firms like Fleishman-Hillard,Porter Novelli, and MS&L,indicating that 2003 could be another tough year for PR. 5 Ed Adler Adler ascended to the top post at the beleaguered media giant as Ken Lerer relinquished day-to-day PR operations.As Adler and his team were primarily from the Time Warner 23 DECEMBER 16, 2002 BOOK OF LISTS 2002 10 Stunts 3 Push, Nevada trying to get a town to rename itself Got Milk? to celebrate the famous campaign’s 10-year anniversary.It got widespread coverage. 6 Parking Elvises We’re a sucker for a good Elvis – even if it is from the later jumpsuit days.So Dallas Ft.Worth International Airport earns accolades for hiring a dozen King impersonators to direct traffic and keep travelers from getting all shook up after the airport opened new parking lots and installed traffic signs. that caught the eye 1 Taco Bell Target at World Series It sank from the jostling by boating baseball fans crowding the San Francisco Bay,yet Taco Bell got more publicity from its soaked signage (planned by Douglas Cohn & Wolfe) than a litter of talking Chihuahuas could rouse – a PR home run. 5 1 In Touch 2 Grace 3 Heeb This humorous title aimed at a Jewish audience reached New Yorkers in September.According to the magazine,Heeb was launched as an antitrust investigation into the monopoly on God.Oy veh! ON THE BEAT John N. Frank Chicago/Midwest, Consumer, Manufacturing PR people in the Midwest generally take umbrage at the thought they’re not as trendy as their brethren on the coasts.But not this year. With the West Coast suffering through the aftermath of the tech wreck,and the East Coast dealing with setbacks in IR and tech,the Midwest seemed tranquil this year. Smaller and midsize shops beat the bushes looking for project work while keeping a tight rein on expenses.Major PR firms suffered more as their corporate accounts either cut back,stopped spending, or consolidated agencies.The year started and ended with staff cuts at large agencies across the region. By year’s end,the likes of Fleishman-Hillard,Edelman,and Burson-Marsteller were hiring seniorlevel people in Chicago to align talent with opportunities in healthcare,crisis work,and food.People who could bring in business were more prized than a good pair of gloves in a Chicago winter. The stodgy food business became the darling of Midwest PR in 2002.General Mills,which had been absorbing major mergers in recent years,began hiring PR support for product launches. Shops that specialize in food and consumer goods saw major growth over the year.Even the big firms, hurting elsewhere,saw some bright spots in food and consumer goods. Golin/Harris landed the Florida Department of Citrus and the Cotton Council,Fleishman won Gatorade,and Edelman grabbed the Dove brand as Unilever consolidated agencies. In Minneapolis,Carmichael Lynch Spong scored a clean sweep in the appliance area by becoming AOR for Amana Appliances, bought last year by rival Maytag, and then gaining the Maytag brand as well.Government work continued to buoy the Minnesota market as the state launched several programs.But agencies predict state budgets will slow down the government gravy train next year. Healthcare was a bright spot in the Midwest,but size did seem to matter as major healthcare organizations and drug companies sought megafirms that could represent them around the world. Golin picked up a mid-six-figure-per-year employee comms assignment from Aventis Pharmaceuticals.And Porter Novelli took the Roche Diagnostics diabetes care unit business,as Roche consolidates with Omnicom agencies. The fortunes of Detroit PR continued to be closely linked with the auto industry.Sales were stronger than expected,but that didn’t keep automakers from cutting expenses and looking for ways to get more for less from their PR dollars.In March,MS&L bought Hass Associates,nearly doubling its presence in Detroit and solidifying its role as a major firm for GM. The retail sector started the year with a bankrupt Kmart looking for ways to keep up employee morale while trying to do more grassroots PR to bolster its troubled empire. Sears took on several smaller agencies for projects like its new clothing brand,Covington,but continued to trim expenses overall. Agencies sound optimistic about next year,but corporations are expecting another tight