AND MORE! - O'Dwyer's PR News · AND MORE! Marchmagazine_Layout 1 2/28/14 3:58 PM Page 1. ... PROFILES OF FOOD & 20 BEVERAGE PR FIRMS 31 36WASHINGTON REPORT RANKINGS OF FOOD &

M a r c h 2 0 1 4 | w w w . o d w y e r p r . c o m

... AND MORE!

Marchmagazine_Layout 1 2/28/14 3:58 PM Page 1



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

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

March: Food & BeverageApril: Broadcast & Social Media

May: PR Firm RankingsJune: Global & Multicultural

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

September: Beauty & FashionOctober: Healthcare & Medical

November: High-TechDecember: Entertainment & Sports

Vol. 28, No. 3March 2014

ADVERTISERS

14

EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2014

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.

Bob Thomas Productions........................................................................33Foodminds.........................................................................INSIDE COVERJGAPeppercomm......................................................................................5Live Star.....................................................................................................8Log-On.......................................................................................................7M Booth.....................................................................................................3

Omega World Travel................................................................................17

Ruder Finn...........................................................................BACK COVER

Shoot Publicity Wire.................................................................................11

Strauss Media Strategies...........................................................................9

TV Access...............................................................................................35

COLUMNS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTFraser Seitel

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTRichard Goldstein

OPINIONJack O’Dwyer

BOOK REVIEWKevin McVicker

32333435

18PROFILES OF FOOD & BEVERAGE PR FIRMS20

31WASHINGTON REPORT36

RANKINGS OF FOOD & BEVERAGE PR FIRMS

OMNICOM SUES ACTIVIST SHAREHOLDER Omnicom has sued California-

based activist shareholder JohnChevedden in federal court.

16EDITORIALPR ethics gets lot of talk, but little action.6

BUSINESS WIRE PULLS PLUGON HIGH-SPEED TRADERSFacing criticism, Business Wire said itwill now stop licensing direct feeds to firmsengaging in “high-frequency” trading.

9

FOOD LABEL UPDATESREFLECT CHANGING NEEDSAfter twenty years, the NutritionFacts label is slated to receive an overhaul.Here’s what food marketers can expect.

10

NUTRITION MARKETING:SUCCESS IS IN THE DETAILSNutrition is in, but recent findingsshow that not all health and nutritionmessages are created equal.

12

HOW PR EVOLVED INTOSTRATEGIC COMMS.How PR pros can establish com-munications strategies for clients in anincreasingly media-diverse environment.

13

CONNECTING WITH HEALTHMINDED CONSUMERS More Americans expect food pur-chases to support long-term healthgoals. Here’s how marketers can respond toour nutrition charged environment.

14

INTERPUBLIC OUTPACEDALL RIVALS IN Q4Interpublic outpaced all rival mar-keting holding companies in the fourth quar-ter of 2013, posting double-digit PR growth.

15

CPJ RAPS US SPYING ON JOURNALISTSA report details how the NSA hackedinto the private communications of Arabsatellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

8

PR PRO BEHIND CABBAGEPATCH KIDS CRAZE DIESRichard Weiner, who ignited the

Cabbage Patch Kids craze of the early ’80s,has died at the age of 86.

19

WASHINGTON BATTLES OBESITY EPIDEMICThe U.S. government in recent

years has taken a notably tougherstance on obesity. But will it work?

18


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.


MARCH 2014 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM6

EDITORIAL

Ethics gets lots of talk, little practice in PREDITOR-IN-CHIEFJack O’[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERJohn O’[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERKevin [email protected]

EDITORJon [email protected]

SENIOR EDITORGreg [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSJohn O’DwyerFraser SeitelRichard Goldstein

ADVERTISING SALESSharlene SpinglerAssociate Publisher & [email protected]

John O’DwyerAdvertising 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 1,400 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.

Ethics generates lots of talk in PR but little action. The subject is currentlygetting a lot of attention at New York University, home of the world’s largestgraduate course in PR and corporate communication. The grad school pro-

gram currently enrolls 372 students at $65,000 each.“Communication Ethics, Law and Regulation” is a required course — taught by

James Holtje, “senior business leader and communications strategist” forMasterCardWorldwide, Emerging Payments, which he joined in April 2013.Holtje was chief speechwriter at McGraw-Hill and a speechwriter for the CEO atSiemens.

NYU also recently hired Jonathan Haidt, as a “professor of ethical leadership.”He joined in 2011 after 16 years at the University of Virginia where he was a pro-fessor in the psychology dept., doing research on moral psychology.

Haidt is spokesperson for a new group called EthicalSystems.org that claims itis the “first to pull together extensive research and resources on the subject ofbusiness ethics” with the aim of making it available to schools, government regu-lators and businesses. The Jan. 11 New York Times gave the subject a half-pagefeature.

The third leg on this ethics stool is the appointment of Paula Payton as Directorof the Dept. of Strategic Communication, Marketing and Media Mgmt. of NYUthat includes the PR&CC courses.

Murray addresses ethicsWe were shocked to see a picture of PR Society of America CEO Bill Murray

on page ten of PR&CC’s 24-page fall/winter progress report topped by the head-line: “Ethics Must be Part of Everyday Life and Work, Says PRSA PresidentMurray.”

What is ethical about the Society blocking reporters from covering its Assemblythe past three years and blocking O’Dwyer’s reporters from covering any otherparts of the Society’s annual conference for the past four years?

What is ethical about the Society selling hundreds of thousands of copies ofauthors’ articles from 1978-94 and demanding to be taken to court when caughtdoing this?

What is ethical about the Society withholding its IRS 990 tax return until almostthe end of the year when the initial deadline for it is May 15?

Although barred from covering the 2013 Assembly, delegates tell us there wasno discussion of Murray’s $61,222 bonus in 2012.

Silence isn’t goldenThe Int’l Assn. of Business Communicators, an individual membership group

like the Society, posts its finances on its website and allows reporters to join. Itsannual meeting is open to the press. The PR Society, however, does not post itsfinances and bars reporters from membership or covering its Assembly.

The Council of PR Firms, which is corporate memberships, conducted careerforums at Boston University and San Jose State last year, allowing press coverageand distributing free O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms.

PR Society chapters conducted similar forums in Atlanta and New York and inboth instances barred press coverage. Offers of free O’Dwyer’s Directories wererejected.

Will NYU, Ethicalsystems.org, Ethisphere Institute (world’s most ethical com-panies), Ethics Resource Center, and other groups focusing on ethics investigatesome of the errant policies and practices in PR?

Our experience so far with such groups is that what we are talking about doesnot quite fit with what the groups are concerned with. Holtje’s NYU class is inter-esting to us because it talks about “law” and “ethics.” What is “legal” may not be“ethical.” Legal involves a government body that can enforce behavior. Ethicalbehavior is voluntary.

We’re hopeful that NYU, as represented by Haidt, Payton, and Holtje, will tack-le some of thorny ethical issues currently facing the PR industry. £

— Jack O’Dwyer



CPJ said an examination of docu-ments stolen by Snowden shows“wide-ranging surveillance by the

U.S. and its allies (specially Britain), apractice that presents a clear threat toglobal Internet privacy and thereforefreedom of the press worldwide,” accord-ing to its report penned by Maya Taal,who has handled PR for CPJ and HumanRights Watch.

The NSA determined the Al-Jazeeraeavesdropping operation was a “notablesuccess.”

CPJ maintains that digital communica-tions is essential to newsgathering andthe privacy of journos previously wasprotected due to the decentralization ofthe Internet.

The U.S. surveillance practices,according to CPJ, undermine America’sglobal leadership in free expression and

openness, especially “when it comes tobattling efforts by repressive countrieslike China and Iran to restrict theInternet.”

CPJ believes the government’s collec-tion of “metadata” gives authorities themeans to “map a journalist’s contacts andactivity via transactional records such astime/date of phone calls, numbers calledand location.”

Press freedom set back in Egypt, RussiaThe Egyptian press under ousted

President Mohamed Morsi and the succes-sive military junta has been increasinglymuzzled, according to the CPJ report.

CPJ counted 72 cases of intimidation ofMuslim Brotherhood media critics whileMorsi was in command from Aug. 2012through July.

The harassment situation flipped againstBrotherhood supporters once the militaryseized control.

Outlets such as CNN and Al-Jazeerawere deemed by the regime to be unsympa-thetic to its goals.

Under military rule, 11 news outlets wereraided, 44 reporters jailed, five killed and30 assaulted.

Russia, with the onset of the 2014Olympics, issued draconian laws and pros-ecuted critics, “resulting in the most oppres-sive and anti-Western climate since theCold War,” according to the watchdog.

Russian journalists told CPJ they’reafraid to gather information from groupsnot condoned by the Putin regime.

Two Russian reporters were killed in2013, heightening the climate of fear. Thereremain unsolved murders of 32 journalists

Syria, Vietnam, Turkey, Bangladesh,Liberia, Ecuador and Zambia are othercountries that become riskier for journalistsduring the past year.

Former Guardian US columnist GlennGreenwald on February 24 released anoth-er slew of Snowden documents via digitalmagazine First Look. These new docu-ments detail a secret British intelligenceunit that allegedly engages in covertonline operations aimed at smearing thereputations of political opponents. £


MEDIA NOTES

CPJ raps US spying on foreign journalistsCommittee to Protect Journalists in February ripped the Obama administration’s policy of masssurveillance as a threat to freedom of the press worldwide. In adding cyberspace as a category onits annual “risk list,” CPJ noted that documents leaked by Edward Snowden showed that the NationalSecurity Agency had hacked into the private communications of Arab satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

By Kevin McCauley

Following a report by MIT media critic PaulRaeburn, the Washington Post said it will stop run-ning health and science press releases from uni-versities on its website and in print.

Raeburn, who writes for Knight ScienceJournalism at MIT, criticized the practice in a Feb.14 post, noting the paper, which identifies thesource of the material, features the releases underthe header “Study Hall.”

Health & Science editor Pooh Shapiro said themonths-old practice was “born out of frustrationabout how many interesting things are out thereand how hard it is to get coverage.” She noted thatoutside of science and health policy, which Postreporters cover, there is little news in the cate-gories from sources like the Associated Press.

Post spokeswoman Kristine Coratti followed upwith Raeburn on Feb. 18 to say the paper is discon-tinuing the practice.

Raeburn, a former Science Editor for theAssociated Press who penned the forthcomingbook, “Do Fathers Matter?” praised the paper forresponding quickly.

Media news brief

POST TO STOP RUNNINGHEALTH, SCIENCE RELEASES


According to The Wall StreetJournal report, so-called high-frequency traders were taking

advantage of direct news feeds fromBusiness Wire and Marketwire to gainan advantage.

The Journal report focused on howhigh-speed traders take advantage ofnewswire data from sources likeBusiness Wire and Marketwire to get aleg up on “less fleet-footed investors.”

The SEC’s Regulation FD was writtenbefore the advent of such tactics and theJournal notes that it doesn’t address“whether fractions of a second matter interms of when information is distrib-uted.”

Business Wire initially responded tothe Journal piece by defending its poli-cies and stressed that traders were “gam-ing the system.”

Business Wire Senior VP Tom

Becktold told the Journal “anyone” canget a direct data feed, while Senior VPand PR Chief Neil Hershberg said whatusers do with the feed is “beyond ourcontrol.”

Now, Business Wire CEO and ChairCathy Baron Tamraz said the companyhas consulted with Warren Buffett,Chairman of Business Wire parentBerkshire Hathaway and a high-speedtrading critic, to make the decisionregarding stopping direct feeds to trad-ing firms. She stressed that the companydid not give a time advantage to thehigh-speed traders.

“In discussions that have taken placewith a few of our clients, we learned thatthe article may have caused some mis-perceptions, and that was of deep con-cern to us,” Tamraz said, stressingBusiness Wire’s concern about its repu-tation.

New York Attorney General EricSchneiderman, who has been campaign-ing against high-frequency trading,hailed Business Wire’s move.

“Business Wire’s decision to voluntar-ily step forward and stop selling itsclients’ information directly to high-speed traders is a tremendous victory forour effort to eliminate advance tradingon market-moving information and ademonstration of Business Wire’s com-mitment to being a responsible industryleader,” he said on February 20.

Nanex, the company whose researchpreceded the Journal piece, said a prob-lem still exists at the close of trading.“Just because Business Wire has stoppedthis practice, doesn’t solve the prob-lem,” founder Eric Hunsader told theFinancial Times in February, notingtrades “bleed over” for nearly a secondafter the market closes. “The best solu-tion is to require earnings to not bereleased until one minute after 4 p.m.”

PR Newswire doesn’t provide tradingfirms access to its disclosure feed,although the company said it receivesfrequent requests. £

Responding to a Feb. 7 Wall Street Journal report about “high-frequency traders” exploiting its news feed, Business Wire saidit will now stop licensing direct feeds to those trading firms.

Business Wire pulls plug on high-speed traders

By Greg Hazley

MARCH 2014 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 9

The New York Times Co. in February reported a63.2 plunge in Q4 net income to $65.7 million ona 5.2 percent dip in revenues to $443.9 million.

Ad revenues slipped 6.3 percent to $212.1 mil-lion while circulation sales fell 3.9% to $207.7million.

Net profit for the full-year plummeted 52.3%,while revenues sunk 1.1 percent to $1.6 billion.

CEO Mark Thompson said 2013 was a “busyyear for the company.” NYTC unloaded the BostonGlobe, rebranded the International Herald Tribuneand revamped its advertising unit.

He said total revenues would have risen on ayear-to-year comparison had it not been for theextra week in 2012.

Growing momentum in the growth of digitalsubscriptions encourages Thompson as Q4 rev-enue growth surpassed the two previous quar-ters. Paid digital-only subscriptions jumped 19percent to 760,000 during Q4.

Thompson is stressing new digital ad productsand international sales for the current year.

He anticipates first-quarter operating profit torise in the low to mid-single digit range.

NYTC generated $70 million cash and a $74million tax benefit in Q4 via the sale of the NewEngland Media Group, which included the Globe,Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Telegram.comand a 49% state in Metro Boston.

Media news brief

NY TIMES SUFFERS 63%SLIDE IN NET INCOME


As more shoppers are becominghealth conscious, Nutrition Factslabels are increasingly relied on

as a window into the nutritional benefitsthey seek and the food components theywant to limit or avoid in the foods theybuy. This behavior is what Congress andthe FDA had in mind when the NutritionFacts labels was put into action in May1994. Over time, consumer research andnutrition science have evolved to warrantimprovements in the 20-year-oldNutrition Facts labels. The FDA, with theU.S. Department of Agriculture’s assis-tance, is proposing the most significantchanges to it since its inception in aneffort to make it even more helpful. Andwhile these changes are also responsiveto consumers’ needs for clearer and moreuseful information, they may impact thelabeling of a significant number of foodproducts in the marketplace, causing con-fusion in the effort. These anticipatedchanges will require substantial efforts onthe part of food manufacturers, foodretailers, and nutrition educators to assistconsumers in the meaning of the changesfor future label use.

Consumers find labels helpfulToday, there is no doubt that many con-

sumers in the U.S. rely on the NutritionFacts labels or some components of it tomake food choices. Studies have shownthat use of nutrition information, includ-ing the Nutrition Facts labels found onmost food packages, significantlyincreased in recent years. It has beenreported that 42% of working age adultsand 57% of older adults use the NutritionFacts labels most or all of the time whenmaking food choices. Nationally-repre-sented surveys have also reported thatabout 45% of Americans look at the calo-rie and other nutrition information on afood package when deciding to purchasea food or beverage. Americans also over-whelmingly (about 90%) reported findingit helpful for the Nutrition Facts labels todeclare sugars, calories, total fat, fiber,sodium, total carbohydrates, protein, sat-urated fat, and trans fat. Some studies

have also shown that use of nutritionlabels is associated with better health.

For about a decade, with reports ofincreasing consumer use and benefits, theFDA has been interested in makingchanges to the Nutrition Facts labels sothat consumers can continue to depend onit to make healthful food choices. In aseries of Advance Notices of ProposedRulemaking issued in 2003 through2007, the FDA sought public input onways to improve the Nutrition Factslabels. In these ANPRM, one concern isthat the science and data used to establishthe 20-year-old Nutrition Facts labelsrequirements are outdated. For example,the Nutrition Facts labels is a tool toimplement the Dietary Guidelines forAmericans recommendations; however,the nutrients emphasized in the NutritionFacts labels are not entirely consistentwith the nutrients of public health con-cern in the latest (2010) Guidelines.Additionally, the Institute of Medicine,which establishes the amounts of nutri-ents Americans need to be healthy, has setnewer Dietary Reference Intakes fornutrients since 1993 on which today’spercent Daily Values should be based.Further, the food consumption studiesthat establish the RACCs on which serv-ing sizes are based were conducted in thelate 1970s and ’80s. Americans’ typicaleating habits and food intakes havechanged. With changes in portions and agreater variety of product package sizes,some foods (e.g., bakery items, such asbagels and muffins, and frozen desserts,such as ice cream), are likely consumedin amounts that are greater than the typi-cal amounts eaten 20 years ago. Otherfoods, such as yogurt, are in smallerpackages and portions today, and are like-ly consumed in smaller amounts than theoriginal RACC in the FDA’s regulations.Thus, many of the RACCs used to deter-mine serving sizes in the FDA’s regula-tions may be outdated and changes areneeded to reflect today’s marketplace andfood consumption habits.

Another reason reflected in theANPRM for the FDA to consider changes

to the Nutrition Facts labels is to respondto public views about features in thegraphic design and content of theNutrition Facts labels that might beenhanced to make theNutrition Facts labelseasier to use to makehealthy food choices.For example, the FDAsought comments onthe prominence offeatures, such as calo-ries, the meaningful-ness of the term “per-cent Daily Value,”and the value of thefootnote that relates to Daily Values.

New label reveals big changes In late December 2013, the FDA sent

two proposed rules to the Office ofManagement and Budget for review —one to update the Nutrition Facts labelsdesign and content, and another to updaterelated serving size requirements. Theseproposals are apparently ready for publica-tion for public comment.

Among the changes that the FDA willconsider are modifications to the NutritionFacts labels format to include greaterprominence and boldness of calories andservings per container information,remove “calories from fat,” update thefootnote linking to Daily Value, andchange the placement of nutrient values inthe Nutrition Facts labels panel. Suchchanges, particularly an emphasis on calo-ries and servings, will impact most pack-aged foods. Manufacturers will need toconsider consumers’ perceptions of the re-designed Nutrition Facts labels and investin educational efforts to explain the differ-ences, even if they are not related to actu-al changes in nutrient values declared.

