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GOP Convention Alert: What Romney Must Do to Win the Convention PR War
Public Affairs… By David Johnson, Strategic Vision
There has been much talk lately that political conventions are outdated and no longer serve a purpose. Some argue that a political convention is nothing but a giant party for the donors and political operatives. Actually it is much more than that. A political convention is the greatest public relations event that a presidential campaign can have besides the debates. The tempo of the convention along with the speeches at the convention defines a candidate and the campaign.
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UK Mid-caps See Growth Ahead, According Edison Investment Research Survey
IR Therefore I Am… By Gene Marbach, SVP, Makovsky+Co.
A recent Edison business confidence survey of more than 200 mid-cap UK listed companies of up to £2bn in market value reveals that, despite a grim domestic outlook, most are confident about the outlook for their own businesses and are looking to make an acquisition over the coming year. However, the survey notes that some are concerned about the state of the UK equity markets to facilitate ambitions. Confidence in raising finance from the public equity markets remains fragile at best, just as most businesses are adjusting to operating in a global low growth environment.
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Free eBook: 57 Tips to Grow Your Email Marketing List
By WhatCounts for the Effective Email Marketing Channel
Is your email list growing as fast as you want it to? For most sales and marketing professionals, the answer to that question is perpetually negative – no, the list is never growing fast enough. But chances are, you’re missing a few key opportunities to help its growth along. In this eBook, take one or all 57 ideas and put them into action today to help grow your email marketing list. Ideas cover a broad range of methods, from online to mobile to offline. Download it today and accelerate your list! HOW TO GET YOUR COPY:
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Not a Big PR Hit: Donors Standing by Armstrong’s Charity after Ban, Stripped Titles
Washington Post
Lance Armstrong’s reputation may be permanently stained but in the eyes of corporate and individual donors, his charity still wears an unsullied yellow jersey. Armstrong announced last week he would no longer fight the doping allegations that have dogged him for years. He was subsequently stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles and banned from professional cycling. But in the days following the announcement, the Lance Armstrong Foundation was showered with donations and pledges of continued support for its mission of promoting cancer awareness and research. PR pros say that while the famous cyclist and cancer survivor remains a polarizing figure, even his naysayers will have a hard time turning their back on the foundation and its trademark Livestrong yellow bracelets. Stan Steinreich, CEO of Steinreich Communications Group in Fort Lee, N.J., said that the charity is bound to rebound, because it has nothing to do with Armstrong’s scandal. It appears to pale, in public relations terms at least, in comparison with those involving other sports figures such as Tiger Woods and Michael Vick …
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Encore Capital Group Names New Senior Vice President of External Affairs
Sacramento Bee
Encore Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG), a leading provider of debt management and recovery solutions for consumers and property owners across a broad range of assets, announced today that Sheryl Wright has joined the company as Senior Vice President of External Affairs. Ms. Wright will oversee Encore’s External Affairs functions, including Government Affairs and Corporate Communications. She will be responsible for managing federal and state legislative and regulatory matters, community outreach, corporate communications and reputation management …
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Hearst Newspapers Names Executive Vice President of Multi-Market Advertising
MarketWatch
Hearst Newspapers announced today that Michael C. LaBonia has been named executive vice president of multi-market advertising for the company. LaBonia will lead sales efforts for national accounts for the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. In this new role, LaBonia will direct a sales team focused on the top 100 multi-market retail and national accounts and agencies. His base of operations will be out of the Houston offices and he will report jointly to Houston Chronicle President John T. O’Loughlin, San Francisco Chronicle Executive Vice President of Advertising Jeff Bergin and Express-News Executive Vice President of Advertising Ray McCutcheon …
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CMOs Project Big Increases in Social Media Marketing Budgets
Business 2 Community
Social media is not a quick fix solution for businesses to increase sales and revenue; however, with the proper amount of time, commitment, and resources involved it has huge potential. It seems more and more executives are coming around to this notion as well. According to a recent study conducted by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, CMOs are continuing to project significant increases in social media spending in the next 5 years. The survey shows that while traditional advertising spending (traditional advertising refers to media advertising that doesn’t use the web) will decrease, spending in areas like customer relationship management and brand building will increase. Not surprisingly, these are two areas of marketing that social media lends itself to rather well. General spending on marketing is also expected to increase, with social media spending expected to be 18.8% of marketing budgets in 5 years–from a current level of 7.6% and a projected level next year of 10.6% …
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Further Fed Easing Not “Predestined”: Fisher
Reuters