spending year.Midwest conservatism dictates that companies won’t turn on the spending spigots until the clouds hanging over the economy and the country blow over. 4 New York Sun Publications that hit the racks Germany’s Bauer Publishing Group rushed a new tabloid-style magazine to the newsstands in October,and it is already on its way to success.Early estimates claim that In Touch is selling 460,000 copies of each issue. And at only $1.99,it’s cheaper than the competition. No one thought it could be done,but earlier this summer the Big Apple got a new daily newspaper,The New York Sun,backed by Conrad Black’s Hollinger Group.Despite the startup costs,The Sun,which has a heavy focus on local and conservative politics,is rising. 7 Fontainebleau II’s “Great Masters Project” The Fontainebleau is a new residential project in Miami Beach intent on cultivating an image as a “masterpiece”of residential living.To promote that perception,the developers commissioned a series of reproductions of great works of art (think Monet’s Water Lilies) on the wall surrounding the construction site,complete with night lighting.The media loved it,and featured some works from concept to creation. 2 Mark Cuban at Dairy Queen There’s nothing better than seeing the rich and powerful eat a bite of humble pie,but in Cuban’s case,a Blizzard will do.When the bad-boy owner of the Dallas Mavericks deigned to serve soft-serve for the day,he created a good photo-op, but also sweetened his image. LA-based ADD was hired to create a guerrilla campaign to promote the ABC series Push,Nevada.Determined to make the town seem real, ADD placed the Push,NV hockey team outside the Good Morning America window.GMA weatherman Tony Perkins even held up a jersey on air.Still,it couldn’t save the show from the getting the ax. Launched in May,Grace magazine, for full-figured women,attracted tons of press attention.Filled with pages of models of all body shapes, Grace is the anti-Cosmo,and carries 8 Ride of the Backhoes articles on topics from travel to pop Florida-based O’Connell & Goldculture,home design,and food.Now berg found a creative way to freshen a quarterly title,it is expected to go up a groundbreaking.Determined to bimonthly in January 2003. highlight that two groups of doctors were joining forces to build a new cancer center,the agency planned for two backhoes featuring the MDs’ logos to cross paths while scooping dirt – a much more powerful visual than the usual shovel. 5 Gene Simmons’ Tongue Launched in June by New York publisher Sterling/MacFadden,this men’s magazine got tongues wagging.Simmons,the cosmetic-loving member of rock group Kiss,has succeeded in his mission to create a magazine about sex,style,and rock ’n’ roll. in excess of 3 million.Rosie argues she didn’t have enough control over her image,while publisher G&J insists she tried to take a mass-market magazine down a narrow niche. The lawsuits continue to fly. 9 World’s Largest Shrimp Cocktail For the opening of the Seafood For Less fish market in Las Vegas,Preferred Public Relations and Marketing created the world’s largest shrimp cocktail for the Guinness Book of World Records – incorporating 400,000 shrimp. 5 1 Talk 3 Forbes ASAP First published in 1992,Forbes ASAP floated high inside the internet bubble.Come 2001,it was forced to smell the fumes and was merged into Forbes’ “Best of the Web”issue. Forbes ASAP took its last gasp in October. Publications that hit the mat The dream team of magazine publishing – Tina Brown and former Vogue publisher Ron Galotti – launched Talk with the intention of promoting a national conversation. Unfortunately,the title’s demise stirred up more talk than anything on its pages.Estimated losses on the Miramax-Hearst venture,which closed in January,are $55 million. 4 Acclaim Entertainment – Turok Naming Acclaim offered a $10,000 savings bond to any couple that gave birth to a child on the day of the release of video game Turok:Evolution,and named the child Turok for at least one year.One hundred forty couples registered,dozens of outlets covered the story,but no baby was born on the day – giving Acclaim lots of publicity for the price of a release. 