Because calories from added sugarshave been linked to obesity, the FDA willpropose to require “added sugars” on theNutrition Facts labels, under “sugars,”which is currently required. Food manu-facturers will have a challenge to developa technical method for determining added

Robert C. Post


Robert C. Post

Food label updates reflect changing consumer needsREPORT

After twenty years, the Nutrition Facts label is slated to receive an overhaul. The White Houseand the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced February 27 that these will be the mostsignificant changes since inception of the iconic symbol. The new Nutrition Facts labels willimpact a significant number of the 700,000 food products in the marketplace. As a result, foodmarketers should be aware of what they can do to educate consumers and help them navigatepast any potential confusion.

0Continued on next page



sugars and for keeping their records ofanalysis. Manufacturers will also need toinvest in consumer education, particularlyfor distinguishing inherent sugars fromadded sugars, which may be significantdepending on the food.

The FDA’s proposals will be updatingthe “nutrients of health significance” toreflect today’s public health concerns inthe Dietary Guidelines for Americans.This includes adding declarations forpotassium and Vitamin D, in addition tothe current calcium and iron declarations,and removing mandatory declaration ofVitamin A and C, which would becomevoluntary. This change will bring theNutrition Facts labels nutrients in linewith current science. However, it willrequire additional nutrient analyses by asubstantial number of manufacturers andmajor efforts to explain the differences ina food’s nutritional values to consumers.

Regarding serving sizes and RACCs,there will be major changes to percentDaily Values based on the questions theFDA posed in the ANPRM and publicresponses they received. For example,the proposals will make percent DailyValue more understandable by using thespace where the footnote appears toexplain what percent Daily Value actuallymeans. There will also be changes to serv-ing sizes based on the size of the productcontainer. More importantly, using cur-rent National Health and NutritionExamination Survey data, the FDA willpropose new RACCs for many of the the140 food categories under its jurisdiction.In effect, it will require changes to thelabeled serving size and percent DailyValues for nutrients and dietary compo-nents declared. In turn, this could affectthe validity and use of nutrient content orother claims that manufacturers havemade based on the current rules. Thismight be the most significant aspect of theproposed Nutrition Facts labels changes,implicating perhaps one-fourth to one-third of the packaged foods in the market-place. As such, food manufacturers willneed to be ready to explain the differencesin their food labels and help educate cus-tomers on the differences.

Getting the facts straightIn an effort to prepare for these likely

Nutrition Facts labels changes, food man-ufacturers should be assessing their foodand beverage product lines and their abili-ty to handle the possible changes outlinedin this article. The changes can impact asignificant number of product categoriesacross three major areas: the need toundertake new science or nutritionalanalyses in order to comply with the newrules, leading to the development of new

packaging design and production costs;the need for counsel on compliance withthe new requirements; and the need formarketing investment to communicate thechanges in labels.

In anticipation of the FDA’s proposedchanges to the Nutrition Facts labels andserving size rules, FoodMinds LLC creat-ed the Food Label Compass with strategicpartners EAS Consulting Group andNutrition Impact. Food Label Compass isdesigned as a one-stop service to help foodand beverage companies navigate theforthcoming FDA and USDA overhaul ofNutrition Facts labels requirements, pro-viding three critical functions: nutritionanalysis, regulatory consulting, and strate-gic communications. Given the enormityof what may change, there is a lot of prepwork to begin now. The task of assessingand accommodating the anticipatedNutrition Facts labels changes is sizable.There are many steps in the process thatbegins with evaluating the details of theproposed changes, revising labels to adjustto the final changes in regulations, con-ducting research and analyses to validateclaims or establish new claims.

As experience with the Nutrition Factslabels shows, there’s always room forimprovement. Consumers aren’t spendinga lot of time in supermarkets with all the

things that compete for their time today.On average, the figure is about 40 min-utes, which doesn’t include the time to getto and from the supermarket.Manufacturers and supermarkets haveconsidered how to make the most of thetime and give busy shoppers quick factson the front of food and beverage packag-ing that help them use the Nutrition Factslabels on the back. Facts Up Front, a vol-untary initiative by the Food MarketingInstitute and the Grocery ManufacturersAssociation in collaboration with theirmembers, is an example of a front-of-packsystem that is designed to help consumersmake efficient healthful choices based onkey nutritional components of foods thatare drawn from the Nutrition Facts labels.Facts Up Front is expected to have a verylarge reach and, with its March 2014launch, it comes along at perhaps the righttime to help manufacturers, nutrition edu-cators, and consumers get better acquaint-ed with the Nutrition Facts labels and thechanges on the horizon. Robert C. Post, PhD., MEd., MSc., is

Chief Science Officer at FoodMinds, LLC.He is a former Associate ExecutiveDirector of USDA’s Center for NutritionPolicy and Promotion, and formerDirector of USDA’s Labeling PolicyOffice. £



FEATURE

Health and nutrition comprise anincreasing portion of the head-lines. Need proof? Consider these

sheer traffic numbers as an indication ofwhat currently interests consumers:

Health.com now receives 1,517,745unique visitors per month; Yahoo! Healthreceives 3,969,752 unique visitors permonth; WebMD gets 17,682,242 uniquevisitors per month and DoctorOz.comreceives 2,760,977 unique visitors permonth. Prevention, which has a circula-tion of 2,921,618, now has a readershipof 8,764,854. Dr. Oz, which has a circu-lation of 800,000, boasts a readership of2,400,000. Women’s Health has a circula-tion of 1,574,269 and readership of4,722,807. You get the picture.

To get a better understanding of whatAmericans are thinking, PollockCommunications and Today’s Dietitianjoined forces to ask 518 registered dieti-tians: what’s in for 2014? Given the pop-ularity of health and nutrition relatedmedia, not all of the findings come as abig surprise. However, the devil is in thedetails. The results we found provideimportant lessons for food and wellnesscommunications. Consider the follow-ing with your food and wellness brands: Speak now or forever hold your

peace. If you’re working with a foodthat has been targeted as one to “limit” or

“avoid” by a popular diet trend, then youneed to communicate the science. Anddo it loudly. Unfortunately, nutritiontrends don’t always match the scienceand despite this, your brand can becomea casualty. Case in point: according tothe RDs, the Paleo diet and gluten-free orwheat restricted diets top the list for pop-ular weight loss techniques in 2014.Despite the scientific evidence andexpert consensus that whole grains pro-mote health and that the data to support agluten-free lifestyle for healthy individu-als is non-existent, people are cuttingthese foods from their diet. If you workwith a gluten-full or wheat-containingbrand, you have the ammunition to fightthe battle thanks to the DietaryGuidelines for Americans and MyPlate.But it’s up to you to get the word out. You’re not alone. You definitely will

not be the only health and wellness storyout there on any given day. RDs antici-pate that the amount of nutrition infor-mation available to consumers will growin 2014 — 79% suspect that there will be“more” nutrition information this yearthan last. You might be in bad company.

Unfortunately, with the growth of nutri-tion information, RDs say that there willalso be an increase in misinformation.About 75% worry that there will be“more” misinformation available thisyear. Blogs, websites and social media

outlets can be the worst offenders.Blogs, websites and social media chan-nels have provided an easy-to-accessplatform for all of the gurus and wanna-be experts out there. While there aremany reputable sources of health andwellness advice from credentialedauthorities, misinformation runs rampanton the interweb. Nearly 50% of RDs citeblogs, websites and social media outletsas the place to get your misinformation.TV and magazines are in a distant 2ndand 3rd place. Give them good information.

Despite the concern that food andlifestyle bloggers may relay misinforma-tion to consumers, over 70% of RDs saythat the number of nutrition posts will

increase in 2014. Therefore, food andlifestyle bloggers play an important rolein relaying health and wellness newsabout your brand. Don’t add to the confusion. If you rep-

resent a health and wellness brand, sup-port your messages with evidence, pro-vide scientific refer-ences and cite theguidelines. More than90% of RDs feel thatthe mass quantity ofnutrition informationand misinformationcan lead to consumerconfusion. Don’t con-fuse your brand’sconsumer. Health spreads

via word-of-mouth. Remember whenword-of-mouth meant people talking topeople? The platform may have changed— the water cooler is now Twitter, a chatover lunch is now on Facebook — but theconversation remains the same. More than200 of the RDs say that consumers getnutrition information from family andfriends; 274 say they get misinformation.Similarly, consumers gauge their healthand weight by comparing themselves tofriends and family. You have to be more than healthy.

Health and wellness is a priority for con-sumers, but according to RDs, they careabout other brand benefits. Close to 60%report consumers will be more influencedby eco-labels, such as organic, fair tradeor humanely raised in 2014, with “local”and “sustainable” topping the list. Put your brand on MyPlate. Your

influencers are using MyPlate to teachyour consumers what to eat, so showthem how your brand fits. Three-quartersof RDs report using MyPlate to educateconsumers about nutrition. If you’re noton the plate, you won’t be in the grocerycart. Some things never change. Nutrition

trends will come and go, but one thingstays the same: eating more fruits andvegetables will always top the list of themost important steps to improving overallhealth. So don’t overlook opportunities toshow how your brand helps Americansincrease their fruit and vegetable intake. Jenna A. Bell, PhD, RD, is Senior Vice

President, Director of Food & Wellness atPollock Communications. £

Nutrition marketing: why success is in the details

By Jenna A. Bell

Celebrity reality shows are out, food news is in. Given thepopularity of nutrition related media, however, it bearsmentioning that recent findings prove not all health andnutrition messages are created equal.

Jenna A. Bell

King Digital Entertainment, the Dublin-basedgame maker behind the smash hit “Candy CrushSaga,” is relying on Brunswick Group for PR coun-sel as it pursues an initial public offering.

King, with operations in London and MountainView, Calif., filed Feb. 18 for the IPO.

The 11-year-old company claims 128 milliondaily active users, mostly via mobile devices. Inaddition to Candy Crush Saga, King’s top gamesinclude “Pet Rescue Saga,” “Farm Heroes Saga”and “Papa Pear Saga.”

King, which listed a proposed offering price of$500 million, said revenue exploded from $22 mil-lion in Q1 of 2012 to $602 million in Q4 of 2013 asit swung from a loss in 2011 to a $568 millionprofit in 2013.

Susannah Clark is Senior Director of GlobalCommunications for King, based in London.

PR services brief

BRUNSWICK ADVISESCANDY CRUSH IPO



Beginning in the late 1980s, cracksbegan to appear in the agency-client relationship, traditionally

based on a 15% surcharge on media costs. Procter & Gamble was one of the first

major advertisers to announce that itwould no longer pay the traditionalmarkup on media buys. The Cincinnati-based giant felt that agency fees wereinflated and personnel rosters bloated.P&G proposed that instead, agency fees benegotiated based upon brand profitabilityand agency costs.

Running parallel to this sea change wasthe fact that the major ad agencies weremerging into public conglomerates toserve increasingly global clients andachieve greater cost efficiencies. As aresult of this focus on the bottom line, adagency personnel numbers started toshrink. The American Association ofAdvertising Agencies estimated that theamount of people employed in advertisingdecreased by more than 50% in the twodecades ending in 2012.

At the same time, the conglomeratesbegan to acquire ancillary marketing serv-ices as quickly as they could, as a means ofbroadening their offerings. These servicestraditionally charged negotiated fees,based upon project scope or hourly rates.

This shift in economic fundamentalswould ultimately provide extraordinaryopportunities for those PR and ad agenciesthat could adapt to a fracturing marketingcommunications environment.

Meanwhile, public relations leaders likeHarold Burson and Daniel Edelman recog-nized this implosion in advertising repre-sented a real opportunity for their industry.PR budgets had historically been lowerthan advertising budgets. Now, with the adbusiness under pressure, PR agenciesbegan to capitalize on this, emphasizingthat public relations — not advertising —was the smart communications choice.

PR revenues kept growing from the ’90sinto the new millennium. PR firms ofevery size and most regions of the countryshowed strong income gains year afteryear.

Things continued on the upswing untilthe economic slowdown following the

attacks of 9/11. Clients, facing anunknown future, slashed budgets. ManyPR firms lost a major portion of theirbillings.

PR agencies, trying to regain their foot-ing, redoubled their efforts to provide thekinds of services for which they hadalways been known: strategy, event plan-ning, crisis communications, financialrelations, speechwriting, media training,media outreach and the like. Some beganoffering these services as part of an inte-grated whole, guided by a strategicoverview of client needs and opportuni-ties.

The growth of social media posedanother major opportunity to the publicrelations industry. As marketers began torealize that, like it or not, the Internetwould become critical, they began toclamor for all manner of Internet-basedservices, from whatever source could pro-vide them at the right price and quality.Consequently, forward-thinking PR firmsbecame experts in new media as fast asthey could.

At our mid-sized agency, for example,in addition to all the traditional serviceofferings, we now can make readily avail-able to clients a host of additional capabil-ities. Among them: social media plat-forms, creative-digital services, contentdevelopment, website and app design,logo design and naming, experiential mar-keting, licensing, business results meas-urement and market research.

What’s the main value in having allthese core competencies? It’s certainly notour ability to offer them individually,although we can do that. The real value toclients is our ability to integrate these dis-parate skills into an overarching brandstrategy — which brings us to the heart ofthe ideas being discussed herein: PR as astrategic communications business.

A key question: How do we establishcommunications strategy for our clients inthis brave new world? We begin byListening. We listen as our clients talkabout their immediate and long-term prob-lems and opportunities. We ask astutequestions that evoke real insights betweenstakeholders and brands. We listen to ourclients’ audiences, to the findings of

research that we undertake, as well asexisting findings. We listen to competitiveand general industry intelligence. We for-mulate our strategy.

When we have atrue picture of a clientbrand’s relationshipwith its audiences, weengage with that con-sumer in a way thatreflects our strategy.We engage by creatingpersuasive brand mes-sages and placingthem everywhere theyneed to be; and then we repeat the process.This ability to tune in and fine-tune is soeffective that it has become our mantra:Listen. Engage. Repeat.

For us, the act of listening is seriousbusiness. That’s why we have a ChiefComedy Officer whose role is to train ourentire staff in stand-up comedy.Surprising? Not really, if you think aboutit. Aside from the obvious benefit of mak-ing us better presenters, comedic trainingalso reminds us to listen first, last andalways — and to not take ourselves tooseriously. Stand-up comedy trainingallows employees to step back from day-to-day pressures and look at the big picturefrom a human perspective. It fosters teamspirit and creates a more enjoyable workenvironment as well.

Today’s leading companies remainahead by training smart, confident profes-sionals: Professionals who engage easily,think creatively, listen actively and deliverflawlessly under pressure. These associ-ates operate under a business model whichemphasizes integration of services underan umbrella of strategic thinking.

Public relations has morphed into strate-gic communications. Our business isbased on ideas and on the people whochampion them; on what’s coming next;on where the industry is going versuswhere it’s been. Our best practice centerson inventing (and then reinventing) bestpractice. It’s become both a lot more chal-lenging and, for those who love the work,more personally rewarding than ever.Janine Gordon is President of

JGAPeppercomm. £

How PR evolved into strategic communicationsThe seeds of our current marketing services model were sown in the decades following WorldWar II. Sales of goods and services exploded, and paid media numbers grew dramatically tofeed demand. Advertising agencies and their suppliers were among the most profitableenterprises in the U.S. But it was too good to last.

By Janine Gordon

Janine Gordon



FEATURE

For brand marketers, this shift calls fora sophisticated response — somethingmore than slapping on an improved

food label or trumpeting the use of farm-fresh ingredients. Companies that hope towin the loyalty of today’s health-consciousconsumers need to understand the socialand economic forces that motivate them.

In a nutshell, these individuals are mak-ing tougher demands on nutrition andhealth brands because they are able to doso, because it suits their desires, and — per-haps most important — because they haveno choice.

Staying healthy because we canInterest in proactive health is hardly new.

Staying well has been a preoccupation ofevery civilization from ancient times. Whathas changed? In the first place, consumerscan absorb vast amounts of product infor-mation through digital and social media.Technology also allows them to monitortheir own progress toward health goalslinked to their lifestyle, eating choices, useof supplements and medications.

The monitoring aspect of this trend,sometimes called the Quantified Self move-ment, has spawned a tsunami of devicessuch as FitBits and JawBones that track theuser’s exercise and energy expenditure,hours of sleep, calories consumed and vitalsigns. Apple’s App store has fueled the do-it-yourself health trend with more than13,000 apps to help monitor and improvehealth. In total, there are more than 1,500cardio fitness apps, 1,300 diet apps and1,000 stress and relaxation apps. The glob-al mobile health applications market willreach $4.1 billion in 2014, according to areport published by research companyTechnavio.

Step-counting wristbands and othergadgets are just the early symbols of thismovement. Ford Motor Company hasdeveloped technology that allows peoplewith diabetes, allergies and asthma to mon-itor their conditions from the dashboard.The fashion industry is following suit with“smart clothes,” including a skullcap mar-keted to moms of high schoolers in high-impact sports. The cap’s network of electri-cal sensors measures the severity of hits to

the head. Such enhancements are destinedto spread all across our retail horizon.

Staying healthy because we want toDevices and apps clearly facilitate the

shift in consumer health awareness, butthey represent just one component.Sociological networks are just as important— not only as information sources, but asengines of consumer desire and amplifiersof distaste. For a young person growing upwith social media, the infatuations sharedby friends on a network may be more influ-ential than the recommendations of doctors.Investigators studying search trends onsocial media consistently report that healthis a dominant preoccupation.

In some cases, the technology turns thequest into a game, where the gold coins orthe “kills” are improvements in yourweight, energy levels or vital signs. Gameincentives are at work when networks offriends post their weight loss results, howmany miles they’ve run, or their check-insat local gyms. It’s the same reason millenni-als are spending $30 a class on Soul Cycle.

This social component poses a uniquechallenge for brand marketers. Before theInternet and social media, brands had con-siderable control over news about productsand the message that went with the pack-age. It was a world of “set and forget,” withannual programs that often performed asintended. Today, among young consumers,networks of friends decide what’s news,what people like, and what they want.Special nodes and “influencers” set thesetrends in motion, for good and for bad. Tomarketers, these influencers are oftenopaque and inaccessible.

For example, the social network maydecide that the intended health profile ofyour product matters less than some socialmedia “meme” about health risks or envi-ronmental harm. Studies may show thatyour new diet drink will help consumerscut calories — but suddenly, your fan baseis more interested in negative buzz aboutyour plant-derived sweetener. Or you havean attractive new jogging shoe that inspirespeople to stay active, but on Facebook, theconversation is all about laborers in a fac-tory 10,000 miles away and friends areasking each other: “How can we focus on

our own health when workers who makethese products are struggling?” You arediligently posting data about Omega 3s inyour product, or the absence of BPA, butyour audience is asking itself, “What dif-ference is this product really making in myworld?”

