Jul. '13 Travel & Tourism PR Magazine (PDF) -

J u l y 2 0 1 3 | w w w . o d w y e r p r . c o m

Julymagazine_Layout 1 6/28/13 3:30 PM

January: Crisis Comms. / Buyer’s GuideFebruary: Environmental & P.A.March: Food & Beverage

April: Broadcast & Social MediaMay: PR Firm Rankings

June: Global & Multicultural

July: Travel & TourismAugust: Financial/I.R.

September: Beauty & FashionOctober: Healthcare & Medical

November: High-TechDecember: Entertainment & Sports

Vol. 27, No. 7July 2013

EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2013

www.odwyerpr.comDaily, up-to-the-minute PR news

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O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. (212) 679-2471; fax: (212) 683-2750. Periodical postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to O’Dwyer’s, 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. O’Dwyer’s PR Report ISSN: 1931-8316. Published monthly.

ADVERTISERS

RANKINGS OF TRAVEL &TOURISM PR FIRMS35

PROFILES OF TRAVEL &TOURISM PR FIRMS24

COLUMNS

PR BUYER’S GUIDE

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTFraser Seitel

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTRichard Goldstein

OPINIONJack O’Dwyer

GUEST COLUMNStefan Pollack

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WASHINGTON REPORT40

J Public Relations.................................................5KEF Media............................................................3Live Star Entertainment........................................9Log-On................................................Inside CoverLou Hammond & Associates................................7Murphy O’Brien...................................................11

Omega Travel.....................................................19Quinn & Co.........................................................13Ruder Finn...........................................Back CoverShoot Publicity Wire............................................17Strauss Media Strategies......................................8TV Acess.............................................................39

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EDITORIALI Spy: a look at cognitive dissonance.6WASHINGTON POST UNVEILSSPONSORED SECTIONIn an effort to raise cash, TheWashington Post unveiled a new sponsoredsection that would feature special interestcommentary to run beside online editorials.

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PR BILLING RATES DIPPED IN2012A flat economy and stagnant indus-try growth caused average billing rates atPR firms to fall in 2012, according to arecent report.

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CRUISE INDUSTRY SINKSPR OPPORTUNITIESThe cruise industry has taken abeating over a series of recent PR night-mares. However, the industry may also bemissing out on several positive PR oppor-tunities.

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TAILORING MOBILE FORTARGET TRAVELERSThe biggest challenge for travelPR professionals now is how to capitalizeon an environment where spending is up,while content has diversified.

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HAVE THINGS STAYED THESAME FOR TRAVEL PR?Does the old saying “the morethings change, the more they stay thesame” still hold true for today’s travel PRpractitioners?

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BUILDING THE SOCIALMEDIA BRANDWith more than 80% of travel-related decisions beginningonline, PR practitioners now face the chal-lenge of driving results by accessing multi-ple media channels.

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18 TRAVEL INDUSTRY IS MADE TOSHARE STORIESStories are often the best way toshare authentic content that engagesaudiences and compels them to takeaction. RICH GET RICHER FOR EXECS OF AD/PR CONGLOMS Stockholders are complaining aboutthe pay levels for corporate executivesat WPP Group and Omnicom.

TRAVEL BOUNCES BACKAMID OPTIMISMThe economy continues toimprove, but travelers are still holdingonto their wallets. How can PR pros pushmessages that stress leisure, luxury andvalue at the same time?

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22 LAS VEGAS TRADE SHOW PUTSSPOTLIGHT ON TRAVEL PRHosted in Las Vegas, the 45th annualIPW trade show broke delegaterecords, bringing in 6,400 attendeesfrom 74 countries around the world.


JULY 2013 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM6

EDITORIAL

I spy: a lesson in modern hypocrisy

The public’s outrage surrounding President Obama’s expansion of National SecurityAgency surveillance programs — as well as new details into the Justice Department’srepeated subpoenaing of journalist phone and email records — has grown palpable.

Decoding the nation’s apoplexy, at least as it’s been ferreted out on the nightly news, hasbeen interesting, and not because of what our partisan pundits have had to say (that, for themost part, has been painfully predictable). More than anything, it’s been interesting to seewho’s outraged this time and who isn’t.

I was flipping through the channels the other night when I stumbled upon something that,at first glance, appeared to be nothing other than network news boilerplate. Sean Hannityand Juan Williams were yelling at each other again. This time, they were arguing about theaforementioned NSA issue. Much to my amazement however, I soon discovered throughthe course of the argument that both men had flipped 180-degrees from positions they’dheld on this issue just several years before. Hannity (once an ardent supporter of the PatriotAct) was now reproaching NSA surveillance under the Obama administration, whileWilliams (who spoke out repeatedly against NSA overreach during Bush’s Presidency) wasnow a proponent of the program.

A recent Fox News poll on ongoing attitudes regarding the NSA program aptly elucidatesthe hypocrisy that has besieged our nation’s talking heads. It’s also simply one of the mosttelling examples of confirmation bias I’ve ever seen.

Way back in 2006, at the height of President Bush’s storied spying program — when itwas discovered that American telecom companies had worked in collusion with the NSA toperform wiretaps of U.S. citizens without warrants — a Fox study reported that only 37%of Democrats found the NSA’s snooping “acceptable,” while a whopping 75% ofRepublicans approved of the initiative (conversely, 61% of Democrats referred to Bush’sspying program as “unacceptable,” while only 23% of Republicans said this).

Fast-forward to 2013. A new Fox study finds that surprisingly, 64% of Democrats nowfind the NSA surveillance initiative to be “acceptable,” while only 52% of Republicans nowbelieve this (conversely, only 34% of Democrats now consider the spying programs “unac-ceptable,” while 47% of Republicans now agree).

In case you still need help putting this together: a majority of Republicans who were oncein favor of surveillance when Bush was in office are now opposed to it, and a majority ofDemocrats who were once opposed to surveillance are in favor of it now that Obama is inoffice.

Call it a working primer for cognitive dissonance. It’s simply easier for us to retrofit ourexisting beliefs to accommodate new information than it is to change our beliefs; it’s a farmore furtive exercise in humility to evolve our putative opinions than it is to admit we werewrong. For many of us, the prospect of admitting that someone we supported did somethingwe disagree with is a pill too bitter to swallow. To accept the obvious would be tantamountto accepting that our fragile identities are built on faulty foundations. And we can’t havethat.

One thing’s for sure: most of us seem to have made up our minds on how we feel aboutprivacy. The media’s romanticism surrounding Edward J. Snowden’s fugitive run in thethird-world has turned him into a modern day Robin Hood for big data. It’s interesting thatwe should celebrate someone who serves not only as a warning regarding what’s being doneto us, but what we’re already doing to ourselves. As the debate over surveillance wages on,the divide between our public and private lives has grown increasingly fuzzy. By our ownchoice, we seem to take great pleasure in externalizing ourselves in gadgets, promulgatingour identities into the ether, and rendering our personalities into a series of multiple choic-es.

Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel Brave New World imagined a future where a publicsated with information and anesthetized by every pleasure would willingly sign over auton-omy, gladly enslaving themselves when presented with the false notion of freedom. GeorgeOrwell’s totalitarian vision of the future never came to fruition. However, Huxley’s wordscouldn’t be more prophetic. Information is our most valued commodity. We love it so muchwe’re willing to open every door, surrender every secret, just for the sake of being a coin inthat currency.

Sadly, I’m convinced there are untold scores of people today who would be less outragedto discover their conversations were being listened to than to accept the far more humblingnotion that they aren’t being heard. £

— Jon Gingerich

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFJack O’[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERKevin [email protected]

EDITORJon [email protected]

SENIOR EDITORGreg [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSJohn O’DwyerFraser SeitelRichard Goldstein

Sarah Nicole Smetana OstizEditorial Assistant & Research

ADVERTISING SALESJohn O’DwyerAdvertising Sales [email protected]

Sharlene SpinglerAssociate Publisher & National Sales [email protected]

O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016.(212) 679-2471Fax (212) 683-2750.

© Copyright 2013J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS & SERVICES:

www.odwyerpr.com 4 breaking news,commentary, useful databases and more.

Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter 4 An eight-page weekly with general PR news, mediaappointments and placement opportunities.

O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms 4 haslistings of more than 1,600 PR firms through-out the U.S. and abroad.

O’Dwyer’s PR Buyer’s Guide 4 Productsand services for the PR industry in 50 cate-gories.

jobs.odwyerpr.com 4 O’Dwyer’s online job center has help wanted ads and hostsresume postings.


The new sponsored content section,which made its debut in June, willappear only in the paper’s online

edition. The program will also be expand-ed to include Washington Post blogs. In aJune 12 announcement regarding theSponsored Views section, the paper saidthe purpose of the new feature is to allowtrade groups, lobbying firms and commu-nications professionals to post commen-tary related to or in response to contentfrom The Washington Post’s Opinion sec-tion.

“The product offers an opportunity foradvocacy, communications and govern-ment affairs professionals to place theirmessage in front of key constituents,” theWashington Post said.

Steve Hills, President and General

Manager of The Washington Post, said the“premium placement enables participantsto provide their perspectives with unparal-leled contextual relevance, while still keep-ing the lines between news and sponsoredmessages crystal clear.”

Sponsored Views will be labeled in yel-low, and will run up to 600 charactersalong with a logo and a link to direct read-ers for more information. There will be alimit of three Sponsored Views slots pereditorial.

Submissions will be reviewed beforeposting to ensure that content isn’tlibelous, defamatory, pornographic, vulgar,hateful or in violation of local/state/nation-al or international laws.

A user must subscribe to one or moreSponsored Views categories includingbusiness/economy/labor, trade/financial

services; healthcare/wellness; defense/mil-itary; gun rights; budget/taxes/ deficits;education; energy/environment; foreignpolicy; human/gay/women’s rights; tech-nology/telecom/intellectual property; trans-portation/infrastructure; and nutrition/food/agriculture.

The first Sponsored Views were fromNational Resources Defense Council onthe need for a carbon tax, CTIA-TheWireless Association on cybersecurity andThe Cato Institute and Center for AmericanProgress on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Brian Weiss, Manager of TheWashington Post’s New Ventures group,who served as a developer of SponsoredViews, declined to provide specific pricinginfo to O’Dwyer’s.

“At this time we’re only providing therate card to prospective advertisers, ratherthan media,” Weiss said via email. “Ourrates depend on the length an advertiserwants its Sponsored View posted and thelength of time since an opinion piece hasbeen published.”

Weiss did say the ads “will range from aslittle as $500 to several thousand.” £


MEDIA REPORT

A Georgia PR pro said the U.S. Attorney's Officein San Francisco has subpoenaed his records ofrepresenting Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco andFirearms whistleblower/agent Vince Cefalu.Patrick Crosby, former Spokesman for the U.S.

Attorney's Office in Atlanta, told O'Dwyer's he wasshocked to receive a subpoena this week in hisclient's civil suit against the ATF, demanding docu-ments and other information about communica-tions between him and his PR client.Crosby, a former journalist and news anchor,

worked public affairs for the Atlanta USAO for 15years before retiring. He opened GeorgiaNewsmakers to provide media relations counseland knew Cefalu from the agent's time stationed inAtlanta.Cefalu, a 25-year ATF veteran and ongoing crit-

ic of the agency, made headlines last year forspeaking out about the controversial "Fast andFurious" gun-running operation. He was firedbefore being reinstituted and has filed the civil suitagainst the ATF for retaliating against him. Thesubpoena of Crosby's records is related to thatcase."It's not like this is a murder trial or anything like

that. He's suing them," said Crosby. He also ques-tions the value and precedent of issuing a subpoe-na for PR records: "It's odd, invasive and a waste ofresources. I don't want to be put in a position to putmy client in jeopardy."

PR PRO SAYS US ATTORNEYSUBPOENAED RECORDS

Washington Post unveils new sponsored sectionThe Washington Post, in an effort to raise some much neededcash, unveiled in June its new “Sponsored Views” section, a paidonline opinion feature that would serve as an opportunity for PRfirms and other special interest groups to place commentarybeside the paper’s online editorials.

By Kevin McCauley

PR News Briefs


JULY 2013 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 9

Regionally, large mar-kets saw the largestdeclines in A/E billing

rates. In the New York/NewJersey market, rates fell from$152 to $149, while rates inWashington, D.C. saw a $7drop to $140. Rates in north-ern California plunged $17 to$159.

StevensGouldPincus in Mayreported that average mini-mum PR fees declined nearly3% last year to $9,609.

Billings rates for A/Es atlarge agencies ($25 million-plus) fell from $164/hour in2011 to $152 last year, while slightlysmaller firms ($10 million to $25 mil-lion) cut billing rates from $155 to $150,according to the survey. Overall, the A/E

average dipped from $151 to $150,given a large sample of A/Es at firms inthe $3 million to $10 million range,where the rate actually ticked up one

point to $148. Smaller firms (less than$3 million) reported A/E rates flat at$153.

For those in the upper echelons,billing rates at the president/CEO level

declined from $361/hourin 2011 to $356, whileEVPs fell from $315 to$304 and VPs slippedfrom $263 to $258.

StevensGouldPincusManaging Partner RickGould said productivity,or the utilization of bill-able time, is far belowoptimal levels as evi-denced by senior VPsreporting only 64% oftheir theoretical yearlycapacity of 1,700 hours.That figure is down from78% in 2011.

Smaller growth mar-kets showed noticeable gains, however.The southeast gained by $4 to an aver-age of $147, and the Midwest gained by$5 to an average of $151. £

PR billings rates dipped in 2012Average billing rates at PR firms fell in 2012, likely the resultof a flat economy and stagnant revenue growth across theindustry, according to a report by New York based mergersand acquisitions consulting firm StevensGouldPincus.

By Greg Hazley

Bangladesh, the site of a horrific garment fac-tory collapse in April, has retained Foley Hoag topromote the government's interest in workers'rights in that country.Foley Hoag also will stress the importance of

trade with Bangladesh to members of Congressand the Obama administration, as well as main-taining trade breaks for the impoverished nation.More than 1,000 workers died in the April col-

lapse of the Rana Plaza clothing complex in Savar.The complex was home to factories that manufac-tured clothing for many Western retailers, includ-ing WalMart, GAP, Bennetton, Target, and manyothers.A U.S. Labor Department statement released in

June concluded "Reports have shown that sub-standard buildings, poor emergency procedures,blocked fire exits, overcrowded workplaces, andinadequate inspection practices have resulted in ahigh death toll." It made a $2.5 million grant toimprove garment plant conditions in Bangladesh.The country's central banker, Atiur Rahman,

told the BBC in June that the vast number ofBangladesh's factories comply with safety regula-tions. He urged garment buyers and trade unionsto push for improved working conditions.Gare Smith, Founder of Foley Hoag Corporate

Social Responsibility practice, heads the lobbyingpush for Bangladesh.He coordinates activities with Akramul Qader,

Bangladesh's Ambassador to the U.S.

BANGLADESH TAPS FOLEYHOAG FOR WORKER RIGHTS

PR News Briefs

Average hourly rates for practically every staff level were within a few dollarsof the year before. Average utilization was also consistent for account staff.

Source: StevensGouldPincus.



FEATURE

Backlash from the FebruaryTriumph incident, where CarnivalCruise Lines’ signature ship lost

power in the Gulf of Mexico, resulted ina media furor that bordered on the obses-sive. Even mainstream comedians likeJohn Stewart picked up on the bit, pokingfun at CNN’s constant coverage of everylast detail.

The industry reputation has gotten sobad that when I told friends and relativesI had a cruise booked in May, theycringed and asked me if I regretted mychoice of vacations.

To be honest, I wasn’t worried.The risk of an accident or mishap isjust as likely — if not more so —on any alternative vacation I mighthave considered. The difference inthis case? Negative publicity.

Combating such unfavorableword of mouth can be like pushinga boulder uphill if you’re constant-ly doing damage control. It’simpossible to get ahead of the badnews. While this may be mitigatedby a solid crisis communicationplan, a healthy dose of positivehuman interest stories can go along way in countering a tarnishedimage. Sure, they might not alwaysbe as sensational as an accident, butit helps soften the brands’ imageand provide fresh stories for thenewsroom other than crisisupdates.

Unfortunately, the bad publicity seemsto be sinking in with consumers. A recentHarris Poll conducted in May found thatpublic perception of cruise line qualityhas declined 13% since March. The aver-age trust score among all seven cruisebrands was down 12% and intent to pur-chase was also down 11%.

This particular statistic should haveindustry insiders worried, given the loftyindustry forecast expecting 20% morecruisers in 2013, according to the FloridaCaribbean Cruise Association. To accom-modate the forecasted demands, theindustry introduced 11 new ships with12,125 beds. That could mean big bucksif intent to buy doesn’t turn around —

and fast! Thankfully, the year is only halfspent, and barring any major incidents,that traction can be regained with theright marketing strategy.

Don’t think there is any good news tocome out of the cruise industry? Thinkagain.

I just returned from my cruise in lateMay — yes, a Carnival cruise, and con-trary to the expectations of my friendsand family, I had a great time. No, wedidn’t lose power or run aground or anysort of mishap, but I did experience whatcould have been a newsworthy and posi-tive PR opportunity for the brand.

We were a party to a daring rescue atsea.

During our second day, the 110,000-tonCarnival Valor ground to a halt in themiddle of the ocean to pick up some fish-ermen from Dominica who had beenstranded for four days without food orwater after their tiny boat broke down.I’m no nautical genius, but I’m fairly cer-tain that had we not been cruising by atthe right place or the right time, thesemen may never have returned home.

After speaking with a few ship employ-ees, I came to learn that this wasn’t anuncommon occurrence — in fact the veryship we were on had picked up strandedfishermen earlier this year. Even if some-thing of this sort does happen on a quar-

terly basis, it takes no time for the shipvideographer to snap some video of therescue and send it to the corporate PRdepartment, which will then distribute itto national news outlets.

As much as people love disasters, theyalso love heroes and happy endings — whocares if maritime law mandates that youhave to stop for astranded vessel? It’sstill good fortune thatCarnival was able tolend assistance whenthey were needed andthey should shout it

from the rooftops. It’s unfortunate

that the day afterI returned frommy own cruise,news broke of a Royal Caribbeanship that had caught fire at sea,inciting another wave of negativepress lamenting the state of theindustry. Thanks to a swift evacua-tion and an injury-free escape how-ever, the negative press was mitigat-ed, and some good customer servicekept follow-up stories to a mini-mum.While the media won’t let us forget

that there is always a risk when tak-ing a cruise, events like what hap-pened to the Concordia or theTriumph are few and far between.While there are several blogs claim-

ing to report incidents of all sorts fromonboard crime and staff issues to illnessand accidents, these have been compiledlargely by hearsay and serve more to cap-italize on passenger uncertainty thanaccurately inform.

The fact of the matter is that cruising isa $30 billion a year industry. While themajor lines have faced several challeng-ing situations over the past year, there isstill opportunity to recover their carefreeluxury image. If only these giants couldcapitalize on positive news, like what Iwitnessed firsthand, the impact of unfore-seen incidents might not be so bad.Allison Schroeder is the Word of Mouth

Marketing Manager at SunriseAdvertising in Cincinnati. £

Cruise industry sinks positive PR opportunities People love a PR disaster. In today’s media saturated world, a company can find itself attractingunwanted attention in the blink of an eye. The cruise industry in particular has experienced thisextreme scrutiny following a rash of recent public relations nightmares. Amidst these roughseas however, the cruise industry may be missing out on several positive PR opportunities.

By Allison Schroeder

Allison Schroeder

The high-profile February disaster that took place onCarnival Cruise’s Triumph ship proved the cruise industryremains especially susceptible to crisis.



FEATURE

The key is to pay attention to behav-ioral trends that offer the opportunityto turn travelers into communicators

on behalf of destinations. Given the new travel enthusiasm, it’s no

surprise that vacationers want to show offtheir adventures — before, during and aftertheir trip. They are frequently turning tosocial sources to find information aboutwhere to stay, what to do and how to getthere. Because travelers use the Web notonly for research but also to share their pos-itive travel experiences, they function as avirtual media outlet disseminating news,information and opinion in real time.

