http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog Bottom Line PR Counsel Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:46:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I found this Ad Week report on how different agency creative directors would spin presidential campaigns an interesting reminder on different views of the same message. I'm not going to critique each ad, you should do that, but they are worth looking at to see interesting alternative ideas for ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/08/27/advertising-creative-directors-on-ideas-for-the-presidential-campaigns/ McCain's trying hard to prove he's not a continuation of the Bush celebrity, but his latest moves may prove otherwise.  First McCain hires members of Karl Rove's team (and even questions about Rove's influence cause problems - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,377208,00.html), then he puts out a classic attack ad.  McCain's latest ad (below) ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/07/30/celebrity-ad-on-obama-may-backfire-on-mccain-campain/ Yahoo and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) both recently reversed very bad business decisions that should have been run through a reputation risk management forecasting model (in the case of Yahoo, they may have done this - see the last paragraph).  In the case of the IOC, they made ridiculous ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/07/30/yahoo-and-the-ioc-are-two-different-examples-of-reputation-risk-management/ If the irony of Andrew Cohen of CBS (yes, the one that had a few misreporting fiascos) bashing PR (really, Andrew, all PR people all liars? Isn't presenting opinion as fact a form of overspinning?) drove you crazy, then enjoy this rebuttal by the hero of PR - Stanley Bing: ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/07/20/stanley-bing-gil-schwartz-takes-on-andrew-cohen-over-public-relations/ I've always been taught that the best teachers and speakers (in other words, communicators) are able to make complex ideas simple.  Doing this requires avoiding complex words and sticking to plain English words - the kind you use at polite non-business dinner conversation.  So when I saw the AP ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/06/22/british-local-government-association-cuts-out-business-jargon-buzzwords-for-plain-english-and-it-should-be-a-sign-for-the-public-relations-industry/ Every once in a while I pick up an 800 call in the evening to see what organization still thinks it's wise to call us at home.  Usually it's some non-profit organization fund raising or my bank with a new offer (thus causing me to look at switching banks). The ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/06/22/gap-calls-at-home-with-automated-voice-messages-to-sell-credit-cards/ If you haven't read the Wall Street Journal article on buy and bail real estate and Columbia Journalism Review critique of that article, I would add it to the recommended reading list.  (buy and bail is where people buy a new home at a lower price and then bail on ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/06/22/wall-street-article-spins-the-real-estate-buy-and-bail-story/ I'll always maintained that the strongest communications programs always remember that it's the bottom line that determines business success.  But I also maintain that if the bottom line is what defines the business, the chances of success drop precipitously as a business succeeds due to mission and purpose - the ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/05/27/to-save-sears-they-need-to-focus-on-their-market-position-and-ability-to-attract-customers/ The USC Annenberg School of Communications released it's 2007 GAP (General Accepted Practices) Study for Public Relations.    There is too much good information to go into detail here so I suggest you download the full GAP Survey here. There are a few key areas that stood out in terms ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/05/26/usc-annenberg-gap-study-on-public-relations/ Business Week had an excellent update on the state of blogging but missed a core business lesson - do what's right for your business, not what all your friends are doing.   The article provides a worth update on how blogging has evolved, is right now and where it might be ... http://www.fortexgroup.com/blog/2008/05/25/apple-losers-blog-the-blog-story-business-week-missed/