Toyota Shifts AOR Gears…

SHIFT Communications announced that Toyota has selected the award-winning firm as its primary PR agency in the Northeast Region, which includes New York, New England, Washington, D.C., and the mid-Atlantic states. The firm will also play a lead role in strategic planning for the brand, driving earned media with mainstream and social media outlets, and highlighting the motor company’s philanthropic and community relations programs.

“Toyota is a brand with deep roots in innovation,” said Todd Defren, CEO of SHIFT Communications. “That forward-thinking mindset is incredibly synergistic with SHIFT’s approach and we look forward to working closely with the team at Toyota to bring that same level of innovation to its communications.”

Two for One AOR…

The Morris + King Company announced that it has been retained by Arby’s Foundation, an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America. Over the past 25 years, Arby’s Foundation has donated over $52 million to various charitable causes across the country. Their recent partnership with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign is working to bring meals to more American children than ever before.

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Is this what they used to freeze Han Solo?

Biogenic Reagents, a pioneer in the renewable energy and clean technology categories, has chosen Haberman to handle marketing/PR communications.

Biogenic Reagents’s mission is to produce renewable carbon products that perform better, cost less and have less impact on the environment than conventional products made from coal. The company recently announced the launch of its $30 million advanced biocarbon facility in Marquette, Michigan, the largest in North America.

Spa the Agencies of Record…

PRCo USA, the integrated international public relations and digital consultancy, has been retained by Canyon Ranch to promote their resorts in Tucson, Lenox and Miami Beach as well as Canyon Ranch SpaClub® facilities around the world. In addition, the PRCo offices in Germany and France have been retained to promote Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach in those markets. The program will entail corporate branding as well as media relations for their properties and distinguished medical staff and health experts.

Hope he updates his Facebook page…

Sean Eldridge, the investor, Democratic party fundraiser and husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, has hired media consulting firm SKDKnickerbocker to manage his recently announced 2014 campaign to represent New York’s 19th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jennifer Cunningham, leader of SKDKnickerbocker’s New York team, also managed the 2012 campaign of Sean Patrick Maloney, the state’s first openly gay representative (Eldridge would be the second).

An AOR to Watch Carefully…

MWW Group announced today that the timeless watch brand Armitron has chosen MWW as its public relations agency of record.

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Building on its recent success with several technology clients, M&C Saatchi PR has acquired three new accounts in the areas of social gaming and technology:

• Flow, a performance fitness app backed by professional athletes including Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
• The new casual gaming tournament platform gogamingo. The start-up launched this month in New York City, and it’s shaking up the casual gaming market by allowing players of mobile games to compete in tournaments for real world prizes.
• Sumeria, a national network that connects young professionals to social engagement opportunities with events and activities year-round nationwide.

The Morris + King Company (MKC) announced that it has been retained by Jacks & Jokers—a contemporary apparel company inspired by the iconic imagery and art of the United States Playing Card Company (USPC). As agency-of-record, MKC will develop and execute a comprehensive PR campaign heightening awareness of a brand known for its “bold, effortless cool.”

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MWW, an independent public relations firm, has been selected to represent Sonoma County, California’s Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates.

The brand is launching a new campaign that significantly changes the way consumers pair wine with both food and lifestyle moments, reaching age-appropriate Millennials and Gen X’ers through Web-based sensory experiences, mobile-enabled pairings and social communication. Kendall-Jackson is reaching out to a new generation of consumers via a new platform that offers content for an ever-growing range of consumers, bloggers, influencers and traditional media.

Following a review, Johnson & Johnson has decided to retain Universal McCann of  Interpublic Group of Companies as its North American media agency. UM’s J3, the dedicated agency which handles the account, will lead the effort from its New York City and Toronto offices. Said a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson, “The review began several months ago with the objective of leveraging the company’s scale to identify cost savings and increase value. Johnson & Johnson has partnered with UM since 1973 and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership.”

The Hass Avocado Board, which promotes the health benefits of avocados and focuses on increasing avocado consumption in the U.S., has retained CRT/tanaka as its Agency of Record. After an extensive review and vetting process, CRT/tanaka was selected to provide strategic public relations programs for a new marketing communications strategy for Hass Avocados.

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MWW, a top ten global independent public relations firm, today announced that it has been retained by the makers of Nimbuzz, one of the world’s largest messaging apps with over 110 million registered users in more than 200 countries. The company taps MWW’s San Francisco-based consumer technology team to build and execute a communications campaign that will increase its visibility in the U.S. while augmenting its international presence.