Marketers that recognize travelers’obsession with social and mobile contentalready have answered the call with interac-tive Websites, content-rich social channelsand innovative promotional efforts. In fact,88% of smartphone users in the U.S. accesstravel-related information through theirmobile devices, spending an average of 93minutes per month on travel apps and web-sites, according to a 2012 study by Nielsenfor xAd. But even as marketers do a betterjob of engaging travelers through socialmedia while they are planning trips, itseems many continue to miss the sweet spotin visitation: hooking visitors once theyarrive and providing mobile friendly sitesand apps that focus on what to do once theyget there.

Consider this: according to a recentTripAdvisor survey, 28% of travelerschecked into an attraction using theirmobile device and 38% posted statusupdates to social networking sites to keepfriends updated on their travels. ProsperMobile Insights surveyed U.S. smartphoneand tablet owners and found that approxi-mately 98% took their mobile devices withthem on vacation; nearly four in fiverespondents in this group used them “all thetime.”

While travel-related apps are not as pro-lific as their mobile Web cousins, they scorehigher in terms of consumer loyalty anduser retention. So, how can marketers up adestination’s appeal? Below are five tips tohelp build that presence even further. Leverage your high pointsIf a traveler logged onto your mobile app

for 15 seconds, what would you want themto know? Provide a one-stop shop — a go-to app for a city or state that wraps the vis-itors guide in with deals, check-ins, attrac-tions, restaurants and more. Consumerattention online is fleeting, so when creat-ing a mobile app around a destination, com-municate the high points quickly.Marketers have the opportunity to showtravelers what they want them to see. Buildthe story you want to tell through yourmobile app. Is it the waterfront? Greatrestaurants? Kid friendly attractions?Having mobile-friendly brochures andtours built into the app guides visitors on aspecialized tour of your destination andgreatly enhances their experience. Showcase the experienceFor the most part, mobile apps for

Convention and Visitors’ Bureaus(CVBs) follow a similar format. Whilethe format is useful for visitors, it doesn’tmake the destination stand out. Instead,maximize visitor’s travel and feature theexperience through photos. Cut the textand add more colorful and vibrant photosof your destination to demand attention.Take it one step further and offer travel-ers the opportunity to share, post andcomment on the images as well as addtheir own pictures. Give travelers theability to forge a virtual connection withthe destination. Miami’s CVB app offersMiami images available for download aswallpaper through a Flickr photo streamwhile the Maryland Office of Tourism’sCivil War Trails app encourages users to“make a vintage photo” by taking oruploading a photo and then sharing viaFacebook, Twitter and email. Each appprovides an example of how to effective-ly engage your audience and simultane-ously build your photo gallery. Make sharing easyOnce travelers arrive, capitalize on

their trips and encourage them to “checkin” through your mobile app. The NewYork Public Library Time Traveller is anapp that alerts Foursquare users whenev-er they check into near historical sites inNew York City. The app offers usersimages from the 1870s to 1970s from thePhotographic Views of New York CityCollection. It inspires action and features

a historical story through images that oth-erwise would be hard to communicate.Give them a reason to returnBusiness travelers tend to be most inter-

ested in traveler loyalty programs —accessible through mobile apps — whileleisure travelers are more interested in dis-counts and promotions. Even still, nearly80% of travelers join travel loyalty pro-grams provided by airlines, hotel chainsand rental car companies. Such discountsand promotions havebeen hailed as the topreason why people“like” brands onFacebook. Given theoverwhelming interestin such programs, arewards program tiedto check-ins at localestablishments andattractions offer multi-ple benefits. Visitorshave a reason to return to your destinationto earn and redeem points. Locals areencouraged to spend their money close tohome. Hotels, restaurants and retailers gainan additional avenue for attracting andkeeping customers. Measure successThe number of hits and posts is impor-

tant, but even more important is the toneand frequency of messages from travelers.The beautiful thing about a mobile app forclient destinations and experiences is thatmarketers can track data in real time. Seewhat visitors are downloading the most orposting from the image gallery. If an eventearns a certain number of likes on themobile app, hold it again the next year.

The wide adoption of smartphones istransforming how consumers plan, bookand navigate through their vacations. Therelative ease of developing mobile websitesand apps is opening new avenues for desti-nations, travel services, attractions, proper-ties, restaurants and retailers to connectwith their customers and get them talkingabout their experience. Ultimately, the goalof engaging travelers is to guide themthrough their stay, but also to keep themcoming back. Meredith Pratt is Account Manager at

Stanton Communications, Inc.£

Tailoring mobile content to target travelersIt’s an exciting time for tourism marketers. Spending is up, travel employment growth is outpacingthe economy, and flights are full. Consumers are trading staycations for new destinations and focus-ing on quality over savings. Times are good and, seemingly, only getting better. The new challengefor destinations and their PR professionals is how to capitalize on this environment.

By Meredith Pratt

Meredith Pratt



REPORT

Have social media — Twitter,Pinterest, YouTube, Vine,Facebook, whatever’s next —

completely replaced traditional presskits, brochures and image libraries? Hasthe printed visitor’s guide given way toan app? Do you drop travel writers fromyour press list if they ask not to bepitched by email?

Earlier this year, I moderated a paneldiscussion at the Association of TravelMarketing Executives (ATME.org) inMiami that found itself discussing thesevery questions. Three top travel PRexperts — Angela Berardino, VicePresident of Turner PR; Karen WeinerEscalera, President of KWE Partners;and Jodie Diamond, President ofDiamond PR + Social Media — each hadtheir own take.

Social media maven Berardino stillsees the need for such staples as goodproduct images for her destination andhotel clients, noting that while user-gen-erated content is a big part of the mix,most media outlets still need high-quali-ty images and video. Pinterest — consid-ered responsible for 40% of socialmedia-driven purchases, according to athought-provoking infographic fromInkHouse (found here:http://bit.ly/13SXmiW) — and YouTubeare valuable delivery methods, making iteven easier for editors to find and accessyour content, as Turner has proven withportfolios for such clients as Four SeasonHotels.

Is the desk-side media appointmentdead, replaced by that 10-minute phonecall? Well, there are certainly fewer peo-ple at desks these days with staff some-times working from home, or around theworld — and fewer desks, as publica-tions downsize or disappear. But it’s stillessential for writers to experience a des-tination, adventure travel option, cruiseor hotel to write about it — and tweet,and blog, and post to Facebook, oftenmultiple times during their visit,Berardino noted.

However you deliver it, Escalera

emphasized that thought leadership andinnovation is what makes news: audits,survey results, market research can alllead. She walks the talk: some years ago,a passenger survey for a cruise clienthighlighting the finding that passengershave more frequent sex on a cruise madeheadlines in consumer and trade media.

One size does not fit all when it comesto media lists for a pitch or press release,Escalera said, and custom-tailoring a listto make the pitch effective can take a day— worth the time, since the number-twomedia complaint is “mass pitching tosocial media,” according to PRGenie.One thing that hasn’t changed: 60% ofjournalists still complain they’re beingpitched irrelevant material.

While nothing beats one-on-one rela-tionships with the media, Escalera notedmany of us are bolstering and broadeningthose contacts by connecting onFacebook and following on Twitter. I canvouch for that, and find that journalistsoften post about family activities, too,allowing you a glimpse of their “reallife” which can reinforce, or begin afriendship, built on shared interests.

Looking forward, Diamond said “Mixit up” and have fun while staying rele-vant. Fresh ideas and concepts are moreimportant than ever to cut through theclutter and get your message out.Collaborate with others, partners andeven competitors, to increase coveragefor each of you: three is still a trend. Bea resource: offer a story angle or focusidea — tweet, post, pitch.

“The ‘public’ is back in public rela-tions,” Diamond said. “Don’t broadcast— engage. Have a strategy, and a voice.”And don’t think — or let your clientsbelieve — that having set up a Facebookpage and a Twitter account is enough: asDiamond puts it, “Don’t saddle up ifyou’re not going to bother to ride.”

Engagement, not the number of “likes”on your Facebook page, is your metric.Are people responding to your posts?And is someone monitoring thoseresponses and answering questions, giv-ing more information, or simply

acknowledging them? I’ve seen many Facebook pages with

no dialogue: and even more appalling,with unanswered questions from days orweeks earlier. That’s simply rude — asthough you’ve ignored someone who hasspoken to you in your own living room— and there’s nothing more enraging formany of us than being ignored whenwe’ve been invited into a conversation.

Travelocity’s Joel Frey addressed whathappens when the conversation — in thiscase on Twitter — doesn’t go well, in afollow-on panel, which also includedJennifer Oberstein of Leading Hotels ofthe World and AprilDinwoodie ofJetBlue.

“We listen; there-fore we tweet,” Freysaid. In this instance,a Mommy bloggerwho had problemswith Travelocityposted that to herblog, and within 30minutes received anemail from Travelocity, hoping to fix theproblem. While they tried their best, shewasn’t satisfied and “wrote up a storm”on her blog, on Facebook and in tweets.After several exchanges, it was clearthere would be no happy ending, so witha final pleasant comment, Travelocityended the conversation. Should theyhave replied at all, or just ignored thetempest? That discussion could be anoth-er entire article.

Many of the tried-and-true techniquesof the profession are still just that — butnew technology and social media oppor-tunities have brought swifter, more per-sonalized contact with key media, andmore effective ways of reaching them.

Much like the journalists we workwith, we’ve added video and photogra-phy skills to our repertoire, often usingour smart phones. We’re still getting onplanes to meet with media, and headingto the airport to welcome them to ourdestination or property.

What will never change, we’re confi-dent, is the power of a good story,pitched to the right journalist, at a propi-tious time — whatever each new tech-nology brings. Peggy Bendel is President of Bendel

Communications International andauthor of the book “It's a Crisis! NowWhat?” £

Has anything stayed the same in travel PR?

By Peggy Bendel

Peggy Bendel

We all know the proverb: “the more things change, the morethey stay the same.” But does this maxim hold true for today’stravel PR practitioners? So much of what we learned at thebeginning of our careers has been upended by seismic mediashifts. Can industry professionals honestly say we’re still experi-encing anything that resembles business as usual?



PR experts with a travel/tourismpractice do this not merely bybeing social butterflies. Instead,

true integration cuts through the informa-tional clutter, building buzz in the head-lines and across an array of social chan-nels.Socially savvy saturation For client Noble House Hotels &

Resorts, Ltd — a collection of 18 luxuryhotels and resorts — food and beverageoutlets were a major revenue source. Toleverage its unique menus, mixologycocktails, and other differentiating fea-tures, The Zimmerman Agency dug deep-er than the traditional food critics andrestaurant reviews and targeted influen-tial “tweeps” in the food andtravel categories. We created aNoble House Happy HourTwitter Chat, that aimed to capi-talize on the “best hour of theweek” through themed, hour-long live chats every Wednesdayevening. The agency engagedwith Twitter users in real time,offering recipes as well as foodand beverage pairing suggestionsto connect with consumers andbuild on the Noble House reputa-tion of fantastic food and bever-age programs. In addition to themore than 10.3 million impres-sions and more than 8,221 usesof the Noble House hashtag, theprogram received first runner up in theTravel + Leisure’s “Social Media InTravel + Tourism” (“SMITTY”) Awardfor the Best Twitter Chat of 2013. Building brands through PRAnother approach is to go beyond

awareness and consistent messaging bydeveloping programs that establish anemotional bond with guests. To positionNoble House as an expert in strategic andcreative brand development for newinvestors, the agency was tapped tolaunch The Commons Hotel inMinneapolis. The buzzworthy “GeekChic” brand helped breathe life into areflag and renovation of an older unin-spired hotel product located in a nonde-

script location on a college campus.Bringing the brand to life in the designand all aspects of the hotel experience,the team played off the collegiate and his-toric industrial scene at the University ofMinnesota and in Minneapolis to developbrand extensions such as a Words withFriends Wine Hour, Smart-tini Sundaysin Beacon Public House, literary tie-inssuch as a 24-hour Book Butler and Meet& Tweet Book Signings. Not only did thecoverage saturate 100% of industrytrades, but the positioning established thenew Commons Hotel brand and corporateNoble House Hotels & Resorts as a trend-setter to potential investors, ignitingdesire to expand the brand and openCommons Hotels in other cities.

Betting on buzzPublic relations firms must stay on top

of trends to grab ink and turn prevalentnews stories into client headlines. We callthis “news hijacking.” For TheEdgewater Hotel in Seattle, our publicrelations team leveraged the media frenzysurrounding the wildly popular FiftyShades of Grey to hijack prolific newsstories to include The Edgewater by cre-ating a “50 Shades of Romance” programfor book fans to spark their own Christianand Anastasia like escape. Guest pro-gramming included an inspired personal-ized shades of romance story creationwith the book’s signature Bollinger Rosechampagne in-room, as well as exclusive

access to Audi joyrides throughoutSeattle in an R8 Spyder and a recreatedromantic sail in Puget Sound. Beyond the95 million impressions on NBC’s “TodayShow,” CBS News, CNN and USA Today.The campaign increased summer occu-pancy by 12%.Moving beyond the buzzCreating an exclusive positioning is vital

for existing resorts toremain competitive.Our agency is con-stantly faced withdeveloping newapproaches for its lux-ury clients.Consistently ranked asthe No. 1 resort in

Florida and aperennial CondeNast and Travel+ Leisure award winner, Little PalmIsland has been the escape of choicefor presidents, high profile celebri-ties and savvy travelers with its icon-ic history. To ensure its storied pastdidn’t outshine the present dayresort, the agency launched a MillionDollar Island Buy-Out campaign,reaching travelers eager to “own theisland” in outlets including WallStreet Journal, Forbes andDepartures. Additionally, to sparkrenewed interest in the re-launch ofresort Gateway Canyons, forDiscovery Channel Founder, John

Hendricks, guests of the western Coloradoresort can now enjoy privileged access to aluxury fleet of 18 vehicles as part of thejust-launched Driven Rentals program —including, but not limited to a Porsche 911Carrera Coupe, Mercedes-Benz SL550Roadster and Corvette ZR1 Coupe, toname a few.

Public relations goals don’t stop withcreating a difference. The exciting twist totravel and tourism public relations story-lines now is to use smart branding, socialmarketing and strategic partnerships tofind new ways to communicate messagesto put clients on top. Kerry Anne Watson is Public Relations

President of The Zimmerman Agency. £

Beyond the buzz: building the social travel brandIn the world of integrated marketing, the lines between advertising, social communications andpublic relations have become almost non-existent. With more than 80% of travel-related decisionsbeginning online, today’s public relations practitioners face the challenge of taking a destination,resort or hotel brand and driving results by accessing multiple media channels.

Kerry Anne Watson

By Kerry Anne Watson

The Zimmerman team launched Gateway Canyons, a privateColorado resort for the Founder of The Discovery Channel,John Hendricks. The launch allowed editors to experiencedriving the Red Rock Canyons in a Bentley Continental SuperSport and to ride in a Eurocopter AStar helicopter.


PKF Hospitality Research reportsthat next year’s U.S. hotel occu-pancy will be the highest since

1997. With supply set to rise just 1%next year, 2014 occupancy will increaseto a whopping 63.8%.

Still, consumers remain cautious.Many of today’s travelers want to knowup front what they are being charged forabsolutely everything. They do not wantto be nickel and dimed by hidden feesand many are finding that all-inclusivepackages are the way to go. Althoughsome people still shudder when theyhear the phrase “all-inclusive,” theseresorts have come a long way.

“Travelers have become increasinglyvalue focused, and they are willing togive up space for savings,” explainedNancy Friedman, President and ChiefCreative Officer of Nancy J. FriedmanPR. “However, they don’t have to sacri-fice style and amenities on a budget.”

Hoteliers around the world are capi-talizing on value conscious travelers.One way they’re doing this is by per-fecting the concept of space-savingJapanese capsule hotels. The trendbegan with hotels like The Jane in theWest Village neighborhood of NewYork and The Pod Hotel in MidtownEast. With newcomers like the Yotelnear Times Square and The Pod expan-sion with the new Pod 39, these micro-hotels are hotter than ever. Some tradi-tional hotels are even offering pod-likeaccommodations as a room category.THE OUT NYC in Hell’s Kitchen offersShared Luxury Accommodations, whichoffer shared rooms that begin at $99 perbed per night.

Hotels have also looked toward otherindustry best practices to grow business,particularly in needs periods, saidFriedman. Two years ago, Nancy J.Friedman PR created “Hotel WeekNYC,” based on the wildly popularRestaurant Week. The program offers adiscounted, tiered pricing structure toentice hotel stays in a historically slowtravel season. In just two years, the pro-gram has grown to 26 hotel partners

resulting in 823 room nights sold,reflecting a revenue of over $130,000.Mobile moves travelersValue-conscious travelers who are dig-

itally savvy are keeping today’s travel PRprofessionals on their toes.

Concurrent with a lingering valuetrend, New York City-based LouHammond & Associates, founded byindustry icon Lou Hammond, now releas-es a value blast every Wednesday thatincludes many of its global clients. “I’vebeen in business for 28 years and am soimpressed by the pickup that our valueblast gets,” Hammond said. “It has been agreat success and has taken on a life of itsown.”

Charles Armstrong, Founder and CEOof TourWrist, a mobile and web-based360-degree virtual tour hosting company,said at the World Travel & TourismCouncil Global Summit in Abu Dhabithat by the end of 2014, half of all trafficto travel websites will originate frommobiles, generating $26 billion in book-ings. He called mobile devices modernjournals, as users continue to want toshare their personal experiences withfriends and family.

“Everyone is on his or her smart phonewhen traveling and they are uploadinglive to social media channels likeInstagram, Pinterest, Vine, or Facebook.52% of Facebook users stated that seeingfriends’ vacation pictures inspires them tobook a vacation to the same destination,”explained Nina Zapala, CEO of WinterPark, FL-based Zapala PR, a boutique PRfirm that caters to luxury, travel, andlifestyle brands. “You can’t be static in aworld that is moving at light speed.”

Zapala keeps this in mind when creat-ing marketing campaigns for her clients.“I am looking for opportunities that areorganic to the property or destination.Then I wrap these opportunities intoenticing, engaging, and entertainingstrategic marketing campaign approachesusing websites, blogs, and a variety ofsocial media channels that can be sup-ported by the brand or destination. Vineto me is the travel video postcard thatevery lifestyle brand can use to be suc-

cessful,” said Zapala.Zapala said travelers are first sold on

the destination and then the resort orhotel. “Destination marketing is criticalin this day and age as the world is thestage for travelers. How do you differen-tiate, keep your destination new, exoticand out of the ordinary? Farm-to-table,micro-craft brews,new wineries, hautechocolatiers, andmore are gaining inpopularity as they areone-of-a-kind finds,”said Zapala.

Lydia Graham,President and CEO ofSan Francisco-basedGraham & Associates,agreed with Zapalaregarding the impor-tance of digital.

“Marketing cam-paigns are focusing onthe digital world nowmore than ever. Withthe increasing amountof digital-savvy trav-elers, many guests aredoing their researchon their tablets andsmartphones.”

A recent study con-ducted by Google pre-dicted that U.S. hotelsearches would rise24% in 2013 with a68% increase inmobile searches.Searches from tabletsare expected toincrease 180%.Another study on trav-el behavior by AdobeSystems found that60% of mobile visitscame from tablets. Infact, travel consumerswere more likely to use tablets than anyother consumer group searching forproducts. It was the only industry thatactually saw more use of tablets thansmartphones.

“Hotel websites need to entice and bereadable on these devices. Guest roomsare becoming more seamlessly high-techproviding an opportunity to communi-cate and engage with guests during their


REPORT

Travel bounces back, amid cautious optimismAfter years of struggle, the travel industry is back on track. Asthe economy continues to improve however, travel marketershave discovered that the value-conscious traveler is in for thelong haul. How do PR pros push leisure and luxury when theyknow consumers are still watching their wallets?

By Andrea Doyle

Nina Zapala, CEOof Zapala PR

Lydia Graham,President and

CEO of Graham &Associates

0Continued on next page

Lou Hammond,Founder of Lou

Hammond &Associates



visits in a variety of ways includingthrough social media,” said Graham.