In other words, con-sumers no longer justwant companies to betransparent or provideaccurate information.What they “like” is forbrands to be respon-sive to their social con-cerns. The brand mar-keter is banking on thepower of an attractive,highly original TV ad, when the real moti-vators are peer pressure, competition andsocial game incentives.

Staying healthy because we have toIn 2014, more than any period past, con-

sumers have the tools and technology toplot a healthy path through life. Social plat-forms allow them to broadcast what theywant, bring others onto the same page, andultimately force companies to take up theircalls for action. They’re in charge of theirhealth because they’re able, and because it’swhat they want.

But the third social force that we men-tioned at the start — unlike the first two —is completely beyond the individual’s con-trol. In a nutshell: most people can’t affordto be desperately ill. In an age of expensivemedical treatments, rising insurance premi-ums and narrow provider networks, con-sumers have no choice but to take charge.You may think your body weight is yourown business. Then, suddenly, your compa-ny’s self-funded insurance plan adopts bio-metric screening and you find out that yourpremiums will rise if you become obese orpre-diabetic. Across the U.S., as compre-hensive health coverage contracts to a rarecommodity, smart people stay healthy. Aswe said at the top, it’s not just because tech-nology allows them to, and peer pressurefuels their desire. It’s because there’s nolonger any alternative. Tracy Naden is Managing Director of

Allidura Consumer. £

Connecting with today’s health minded consumersFor the last 20 years, a dramatic shift has occurred in the way Americans manage their health.Instead of reflexively swallowing medicine, more people are now apt to describe their attitudes as“proactive” and “holistic,” and look to healthy food and nutritional products to keep them well.Consumers now expect purchasing choices to support long-term health goals.

By Tracy Naden

Tracy Naden



Connecting with today’s health minded consumers

Interpublic’s PR revenues rose at a “dou-ble-digit clip” during the fourth-quarter,bolstered by strong results in the U.S.,

Brazil and across Asia, according to AndyPolansky, CEO of Weber Shandwick, PRflagship of the communications combine.The WS, GolinHarris and DeVries-led PRarm of IPG’s constituency managementgroup was up in “high single digit” rangefor the full-year.

Polansky, who took over in November2012, said creation of Weber Shandwick’sMediaCo content offering was amonghighlights of the year.

The unit consists of 300 staffers includ-ing former journalists, editors, designers,video producers, media planners andsearch pros to develop “completing storypropositions “for clients.

Chobani, Kohl’s and PhRMA wereamong big PR wins for WS.

IPG’s fourth-quarter net income tumbled37% to $212 million on a 2.9% revenueuptick to $2.1 billion.

Full-year net dropped 38 % to $288.9million on a 2.4% revenue rise to $6.5 bil-lion.

A $60.6 million restructuring charge to“better align” costs in Continental Europeimpacted that performance.

CEO Michael Roth said IPG’s resultswere hampered as “results in Europe fellshort of expectations.”

He expects a rebound due to “competi-tiveness of the new business front” and the“strategic cost reductions” taken in 2013.

Omnicom PR slips 2% in Q4Omnicom PR revenue declined 2% in

the fourth quarter to $340.8 million, a 3.7%decrease organically.

For the year, the conglomerate’s PRoperation was up 1.5% on an organic basisto $1.3 billion, a 2.9% climb overall atfirms like Ketchum, Porter Novelli andFleishmanHillard.

OMC CFO Randall Weisenberger saidthe PR performance, although down, was“pretty good,” adding the year-over-yeardecline in PR was more due to “exception-al performance” in the fourth quarter of2012.

Across all OMC units, net income fell

2.1% to $300.5 million as revenue tickedup 2.9% to top $4 billion for the quarter,including a 1.6% increase in U.S. revenueto nearly $2.1 billion.

Overseas revenue climbed 4.3% to justunder $2 billion.

For the year, OMC revenue was up 2.6%to $14.6 billion on a net income decline of$7.2 million to $991.1 million.

Advertising climbed 2.6% to just under$2 billion in the fourth-quarter, while itscustomer relationship management opera-tion — The Integer Group, Agency.com —soared 6.1% to $1.4 billion on field mar-keting events and print and custom pub-lishing businesses.

Omnicom is in the process of mergingwith Publicis and took $13.3 million incharges related to that deal in the fourthquarter. This transaction is highly complexand is taking longer than we originallyexpected,” said CEO John Wren in a con-ference call, adding closure “most likelywill slip into the third quarter.”

OMC, which spent $112.2 million onacquisitions and earn-outs in 2013, includ-ing Singapore PR operation Icon (now partof Ketchum), ended the year with $4 bil-lion in debt and $2.7 billion in cash/invest-ments.

Publicis growth misses targetPublicis reported a 4% increase in fourth

quarter revenue to $2.6 billion but a slow-down in emerging markets and exposure tothe luxury sector weakened its perform-ance for the year.

Net income ticked up to $1.1 billion(792M euro) as organic growth for the yearwas 2.6% — below its 3% target — on rev-enue of $9.5 billion (about 7 billion euro).

Maurice Levy, CEO and Chairman ofthe French ad/PR conglomerate that ismerging with Omnicom in a $35 billiondeal, said organic growth was hampered bypostponed or canceled campaigns, particu-larly in emerging markets. He also saidPublicis is particularly exposed to the lux-ury sector.

For the year, revenue jumped 8.7% totop $9.2 billion as North American revenuesurged 8.5% to $4.4 billion and Europeposted 13.2% growth to $2.7 billion.

Merger costs hit nearly $52 million (38

million euro). Publicis noted more than 70work streams are focused on the merger,including digital, finance, shared servicesand talent, among others. The deal is stillunder review in China after clearing 12countries, including the U.S. and EuropeanUnion.

Levy said the merger is “progressingsteadily.”

WPP PR revenues declineWPP reported on February 27 that PR

and PA operations fell 1.7% to £921 mil-lion ($1.3 billion) for 2013, although arocky first nine months of the year turnedto growth in the fourth quarter.

PR/PA was outpaced by 2013 gains inadvertising/media investment management(+5.5%, £4.6 billion), data investmentmanagement (+1.6%, £2.5 billion), andbranding/healthcare/specialty comms.(+3.9%, £3 billion).

Total revenue for the year at WPPclimbed 3.5% to top $11 billion, includinga 4.6% increase in the second half. Netprofit climbed 14% to nearly $1.6 billion.

PR and PA were among a handful ofoperations that fell short of performancetargets for the year and WPP said “overall2013 was difficult for many of the group’spublic relations and public affairs brands,particularly in North America, ContinentalEurope, Latin America and the MiddleEast.”

WPP’s PR operations include OgilvyPR, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, GloverPark Group and Burson-Marsteller, amongothers. PR/PA was up 1.2% in the fourthquarter.

Currency fluctuations, specifically astrong British pound, hurt profits for theyear and caused WPP to miss earnings tar-gets.

Revenues up for MDC, as well as losses MDC Partners reported a 4.9% rise in

fourth-quarter revenues to $307 million ona widened net loss of $92 million.

CEO Miles Nadal said the quarter“capped another year of exceptionallystrong performance” for the parent ofKwittken & Co., Allison+Partners andSloan & Co.

He said MDC strengthened its balancesheet, reduced borrowing costs andimproved flexibility to use capital to bene-fit shareholders.

MDC posted a five percent uptick inorganic growth and $25 million in net newbusiness during the past year. £

Interpublic outpaces rivals in fourth quarterInterpublic outpaced rival marketing holding companies in thefourth quarter of 2013, posting double-digit growth in PR,ahead of Omnicom, Publicis, WPP and MDC. Merger-boundOmnicom and Publicis, meanwhile, saw declines or postedmodest growth. By Greg Hazley and Kevin McCauley



REPORT

OMC CEO John Wren and COORandy Weisenburger, two of thehighest paid ad execs ($53.3 mil-

lion and $31.5 million, respectively in2012), are battling Chevedden’s quest tokeep management’s eyes from proxyvotes until the annual meeting May 20.

Chevedden, who says he holds stock inabout 80 companies, argues that confi-dential voting is needed not only at OMCbut many other companies because, as aYale Law School study found,“Management-sponsored proposals (thevast majority of which concern stockoptions or other bonus plans) are over-whelmingly more likely to win by a verysmall amount than lose by a very smallamount to a degree that cannot occur bychance.”

Chevedden is a shareholder activistwho has locked horns with OMC andmany other companies before. He hadbeen sued four times in the last twomonths, including the Omnicom suit,which was filed in January.

GMI Ratings, whose board includesNell Minow, and Chevedden have criti-cized the pay packages of OMC execu-tives. GMI has given OMC a “D” since2005 on executive pay, governance prac-tices, and length of service by directors.Six of the OMC directors as of 2012 wereage 71 to 83 including 60% of the auditcommittee.

Chevedden believes management cancurrently monitor voting results to influ-ence the outcome on matters in whichthey have a personal stake, like stockoptions and other pay. He also believesOmnicom’s board is too entrenched andtherefore less independent than it shouldbe. He said OMC adopted versions of his2011 and 2012 proposals regarding share-holder right to act by written consent andshareholder right to call a special share-holder meeting, respectively.

Chevedden’s proposal for OMC wouldimplement confidential voting for man-agement-backed matters like executivepay, bylaw changes and shareholder reso-lutions. Chevedden says management cansee how a vote is going on a certain pro-

posal and can start rounding up votesneeded to defeat an unwanted proposal.

Throwing down the legal gauntletThe OMC lawsuit is grist for our mill

since ethical vs. legal is a raging topic inPR these days. The OMC vs. Cheveddenlegal battle is an example of what actual-ly happens in the business world despiteall the talk about “ethics” and doing the“right thing.” Legal swords areunsheathed and “ethics” goes out the win-dow.

The Council of PR Firms last yearmade ethics its chief concern, launching“Ethics as Culture.” Dave Senay ofFleishmanHillard, an OMC PR Firm,who is again chair in 2014, initiated thefocus on ethics. He defined it as “be hon-est, don’t steal, be fair.”

Confidentiality of stockholder voting isa big issue not only at OMC but at manyother companies including JPMorganChase.

Forty percent of stockholders of JPMvoted in 2012 to strip Jamie Dimon of hisChairman’s title, leaving him as CEO.

The dissidents had lost their right to seehow votes were going on stockholderproposals while management kept thisright. Stockholders cried “foul,” sayingthe bank had an “unfair advantage.”

Business and academics talk a lot about“ethics” but in actual practice it is thelegal card that is played. That can be acostly card for those without a big corpo-rate bankroll.

Chevedden is being sued in Federalcourts rather than via the SEC where suchactions are usually filed. The reason, saysChevedden and his supporters, is thatOMC might stand a better chance in courtbecause a court does not have the vastexperience that the SEC has with share-holder proposals. Chevedden, who is rep-resenting himself in the suit, has askedthe court to dismiss the complaint.

Fairness issues are epidemicIt would seem that management having

info that dissidents don’t have is ipsofacto unfair and unethical.

“How to work with senior managerswho defer to the legal function and thecourt of law rather than PR and the court

of public opinion” was the subject of apanel that included lawyers at the annualconference of PR Society of AmericaOct. 28, 2013.

Proving our point about legal trumpingethical, O’Dwyer’s reporters were notallowed to cover that session or any otherconference sessions. We were barred onthe whim of Society staff and officers. Noreasons were given for the boycott.Attempts to interview panelists later, onwhat was said went nowhere.

Having struck out there, our hopes fora discussion of business ethics werebuoyed when we saw six such expertsquoted in a half-page feature in the Jan.10, 2014 New York Times. The headlinewas: “In Life and Business, Learning tobe Ethical.”

One proposal is that people who wantto behave ethically should take “training”just like beginning pilots use flight simu-lators before actually piloting a plane.This, supposedly, will give them the gutsto speak up when they see somethingwrong happening. Their courage will be“exercised.

Fairness issues dot the landscapeincluding one of the biggest which iswhether the distribution of income in theU.S. is “fair.” Income disparity is afavorite topic of David Cay Johnston,author of The Fine Print: HowCompanies Use “Plain English”to RobYou Blind.

Johnston, President of InvestigativeReporters & Editors, is also is a critic ofconsolidation trends in numerous indus-tries including airlines, telephone/internetservices, banks and railroads. He feelsmonopolies and near-monopolies raiseprices and worsen the plight of those withlow incomes.

He says the proposed $45 billiontakeover of Time Warner Cable byComcast violates “basic economic theo-ry” which calls for competition withinindustries.

Johnston should turn his sights on con-solidation in ad/PR where there will soonbe only three giant companies —Omnicom/Publicis, WPP Group andInterpublic. £

Omnicom sues shareholder to protect management

By Jack O’Dwyer

Omnicom has sued California-based activist shareholder John Chevedden in federal court toexclude a governance proposal from the advertising and PR conglomerate’s 2014 annual meeting.The suit is an example of management protecting its ability to know how stockholders are votingwhile deying that information to dissident groups.

888-333-3116

Find out about cruises sailing from New Yorkand other worldwide destinations

• 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


888-333-3116

Find out about cruises sailing from New Yorkand other worldwide destinations

• 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



FEATURE

On February 25, U.S. health and nutri-tion experts received some unex-pected news. A study published in

The Journal of the American MedicalAssociation claimed obesity rates amongchildren between the ages of two and fivehad dropped 43% in the last decade. Thatreport, part of a massive federal health sur-vey conducted by the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention, marked the firsttime the agency had measured a significantdecrease in weight for any age group.

Unfortunately, the vast majority ofAmericans captured in the CDC study did-n’t fare as well. In fact, the CDC reportclaimed that women aged 60 years andolder had actually experienced “a significantincrease in obesity” during the same period.

For fifteen years, obesity in America hasbeen classified as an epidemic by the WorldHealth Organization. Numbers back up thisdesignation. According to the CDC, morethan a third of U.S. adults — 36% — areobese. In the two decades between 1990 and2010 obesity doubled among U.S. adults,and approximately 17% of children betweenthe ages of two and 19 are now obese.Obesity has become America’s bête noire. Ithas created a national health crisis.The New York Times on February 25

interviewed health and nutrition expertswho posited their explanations for chil-drens’ precipitous weight drop as reportedby the CDC study. Some experts noted thatyoung children now consume fewer sugarybeverages than a decade prior, and that low-calorie foods have become popular for fam-ilies with children. Experts also pointed tothe slew of new federal and state policiesthat have been enacted to fight obesity.While a silver-bullet answer remains elu-sive, each of these theories hint at an under-lying notion: that pervasive, years-long fed-eral outreach on the dangers of unhealthyfoods might finally be working.

Health agencies get toughOn the same day that TheNew York Times

reported on the CDC study, another food-related story was making headlines: FirstLady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initia-tive, working in conjunction with theUSDA, announced that beverage compa-nies could no longer advertise soft drinks

and other junk food products at publicschools. The new rules would also apply tosoda advertising on athletic fields and gym-nasium scoreboards. Beverage companies(who currently comprise more than 90% ofschool marketing) could still advertisehealthy alternatives like bottled water or dietsoda, and after-school fundraisers and con-cessions at sports events would be exempt.The USDA, meanwhile, announced it wasrolling out its much-awaited updates toschool lunches, which mandate new caloric,fat and sodium compliance standards.Finally, the Food and Drug Administrationon February 27 unveiled its long-awaitedchanges to the Nutrition Facts label, thoseubiquitous black and white boxes found onfood packages. Calorie counts now appearin larger type, added sugars get a mentionseparate from sugars natural to the product,and the parameters of “serving size” havebeen adjusted to reflect sizes consistent withcurrent consumption habits.

Fighting obesity has clearly become a pri-ority for U.S. federal agencies. What’s justas clear, however, is that a behavioral shift isunderway in how these agencies go aboutmaking those national health goals a reality.Gone are the days of merely educating con-sumers to the dangers of high fat and sugardiets; as recent actions by the USDA andFDA indicate, regulation at the federal, stateand local level is now the preferred methodin guiding and ultimately influencing pre-ferred consumer behaviors. The million-dollar question is: will it make a difference?

Consumers growing health consciousEarly findings indicate that a growing

number of Americans are beginning to heedthe warnings on the dangers of unhealthyfoods. New York-based Hunter PublicRelations performs an annual study thatgauges Americans’ responses and opinionsof the top food-related headlines of eachyear. The newest study found that child-hood obesity rated as the top food newsstory of 2013. The Hunter study, which alsogrades consumer sentiment and trust, foundthat childhood obesity ranked highest notonly in terms of general consumer aware-ness but also in level of highest concern.

Moreover, the Hunter study also indicat-ed that there might be a corollary betweenthe media’s recent coverage of obesity and

consumers’ newfound awareness and con-cern of this issue. More Americans saidthey’re now reading food labels and payingattention to ingredients, and half of thosepolled said they make food purchasingdecisions based on headlines they had seen.If the Hunter study is any indication, con-sumers may be altering their eating behav-iors based on the media’s coverage ofrecent actions undertaken by the FDA,USDA, and the Let’s move! initiative.

“The media’s coverage of childhood obe-sity has been substantial,” said GraceLeong, Managing Partner at Hunter PR.“Anytime the White House is behind some-thing, it makes a difference. The FirstLady’s messages have been very consistent,and there’s just no denying that they’re hav-ing an impact.”

Will regulatory measures like the recentsteps enacted by the FDA, USDA and theLet’s Move! initiative become the standardgovernment response to the obesity epi-demic? While the efficacy of these recentmeasures still demands debate, telling peo-ple what to eat is a message that, tradition-ally, hasn’t gone over well. Who could for-get the national ire raised in response to for-mer New York City Mayor MichaelBloomberg’s war on obesity — city-widebans on trans fats, graphic city ad cam-paigns detailing limb amputations as aresult of diabetes, requiring restaurants todisplay calorie information, and mostfamously, an ill-fated ban on large sodacontainers? A growing number ofAmericans may say they want to eat health-ier, but health authorities now seem to havemoved beyond the education model as ameans of moving the needle in coercingfuture behavior.

“If you look back at education cam-paigns, historically speaking, they don’twork,” Leong said. “We educated peopleon smoking and they still smoked. Youmight hear what the studies are saying, butyou still drink too much soda. SoBloomberg said, ‘No one’s listening to thedata, so I’m taking matters in my ownhands.’ The campaigns are similar, they’restill interested in raising awareness of theproblem, but there’s now a strong-armingcomponent, because we know nothing elseworks.” £

Washington gets tough in battle over obesity Federal health agencies have changed their tactics in the battle over obesity. After decades ofpassive campaigns meant to educate Americans on the dangers of excessive fats and sugars,authorities have now ditched this strategy for more aggressive measures. For years the efficacyof anti-obesity outreach has been doubted, but health authorities seem convinced that this newgloves-off approach will get the public’s attention. By Jon Gingerich



Weiner’s firm, ranked number 25in the 1985 O’Dwyer rankings,in 1983 ignited the Cabbage

Patch Kids craze of Coleco Industries thatswept the country. The company wasunable to keep up with demand for thedolls, each of which had its own “personal-ity” and came with “adoption papers.”