Policymakers at the Federal Reserve continue to weigh options on monetary policy, and have not agreed at this point to unleash a new round of stimulus, a top Fed official opposed to more monetary easing said on Tuesday. “In terms of further easing, nothing has been decided,” Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher told Reuters in a phone interview. “Nothing is predestined.” Markets are looking to Chairman Ben Bernanke’s scheduled speech at the Kansas City Fed’s annual policymaker meeting on Friday for clues on the U.S. central bank’s next move. The Fed has kept rates near zero since December 2008 and has promised to keep them there until at least late 2014 to nurture a weak recovery. Many policymakers felt new action would be warranted “fairly soon,” according to minutes from the Fed’s policy-setting committee meeting on July 31 and August 1, and most economists expect the Fed to at least pledge to keep rates low for even longer when policymakers next meet in September …
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Home Values Rise in U.S. for First Time Since 2010: Economy
Bloomberg
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities climbed in June for the first time since a tax credit boosted sales in 2010, indicating the industry at the heart of the worst recession in the post-World War II era is starting to rebound. The S&P/Case-Shiller index increased 0.5 percent from June 2011 after falling 0.7 percent in the year to May, a report from the group showed today in New York. The last 12-month increase took place in September 2010. Nationally, prices jumped last quarter by the most in more than six years. The lowest mortgage rates on record and a decline in sales of distressed properties may help the market contribute to the economic expansion that is now in its fourth year. A more sustained rebound may require easier lending conditions, which would also give consumers a lift after a report today showed household confidence sank to the lowest level of the year …
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CCOs on the Go: Idaho Power Hires Former State Homeland Security Chief as CCO
CommPRO.biz
As reported in the Spokesman-Review, “Idaho Power has announced that it has a new director of corporate communications: Brigadier General William Shawver , who recently left his position as director of the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security, and who remains commander of the Idaho Air National Guard. Shawver headed the state bureau for nearly five years, and left July 27. He’ll start his new position at Idaho Power on Sept. 4″ …
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C-Suite Communications: WellPoint CEO Braly Resigns Amid Pressure
The Wall Street Journal
Under pressure from investors unhappy with the health insurer’s performance and direction, WellPoint Inc. WLP -1.32% Chief Executive Angela Braly resigned Tuesday, and the company’s board said it would begin a search for a permanent replacement. The company’s interim chief executive and president will be John Cannon, WellPoint’s executive vice president and general counsel. Mr. Cannon doesn’t want to be considered for the permanent job, WellPoint said in its statement. WellPoint’s board of directors has been meeting with major investors over the past few weeks, in the wake of a disappointing second-quarter earnings report that sharpened concerns about Ms. Braly’s leadership and the company’s strategy. In a statement, the company said Ms. Braly, who was also president, “has stepped down from those positions today.” The company also said that lead independent director Jackie M. Ward would become nonexecutive chairman of the board. Ms. Braly, in an internal email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, told WellPoint employees she agreed the company will benefit …
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The Modern Political Convention: A Four-Day Infomercial?
Ad Age Digital Next
The RNC this week is Mitt Romney’s chance to make his case, introduce himself and get his brand out to the American people. The same thing will go for Barack Obama and the Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C. next week. It’s now hard to believe that there was a time when the conventions actually served a purpose. Over the course of a few days, delegates gathered and squabbled and shouted, wheeled and dealed until they settled on a candidate. It wasn’t a party to rubber-stamp a previously agreed-upon nominee. It was part of the political process. Now, it’s a four-day infomercial. Couldn’t the same thing be achieved by running half-hour or hour-long advertising on broadcast TV? Or, if we’re worried about things possibly getting really unfair really fast — the Democrats wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Republicans in terms of spending this year — the nightly news programs could devote entire shows to the candidates. Then again, the candidates might not participate. Politicians have always preferred to get their messages directly to the people without the pesky interference of meddling reporters. So on we go with the political marketing events of the season …
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More Than Half of Online Ads Fail Viewability Standard
ADWEEK
The online ad industry’s Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS) initiative calls for a new viewability metric that would only measure when 50 percent of an ad is in view for at least one second. The problem is, fewer than half of online ads meet that standard, according to a forthcoming study due out Tuesday. The study by AdSafe Media, which offers products that promise to safeguard brands’ ads online, shows that 49.9 percent of ads sold directly hit the proposed requirement. The number shrinks to 41.2 percent in the case of ads sold through ad networks and 40.3 percent of ads sold through ad exchanges. And that’s only for a second-long peek. When extending the in-view window to 15 seconds, the stats dwindle to 21.1 percent for ads bought directly through the publisher, 16.4 percent for exchange buys and 16.3 percent for network buys. The findings are based on impressions examined during the first half of 2012 …
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