Even airport terminals are gettinghigh-tech. Airport terminals were oncedreary places where travelers dreadedgetting stuck. Those days are over.Today, terminals are being transformedinto sophisticated atmospheres with first-rate retail and esteemed dining outlets. Global and green are in — “big” is out According to Laura Davidson, President

of Laura Davidson Public Relations,today’s travelers are increasingly global.

“They are looking forexperiences versussimple touristy thingsto do. They are goingto Asia, Africa, andEurope and those thatare well traveled areseeking off the beatenpath experiences,”said Davidson. “Thesuper high end marketis really booming evi-denced by a companylike Abercrombie &Kent selling out their2014 private jet trips,both Africa: Across aContinent and theirAround the Worldtrips. Demand was sohigh, they added a sec-ond departure for theAfrica: Across aContinent trip, whichis also expected to sellout.”

Environmental sus-tainability has alsogrown the past fewyears but is now seri-ously kicking in,reported Graham.“Hotels and theirguests are ready tocommit to downsizingtheir travel footprint.Greenwashing in com-munications is just notacceptable, and never

was, but it especiallywon’t fly now as the

bar becomes higher and higher as con-sumers become more educated,” Grahamadded.

What has become passé is fine dining,said Graham. “Stiff is now being replacedwith an elegantly casual ease. Guests wantless formality but still demand quality foodand service. While ambience is key, the PRfocus is shifting to the food and the chef’ssignature dishes and food philosophy nowmore than ever. Fusion of styles is on the

rise. Demographically, our hotel clients aretargeting regular local diners in addition tohotel guests, as visitors want to dine at localspots, not just the restaurant in the hotel.That means promotion must be local aswell as national. In California, we see a lotof farm-to-table, local, and sustainable foodsources being popular with guests fromlocal providers and even the chef’s person-al organic gardens and handcrafted charcu-terie,” said Graham.

The concept of “big” has apparently fall-en out of fashion everywhere. According toHammond, segmentation with the presscontinues to be the preferred media narra-tive du jour. Key editors only want informa-tion related to very specific interests, travel-ing with pets, spas, culinary-related events,festivals, traveling with children, and trav-eling with tweens.

“Big is out all around. Today, everythingis personal. That holds true for press trips,as journalists prefer individual trips withtailor made schedules. Press events havealso taken on a more intimate feel,” saidHammond. Luxury travel remains hotAlthough value is important to today’s

travelers, luxury travel remains hot.Consumers don’t mind spending extra forluxury but they want to feel as if they gotthe most bang for their buck.

“Consumers are more comfortable pay-ing upwards of $500 a night for a luxehotel room but they don’t want to be nick-el and dimed once they’re there,” saidSarah Evans, Partner, J Public Relations, abi-coastal PR firm specializing in high-end travel, hospitality, and lifestyle clien-tele. Value-add packages are resonatingmore than ever, adds Evans. “People willpay but they want to ensure that they’regetting a lot out of it. For example, 20-room Twin Farms in Vermont is widelycoveted because it’s super luxe but it’s all-inclusive at the same time. You pay a pre-mium to go but you don’t sign a check thewhole time you’re there, even tips areincluded.”

Most successful marketing campaignstoday are built off a partnership with like-minded brands, said Evans. She cites theBentley Suite at the St. Regis Hotel inNew York City as an example. “It’s bril-liant because it takes two brands market-ing to the same consumer and cross polli-nates. We recently developed a FlyBarreRetreat at our client, The Regent Palms.FlyBarre is huge in the northeast and thenortheast is a target market for TheRegent Palms. It’s taking two hot brandsand putting them together to create anexperience for clients. It’s a win-win allaround.” £

Sarah Evans,Partner at J

Public Relations

Nancy Friedman,President of

Nancy J.Friedman PR

Laura Davidson,President of

Laura DavidsonPublic Relations



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• Business Travel Consultants• Strategic Meetings Management• Government Travel Contractors• Over 200 Offices Worldwide• Competitive Online Booking• One-on-One Travel Consultation• Leisure Travel Experts

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Locations:North AmericaMiddle EastEuropeAsia

FEATURE

Travel experts have known aboutthe importance of storytelling aslong as the industry has existed.

From Scheherazade’s tales of mysticallands visited during 1001 ArabianNights to Mark Twain’s observations inInnocents Abroad, stories of visits toplaces beyond our imagination havemotivated travelers to explore theworld.

The difference now, however, is thesheer accessibility of destinations thatwere once thought to be beyond reach.Travel + Leisure Editor NancyNovogrod, when asked where she’dmost like to travel, said she wishes theworld would spawn a new, never-before-visited destination because theworld seems to hold fewer and fewersurprises.

She’s not alone, which is why captur-ing travelers’ attention has becomemore difficult — and at the same time,more necessary — than ever.

To compete, we have to return to thedevice that inspired The Odyssey — thestory of the journey. As we seek to cap-ture the attention of potential travelersthroughout their decision-makingprocess, from awareness to booking,there is one thread that can pull it alltogether: the unique story that yourtravel destination or product has tooffer.

Your story may include a list ofamenities or distinctive menu items orthe latest water feature on a cruise ship.But those alone cannot be the story. Thestory that will motivate a travel seekerto act is the tale they will be able to tellof the experience they have on yourwatch.

Facts matter, but stories penetrate. Infact, the London School of Businesscompleted a study on people’s retentionof information and found that whenpeople hear statistics, their retentionrate is from 5% to 10%. When a bit ofstorytelling is combined with the stats,the rate goes up to 30%. But story-

telling as a standalone method of com-munication can result in a retention rateof 65% to 70%! The reason of course issimple — people will listen and retaininformation if they are emotionallyengaged.

Think about the latest crop of mega-successful travel storytelling that’s farless about data and far more aboutexperience: Over 10 million people(and counting) have been captivated byElizabeth Gilbert’s story of love andrenewal set to the excitement of travelin Italy, India and Bali in Eat, Pray,Love, while Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling Wild brought the trails of thePacific Northwest to life in a way thatnot only illustrated beautiful scenery,but also the peaks and valleys of herinner journey.

Stories have legs. They can findfoothold because they can be toldthrough words, pictures, videos, graph-ics and more. Stories live to be passedon, fueled by fans and advocates whohave shared the place or the experience,or who simply want to live vicariouslythrough another’s adventure.

By crafting a strong story, yourchances of success at transmedia expo-sure increase because it will open upyour ability to illustrate it in a varietyof ways that appeal to traditional andsocial media, to owned and earnedmedia.

The rise of transmedia storytelling atthe same time that storytelling itself hasbecome more important than ever isfortuitous, since it lets you take advan-tage of multiple media in unique ways.If you give it a try, keep these tips inmind.Make your story about the people,

not the place. Anyone can find outinformation about a place with a quicksearch on the Internet. What peoplewant to know is how do people feelabout their experience at a place? Whogoes there and why? Readers are look-ing for ways they can relate to experi-ences, so tell your story through other

peoples’ words and emotions.Use humor and anecdotes.

Millennials in particular love humor.They are looking for the quirky story orfunny adventure that will allow them toimagine having fun in your destination.Travel is about escape from the ordi-nary, so tell stories that can take yourreaders out of the routine. Don’t forget romance. It doesn’t

just have to be for couples. Theromance of a traveldestination or experi-ence can be theenjoyment of prac-ticing yoga alone onthe beach, a sunsetdinner for two or anature adventure forthe whole family.Romance is definedas “a narrative deal-ing with heroic ormysterious events set in a remote timeor place.” Who’s not looking for someof that! Remember it’s a once-in-a-lifetime

experience. It’s what many travel mar-keters are talking about these days, so ifyou really believe you can provide it,tell stories of people who have experi-enced it. These are the heroes of yourstory, who can tell their travel tales intheir own words and with their photosto prove it. Offer great visuals, both yours and

theirs. For any travel story, photos andvideo are a must, but the staged photoand scripted video are things of thepast. Travelers today are looking forauthenticity, and that applies as much tothe visuals as to the story itself. Findchannels for your travelers to sharetheir photos and videos that tell theirunique story, with your destination asthe perfect setting.

As travel marketers, we are the envyof our fellow PR practitioners. We havelong known that the essence of travel isthe stories that can be told to ourfriends and family during the journeyand the memories that the stories createfor the rest of our lives. Our opportuni-ty is to tell them with color and authen-ticity and to spread them skillfully.Cathleen Johnson is Director of

Edelman’s Travel & Hospitality prac-tice.£

Travel industry is made to share stories

By Cathleen Johnson

Cathleen Johnson

One of the most overused buzzwords in marketing, advertisingand social media these days is “storytelling.” There’s a reasonfor this: stories are often the best way to share authenticcontent that engages audiences and compels them to takeaction. It just so happens the travel industry has been doingthis since its beginning.


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• Business Travel Consultants• Strategic Meetings Management• Government Travel Contractors• Over 200 Offices Worldwide• Competitive Online Booking• One-on-One Travel Consultation• Leisure Travel Experts

World Headquarters • 3102 Omega Office Park • Fairfax, VA 22031• 703-359-0200

212-563-3500 • OmegaNewYork.com

Leading the Travel Industryby Providing ProfessionalTravel Services Since 1972

Locations:North AmericaMiddle EastEuropeAsia



REPORT

WPP investors trimmed CEOMartin Sorrell’s pay by 20%and plan a 34% cut this year

relative to his 2011 pay.Sorrell’s pay was $28.2 million in 2012,

up 47% from the previous year.The company’s annual report said the

cut was made after “consultation withmany of our major shareholders.”

WPP, with 2012 revenues of $16.6 bil-lion, is slightly bigger than OMC, whichhas revenues of $14.3 billion.

Sorrell’s 2012 pay is chickenfeed com-pared to what the top two people at OMCgot: $47.3 million for CEO John Wrenand $44.3 million for CFO RandallWeisenburger for a total of $91.6 millionfor one year. Their pay packages havebeen hefty for many years. OMC stock-holders are beefing and filing petitions atthe annual meeting but so far to no effect.

Wren made No. 11 on the BoltInsurance list of the 15 highest paid CEOsin 2012, which put his pay at $42.6 mil-lion. Weisenburger was not on the list butshould have been. That would make OMCthe only company with two employees onBolt’s highest paid list.

Wren, 60, and Weisenburger, 54, whoare accountants by occupation, almostfunction as co-CEOs. Their pay packagesare similar and far above packages that goto other executives including PhilipAngelastro, 48, SVP-finance; DennisHewitt, 68, treasurer; and MichaelO’Brien, 51, SVP-general counsel.

Angelastro’s pay in 2012 (not countingstock sales) was $2,131,962; O’Brienreceived $1,733,696, and Hewitt,$1,170,635. Wren’s 2012 listed pay, notcounting a net gain of about $33 millionfrom sale of OMC stock, was$14,846,067. Weisenburger’s pay, notcounting about $33M from sale of stock,was $10,571,547.

Angelastro sold stock worth $186,000in 2012. In the previous year, he sold350,000 shares worth $16.7 million forwhich he paid $9.1 million.

O’Brien paid $1,228,500 for 52,500shares ($23.40) in October and sold themfor $2,573,804 on the same day, at about$49 a share, for a net gain of $1,345,000.

Hewitt sold stock worth about $85,000.

Only Wren and Weisenburger get “per-sonal use of aircraft hours.” This value forWren was $132,841 in 2012 and $136,319in 2011. For Weisenburger, it was$111,590 in 2012 and $74,582 in 2011.

As of March 15, Wren owned1,084,048 shares and Weisenburger,821,927. Wren had 1,050,000 options andWeisenburger 525,000 on Feb. 29, 2012.The only shareholders with larger OMCblocks were BlackRock, with 13,433,977shares (5.1%), acquired last year, andMassachusetts Financial Services,28,630,083 (10.9%).

BlackRock’s CEO Steve Schwartzmanis cited by The New York Times as some-one making megabucks — $204 millionin “distributions” in 2012 plus pay of $8.4million.Stock repurchases are controversialCompany stock buyback activities

often generate criticism because oneeffect is to boost the price of the stock andmake options more valuable.

Christopher Byron, writing in the Aug.14, 2006 New York Post, in a columnheadlined “Buyback Blarney,” said theOMC program was “staggeringly expen-sive and “seems to be skirting the edges ofoutright stock manipulation.” He said ithad added more than $3 billion in debt tothe balance sheet. The stock at that timewas $43, having fallen from a high of$53.50 in 1999. He also rapped Wren’srefusal to deal with the press. Press con-tact Patricia Sloan told him to send inwritten questions which he did but theywere never answered.

Byron noted that OMC spent $958 mil-lion on buybacks in the first half of 2006.

CreditSights, a stock analyst firm, saidin a report dated Oct. 21, 2012, that stockrepurchases in the first nine monthstotaled $1 billion. OMC’s 2012 reportsays it purchased 2,799,803 shares at$48.21 for a total of $1.3 billion in the lastthree months of 2012. Number of sharesoutstanding was reduced from277,312,701 on April 2, 2012 to262,949,729 on April 2, 2013, a decline of14,362,972. Fewer shares outstandingincrease per share net.

CreditSights noted that only $452 mil-lion of OMC’s cash/STI is in the U.S.,saying it would have to pay additional

taxes to bring the $1.5 billion held over-seas to the U.S.Geniuses or glorified bookkeepers?Are Sorrell, Wren and Weisenburger

geniuses worth every penny they are get-ting or just back-office types who gottheir mitts on the money flow?

WPP’s debt is $7.66 billion whileOMC’s is $4.46 billion.

WPP carries on its books $15.3 billionof “goodwill,” meaning the amount paidfor acquisitions over and above cash andequipment. WPP never writes any of itoff. It assumes it paid just the rightamount for its acquisitions.

The firm’s balance sheet thus shows ithas minus net tangible assets of $7.2 bil-lion. Its stock is around $90, which iswhere it was in 2000.

OMC carries goodwill of $8.7 billioncausing it to have net tangible assets ofminus $5.9 billion. It says there has beenno “impairment” of the value of what itbought and no need to write down good-will. Its stock has made a move in recentweeks, perhaps reflecting the fewer sharesout, and is now around $62. It was $53.50in 1999, 14 years ago.

PR firms owned by the two conglomer-ates, including Hill & Knowlton, Burson-Marsteller, FleishmanHillard, Ketchum,Porter Novelli and many others have“gone dark.” The conglomerates, includ-ing Interpublic, bought up 19 of the 25largest PR firms in the O’Dwyer rankingsand we basically never heard from themagain.Pliant directors are to blameExtensive literature exists on the CEO

pay issue. It includes numerous articles inThe New York Times such as“Shareholders Say ‘Enough Already’” byGretchen Morgenson April 7, 2013, andbooks like The Great Divergence byTimothy Noah, who notes that the top onepercent doubled their income to 20% ofthe total from 1979-2009. Since then theyhave had an 11% rise in income while the99-percenters had a slight income drop.

Pliant, cozy, overpaid boards that aretoo tight with CEOs are getting much ofthe blame. Board critic Nell Minow ofGMI Ratings says directors lose half oftheir I.Q.s and all of their guts whileJames Surowiecki of the New Yorker haswritten two columns on boards which hesays are hotbeds of conformity. They are“Board Stiffs” (May 8, 2004) and “BoardStiff” (June 1, 2009). Both are accessible

Rich get richer for ad/PR conglom executivesStockholders are griping about astronomical pay levels ofcorporate executives including those at the two biggestad/PR conglomerates — WPP Group and Omnicom.


By Jack O’Dwyer



on the magazine’s online database. Stockholder John Chevedden, noting

that GMI had given OMC a “D” since2005 on executive pay, governance prac-tices, and length of service by directors,proposed at the 2013 annual meeting thatsenior executives be required to retain a“significant” percentage of sharesobtained through equity pay programs. Itwas defeated, garnering only 19% of thevote.Board has financiers, corporate execsChevedden said six OMC directors are

age 71 to 83, including 60% of the auditcommittee. Nine directors each had 10 to26 years on the board including more than80% of the nominating committee.

“Director independence erodesafter 10 years,” said Chevedden.

Our question about the OMCboard is where are the creatives?The directors listed below are alleither financial or corporate execu-tives. Their pay in 2012 averaged$224,969, a 25% boost from the$1,972,444 they were paid in 2011.They are:

Alan Batkin, 67, (Director since2008), member of Compensationand Finance Committees, ViceChairman of Eton Park Capital Mgmt.

Mary Choksi, 60, (2011), AuditCommittee, Strategic Investment Group.

Robert Clark, 68, (2002), GovernanceCommittee, Audit Committee, HarvardLaw School.

Leonard Coleman, 63, (1993), Chairmanof Executive Committee and member ofCompensation and GovernanceCommittees; Senior Advisor, Major LeagueBaseball, 1999-2005.

Errol Cook, 72, (2003), audit and gover-nance committees, private investor former-ly with Warburg Pincus.

Susan Denison, 66, (1997), ViceChairman, Compensation committee,member, Governance committee, CookAssocs., recruiters, ex-Revlon, MadisonSquare Garden.

Michael Henning, 71, (2003), vice chair-man, audit committee, member, compensa-tion committee; Ernst & Young, 1961-2000.

John Murphy, 78, (1996), Chairman,Audit Committee, member of Finance andExecutive committees; former ViceChairman, National Geographic Society.

John Purcell, 80, (1986), Chairman,Governance committee, member Financeand Executive committees; ex-CEO,Grenadier Assocs.

Linda Johnson Rice, 54, (2000),Compensation and Governance commit-tees; Chairman, Johnson Publishing Co.

Gary Roubos, 75, (1986), Chairman,

Compensation committee, member,Finance and Executive committees, ex-Chairman, Dover Corp.Bolt includes Wren on top paid listBolt Insurance, Farmington, Conn., is

circulating a graphic of the 15 highest paidCEOs in the U.S. and ranked Wren as No.11 at $42.6 million in 2012 just ahead ofJamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, whotook home $41.9 million. JPMorgan hadrevenues of $112 billion in 2012.

The 2013 proxy said Wren owned1,084,048 shares and had no options exer-cisable within 60 days. The 2012 proxy saidhe had 1,050,000 options exercisable with-in 60 days. They were all exercised.

Calculating executive pay has attractedreform efforts by the government since somany elements are involved. The payschemes at OMC take up 26 pages in the2013 proxy statement and include, besidesthe Performance Restricted Stock Units,base salary, annual performance-basedcompensation awards, incentive bonusplan and the “Senior Executive RestrictiveCovenant and Retention Plan” (SERCR)that provides pay for 15 years followingvoluntary termination.

Stockholders, led by AmalgamatedBank, garnered 40% of the votes in a failedmove in 2010 to block the so-called “gold-en coffin” for Wren and other executives.

The SEC filing said Wren’s beneficiarieswould get $1.25 million yearly for 15 yearsupon his death plus an incentive bonus of$5 million and stock options valued at$17.4 million. The New York Post figuredthe total at $41 million.Income disparity a hot buttonBolt, in highlighting CEO pay, has

latched onto one of the hot button issues ofthe day — income disparity.

Hurting lower income people is thatunions now only enroll 7% of the privatesector labor force vs. nearly 40% 60 yearsago.

Nell Minow, a Founder of GMI Ratings,a merger of the Corporate Library that sheco-founded, Governance MetricsInternational, and Audit Integrity, has saidthat “Intelligent, capable, honorable peo-

ple” who become directors find “their I.Q.points drop by 50% and their courage dis-appears entirely (told a “CredibilitySeminar” in Washington, D.C., inDecember, 2002).

Bloomberg reported May 30 that direc-tors of the Standard & Poor’s 500 compa-nies were paid an average of $251,000 in2012, the sixth straight year of increases,noting that this is almost six times the$42,700 salary for full-time private sectorworkers.OMC’s current debt is $4.46 billion. Debt

of the four conglomerates including alsoWPP, Interpublic and Publicis is $15.46billion.

OMC, although out of thelimelight in recent years, hasan uproarious past.

A Wall Street Journal frontpager June 12, 2002 accusedOMC of buying its earningsvia acquisitions made withstock and borrowed money,and withholding details of thepurchases. Director RobertCallander had resigned afterposing questions aboutSeneca, an off-balance sheetentity created for OMC’s 16

Internet investments.The stock had crashed to $36.50 as of

June 27, 2002 from a high of $93 in mid-May.