Founded in 2006 in the Netherlands, Nimbuzz offers users and app that enables them to easily connect with friends through its messaging, call and video call features, which connect to various other social channels.

“Nimbuzz is a great story of a very cool, very useful communications service built on the strong foundation of a sound business model,” said Ephraim Cohen, EVP of MWW’s technology & digital content practice. “As Americans adopt mobile technology at a faster rate, Nimbuzz is perfectly poised to enter the U.S. marketplace.”

Media training is a high stakes field with visible results: Flawless public appearances are impressive while faulty performances can be devastating. We recently checked in via email with three media training specialists at PR agencies for their perspectives on the latest techniques, challenges and trends. Here’s the lowdown.

Training strategy is “about media mastery,” according to Leslie Linton, SVP media strategies at MWW in New York. “It’s about taking control of an interview, reacting quickly and effectively in a breaking news or crisis situation.”

Traditional and unconventional methods are used. “Clients increasingly recognize the importance of video training,” reported Ryan Richert, SVP media services at Edelman in Chicago. “You never know when a veteran print journalist will pull out an iPhone to record video of an interview. The New York Times’ new CEO comes from the BBC and embraces video storytelling.” Richert foresees journalists across major outlets using more video.

Linton strongly agreed with Richert on the value of video. She also utilizes “positive and negative sound bite examples and concentrates on bridging techniques to help clients out of troubling questions.”

“Our training program uses unexpected techniques,” said Stephen Brown, managing director at Cohn & Wolfe in Atlanta. “These range from ‘surprise calls’ from real or mock reporters during a session to surrounding interviews with props or lifelike set pieces.” He described another technique where a trainer writes a wire story in real-time during practice interviews, then shares the story so clients understand their statements’ immediate impact.

Media training adapts to rapid news cycles and social media networks. “Sound bites are shorter, simpler, and crisper,” Richert explained. “Watch the evening network news and you don’t see any more 15 second sound bites; most are about half that length. In the age of 140-character comments, executives can’t afford to be wordy, so I focus on helping our clients tighten up their talking points and cut to the chase.”

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Ryan Wells is joining the NASDAQ OMX Group as director of media relations on Monday, July 23. He was previously a manager at Burson-Marsteller and was with the firm nearly 2 1/2 years. The NASDAQ has been swimming in hot water over the problems with the Facebook IPO. We were in touch with NASDAQ for any comms developments in that area and — surprise! — no comment.

Stephen Corsi has joined Lewis PR as U.S. VP of digital marketing based in San Francisco. Corsi (pictured) has 18 years of experience and was most recently VP and MD of digital marketing agency iCrossing, where he worked with clients including GE and Mastercard.

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The comms director for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.), Laena Fallon is leaving her post to become the VP of comms for the Financial Services Forum (FSF) in August. FSF is an advocacy group comprised of the CEOs of 20 large banks, including Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein and JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon. [via, h/t]

Rich Jernstedt (pictured) has joined Porter Novelli as a senior counselor in the firm’s Chicago office. Jernstedt was previously EVP and senior partner at Fleishman-Hillard. He left the firm a year ago to start his own agency, The Jernstedt Company. Prior to F-H, he spent 26 years with GolinHarris. Porter Novelli has had a number of executive departures over recent months.

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Steve Mnich has joined MWW Group as director of the San Francisco office. Besides client and new business work, Mnich will lead the startup division of the company, MWW Ventures. He was previously the MD at SS|PR, launching and leading the firm’s West coast office.

Tom Jones (not him)  has been promoted to SVP at Makovsky Health. He joined the firm in January 2011. Since joining, the practice has experienced 24 percent growth. Prior to that, he was the executive director of communications at Novartis.

Desiree Peterkin-Bell, director of comms and strategic communications for Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, is joining the Obama for America as senior advisor for communications in Pennsylvania. Before working with Mayor Nutter, Peterkin-Bell was the director of comms for Newark Mayor Cory Booker. [via]

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There are many people working in PR who started out doing something completely different. And many people who may be looking for ways to bring their un-PR-like skills to the public relations industry.

In the second of our four-part career development series, we discuss how one can take those non-traditional skills and turn them into PR career gold. Even if you’re already working in PR but have a hidden talent that you’d like to put to use in your career, this could be helpful.

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