Weiner, who had won the account fromHill and Knowlton, sparked the fad by win-ning segments on three network morningTV shows in early November. He had intro-duced the dolls at a press conference in theCentral Park Zoo in June.

Despite the overwhelming publicityobtained for the product, Weiner later saidhis firm never made much money off it.

Coleco, which also sold the Adam HomeComputer, another product beset by supplyproblems, went bankrupt in 1988 andHasbro and others took over production.

Weiner was a prolific author, lecturerWeiner’s 23 books included Webster’s

New World Dictionary of Media andCommunications (1996); Professional’s

Guide to PR Services (1998);Professional’s Guide to Publicity (1984),and The Skinny About Best Boys, Dollies,Green Rooms, Leads and other MediaLingo (2006).

He conducted more than 100 workshopsfor PR Society of America and other groupsincluding the National Institutes of Health,and taught a three-credit course in PR atFordham University Graduate School ofBusiness Administration. It was the firstsuch course for MBAs. He also taught atNew York Institute of Technology.

Weiner’s firm specialized in marketingpublicity, working for clients such asBristol-Myers Squibb, Cigar Assn. ofAmerica, GTE Telephones, General Foods,Hebrew National Foods, Mattel, PhilipMorris, Smith-Corona, Johnson &Johnson, Pepsi-Cola, Suburu, Volvo,Colonial Penn and AARP.

Sold firm to BBDOWeiner sold the firm to BBDO in 1986

which was then merged with Doyle DaneBernbach and Needham, Harper & Steersto form the Omnicom Group. Omnicom

merged the Weiner firm with BBDO-owned Doremus and the Porter Novelli PRunit of Needham Harper. Porter Novelliwas the surviving name although Weinerwas its biggest unit. Weiner left the firm in1988 but kept an officein New York until hemoved to Florida in2002.

He received a B.S.in 1949 from theUniversity ofWisconsin and an M.S.in 1950 with geneticsas his major field ofstudy. He took onlyone journalism course— scientific newswriting. Weiner wasadmitted to the University’s medical schoolbut dropped out after the first year.

After living in Madison, Wisconsin,where he partnered with Morton Levine ina PR firm, he moved to New York where heobtained a job with Ruder Finn. He rose toSenior VP and Partner, supervising a groupof consumer product accounts, remaininguntil 1968 when he started his own firm.

Press relations as paramount The Weiner firm was noted for its cor-

dial relations with the press.Weiner himself was always available for

phone or in-person conversations andreporters were welcome at his offices at888 Seventh ave.

His art of building relations withreporters included sending reporters clipsof articles that related to their beats. Awidely-read person, he would callreporters with tips and advice for their sto-ries. His awards include the Gold Anvil ofPR Society of America and the John HillAward of the New York chapter of theSociety.

He wrote a monthly column on languagefor PR Tactics of PRSA and other articlesfor Communication World of the Int’l Assn.of Business Communicators, PR Quarterlyand Writer’s Digest. He wrote a substitutecolumn on language for New York Timescolumnist Bill Safire when Safire was onvacation.

Weiner in 1965 married FlorenceChaiken, author of Peace Is You and Meand other books in the healthcare fieldincluding two written in association withthe Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation. Alsosurviving are two daughters, four grand-children and two great-grandchildren. £

Weiner, PR pro behind Cabbage Patch craze, dies

By Jack O’Dwyer

Richard Weiner, a native of Brooklyn who built a PR firm thatbilled $4.5 million and had 83 employees in 1985 before hesold it to BBDO, died on Janary 29. He was 86.

Richard Weiner

Agency healthcare vetDeSalva to DuPont

AnnaMaria DeSalva, the agencyand corporate healthcare PR vet-eran, has moved to DuPont as VP

of Corporate Communications.DeSalva was VP of corporate affairs in

Pfizer’s biopharma innovation and out-comes operation. She joined Pfizer in 2010 from Hill+Knowlton Strategies,where she was Global Head ofHealthcare.

For DuPont, she leads global strategiccommunications and brand managementfor the multibillion-dollar maker ofchemicals, polymers,hybrid/GMO seeds andother products.

Previous postsincluded GCI Group(worldwide managingdirector, healthcare)and Bristol-MyersSquibb. £

Oshiki takes EVP roleat Abernathy

Alan Oshiki, a 26-year financialcommunica-tor most

recently a ManagingDirector for TaylorRafferty, has movedto AbernathyMacGregor Group inNew York as anExecutive VP.

Prior to more than adecade at TR and sister unit Broadgate Consultants, Oshikiheld senior posts at Frontier Communications (AVP) andChristensen & Associates (SVP) anddirected IR for the Tucson Electric PowerCompany.

Earlier in his career, he worked infinance and engineering at UnisourceEnergy and BHP Copper. £

PEOPLE IN PR

DeSalva

Oshiki


MARCH 2014 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 4 ADVERTISING SECTION20

FOOD & BEVERAGEPR FIRMS

O’Dwyer’sguide to:

APCO WORLDWIDE

700 12th St., NW, #800 Washington, D.C. 20005 202/778-1000 Fax: 202/466-6002 [email protected] www.apcoworldwide.com

Food and beverage compa-nies globally are navigating anincreasingly complex externalenvironment. Greater regulatoryactivity across all aspects oftheir businesses mean that com-panies must take a more inte-grated, stakeholder-centricapproach to the way they com-municate. APCO helps clientscreate brand value by connect-ing thoughtful insight aboutstakeholders to powerful andmeasurable activation cam-paigns.

APCO’s global Food &Consumer Products practice, ledby Executive Director StephanieLvovich, has worked with glob-al market leaders in the food andbeverage sector to manage theircorporate reputation and raisetheir profile in targetmarkets, build stakeholder part-nerships, position their business-es on sustainability and health &nutrition issues, engage on tradeand standards issues, managelabor issues, launch new prod-ucts and enter new markets.

Clients in this field includeMars, PepsiCo, Walgreens,KFC, WalMart, the World

Cocoa Foundation, NationalCouncil of Chain Restaurants,and Share Our Strength.

BLAZE

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

Matt Kovacs, President

BLAZE is the nationally rec-ognized PR firm that attractscompelling and aggressive con-sumer brands that need to win.BLAZE develops campaignsthat help our clients create orreclaim relevance in the mar-ketplace. Utilizing comprehen-sive strategic communicationscampaigns to differentiate andelevate our clients from theircompetitors, we are able toexceed our clients’ expectationswhen it comes to positioningthem to their audiences andattracting positive attentionfrom both consumers and themedia. BLAZE also offers fullpublic affairs capabilitiesthrough its parent companyDAVIES.

Clients include: Big RedSoda, Blue C Sushi, BreweryOmmegang, Bridgepoint Foods,Claremont Hotel Club & Spa,International Spirits, KeVitaSparkling Probiotic Beverages,Marriott Hotels, Michael’s

Restaurant Group, NawganAlertness Beverage, ONBeverages.

CARMICHAELLYNCH SPONG

110 North Fifth StreetMinneapolis, MN 55403612/375-8500www.carmichaellynchsspong.com

Julie Batliner, Managing DirectorGrete Lavrenz, Senior Principal,Chair, Food and Beverage

If you can no longer stomachthe same stale, tasteless ideas,perhaps it’s time for some freshthinking. Carmichael LynchSpong leads the food, beverage,nutrition and wellness arena —representing some of the biggestbrands.

Our list of envied food andbeverage clients includes: retail(SUPERVALU and Save-A-Lot); packaged goods (ArlaDofino and Castello cheeses,Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, Jennie-O Turkey, MOM Brands cere-als), ingredients (DSM), andfood and beverage containersand storage (Genuine ThermosBrand).

We work with food industryleaders, consumer groups,celebrity chefs, nutritionists,commodity groups, regulatoryorganizations and experts ingeneral, on a regular basis. Ourrelationships go beyond media.We know the right people to tar-get with the right program,product, campaign or cause.And they know us.

CAROLYN IZZOINTEGRATED

COMMUNICATIONS37 North Broadway, Suite 1Nyack, NY 10960845/358-3920Fax: 845/[email protected]

Carolyn Izzo-Feldman, PresidentPatricia Fahie, Executive VicePresidentKate Wark, Senior Vice President

Carolyn Izzo IntegratedCommunications (CIIC) is a highlyrespected public relations firm inthe food and beverage space. Ourstaffers bring many years of experi-ence from several of the country’stop PR firms and for nearly 18years, CIIC has been dedicated toservicing food and beveragebrands.

Our experience in the F&Barena is notable, having launchedour agency by putting KrispyKreme Doughnuts on the map inthe Northeast in the ‘90s. Sincethen, CIIC has represented a num-ber of F&B brands, including, butnot limited to, The OriginalSoupman, New Leaf Brands icedteas and lemonades and CaliforniaPizza Kitchen. We are adept atlaunches, openings and franchisorrelations, and we are known for ournetworking expertise and extensivecontacts in the trade, media andinfluencer categories, which weleverage to increase the level ofreach, media coverage, and accessfor our clientele.

When SUPERVALU’s Jewel-Osco banner learned that it wouldreceive the country’s last shipment of Twinkies in select Chicago-area stores, Carmichael Lynch Spong declared “Twinkie Tuesday”on Dec. 12, 2012. This campaign leveraged the inherent excitementaround the last Twinkie delivery to generate consumer and mediainterest in Jewel-Osco — with just three days to get the word out.

Carolyn Izzo Integrated Communications executives (Left to Right):Carolyn Izzo-Feldman, President; Patricia Fahie, Executive VicePresident; and Kate Wark, Senior VIce President.


ADVERTISING SECTION 3 MARCH 2014 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 21

PROFILES OF FOOD & BEVERAGE PR FIRMS

The CIIC team is made up ofenthusiastic and connected PR pro-fessionals. Your CIIC serviceincludes day-to-day principal-ledservicing from company execu-tives, media specialists in NewYork and Miami who can build andescort an A-list media tour, arrangeyour appearance on network televi-sion shows, manage product sam-pling, and plan top-level events inyour key markets.

It is our implicit goal to deliverthe best value and the best results.This is why President CarolynIzzo-Feldman launched her ownPR firm in 1996 — to create themost incredible team of PR pros toback her mission.

CONE COMMUNICATIONS

855 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02116617/227-2111Fax: 617/523-3955www.conecomm.com

Bill Fleishman, CEOByron Calamese, Sr. VicePresidentPeggy O’Shea Kochenbach,MBA, RD, LDN, Vice President

Connecting food and beveragebrands to consumers has been apassion at Cone Communicationsfor over three decades. We have adeep understanding of what moti-vates consumers, the issues thatmatter most to them, and the fac-tors that drive their purchase deci-sions. We use these insights to cre-ate best-in-class communicationstrategies that drive businessgrowth for category leaders such asLindt, Ben & Jerry’s, Glutino,Saffron Road, and General Millsbrands Yoplait, Pillsbury, andCheerios, to name a few.

Extraordinary results come fromexperts who are passionate aboutyour business, and possess a keenunderstanding of the category. Witha staff that includes many passion-ate foodies, food bloggers and aregistered dietitian, we are in aunique position to translate com-plex nutritional and ingredientmessages in ways that resonatewith consumers and deliver cam-paigns that are authentic, credibleand relevant.

We are ready to share our cre-ativity, passion and expertise. Withteams fully immersed in the foodand beverage space, our specialtyareas include product launches,social media executions, influencerengagement, media events, brandpositioning, issues-based engage-ment, promotions and celebritycampaigns.

THE CONNECTEDTABLE

77 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10003212/620-7027 melanie@theconnectedtable.comwww.theconnectedtable.comfacebook.com/connectedtableTwitter: @connectedtable

Melanie Young, Chief Connector

The Connected Table® special-izes in brand and image buildingthrough marketing and promotion-al campaigns, media relations,sponsorships, education, business-to-business and lifestyle events inwine, spirits, food, publishing andcauses. We connect U.S. and over-seas organizations and companieswith key influencers throughoutthe nation, including media, wineand food industry leaders andlifestyle movers and shakers.

In-house services include media

strategy and press management,event production, sponsorship andspokesperson management, socialmedia campaigns and full servicewriting.

COYNE PUBLICRELATIONS

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

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

604 Arizona Avenue, Suite 10Santa Monica, CA 90401310/395-6110

Tom Coyne, CEORichard Lukis, PresidentTim Schramm, Senior VicePresident Lisa Wolleon, Vice PresidentHeather Krug, General Manager,West Coast

Coyne PR is one of the nation’sleading independent public rela-tions agencies, combining soundstrategic counsel with cutting edgecreative elements to achieve supe-rior communications goals for itsclients.

Coyne’s Food & Nutrition teamhas worked with many of the mostprominent food brands and compa-nies in the world, and developedsome of the most talked about andlong-running programs in their his-tories. Our client experienceincludes Del Monte Foods, GeneralMills, PepsiCo, Kraft, The HersheyCompany, Eggland’s Best, BimboBakeries, Just Born, Campbell’s,

McCormick, Perrigo Nutritionals,thinkThin, and DuPont Nutrition &Health’s soy protein business,among others. We’ve introducedscores of products, launched count-less campaigns and initiatives, andhelped brands navigate significantindustry challenges and crisis situa-tions.

The Food & Nutrition team hasalso created a powerful RDNetwork consisting of 25+ influen-tial and connected registered dieti-cians and nutritionists that are uti-lized for a range of activities,including media relations, trendspotting, category insights, andpeer-to-peer influence.

The agency also boasts an inter-nal digital and design group, whosecapabilities include creative strate-gy, social media campaigns, com-munity management, digital pro-duction, full service design, videoproduction, website design &development, mobile applications& programs and webcasts & e-learning.

DEUSSEN GLOBALCOMMUNICATIONS

INC.

37 West 37th Street, 6th FloorNew York, NY 10018212/682-2293Fax: 212/682-3757

Christine Deussen, President

Noted for its depth and breadthof experience in the wine, spirits,epicurean, and hospitality sectors,Deussen has built steady successfor its clients since 2002. Forexample, Laurent-Perrier

Coyne PR helped Peeps expand its reach beyond Easter seasonthrough events such as this Santa Hop in Times Square in December.

0Continued on page 22

Christine Deussen, President of Deussen Global Communications.




Champagne, a client of 10 years,saw a 57% increase in Deussen-generated media placementsfrom 2012 to 2013. Campaigntactics including media relations,digital interface, and celebritypartnerships accelerate ourclients’ image, awareness, andgrowth. As one example, a“flash” campaign for theFonseca BIN 27 Artist Bottlegenerated 22 million mediaimpressions, with an advertisingequivalency value of $1.6 mil-lion, over a 4-month period.Ongoing charitable partnershipsinclude support of The FisherHouse, The WaterkeeperAlliance, the Los AngelesCounty Museum of Art(LACMA), and JustOneShift(the latter designed by Deussenin partnership with gaz regan).Deussen’s relationships with topsommeliers, mixologists, chefs,and authors offer ready access totop trends, while innovativesocial media campaigns offerconsumer engagement.

FINEMAN PR

330 Townsend St., Ste. 119San Francisco, CA 94107415/392-1000www.finemanpr.com

Fineman PR, founded in1988, specializes in Brand PRand crisis communications forfood and beverage clients. Ourstrength is in building strongand appealing brand identities,especially for consumer-facingcompanies.

Current client experienceincludes full service communi-cations for California-basedFoster Farms Poultry. Workincludes Brand PR and con-sumer product promotion, issuesmanagement, retailer and otherspecial events, plant and facilityopenings, employee communi-cations, scenario planning, mul-ticultural outreach, communityrelations, food safety education,social and digital media initia-tives, and customer relations.

Agency work also includeswine PR, multicultural commu-nications for nutritional supple-ments, and brand positioning forfood service industry leader,Guckenheimer, and L.A.-basedSterling Meat Company.

FINN PARTNERS

301 East 57th Street, 4th FloorNew York, NY 10022212/715-1600Direct: 212/[email protected]

Cliff Berman, Senior Partner

Finn Partners has outstandingfood and beverage capabilities,matched by an impressive list offood and beverage — both non-alcohol and spirits — clients.Particular areas of strength andexpertise include branding,lifestyle marketing, nutrition,health and wellness, and promo-tional events.

A sampling of our clients pastand present includes WholeFoods, Cinnabon, Crystal Geyser,Kellogg’s, Good Earth Coffee,Gatorade, Tonnino tuna, HappyEgg, Snapple and others. In thebeverage alcohol area clientsinclude Beringer Wines, PinnacleVodka, BevMo!, Greg NormanWine Estates, Penfolds, andSeagram’s.

Our programs and contactsspan the food and beverage mediaand, through social media, we arevery active in programs thatdirectly engage consumers.

On behalf of food and bever-age clients we have developed anexpansive list of influencer con-tacts among celebrity chefs, bar-tenders, working chefs, leadingfood and beverage bloggers, andothers.

FOODMINDS, LLC

328 S. Jefferson St., Suite 420Chicago, IL 60661312/258-9500Fax: 312/[email protected]

Laura Cubillos, RD, Bill Layden,Sue Pitman, MA, RD, Partners

FoodMinds is a food and nutri-tion consulting and communica-tions company specializing infood, nutrition, health and well-ness. We harness communica-tions, science and public affairs toestablish unique selling proposi-tions and produce novel food andnutrition programs. We shape thedialogue and debate in groceryaisles and board rooms, at sciencemeetings, on blogs and beyond.We create pathways for newopportunities and growth that

transfer perceptions and influencedecisions and actions. In short,we don’t just tell your story better— we help you tell a better storythat makes a difference.

FoodMinds brings the rightmix of talented, seasoned andmotivated professionals — fromregistered dietitians, consumermarketers and media strategists toPhDs, science writers and publicaffairs experts — to challenge thestatus quo and achieve greatthings for our clients.

Clients: American HeartAssociation, Applegate, CanManufacturers Institute, Councilfor Responsible Nutrition, DairyManagement, Inc., DairyResearch Institute, GroceryManufacturers Association andFood Marketing Institute, HassAvocado Board, Hillshire Brands,Kellogg, Micropharma, MidwestDairy Association, NationalConfectioners Association,Nestle, Nutrient Rich FoodsCoalition, Sabra DippingCompany, United States DairyExport Council, The WinningCombination, and Welch’s.

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 and brandcommunications agency, inde-pendent or otherwise. Founded inApril 1997 by Agency Chairman& CEO Rick French, FWV nowemploys 84 research, public rela-tions, public affairs, advertisingand digital marketing expertsamong its Raleigh, N.C. head-quarters and New York City,Dallas, Los Angeles and Tampaoffices.