Critics noted high pay to insiders, debt of$2.9 billion, and what Merrill Lynch called“a staggering” amount of options providedto insiders.

The stock recovered, split, and in recentweeks has topped its 1999 high of $53.50by reaching $63. It has taken more than tenyears to win back Wall Street’s favor. OMC/Ketchum create bad PR pressOMC was the target of The New York

Times’ page-plus Sunday, Feb. 14, 2005feature, titled “Spinning Frenzy: PR’s BadPress.” It was about broadcasterArmstrong Williams pushing the “NoChild Left Behind” program while under a$240,000 contract with Ketchum. No onefrom Ketchum or OMC would talk toreporter Tim O’Brien who fleshed out thestory with quotes from PR people such asDan and Richard Edelman and HowardRubenstein. A large part of the article wasa history of PR.

Ketchum and three other OMC PRfirms (not named in the article) won about$223 million of the $250 million the gov-ernment spent on PR contracts from 2001-2004.

Reporters for O’Dwyer’s, which hasstock in OMC, had gone to its annual meet-ing at 437 Madison Ave. until 2003 when itwas shifted out of town, never to return. £



Acclaimed performers appeared atthe 2013 event, including celebritiesCeline Dion and Donny and Marie,

who were at a closing Caesar’s Palace con-cert. Roseanne Cash also sang “Land ofDreams” to great applause at an IPW lunch-eon, and Cyndi Lauper emceed for NewYork & Company’s Broadway Collectionevent, which also brought in singers frompopular productionssuch as “KinkyBoots,” “Chicago,”“Wicked,” and“Once.”

“This is one for therecord books,” saidRoger Dow, Presidentand CEO of U.S.Travel, who referred tothe 2013 IPW event asa resounding success.

Dow said traveltrade shows such asIPW are invaluablebecause they bringprofessionals from all over the world togeth-er to talk about the industry. “Travel is aspecial industry, and journalists tell thestory of that industry, ” Dow said. Morethan 500 of the delegates at the event

were international and domestic media,who arrived to gather story leads andUnited States travel material. One ofthem, Christina Wynne, Editor of onlinepublication Global Trekkers in Tampa,said that for the travel journalist, “IPW isthe jewel of all travel trade shows.”

“The value of having all major travelsuppliers in America under one roof isimmeasurable,” Wynne said.

Press tours aplentyThe sweltering heat — temperatures

reached 114-degrees during our stay —didn’t keep delegates from enjoying someof the unusual tours offered in and around

town. There was the AwesomeAdventures tour of Nevada’s Valley ofFire state park. Others chose a moretranquil houseboat ride on Lake Meadat Callville Bay Resort Marina, orenjoyed vintage Las Vegas sights at theNeon Museum, the Mob Museum, anassortment of wedding chapels andother popular local haunts.

Dig This, a recreational heavy equip-ment playground, offered free tours tojournalists to use the machinery and(hopefully) write about their experi-ence. Owner Ed Mumm said publicityis crucial and that “hiring a PR personwho could get us out there and put uson the map” was “the best decision” heever made.

Janelle Jacks, International PRSpecialist for the Las VegasConvention and Visitors Authority, saidreaching out to journalists has been apriority for the event this year.

“We reached out to our PR and tourismcontacts in the Las Vegas resort commu-nity and worked together with them todevelop unique and one-of-a-kind,themed tours for our visiting delegatesto IPW,” said Jacks.

Sunday is always one of the biggerdays for media delegates, with this yearfeaturing an outdoor press brunch at TheSmith Center for the Performing Arts.

Dozens of high-tierrestaurants showed offtheir eclectic tastes, andthe event proved to be anetworking bonanza forinternational journalistsset on bolstering theirtravel contacts.

“This is really a hot spothere in Las Vegas. I’mhappy we have more inter-national journalists thanever,” said RossiRalenkotter, President andCEO of LVCVA.

A show following thepress brunch offered entertainment fordelegates with performances from LasVegas shows such as “Jersey Boys,”“Rock of Ages,” “Terry Fator,”“Jubilee,” and “Million Dollar Quartet.”The city also sprung for tickets to see ahost of shows, including Cirque duSoleil’s “The Beatles Love” and a sneakpeek at the newest Cirque du Soleil pro-duction, “Michael Jackson’s One.”

Brand USA is now in the stages ofbeginning an inaugural partnership withCirque du Soleil to use entertainment asa vehicle for travel promotion purposesabroad.

“It’s all a celebration of America thisweek,” said Christopher L. Thompson,President and CEO of Brand America,whose mission is to increase internation-al visitations to the United States and togrow its share of the global travel mar-ket.

Throughout IPW, publicists werepitching stories to writers and editors.William P. DeSousa-Mauk, President ofDeMa PR in Hyannis, MA, worked pro-

REPORT

Las Vegas trade show puts spotlight on travel PRThe premiere trade event for the travel industry, the U.S. Travel Association’s 45th annual IPWtrade show — formerly known as the International Pow Wow — pulled out all stops this year.Hosted in entertainment mecca Las Vegas, the 2013 IPW event broke delegate records, bringingin 6,400 attendees from 74 countries around the world.

By Carla Marie Rupp and Jason Rupp


Photos courtesy of the Las Vegas News Bureau


motion for the Cape Cod Chamber ofCommerce. He said PR is “the mosteffective way to get an unbiased, posi-tive endorsement” of any destination, farexceeding any other platform of promo-tion, such as advertising or Web basedefforts.

“It’s our bible. When it comes to thetravel media, we put our money on PR,”DeSousa-Mauk said.

Travel writers need experiences atAmerican destinations to write stories.Yet Cindy Dupree, Director of PublicRelations for the Tennessee Departmentof Tourist Development, said her organ-ization tries to bring some of the quali-ties of the people in her state to writersshe meets.

“Most of all, what we bring to IPW isSouthern hospitality. When we are in ourappointments, we are showcasing ourstate with our own personal Southerncharm. I bring travel writers down to mystate all the time, and they are over-whelmed by all the great warmth.”Travel journalists honoredTravel writer award winners were

announced at a reception sponsored byCityPASS.

“It was nice to be on the other end ofthe spectrum for a change at this reverseexperience,” said travel writers DianeSukiennik and Michael Reiss, of Foodand Wine Access, of Woodland Hills. JimFerri, Editor of neverstoptraveling.com,said he always enjoys seeing writers getawards, adding his impression of theIPW this year: “I see the whole travelindustry in America coming back, espe-cially during the last five months.”

The winner of the best story this year wasElzbieta Pawełek, a writer for VIVA!, anational bi-weeklyconsumer magazinein Warsaw, Poland.Pawełek’s article,“Jak zdobyćHollywood?” (“Howto get Hollywood?”),was on the history ofthe famed LosAngeles neighbor-hood.

“I’m surprised Iwon because I’mnew to Pow Wow.It’s a new experiencefor me,” Pawełek told O’Dwyer’s. “This isonly my second time here. I have met somany friends, and we speak so many lan-guages in the press room. It’s a wonderfultime for me.”

Two journalists won for the best storyon a destination in the U.S. They wereChris Coplans, who wrote a story about

Grand Central Station for TheIndependent in London, titled “ACentury of Great RailwayRomance”; and Lieven Mathys (whowrites for the travel section ofBelgian Newspaper De Zondag) whowrote a story about Johnny Cashtitled “Everyone Loves Johnny.”

Mathys, attending his second PowWow, said: “It feels great to win awriter award. I just had a simple ideaand took pictures on Instagram. Iwent looking for the legacy ofJohnny Cash during a trip toNashville, Tennessee. I used all mylittle pictures of Johnny that I foundaround the city to tell my story.”

Janice Strong, an editor and writerfrom the British Columbia city ofCoquitlam, won the writer award forher article “The Real Hawaii,” pub-lished in Canadian Traveller.

According to Strong: “It’s reallyso exciting to be a winner. It was thecultural side of Hawaii that I wroteabout.” She said she stayed at sever-al hotels and looked for tours thatreflected traditional Hawaii.New features, new events for IPWThe Tuesday press conferences

were required attendance for traveljournalists. This year the day of confer-ences included SeaWorld Parks &Entertainment, with penguins even visit-ing the room; Los Angeles Tourism andConvention Board; the U.S. TravelAssociation; Choose Chicago (a futurehost city); Visit Orlando, and UniversalOrlando Resort/Universal StudiosHollywood, which surprised journalistswith characters of the “minions” posingwith writers.

Some new features at this IPWincluded the first-ever Taste of Americanetworking luncheon, which providecuisine from around America allowingfor more networking between all thetables of regional food, including wines,and photo opportunities with Texasscenery.

“I really enjoyed it and had a chanceto talk about my American territory ofGuam and our must-see stops to jour-nalists and travel buyers,” said PublicistPilar Laguan, of the Guam VisitorsBureau.

Another improvement this year wasthe IPW Online Marketplace that willbe accessible year-round at ipw.com.

Additionally, several states workedtogether to organize one of the post-

IPW tours for delegates.The Cowboy Countrytour flew participants toReno, gave them a tourof the automobile muse-um and then deliveredvia Amtrak to Elko,where they began anadventure that took themto the border towns ofWendover and WestWendover before finish-ing in Salt Lake City.

“We had an unusualgroup, being from 10

different countries. We sang a lot, got toknow each other, took a lot of groupphotos. I think pictures and songs reallydo bring a group together,” saidNevada’s Larry J. Friedman, who ledthis IPW tour.

The next IPW is set to be held inChicago from April 5-9, 2014. £



JULY 2013 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 4 ADVERTISING SECTION24

ALPAYTAC MARKETING

COMMUNICATIONS/ PUBLIC RELATIONS

445 North Wells Street, Suite 401Chicago, IL 60654312/245-9805www.alpaytac.com

Huma Gruaz, President/CEOMichelle Mekky, Senior VicePresident/Director of the ChicagoOffice

Alpaytac Marketing Comms /Public Relations is a multi-faceted,award-winning marketing commu-nications and public relations firmwith an outstanding track record inthe travel and tourism industries.

Founded in 2004 under the lead-ership of the multilingual HumaGruaz, a praised PR, marketing andbranding expert who won the 2012Lifetime Achievement Award fromPR Daily, Alpaytac’s travel indus-try practice has included major air-lines and international hotel chains.The agency has strategically helpedbuild and maintain strong brandpresence and generated unparal-leled nationwide media coverage inmajor publications and on nationaltelevision shows for its travelindustry clients.

The press trips Alpaytac organ-izes are considered to be “the goldstandard” among U.S. travelmedia. Alpaytac has built a reputa-

tion as an agency that brings topmedia to experience the global air-lines and hotels it represents in themost memorable way. Whether itis an exclusive press trip to Pariswith top-tier travel and gourmetmedia, or an authentic trip to thetouristic hot spots of Turkey,Alpaytac’s efforts result in astronger bond between clients andinfluential travel, gourmet, wed-ding and lifestyle media members,leading to multiple stories and dra-matically elevating clients’ brandawareness.

Airlines and hotels Alpaytac hasworked with include TurkishAirlines, British Airways’OpenSkies, Avantair, JetEdge, TheFour Seasons in Istanbul andKempinski Hotel in Bodrum,Turkey. During those press trips,Alpaytac has provided media withunforgettable experiences at someof the world’s leading hotels suchas Hotel Le Bristol, Le MeuriceRitz Paris, Plaza Athenee, Hotel deCrillon and Park Hyatt in Paris.

Alpaytac’s comprehensive serv-ices include public relations, inte-grated strategic marketing, cutting-edge social media initiatives, eventmarketing, trade show support andcrisis communications.

Alpaytac is headquartered inChicago with offices in New York,Los Angeles and Tampa. It is alsothe leading U.S. agency for ECCO,one of the world’s largest networksof independent PR agencies, pro-viding the opportunity to representAlpaytac clients in 40 countries.

BENDEL COMMUNICATIONS

INTERNATIONAL

New York • Arizona • California •North Carolina • Oregon •Washington, D.C. • Sydney,Australia917/969-9919www.BendelCommunications.com

Peggy Bendel, PresidentSue Lomenzo, StrategicCommunications/Social MarketingBill Baker, Destination BrandingHank Todd, Destination Strategy

Travel is our passion, and amongour team, we’ve covered the globe— well, not Antarctica (yet)!

Headed by HSMAI LifetimeAchievement public relationsaward-winner Peggy Bendel, we’rea consortium of senior travel indus-try professionals with more than acentury’s real world experience,representing almost every facet ofthe travel industry, including coun-tries, regions, cities, NGOs, hotels,trade shows and tour operators.

We’ve created award-winningsolutions to marketing challenges,led teams of top marketers, handledcrises of startling proportions,escorted press trips, planned specialevents and promotions, solvedthorny problems, spoken at confer-ences and trade shows around theworld, written articles and books— and had an exciting and fulfill-ing time doing so.

We also enjoy working in part-nership with other firms to tacklespecial assignments that might dis-rupt ongoing client services, fromcrisis communications to specialevents.

Public speaking is a forte, aswell: among us, we have served askeynote speakers, workshop lead-ers and panelists on the topics ofpublic relations, marketing, socialmedia, destination branding, strate-gic communications, media train-ing and organizational structure atconferences around the world, mostrecently in Canada, Norway,Madeira, Uganda and the US.

Current tourism clients includeArizona Office of Tourism, PeterSommer Travels, the EcologyProject International and the OuterBanks National Scenic Byway.

Peggy sits on the Boards of theDestination and Travel Foundationand the Association of TravelMarketing Executives, and chairsthe Marketing Committee of theSociety of American Travel Writers(sate.org). She is the author of It’s aCrisis! Now What? A Step-by-StepCrisis Communications Handbookfor the Global Hospitality Industry.

BLAZE

225 Santa Monica Blvd., 3rd Flr.Santa Monica, CA 90401310/395-5050Fax: 310/[email protected] www.blazepr.com

Matt Kovacs, EVP/GM

BLAZE is the nationally recog-nized PR firm that attracts com-pelling and aggressive consumerbrands that need to win. BLAZEdevelops campaigns that help ourclients create or reclaim relevancein the marketplace. Utilizing com-prehensive strategic communica-tions campaigns to differentiate andelevate our clients from their com-petitors, we are able to exceed ourclients’ expectations when it comesto positioning them to their audi-ences and attracting positive atten-tion from both consumers and themedia. BLAZE also offers full pub-lic affairs capabilities through itsparent company DAVIES.

Clients include: AmaWaterways,Anaheim Marriott, ClaremontHotel, Club & Spa, DestinationDana Point, Elephant Parade USA,Los Angeles Airport Marriott,Manhattan Beach Marriott, Marinadel Rey CVB, Marina del ReyMarriott, Monterrey Marriott, Rockand Roll Fantasy Camp Las Vegas.

COYNE PR

5 Wood Hollow RoadParsippany, NJ 07054973/588-2000www.coynepr.com

1065 Avenue of the Americas28th FloorNew York, NY 10018212/938-0166

Tom Coyne, CEORich Lukis, PresidentJohn Gogarty, Executive VP,Travel, Entertainment & Lifestyle

As the agency of record since 2011, Coyne PR successfully negotiat-ed and placed South African Tourism on NBC’s hit series, All-StarCelebrity Apprentice to unveil a new campaign developed by theagency — “What’s your Big 5?” With over 4.5 million viewers tunedin, the campaign drove mass awareness of South Africa’s diverseand authentic travel experiences beyond its famed safari.


PROFILES OF TRAVEL & TOURISM PR FIRMS

ADVERTISING SECTION 3 JULY 2013 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 25

Jennifer Kamienski, Senior VPLauren Mackiel Gory, Assistant VPMin Tak, Assistant VP

Coyne PR’s Travel practicepossesses the creativity, experi-ence and passion to make a game-changing impact on your busi-ness. Our team has managed andexecuted world-class events andpromotions, brand building cam-paigns, social media programsand media relations for some ofthe travel industry’s most promi-nent brands and destinations.Clients include South AfricanTourism, Disney Parks &Resorts, Adventures by Disney,Disney Cruise Lines, SouthAfrican Tourism, and HeathrowAirport and Hard RockInternational. The Coyne Travelteam has developed ideas andcampaigns that take our clientswhere they want to be — andbeyond. Our in-depth knowledgeof the travel industry and long-standing relationships with thetravel media help brands standout in the crowded travel market-place.

CRT/TANAKA, LLC

320 West 13th Street, 7th Floor New York, NY 10014212/229-0500Fax: 212/229-0523www.crt-tanaka.com

Mike Mulvihill, PresidentPatrice Tanaka, Co-ChairEllen LaNicca Albanese, EVP

CRT/tanaka is an award-win-ning public relations and market-ing firm known for its inspiringworkplace culture and approachto business. With offices in NewYork, California and Virginia,the agency is near some of theUnited States’ favorite tourismdestinations.

CRT/tanaka provides creativesolutions from senior counselorswith extensive expertise in thetravel sector. Travel and tourismexperience includes work for avariety of clients, including AirNew Zealand, Amadeus NorthAmerica (global distributionservice), The Breakers in PalmBeach, Cambria Suites (ChoiceHotels International), CostaCruises, Omni Hotels, PalmBeach County Tourism, PrincessHotels, Sandals and BeachesResorts, South African Tourism,State of Connecticut Tourism,Virginia Tourism Commission,Wyndham Hotels & Resorts andWorld Yacht/Circle Line.

DEVELOPMENTCOUNSELLORS

INTERNATIONAL(DCI)

215 Park Avenue South, 10th Fl.New York, NY 10003212/725-0707www.aboutdci.comTwitter: @AboutDCI

Andrew Levine, President/ChiefCreative OfficerKaryl Leigh Barnes, ExecutiveVice President/Partner

DCI is the leader in market-ing places. Since 1960, our firmhas represented more than 400destinations around the world,stimulating visitor arrivals andinvestment through economicdevelopment and tourism mar-keting. DCI’s Tourism Practicefeatures three divisions: publicrelations/consumer marketing,travel trade marketing/repre-sentation and meetings/incen-tive sales. Our TourismPractice’s digital/social mediateam designs digital strategy andtactical programs for DMOs.DCI’s current client rosterincludes some of the mostdynamic destination brands inthe travel space including suchstates as California and NorthCarolina; cities such asLouisville, Park City, andToronto; and international des-tinations including Australia,Dubai, Ecuador, Namibia andScotland; as well as the U.S.Travel Association. These desti-nations are served by our staffof more than 50 destinationmarketers, from our New Yorkheadquarters and regionaloffices in Denver, Los Angeles,Tampa and Toronto.

DQMPR

25 E. 21st Street, 11th Flr.New York, NY 10010212/598-1160 Fax: 646/219-0086 [email protected] www.dqmpr.com

Headquartered in New YorkCity with a satellite office inMiami, DQMPR is an award-winning, multi-lingual boutiquetravel and lifestyle public rela-tions agency. DQMPR leveragesits extensive network to organizecoast-to-coast targeted mediacampaigns on behalf of clients,

from morning television to printand online coverage. Clients relyon the agency’s industry experi-ence, compelling storytellingand relationships in the execu-tion of media events, press tripsand trade shows. In addition tomedia relations, DQMPR’s tradedivision works with the traveltrade, meetings and incentivesand the cruise industries onbehalf of clients.

DQMPR’s excellence in pub-lic relations has been recognizedby Hospitality Sales &Marketing AssociationInternational with 12 GoldAdrian Awards as well as theSociety of American TravelWriters with two gold and onesilver award for work withExtraordinary Journeys Africa,Finnair and Tourism Quebec.The agency was honored withHSMAI’s Platinum award for itswork with the Today Show andan Emmy nomination for bring-ing WNYW Fox 5’s Toni On! toQuebec for segments in MountTremblant and Quebec City dur-ing its 400th anniversary.

Current clients include theCroatian National Tourist Board,Extraordinary Journeys Africa,Finnair, Geringer Global Travel,Perillo Tours, Tourism NewZealand, Tourism Quebec andZicasso Handcrafted Travel.

