PR News from SKDKnickerbocker, Cohn & Wolfe, Black PR Society, Text100, and Ketchum
SKDKnickerbocker Getting the News out for Clinton on Former Miss Universe
It’s quite amazing how Hillary Clinton spoke about Trump’s alleged comments on the former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado, from years ago and major publications that usually require time to arrange photo shoots and interviews had them up and running by the following morning, mere hours later. Also interesting that virtually every story being run, and there were a LOT of them, came at it from exactly the same perspective. Coincidentally, the same talking points as proposed by the most Democrat-leaning PR firm, SKDKnickerbocker, that frequently represents the Clinton campaign and other PACs for the Democrats.
Equally surprising – NOT! – that none of those stories talked about Machado’s run-ins with the law, her known romantic relationship with Jose Gerardo Alvarez Vazquez (“El Indio”) a notorious drug lord according to the Mexican Attorney General’s office. Nor did they mention her thread to kill a Venezuelan judge during a trial. She reportedly said later when asked about the threat that “What matters is my self-esteem.” Go figure, the Democrats spin team seems to have a tight wrap on the media these days.
Cohn & Wolfe Signed by Karhoo as North American PR Representatives
Karhoo, a London-based firm with additional offices in Singapore, New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, was founded earlier this year and are growing strong. They just brought Cohn & Wolfe on board to help them launch their booking and ride-comparison app in the U.S. before the end of the year starting in the New York market. They have expansion plans with other popular travel locations including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami.
C&W is a WPP firm and they specialize in media relations services as well as providing strategic communications. Karhoo’s Global Communications Director, Adam Fresco, said: “Within a year, we will be in 100 cities globally and a lot of the major cities across America. So [Cohn & Wolfe] will be helping with messaging around all those.”
The Black Public Relations Society (Los Angeles) Hosted September 30th Conference
The #BrandBuilders Breakthrough to Excellence Conference held at the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles headquarters for entry and mid-level PR professionals as well as college students began September 30th. The conference hosted workshops, speakers, and panel discussions with top PR, media, marketing, and social media professionals from the entertainment industries, as well as corporate and community leaders.
BPRS-LA President, Shawn Smith, said: “We are so excited to host this conference for the Greater Los Angeles communications industry and feature executives that represent national and international brands. Our goal is to unite PR, marketing, and social media professionals to provide inspiration, share key learnings and foster relationships that turn into transformative career connections.”
Peter Cumello Becomes Global CFO for Text100
Peter Cumello has left Accenture to join the Next Fifteen unit of Text100, a communications giant as their new chief financial officer. At Accenture, he served as the North American Sr. VP of finance as well as Asia Pacific Region’s CFO in the tech joint venture that company had with Microsoft.
Cumello will be leading the worldwide finance teams for Text100 out of their New York headquarters. He’ll report to Aedhmar Hynes the global CEO for that company. Hynes said Cumello “brings a wealth of professional services expertise to Text100, which is critical as we continue to evolve our consulting proposition.”
Ketchum Uses Ketchum Influencer to Share Knowledge of their Influencer Experts
The fast-pace of the “news” cycle, and social media along with blogs, means everyone tries to use these tools for their own and their clients’ benefit, but many just don’t have the knowledge or skills to jump in and have immediate success. That’s what Ketchum Influencer is about for their people. Ketchum’s approach pushes for big-picture thinking and evolution, offering in-depth training and time with the experts.
Rob Flaherty, Ketchum’s CEO, says about Ketchum Influencer: “If you look beyond today’s gold rush mentality around influencers, there is still a trust deficit at the heart of this discipline. Brands want assurances they are working with the right people to give them ROI and, influencers desperately want to retain the credibility they trade on. Recognizing this, I want every Ketchum employee to benefit from the experience of our industry experts and know-how to get the best out of them.”
