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Edelman ganha parte da conta da HP para a Europa

Rodolfo Oliveira — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:59:35 +0000

A divisão de Imaging & Printing da HP entregou a sua conta de comunicação para Europa à Edelman. Em Portugal, dentro de quatro a cinco meses será tomada uma decisão sobre o alinhamento da conta, que poderá transitar para o Grupo GCI.

A Hewlett-Packard entregou a conta de comunicação da divisão de Imaging & Printing para a região EMEA (Europa, Médio Oriente e África) à Edelman, depois de um concurso que durou quatro meses e que irá afectar cerca de 70 países. A conta era trabalhada, na sua maior parte, pela Porter Novelli, apesar de tanto a Burson-Marsteller como a Hill & Knowlton trabalharem este departamento da HP em alguns países. Em Portugal, por exemplo, toda a conta da HP está nas mãos da Hill & Knowlton.

A directora de marketing de consumo da divisão de Imaging & Printing da HP Portugal, Rita Carvalho, explicou que, "em termos práticos, para já não haverá qualquer tipo de alteração na nossa agência de comunicação, que continuará a ser a Hill & Knowlton".

Ainda assim, a responsável admitiu que "ainda não está claro se no futuro a divisão de Imaging & Printing irá continuar a trabalhar com a Hill & Knowlton".

"A HP sempre deu autonomia aos países para escolherem com quem querem trabalhar. Dentro de quatro a cinco meses deveremos ter uma ideia sobre a nossa parceira de comunicação", explicou Rita Carvalho.

"Historicamente, a HP tem uma matriz de trabalho com outras agências para além da Porter Novelli, algumas mais locais. Em Espanha, por exemplo, a HP trabalha com três agências", concluiu a responsável.

De qualquer forma, está confirmado que a Hill & Knowlton portuguesa continuará a trabalhar a HP, quer ao nível corporativo quer das áreas de PSG (Personal Systems Group) e TSG (Technology Solutions Group).

Segundo Teresa Figueira, directora de operações da Hill & Knowlton, foi a própria agência que decidiu não participar no concurso pela conta de Imaging & Printing da HP. "Por enquanto não há qualquer tipo de repercussão. Ao nível local continua o mesmo alinhamento", explicou a responsável.

O objectivo da HP, ao escolher a Edelman, será mudar de um programa tradicional de Relações Públicas para aquilo a que a HP chama de "marketing de influência", e que envolve um maior ênfase na área digital.

O briefing contactou também José Manuel Costa, CEO do Grupo GCI, afiliado da Edelman, que não se pronunciou sobre a notícia.

Things your mother never told you...

jessicalomelin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:06:14 +0000

As a senior at the University of Oregon, my friends and I at the School of Journalism and Communication have been overwhelmed by one vast topic: job-hunting. In the four years of our undergrad, we have accumulated a general laundry list of to do's and what not to do's in order to set yourself apart. I've learned the importance of networking, having strong writing skills, and being persistent. As important as these attributes were, I knew there had to be more precise and specific details that public relations practitioners were looking for. I spoke to practitioners that range from recent college graduates to veterans in the field to see what skills our generation needed to be a driving force for public relations.

I spoke to an old colleague who works in the technology sector of pr and here are the attributes she believes make an entry-level candidate stand out:

Confidence to speak up, offer suggestions/opinions
Be news-savvy (Research!)
Be Detailed-oriented
Have a working knowledge of PowerPoint and Excel
Again, have strong research skills
Be Enthusiastic about PR
Network

Utilizing my colleague's last suggestion, I posed this same question on Twitter, and here is what Barbara Nixon, assistant professor of Communication Arts at Georgia Southern University, suggested: The ability to know that "busy" as a college student means **BUSY** in a PR Career. She relates this to juggling knives and flames. Barbara also encourages students to get published and goes into more detail on her blog: Listening Matters.

I then interviewed Kevin Elliott, Senior VP of Hill & Knowlton San Francisco, who has been with H&K since 1996 and offered the following words of wisdom for young public relations practitioners:

"I get excited when I meet a recent graduate who is a really good writer and a critical thinker to go with the writing skills. The other thing that has to be obvious are interpersonal and social skills. We need to be able to connect with people; with our colleagues and our clients as well as others on whom we depend to do this work. The ones who come in here showing real personality and charisma get a leg up and they tend to be more successful and resilient. I love it when a new hire comes in with a real excitement about what communication can do to change behavior, excite change and be a real disruptive force for good, for productivity and for real, measurable movement in social norms."