FWV is home to one of thenation’s largest food and bever-age practice areas and has beenranked in the top 20 byO’Dwyer’s for more than adecade. A leader in launchinghead-turning, results-driven mar-keting campaigns, FWV current-ly works with some of the world’sforemost companies and brands,including Hood River Distillers

(Pendleton Whisky, 1910 RyeWhisky, Yazi Ginger Vodka,Broker’s Gin and SinfireCinnamon Whisky), MelittaCoffee, Island Club Brands andits Carnaval Brazilian Wines,Moe’s Southwest Grill, andElevation Burger.

FWV has also producedaward-winning campaigns thatsignificantly increased productsales for the likes of The Coca-Cola Company (NESTEA, GoldPeak, Minute Maid, DASANIand Simply Orange), CelebrityChef Lorena Garcia, the NorthCarolina Beer and WineWholesalers Association, BrinkerInternational (Maggiano’s LittleItaly restaurants), Mia FrancescaTrattoria, House-Autry, ConAgra(Slim Jim, Pemmican BeefJerky), Nabisco Foods, Brown-Forman (Jack Daniel’s), WholeFoods Market and Diageo NorthAmerica (Bulleit Bourbon),among many others.

New product launches haveincluded Melitta’s CaféCollection of fine coffees, SinfireCinnamon Whisky, 1910 RyeWhisky, NESTEA COOL, DietNESTEA, Gold Peak, DASANIPlus, Arbor Mist varietal wines,Dolphins & Friends snack crack-ers, Orville Redenbacher’s pop-corns and Pemmican Beef Jerky. The agency also executes multi-faceted digital and social mediacampaigns tied to effectiveearned media campaigns thattogether stimulate product trial,increase brand awareness anddrive purchase intent.

HANNA LEE COMMUNICATIONS

INC.

575 Madison Avenue, 10th FloorNew York, NY 10022212/527-9969Fax: 212/721-2091www.hannaleecommunications.comFacebook:HannaLeeCommunicationsTwitter: @hannaleenycLinkedIn: HannaLeeCommunications Pinterest: @hannaleenycInstagram: @hannaleenyc

Hanna Lee, President

Headquartered in New YorkCity, Hanna LeeCommunications, Inc. is anaward-winning marketing agencythat integrates traditional publicrelations with innovative socialmedia marketing. It is special-ized in hospitality and lifestyle

DEUSSEN GLOBAL0Continued from page 21




PR, including spirits, wine, foodand travel, as well as event man-agement. The agency only repre-sents products and companiesthat it is passionate about. Thisoutlook drives its well-acknowl-edged excellence.

The agency has created a num-ber of successful PR, event man-agement and social media casestudies that have earned recogni-tion from prestigious nationaland international organizationsthat include PR News’ PlatinumPR Awards, PRWeek Awards,SABRE Awards, PRSA-NY’sBig Apple Awards, TheCommunicator Awards, TheBulldog Awards and the W3Awards. In addition, through itsmulti-year PR campaign forMionetto Wines, Hanna LeeCommunications contributed todeveloping the now popularProsecco category in the U.S.

Hanna Lee Communications’client experience includes theManhattan Cocktail Classic,Campari, The Dead Rabbit,Louis Royer Cognac, SantaTeresa Rum, PAMAPomegranate Liqueur, Hangar 1Vodka, TINCUP AmericanWhiskey, Leblon Cachaça,Cooper Spirits’ Lock Stock &Barrel Rye Whiskey, AtsbyVermouth, Pisco Control C,Sobieski Vodka, Marie BrizardLiqueurs, Melibea UrbanMediterranean Restaurant,GRACE Restaurant and Pub,Michael’s New York,MONO+MONO Restaurant,Forcella Pizza Restaurant Group,Rayuela Restaurant, MacondoLatin Tapas Bar, San DomenicoNew York (now SD26), JapanWeek, Wines of Croatia, Terra

Andina Chilean Wines, MionettoWines, G7 Portuguese WineConsortium and others.

Hanna Lee Communications isactive on social media where itshares agency, client and industrynews. For more information,please visit www.hannaleecom-munications.com

HUNTER PUBLICRELATIONS

41 Madison Avenue, 5th FloorNew York, NY [email protected]/679-6600

Grace Leong, Jonathan Lyon,Jason Winocour, MarkNewman, Donetta Allen, GigiRusso, Erin Hanson, Partners

Celebrating our 25th anniver-sary in 2014, Hunter PublicRelations is an award-winning,top-ranked independent market-ing communications firm spe-cializing in consumer brand andlifestyle public relations withparticular expertise in food, bev-erages, wines and spirits.Clients include some of thecountries most iconic andrespected food and beveragecompanies including KraftFoods (Jell-O, Kraft Macaroni &Cheese), Post Foods, Smithfield,E&J Gallo Winery (Barefoot,Gallo Family Vineyards),Diageo (Johnnie Walker, DonJulio Tequila), and OutbackSteakhouses. Tabasco BrandPepper Sauce, our first client 25years ago, is still a client today.

Our New York-based, 100-

person firm offers a full suite ofstrategic marketing PR servicesincluding: research and insights;traditional and digital mediarelations; social media market-ing; Hispanic strategies andsolutions; corporate/socialresponsibility initiatives; specialevent production and sponsor-ships; product introductions andanniversaries; nutrition andrecipe initiatives; talent negotia-tions, entertainment integrations;spokesperson media tours; andcrisis counseling. Hunter PR’saward-winning graphic and digi-tal design team creates every-thing from program logos andcollateral materials to innova-tive, custom social and digitalmedia applications in house.Revitalizing mature brands, cre-ating buzz around new productsand building awareness amongkey influencer groups (includingthe epicurean and nutritionalhealth communities) are amongthe firm’s specific areas ofexpertise.

JB CUMBERLANDPUBLIC RELATIONS

133 W. 25th Street, Flr. 9ENew York, NY 10001646/230-6940Fax: 646/[email protected]

Cluttered categories and over-stocked retail shelves — in amarket flooded with competingproducts and messages, compa-nies face the challenge of stand-

ing out, selling-in and selling-through: this is what we arehired to do! For more than 25years, JB Cumberland PublicRelations (JBC PR) has beenhelping clients distinguish them-selves from competitors and imi-tators, while helping themachieve their ultimate goal: sell-ing products! We achieve thisgoal through strategic mediacampaigns, constantly leverag-ing our outstanding contactswith key editors, writers, pro-ducers and bloggers in the indus-try; through social media andonline projects; through specialevents, seminars and TV appear-ances — always adapting ourstrategy and tactics according tothe client’s needs. We under-stand our clients’ markets, theirbusinesses and their products —particularly in the food and bev-erage practice — so much so thatmany of our clients’ wholesalebusiness’ have tripled since ourpartnerships began. A myriad ofpast clients have become catego-ry leaders without dropping adime on advertising, and wehave assisted in the process ofcreating new niche markets. Thisis what we have done and contin-ue to do for both American andEuropean brands as diverse asAustralian Lamb, Foods ofGermany, ZeroWater, BodumCoffee, iSi Espuma Cuisine andWhippers, Curious Chef,Twinings Tea, St. Dalfour FruitSpreads, Nambé, Fusionbrands,Joseph Joseph, Revol andCristel cookware, and mostrecently, Iittala, Prepara, Quenchand Monbento.

Hunter PR worked with celebrity pastry chef and executive chef ofCharm City Cakes, Duff Goldman, to help raise awareness ofPompeian’s new Grapeseed Oil Spray and teach Americans how toenhance their holiday baking recipes. Together, Pompeian and DuffGoldman launched the Pompeian Baking for Better Challenge, acontest where at-home bakers had the chance to win $5,000 for theirlocal food bank during the 2013 holiday season.

The Manhattan Cocktail Classic Gala at New York Public Library. Hanna Lee Communications provides PR for the event each year.



24 MARCH 2014 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 4 ADVERTISING SECTION

JGAPEPPERCOMM

470 Park Ave. South, 4th Floor NorthNew York, NY 10016212/[email protected]

Ed Moed, Managing Partner &Co-FounderJanine Gordon, PresidentMaggie O’Neill, Partner & SeniorDirector

JGAPeppercomm is the con-sumer, lifestyle specialty groupwithin Peppercomm, an award-winning, independently owned19-year-old integrated marketing

communications agency head-quartered in New York, withoffices in San Francisco andLondon.

Our approach marriesPeppercomm’s breadth of fully-integrated marketing serviceswith JGAPeppercomm’s high-touch boutique approach anddepth of experience in the foodand beverage, consumer, luxurylifestyle and not-for-profit cate-gories.

With clients ranging from finedining and QSR to FMCG andwine and spirits,JGAPeppercomm’s team ofexperts has all the ingredients,know-how and passion to build

and nurture brands. Over theyears, we have worked with suchmarket leaders as Procter &Gamble, General Mills, SunriseSoya Foods, Dean & DeLuca,Malibu-Kahlua International,Diageo, Bacardi Imports,DiSaronno, Glenlivet, TheCapital Grille, ‘21’ Club, Texasde Brazil, pinkberry, BlimpieInternational, TGI Fridays, Dr.Praeger’s, French CulinaryInstitute and Zagat Dining Guide,among others. Clients value thegenuine involvement and person-al service of senior members ofthe JGAPeppercomm team.

The key to success, webelieve, is to understand premi-um brand values. We craft com-pelling stories based upon a thor-ough appreciation of yourbrand’s attributes. Our approachis focused on “outside in” think-ing: strategy and execution thatlet clients envision — and realize— the potential of connectingwith their target audiences moreeffectively and more meaningful-ly than ever before.

We listen to our clients’ needsand to those of their stakeholders.By putting ourselves at the tablewith your customers, we are ableto fully engage and build power-ful connections with them —where they live, work, play, shopand share. To insure optimumresults, we repeat these high-impact tactics, refining, as need-ed.

This approach drives the strategyfor all our integrated marketingservices, including PR / socialmedia, branding, experiential /events, crisis communications,celebrity endorsements, strategicalliances, licensing, digital/creativeservices and more. AtJGAPeppercomm, we consistentlydeliver four-star, business-buildingresults for the brands we serve.

If you’re hungry for more,please visit us at jgapepper-comm.com, drop us a line at [email protected] or call212/931-6185.

J PUBLIC RELATIONS

1620 5th Ave., Suite 700San Diego, CA 92101619/[email protected]

J Public Relations is one ofthe top hospitality, luxurylifestyle and social mediafirms in the country, with aclient roster that includes brands

the world-over. A bi-coastalforce with offices in New Yorkand California, along with astrong presence in Arizona, JPRoffers an integrated approach tocultivating fresh, creative andthoughtful media campaigns.Every member of the JPR teamhas an unparalleled passion forachieving press with a purpose,while understanding the digitallandscape of today.

Founded 10 years ago inCalifornia, the agency expandedto New York City in 2009.Today, JPR is a bi-coastal pow-erhouse of more than 30 experi-enced, passionate publicists.This allows JPR to provideinvaluable media saturationacross the country, no matterwhere a client is based. The JPRteam is a group of savvy special-ists, experienced at launchingbrands and keeping them rele-vant through buzz, creativityand programming.

For more information, pleasecontact [email protected] or call 619.255.7069.

JSH&A COMMUNICATIONS

2 TransAm Plaza Dr., Suite 450Oakbrook Terrace, IL [email protected]

Jonni Hegenderfer, JimKokoris, Cheryl Georgas,Partners

Celebrating 25 years, JSH&A isa Chicago-based marketing com-munications agency that helps lead-ing food and spirits brands driveconsumer awareness, engagementand advocacy by creating integrat-ed PR and social media programsthat deliver high-impact results.

Named a top ConsumerMarketing Agency of The Year,JSH&A has won multiple awardsfor creative campaigns and strate-gic influencer engagement pro-grams executed on behalf of clientslike The Hershey Company,ConAgra Foods, Beam Inc.,McDonald’s and Safest ChoiceEggs.

We take pride in our extensivefood and spirits industry knowl-edge and offer services including:media relations, blogger and influ-encer engagement, social mediastrategy, social channel manage-ment, event marketing and productlaunch support.

Whether it’s inspiring moms totake back Monday dinnertime withthe help of Manwich, driving

J Public Relations Founding Partner, Jamie Lynn Sigler, and Partner,Sarah Evans.

JSH&A helped Beam Inc. further raise awareness and drive trial of thebrand’s award-winning whisk(e)y portfolio by hosting a series of GreatWhisk(e)y Debate events in key U.S. markets. The events, created byJSH&A president Jim Kokoris and celebrating 15 years, reached morethan 1,200 key sales associates and whiskey loyalists in 2013.




awareness and trial of limited-edi-tion seasonal HERSHEY’s prod-ucts or helping the world’s No. 1bourbon share its heritage storywith national media, we deliverstrategic, results-driven programs.

KELLEN COMMUNICATIONS

355 Lexington Avenue, 15th FloorNew York, NY 10017212/297-2100www.kellencommmunications.comJoan Cear, Vice President

1100 Johnson Ferry Rd., Suite 300Atlanta, GA 30342404/836-5050Debra Berliner, Vice President

750 National Press Building529 14th Street N.W.Washington, DC 20045202/591-2439Francie Israeli, Vice President

With more messages about foodoptions, diet, nutrition and safetythan ever before, how do you breakthrough the clutter? KellenCommunications combinesdecades of experience with ingenu-ity and cutting edge tactics to makea measurable impact for our clients.

We deliver integrated marketingcommunications solutions execut-ed by specialists in publicity andpromotion, nutrition communica-tions, digital marketing and socialmedia strategy and execution,issues management and crisis com-munications, public affairs, websitedevelopment and graphic design.In addition, Kellen’s team includesregistered dietitians and scientistswho specialize in food and bever-age.

A leading resource for the foodand beverage industry, Kellen hasstrong relationships with traditionaland digital media outlets that coverthis sector and extensive networks

among health professional commu-nities, academia and governmentregulators. From farm to fork, ourprofessionals have the experienceto help clients both promote andprotect their products.

Founded in 1945 as Sumner,Rider & Associates, KellenCommunications is a division ofKellen Company, an employee-owned firm with offices in NewYork, Washington D.C., Atlanta,Chicago, Denver, Brussels andBeijing.

KOHNSTAMMCOMMUNICATIONS400 North Robert Street14th FloorSt. Paul, MN 55101www.kohnstamm.com

Josh Kohnstamm, PresidentGreg Zimprich, SVP of AgencyOperations and Strategic Insight

Twin Cities-based KohnstammCommunications was ranked thethird best food and beverage PRagency and ranked top ten for cor-porate social responsibility byTopPR Agencies.com (2014). Thefirm has extensive national foodand beverage client experience,especially in the fast-growth natu-ral and organic channel.Kohnstamm is nationally recog-nized for its use of traditional andsocial media to effectively catalyzebrands. SVP Greg Zimprich bringsproven PR industry experience tolead the agency, including 19 yearswith General Mills as Dir. of BrandPR, where he launched more than100 new products and creatednationally recognized brand mar-keting capabilities.

Kohnstamm’s current food andbeverage clients include NoosaYoghurt, Angie’s Popcorn, 3MFood Safety, Reed’s Ginger Brew,

The Honest Kitchen,truRoots/Smuckers, and WayBetter Snacks. Kohnstamm wasinstrumental in generating robustPR for brands whose companieswere purchased in part as result ofits great PR work, including HonestTea, Naked Juice, IcelandicGlacial, and Happy Baby.

LANE

905 SW 16th AvenuePortland, OR 97205503/221-0480www.lanepr.com

500 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2720New York, NY 10110

Wendy Lane Stevens, President

LANE elevates brands, drivestrial and builds sales from theinfluential culinary hubs of NewYork and Portland, Ore. With morethan 20 years of experience in thefood, beverage and consumerproducts industries, LANE trackstrends and monitors consumer sen-timents from coast to coast.Drawing on insights garnered fromfirsthand experience as well asfrom media, blogger, influencerand consumer circles, LANE’smultifaceted campaigns connectacross social and digital media, tra-ditional media, stores and restau-rants, and events.

LANE’s award-winning cam-paigns have produced measurableresults for brands including JoséAndrés Foods, MoonstruckChocolate Co., Snake RiverFarms, Double R Ranch,International Olive Council,Oregon Strawberry Commission,Dutch Bros. Coffee, Wines fromSpain, E. & J. Gallo Winery, TheWine Group, Sokol BlosserWinery, Hood River Distillers, andWidmer Brothers Brewing.

M&P FOOD COMMUNICATIONS

INC.

155 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 609Chicago, IL 60601312/[email protected]

Brenda McDowell, Principal

M&P provides public rela-tions and digital communica-tions services to a variety ofconsumer food and beverageclients. Whether building buzzwith editors, reaching con-sumers via social media orworking with blogger partners,M&P programs are tailored toclients’ needs and designed todeliver.

A launch party in a trendyuptown loft or via Twitter, film-ing man-on-the-street videos,managing brand ambassadorprograms, or conducting a con-test on Pinterest, are all in aday’s work.

The M&P in-house testkitchen extends client offeringsbeyond traditional public rela-tions programming to includehands-on expertise in recipedevelopment, food and winepairings, contest judging andmore.

Culinary-focused, consumer-connected and client-centered,our success is proven on behalfof current and past clientsincluding Dreamfields Pasta,Seneca Foods, Safest ChoicePasteurized Eggs, SeattleSutton’s Healthy Eating, WiltonEnterprises, Quaker Oats andNational Cattlemen’s BeefAssociation.

Lane launched celebrity chef José Andrés’ first line of artisanalSpanish food products, José Andrés Foods, to the US market in 2013.

JSH&A’s “Case of the Mandays” campaign reminded moms nation-wide that Manwich is an easy weeknight meal solution. Influencerengagement, Twitter parties and sponsored content drove moms toManwich.com and generated online conversations about the brand




MARX LAYNE &COMPANY

31420 Northwestern Hwy., #100 Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248/855-6777 ext.105 [email protected] www.marxlayne.com

Michael Layne, ManagingPartner

Marx Layne has been provid-ing cost-effective marketing,public relations and socialmedia services on a local,regional and national basis tothe food and beverage sectorsince 1987.

Services offered to clientsinclude media relations, productpublicity, crisis and issues man-agement, internal communica-tions, special events planning,social media, online reputationmanagement, direct mail, e-blasts, graphic design, Webdevelopment, and brochure andnewsletter production.

Clients include fine diningrestaurants, quick servicerestaurants, supermarket chains,and food and beverage manu-facturers and suppliers.

M BOOTH

300 Park Avenue SouthNew York, NY 10010212/481-7000www.mbooth.com

Margaret Booth, ChairpersonDale Bornstein, CEORich Goldblatt, SVP, Group Director Lauren Swartz, SVP, Director,Wine & Spirits

M Booth’s Food & Beveragepractice enjoyed a healthy and spir-ited 2013. On the new businessfront, the agency’s Better4Youoffering captured two new clients— the Global Organization for EPAand DHA (GOED) and BeyondMeat.

