insights

Santa Claus must have the best PR agent of anyone. Look at it this way, the jolly gentleman has been gracing holiday seasons for over 1600 years. What other celebrity can boast that kind of staying power? Certainly none of  our modern television or movie stars have enjoyed that sort of fame. Did you know that our modern Santa Claus is probably based on a real, historic person? Most accounts identify St. Nicholas, a beloved third century bishop who lived in what is now Turkey, as the true basis for the Santa Claus legend. As the story goes, rather than... Read More >

A recent study shows that ideal beauty can be a matter of millimeters when it comes to facial symmetry and features. While the importance of facial symmetry has been known for some time, a team at the University of California, San Diego, claims that they've discovered the ideal alignment for female facial features. What the world considers attractive has in fact been boiled down to scientific measurements. Now what are you supposed to do with that data? Run to the mirror and see how well your face aligns? No one's face is perfectly symmetric. Unfortunate, I know. So what's a... Read More >

Our lifestyles are quite public in this day and age. We post photos from the most mundane activities on Facebook, sharing photos from our mobile phones without a second thought. We write blog posts, offering up a snapshot of our current mental position on every topic imaginable, from politics to marketing. With Facebook shifting from a private network by default to that of a public network, we all stand shocked at what is to come. An onslaught of public information. As if we didn't already have enough. Twitter really changed the game, giving us the liberty to share our thoughts... Read More >

I just read a rather shocking post by James Chartrand over on Copyblogger and it has really made me think about the role gender plays in promotion. I'd suggest you go read the post first, but if you don't have time, the long and short of it is that James Chartrand is not a man, but a woman. If you're a fan of Men with Pens, or even Copyblogger, where James is a frequent blogger, this probably comes as a pretty big shock to you, as it did to many others this morning. [caption id="attachment_69331" align="alignleft" width="283"] James Chartrand, the... Read More >

Just a year past our noted economic downfall, we've managed to shift our thinking when it comes to money. Many of us are on a budget these days, and consumer surveys indicate that the public intends on maintaining their budget throughout the holiday season. Yet the numbers tell a different tale, with consumer spending increasing instead of moving in the other direction. A road to monetary savings was paved with good intentions, but we as consumers somehow got lost along the way. And it's only December eighth. There's still plenty of the holiday shopping season left to weather. How will... Read More >

Does this year's hottest toy pose a danger to kids? It probably does, it probably doesn't, we'll never really know, because the CPSC didn't run new tests, basing their OK on old tests the manufacturer paid for instead. The CPSC observed that the toy didn't have any painted surface, and new compliance tests are not necessary according to CPSC's Gib Mullan, however the agency spokesman said that independent tests will follow. “CPSC confirmed today that the popular Zhu Zhu toy is not out of compliance with the antimony or other heavy metal limits of the new U.S. mandatory toy standard.... Read More >

We just received news of an important development for PR in general, and in particular corporate communications for the South American market. Alistair McLeish, founder and former CEO of MmD, announced the launch of Speyside CR - a new corporate, financial and government relations consultancy for Latin America. McLeish, along with MmD's former director and Speyside co-founder Ian Herbison,  will be opening the company's first offices in Sao Paulo this February. Everything PR spoke with the new company's CEO Ian Herbison earlier this morning about the implications of this interesting new engagement for a highly successful team. For those who... Read More >

Short foreword: I am running a short course on Entrepreneurial Journalism as part of a special mix and match MA in Media at Bournemouth University. It starts with a two-day retreat in January 2010 followed by seven weeks of negotiated distance learning. The Entrepreneurial Journalism unit is worth 20 Masters credits. Four decades have now passed since 1969, the year portrayed in Withnail and I. Back then Danny The Drugdealer, inventor of the infamous Camberwell Carrot, was counting down to the end of the Sixties and predicting, “there’s going to be a lot of refugees”. Bruce Robinson’s brilliant script doesn’t... Read More >

MainSail of Beaufort, a development of 48 houses just outside Beaufort, NC, has decided to hire Articulon to handle public relations for the development. Articulon will be handling publicity for MainSail and hopes to educate the public on why they should consider co-ownership in choosing a second home. They intend to focus mainly on the areas immediately surrounding the project, with about a three hour radius. “We are excited to work with Richard and his team on this project,” says Cindy Stranad, APR, Articulon principal. “It is always a pleasure to have the opportunity to share new, unique and exciting... Read More >

Sennheiser, a well known manufacturer of audio products, has just hired Hummingbird Media to work with them as their agency of record. The PR company will be working on U.S. based promotion of the company's products, increasing brand awareness and boosting sales. "While Sennheiser is considered a leading consumer electronics brand in Europe, there is tremendous upside potential to scale Sennheiser's brand awareness in the U.S. Our objective is simple: we want to make a much broader consumer population aware of both the value and quality that Sennheiser offers -- especially as it relates to its headphones, which are superior... Read More >