I last spoke to Andrea Nowack, a recent graduate from the UofO who began working in a large agency less than a year ago. She mentions below what she wish she would have known before entering the PR world:

Working at a large agency, I wish I would have known more about the business environment and corporate culture. No, I’m not talking about accounting, etc. I’m talking about how to manage client relationships, how to (or if you should) negotiate your salary, how to enhance communication with your manager and team, why it’s important to write coverage reports/recaps/etc., how PR people can be seen as trusted advisors, etc.

Media relations – Although this is a tough thing to teach, and I actually learned a lot about media relations doing the PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition, I would have liked to have known more about the basics before entering into a PR career. For example, how to develop a top story, the importance of targeting your pitches instead of mass pitching, why should we pitch to the FT versus BusinessWeek, info. about top pubs, why we need to prep spokespeople and how to do so, etc.

Presentation/public speaking skills

Digital skills

Focus on case studies – I learned this at the PRSSA national conferences, but otherwise there was very minimal focus on case studies.

From this list, we see that practitioners of all ages and from different backgrounds value particular skills and qualifications. Each pr candidate will be different, but it never hurts to be as prepared as possible.

PR students, practitioners, and professors, do you have more words of wisdom to share?

Living the agency life

apriltsui — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:37:24 +0000

by April Tsui, Corporate Communications & PR '08

When Andrea Craig, senior consultant at Hill & Knowlton Canada, graduated from Centennial College’s Corporate Communications and Public Relations program in 2003, she began her career in the dark.

As a junior public relations practitioner at Strategic Objectives, Craig worked 10- to 14-hour days and “didn’t see sunshine for a year.” She tackled every task with a can-do attitude and took every opportunity to deepen her public relations knowledge.

“Centennial really gave me a broad foundation to work from,” says Craig. “And without Centennial, I would never have landed such a great internship.”

At first, much of Craig’s work was tactical. “There was very little client interaction,” she says. “I also did a lot of media tracking and analysis. I had to read the daily papers on rotation — that’s how we started the day.”

Craig’s dedication was quickly recognized and she soon took on greater responsibilities, such as managing budgets and mentoring younger public relations practitioners. Still early in her career, she had already contributed to many interesting projects, one of which involved inviting Prince Andrew of the British royal family to christen a new building at Toronto General Hospital.

In August 2005, Craig joined Hill & Knowlton Canada. “I wanted to see what it was like at a bigger firm that had more training and resources,” she recalls. “I knew I wanted to go to Hill & Knowlton, and only applied there. Luckily, I was hired!”

Craig’s responsibilities as senior consultant include developing media relations strategies, media training, brainstorming, team, budget and project management and client relations. “There is no ‘typical day’ at the agency. There are always surprises,” she says. “But even though some surprises may be bad, you still learn something from them.”

“Marketing communications is the most fun but also the most challenging,” Craig says of her primary area of practice. “There are so many consumer products out there. You really need to think about how you are going to pitch yours to the media and make it stand out.”

Craig points out that practise makes media relations less intimidating. “It’s scary when you pick up the phone that first time. Media relations is something that doesn’t come naturally; everybody has to learn.” She also enjoys collaborating with other areas of practice, including health, aboriginal affairs and technology, for major projects.

Craig suggests students wishing to work in agency launch their careers at boutique firms. “The learning curve is much steeper, it’s more chaotic and you’ll be thrown into situations. It’s trial by fire!”

She also has a few pieces of advice for junior practitioners: be willing to do anything, say “yes” no matter how mundane the work may seem and work really hard. “Your hard work will pay off,” she says.

Wily Wille

divisionstreet — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:34:28 +0000

The embattled Chicago Children's Museum introduced its secret weapon today: Lois Wille.

Is that all you've got, Hill & Knowlton? I'm sure Save Grant Park is shaking.