M Booth is leading a strategiccommunications effort for GOEDthat underscores the role Omega-3splay in heart health, brain health,infant development and other func-tions. Using social and traditionalmedia, the campaign targets influ-encers, media and consumers. ForBeyond Meat, makers of plant-based protein foods, M Booth isspearheading a strategic communi-cations effort to generate consumerawareness.

With a long history working inthe food and wellness arena, MBooth is AOR for The SchwanFood Company, focusing on gener-ating awareness and trial for leadinggrocery brands including RedBaron, Freschetta, Edwards andMrs. Smith’s. The agency handlesthe online grocer, Schwan’s Home

Service, as well, and, in 2013,helped launch its new fundraisingprogram, Schwan’s Cares.

M Booth’s Better4You offering isbolstered by a board of leadingnational advisors in food and nutri-tion, wellness, fitness and parenting.This past year, the offering added aformalized research and accountplanning capability led by BonnieUlman, co-founder and president ofThe Haystack Group. An expert onissues relating to women and fami-ly, Ulman is author of two books —Trillion-Dollar Moms: Marketingto a New Generation of MothersandHustle: Marketing to Women inthe Post-Recession World.

The practice and staff experienceincludes work for Unilever Spreadsand dressings, Tropicana, DoleJuices, Kellogg’s, Quaker, Heinz,Pirate’s Booty, Mrs. Dash, TheNational Pasta Association,Ronzoni and McNeil’s Sun Crystalssweetener.

M Booth’s dedicated Wine andSpirits team added the luxury brand,Krug Champagne, to its roster oftop-shelf brands in 2013 It is cur-rently serving as both public rela-tions and social media AOR. Theagency also began working withCampari, as well as projects forCynar, Cabo Wabo tequila’s CaboDiablo extension, Frangelico,Aperol and SKYY Vodka’sInfusions line.

As AOR for 10 years handlingthe Scotch portfolio of RémyCointreau USA, Inc., including TheMacallan Single Malt ScotchWhisky, Highland Park Single MaltScotch Whisky, and The FamousGrouse, the spirits group focuses onreaching key media, influencers andtastemakers through luxury activa-tions, brand partnerships, promo-tional events and intimate tastings.Partnering with famed photogra-pher Elliot Erwitt, M Booth helpedlaunch The Macallan “The Flask”edition and M Decanter, as part ofthe fourth installment of TheMacallan’s Masters of Photographyseries.

M Booth continued its work withBrugal Rum launching BrugalExtra Dry Rum and premium sip-ping rum Brugal 1888. M Booth’sdigital team also managed Brugal’ssocial channels, developing contentthat has increased fans acrossFacebook, Twitter and Instagramfrom fewer than 500 fans to morethan 40,000 in just over a year.

Rounding out the M BoothSpirits portfolio are NOLET’SFinest Gins, which expanded distri-bution, as well as American wineimporter and marketer, BanfiVintners.

MWW

One Meadowlands PlazaEast Rutherford, NJ 07073201/507-9500www.mww.com

Michael W. Kempner, Founder,President & CEOAlissa J. Blate, Executive VicePresident, Global ConsumerMarketing Practice Leader

The food and beverage industryis in a constant state of evolutionwhere shifting consumer tastes andpreferences, new government regu-lation and volatile commodity mar-kets are continually changing thelandscape. In this environment,staying ahead of trends is the key toestablishing and maintaining brandtrust and relevance and seizingopportunities before your competi-tors do — while avoiding the pit-falls. At MWW, we make ourclients Matter MoreTM by establish-ing relationships between brandsand consumers through integratedpublic relations and marketingactivities that drive awareness,engagement and consideration. Weexpand media coverage beyondfood media and into influential tra-ditional and digital lifestyle outlets,creating brand relevance and devel-oping emotional connections thatdrive trial and brand loyalty.Whether it’s establishing a restau-rant as a top-choice for dining orcreating demand for a new productlaunch in a competitive category,we help position our client brandsas a vital ingredient in consumers’lifestyles. Our clients include:McDonald’s, The Hillshire BrandsCompany, Atkins Nutritionals,D’Artagnan, Sbarro Italian Eatery,Senseo Coffee, and United NaturalFoods, among many others.

OGILVY PUBLICRELATIONS

The Chocolate Factory636 Eleventh AvenueNew York, NY 10036212/[email protected]

Mitch Markson, President,Global Brand Marketing andCCO, Purpose Branding

Our deep, abiding and pas-sionate love affair with allthings related to what we eat,and the drinks we imbibe, has

Matthew McConaughey and Camilla Alves helped kick off TheMacallan Masters of Photography: Elliott Erwitt edition, at a launchparty for 300 tastemakers and Hollywood elite at the Leica Gallery inLos Angeles, at an event produced by M Booth.

The April issue of O’Dwyer’s will featurea company profiles section on firms thatspecialize in social media. If you wouldlike your firm to be listed, contact EditorJon Gingerich at 646/843-2080 [email protected] 0Continued on page 28


You get quick access to large, medium-sized, and smallPR firms and even experienced freelancers who work outof their homes. Whether you seek a long-term, worldwiderelationship or need extra help on a project, O’Dwyer’sDirectory is the place to shop.

“O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR firms isthe finest source of information on PR firms.”- Howard Rubenstein, President

Rubenstein Associates

“The O’Dwyer Directory is an excellent tool when searching for outside PR counsel.”- Art Stevens, Managing Partner

StevensGouldPincus LLC

“Up-to-date, indispensable resource.Saves time and money. Every PR proshould have one.”- Robert L. Dilenschneider

The Dilenschneider Group

“A phenomenal job-seeking aid.”- Marie Raperto

Cantor Integrated Marketing Search

“Single most important source of information on PR firms.”- Thomas L. Harris, AuthorChoosing and Working with yourPR firm

ORDER THE ONLY PRINTEDDIRECTORY OF PR FIRMS!O'Dwyer's is the #1 source for researchingpublic relations firms and outside PR coun-sel. We've been connecting clients and PRfirms for 44 years through our directory ofPR firms.

$95

Why O’Dwyer’s Directory of PRFirms is so popular:

Has brought billions of dollars in business to PRfirms.

Authoritative industry rankings, based on CPAstatements, tax returns.

Firms ranked by 14 geographical regions in theU.S.

Leaders ranked in 12 specialized categories: agriculture, beauty & fashion, entertainment, environmental/PA, financial, food & beverage,healthcare, home furnishings, professionalsvcs., sports/leisure, technology and travel.

Easy-to-use, PR firms sorted geographicallyand by 22 types of PR specialties. Firms listedalphabetically.

Articles on how to hire and use a PR firm by industry experts Jack O’Dwyer and FraserSeitel.

Cross-Client Index: O’Dwyer’s Directory of PRfirms is the only place you can look up a company and determine its outside counsel.

P

P

P

P

P

P

P




made us among the most soughtafter and relevant PR partners inthis arena. Our respect, insights,relationships and track recordwith some of the world’s greatestchefs, restaurateurs, mixologistsand food purveyors has been crit-ical to our ongoing successes inthis category. Understanding thefickle tastes of today’s discerningcustomer is built into our collec-tive DNA and palettes.

Our proprietary on-the-ground,in the store, at the table, off theshelf research allows the team todevelop fresh, strategic cam-paigns on behalf of our food andbeverage clients including:Nestle, DuPont, KFC, Taco Bell,FAGE, among dozens of others.

Additionally, we have a staff ofseasoned professionals — includ-ing in-house food and nutritionexperts and a national network ofRD consultants — that is in tunewith current and future trends infood and beverage.

PIERSON GRANTPUBLIC RELATIONS

6301 N.W. 5th Way, Suite 2600Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309954/776-1999www.piersongrant.comwww.highimpactdigital.com

Maria Pierson, CEOJane Grant, President

Pierson Grant’s fresh thinkingbuilds brand identity and boostssales for food and beverageclients. The full-service firm gen-

erates publicity for openings andproduct introductions, brings cre-ativity to special events and com-munity relations and leveragesthe power of social mediathrough its High Impact Digitaldivision. Experienced membersof the professional staff areskilled at issues management forfood and beverage clients.

Clients include InternationalDairy Queen and Olive Garden,among others. The firm also pro-vides strategic public relationsand marketing services foremerging companies and fran-chisors, such as Zona Fresca, andinnovative local restaurants suchas Shooters Waterfront. Based inFort Lauderdale, Pierson Grant isa member of the IPREX globalnetwork.

POLLOCK COMMUNICATIONS

665 Broadway, Suite 1200New York, NY 10012212/941-1414Fax: 212/334-2131 [email protected]

Louise Pollock, President

Pollock Communications is anindependent PR and marketingcommunications agency that offerscutting edge expertise for food,beverage, nutrition and health &wellness clients. Founded in 1991,Pollock pioneered communica-tions for the functional food move-ment, creating some of the majorfood trends of the past 10 years,including making tea the healthydrink of the new millennium andmaking chocolate a healthy indul-gence. We know how to capitalize

on emerging health and wellnesstrends and create new ones thatinterest media, consumers andhealth professionals. Our knowl-edge of the latest health & nutritionresearch and science and ourunderstanding of food policyenables us to deliver actionableconsumer and market insights andpractical health & lifestyle well-ness benefits for brands and com-modities.

In addition to PR practitionersand marketers, our staff includesmedia-savvy Registered Dietitianswho can address health & nutritionissues that are top-of-mind fortoday’s print, broadcast and onlinejournalists. Over the last twodecades, Pollock has cultivatedlong-term relationships and traineda network of spokespeople, includ-ing media Registered Dietitians,celebrity chefs, medical doctorsand scientists, who are availableand ready to deliver key messagesfor a variety of our clients in broad-cast, print and social media.

Clients: Ajinomoto FoodIngredients, LLC, AmericanSociety of Hypertension, BrassicaProtection Products, LLC,Cranberry Institute, CranberryMarketing Committee, DairyManagement, Inc., Gourmet Nut,PepsiCo Global Nutrition Group,Prestige Brands: PediaCare,FiberChoice and Beano, PurdueProducts: Senokot and Colace, TeaCouncil of the USA, The DannonCompany, Unilever Brands:Promise, Country Crock and ICan’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, andUSA Rice Federation.

RF|BINDER

950 Third Avenue, 7th FloorNew York, NY 10022www.rfbinder.comTwitter: @rfbinder

Amy Binder, CEOAtalanta Rafferty, ExecutiveManaging DirectorLaura Giannatempo, SeniorManaging Director, Food andBeverage

Today, the food and beverageindustry faces new challenges, aswell as new opportunities, withgrowing interest from consumersabout the food they eat and theproducts they buy. Eating andcooking fresh foods, choosinghealthy food options and using sea-sonal ingredients are establishedtrends. Moreover, issues aroundhealth and obesity continue to be afrequent topic of conversation.Continued attention from policy

makers, advocacy groups and con-sumers on nutrition brings a wholenew dimension to promoting foodcategories and brands.

All these factors make fordynamic market situations and theneed for flexible communicationsstrategies. RF|Binder’s nimblestructure and attunement to thefast-paced changes in the foodindustry and the food culture as awhole, enable us to respond quick-ly to meet our clients’ needs.Drawing from deep experience andknowledge of the evolving foodand beverage world, RF|Binder hasworked in every aspect of food andbeverage marketing and publicrelations, creating award-winningprograms for clients ranging fromDunkin’ Donuts to Cargill, fromthe 100th anniversary of the FigNewton to Wines of Germany.

Thanks to our work, Rieslinghas gone from niche to “it” wine,bringing a younger audience intothe fold and dispelling the myththat Riesling is just a sweet wine.We helped Talenti Gelato &Sorbetto become the best-sellinggelato in the country and we putMalaysian food on the map with asweeping integrated marketingcommunications campaign, featur-ing large-scale consumer events,celebrity chef engagements, mediaand advertising campaigns anddigital programs. We helpedTruvia natural sweetener becomethe country’s #2 sugar substituteand Dunkin’ Donuts retain the #1ranking for customer loyalty in thecoffee category for five years run-ning.

RF|Binder brings market andindustry insight, research-basedstrategy, and creative program-ming to its clients, as well asaccess to the key influencers shap-ing public opinion in the food andbeverage space. We assist clients inunderstanding market conditions,influencers and consumer behaviorand we provide a wide array ofservices, from consumer promo-tions, influencer and traditionalmedia outreach to digital and socialmedia programming, issues man-agement, trade and investor rela-tions.

Current and recent clientsinclude Atkins Nutritionals,Baskin-Robbins, Cargill’s Truvia™natural sweetener, ChileanSpecialty Foods, The CulinaryTrust, Dr. Praeger’s, Dunkin’Donuts, The Hershey Company’sScharffen Berger Chocolate Makerand Dagoba Organic Chocolate,Kayem Foods, Love Beets, TheMalaysian Trade Commission(Malaysia Kitchen for the World),

Supermarket Registered Dietitians enjoyed a culinary farm-to-forkexperience at Natirar Farms organized by Pollock Communicationson behalf of Unilever soft spread brands.

OGILVY0Continued from page 26




Miller Coors (Pilsner Urquel),Smith & Wollensky, Talenti Gelato& Sorbetto, Wegmans, VinhoVerde, Wines of Germany, Winesof Sicily and YoCrunch.

ROGERS & COWAN

PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER8687 Melrose Ave., 7th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90069310/854-8117Fax: 310/854-8106www.rogersandcowan.com

Tom Tardio, CEO

Rogers & Cowan is a full-serv-ice entertainment marketing andPR agency offering consumerbrands access and alliances withthe powerful influences of theentertainment industry as well asan insider’s point of view onlifestyle and consumer trends. Theagency has extensive expertise inthe food and beverage categoriesworking with packaged and bottledgoods companies, entertainmentbrands and content, restaurants,and wine, beer and spiritbrands. Our teams provide foodand beverage brands publicity andmarketing campaigns, specialevent support, sponsorship activa-tion, celebrity/influential seeding,promotional tie-ins, brand integra-tion and social media strategiesaudits, campaign design, executionand measurement for our clients.

We work with clients to launchnew products, build awareness fornational and international advertis-ing campaigns, promote charitableinitiatives, drive viewership for tel-evision and digital content, lever-age celebrity spokespeople formedia opportunities, integrateproducts into entertainment con-tent, build and manage online com-munities, execute social mediastrategies and maximize awarenessof sports and entertainment spon-sorships and alliances, among oth-ers.

Recent clients/projects haveincluded Food Network, TheCooking Channel, EKOCYCLEwith will.i.am and The Coca-ColaCompany, Dasani, Simply Orange,Sprite Refreshing Films, Dylan’sCandy Bar, Betty Crocker, LuckyCharms, Wheaties, General Mills,JuiceBlendz, Madison’s New YorkGrill & Bar, Morton’s Steak House,Ferguson Wines, SkinnygirlCocktails, Zipz Wine, Wines thatRock, Sobieski Vodka, FantaSearch for the 4th Fantana, TheMunchies People’s Choice FoodAwards, Club EATalian, and theLos Angeles Times Celebration ofFood & Wine.

RUDER FINN

301 East 57th StreetNew York, NY 10022212/593-6400www.ruderfinn.com

Kathy Bloomgarden, CEOScott Schneider, Chief DigitalOfficerMaryann Watson, President, RFIStudiosJohn McInerney, Senior VicePresident, Brand Marketing

In today’s food and beverageindustry, there are more prod-ucts and technologies vying forconsumers’ attention every day,and in order to truly drive mean-ingful engagement, brands needan innovative and authenticcommunications strategy thatencourages brand-to-fan con-nections. With this in mind, ouremphasis is on activities thatdrive community building andconsumer interaction. We helpconnect brands with emergingdigital platforms and start-ups toengage consumers in new andmeaningful ways while alsohelping to foster brand con-sumer experience that personal-izes brands and differentiatesthem in a highly competitivemarket.

Ruder Finn works with foodand beverage clients to developand implement plans aroundbuilding communities, eventactivations, product launches,sustaining product growth andvisibility, brand partnerships aswell as corporate social respon-sibility, environmental andhealth & wellness initiatives andmore. Because each brand is dif-ferent, we believe there is noone-size-fits-all approach tohow to maximize impact.

Our experience also tells usthat true connections in the foodand beverage space are made byhighlighting both product attrib-utes and the visceral consumerreaction to a brand’s image. Wework with clients to createmeaningful content that res-onates with consumers includ-ing engaging visuals and videos,and dynamic stories for digitaland traditional mediums, help-ing brands to identify with exist-ing and new consumers.

We’ve worked with consumerbrands like MondelēzInternational, PepsiCo, CaribouCoffee, Mountain Dew, Gerber,Propel, Quaker Oats, Kellogg’s,Chateau Margaux and MoetHennessy Diageo.

SCHNEIDER ASSOCIATES

Member of the Worldcom PublicRelations Group2 Oliver Street, Ste. 901Boston, MA 02109617/536-3300Fax: 617/[email protected]

Joan Schneider, CEOPhil Pennellatore, President

How do you make ice creamnewsworthy in winter, motivatethe media to swoon over grilledcheese sandwiches, or turn thelaunch of an e-commerce siteinto a cool consumer event? AskSchneider Associates. We arepassionate about creating andexecuting campaigns to launch,re-launch and accelerate growthfor our clients’ products andbrands. We develop innovativeand measurable campaigns witha 360-degree integratedapproach to keep clients in thenews year round. We know howto craft communications andsocial media programs that cre-ate news while solving businesschallenges for food and beveragebrands. Multi-unit marketing isalso a specialty — whetherwe’re creating grand openingevents or launching new prod-ucts or programs, we make thecash register ring for franchises.Services include messaging,media relations, social media,

special events, creative design,digital marketing, spokespersontraining, influencer outreach andcrisis communications, amongothers.

Learn more atschneiderpr.com. We’re alwayslaunching new ideas. Let’s launchyours.

TAYLOR

The Empire State Building350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3800New York, NY 10118212/714-1280www.taylorstrategy.com

Tony Signore, CEO & ManagingPartnerBryan Harris, COO & ManagingPartner

Celebrating its 30th anniversaryin 2014, Taylor partners exclusive-ly with category leading consumerbrands that utilize lifestyle, sports,and entertainment platforms toengage consumers and drive busi-ness growth.The Holmes Report’s

“Consumer Agency of theDecade,” Taylor has more than100 employees with headquartersin New York and offices in LosAngeles, Chicago, and Charlotte.The agency provides a full arrayof services including: brand plan-ning; digital strategy and socialmedia; strategic media relations;consumer insights; measurementand evaluation; event production,

0Continued on page 30

Taylor partners with category leading food and beverage brands,including Diageo’s Crown Royal Canadian Whisky. Over the pastyear, Taylor has provided sustained counsel and support for thebrand’s newest integrated campaign, Reign On, which was launchedwith the support of NBA legend Julius Erving (pictured) as part of thebrand’s NBA sponsorship. As Reign On evolves, Taylor is at the helmof innovative programming to leverage the NBA partnership as wellas new product launches.




