With the purchase of The Washington Post by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, right after fellow Billionaire John Henry bought The Boston Globe, the changes in media stand to be immense. And with the billionaire Koch Brothers reportedly in negotiations to buy The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, clearly the media landscape has entered a new era.
ven as CEO of an award-winning PR Agency, I was unaware that July 27th was “PR National Awareness Day.” How many of you knew that? I certainly didn’t – but learned of it after reading The Financial Times and an article headlined “PR, an industry with a PR problem”
Independent agencies worldwide are cheering when we hear the news about the impending merger of Publicis and Omnicom – the 2nd and 3rd largest advertising and marketing conglomerates in the world. Keep merging please – so we can focus on doing great work and serving our clients. More than ten years ago, before I founded 5WPR, I worked for an agency which was owned by The Interpublic Group and cannot forget the pressures to increase revenues and the non-stop eye on stock price.
The Navy and Marine Corps believe they can shame sexual offenders and reduce others from following in their footsteps. Both military divisions will begin publishing their own versions of a sex offenders list on their home pages as part of an effort to crack down on sexual assaults. Interestingly, they intend to publish both convictions and acquittals.
I am unsure of the data but I have no doubt that printed newspapers and magazines remain very influential in Europe. One cannot enter a coffee shop of a restaurant without seeing actual papers, much as one cannot enter a major city without seeing many newsstands. In terms of influence, and the man on the street, there’s no doubt that public relations companies concerned with Europe need to realize the buzz created by papers there.
Examining current headlines, 5WPR CEO Ronn Torossian points out how public relations plays a huge role for the events and for the people who shape our times. Jimmy Wales to Vladimir Putin, the news we hear resounds of PR might, or the lack thereof.
Lately there has been a lot of talk in the public relations business about Cannes, France. What with the Golden Lions, the film festival and various celebrity sightings. As one who has vacationed in Cannes regularly with family, I can say first hand that indeed Cannes is a city which has benefited from PR.
I had the pleasure of meeting actor James Gandolfini on a number of occasions and he will be sorely missed. For me, I will always remember being with him one day on the set of “The Sopranos.”
This the season of acquisitions it seems – Lewis PR bought the Davies Murphy Group, and Ketchum bought a leading German PR agency as Omnicom
There are so many sectors where people invest to build their brand – consumer goods, entertainment, technology. A sector where there’s a dearth of major brands considering that it is one of the largest sectors in the world? Real estate. Quick – how many brands can you name in the real estate world? Donald Trump – great. Who else?