Wille is a former Tribune editorial page editor and author of Forever Open, Clear and Free: The Struggle For Chicago's Lakefront. I guess the message is that if Lois Wille thinks it's okay to build a children's museum in Grant Park, you should too.

I don't have a full transcript of what Wille said this morning at a press conference called by museum officials, but her quote in the Tribune is rather ambiguous: "Any change to Grant Park must treat it with great respect; it is, after all, the city's original lakefront park," Wille said. "It has never belonged to one ward or one group of residents; it does belong to all the people of Chicago equally."

Yes. Which side are you on again?

Meanwhile, Yellow Dog Democrat sends along some excerpts from Wille's book:

* "But the real impact of what [Montgomery] Ward had done, and why, wasn't fully understood in 1913; and perhaps it is not yet fully understood today. Plans for buildings in parks, wider roads in parks, more concrete in parks - they are as prevalent today as in 1890." (P. 81)

* "The result is one of the finest museum complexes in the world. He was grateful, Stanley Field said years afterward, that Montgomery Ward had fought so hard to block the original site [for the Field Museum] in Grant Park." (P. 81)

Back to you, Lois!

the olympic spirit

peter — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:10:00 +0000

According to SPIEGEL, authorities in Beijing are calling yesterday's protests in London "sabotage" perpetrated by Tibetan separatists. Such actions are "disgraceful" and "not in the Olympic spirit," they say. More protests await as the torch heads to Paris and then San Francisco.

According to the Guardian, Olympic organisers have hired the public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton. With offices in 40 countries, H&K seems well-suited to the task, having previously spun stories for Enron, the CIA, the Gulf War, the tobacco industry, Maldives dictator Gayyoom, and such regimes as China, Peru, Indonesia, and Egypt. How do these people face themselves in the mirror each morning?

Konsums bananpolitik är ett litet steg framåt

letaguldkorn — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:28:07 +0000

Konsum på Mårtenstorget i Lund bestämde för en tid sedan att de endast skulle sälja KRAV-märkta bananer. Dessutom har de rättvisemärkta - men aldrig konventionellt odlade.

Googlade och såg att det gällde för flera av Coops butiker.

Jag tycker det är STORT!

Visserligen måste målet bli att allt - inte bara bananer - är rättvisemärkt. Vem vill att människor ska bli orättvist behandlade?

Genom att köpa sånt som inte är rättvisemärkt - och kommer från länder med stor fattigdom, liten eller ingen demokrati och utbredd korruption så ger vi vårt ekonomiska stöd till orättvisorna i världen.

Svenskarna är storkonsumenter av bananer - om vi ändrar våra köpvanor kommer vi att märkbart bidra till förbättringen för några av våra fattigaste bröder och systrar.

Kaffe är vi också duktiga på att dricka - som god tvåa på kaffedrickarlistan i världen - på första plats ligger Finland. Rättvisemärkt kaffe är försumbart dyrare än konventionellt kaffe. Och det gör skillnad.

Choklad är gott. Och ännu godare om vi vet att kakaobönorna inte är plockade av barnslavar. Det finns rättvisemärkt choklad som är mycket god. God i dubbel bemärkelse. Chokladfabrikens barnslavar

Bilden från Dick Emanuelssons blog - upptäckte bloggen först idag - den är mycket läsvärd.

Dick Emanuelsson om Banankompaniets erbjudande till skadade bananarbetare:

TEGUCIGALPA / 071120 / Det transnationella företaget Dole Food Co. Inc. dömdes av en jury i Los Angeles, USA, den 5 november att betala sex nicaraguanska lantarbetare skadestånd på mellan 311,200 till 834,000 dollar, sammanlagt cirka 22 miljoner svenska kronor. Och det är bara en början för Dole på tusentals andra fall.

--

Jag minns Armando, en äldre bananarbetare vid den honduranska atlantkusten som tvingades till att amputera sin penis efter att han hade i flera år hade stått i bananplantagernas diken med vatten upp till midjan och arbetat med dränering. Pesticiderna hade trängt in i urinröret och gett honom cancer. Han och 2.500 skadade bananarbetare i Honduras erbjöds 100 dollar i "sveda och värk" av Standard Fruit.