EDELMAN

200 E. Randolph St., Ste. 6300Chicago, IL 60601312/[email protected]

250 Hudson StreetNew York, NY 10013212/[email protected]

Leticia Lyra, Executive VP Lorri Christou, Executive VPDenisha Stevens, Executive VPIan Jeffries, Vice President

Edelman is a global family ofpublic relations companies, ranked#1 since 1999 on O’Dwyer’s list ofagencies specializing in tourism.Edelman’s Travel, Hospitality andLifestyle practice is unique amongits peers for its strategic combina-tion of consumer branding, digitalinnovation and media relationssavvy. Our global team of passion-ate tourism experts uses the world-wide reach and resources of theEdelman network to deliver award-winning results with a boutiqueservice ethic and dedication toclients. Clients include destina-tions, hotel and hospitality brands,airlines and airport authorities,

0Continued on page 26

DQMPR’s (L to R) Erin Levi,Yves Gentil and Julia Levi at the HSMAI awardsin January 2013, where they received six Gold Adrian Awards.




iconic attractions, cruises and trans-portation, travel technology andindustry associations. In the rapidlychanging world of tourism,Edelman is helping clients find newperspective and solutions to mar-keting challenges, particularly insocial media integration. We devel-op programs that are grounded inresearch, demonstrate thought lead-ership and integrate a holisticapproach to marketing, from tradi-tional media relations anddigital/social engagement to crisisand business + social purpose.

EVINS COMMUNICATIONS

LTD.

635 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10022212/688-8200www.evins.comfacebook.com/EvinsCommunicationstwitter.com/EVINSsctpinterest.com/Evins/

Mathew L. Evins, ChairmanLouise R. Evins, CEOJaimie Chew, Vice PresidentElyse Heckman, DirectorDavid Harrison, Director, Digital& Social Integration & Content

We help to define a brand’sessence & create emotive experi-ences that bring brand essence tolife.

We utilize brand experiences tocatalyze brand passion and engage-ment.

We cultivate & nurture brandengagement to foster brand advoca-cy and storytelling.

We optimize brand mind-sharethrough brand advocacy and story-

telling.We transform brand mind-share

into brand market-share.EVINS is the leading and award-

winning branding, marketing, com-munications and public relationsfirm in the luxury and prestige sec-tors, with specialist expertise intravel and hospitality. We havemade an invaluable contribution tothe growth and development ofnumerous industry icons, includingAmerican ExpressCenturion/Platinum, DeparturesMagazine, Exclusive Resorts,Hotels & Resorts of Halekulani,Marquis Jet, Park Hyatt, PreferredHotels & Resorts, Rosewood Hotel& Resorts, The Lanesborough andTurnberry Isle Miami, amongstmany others. We are consistentlyrecognized for excellence in cre-ativity, strategies and tactics.

Mathew Evins, the firm’s chair-man, has lectured on luxury andhospitality at the Cornell HotelSchool and NYU’s GraduateSchool of Business, and has con-tributed to industry publications andbusiness media. QuestexHospitality + Travel recentlyappointed Mr. Evins to serve on theBoards of Luxury Travel ExchangeInternational (LTX), the leadingevent for today’s travel professionalfocused on luxury and premiumniche markets, and of ULTRALuxury Exchange (ULTRA), aninvitation-only conference engag-ing the world’s elite travel profes-sionals.

FAHLGREN MORTINE

4030 Easton Station, Suite 300Columbus, OH 43219614/383-1500www.fahlgrenmortine.com

Neil Mortine, President and CEOMarty McDonald, SVP, TourismPractice Leader

Fahlgren Mortine works withclients in 29 states and is a top 30independent firm nationally. Theagency has been recognized withdozens of national PR andtourism awards, including Silverand Bronze Anvils from PRSAand a Mercury Award from theU.S. Travel Association. In2013, Fahlgren Mortine was rec-ognized with a PRSA BronzeAnvil for media relations for theOffice of TourismOhio, and aTravel + Leisure MagazineSMITTY Award for work onbehalf of the Myrtle Beach AreaChamber of Commerce/CVB.

Headquartered in Columbus,Ohio, Fahlgren Mortine also haslocations in West Virginia,Colorado, Florida, Kentucky andSouth Carolina. Travel industryclient experience includes Office ofTourismOhio; Myrtle Beach AreaChamber of Commerce/CVB;Experience Columbus; HyattRegency; Hilton; North DakotaDepartment of Commerce/Tourism;Hocking Hills Tourism Association;and many other destinations,regions, festivals, hospitality prop-erties and more.

FINN PARTNERSTRAVEL &

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

301 East 57th StreetNew York, NY 10022212/715-1600 www. finnpartners.com

Richard Funess, SeniorManaging PartnerGail L. Moaney, ManagingPartner/Director, Travel &Economic DevelopmentMorris Silver, Managing Partner,Travel & Economic DevelopmentVirginia M. Sheridan, ManagingPartner, Travel & EconomicDevelopment

The Finn Partners Travel andEconomic Development practiceis a team unrivaled for the creativ-ity, execution and commitment webring to our clients. Our capabili-ties and experience has beenproven by our successful represen-tation of some of the world’s toptravel brands. With the recentmerger of M. Silver Associates, aleading independent tourism mar-keting specialty agency, FinnPartners now boasts one of thelargest travel practices in the pub-lic relations industry. We haveconsistently gained and retained

clients through our measureablebottom-line results and by com-prehending their unique histories,preserving and bolstering theirreputations and understandingtheir vision for the future.

Our commitment to our clientsis to be an extension of theirbrands — a true partner in everysense of the word. When that com-mitment is combined with unsur-passed skill and experience in allthe critical areas of tourism mar-keting and economic develop-ment, we produce the results ourclients depend on for successfulbrand life, share of mind and shareof market.

Our services include strategicpublic relations planning and exe-cution, global consumer and trademedia relations, crisis communi-cations, reputation management,branding, social and digital appli-cations, special event planning,and promotions.

With a staff of over 40 highlyskilled professionals, we representdomestic and international desti-nations, hotels and resorts, air-lines, cruise lines and rail compa-nies, real estate developments,travel associations and travel serv-ice providers.

The greatest measure of oursuccess is the satisfaction of ourclients, the longevity of our clientrelationships, and the recognitionwe’ve received for deliveringquality and substantive work.

FRENCH / WEST /VAUGHAN

112 East Hargett St. Raleigh, NC 27601 919/832-6300 www.fwv-us.com

Rick French, Chairman & CEO David Gwyn, President / PrincipalNatalie Best, Executive VicePresident / Director of ClientServices / Principal

French/West/Vaughan (FWV)is the Southeast’s leading publicrelations, public affairs andbrand communications agency,independent or otherwise.Founded in April 1997 byAgency Chairman & CEO RickFrench, FWV now employs 84research, public relations, pub-lic affairs, advertising and digi-tal marketing experts among itsRaleigh, N.C. headquarters andNew York City, Dallas, LosAngeles and Tampa offices.

FWV’s dedicated travel andtourism practice, ranked as the#13 firm for Travel and Tourism

EDELMAN0Continued from page 25

Lara Kretler, Fahlgren Mortine’s social media lead (center), picturedwith fellow presenters at the national PRSA Tourism Section confer-ence in Memphis, May, 2013.




PR by O’Dwyer’s, boasts exten-sive destination marketingexperience, specializing inlifestyle and leisure marketingand public relations. Currenttravel and tourism industryclients include the DudeRanchers’ Association, theWilmington and Beaches CVB(N.C.), Carolina Beach, KurieBeach, Wrightsville Beach, andTweetsie Railroad — NorthCarolina’s Oldest Theme Park.In addition, FWV has workedwith Divi Resorts and its nineCaribbean properties, and co-operative destination marketingwith each of the tourism organi-zations for Aruba, Barbados,Bonaire, St. Croix (U.S.V.I.Dept. of Tourism) and St.Maarten; Gatlinburg, Tenn.;Cabarrus County, N.C. — hometo NASCAR’s Lowe’s MotorSpeedway; Oakland County,Mich.; Branson, Mo.; the OldSalem Moravian Village inN.C.; the Greater Raleigh CVB;and America’s HistoricTriangle, located inWilliamsburg, Va.

In addition to its portfolio oftravel and tourism clients, FWVworks with many of the world’sleading companies and brands,including international utilityprovider ABB, Wrangler, SAS,RBC Bank, Justin BootCompany, Melitta Coffee,Moe’s Southwest Grill restau-rants, spirits company HoodRiver Distillery (PendletonWhisky, Pendleton 1910, YaziGinger Vodka, Broker’s Gin andSinFire Cinnamon Whisky) andthe U.S. Polo Association. Theagency’s fully integrated cre-ative and digital team providesaward-winning advertising,graphic design and digital andsocial media services for a widerange of clients.

GRAHAM & ASSOCIATES, INC.

111 Maiden Lane, Suite 650San Francisco, CA 94108415/986-7212Fax: 415/[email protected]

Graham & Associates isrenowned for award-winningexpertise in strategic nationaland international PR, communi-cations, branding and socialmedia programs for travel andhospitality, consumer lifestyleand real estate clients. The

agency also has a proven spe-cialty working with companieswith an environmental andsocially responsible focus.

Founded in 1996, the agencyis known for its successfullaunches, relaunches and highlycreative and results-driven cam-paigns. Graham & Associateshas a successful track recordwith hallmark and emergingcompanies and properties,including Cavallo Point, Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji IslandsResort, Post Ranch Inn, ElCapitan Canyon, EvergreenLodge, Wyndham Worldwide,Luma, and more.

Graham is recognized in theindustry with more than 60 topnational PR awards (since2002), including Stevie’s BestCommunication Campaign,North America; PRSA’s SilverAnvil; a Special CreativityAward from the InternationalPublic Relations Association(all in tourism); and theMagellan “Best AgencyCommunications CampaignWorldwide.” Graham operatesthroughout Europe via Plexus,an exclusive organization ofagencies it co-founded.

JANINE GORDONASSOCIATES

11 East 26th Street, 19th floorNew York NY 10010212/[email protected]

Janine Gordon, President &CEOAlvin Schechter, Chairman andDirector of BrandingLauren Banyar Reich, VicePresidentChristie High, Account DirectorJohn Donofrio, CFO

Janine Gordon Associatesexcels at creating and expand-ing brand connections for traveland tourism clients. We com-bine fresh ideas with flawlessexecution. The agency is highlyfocused on luxury lifestylebrands.

Established in 1993 by JanineGordon, formerly founder andhead of Saatchi & Saatchi PublicRelations, JGA is a cutting-edgeNew York City PR boutiquewith the energy and sophistica-tion required to pierce the clutterof communications in the travelindustry. Chairman AlvinSchechter, a former CEO of

Interbrand, brings world-classbranding skills to JGA clients.

JGA understands the chal-lenges to be surmounted inbuilding relationships with highnet worth and super-affluenttravelers. As long-term publi-cists for the annual AmericanExpress Publishing-HarrisonGroup Survey of Affluence andWealth in America, we are privyto the most up-to-date findingson what drives the behavior ofthe rich and the super-rich.

Our work is characterized byingenuity of thinking and trans-parency in style. We are expertsin the full range of communica-tions tools. Our goal is to deliv-er shrewd brand strategy, highprofile media coverage, A-listevents, compelling celebrityendorsements, social mediacontent with viral appeal andhigh-impact strategic alliances— always within the context ofa fully integrated, multi-channelstrategy.

Result: Positive brand aware-ness, increased sales and long-term brand value for JGA

clients. If you want to expandyour brand’s connections, startby visiting our website.

J PUBLIC RELATIONS

131 Varick Street, #909New York, NY 10013212/924-3600Fax: 212/898-1361www.jpublicrelations.comtwitter: @jprpublicityinstagram: jpublicrelations

J Public Relations is a savvy,connected bi-coastal public rela-tions agency specializing in high-end travel, hospitality and lifestyleclientele. With offices in New Yorkand California, and among thenation’s fastest growing agencieswith 54% growth in 2012, JPR iscommitted to delivering high-impact results through creative,customized PR campaigns andbrand partnerships. The firm isknown for creating “buzz” among


Janine Gordon Associates Account Supervisor Heather Durkee withclient Noel Lee, Director, Global Business Development,Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), seeing the sightsduring the ACTE Global Conference in Rome, October 2012.




media, influencers and industryinsiders. Our team creates andimplements strategies based onspecific client goals and revenue-driving markets.

With two robust offices on bothcoasts and long-standing relation-ships with top journalists nation-wide, JPR has earned the team areputation as a trusted resource forjournalists working on travel, hos-pitality, culinary, and luxurylifestyle articles, as well as journal-ists in key regional markets.

The team is comprised of publi-cists, strategists, tastemakers, food-ies and travelers.

KWE PARTNERS

75 SW 15th RoadMiami, FL 33129www.kwepr.com305/[email protected]

Karen Weiner Escalera,President & Chief Strategist

For over 30 years, first in NewYork and now in Miami, KWEPartners has developed marketingand public relations solutions for allsegments of the luxury travel, hos-pitality, real estate, and lifestyleindustries. From boutique hotels,spas, and resort development, tocruise lines, travel technology, andtourism boards, our programs getresults, which is the reason we’ve

had many clients for over a decade. Creator of the KWEst PROcess

for strategic market positioning andproduct development, KWEPartners believes that all successfulprograms begin with a solid strate-gy to most effectively merchandisewhat already exists or to createsomething new and different. Thisis why we go to great lengths toidentify emerging trends to connectclients with luxury travel andlifestyle trends, so they benefitfrom changes in the marketplace aswell as best practices in PR tactics.Last year the firm’s social mediapractice won prestigious awardsfrom Travel+Leisure (SMITTY)and Hotels’ Social Hotels competi-tion.

Named one of the “Top 25 MostExtraordinary Minds in Sales &Marketing” by Hospitality Salesand Marketing AssociationInternational (HSMAI), Karen is afrequent speaker on trends and iseditor of a syndicated luxury traveland lifestyle trends newsletter andblog.

LAURA DAVIDSONPUBLIC RELATIONS

72 Madison Ave., 8th FloorNew York, NY 10016212/696-0660www.ldpr.comFacebook.com/lauradavidsonprTwitter.com/ldpr

Laura Davidson, PresidentLeslie Cohen, Executive VP

For over 20 years LDPR hasguided some of the world’s most

prestigious travel brandsthrough an evolving medialandscape with creativity, pro-fessionalism and enthusiasm.We are a highly driven andinnovative travel and lifestylepublic relations agency with aglobal roster of clients fromdestinations and tour companiesto exclusive private islands,hotels and resorts. Our uniqueculture is defined by our collab-orative and strategic approachto working with clients, mediaand our staff, leading to solidpartnerships with measurableresults that make a positive dif-ference for our clients’ brands.

LDPR prides itself on creat-ing integrated communicationsprograms for its clients thatinclude targeted media out-reach, events, and partnerships,all enhanced by strong socialmedia programs led by a dedi-cated digital media team.

Our client roster includesVisitScotland; TourismeMontréal; Destination NewSouth Wales, Australia; BalHarbour, Florida; the island ofMustique; Eden Rock, StBarths; Curtain Bluff, Antigua;The Resort at Paws Up,Montana; Abercrombie & Kent;The Thinking Traveller luxuryvillas in Italy and Greece;Atlantis Paradise Island,Bahamas; Residence Inn byMarriott; MayflowerRenaissance, Washington DC;ONE UN New York; The OceanHouse, Watch Hill, RhodeIsland; The Ritz-Carlton,Naples; The Ritz-Carlton andJW Marriott Grande LakesOrlando; Washington MarriottMarquis, D.C.; and MillenniumHotels & Resorts, NorthAmerica, among others.

LOU HAMMOND &ASSOCIATES

39 East 51st StreetNew York, NY 10022212/308-8880Fax: 212/891-0200E-mail: [email protected]/louhammondprwww.facebook.com/louhammondprwww.pinterest.com/louhammondpr

Lou Hammond, Founder andChairmanStephen Hammond, PresidentTerence Gallagher, ExecutiveVice President

Founded in 1984, LouHammond & Associates (LH&A)has long set the gold standard asthe recognized leader in travel andhospitality public relations. Thecompany’s passion, as well as anunwavering commitment to quali-ty, is driven by its legendaryfounder and chairman, LouHammond, regarded as one of themost well-known and enthusiasticadvocates in the industry.

LH&A is widely known as aninnovator in the field, as evi-denced by its award-winningwork. In fact, the Hospitality Sales& Marketing AssociationInternational (HSMAI) has hon-ored the agency with more of itsprestigious Adrian Awards overthe past 15 years than any otherentrant.

Hammond Digital+, theagency’s boutique digital firm,was launched this year by SarahSpagnolo, a nine-year veteran ofTravel + Leisure where she servedas digital projects editor. The

J PUBLIC RELATIONS0Continued from page 27

Pups in paradise. Furry friends and their masters joked for a “woofwoof” press trip to Florida’s Paradise Coast (Naples, Marco Island,the Everglades). So timely, as traveling with pets is one of the mostimportant segments in the travel world reports Lou Hammond &Associates. Only two weeks following the trip, resulting online andsocial medic coverage from the tour’s participating journalists gen-erated nearly 1.2 million impressions.

LDPR’s Sara Hill and Dana Curatolo celebrate Scotland Week 2013with VH1 anchor Carrie Keagan and vikings from the Shetland Islesof Scotland.



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agency’s newest enterprise offerscustom social media and digitalmarketing services that capture themedia’s attention, drive consumerengagement, and draw on theexcellent skills honed fromSpagnolo’s industry experienceand the company’s nearly 30 yearsof quality PR service.

The Lou Hammond approachfocuses on delivering ROI throughstrategic campaigns that are bothmeasurable and achievable. Thiswork meets the needs of a diverseclientele encompassing all facetsof tourism, including destination,hotel, spa, cruise and culinarymarketing.

Client longevity is an agencyhallmark, and this year LH&A hasadded to their list of distinguishedpartners: Blount Small ShipAdventures, Seadream YachtClub, Deepwater Cay, Wild Dunes

Resort, Uncommon Journeys,Hotel Ella, Patton HospitalityManagement, Laucala IslandResort and Explore Bristol.

M BOOTH

300 Park Avenue SouthNew York, NY 10010212/539-3246Fax: 212/[email protected]@mbooth.comwww.mbooth.com

Margaret Booth, CEOJamie Foley, Vice President

M Booth, Creative Agency ofthe Year, fuses consumer mar-keting and travel industryexpertise to inspire today’s trav-eler and drive bottom-lineresults for our clients. Our cre-ative science approach — theintersection of research, insightand imagination — shapes opin-ion and enhances reputation forsome of the world’s most influ-

ential travel brands. We reachtoday’s traveler by using tradi-tional media relations as a plat-form for larger, more compre-hensive campaigns that leveragesocial media, strategic partner-ships, co-branded promotionsand TV/film integration. Theagency is a recognized leader ineffectively utilizing socialmedia channels for travelbrands, and currently managesongoing campaigns that createcommunities, conversation andengagement, with measurableresults.

Over the last 15 years, ourtravel practice has collaboratedwith high-profile destinations,both domestic and international,as well as leading travel and hos-pitality brands in the followingcategories: hotels and resorts,cruise, online travel sites, travelcontent and guidebooks, andtravel service providers. Clientshave included Montage Hotels &Resorts, Travelzoo, Frommer’s,Branding Greenland, the TurkishMinistry of Culture and Tourism,The United States Virgin IslandsDepartment of Tourism,EasyCruise, Yahoo Travel,Tourism Victoria (Australia),Allianz Travel Insurance, andRoom Key, among others.

