Russell Beattie works on new mobile products at Yahoo. He's also 6' 2" with graying hair, but I digress. Russell is pissed at P.R. people who pitch him without doing their homework first. In other words, he needs the pitch to be totally personalized. You know, now that people in Public Relations have "discovered" blogging, I'm seeing a notable downward trend in the quality of the discussions online. These are the …
Big Brothers Help Each Other Out
Wired: Microsoft is cooperating with China's government to censor the company's newly launched Chinese-language web portal, a spokesman for the tech giant said. The policy affects blogs created through the MSN Spaces service, said Adam Sohn, a global sales and marketing director at MSN. Microsoft and its government-funded Chinese business partner work with authorities to omit certain forbidden language, Sohn said, …
Rubel’s Rules
Steve Rubel of Micropersuasion has given marketers a new list of Commandments, based on how he sees the rise of participatory media forever altering the playing field. Here are the 10 commandments for public relations professionals as I see them in the Golden Era of Participation …
Northwest Cancels The In-Flight Pretzels
I didn't travel this weekend, but I'm sure some of you did, so I hope you enjoyed those free in-flight snacks, because they might be disappearing. According to this article, Northwest Airlines will stop offering free pretzels on its flights in coach class. America's 6 major airlines have a tendency to quickly copy each other's ideas, so this one might catch on. The airline says no more pretzels will save the airline …
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Pepsi CFO Given The Finger By Rabid Bloggers
Steve Rubel points to a p.r. story where a group of patriotic bloggers (with nothing better to do), got their panties in a wad over a metaphor used by PepsiCo's CFO to describe America's central position in the world. A message from PepsiCo's President & CFO, Indra Nooyi: Following my remarks to the graduating class of Columbia University …
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Wendy’s Chili Eater Gets Fingered For Larceny
Okay, I couldn't resist that headline. But last night, Anna Ayala was arrested by San Jose police yesterday. There'll be more details coming from the police this afternoon. There was some damage done to Wendy's brand and sales, especially in San Jose and Ayala's hometown of Las Vegas. Despite the jokes and the gross-out factor involved, I think Wendy's will be just fine. They did everything they could to see if the …
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Diversionary Tactics
How do you create some warm and fuzzies for one of the most controversial companies in the world? You give the urban, educated, left-leaning Volvo drivers who are fighting you some space. from Ad Age: Embroiled in a nasty battle with organized labor and environmental groups, Wal-Mart has launched an ad campaign to run through April 24 that includes idyllic images of eagles in flight to promote …
Press Release Needs Grease
I've been giving the Cluetrain crew a hard time of late, so I'll flip the script this time and give them a shout out. One of the Cluetrain's guiding principals (no. 14 to be exact) says, "Corporations do not speak in the same voice as these new networked conversations. To their intended online audiences, companies sound hollow, flat, literally inhuman." Here's a splendid example. Castrol has signed Funkmaster Flex to …