Bild härifrån

Bananer i uniform - Patrik Svensson skriver i Sydsvenskan om Chiquitas stöd till colombiansk terroristgrupp.

"Vad har Usama bin Ladin och Chiquitas bananer gemensamt?", frågade den amerikanska journalisten Amy Goodman i en kolumn förra veckan. "Båda har använt sina miljoner till att finansiera terrorism."

Det är ett bokstavligt sant faktum. Det amerikanska justitiedepartementet bötfällde nyligen fruktjätten Chiquita för brott mot de amerikanska terrorlagarna sedan det framkommit att företaget under flera år betalat miljonbelopp till den colombianska paramilitära högermilisen AUC.

Något är ruttet - Patrik Svensson fick ett brev från Chiquitas PR-byrå Hill & Knowlton på grund av sin artikel om Chiquitas stöd till den colombianska terroristgruppen AUC:

Jag kontaktade några av de svenska tidningar och journalister som på senare tid uppmärksammat Chiquitas samröre med högermilisen i Colombia. Alla hade blivit kontaktade av Hill & Knowlton eller Chiquita.

Denna subtila skrämseltaktik är naturligtvis inte brottslig på något sätt, frågan är om den ens är särskilt framgångsrik. Men den säger något om hur vissa företag försöker – och tillåts – hantera sina snedsteg.

--
Situationen får en ofrånkomligen att tänka på Union Carbide, företaget som 1984 i indiska Bhopal orsakade tidernas största industrikatastrof, när giftig gas läckte ut från fabriken och dödade minst 15 000 människor (krishanteringen efteråt sköttes för övrigt av Hill & Knowlton).

--

Om normala regler gällt hade pr-byråns trovärdighet varit för evigt havererad redan efter att man på femtiotalet på uppdrag av amerikanska tobaksbolag författade den ökända rapport som förklarade att rökning överhuvudtaget inte är hälsofarligt. För att inte tala om när man hjälpte till att sälja in det första Irak-kriget genom uppdiktade vittnesmål inför den amerikanska kongressen.

Action Aid om bananarbetarna i Costa Rica:

Arbetarna på bananplantagen arbetar ofta upp till 12-15 timmar om dagen för att tjäna minimilönen som är 67 Kronor.

DN:s Eva-Maria Bengstsson om sjyssta bananer:

För varje kartong Rättvisemärkta bananer betalar man en dollar extra, berättar Anders Cottrell. Pengarna går till de anställda i form av en "social fond". som används till olika projekt , förbättringar av skolor till exempel.

LO-tidningen om rättegången mot Dole-Food:

För Dole är domslutet i Los Angeles ett stort bakslag men bara en början på något mycket större. Liknande fall ska tas upp till prövning i USA-domstolarna för tusentals bananarbetare från Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras och Guatemala. Dole kallar domen orättvis och uppger till Los Angeles Times att företaget ska överklaga.

Andra bloggar om sjyssta och osjyssta bananer (bland mycket mer läsvärt):

Syrran

Vida latina

Till Dick Emanuelsson: Hej, jag hoppas att det var okej att låna bilder från din blogg. Jag hittade ingenstans där jag kunde skriva en kommentar - eller skicka ett meddelande till dig. Har dock skrivit i min blogg varifrån bilderna kommer.

Tidigare inlägg om mördarbananer.

Museum Melee

divisionstreet — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:57:28 +0000

While the epic Wal-Mart battle is fading into oblivion, the epic Children's Museum battle is about to get worse. After laying low for several months huddled with PR powerhouse Hill & Knowlton, museum officials are embarking on a new offensive - and that pretty much describes it - in its unpopular effort to move to Grant Park. Like the Wal-Mart fiasco, this fight also turned racial when the mayor (him again) accused foes of not wanting black kids in the neighborhood.

The controversy has already been a public relations disaster for the Children's Museum, but for some reason it's officials stubbornly blunder on like, well, children, even though downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly has suggested a couple dozen alternative sites he could get behind.

In the Tribune article, Reilly derided the museum's new public relations effort as "an attempt to manufacture public support that isn't there." Maybe Hill & Knowlton will have better luck than Barack Obama media maven David Axelrod, who was previously running stealth PR operations for the museum, according to the April issue of Business Week Chicago.