MISSY FARREN &ASSOCIATES

33 E. 33rd Street, Suite 905New York, NY 10016212/528-1691www.mfaltd.com

Missy Farren, Founder & CEOAgatha Capacchione, VicePresident, Travel & TourismSamantha Lacher, DeputyDirector, Travel, Hospitality &Culture

Missy Farren & Associates isa mid-sized agency offering thepowerful combination of cus-tomer assistance, attention todetail and dynamic, meaningfulcoverage results. Our passionfor travel drives professionalsuccess and relationships in var-ious niches, including: culinary,adventure, family, romance,arts/culture, Caribbean, well-ness/spa, culture, wine/spiritsand fitness/sports. The agencyspecializes in strategic mediarelations; social media strategyand management; partnershipdevelopment; event facilitation;spokesperson positioning; andcrisis communications. Ourteam of agile, professional mar-

keters pairs innovative thinkingand never-say-never attitudes todeliver significant results andexceed expectations. Industryexperience includes: The ArtMuseums of ColonialWilliamsburg; Aspen Ski Co.;Auden Bar & Bistro; CaymanAirways; Cayman Cookout; TheCayman Islands Department ofTourism; Charlie BirdRestaurant (NYC); The ColonialWilliamsburg Foundation;Colorado Ski Country;Disneyland; Disneyland Food &Beverage; Golden HorseshoeGolf Club; Intrawest; LimelightHotel; The Little Nell; TheLodge at Woodloch; The MarkAnthony Group; Michelin Food& Travel; Mission Hill FamilyEstate; Montagna Restaurant;National Trust for HistoricPreservation; The Ritz-CarltonHotels of New York; RoadtripsInc.; Royal PlantationCollection; Sandestin Golf andBeach Resort; The Spa ofColonial Williamsburg; SquawValley; Steamboat; TrappFamily Lodge; Twin Farms;Whistler Blackcomb; and more.

MMGY GLOBALPR

245 Fifth Avenue, Suite 902New York, NY 10016www.mmgyglobal.com

Charles Mardiks, ManagingDirectorElisa Fershtadt, Senior VicePresidentRoland Alonzi, Vice President

MMGY Global PR is a divi-sion of MMGY Global, a full-service marketing communica-tions company working exclu-sively in the travel and tourismindustry.

Providing expert strategiccounsel in media relations,branding, event marketing andcrisis communications, our teamhas a track record of developingand implementing award-win-ning, creative public relationsprograms and brand-buildingcampaigns for clients fromaround the world. We’verecently added expert researchcapabilities to include develop-ment of primary client insights,brand and strategy creation,analysis of traveler trends andan unmatched understanding ofconsumer and intermediaryaudiences. Through our DigitalMedia Practice, MMGY has

MMGY Global secured a strategic partnership for the ColoradoTourism Office with top outdoor recreation brand Eddie Bauer, fea-turing a series of interactive learning events led by experts fromMen’s Journal and Backpacker Magazine. (Pictured from left toright: Will Cockrell, articles editor, Men’s Journal; Roland Alonzi,vice president, group director, MMGY Global; Chad Peele, profes-sional climbing guide and Eddie Bauer First Ascent athlete.)

M Booth promotes the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival during anNYC food blogger event earlier this year.

LOU HAMMOND 0Continued from page 28




integrated new media, socialnetworking and LiveWeb strate-gies into an overall strategicdirection for our clients.

While we offer large agencyresources, our PR team is smallenough to provide each clientwith senior-level, hands-oninvolvement and service. Ourdynamic PR team has solidindustry experience and main-tains close contacts with bothtraditional print and broadcastmedia in addition to social/digi-tal media and new buzz-build-ing channels.

Current clients include:American Association for NudeRecreation; Choice Hotels;Colorado Tourism Office; FiestaAmericana Grand, by GrupoPosadas; Grand Traverse Resortand Spa, MI; The Beaches ofFort Myers & Sanibel, FL; LiveAqua Cancun, by GrupoPosadas; Regent Hotels &Resorts; Renaissance ArubaResort & Casino; RenaissanceCuraçao Resort & Casino;Rocky Mountaineer; VisitSarasota County; SelectRegistry: Distinguished Inns ofNorth America; Telluride, CO;Terranea Resort, CA; TravelGuard; the Vacation RentalManagers Association; Atlantis,Paradise Island, Bahamas; BResort in Walt Disney World;South Dakota Department ofTourism and Travel Portland.

MURPHY O’BRIEN

11444 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 600Los Angeles, CA 90064310/[email protected]

Allyson Rener, President

Since 1989, Murphy O’Brienhas orchestrated some of thecountry’s most successful pub-lic relations programs, fromluxury resort openings andhigh-profile brand launches tointegrated marketing and socialmedia initiatives. We pride our-selves on being a companywhere creative ideas, strategicthinking and skillful executionwork together to produce pow-

erful results for our clients. At Murphy O’Brien, we

develop each public relationscampaign to meet the specificneeds of our clients. From dayone, we focus on the client'spublic relations objectives, tar-get audience and desired mediaresults to craft a strategic pro-gram that tells their story in acompelling way. By leveragingour personal relationships witheditorial decision-makers andkey influencers, coordinatingnewsworthy events and align-ing clients with like-mindedbrands for impactful partner-ships, we are able to securecoverage in the media outletsthat matter most.

Year after year, MurphyO’Brien creates award-winningPR campaigns. We are proudthat our work has been honoredby industry organizations andpublications. The agency alsowins awards for our innovativeand positive work environment.We are consistently rankedamong the top 10 best places towork in Los Angeles and one ofthe top independent agencies inthe country.

NANCY J. FRIEDMAN

PUBLIC RELATIONS INC.

35 East 21st Street, 8th Fl.New York, NY 10010212/228-1500Fax: 212/[email protected]

Nancy J. Friedman, President

NJFPR celebrated its 25th yearin travel/hospitality/lifestyle PR byincentivizing the staff with the offerof a plane ticket anywhere in theworld they wanted to travel. Thestaff made our sales goals and in2013, took their dream trips toplaces including Thailand, Rio,France, Greece, Japan, Spain andAustralia. The dream trip promo-tion was a way to reward our pas-sionate staff with their trip of a life-time to commemorate 25 years ofsuccess. For 2013, the Agency isoffering dinner at any restaurant inNY if we meet our goals. AndHotel Week is back for the 3rdstraight year!

Clients include: Borgata HotelCasino & Spa, Atlantic City;Broadway @ Times Square, NewYork; Condado Vanderbilt, SanJuan, Puerto Rico; Cooperstown,

New York; Copamarina BeachResort & Spa, Guanica, PuertoRico; Doubletree Hilton, San Juan,Puerto Rico; Farmer’s Museum,Cooperstown, NY; Fenimore ArtMuseum, Cooperstown, NY;Fodor’s Travel Guide; GansevoortMeatpacking and Park Avenue;Gansevoort Turks + Caicos and LasVegas; Gemma at The BoweryHotel, New York; Hotel ElConvento, San Juan, Puerto Rico;Hotel Week, NYC; Hyatt RegencyAruba Resort Casino & Spa; JWMarriott Camelback Inn Resort &Spa and Desert Springs Resort &Spa; La Concha Resort: ARenaissance Hotel, San Juan,Puerto Rico; Marriott CourtyardIsla Verde, Puerto Rico; nyma, thenew york manhattan hotel, NewYork; Parker & Quinn, New York;Ramada Eastside, New York;Refinery Hotel, NYC;Rendezvous, St. Lucia; Sea Island,Georgia; Sheraton Hotels &Resorts; Spring Creek Ranch,Jackson Hole, WY; St.Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida;The Body Holiday, St. Lucia; TheBowery Hotel, New York; TheCloister, Sea Island, GA; TheElysian Spa Health Club, Chicago;The Hanover Inn Darmouth, NH;The Hotel @ Times Square, NewYork; The Jade, NYC; The Jane,New York; The Lodge, Sea Island,GA; The Maritime Hotel, NewYork; The Marlton, NYC; The OutNYC; The Pod 39 Hotel, NewYork; The Pod Hotel, New York;The Quin, New York; The Spa atCamelback Inn, Desert Springs,and Rendezvous; The WaldorfAstoria Chicago; The Water Club,A Signature Hotel by Borgata; TheWellness Centre at The BodyHoliday, St. Lucia; and WestinHotels & Resorts.

OGILVY PUBLIC RELATIONS

636 11th AvenueNew York, NY 10036212/[email protected]

Mitch Markson, President,Global Brand Marketing

Ogilvy Public Relations knowstourism. Our team consists of trav-el and tourism experts with specificstrengths in the areas of consumerand brand PR, corporate communi-cations, crisis communications andreputation management, eventsmanagement, trade marketing,partnership and alliances, sponsor-ship creation and leverage, contentcreation and development, and dig-ital and traditional media relations.Ogilvy PR has successfully elevat-ed brands across a variety of travelindustry categories including hos-pitality, tour, cruise, airline, trans-portation, technology and destina-tions.

Our combination of researchbased strategy, break through cre-ativity, and flawless executiondelivers strong media talkabilityand business building impact. Ourwork has helped clients to reachpotential travelers where theywork, live and play. Relevant traveland tourism clients include theMexico Tourism Board and theGovernment of Mexico, FijiAirlines, Virgin Airlines, TourismNew South Wales, Hilton Hotels,Tourism Australia, Ireland Golf,Singapore Airlines, Fiji, Brazil,Scotland, France, Chile, Malta andPuerto Rico.

2012 was a stellar year for Nancy J. Friedman’s growth. As a way to cel-ebrate its 25th anniversary, the agency rewarded each employee with around-trip ticket to anywhere in the world he or she wanted to go.


The August issue of O’Dwyer’s will profilePR firms that specialize in investor relationsand professional services. If you would likeyour firm to be listed in the August maga-zine’s profile section, contact Editor JonGingerich at 646/843-2080 [email protected]




QUINN & CO.

520 8th AvenueNew York, NY 10018212/[email protected]@quinnandco.comwww.quinnandco.comFacebook, LinkedIn and Twitter:@Quinnandco

605 Lincoln Rd.Miami Beach, FL 33139 786/[email protected]

Florence Quinn, PresidentJohn Frazier, EVP (Travel)Jim Lee, SVP, Miami Office

Q&C combines strategic think-ing and signature creativity withagnostic communications to devel-op highly effective, integrated mar-

keting programs that help ourclients in Travel; Food, Wine +Spirits; Lifestyle and Real Estateachieve their goals and drive busi-ness. Here are a few examples ofour Travel work:

To position Hilton’s WaldorfAstoria Hotels & Resorts brands atthe forefront of the luxury conver-sation, we launched LuxuryManifesto, a series of 12 videochats with luxury pundits, includ-ing Tommy Hilfiger and FerruccioFerragamo.

To redefine Affinia Hotels’ serv-ice offer, we helped develop theTender Loving Comfort (TLC)Movement, which produced 1-bil-lion media impressions, $1.2 mil-lion in revenue, #1 in customerscores, front page, USA Today andexposure to 52% of Americans.(HSMAI Best of Show)

To announce that Waldorf

Astoria Hotel was getting six beehives, we staged a red-carpetarrival that produced 150 nationaland international print placements,45 minutes of TV and 8.6 billionmedia impressions.

To promote El AL IsraelAirline’s new EconomyPlus seat-ing, we developed a humorousvideo depicting the lengths peoplewill go to for free upgrades.

To underscore Affinia Hotels aspet-friendly, we invited Boo, theWorld’s Cutest Dog, with 4.6 mil-lion Facebook likes, for a sleepover. Boo’s epic visit produced57,654 likes, 4,856 shares and 994comments, such as “I want to takemy poodle to that nice hotel.”(HSMAI Digital Platinum).

To reach the bridal market forJW Marriott Resorts, we led aPinterest contest with NordstromWedding Suite that generated over$24,000 in revenue, 500 followersand 27,000 entries, double what theprevious Nordstrom Pinterest con-test received. (Best Luxury MediaCampaign Q1 by Luxury Daily).

To launch Occidental Hotels &Resorts in the social media space,we developed and conducted afour-day training in Mexico for 40executives and staff from 13 hotels.Our efforts increased Facebook“likes” by 600%.

To drive visitors to theQueensland website, we publicizedThe Best Job in the World, a viralphenomenon that generated morethan $100 million in ad value anddrove 6.7 million visitors to thewebsite. (HSMAI Best of Show).

To bring back The AlgonquinHotel as an iconic “watering hole,”we invented the $10,000 Martini onthe Rock, which produced 400+TV segments, cover of the DailyNews, coverage on the TimesSquare Jumbo and became a ques-tion in Trivial Pursuit. (HSMAIGold).

RBB PUBLIC RELATIONS

355 Alhambra Circle, Suite 800Miami, FL 33134305/448-7450www.rbbpr.com

Christine Barney, CEOLisa Ross, PresidentTina Elmowitz, Executive VicePresident

Rbb Public Relations is proud tocontinually deliver award-winningcampaigns to its hospitality clients.This year, the agency was recog-nized with six HSMAI AdrianAwards for its work with

Homewood Suites by Hilton,Home2 Suites by Hilton,AMResorts and its five brands:Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts, andSecrets, Dreams, Now andSunscape Resorts & Spas.Previously, rbb and AMResorts alsowere awarded PRSA’s prestigiousSilver Anvil for their industry lead-ing response to the H1N1 epidemic,“The Flu Free Guarantee” andreceived an Anvil for best travel cri-sis program for its work helpingCosta Maya rebuild its cruise shipbusiness following massive hurri-cane damage. rbb’s portfolio oftravel clients has included numer-ous domestic and international hotelchains and individual properties,destinations, airlines and cruiselines.

Four-time “PR Agency of theYear” winner, rbb Public Relationsis a national marketing PR firmwith a reputation for deliveringmeaningful business results toclients who appreciate the individ-ual attention only a boutique agencycan provide. As the champion forbreakout brands, rbb supports com-panies that want to challenge mar-ket leaders and fuels brands that arealready category leaders, but wantto redefine the status quo and breakout from traditional marketing tech-niques.

rbb’s bilingual staff offers bestpractices in media relations, corpo-rate reputation, promotions, com-munity relations, product introduc-tions, crisis communications, anddigital/social media. Firm practiceareas include B2B, financial & pro-fessional services, consumer prod-ucts, real estate, travel & leisure,health & fitness, sports & entertain-ment, and food & beverage. Findout how rbb can help your brandbreak out by visitingwww.rbbpr.com or call rbb presi-dent Lisa Ross at 305/448-7457.

REDPOINT MARKETING PR

INC.

161 Avenue of the Americas,Suite 1305New York, NY 10013212/[email protected]

Victoria Feldman de Falco andChristina Miranda, Principals

Specializing in travel, hospitality,interior design, and home furnish-ings, Redpoint is a full service mar-keting PR firm with an entrepre-neurial style, brand building expert-

For client Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Times Square, RedpointMarketing PR found a master cheese carver to transform a 160-poundblock of cheddar cheese into historic Mount Rushmore – Ripley’sstyle! – to lure the camera crews on President’s Day weekend.

To position AKA Central Park as a lifestyle property to globalnomads, Quinn & Co. invented NYC’s First Outdoor Hotel Room,which doubled website traffic, produced over 1-billion mediaimpressions, and went viral around the world.




ise, and a passion for results. Weorchestrate compelling campaignsthat integrate traditional PR withsophisticated digital and socialmedia marketing initiatives.

Select travel/hospitality clientsinclude the Saint Lucia TouristBoard; Oceania Cruises; RegentSeven Seas Cruises; Woodstock Inn& Resort, VT; Ripley’s Believe It orNot! Times Square; US TourOperations Association; HiddenPond Resort, ME; The Tides BeachClub, ME; Morey’s Piers andBeachfront Waterparks: The DylanHotel, Amsterdam; Simon Pearce;Water’s Edge Resort & Spa, CT;and Essex Resort & Spa, VT.

Redpoint executives bring a“nose for news” to every clientchallenge, ensuring that marketingideas have just the right dash of riskto make them significantly news-worthy without being operationallychallenging to implement.

ROGERS &COWAN

8687 Melrose Avenue, 7th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90069310/854-8117Fax: 310/[email protected]

Tom Tardio, CEO

Rogers & Cowan offers signifi-cant experience in creating and exe-cuting integrated marketing, PR andsocial media campaigns for clientsin the travel and tourism industries,including resorts and resort devel-opers, hotel associations, govern-ment tourism offices, visitorsbureaus, museum and culturalexhibits, live shows, airlines, cruiselines, sporting events and travelmedia.

We create marketing communi-cations and social media strategiesthat elevate a client’s core messagesbeyond travel outlets and intolifestyle media through the influ-ence of entertainment. Our distinc-tive approach goes beyond coremedia relations to include destina-tion integration into entertainmentcontent, Facebook promotions,influencer seeding / outreach, spe-cial events, social media strategiesand green / sustainability initiatives.The agency’s work has includedbuilding awareness for hotels andresorts through celebrity seedingprograms, positioning countries asperfect travel destinations throughdestination integrations in films andtelevision shows, creating onlinecontent tied to entertainment prop-erties, activating sponsorship of

sports and entertainment events,managing PR for consumer-focused travel shows, and drivingticket sales for shows / exhibits,among others.

Current / past clients includeAmerican Airlines, CanadianTourism Commission, TravelAlberta, Royal Caribbean,InterContinental Hotels Group,Miami Boutique Hotels, LosAngeles TimesTravel Show, Bodiesthe Exhibition, Titanic the ArtifactExhibition, How to Train YourDragon, Fuerza Bruta, CirqueDreams, Yo Gabba Gabba Live!,The Seaport, USA Pro CyclingChallenge and Rock N Roll Hall ofFame.

RUDER FINN

301 East 57th StreetNew York, NY 10022212/[email protected]

Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO,Ruder FinnMichael Schubert, ChiefInnovation Officer, Ruder FinnLouise Harris, Chief GlobalStrategistJean-Michel Dumont, Chairman,Ruder Finn Asia

As one of the largest independ-ent global communications agen-cies, Ruder Finn is dual-headquar-tered in New York and China withan on-the-ground presence inBoston, San Francisco,Washington, D.C., London,Brussels, Beijing, Guangzhou,Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore,Bangalore, Mumbai, and NewDelhi. Ruder Finn is uniquely posi-tioned to provide clients with glob-al perspective, insights andresources, yet small enough tobring the exceptional client service,creative edge and innovation of aboutique agency.

Ruder Finn has ample experi-ence with many of the activitiesessential for communications workfor travel and tourism clients, span-ning influencer engagement, brandawareness, online communitybuilding, media relations, crisismanagement and public affairs.

SPRING O’BRIEN

30 West 26th Street, 4th FloorNew York, NY 10010212/620-7100Fax: 212/[email protected]

Chris Spring, PresidentLauren Kaufman, Senior VP

Spring O’Brien is a full-service

marketing communications agencyspecializing in travel and hospitalityPR for over three decades. We havesuccessfully represented new andestablished companies across everysegment of the travel industryincluding tourism boards, cruiselines, airlines, railways, hotels,resorts, tour operators, web sites,associations, and credit card compa-nies.

We uniquely achieve a competi-tive edge for clients with integratedsolutions, developing public rela-tions, social media and brandingcampaigns, as well as online mar-keting.

We consistently achieve high-visibility TV, print and online cov-erage to catapult client brandsbeyond the fray. We pride ourselveson our inventive approach to part-nerships, promotions, package andproduct development, rebranding,special events and strategic counsel.

PR highlights this year includedhosting Sports Illustrated Swimsuitin Chile for a 16-page destinationspread in the highly popular issue,arranging a Travel Channel shoot inSt. Vincent and the Grenadines forthe new series “Island Secrets;” andsecuring hundreds of thousands ofmedia impressions for InsightCuba, including interviews for thepresident with CNN and CBS, andcover stories in Los Angeles Times,USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirerand South Florida Sun-Sentinelamong others.

STANTON COMMUNICATIONS

1150 Connecticut Ave., NW #810 Washington, DC 20036 202/223-4933www.stantoncomm.com

400 Madison Ave. 14th Floor, Suite D

New York, NY 10017 212/616-3601

300 E. Lombard St. Suite 1440 Baltimore, MD 21202 410/[email protected]

Peter V. Stanton, President & CEOLori Russo, Managing Director,Travel & Tourism

Consumers’ intention to travelcontinues on an upswing andcompetition for discretionary dol-lars is increasingly fierce; thechallenge facing tourism mar-keters is clear. We love a goodchallenge.

The Stanton Communicationsteam is made up of former travelwriters and network news affiliateassignment editors, and has placedstories in some of the highest-pro-file travel and lifestyle publica-tions. Over our 24 year history, wehave managed star-studded open-ings of major luxury resort proper-ties, served as a partner to stateand regional CVBs, led nationalmedia programs for well-knownconsumer brands and even stagedprominent media events at adven-ture sports facilities. Our firmknows how to market contentacross traditional and digital plat-forms, develop compelling cre-ative that galvanizes attention andtailor stories to reach editors at toptier travel and consumer outlets.

