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“Many of our global clients have already requested that we block this site on our activity.”
An employee for the agency described it to BuzzFeed News as a “preventative measure”, as online advertising is assigned to websites algorithmically.
Omnicom handpicks the sites their clients’ ads run on, which is known as a whitelist, whereas ad exchanges or networks such as Google’s typically work on a blacklist where brands specify which sites not to run on.
The email from management added: “If you are running activity through ad networks such as MediaIQ/Regital, Quantcast & RocketFuel it is worth reaching out to your rep and making sure Breitbart is blacklisted and request a URL level site report over the past 30 days which all should be able to provide.”...
Investigating the gun industry, Muslim extremists, and high-stakes litigation, I’ve grown accustomed to deadline intimidation from corporate legal departments or an executive’s personal PR squad, but only this week am I getting a feel for what it’s like to be the target when a sovereign nation goes into crisis-communication mode.
Worried about revelations in Law of the Jungle, my soon-to-be-released book about the epic Chevron (CVX) oil pollution case, the Republic of Ecuador’s U.S. public relations advisers, New York-based Ketchum, has sent a six-page, single-spaced memo to Ecuador’s ambassador to the U.S., Nathalie Cely. Marked “reservado y confidencial,” the memo, prepared in Spanish throughout, outlines “difficult questions” the book raises “that negatively affect Ecuador,” and includes an ad hominem swipe. “It remains unclear when and how many times Barrett visited Ecuador or if he interviewed anyone from the Government,” the memo states. “This can be converted into a point that we can raise, but only in suitable settings and among appropriate journalists.”
I obtained a copy of the memo from a helpful noncombatant who works for neither Ketchum nor the ambassador and who requested anonymity for all the obvious and usual reasons. The damage-control document is a peculiar combination of advice on how to discredit the messenger—“this can be converted into a point …”—and admissions that the book raises issues that do not reflect well on Ecuador’s government....
... There's something more current, like the GOP hiring a PR strategist to educate America that it is not the "stupid party." Perhaps you remember the infamous case study of "Big Tobacco" hiring top-dog lobbyists to tell Congress that smoking doesn't kill people...stupid people jonesin' for a cigarette kill themselves. And now there's this, brought to us by the National Confectioners' Association. This is the proud D.C.-based organization that is breaking open its big piggy bank to the tune of $2 million (put your pinky up to your mouth when you say that) to tell D.C. — wait for it — that candy doesn't make you fat. ...
...The first 90 seconds of the spot were fantastic. As a viewer, I learned some of the steps the nation’s leading beverage company is taking to provide us with healthier drinking options. It has more than 180 low- and no-calorie options, many of which have replaced higher-calorie offerings in school vending machines. It has created smaller, portion-controlled sizes as well as boldly stated the calorie count of each drink on its cans. It supports initiatives like the Boys & Girls Clubs that encourage kids and young adults to get active. These efforts have helped reduce the average calories per serving across the soda industry’s products in the United States by about 22 percent. That’s a fantastic story, if it stopped there. If Coca-Cola had admitted that overconsumption of its higher-calorie beverages has led to greater numbers of obese individuals while emphasizing its efforts to offer healthier beverage options, portion control and transparency in calorie counts, I’d applaud it (though would wonder why its message warranted a 90-second spot). But it didn’t admit the truth, and the ad didn’t stop there. At about the 90-second mark, Coca-Cola’s storytelling machine went off the rails. Instead of coming clean and admitting that it’s a source of the problem, it proclaimed that “all calories count, no matter where they come from.” The line was made intentionally vague because it implies something that is not true. While it’s true that all calories count, it’s untrue that they’re created equal, and that’s indisputable....
American International Group is launching an ad campaign that will air during post-season football games, awards shows and morning news programs and thanks taxpayers for coming to the insurer’s rescue during the financial crisis. American International Group is launching an ad campaign that will air during post-season football games, awards shows and morning news programs and thanks taxpayers for coming to the insurer’s rescue during the financial crisis. The “Thank You America” campaign will highlight AIG’s recovery and the repayment of the federal government’s bailout, which at its peak in 2009 consisted of a $182.3 billion commitment from the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.... The campaign follows Treasury’s announcement earlier this month that it sold its final shares of AIG. The ads will highlight the calculation that the government made a $22.7 billion profit on the bailout....
Key question: Did Petraeus resign quickly enough?