The opposition remains galvanized. In an e-mail sent to supporters earlier this month, Reilly wrote: "This project is NOT on the March Plan Commission Agenda but very likely to be heard at the April 17, 2007 meeting. Thousands of community residents, Friends of the Parks, Preservation Chicago, Save Grant Park and Friends of Downtown all continue to reiterate their opposition to violating the special protections that have preserved Grant Park for 172 years."

Preservation Chicago, in fact, has put Grant Park on its list of the city's most endangered, um, buildings.

In an e-mail sent out on Tuesday, the organization asked those opposed to the museum move to attend the Plan Commission meeting in green shirts.

It's an environmental message, to be sure, but it's also the only color the Children's Museum - which would be in line for park-related taxpayer subsidies - seems able to understand. Maybe in the confusion, the museum folk will change sides.

Mick Dumke and Ben Joravksy at Clout City have some other ideas about how to fill up Grant Park.

7 Tips for New PR Professionals

kristinaeichorn — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:27:30 +0000

Finding a career in the field of public relations can be daunting, to say the least. Where do you start? What are you qualified for? And what the heck are you supposed to do once you apply?Luckily there are some tips, tools and techniques you can use to be prepared for applying, interviewing and eventually accepting your dream job in public relations. Here is some advice from Julie Brown, Director of Media Relations at the University of Oregon, that I would like to pass on to the world of upcoming, past and future PR graduates, with some of my own insight thrown in for good measure.

Check Craigslist, Monster.com, Jobdango.com, etc. for job postings. If you see something you are interested in, apply online. This is how a lot of PR professionals, including Julie, find their careers.
Beef up that resume. Don't lie. But, exaggerate and emphasize what you have done to prove you are worthy of a position. An impressive resume is what gets you an interview. So, if the only past work experience you have is waitressing, then explain how waitressing improved your time management skills, ability to cooperatively work with others, handle stressful situations and gave you excellent customer relations skills.
So you got the interview? What do you do now? Dress for success. You should have researched the company by now, so you should know if they wear suits to the office everyday or if they all ride in on skateboards wearing jeans. (Don't show up to the interview with your skateboard, wearing jeans) but dress appropriately for the company's environment.
Bring an impressive portfolio. It's not the quantity in a portfolio, but the quality. If you are really proud of one news release, one media list and one feature article you have written, include only those three samples. According to Julie Brown, a lot of the time an interviewer won't even ask for your portfolio. "If you are really proud of your work and want to show it off, then speak up," she says. "The more enthusiastic you are about your portfolio and more eager you are to show it off, the more impressed an employer will be."
Don't only be excited about what's in your portfolio, know it like the back of your hand. "What I noticed most in interviewing for entry-level PR positions, is when someone obviously didn't have anything prepared," says Julie. Practice for the interview, multiple times, before the interview. Know what you want to say and be convincing. If you believe in you, they will too.
Follow up. There is a fine line between being eager and excited about working with a company and showing it, and bugging them. According to Julie, if you apply for a position and haven't heard back within a few weeks, don't hesitate to re-send your application once a month. Often times, agencies don't cycle through old applications, especially the entry-level ones, at all. So, keep sending your application to assure it will always be on the top of the pile. If you interviewed with the company and haven't heard back within the time they told you they would "let you know," a polite phone call wouldn't hurt, just to remind them that you are interested.
Don't be discouraged. Remember, a lot of people graduate with public relations degrees and you will find a job. It may take some time, but if you keep perfecting your resume and practicing your skills you should land a position in no time at all.

These seven tips from a PR professional to future PR professionals should help make you a hot commodity in the PR job market. Once you utilize these tips and tools and land that dream PR job of yours check out the blog, Client Service Insights by Leo Bottary of Hill & Knowlton, to find eight tips for newly minted PR professionals, that will advise you on what to do once you have the job.

Hill & Knowlton Canada information session: a report

adamfox — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:39:45 +0000

I attended an information session at Hill & Knowlton Canada today and thought I would share some of my thoughts and tag it to a new category, "Jobbing Out" where I'll discuss the environment of employment in public relations and corporate communications.