Unlike other agencies thatfocus solely on travel and tourism,we have a well-rounded portfoliothat showcases our strategicthinking, our creative approach topublic relations and our ability todevelop relationships with a broadrange of media. As your partner,we bring experience and sub-stance to the process, and just theright combination of strategy andcreativity.

Spring O’Brien brings Rapa Nui dancers from Chile’s Easter Island toTimes Square during their first trip to NYC.




TJM COMMUNICATIONS

INC.

2441 West SR 426, #1061Oviedo, FL 32765407/977-5004Fax: 407/[email protected]

Treva J. Marshall, President

TJM Communications is anaward-winning boutique lifestylepublic relations firm specializingin travel, food, wine and the arts.

Since 2001, the agency hasserviced international and domes-tic clients from its Orlando,Florida location and is a proudrecipient of the Hospitality Salesand Marketing International(HSMAI) Silver Adrian Awardfor Public Relations. As a bou-tique agency, we focus on deliv-ering personalized service withan emphasis on innovation, cre-ativity and strategy.

Comprised of a team of sea-soned communications profes-sionals, we are especially proudof the diverse nature of our com-pany, with staff members repre-senting origins from around theglobe.

TJM Communications hasbeen called upon to serviceclients in Spain, South Africa,Canada and throughout theUnited States. Our travel andtourism practice currentlyincludes clients such as: Florida’sSpace Coast Office of Tourism;Walt Disney World Swan andDolphin Resort; and Valesa

Cultural Services in Spain. Findus on Facebook at www.face-book.com/TJMCommunicationsInc.

WEBER SHANDWICK

919 Third AvenueNew York, NY 10022212/445-8000www.webershandwick.com

Rene Mack, President, Travel &Lifestyle Alice Diaz, Executive VicePresident, Travel & Lifestyle

Fusing the mind of a travel-industry insider with the muscleof a global network of con-sumer, crisis, digital and socialexperts, Weber Shandwick’sTravel & Lifestyle practice iscommitted to providing itsclients with award-winning pro-grams that drive engagement,awareness and revenue.

Our approach is to focus onthe essentials of public relationswith a balance of strategy andcreativity — and then blendbrand alliances, broadcast, verti-cal-market outreach, entertain-ment marketing, and socialmedia, as well as consumerevents to propel leisure brandsforward. We secure headlinesand ignite conversation to drivethe bottom line.

Our client work ranges fromsmall assignments to globalcampaigns. We represent coun-tries, states, CVB’s, airlines,cruise lines, motorcycle and carcompanies, hotels, resorts, casi-nos, travel suppliers and attrac-tions. We’ve launched theme

parks, travel websites and even aPapal museum.

Weber Shandwick fields glob-al crisis “go-to” teams for manyclients. Weber Shandwick wasthere when the lights went out atthe Super Bowl in New Orleans.We are the agency that the NewOrleans Convention & VisitorsBureau turned to help bringtourism back after HurricaneKatrina. And we created TheBahamas Weather Conference toprotect and provide geographicaccuracy of the multiple-islanddestination.

WEILL

27 West 24th StNew York, NY 10010212/288-1144866/PR-WEILLFax: 212/288-5855www.geoffreyweill.com

Geoffrey Weill, PresidentAnn-Rebecca Laschever, Exec.VPTania Philip, Sr. VP

During its 18 years in busi-ness, Geoffrey Weill Associates,a boutique company specializ-ing in upscale travel, tourismand cultural clients, has devel-oped a reputation for creativity,originality, and honesty. In itscontinuing quest to showcase itsclients in new and interestingways, Weill has begun to inte-grate elaborate fashion and cat-alog shoots at its properties tohighlight the luxury travelangle.

These prominent shootsinclude the Fall PreviewCatalog for Bergdorf Goodmanat The Greenbrier Resort inWest Virginia; a Condé NastTraveler fashion shoot aboardAqua Expeditions’ MV Aria inthe Peruvian Amazon; and aTown & Country Weddings fea-ture at Ashford Castle, Ireland.Weill also organized a 15-pagefashion shoot at Ashford Castlewith celebrity Chris O’Donnellfor CBS Watch! Magazine andcatalog shoots with NeimanMarcus at Aman Resorts.

Weill’s newest clients — QTSydney — a Design Hotel inSydney, and Castiglion delBosco, a Massimo Ferragamoestate in Tuscany — also inte-grate design and fashion withsense of place.

In addition to traditional PR,these fashion shoots have alsogenerated extensive socialmedia buzz.

THE ZIMMERMANAGENCY

1821 Miccosukee CommonsTallahassee, FL 32308850/668-2222 Fax: 850/[email protected]

Carrie Englert Zimmerman,Curtis Zimmerman, Principals

The Zimmerman Agency’scompetitive advantage in addi-tion to blending endless energywith strategic creativity to cap-ture revenue-driving results?Not being social butterflies.With a pioneering platform com-bining its public relations divi-sion with a robust 50-person in-house digital/social discipline,true integration drives not onlyresults, but penetrates beyondpublicity, deep into social chan-nels.

The Zimmerman Agencyboasts two divisions,travel/tourism and consumerbrands. Ranked by O’Dwyer’s asone of the largest two hospitali-ty public relations firms in theUnited States, the agency main-tains its leadership position withglobal tourism clients from HardRock Hotels & Casinos (ninecountries) and Club Med (sevencountries), to award-winningresorts like Little Palm Island inthe Florida Keys, Waikoloa inHawaii, the world’s firstDiscovery Resort at GatewayCanyons and Casa de Campo inthe Dominican Republic, as wellas iconic destinations includingthe country of Aruba and NorthCarolina’s Southern OuterBanks.

The consumer brand divisiontouts national clients FirehouseSubs, Party City, TPC Network,Pilot Pens, Cooper Tire, Krystal,Homes.com, Nature’s Own andTastykake. Creativity is at theheart of the approach fromlaunching a new fashion pen forPilot with a dress made from1,000 pens at New York FashionWeek to a national MomMashup for Cooper Tires, chal-lenging top mom bloggers on adistracted driving course with 33million social impressions.

The Zimmerman AgencyWOW! platform of planning hasproven to be a magnet for someof America’s most iconicbrands, in and out of the worldof hospitality. £

Actor Chris O’Donnell, second from right, received a Certificate of IrishHeritage from Ashford Castle’s Director of Marketing & Sales PaulaCarroll, far left, Minister of State at Department of Tourism - MichaelRing, and Ashford Castle GM, Niall Rochford, far right, during a CBSWatch! photo shoot on the property. The shoot was coordinated by Weill.


© Copyright 2013 The J.R. O'Dwyer Co.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.

Edelman New York

The Zimmerman Agency Tallahassee

Finn Partners New York

Lou Hammond & Asscs. New York

Development Counsellors Int’l New York

Allison+Partners San Francisco

Coyne PR Parsippany, NJ

MMGY Global New York

Fahlgren Mortine Columbus

Zeno Group New York

J Public Relations San Diego

Ruder Finn New York

French | West | Vaughan Raleigh

Jackson Spalding Atlanta

Spring O’Brien & Co. New York

rbb Public Relations Miami

CRT/tanaka Richmond

Blaze Los Angeles

Levick Strategic Comms. Wash., D.C.

Hirons & Company Indianapolis

Padilla Speer Beardsley Minneapolis

McNeely Piggott & Fox Nashville

energi PR Montréal

Gregory FCA Ardmore, PA

Linhart PR Denver

Schneider Associates Boston

Perry Communications Group Sacramento

Bridge Global Strategies New York

Standing Partnership St. Paul

Maccabee Minneapolis

Ron Sachs Communications Tallahassee

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O’DWYER’S RANKINGSTOP TRAVEL AND TOURISM PR FIRMS



OPINION Professional Development

In his seven years in the U.S. Senate,New Jersey’s Robert Menendez hasnever distinguished himself as much

of an orator.Nonetheless, the distinguished senator

was more than happy a week ago to promote in a blast email, the eulogy he

“was honored to beasked by his wife,Bonnie, to deliver at the memorial service” for depart-ed comrade FrankLautenberg.

One reason thatSen. Menendez wasso eager and confi-dent to share thisparticular speechwas that parts of ithad been “road-tested;” that is, lift-ed from the remarksof another formida-

ble speaker at another high profilevenue.

In his rousing peroration, Sen.Menendez declared, “Those of us wholoved, admired or respected him — andwho take him to his rest today — willhope to see that what he stood for, whathe fought for, will come to pass for allhe served.”

Sound familiar?It should ring a bell to anyone old

enough to recall Sen. EdwardKennedy’s stirring tribute to his brother,Bobby, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral almost45 years ago to the day. Said Sen.Kennedy, his voice wavering, “Those ofus who loved him and who take him tohis rest today, pray that what he was tous and what he wished for others willsome day come to pass for all theworld.”

Presumably, Sen. Menendez — or his(I bet young) speechwriter — felt thatthey could get away with pilfering fromthe memorable Kennedy speech without getting nabbed. Others — most notably,1988 Presidential candidate Joe Biden,who was forced to quit the race afterbeing caught plagiarizing the words of British politician Neil Kinnock, Sen. Hubert Humphrey, and also RobertKennedy in his speeches — haven’tbeen as lucky.

In journalism, the Rogue’s Gallery of

21st century plagiarists runs from thewell-established — New York Times’Maureen Dowd, Boston Globe’s MikeBarnacle, author Doris KearnsGoodwin, to the up-and-coming JonahLerner (of The New Yorker) — to theobscure-and-never heard from again,like the New York Times’ Jayson Blair andWashington Post’s Janet Cooke.

But what about plagiarism in PR?What are the rules or standards thatgovern public relations professionals inusing the words and works of others intheir speeches and writings?

In a general sense, PR writers shouldmake it their business to keep files ofthe best writing samples in their indus-tries or specialty areas. Speeches ofother CEOs, commentary from themedia about industry issues, cleverturns of phrase from gifted speakers andwriters — all should be retained forfuture use.

The problem arises when theseretained gems are trotted out to appearin PR-authored writings.

While there are no hard and fast rules,PR people should generally followthese guidelines to avoid even theappearance of stealing someone else’swork without attribution.SpeechesSpeechwriters should always opt on

the side of attribution — with facts,studies and memorable quotations.

Quoting noteworthy individuals inspeeches adds credibility and gravitas tothe speaker’s point. Moreover, quotinga memorable phrase from an honoredphilosopher or scholar or politician sug-gests that the speaker him or herself is alearned individual, knowledgeable ofother notable individuals who share thespeaker’s view on issues.

Likewise, citing the research of othershelps to “prove” the speaker’s argu-ments and give them support. Three orfour such attributed quotations in a 20-minute address are the norm.

In quoting others, speakers must becareful about two things: one, avoidusing quotations or humor that is sowell known to have become clichéd andtwo, whenever using a particularlywell-known phrase, always apply attri-bution lest you be accused of pretendingto be smarter than you are.Trade articlesThe same general rules apply to pub-

lic relations writers ghosting op-eds,case histories or features for print or‘Net, in behalf of clients.

Quoting others — particularly smartothers — adds heft to any article. Anop-ed of 500 or so words may containtwo attributed quotes to corroborate thewriter’s arguments; longer features mayallow greater attribution.

Again, the cardinal rule is to attribute,especially if not doing so might openthe writer to charges of plagiarism; anallegation that poisons the reputation ofany public relations person.

Examples in recent years of PR firmsanonymously “ghosting” articles forworking journalists in order to supportclients is the most egregious example ofwhat not to do.Scholarly articles and booksIn the 21st century, public relations

authors — of primarily professionalarticles and books — have proliferated.

The rules for attribution in such schol-arly works differ from those in trademedia. Since scholarly books and arti-cles must shine as exemplars for stu-dents in the field, their allegiance toattribution must be beyond reproach.

In quoting others in such scholarlytomes, public relations authors have achoice in terms of attribution. The tradi-tional method, of course, is to footnoteattributed works and identify the sourceof the passage quoted at the end of anarticle, chapter or book.

Scholarly articles today, however,where the flow of the manuscript ismost important, have adopted anotherequally-acceptable standard. The bestsuch articles gather information fromdiverse sources and then synthesize thatinformation to allow for the free flow ofcopy, uninterrupted by footnotes orauthors’ names, dates and citations.

In such cases, as long as attribution toauthors whose material is used is foundin the text and a bibliography, this tech-nique is perfectly acceptable and evenrecommended in order to enhance copyflow and readership.

The key remains to cite somewhere inthe text the author and material that isborrowed to help make your arguments.The only time there is a problem iswhen no attempt is made, anywhere inthe text, to acknowledge the use of theworks of others.

Hopefully next time, Sen. Menendezand his speechwriter will remember thissimple rule of attribution. £

Fraser P. Seitel hasbeen a communicationsconsultant, author andteacher for 30 years.He is the author of thePrentice-Hall text, ThePractice of PublicRelations.

Plagiarism and PRBy Fraser Seitel


Whenever I meet with a finan-cial planning client, the sub-ject of the Roth IRA comes

up. By way of a refresher, unlike a tradi-tional IRA, contributions to Roth IRAs

are nondeductible.For 2013, the maxi-mum that can be con-tributed to a tradi-tional and Roth IRAis the smaller of$5,500 ($6,000 if youare age 50 or older)or your taxable com-pensation for theyear, subject to modi-fied adjusted grossincome limits.Nonworking spousescan also make Rothcontributions as longas their spouse has

earned income. The Roth has manyadvantages over the traditional IRAincluding that the Roth grows tax-freewhile the traditional IRA grows tax-deferred; Roth’s have no age requirementsfor when a taxpayer must start takingwithdrawals or stop making contributions.Deductible contributions to a traditionalIRA are generally the better choice fortaxpayers expecting to be in a lower taxmarginal tax bracket when funds are with-drawn. Deductible IRA contributions mayalso be the better choice for a taxpayerwho needs the funds resulting from thetax savings to make the contribution.Many higher earning taxpayers who par-ticipate in an employer plan may findthemselves locked out of the IRA optiondue to income limitations.The In-plan rolloverThe American Taxpayer Relief Act

(ATRA) expanded the opportunity forparticipants to convert existing taxdeferred money in qualified plans such asa 401(k) plan to Roth accounts in thesame plan after December 31, 2012.

Prior to the new law, the in-plan Rothrollover conversion feature allowed par-ticipants to make in-plan rollovers for dis-tributable amounts, such as separationfrom service (termination), in-service dis-tributions, death or disability. The newlaw permits an in-plan Roth conversionwithout having a distributable event. Thelaw also permits rollover amounts fromthe pretax, matching or after-tax accounts

to a Roth account within the same plan.Even though the IRS treats the rollover

as a taxable distribution from a tax-deferred account, by paying tax on theconversion year, participants can poten-tially save future taxes on the principalamount. Future investment gains are dis-tributed income tax-free! Bear in mindthat these types of conversions don’tallow participants to change their mindafter the conversions are made.Recharacterizations are not allowed.

ATRA also reduced individual tax con-sequences, such as a 10% early distribu-tion penalty, by changing the requirementthat they have a distributable event (suchas reaching age 59 1/2) to make an in-planRoth rollover. Thus, plan sponsors nolonger will have to ascertain if the partic-ipant is eligible for an in-service distribu-tion under their plan’s terms before arollover. What plans need to doWhen offering in-plan Roth rollovers,

the plan must allow Roth contributions;it can’t permit the conversion unless italready allows them. Employers don’thave to offer this option, but if they electto do so they must make a plan amend-ment by the end of the year in which theamendment is effective.

As under prior law, plans just make eligibility for the in-plan Roth rolloversavailable to surviving spouse beneficiar-ies and alternate payees who are currentor former spouses. For now, the IRS hasnot published final guidance for planamendments. Roth distribution considerationsWhile ATRA focused on rollovers from

existing tax-deferred money in qualifiedplans to Roth accounts in the same plan,don’t forget to communicate Roth tax consequences to participants. A Roth dis-tribution is tax-exempt if it satisfies cer-tain requirements.

For example, the Roth distributionmust be held for five years and be madeafter an individual reaches 59 1/2, is dis-abled or dies. If any portion of the tax-able amount is distributed within a five-year period (which begins on the firstday of the tax year in which the rolloverwas made), it is subject to the 10% addi-tional penalty on early distributionsunless the participant is age 59 1/2 orolder. Get ready to offer rolloversEmployers drafting the in-plan Roth

rollover should work with their employee

benefits advisor to coordinate accountadministration with participant communi-cations, recordkeeping and nondiscrimi-nation testing. Also, be prepared to clear-ly discuss the new Roth rollover option toparticipants. The RMD for other than a RothFor employers sponsoring qualified

plans, it is crucial to identify participantsover 70 1/2 because of required mini-mum distributions.

The year the participant turns age 701/2, they can either take their RMD byDecember 31 or defer it until April 1 ofthe following year. If they choose to dothe latter, they must take their RMD byDecember 31 of that same year.Participants who are considered 5%owners must take the RMD each year,regardless of their employment status.However. participants that are not 5%owners, but are still employed, can defertheir first RMD until their employmentterminates. Failure to follow the rulescan subject the participant to a 50%excise tax. If it is discovered that a planhas not distributed the RMD timely or atall, you can use the IRS’s EmployerPlans Compliance Resolution System tocorrect the errors and avoid plan dis-qualification. If a participant over 70 1/2wants to rollover the RMD to anotherqualified plan or IRA, the plan must firstcalculate and pay the RMD. Amountswithdrawn above the RMD are eligiblefor rollover. £

Financial Management


Bill Pendergast, a FleishmanHillard veteransince 1999, has joined Brunswick Group asPartner in Dallas.He served as Chief of FH’s

Washington office, wherehe bolstered the Omnicomunit’s corporate practice inthe nation’s capital.Pendergast moved to FH

from former Bell systemoperating companyAmeritech in metro Chicago,prior to its acquisition byAT&T. Earlier, he did stints atKetchum, Cohn & Wolfe andAXA Equitable insurance.Steve Lipin, U.S. Senior Partner at Brunswick,

praised Pendergast as “one of the leading com-munications advisers in the field today.”At Brunswick, Pendergast will work in the cor-

porate reputation, crisis and telecom sectors.

People in PR

FH’S PENDERGAST TOBRUNSWICK IN TX

Understanding the Roth qualified plan rollover rulesBy Richard Goldstein

Richard Goldsteinis a partner atBuchbinder Tunick &Company LLP, NewYork, Certified PublicAccountants.

Pendergast


Retired General Stanley McChrystal,who led U.S. troops in Afghanistanuntil a 2010 Rolling Stone article

ousted him as the “runaway general,” toldhis sad tale to the 2013 PR Seminar at the

Ritz-Carlton at HalfMoon Bay June 2-5.

Former Secretary ofState CondoleezaRice initially accept-ed the invitation butwas unable to attend.She was interviewedby CBS-TV June3, saying U.S. actionis needed in Syria toprevent destabiliza-

tion in the region.McChrystal has just authored My Share

of the Task: A Memoir, in which he giveshis view of events. Although his remarksto Seminarians were off-the-record, he hasmade no secret of his feelings in recentmonths.

He told Yahoo!News in February thathis firing by President Obama is still“painful” to him although it was threeyears ago. He says he could imagine beingfired for incompetence or being killed but“I never thought I could be painted withany brush of disrespect or disloyalty.”

He had been summoned to the WhiteHouse to explain the article to PresidentObama. Secretary of Defense RobertGates said he had made “a significant mis-take and exercised poor judgment in thiscase.”Security expert DeWalt speaksSeminarians spent a day at Stanford

University as part of the 2013 meeting.All scheduled speakers except Riceappeared on the program including DaveDeWalt, former CEO of McAffee whotook the same title at FireEye, virus track-er, in November, 2012.

DeWalt said he hopes to take FireEyepublic by the end of this year. Plans areunderway for an initial public offering.