Hispanic/multicultural; andspokesperson procurement andtraining.

Taylor develops strategic mar-keting communications programsfor a number of category leadingfood and beverage brands, includ-ing — for the past 26 years —Diageo, the world’s leading premi-um drinks business. For Diageo,Taylor has successfully launchednew products, reinvigorated iconicbrands and sustained momentum inthe marketplace for adult beveragefavorites such as Crown Royal,Guinness, Captain Morgan,Smirnoff and Sterling wines,among others.

Taylor also partners with Nestle,for innovative product introduc-tions in the ice cream category;Kraft, for product launches in thedairy category; and Taco Bell, for avariety of product introductionsand sports sponsorship activations.

TREVELINO/KELLER

King Plow Arts Center949 W. Marietta St., Suite X-106Atlanta, GA 30318404/214-0722Fax: 404/214-0729dtrevelino@trevelinokeller.comwww.trevelinokeller.comwww.consumebrands.com

Trevelino/Keller, quicklyestablishing its food and bever-

age practice as one of the morehealth-centric in the U.S., tar-gets emerging and middle-mar-ket companies across four chan-nels: restaurants, franchising,manufacturing and associa-tions. With one of the moreprogressive foodie agency cul-tures, the firm brings an inte-grated approach through PR,Social, Branding andMarketing, to the table for prod-uct launches, brand revitaliza-tion, reputation managementand category disruption. Forglobal brands, Trevelino/Kellerhas band together three bou-tiques to form Consume Brands,designed to serve early stageand global brands with needsbeyond communications includ-ing culinary arts, brand exten-sion and product development.

Experienced in fine dining,casual, fast casual and quickservice as well as packagedgoods for foodservice, groceryand specialty, the firm¹s ambi-tion is to get out in front of themarket in relation to supportinga more responsible food society,promoting companies withhealthy nutritional strategies,organics, sustainability andlocal initiatives.

The firm’s work with TCBYincluded the launch of its“Super Fro-Yo,” a super nutri-tional classification that distin-guishes the brand from others inthe category. In 2013, the firmworked closely with theNational Foundation for CeliacAwareness and its Chef’s TableGluten Free Tour. In 2014, itwill launch the U.S. E-com-merce presence for Santo Li, a

natural occurring sparklingwater with distinct nutritionalbenefits. For further informa-tion please email us at [email protected].

WEBER SHANDWICK

875 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2400Chicago, IL 60611312/988-2400www.webershandwick.com

Gail Heimann, PresidentJanet Helm, MS, RD, Chief Foodand Nutrition Strategist, NorthAmerica

Weber Shandwick has builtone of the largest and most suc-cessful food and nutrition prac-tices in North America. Ourclients include many of theworld’s leading food compa-nies, and we’ve been behindsome of the most iconic cam-paigns for food brands in thecountry. Weber Shandwick alsohas deep expertise in turningfood industry groups like milkand pork into brands withaward-winning campaigns thathave changed perceptions.

Our food clients range fromthe indulgent to functional, andthey each have a story to tell. Intoday’s “always-on” world, wehelp brands engage, always. Wemanage the online communitiesof our multiple food clients andhave extensive experience increating engaging content andmanaging issues. Our workinvolves launching new prod-ucts, reinvigorating brands, andleveraging scientific research tochange the way consumers andinfluencers think about specificfoods or ingredients.

We have a dedicated food andnutrition team that includessome of the industry’s moststrategic senior counselors andcontent experts — includingregistered dietitians, PhD nutri-tion scientists, former and cur-rent journalists and trainedchefs. These imbedded expertshave extensive experience inpublic-private partnerships,alliance building, food and agri-culture policy, food regulations,sustainability, food safety andcrisis communications.

We have strong relationshipswith food and nutrition influ-encers, including registereddietitians and bloggers, who areincreasingly influencing themedia landscape. WeberShandwick created and contin-

ues to support the NutritionBlog Network — an aggregatorof more than 600 blogs writtenby registered dietitians. Ourfood practice specialists haveextensive experience in engag-ing the communities that mattermost to our food and beverageclients.

WCG

60 Francisco StreetSan Francisco, CA 94133415/362-5018Fax: 415/[email protected]

Jim Weiss, Chairman & CEO,W2O GroupBob Pearson, President, W2OGroupChris Deri, President, WCG David Witt, Practice Lead,Consumer

WCG is a global communica-tions company offering inte-grated marketing services toclients in consumer packagedgoods, food and beverage.Among our clients, we serviceRed Bull, Hershey’s, GeneralMills, Michael’s, Warner Brosand more.

As part of the W2O Group,WCG is creating the positivefuture of communications byproviding advance analyticsand social listening to eachmarketing discipline.

Established in 2001 by JimWeiss, a 25-year veteran incommunications, the agencyhas grown to nearly 400employees, with 190 housed inWCG, serving clients fromoffices in San Francisco, NewYork, Austin, Los Angeles,Minneapolis, Atlanta, Boston,and London.

WCG’s seasoned profession-als specialize in analytics, pub-lic relations, content marketing,branding, design, digital, socialand traditional marketing,influencer and advocacy rela-tions and grassroots direct-to-consumer campaigns.

The company was named the2013 Digital Agency of theYear and Specialty Agency ofthe Year by The HolmesReport, was ranked #4 of TopIndependent PR Firms and wasranked #5 on PRWeek’s 2013US Agency Rankings.

For more information, visitour website at wcgworld.comor follow us on Twitter@WCGWorld. £

Managed by Trevelino/Keller, National Foundation for CeliacAwareness (NFCA) President Alice Bast kicks off the GREATKitchens Gluten-Free Chef¹s Table Tour at Mehtaphor in NYC, featur-ing Chef Ambassador Jehangir Mehta.

TAYLOR0Continued from page 29


Edelman New York

APCO Worldwide Wash., D.C.

Hunter PR New York

MWW E. Rutherford, NJ

Taylor New York

Padilla/CRT Minneapolis

RF | Binder Partners New York

Regan Comms. Group Boston

FoodMinds Chicago

5W Public Relations New York

Zeno Group New York

Coyne PR Parsippany, NJ

W2O Group San Francisco

FTI Consulting New York

Allison+Partners San Francisco

Jackson Spalding Atlanta

Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence Nashville

Linhart PR Denver

French | West | Vaughan Raleigh

Kohnstamm Comms. St. Paul

Finn Partners New York

J Public Relations San Diego

O’Malley Hansen Comms. Chicago

Fahlgren Mortine Columbus

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

WordHampton PR E. Hampton, NY

Ruder Finn New York

rbb Public Relations Miami

Levick Strategic Comms. Wash., D.C.

BizCom Associates Addison, TX

Morgan&Myers Waukesha, WI

VPE Public Relations S. Pasadena

Konnect Public Relations Los Angeles

At The Table PR Tampa

Kaplow New York

Trevelino/Keller Atlanta

Blaze Santa Monica

Maccabee Minneapolis

Stuntman PR New York

Rosica Communications Paramus, NJ

TransMedia Group Boca Raton

Hirons & Company Indianapolis

Landis Communications San Francisco

Hope-Beckham Atlanta

McNeely Pigott & Fox Nashville

Sachs Media Group Tallahassee

Red Sky PR Boise

CJ Public Relations Farmington, CT

Rasky Baerlein Strategic Comms. Boston

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

$88,786,648

12,516,796

9,197,142

6,660,000

6,061,000

5,708,605

5,381,579

5,020,000

4,859,213

4,100,000

3,992,912

3,541,000

2,414,000

2,210,000

2,200,000

2,088,208

1,927,964

1,887,452

1,668,875

1,615,466

1,352,653

982,834

920,000

917,011

892,347

785,137

773,489

743,945

600,000

588,313

555,921

546,921

441,039

350,000

350,000

324,342

270,365

226,479

207,061

159,107

100,000

100,000

80,300

79,137

72,810

59,607

58,030

45,450

O’DWYER’S RANKINGSFirm Net Fees (2012) Firm Net Fees (2012)

© Copyright 2013 The J.R. O'Dwyer Co.

FOOD & BEVERAGE PR FIRMS



OPINION Professional Development

A lex Rodriguez is the saddest$275-millionaire in the historyof the world.

In early February, after a year of furi-ous pushbackagainst MajorLeague Baseball theplayer’s union, andhis own team, theNew York Yankees,A-Rod quietly —and sadly —dropped his law-suits and acceptedhis punishment ofmissing the 2014baseball seasonbecause of takingbanned perform-a n c e - e n h a n c i n gdrugs.

A-Rod’s capitulation was a completeand utter defeat for himself and his high-powered team of legal and public rela-tions consultants. It is unclear that whenRodriguez, at 39, is eligible to return tobaseball the Yankees will be willing totake him back. Nor is it clear what A-Rod, having been racked by injuries,will have left as a ballplayer. Nor is itcertain that if and when A-Rod returns,whether baseball fans — a good portionof whom never liked Rodriguez anywayand now abhor him — will accept him.

One thing, however, in the sad story ofRodriguez is clear: By choosing to takeguidance from a publicity-hungry attor-ney rather than seeking out sound publicrelations advice, Rodriguez has ruinedhis reputation, his legacy and most like-ly, the remainder of his life.

For public relations professionals, theRodriguez saga offers a compellingexample of how straight forward, reali-ty-based, common-sensical public relations advice is often more valuablethan legal counsel — especially for highprofile clients.

Here’s what public relations advicemight have done for Rodriguez thatlegal counsel failed so miserably to do.

• Sound PR would have deempha-sized the advisors.

Rodriguez was despised enough; hedidn’t need consultants who were

equally abhorred. But that’s what hegot.

Rodriguez’s chief attorney, JoeTacopina, was a notorious headline-grabber, whose combative style madehim a fixture on cable television. To hiscredit, Tacopina renounced the “nocomment” approach of many lawyers,relying instead on a no-prisoners, let-‘em-have it confrontative style.

For Alex Rodriguez, for whom humil-ity was a constant problem, Tacopina’spushy public demeanor was the worstthing for his client.

In August, while the Yankees battledto make the playoffs, Tacopina enlisteda no-holds-barred display of bombastthat distracted the team and buriedRodriquez.

First, he accused Major LeagueBaseball and its commissioner of stag-ing a witch hunt to destroy A-Rod.

Next, he charged the Yankees withmedical malfeasance, of trumping upAlex’s injuries so as not to have to payhim.

Finally, after insisting Rodrigueznever took steroids, Tacopina daredMLB to release his client’s confidentialdrug-testing record. When MLB agreedto waive its rules and do just that,Tacopina called it a “publicity stunt”and a “trap.”

In hoisting the loudmouth attorney onhis own petard, MLB correctly per-ceived that Tacopina’s high wire pub-licity act had won few A-Rod sympa-thizers. Finally, too late really to domuch to restore goodwill, A-Rod him-self announced that Tacopina would nolonger make public statements in hisbehalf.

Sound public relations advice at thestart would have insisted to Rodriguezthat he, personally — like Kobe Bryantor Tiger Woods or Michael Vick beforehim — handle the public defense andleave his advisors out of it.

• Sound PR would have acknowl-edged his transgressions.

The overriding axiom in public rela-tions is that “you can’t pour perfume ona skunk.” If you’re guilty, then the bestpublic relations in the world won’t beable to convince people that you’re not.

If Alex Rodriguez took steroids —which, in light of last month’s capitula-tion, undoubtedly he did — then no

amount of bellicosity from his attorneyor denials from himself would haveconvinced people he didn’t.

Sound public relations called foradvising Rodriguez to admit his errors.That’s what other high profile baseballplayers have done; they’ve admitted,apologized, accepted their suspensionsand will return to the game.

In Rodriguez’s case, even with com-petent public relations advisors first from Sitrick & Co. and then BerkCommunications, he either got no such counsel or wasn’t smart enough toheed it.

Just as Bill Clinton should haveadmitted the Monica Lewinsky affairand Martha Stewart the truth about herstock trades, Alex Rodriguez shouldhave been counseled that in high profile public relations, the truth will out.

• Sound PR would have painted A-Rod as a humbled, sympathetic figure.

Despite his extraordinary baseball talents, good looks and immensewealth, Alex Rodriguez has alwayscome across as an uncomfortable publicfigure. He is ill at ease in front of amicrophone, lacks public relationsinstincts, and is generally perceived —probably through no fault of his own —as detached and supercilious.

In other words, he is a perfect candi-date for public relations guidance.

In the steroids case, Rodriguez was soguilty that his only chance to redeemany semblance of sympathy was notonly to admit his transgressions but toask for understanding and even forgive-ness.

False humility, of course, rarelyworks. But most who know him saythat Alex Rodriguez truly loves to playbaseball and respects the game. If any-one could be “coached” to present afuller, more truthful, more sympatheticportrait of himself, it was A-Rod.

Regrettably, Rodriguez never got thesound public relations advice that hissituation required. His lawyers and hispublic relations counselors decisivelylet him down.

And today, despite his youth and abil-ity and great wealth, Alex Rodriguezremains a sad and defeated figure, vic-timized by, as much as anything else,bad advice. £

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

Sound PR advice would have saved A-RodBy Fraser Seitel



Financial Management

There are many reasons why a PRagency or any other business shouldcreate a buy-sell agreement. After all,

you never know what may happen downthe road. Your agencymight go through achange in ownership.Partners may chooseto leave the agency,die or become dis-abled. Such occur-rences illustrate theneed to have an ironclad agreement toensure all principlesare protected.Preventing conflictIf you or one of

your fellow ownersleaves the company,

the departing owner’s business interestswill probably need to be transferred. Thisis where a buy-sell agreement comes intoplay. It is a formal contract that estimatesyour agency’s value (or defines the valua-tion method to use) and outlines when andto whom the interests can be sold.

First and foremost, with a buy-sell agree-ment in place, you stand a better chance ofpreventing conflicts with a deceasedowner’s family members. You can alsopreserve (or more smoothly transition)management control while creating a mar-ket for the sale of the withdrawing owner’sbusiness interest.FundingBesides stipulating the terms of any own-

ership change, a buy-sell specifies how thetransaction will be funded. Typical optionsinclude life insurance, loans, savings plans,installment purchases and sinking funds.

Of these choices, life insurance tends tobe the most popular. This is because,among other reasons, it both ensures bene-ficiaries receive the agreed-upon price forthe business interests in a timely mannerand helps prevent a buyout from choking acompany’s cash flow. Of course, the fullface value of the policy becomes fundedonly in the event of death.StructureGenerally, buy-sell agreements are

structured in one of two ways. Under thefirst option, a cross-purchase agreement,the withdrawing owner sells his or herinterest to some or all of the remainingowners. In the case of death, the insurance

proceeds (assuming life insurance is thefunding method) won’t be taxable and thesurviving owners will be provided with atax basis equal to the purchase price forthe new shares.

On the downside, because each share-holder must own an insurance policy oneach other shareholder’s life, the numberof policies can quickly become unwieldy.(This can be alleviated by forming a part-nership to own the policies.) Additionally,age or insurability can create a disparity inpremiums, with younger or healthier own-ers incurring higher premiums to coverolder or less-healthy owners.

The other option is a redemption agree-ment, under which a withdrawing owner’sshares are redeemed by the business itself.If the agreement is funded with life insur-ance and there are many shareholders, astock redemption agreement is easier toadminister than a cross-purchase becauseonly one policy on each shareholder’s lifeis required. The company can also absorbpremium differences associated with ageon health disparities among shareholders.

One reason some business owners decideagainst a redemption agreement is that the

remaining shareholders do not receive thebenefit of a step-up in basis when the com-pany purchased the deceased shareholder’sinterest. Rather, they retain their originalbasis in the company.

So, compared with a cross-purchaseagreement, the redemption can creategreater potential capital gains if theagency is subsequently sold. It also cancreate unexpected alternative minimumtax (AMT) bite for a C corporation in theyear life insurance proceeds are received.

On the positive side, by following astock redemption, the corporate assetsshould be relatively unchanged. The insur-ance proceeds will be used to buy thedeceased’s interest, but each owner willhave acquired a greater ownership per-centage. Involving a pro is keyA buy-sell agreement can preserve or

transition the management and control of acompany in terms of change. It can alsooffset conflicts among owners and familymembers. But creating the agreementshould be left to the pros. It is key to haveyour CPA and attorney work with you onyour options. £

Buy-sell agreement can help save your PR agencyBy Richard Goldstein

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



OPINION Opinion

Columbia J School, in the newsbecause CJR business news editorDean Starkman has authored The

Watchdog That Didn’t Bark, was told toclose last year by USA Today media colum-

nist Michael Wolff.Wolff’s advice, in a

March 25, 2013 col-umn, promptednewly appointed webeditor Emily Bell toinvite Wolff to thecampus for a sessionApril 4, 2013 with Jteachers and students.

Extensive coverageof the “battle” that

resulted was provided by a tumblr webposting.

Wolff, noting that news media are“shrinking at historic rates,” said thatColumbia, “raking in $58,008 in yearlytuition and fees from each student and thensending them into a world of ever-bleakerprospects, ought, more reasonably and hon-estly, to just shut its doors.”

He noted, as others have includingLauren Streib of Forbes, that “ironically orcruelly,” J schools are getting more appli-cants just because they can’t find jobs.

Called J School “intellectual failure”Wolff’s column called the Columbia J

School an “intellectual failure” because“the information marketplace is goingthrough a historic transformation, involvingform, distribution, business basis and cog-nitive effect, and yet Columbia has justhired a practitioner to lead it with little or nocareer experience in any of these epochalchanges.”

Wolff referred to Steve Coll, a staff writerat theNew Yorker who was named dean lastyear. Coll has authored seven books of non-fiction and won two Pulitzer Prizes. He wasa reporter, foreign correspondent, and sen-ior editor at the Washington Post from1985-2005.

The Wolff column said J school tends toteach “many less economically valuableskills: methodological reporting, sourcingprotocols, research procedures, and agrounding in ethical and civic responsibili-ty. The ideal goal continues to be to get youa job on the New York Times ortheWashington Post two organizations try-ing to fire more people than they hire.”

Wolff, during the April 4 session, said theJ School should have promoted dean ofacademic affairs Bill Grueskin to deaninstead of going outside.

He also criticized the appointment ofBell, a native of the U.K., as professor ofprofessional practice and director, TowCenter for Digital Journalism at the School.She headed digital content for the GuardianNews and Media from 2006-2010 afterbeing a reporter at the Observer newspaperon media, marketing and technology. Itbecame part of Guardian News and Mediain 1990. She is a 1987 graduate of ChristChurch, Oxford University, with a Master’sdegree in jurisprudence.