The hour-long presentation led by Human Resources Manager Paule Bellegarde laid out a history of Hill & Knowlton, a brief overview of the practice areas of the company and the progressive stages of titles throughout the corporate hierarchy. The floor was then turned over to members of the consumer, technology and corporate practices, respectively, who very briefly discussed their backgrounds and clients and then fielded questions from the audience.

If this all sounds standard, it's because it is. There is a growing trend among agencies to hold information sessions as an alternative to fielding requests for information interviews. While it streamlines the process and possibly creates a crowd-induced excitement or reverence for the agency, the knowledge gained from each additional session can easily become routine.

Nevertheless, these sessions are often the best way for up-and-coming PR stars to literally get their feet in the door of an agency. The hiring practices in PR are almost exclusively network-based which means the jobs will never get publicly posted. So if you're trying to get in I recommend making every effort to make friends with the HR staff at the agencies you target. Ask to meet with them under other pretenses: for an information interview, to follow up on a session or even to buy them coffee and just say hi.

I'm thinking about putting together a best and worst interview questions post and possibly an online job searching post. If anyone has any suggestions for further Jobbing Out topics please leave a comment or contact Stractical through the 'About' link.

Controversy Over Industry Survey Results

John Rice — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:02:13 +0000

Kudos to Gamasutra, one of the best sites out there covering all aspects of the gaming world, for reporting on the ongoing battle between the Entertainment Software Association and the Hill & Knowlton PR company.

Hill & Knowlton conducted a survey through Opinion Research Corporation regarding public attitudes toward videogames. A total of 1,147 respondents were polled, with 60% indicating agreement with the notion that the government should regulate games with mature content. Various other statistics from the study were released, which Gamasutra covers here.

An existing rating system is already in place, albeit a volunteer one similar to that in use by Hollywood movie studios. The ESA disputes the research findings released by Hill & Knowlton, saying it casts the gaming industry in a skewed light. Specifically, the ESA levels an accusation of lying by omission:

"The research released today was conducted by Hill & Knowlton for a proposal the agency made to the ESA this summer, but only a portion of it was released publicly now. Hill & Knowlton's decision to release these findings was both unprofessional and unethical and its timing is questionable. The research was done this summer and only performed in an effort to help Hill & Knowlton win our business.

In addition, the release of only part of the findings paints an inaccurate picture of the entertainment software industry. The other research conducted by agency but not released showed:

- More than two-thirds of 18-34 year olds currently play video games;

- Less than 1 in 5 Americans think playing video games is a negative way to spend time with friends and family;

- More than half of families think that video games are a positive way to spend time together;

- Educational video games are perceived to provide more learning than TV or DVDs." [emphasis added]

Finally, the ESA released the original PowerPoint presentation delivered by Hill & Knowlton containing extra information on the research in question.

Financial Times: A UK marketing group leads the field in Washington power game

Joe — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:32:56 +0000

Stephanie Kirchgaessner of the Financial Times takes a close look at the powerhouse of WPP agencies in Washington. It's a must read for today, however we dissect some key quotes below so you don't have to.

On their scope of agencies:

At a time when the capital’s public relations and lobbying organisations are more influential than ever, no single company has concentrated as much Washington influence under one corporate roof as WPP.

The British group owns three big public relations companies with Washington expertise: Burson-Marsteller, Ogilvy, and Hill & Knowlton. It owns BKSH & Associates, a lobbying shop, and Penn, Schoen and Berland, a pollster, both of which are units of Burson. It also owns Timmons and Company, Quinn Gillespie, and Wexler & Walker, three other lobbying operations.

They have deep government ties:

Among them are Mark Penn, the chief executive of Burson and chief adviser to Senator Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner; Wayne Berman, a top fundraiser to President George W. Bush and vice-chairman of Republican Senator John McCain’s White House campaign; Dan Bartlett, who served as counsellor to Mr Bush; Mark McKinnon, who was chief media adviser for Mr Bush in his 2000 and 2004 campaigns and these days advises Mr McCain; and Michael Whouley, a former senior adviser to Senator John Kerry who helped the 2004 Democratic candidate clinch his crucial caucus victory in Iowa.

$2m for a congress member?