10 Dunlop Tires Sumo Smack Down In one corner was 720-pound Emmanuel Yarbrough (the world’s heaviest living athlete).In the other was 520-pound James Perry (defending North American Amateur Sumo Champion).During a free lunchtime show in downtown Toronto,the two wrestlers drew a crowd of more than 2,500.But where was the Michelin Man? corporate PR face a long,sizable challenge in regaining public trust following the Enron fiasco. MARCH 11,2002 4 Yahoo! Internet Life Yahoo! Internet Life was a breakthrough consumer title that gave ordinary surfers a taste of what was possible online.That was until Ziff Davis refocused on its computer titles and killed it off in August. 5 Sports Illustrated for Women Who said women aren’t interested in sports? Time Inc.judged there wasn’t enough support for Sports Illustrated’s sister,but anyone reading The New York Times’ coverage of the allmale Augusta golf club in Georgia will know that women’s sports are front and center right now. 5 Got Milk? Sometimes the best stunts are created by the media.Despite not even having a press release,the California Milk Processor Board gained the spotlight after the fourth estate discovered that the organization was 2 Rosie December is the last edition of Rosie,which folded after a year and a half,having built a circulation 10 from PRWeek SEPTEMBER 23,2002 PRWEEK 5 “The PR industry has been on a suicidal mission to have itself measured by last week’s clip book.” Andy Lark,Sun Microsystems’ VP of global communications and marketing,points to one reason why PR firms have lagged behind ad agencies in gaining marketers’ respect. APRIL 15,2002 Best quotes 1 “If 60 Minutes will not do a story on me, it’s their problem, not mine. I’m changing the world; they’re just reporting on it.” Dov Charney,the brash,but bighearted CEO and senior partner of American Apparel,knows that his company deserves attention,even if a few media outlets don’t. 3 “If I can live with my dad for 24 years – an ex-Marine who grew up poor in the Bronx – a screaming flak isn’t exactly going to make me shake in my shoes, let alone stop me from writing a story.” Charles Gasparino,one of the most respected reporters at The Wall Street Journal,pulls no punches as he shares his opinion on PR professionals who try to intimidate him. AUGUST 19,2002 8 “I don’t give a damn about the money. I do not take action based on profit. I act based on what will make us better. And if you do that, the money will be there.” Larry Lokey,founder and president of Business Wire,summarizes the rationale that has enabled him to stay on top of the newswire industry for more than 40 years. SEPTEMBER 16,2002 6 “It started getting more complex last May. We had a new telecom client and the contract negotiation was worse than going to the proctologist. We were poked and prodded.” Jonathan Bloom,CEO of McGrath/ Power,explains that with tech clients scrutinizing every detail these days, the process of finalizing a contract has become more arduous. JUNE 3,2002 9 “If you know a top management layer that doesn’t want a crisis comms plan, and you’ve got stock in them, I’d cash out because that’s a bad situation.” Bob Godlewski,national media manager at UPS,is astonished by the idea that any executive board would neglect to invest in a crisis team. JANUARY 21,2002 PHOTOS: MARK CUBAN, LAYNE MURDOCH; ANN RICHARDS,REUTERS/CHIP EAST 2 “The investing public, along with the millions employed by large companies, now look at these pillars of industry as they might look at a carnival tent full of bearded ladies.” Tom Martin,SVP of ITT’s corporate relations,knows that all who work in 4 “Our CEO has said that people are over their fear of flying. Now we just have to get them over their fear of the airport.” Ginger Hardage,Southwest Airlines’ corporate communications and PR VP,points to the airline industry’s continued PR battle to regain the public’s trust. APRIL 22,2002 7 “If you are stuck in the days of thinking that cranking out three press releases a day will improve your stock price, wake up.” Deb Hagen,VP and general manager of Text 100’s Seattle office, explains that all PR pros have to work harder now that the dot-com heyday has passed. SEPTEMBER 30,2002 10 “You’re not going to send me to the White House.” Ann Richards,the colorful,widely respected former Texas governor, explains why her agency,PSI,has hired experts from the other side of the political divide. AUGUST 5,2002 25 DECEMBER 16, 2002