Wolff wondered why Columbia wentabroad for this post.

Zingers by Wolff, few by BellCoverage of what was called a “death

match” by the student posting the segmenton tumblr consisted mostly of commentsby Wolff.

He said the J School “hasn’t producedand never will produce leaders in the field.There are a scattered few. This school …was supposed to become the center of thejournalism profession … and it never real-ly happened. Most of the journalism busi-ness does not depend on going to journal-ism school. A fundamental crisis of identi-ty.”

Another quote was: “One of the thingsI’ve heard is that students say they’re notthere to make money. I’d stop there.Money is one of the most important thingsthat will happen in your career. You arehere to make money. If you don’t makemoney, you will be unhappy.”

He told the J school leaders: “If thereisn’t a guarantee that they will get jobs thenyou shouldn’t take money from these stu-dents...you can go into this professionwithout a graduate degree. There is no evi-dence that this will help you in this profes-sion … and I find that slightly troubling.”

Bell at one point attacked Wolff’s “mar-ket centric view” on journalism — callingit his measurement of success for theschool. At another point she called Wolff a“narcissistic exhibitionist.” She offeredWolff a cup of tea at another point.

Michael Lewis, author of Liar’s Pokerand other books, wrote a cover story for theNew Republic in 1993 that had the title, “J-School Ate My Brain.” He had spent a dayat the School and told one of the classesthat he thought the School was “B.S.”

Educators skip PR SeminarCJR has never mentioned the existence

of PR Seminar, the private, off-the-recordgroup of nearly 200 blue chip corporate PRexecutives and major PR firms that has amajor four-day meeting at a prime resorteach year and whose executive committee

meets throughout the year. It functions, forPR and communications executives, likethe American Legislative ExchangeCouncil, an organization of 2,000 state leg-islators (almost 100% Republican) and 300corporate representatives that crafts billsfor state legislatures throughout the nation.

David M. Stone, Executive VP ofColumbia for Communications, attendedthe 2010 Seminar.

General Stanley McChrystal addressedthe 2013 Seminar at Half Moon Bay, Calif.Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Ricewas a scheduled speaker but cancelled atthe last minute.

PR executives of media that have beenregular attendees at Seminar includeMonie Begley Feurey of Forbes, JudithCzelusniak of Bloomberg (who has left thecompany), and Betty Hudson of NationalGeographic. Richard Tofel, general man-ager of ProPublica and prevously in PR forthe Wall Street Journal, attended in 2012.Richard Powell, chief comms. officer forBloomberg, attended the 2012 meeting.

Educational world masks SeminarEducators present in the past few years

include David Demarest of Stanford;Stephen Jolly, director of external affairs,University of Cambridge, U.K.; ThomasMattia, Yale University; Deborah Bohren,PR for the NYU Langone Medical Center;David Lampe, University of Michigan;Christine Heenan, VP, PA and communica-tions, Harvard, and Denise Hill, School ofJ and Mass Comms, University of N.C. atChapel Hill.

Peter Sussman, a founder of the ethicscommittee of the Society of ProfessionalJournalists, has blasted attendance atSeminar by executives and editorialstaffers of more than 25 major media overthe years including The New York Times,Bloomberg, Washington Post, andFinancial Times. None of the media hasever mentioned the existence of Seminar.

Journalism as well as PR students arebeing short-changed by the conspiracy ofsilence that surrounds powerful PR semi-nar. Corporate PR policies are remarkablysimilar among the blue chips and PRS is nodoubt one of the reasons.

CJR and NYT have also ignored TheTylenol Mafia, a 489-page book by formerJohnson & Johnson employee Scott Bartzthat claims there is copious evidence thatpoisons were introduced in bottles of ExtraStrength Tylenol capsules in 1982 and1986 while the bottles were still in the J&Jsupply chain. Wikipedia has recognized theclaims in the book. £

Wolff tells Columbia J School to close

Jack O’Dwyer



On Superbowl Sunday, PresidentObama granted an interview to FoxNews Channel’s Bill O’Reilly. True

to form, O’Reilly pressed the president foranswers on the attack on the U.S. embassyin Benghazi, the botched rollout of theHealthCare.gov website and the IRS’s tar-geting of conservative organizations.

In the ten-minute exchange, the Presidentsaid little that was new, yet O’Reillypressed the president for answers on thesecontroversies that will likely be center-pieces of the 2014 elections. The presidentcharacterized the interview as “unfair.”

The interview represents the style of FoxNews since it first went on the air in 1996.The unflinching posture of the network canbe traced to its CEO Roger Ailes.New York magazine reporter Gabriel

Sherman’s widely discussed new book, TheLoudest Voice in the Room: How theBrilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes built FoxNews and Divided a Country, offers abehind-the-scenes look at the life and careerof one of the most influential news execu-tives in history.

Born and raised in working class Warren,Ohio, Ailes had a less-than-perfect child-hood. He was diagnosed with hemophilia inan era when such children often did not livepast the age of twelve.

Ailes’ father worked for the PackardElectric Company, a division of GeneralMotors. He was good at his job, but did notreceive the respect of the company’s col-lege educated executives. The young Rogerrefused to accept a similar fate and enrolledin Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

After graduation, Ailes found himselfworking for “The Mike Douglas Show,” adaily variety show based in Cleveland, andlater, Philadelphia. Sherman attributes “TheMike Douglas Show” with making Ailes amaster television producer. He did every-thing from wrangling high-profile guests tounderstanding what would get an audiencereaction.

During his tenure, he met Richard Nixon,who was preparing for a run for the 1968Republican nomination. In Ailes’ view,Nixon did not fully appreciate the influencetelevision was having on national politics.

Once Nixon took office, Ailes was hiredas an outside consultant at a rate of $100per day ($600 in today’s dollars). Aileswrote a detailed memo on the uses of tele-vision for the new administration. He madenumerous proposals, including havingNixon emulate Franklin Roosevelt’s fire-side chats. He also suggested making pub-lic policy speeches and vowing to end pol-lution by 1980, just as John F.Kennedy vowed to put a manon the moon before the end ofthe 1960’s. Nixon, Ailes rea-soned, would not be in office,but could claim credit when ithappened.

It was during this time,Sherman writes, that Ailesdeveloped a knack for self-pro-motion as he was featured as acentral character in journalistJoe McGinnis’ seminal book, The Selling ofthe President 1968. After leaving “TheMike Douglas Show,” Ailes had severaldifferent careers including political mediaconsultant and producer of the critically andcommercially successful off-Broadwayplay, “Hot l Baltimore.”

Once Sherman delves into the founding

of Fox News Channel, he describes Ailes ina way that vacillates between megalomaniaand paranoia. It is also at this time that thebook ceases to be an Ailes biography andbecomes a gossipy look at the inside of FoxNews. Sherman re-hashes such episodes ascostly lawsuits involving Bill O’Reilly andJudith Regan, as well as the icy relationshipbetween Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes.

Sherman interviewed more thansix hundred people for this book.Ailes himself and many other Foxemployees declined to be inter-viewed. After reading The LoudestVoice in the Room, they will berelieved they did not participate.

The biggest failing of this book isthat it does not prove the secondpart of its subtitle, how Ailes sup-posedly “divided the country.” Thecountry had been divided for

decades. Ailes successfully tapped into thatand made Fox News Channel the mostwatched and most profitable cable network.

Sherman would have done better to focuson the secrets of Ailes’ success rather thantrafficking in previously reported gossip. £

— Kevin McVicker

The Loudest Voice In the Room: How theBrilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built FoxNews — and Divided a Country

Random House (Jan. 2014) • 560 pages

Book Review

By Gabriel Sherman

Book chronicles Roger Ailes’ noise machine



WASHINGTON REPORT

Boston’s Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications isset to acquire Washington-based Prism Public Affairsin the capital, adding 16 staffers to Rasky’s D.C. out-

post.During a transition period, the combined firm will operate

as Rasky Baerlein|Prism before ultimately taking on theRasky name.

Ten-year-old Prism has worked with clients like theAmerican Palm Oil Council, Freddie Mac, the Coalition toSave Our GPS, Find Me 911, and the digital royalties groupSoundExchange.

Powell Tate alums Amanda Deaver and Dale Leibach arefounding partners. Media relations, litigation and crisis com-munications, corporate positioning and Congressional hear-ing counsel are among its services.

“Dale and I have been friends for many years. While this isnot the first time we have talked about getting together, it isdefinitely the right time,” said CEO Larry Rasky.

Rasky Baerlein did more than $2.6 million in PR business

Rasky Baerlein merges withPrism in D.C.

The U.S. Senate, 90-8, in February confirmed formerTime Managing Editor Richard Stengel as UnderSecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public

Affairs, the country’s top foreign propaganda slot.President Barack Obama nominated Stengel in September

for the post, following the exit of TaraSonenshine, a former ABC News pro-ducer and State Department PR hand.

Stengel told the Senate ForeignRelations Committee in November thathis job at Time was “to help explainAmerica to the world — and the worldto America.” He said America’s“unalienable rights” aren’t just to becherished: “We must promote them.That’s where public diplomacy comesin.”

Stengel, in his senate testimony, outlined challenges tocounter “attacks and misstatements about America andAmerican foreign policy,” amplified by social media. “Eventhough it is easier than anytime in human history to find infor-mation to rebut lies, less of that seems to be happening,” hesaid. “But we cannot resign ourselves to this; we need to fightit. That is public diplomacy in the 21st century.”

Stengel, who held the top Time post from 2006-13, previ-ously led the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia andhelped Nelson Mandela pen his autobiography, “Long Walk toFreedom.” He was also a speechwriter and top advisor to BillBradley’s 2000 presidential bid.

The State Department’s public diplomacy operation handlescommunications with international audiences, cultural pro-gramming, academic exchanges and other outreach beyondU.S. borders. Stengel’s purview includes PA and strategiccounterterrorism communications. £

Senate confirms former Timeeditor as US PR Czar

Stengel

Former Congressman Norm Dicks is representing Amazonon issues surrounding the federal government’s use ofcloud computing.

Jeff Bezos’ company is the leader with Google in offeringscalable pay-as-you-go computer capacity in the cloud.

IBM is making inroads in the cloud computing space via itsFeb. 24 announcement of the acquisition of Boston’s Cloudant.Dicks retired last year as Dean of Washington’s Congressionallegislation. The Democrat held key posts on the HouseAppropriations and Intelligence Committees.

He is a Senior Policy Advisor at Van Ness Feldman, wherehe’s joined on the account of Seattle-based Amazon with BenMcMakin, one-time Legislative Director for Sen. Patty Murray,a Democrat who represents the Evergreen State.

Amazon spent $3.4 million in federal lobbying outlays lastyear. £

Ex-Congressman scans skyfor Amazon

Corporate surveillance watchdog taps Monuments

Monument Policy Group is working for a coalition ofInternet companies that pushes for “sensible limita-tions” on Uncle Sam’s ability to compel service

providers to fork over user data.The Reform Government Surveillance group wants guide-

lines that will respect the privacy rights of their customers.The Washington-based organization acknowledges the need

for governments to “take action to protect citizens’ safety andsecurity.” At the same time, RGS wants “government lawenforcement and intelligence efforts” to be “rule-bound, nar-rowly tailored, transparent and subject to oversight.”

Google, AOL, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn andYahoo are members of the coalition, which believes the freeflow of information is essential to robust growth in the world’seconomy. £

in Washington in 2012 with about 10 staffers. The combined firm will have 55 staffers and revenue around

$15 million. £



International PR News

BLJ Worldwide LTD, New York, NY, registered February 6, 2014 for Emirates Center for Strategic Studies & Research, Abu Dhabi, UAE, tosupport Adam Friedman Associates LLC in conducting global activities deemed important to the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies & Research,which may include strategic advice, research, media outreach, events and other services as needed.

Spring O'Brien & Company, Inc., New York, NY, registered January 31, 2014 for China National Tourist Office, New York, NY, to develop anew branding for the China National Tourist Office, in the United States. A trade advertising campaign was run from September to December inTravel Weekly and Travel Agent. A 30 second commercial was developed to be used on billboards in Times Square.

JWI, LLC, Washington, D.C., registered January 31, 2014 for Government of the Republic of Senegal, Washington, D.C., to assist in arranginga luncheon and related events in support of a visit by the Minister of Finance to Washington, D.C. in February 2014.

¸ 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.

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.

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, Washington, D.C., registered February 21, 2014 for Friends of the Global Fight,Washington, D.C., regarding global health issues, specifically US support for HIV, AIDS, TB and Malaria.

HillStaffer, LLC, Washington, D.C., registered February 21, 2014 for American University of Afghanistan, Kabul, for issues regarding highereducation efforts and women's issues/rights in Afghanistan.

Just Consulting, LLC, Alexandria, VA, registered February 19, 2014 for Human Rights and Development in Bangladesh, New York, NY,regarding educating the US government and the American public on the current state of human rights, democracy, and development inBangladesh as well as the need for all legitimate political parties to be recognized and included in the Bangladesh political system.

K&L GATES LLP, Washington, D.C., registered February 20, 2014 for Partners HealthCare, Boston, MA, regarding sustainable growth ratereform; funding for federally supported research; and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, specifically proposals affecting Medicare andMedicaid funding and proposed changes to Medicare hospital reimbursement policies.

Lobbying News

Holland & Knight signed on for an eight-month campaign topromote Thailand’s efforts to combat human trafficking andthe use of child and forced labor.

It works on behalf of the office of commercial affairs atThailand’s embassy in Washington. The agreement, which wentinto effect on Jan. 27, is worth $408,000.

H&K’s government relations’ push focuses on the White House,Congress and the Depts. of Defense, State and Labor.

The agreement “may include relevant outreach to news outlets,academia and other individuals in the U.S.”

H&K’s mission is to “convey an accurate and complete picture” of Thailand’s track record in the human rights arena.

Rich Gold, practice group leader of H&K’s public policy/regulations unit, signed the Thailand contract.

He’s served as aide to former Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen andex-EPA administrator Carol Browner.

On Jan. 21, Thailand declared a two-month state of emergency for Bangkok and neighboring provinces due to anti-government protests. £

H&K promotes Thailand’shuman rights pushQorvis MSL has signed a 26-month contract worth

$650,000-plus in fees to represent the People’sRepublic of China.

The all-encompassing contract calls for its four-member team toprovide communications services “including, but not limited to,PR, media training, survey & polling, advertising, social mediacommunications strategy & implementation, crisis planning,event planning & management, and reputation and search man-agement.”

The PR push for China’s D.C. embassy kicked off Dec. 24and runs through Feb. 13, 2015. Monthly retainer is $25,200.

The contract gives a breakdown of Qorvis’ “scope of work.”Those deliverables include “real-time monitoring of Twitter,Facebook, forums, blogs and other social media in the Englishlanguage, along with “content capsule creation” for embassysocial media outreach programs.

The firm will provide strategic counsel to help frameChinese “public policy decisions for an American audience.”

On the crisis management front, Qorvis commits to creatinga “war room to deal with challenges in times of crises.” It cov-ers issues related to “economic, trade, political and militarycrises from the media perspective.”

“Proactive reporter engagement strategies about upcomingstories” and “specific responses to negative/untrue articles in

Qorvis cops big China PR contract

first-tier publications as directed” are also on the to-do list.The Qorvis China team consists of Matt Lauer, Mark Duffy,Stefan Nagey and Grace Fenstermaker. £



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

Your Presentation &Media Training Solution

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 and

high 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 of Communications

New York or London

Responsible for strategically positioning theC40 as one of the most impactful global climateorganizations and raising the profile of our membercities in this regard. The Communications team fosters knowledge sharing with external and internalaudiences, and collaborates with C40 membercities, partners and other stakeholders to raise visibility and communicate major milestones andsuccesses.

Responsibilities: •Manages a dynamic international communicationsteam (Internal Communications, Media Relations,Editorial and Content, and Agency Resource).•Drives the development of overall C40 communi-cations strategy (external and internal; social, digital and web presence) for the organization.•Responsible for managing the overall brand of theorganization.•Responsible for driving media relations activitywith a specific focus on international reach, workingin close collaboration with C40 city press offices

Qualifications: •More than 10 years minimum in corporate, PRagency, city government, or non-profit communi-cations. •City or government experience a plus•Strong writing and editing skills required •Understanding of climate and sustainability issues•Some marketing and or/brand experience

[email protected]


Subscribe/order online at odwyerpr.com or call toll free: 866/395-7710

Get O'Dwyer's Newsletter & Magazine plus a year's access toall the content on odwyerpr.com for $295/year

You'll get the news first in the eight-page weekly O’Dwyer letter, the “bible” ofPR according to the New York Times--tips and stories that can lead to jobs, newaccounts, media placements--sent as a PDF to your inbox every Monday afternoon.

Plus, you’ll have access to all the news and commentary posted daily on PR’s#1 website, odwyerpr.com, which has over 10 years of searchable content andO’Dwyer’s exclusive database of RFPs for PR services.

O'Dwyer's magazine, now in its 28th year, examines a different area of PR eachmonth. Issues include practice-area specific feature stories as well as profiles of PRfirms with strengths in the focus area. The agency profiles constitute the ideal startingpoint for companies beginning their search for PR counsel.

2014 Editorial Calendar:January, PR Buyer's Guide/Crisis Comms.February, Environmental PR & Public AffairsMarch, Food & BeverageApril, Broadcast Media ServicesMay, PR Firm RankingsJune, Multicultural/DiversityJuly, Travel & TourismAugust, Prof. Svcs. & Financial/Investor Rels.September, Beauty & FashionOctober, Healthcare & MedicalNovember, TechnologyDecember, Sports & Entertainment

O'Dwyer's is the #1 source for researching public relations firms and outside PRcounsel. We've been connecting clients and PR firms for 44 years through our directory of PR firms. O’Dwyer’s directory is the only place you can look up a company and determine its outside counsel.

Listed firms have expertise in:

• Public Relations• Social Media• Branding• Investor Relations• Employee Communications• Internet PR• Product Publicity

• Crisis Communications• Integrated Marketing• Corporate Advertising• Lobbying• Proxy Solicitation• International PR

O’Dwyer’sDirectory ofPR Firms has

brought billionsof dollars inbusiness to

PR firms

Easily research past issues of O’Dwyer’snewsletter on odwyerpr.com

Get the latest RFP announcements andpick up new business

Contact magazine editor Jon Gingerich toprofile your firm in an upcoming issue:

[email protected]

PR’s most useful job-seeking tool -- only $95



Documents

AND MORE! - O'Dwyer's PR News · AND MORE! Marchmagazine_Layout 1 2/28/14 3:58 PM Page 1. ... PROFILES OF FOOD & 20 BEVERAGE PR FIRMS 31 36WASHINGTON REPORT RANKINGS OF FOOD &