Archives: February 2012

In this latest installment of our Women Leaders in PR series, we profile Aedhmar Hynes, the CEO of Text 100 for more than a decade. Text 100 is a global firm that focuses on areas including energy, technology, consumer electronics, professional services, and travel and tourism.

Even with an international public relations business to run, Hynes manages a busy family life. She is the proud mom of four children in addition to being head of a big company.

After the jump, Hynes talks with us (in a charming Irish accent) about her professional career path (a term she doesn’t really like), the “agency of the future,” and why being a mother is part of what makes her successful.

Read more

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Citrix has selected Weber Shandwick as the AOR for the company’s online services division in the U.S. This division includes the GoTo set of cloud services, like GoToMeeting and GoToMyPC. The branding behind these sorts of remote tools is a “flexible work movement” that Citrix calls “workshifting.” Citrix has an entire blog dedicated to the topic and how it benefits companies.

This account will be handled out of Weber Shandwick’s northern California office.

Lewis PR works with Citrix in international markets and, according to a firm spokesperson, will not be impacted by this new hire. The firm has never worked with Citrix in the U.S.

We also reported in 2010 that Atomic PR was working on the Citrix account, with the firm handling the company’s GoTo tools. Atomic told us via email that they no longer work with Citrix Online or use the company’s tools. *

*This last sentence is an update to the story.

“Location, location, location” have long been known as the three things that matter in property. A keynote speaker at the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Digital Marketing Strategy conference (HSMAI) on Tuesday also talked about how important it can be for marketing.

Asif Khan, the Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA) founder and president, defined location marketing as “the integration of people, places, and media,” and explained that it’s more than check-ins, the latest deals, and Foursquare. He also pointed out that location-based marketing takes being at home into account, takes place on more than mobile devices, and is equally popular now with both genders.

Click through for major takeaways.

Read more

GCI Health has announced three executive hires. Andrea Pellicciari joins the firm as SVP handling neurology, urology, and advocacy accounts. She comes to the firm with 15 years of experience including work with clients like Allergan and Roche Molecular Systems. Mary Kate Watkins has joined the firm as VP, focused on consumer health and beauty. And Jennifer Gordon joins as senior media specialist. She was previously a producer at CNN and a line producer at Maryland NBC station, WBAL-TV.

NBCUniversal‘s Integrated Media group has announced four promotions to newly-created positions. Hilary Smith has been named SVP of comms and integrated media marketing, managing consumer and trade marketing and making her an overall strategist for the group. She’ll continue to lead comms for for iVillage, Fandango, DailyCandy, and Television Without Pity. She was previously SVP of comms for NBCUniversal Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media. Bari Komitee has been promoted from director of Women at NBCU, Integrated Media, to VP of marketing. She joined the company in 2010. Lenore Moritz is now VP of comms for Integrated Media and iVillage. She joined the company last spring from Dan Klores Communications. And Craig Coleman is now VP of partnership marketing for the group. He was previously Director of marketing for Green is Universal, Healthy at NBC, and Hispanics at NBCU.

Read more

AriZona Beverages, the makers of all those drinks you’ve seen in the colorful bottles at the local grocery store, announced last week that it reached three million Facebook fans. So what, right?

Well, the company, a privately-held family-run operation based out of New York, has never advertised in the 20 years it has been around. So having a dedicated, loyal, and large social media following is important. Rather than advertising, AriZona chooses to interact with its customers in a different way, which has become part of the decision-making process for beverage flavors and packaging.

We choose to “involve our fans in our products,” says Jackie Harrigan, the company’s comms director.

“Our product is accessible, at a great price point, and has beautiful packaging,” she continued. “We use our dollars for packaging and flavors that stand out on shelves instead of a traditional media budget.”

Read more

Hill+Knowlton Strategies‘ sustainability and CSR practice has launched an integrated reporting tool that brings together financial, environmental, social, and governance data together into one form.

The firm has partnered with Harvard Business School professor Robert Eccles and his firm Glenelg Partners on the new offering. Eccles’ research has found that companies that have taken big steps in the areas of sustainability and good governance do better financially in the long run, both for themselves and for investors. As such, this tool is being touted as a way to improve the financial performance of those who use it.

“Investors find less risk in more transparent companies because there is less uncertainty about their ability to deliver expected financial performance,” Eccles says in a statement.

Robert Ludke, SVP of H+K’s D.C. office will lead this new service and Eccles will advise.

PR software company Vocus has acquired iContact, an email and social media marketing company, for $169 million, “$91 million in cash, $9 million in common stock, and approximately $79 million in redeemable convertible preferred stock,” according to an announcement made late yesterday.

According to that release, iContact is used by 70,000 organizations. The purchase brings an email offering into its existing marketing suite.

There will be no changes to either company’s products and services, and the iContact staff will stay put in Raleigh-Durham, NC. (Vocus is based in Maryland.) IContact was founded in 2003 and has since garnered media coverage and received $50 million in venture financing.

The news came on the same day as Vocus’ earnings announcement.

Read more

AdWeek:  ‘Businessweek’ Unwraps New Website: Site will provide more links to Bloomberg.com

HitFix:  Guy Pearce gives a TED talk on artificial humans in clever ‘Prometheus’ publicity stunt

ABC News:  Another PR Crisis for Scientology

ClickZ:  Execs: Embrace Social Media or Wither

Politico: Ann Romney jests she could ‘strangle’ press

Late yesterday, MDC Partners, home to Allison + Partners, Attention, Kwittken + Company, and other advertising, PR, and digital firms, reported a 36.9 percent jump in revenue  in 2011. Revenue for the year totaled $943.3 million versus $689.1 million the previous year. Organic growth was up 17 percent.

“While our business is growing at a healthy pace, we are being diligent in our analysis of investments and are implementing a leaner operating structure across our network, aimed at expanding margins,” said CFO David Doft in a statement.

Read more

Time Inc. has named former News Corp. comms exec Teri Everett EVP of corporate communications, effective March 5. Everett stepped down from her role at News Corp. – SVP of corporate affairs and communications — on February 10. She’d joined News Corp. in 2000. At the time her departure from News Corp. was announced, Everett said, “While it may be a tired cliche, I am ready for something new.”

At Time, she will manage all of the corporate communications for the company (from the employee comms to the company’s philanthropic endeavors), reporting to the company’s CEO Laura Lang.

Read more