Mr Holman [Craig Holman, a campaign finance lobbyist for Public Citizen, a Washington watchdog,] adds: “Those types of huge conglomerates can afford hiring former members of Congress. They go for about $2m a year and, once you hire those, you are the one who is controlling Capitol Hill.” He says the government’s interaction with business interests has become less transparent because of the convergence of lobbying groups, which must disclose who their clients are, with public relations companies, which do not have to reveal their clients’ identity.

On balancing clients with opposing viewpoints:

Sitting in his office just a block off the lobbyist-favoured K Street, Howard Paster, vice-president of public relations and public affairs at WPP and former head of legislative affairs during the Bill Clinton administration, says he is not bothered when companies within the WPP family have clients that oppose one another on issues on Capitol Hill. The situation is no different, he says, from two advertising agencies within WPP working for competing shampoo manufacturers.

“I don’t see where a different value applies. What you can’t do is have one person working two sides of the same issue,” he says, emphasising that companies within WPP operate independently. “I think the ethical standards are high and demonstrably so,” he says.

Banners for H & K Media & Presentation Microsite

gustavogava — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:03:44 +0000

This is another one man band case within the the Hill and Knowlton website. As all other banners are based in photographs, here my suggestion was to use illustrations showing different situations in the speech scenario. As this was the last group of banners, this project was done within a really narrow time frame and I had to illustrate in a very fast pace.

Kit Chan joins Hill & Knowlton

Stan — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 03:08:00 +0000

The one and only Kit Chan has joined Hill & Knowlton, one of the world's five largest public relations firms. The established singer starts her new career as a campaign strategist in September. Are high visibility and influence good substitutes for relevant PR training and experience?

"One reason is that in this profession, you can get away without formal PR training and professional accreditation. Employers hire PR personnel based on the candidate's writing skills, media experience and event management. Hence, it is easy for anyone who has these abilities, to claim to be a PR professional. Such flexible entry requirements have long been a subject for debate in the industry."
(Quick Guide to Public Relations, IPRS)

I wonder if this means that from here on out, we're gonna see a posse of celebrities crossing over to join the PR industry? I vaguely recall reading somewhere that Diana Ser also joined/started a PR consultancy not too long ago. Well it'll be interesting to note how this will work out for Kit.

Life in London - to be continued

Lieke Voermans — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 21:14:23 +0000

A draft post which I forgot to publish...

I've been working in London now for two weeks, and it has been really interesting so far. The first weekend I arrived, I've been exploring St. Thomas hospital for a bit. I turned out to have glandular fever which made me allergic to a certain medicine which I already had been taking for a week. The nurses were really nice and made me all healthy again.

Work has been interesting, since everything is so different! First of all, I start at 9.30! In Amsterdam I always had to start at 8.00, which somehow I actually like better. During the lunch break we don't all eat together, but people just go out to have lunch. I've been doing that as well, and it has been great to be working at Soho Square since there is a little park and many cool lunch places around. People are also really friendly, but it's hard to tell who means it and who doesn't.

The city itself is great! I love all the nice little shops, walking around the different areas, hanging out in Hyde and Green Park etc. Coming from a small town, I thought Copenhagen and Amsterdam were big, but London is HUGE. I got lost pretty much every day, and the traffic is terrible. Having delays every day really made me miss my bike, haha. This weekend I will be doing some exploring again, so I'll be back with more stories and pictures...

London baby!

Lieke Voermans — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 21:13:05 +0000

Now that everything is taken care of and it is certain that I'm going to go, I can say that I'm going to work in London this summer! Last semester I did an internship at an international communication consultancy in Amsterdam, which worked out really well. In my last week I decided to approach the Dutch CEO to see if I could do another (short) internship at one of their offices abroad. A few weeks ago I got the news that I was accepted at their London office!

Since then, I had to take care of a few things. First, I found an apartment to stay, which is from a Dutch photoghrapher living in both Amsterdam and London. From there, it will be around half an hour to get to SoHo, where I'll be working. Last week, I heard that I'm placed at the marketing communication division, which I'm really happy with. The contract is on the way, and yesterday I booked my ticket. I can't wait, since it will be a great opportunity to learn more about pr/marketing and especially when working at such a great and big office. And I'm so excited about the city, I've never even been to London before and now I will be living there for a little while. I'm so happy!