Other speakers were Stanford profes-sors Robert Sapolsky, Jennifer Aaakerand Deborah Gruenfeld; futurist EdieWeiner; Mattias Klum, photographer forNational Geographic; “social innovationexperts” Jason Clay and Jason Saul; andDean Ornish, M.D., whose topic was pre-ventive medicine.

Conspicuously absent from the list ofspeakers were editors of major media. In

previous years, editors of The New YorkTimes, Wall Street Journal, CBS, Time,CNBC, Fox, Financial Times and morethan a dozen other major media were sta-ples on the program.New Yorker profiles “lie factory”PR Seminar grossed $646,896 in the

year ending August 31, 2011, the latestreturn available. EIN is 41-1838593.Expenses were $496,850 for a profit of$150,046. Cash in a non-interest bearingaccount rose to $688,830 at the end ofthe year from $538,784 at the beginningof the year.

Seminar, which this year opened apublic website, www.theseminar.biz,takes in most of its money from confer-ence fees of about $3,500 for attendees.

The Sept. 24, 2012 New Yorker devot-ed eight pages to one of its earliest mem-bers who was a regular attendee fordecades — Leone Baxter. Her name is onthe first attendance list we obtained(1969) and was also there in 1991.

Only three other women were earlyPRS members. The 1969 list of 128attendees also included Denny Griswold,Editor of PR News, and Caroline Hood,VP-PR, Rockefeller Center. Not attend-ing that year was member MelvaChesrown, who had her own firm.

The New Yorker piece, by Jill Lepore,titled “The Lie Factory,” tells ofWhitaker & Baxter’s campaign againstauthor and Democrat Upton Sinclair whowas running for governor of Californiain 1934. He was the author of 47 booksincluding The Jungle, which exposedabuses in the meat-packing industry.

Sinclair lost the campaign and attrib-uted this to a “Lie Factory” run by W&Balthough its actual name was Campaigns,Inc. Lepore says it was the “first politi-cal-consulting firm in the history of theworld.” Baxter’s partner was ClemWhitaker, who died in 1961.

Sinclair said W&B operatives pouredover every word he had ever writtenlooking for quotes that could be usedagainst him. “They had a staff of politi-cal chemists at work, preparing poisonsto be let loose in the California atmos-phere on every one of a hundred morn-ings,” he wrote.

W&B won 70 out of 75 campaigns itworked on, says Lepore.

W&B is most noted for its campaignagainst federal healthcare programswhich it labeled “socialized medicine.”Its modus operandi was “attack, attack,attack.” An article in The Nation in 1951

by Carey McWilliams titled“Government by Whitaker & Baxter”took some of the wind out of its sails.The American Medical Assn. dropped it.Baxter “rarely” gave interviews, saidLepore. She died in 2001 at the age of95.

The Seminarians, as a group, arepress-intolerant, a behavior now exhibit-ed by many in PR. A current poll onodwyerpr.com finds the percentage ofrespondents who believe there is free-dom “from” the press is 43%, the samepercentage who believe that. “It’s badPR.”Meuchner, Hudson, McConnell head PRSHeading PR Seminar this year are

Chair Gerard Meuchner, Chief GlobalCommunications officer, Henry Schein,Melville, N.Y., Healthcare Products;Program Chair Betty Hudson, VPCommunications, National GeographicSociety, and Secretary-Treasurer ClayMcConnell, VP Communications, AirbusAmericas.

Seventeen of the 32 members of theSeminar governing committee are alsomembers of the Arthur W. Page Societyincluding Dave Senay ofFleishmanHillard who is also chair of theCouncil of PR Firms; Ray Day, Ford; JonIwata, IBM; and Ray Jordan, Amgen.

Attending Seminar in 2010 and 2012was Oscar Suris, VP of CorporateCommunications, Wells Fargo & Co.,who reports to Patricia Callahan, SeniorVP and Chief Administrative Officer.Suris, although not a member of the PRSociety, is co-chair of the 2013 annualconference in Philadelphia Oct. 26-29.This has caused ire among some mem-bers who wonder why such a lofty postwas bestowed on a non-member.

Page has a new professional develop-ment program whose initial cost is$3,750. Heading it is Gary Sheffer, VP,CC and PA of GE, who is also aSeminarian. Sources say Page membersare dissatisfied with the APR program ofPR Society of America, which is attract-ing less than half the recruits it once did.The International Assn. of BusinessCommunicators suspended itsAccredited in Business Communicationsprogram last year.

The PR Society announced in May it isstarting a plan to “enhance the profileand prestige” of the APR credential andhas hired the OrganizationalPerformance Group, Hamden, Conn., toassist with this. £


OPINION

By Jack O’Dwyer

Jack O’Dwyer

Opinion

Gen McChrystal tells sad tale to PR Seminar


Just consider that more than half of theworld’s population is under 30 today.

That means 50% of the world’s popula-tion was born after the year 1982. Nearly20% of the world’s population was bornafter 1994 and they were born at such an

astonishing rate USAToday called it thenext Baby Boom.

The oldest memberof this generation, asof this year, is oldenough to drive, hasvoted in their firstpresidential electionand is probably ontheir way to college.They don’t know aworld without smartphones, have neverused a card catalog,consider email anti-

quated, and have no use for printed books.This year, and every year thereafter, digi-

tal natives will be entering the marketplacein droves. By 2020, the entire generationwill be adult consumers. We are past theage of Gen Y, which entered the work forceduring the great communications disruptionof the past decade symbolized by theiPhone and then iPad. They entered theworkplace with a different mindset,changed social behaviors and a sense ofentitlement.

But with the coming of age of the nextgeneration — a generation often calledGeneration Z, but more likely to be knownas the iGen generation (a nod to Apple?) —there is likely to be such an enormous dis-ruption that it will fundamentally changehow brands and consumers communicateand, more importantly, what the media’srole is in this process.

“iGen,” the generation born between1994 and 2004, will in just a few short yearsbe joining Gen Y as a majority among dig-ital natives. This new consumer that cameof age in 2012, landed in a marketplaceenvironment where the online world andreal world are inescapably connected andwhere TV is served through computers,where the Internet is omnipresent and glob-al borders are virtually eliminated. iGen hasthe entirety of human knowledge on theirphones and, as such, is projected to be thelargest and deepest generation gap in histo-ry.

A company’s success or failure in relating

to this new “public” will be contingentupon its ability to communicate with iGenand earn their advocacy.

It will need to recognize that there hasnever before been a generation so globallyplugged in and so informed, and that tradi-tional strategies and tactics will be increas-ingly ineffective ways to connect withthem. iGen is a generation born with con-sumer-driven capitalism at its core andaltruism at its heart. Their patterns andbehaviors are opposed to anything that hascome before them and they basicallyignore messages from brands.

So if iGen-ers will no longer be payingany attention to any traditional form ofcontrolled brand messaging, how arebrands supposed to communicate withiGen?

It has become abundantly clear that it issimply in iGen-ers’ DNA to listen to theirtrusted network, rather than controlledmessages from brands. They only careabout information if it is relevant to themand, since the power of brand-engagementis in the hands of the consumer, iGen-erswill serve as their own gatekeepers, award-ing relevant information by sharing it withtheir trusted network of peers and buryingirrelevant information so it will be invisible

to their peers. Brand communications mustchange to be relevant to, and accessible, byiGen.

Brands have to earn admittance to theirinfinite touch points. And there is a pricefor admission. Brands must become fluentin their language and habits, converse intwo-way genuine and authentic communi-cation, and deliver on brand promises.

An acceptable bypass into iGen’s circleof trust is to leverage influencers thatalready have access to iGen’s infinite touchpoints. These influencers can be anyonefrom individuals active on social media tojust people with a lot of friends, or it canalso include the professionals in the com-munication industry.

If a brand can ethically earn favor frominfluencers, then Brian Solis’ one-to-one-to-many process of communication isleveraged. iGen may not listen to brands,but iGen will listen to influencers they trustwhen they talk about brands.

Since this is predicted to be the new nor-mal, the challenge then is how to be rele-vant in this new environment, how toleverage influencers and how to become abrand that iGen loves. Brands need tobrace themselves, be alert to change and bevery, very smart. £


Guest Column

Communicating with the iGenerationBy Stefan Pollack

Stefan Pollack, atenured PR and mar-keting professional, isPresident of ThePollack PR MarketingGroup.



WASHINGTON REPORT

Republican polling and consulting firm Luntz Global haswaded into the Washington Redskins name controversy andis planning a focus group this week on the NFL and the fran-

chise.ThinkProgress first reported that the firm of pollster Frank Luntz

is circulating an email survey on NFLfan opinions that includes five questionsabout the Redskins, the team’s owner-ship and its politically incorrect name.

While ire over the ’Skins name hasebbed and flowed for years, the teamwas hit with a federal trademark lawsuitin March by a group of NativeAmericans who say the Redskins nameviolates a prohibition on “disparaging” names.

The NFL, which denied connection to the Luntz work, hasdefended the Redskins name in the past as a symbol of “strength,courage, pride and respect.”

Luntz has worked with the NFL and NHL in the past duringlabor disputes.

“We will never change the name of the team,” Redskins ownerDan Snyder told USA Today in May, adding, “It’s that simple.NEVER – you can use caps.” That followed a letter to Snyder from10 members of Congress urging a name change.

One of the Luntz questions asks respondents to give their opin-ions on the Redskins name, followed by answer choices of “I findthe name offensive and they should change it” or “I don’t find thename offensive and they should keep it as is.”

The Redskins have not commented on the poll nor confirmedthey engaged Luntz. £

Luntz works Redskins image

Lockheed Martin, the $47 billion defense contractor hit hardby the federal budget sequester, has filled the slot of a retir-ing communications exec and made an outside hire for

another PR post.The moves follow last month’s hire of Bush White House and

APCO alum Gordon Johndroe for Lockheed’s top media rela-tions slot.

Jessica Nielsen, who led Global Communications for Dell’s ITservices business, has moved to Lockheed as VP ofCommunications for its Information Systems and GlobalSolutions division, a unit hit by voluntary layoffs in March. TheVP post had been vacant for several months, according to a com-pany spokeswoman.

Lockheed, which is facing an $825 million hit from thesequester and offered buyouts to employees earlier this year, alsopromoted Andrea Greenan to VP of Comms. for its space sys-tems business to replace the retiring 35-year vet Jan Wrather.

Based in Bethesda, Md., Nielsen oversees PR for a unit of thedefense contractor with $9 billion in sales. The unit’s IT servic-es and systems are used by NASA, the Defense Dept. and Dept.of Energy, to name a few, with applications as diverse as securi-ty, human resources and data gathering.

Lockheed had 2012 sales of $47.2 billion. Marillyn Hewsontook the reins as CEO in January.

Gordon Johndroe, a Bush White House PR staffer, joinedLockheed as VP of Media Relations and InternationalCommunications last month from APCO Worldwide. £

Lockheed continues PR revamp

Ellen Davis, chief public information officer at the U.S.Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, isjoining financial communications/corporate/crisis specialist

Sard Verbinnen & Co in September.She currently oversees media for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara,

who was appointed by President Obama in 2009, and 230 lawyersin cases involving insider trading and other financial crimes. £

The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs has moved to award twono-bid contracts to Washington-based PR firm Barbaricumaimed at increasing awareness of veterans health services

and recruiting doctors for the VA.Christopher Harvin, a former Bush administration staffer post-

ed in Iraq, the White House and Pentagon, is a Partner in the firm. Harvin confirmed his firm’s interest in the

new assignments to O’Dwyer’s, notingBarbaricum currently provides communi-cations and media analysis support toseveral prime contracts with the VA, inaddition to the new opportunities.

The VA has issued procurementnotices stating that it intends to contractwith Harvin’s firm for both assignments. Inthe first, the firm is to be tapped to support the2013 Military Base Awareness Campaign targeting veterans, mil-itary healthcare providers and “influencers” to burnish theVeterans Health Administration.

A second pact under the MBAC targets urban doctors in transitduring their daily commute with the goal of persuading them“through a compelling recruitment marketing & advertising cam-paign” to explore relocating to rural VA medical centers, accord-ing to an outline of the work.

Harvin said his firm is designated as a “service-disabled veter-an-owned small business” under federal contracting rules. “We arecommitted to improving the lives and well-being of our country’sveterans,” he added.

Harvin was previously a VP at Levick, directed communica-tions for Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo), and was a Senior Advisorto the Dept. of Army’s public affairs and Secretary of Defense’sstrategic communications directorate. He was also a PR advisor tothe Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq from 2003-04.

Barbaricum, named after a Roman army term for the frontierbeyond the Roman Empire, picked up a $900,000 comms. pactwith the Army’s PA unit in September. £

Vet affairs leans on Barbaricum

US Attorney officer joins Sard



International PR News

G NEW LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT FILINGSBelow is a list of select companies that have registered with the Secretary of the Senate, Office of Public Records, and the Clerkof the House of Representatives, Legislative Resource Center, Washington, D.C., in order to comply with the Lobbying DisclosureAct of 1995. For a complete list of filings, visit www.senate.gov.

Lobbying News

¸ NEW FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION ACT FILINGSFARA News

Below is a list of select companies that have registered with the U.S. Department of Justice, FARA Registration Unit, Washington,D.C., in order to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, regarding their consulting and communications work onbehalf of foreign principals, including governments, political parties, organizations, and individuals. For a complete list of filings,visit www.fara.gov.

The America Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai has tappedCrowell & Moring International to handle Washingtonissues that may impact commercial ties between China and

the U.S.C&M’s Andrew Blasi, who was with US-ASEAN Business

Council in D.C., oversees the effort. He also worked for the State

Shanghai COC signs DC firm

Foley Hoag, LLP, Washington, D.C., registered June 12, 2013 for the Government of Bangladesh, to engage representatives of the Obama admin-istration and Congress to promote respect for worker rights in Bangladesh and trade between the two countries.

Hill and Knowlton Strategies, LLC, Washington, D.C., registered June 15, 2013 for Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Tokyo, Japan, toprovide media monitoring and reports as well as strategic advice and counsel on communications, including media response.

Peck, Madigan, Jones &Stewart, Inc., Washington, D.C., registered June 10, 2013 for Embassy of New Zealand, Washington, D.C., to providegovernment affairs and lobbying services to assist with the passing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C., registered June 10, 2013 for Embassy of New Zealand, Washington, D.C., to develop a legislativesolution and strategy for facilitating greater trade and investment between the United States and New Zealand by improving temporary entry for NewZealanders into the United States.

MWW Group, Washington, D.C., registered June 17, 2013 for National Association of Colleges and Employers, Bethlehem, PA, to educateCongress on education, immigration and science issues pertaining to the employment of the college educated and the concerns of employers inobtaining high-skilled talent.

Barbour Griffith & Rogers, LLC, Washington, D.C., registered June 15, 2013 for The Working Group on Pharmaceutical Safety, Inc.,Washington, D.C., to provide guidance and strategic counsel on potential federal legislation and regulations affecting pharmacy compounding.

The Glover Park Group LLC, Washington, D.C., registered June 14, 2013 for Fluor Corporation, Washington, D.C., regarding energy policy andfunding.

Qatar Holding, the $60 billion investment arm of the Qatarigovernment’s sovereign wealth fund, has engaged RLMFinsbury for global PR support.

QH is the constant subject of investment rumors and reportsaround the globe from the soccer club Arsenal in May to webvideo giant Hulu in June. Its prominent holdings include HarrodsGroup, Miramax and the Paris Saint-Germain Football Club.

London-based RLM is a unit of WPP.QH in June sold its 10% stake in Porsche back to the families

controlling the luxury car maker. The SWF took the Porsche stakeduring the finance crisis in 2009 to shore up the company. It pre-viously worked with Citigate Dewe Rogerson for financial PR.

The value of the Porsche deal was not disclosed.Oil-rich Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. £

Qatar funds PR investments

Hill+Knowlton Strategies is providing advice and communi-cations counsel for Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator ofthe wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, which

fell two years ago to an earthquake and tsunami that knocked outpower and cooling systems to trigger three reactor meltdowns.

Tepco, which is 50% owned by the government of Japan, report-ed yesterday that it detected radioactive cesium in groundwaterflowing into its damaged reactor. That groundwater flows into theplant to be mixed with contaminated water from the melted fuel.

Reuters commented that Tepco’s announcement was “just anoth-er example of Tokyo Electric initially downplaying a problem,only to revise its findings because of faulty procedures.”

H&K is working for Tepco via the utility’s legal counsel. TheWPP unit says there is no communication between it and Tepco.No formal contract covers the agreement, which came about via anexchange of correspondence.

The Fukushima meltdown was the worst nuclear disaster sinceChernobyl in 1986. £

H+K advises stricken Japanesenuke operator

Dept. in the U.S. embassy in London and earlier was Australia’sliaison to the U.S. Congress.

Created in 1915, The Shanghai chamber was AOC’s third over-sees office.

The so-called “Voice of American Business in China” claims tobe “committed to the principles of free trade, open markets, privateenterprise and the unrestricted flow of information.”

Its June 14 marketing and media event covers relationshipsbetween global brands and communications agencies.

Speakers will include Clair Mah, Tiffany & Co.’s marketingchief in China; Hans Vito Lopez, executive planning director incharge of General Electric and Pepsi accounts at BBDO/ProximityChina, and Cindy Chan, head of consumer engagement atMondelez International, Kraft Food’s spin-off. £



Monument Optimization, Washington,DC. 202/904-5763. [email protected]; www.monumentoptimization.com. John Stewart, President.

While we specialize in search enginemarketing, we are more than just anSEO firm. We blend a variety of mar-keting tactics to maximize the effective-ness and return on investment ofsearch engine campaigns.

We excel in non-traditional searchmarketing environments where thenext steps are rarely obvious and thereare not any existing models to copy orfall back on.

Since every client’s situation isunique, we focus to understand theirspecific needs and create customizedsolutions that accomplish their goalsonline.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION MEDIA & SPEAKER TRAINING

Impact Communications, 11 Bristol Place,Wilton, CT 06897-1524. (203) 529-3047;cell: (917) 208-0720; fax: (203) 529-3048;[email protected]. Jon Rosen, President.

BE PREPARED! Impact Commun-ications trains your spokespeople tosuccessfully communicate criticalmessages to your targeted audi-ences during print, television, andradio news interviews. Your cus-tomized workshops are issue-drivenand role-play based. Videotaping/critiquing. Groups/privately. Face-to-face/telephone interviews/newsconferences. Private label seminarsfor public relations agencies. Make your next news interview

your best by calling Jon Rosen,Impact Communications. Over 30years of news media/trainingexpertise.

At Point, Inc., P.O. Box 361, Roseland, NJ07068. 973/324-0866; fax: 973/[email protected]; www.atpoint.com.Mick Gyure.

At Point provides the services ofdeveloping websites and managing theInternet operations of businesses, bothsmall and large, that do not have theexperience or the resources in-houseto perform these functions.

Clients receive personalized andhigh quality customer service, solu-tions that fit their budgets, and theassurance of At Point’s reliability.

PR Buyer’s Guide To be featured in the monthly Buyer’s Guide,Contact John O’Dwyer, [email protected]

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

PR JOBS - http://jobs.odwyerpr.comDirector, Public Relations

Sportsman Channel, the leader in outdoor TV forthe American Sportsman, is looking for a PublicRelations Director to oversee all public and mediarelations, effective immediately. Sportsman Channelis an innovative and quickly growing television net-work with leading social media and digital properties.The network, coupled with sister companyInterMedia Outdoors (IMO), a premier outdoors dig-ital and print publishing company, represent thelargest and most comprehensive outdoor mediaconglomerate in the outdoors’ space.

The PR Director is a full-time position based in NewYork City. The position will require some travel,including to the network’s Milwaukee headquarters,and be responsible for managing the department’sPublic Relations Manager based in Milwaukee.

Requirements:•Bachelor’s Degree required, preferably in communi-cations, PR or marketing•10-12 years of communications/PR experience;Cable/TV preferred

Qualified candidates should submit letter of interestwith salary expectations and resume in confidencevia email or fax. Please indicate the title of the posi-tion for which you are applying.

Judy Gilmore, [email protected]

Sportsman Channel is an Equal OpportunityEmployer. We offer a comprehensive benefitspackage.


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