Earlier this month, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare announced that it had agreed to activist demands that its Centrum brand amend its marketing practices. With the prospect of a lawsuit from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) looming, the company agreed to discontinue claims that some Centrum products promote “colon health” and “breast health.” The company also agreed to qualify statements made on the Web and in traditional advertising that certain supplements contribute to “heart health.” All of the changes, including revised product labeling, will be in effect by January 5, 2013. The agreement represents one of those rare instances in which a major corporation – they don’t get any bigger than Pfizer in the pharmaceutical industry – quickly backs down in the face of activist pressure. Some may wonder why Pfizer would make such a move. But don’t fault the company for capitulating just yet. There are least three good reasons why Pfizer’s decision made sense under the circumstances.... [A good strategic public relations lesson -JD]
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The Republican frontrunner met with the editorial board on Monday morning. The full transcript follows at the link above: FREDERICK RYAN JR., WASHINGTON POST PUBLISHER: Mr. Trump, welcome to the Washington Post. Thank you for making time to meet with our editorial board. DONALD TRUMP: New building. Yes this is very nice. Good luck with it. RYAN: Thank you… We’ve heard you’re going to be announcing your foreign policy team shortly… Any you can share with us? TRUMP: Well, I hadn’t thought of doing it, but if you want I can give you some of the names… Walid Phares, who you probably know, PhD, adviser to the House of Representatives caucus, and counter-terrorism expert; Carter Page, PhD; George Papadopoulos, he’s an energy and oil consultant, excellent guy; the Honorable Joe Schmitz, [former] inspector general at the Department of Defense; [retired] Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; and I have quite a few more. But that’s a group of some of the people that we are dealing with. We have many other people in different aspects of what we do, but that’s a representative group....
In case you missed it, Bloomberg Businessweek published an intriguing story yesterday by veteran journalist Paul M. Barrett that ran with the headline “What It’s Like to Be Attacked by Putin’s Flack.”
The “flack” in question is Ketchum — more specifically D.C.-based partner Kathy Jeavons, who “heads both the Ecuador and Russia accounts” for the firm.
For the record, Jeavons did not personally attack or even contact Barrett. But a source did forward him a talking points document that the firm wrote for Nathalie Cely, Ecuador’s ambassador to the United States. The doc included both well-stated observations about Ecuador’s history with Chevron and suggestions for casting doubt on the credibility of Law of the Jungle, Barrett’s upcoming book on the lawsuit that accuses the company of abusing its relationship with the people of Ecuador....
...While national political attention was dominated by the fiscal cliff and a new Congress, environmental activists continued gearing up for what they believe to be the fight of the century. Rather than lick their wounds after the high-profile defeats of the last month, they leveraged them into outreach and engagement opportunities that are swelling their ranks.
Likes on the “Stop the Keystone Pipeline” Facebook page have grown to four times the number on the “Support the Keystone Pipeline Page.” YouTube is now teeming withvideos expressing personal and emotional appeals against the pipeline. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) now owns the top result for a Google search on “Keystone Pipeline, Nebraska.” The National Wildlife Federation claims the top spot for searches on “Keystone Pipeline, Danger.” A search for “Tar Sands” returns no fewer than five first-page results maintained by pipeline opposition groups. All the while, activists are leveraging relationships with high-profile bloggers to further sway public opinion and demonstrate compelling third-party support. As it has so many times in the past, the activist community is asserting its digital dominance. All of that online activity is translating into grassroots action. Protests are being carried out across the country. Petitions are being delivered to the White House in droves. And to keep the momentum building, 18 top climate scientists recently penned a letter to the president in strong opposition to the pipeline, writing that “the administration would be actively supporting and encouraging the growth of an industry which has demonstrably serious effects on climate.”...
...I want to share some of their [Edelman Trust Barometer] findings here because understanding them will help everyone build and grow better companies. This isn’t just a PR topic. It affects everything: Brand management, communications, operations, retail, customer service… everything. First, the checklist. Below is a graphic that shows 16-trust building attributes every organization needs to be aware of (and gauge). It looks like this year, Edelman added categories (what they call trust performance clusters): Engagement, Integrity, Products & Services, Purpose, and Operations. I can’t poke a hole into this. It’s solid....
Since CIA director David Petraeus resigned on Friday over an extramarital affair uncovered by the FBI, the story has shifted from John Le Carré espionage novel to Vince Flynn right-wing thriller to misanthropic Coen Brothers farce —... [Now I've seen everything - an infographic for the Petraeus affair. Ain't marketing wonderful LOL? ~ Jeff]
Because firms don't need to disclose political contributions, we don't know who's lobbying for what.are you Newsweek just released its fourth annual Green Rankings, grading the "greenness" of the 500 largest publicly-traded companies in the world. In partnership with research firms Trucost and Sustainalytics, companies are ranked based on their management, performance, and transparency in the environmental domain. One of us (Toffel) was a member of Newsweek's advisory panel. Thanks to that involvement and our research on green ratings, we understand the many challenges of rating firms' environmental performance. While leading assessments like Newsweek's are admirably rigorous and comprehensive, all major green rankings have an important blind spot: They do not account for corporate lobbying and campaign contributions around environmental policy. After all, no matter how green a company's operations and supply chains are, political efforts aimed at weakening environmental laws and regulations can have far greater environmental impact. Unfortunately, we know little about corporate political activities since much of it occurs behind closed doors. So whether companies are pushing to strengthen environmental regulations or lobbying to weaken them, none of this crucial information is incorporated into green rankings. You might think that companies that are transparent on environmental issues would also be forthcoming about their political activities. But perhaps not....
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Many global advertisers have blacklisted Breitbart News. Some clicks can hurt your reputation.