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Herod Antipas was NOT the husband of Salome; Herod was married to her mother, Herodias. Salome was Herod's step-daughter. Herodias wanted John the Baptist dead because he was speaking out against her marriage to Herod. She conspired with her daughter, Salome, to ask for his head.
Lifting the Seven Veils
Lifting the Veils is an image that has captivated me lately, since it's the theme of a retreat I'm offering. It's a layered, complicated metaphor when you really begin to think about it - it has cultural and political undertones. And so, I did a bit of research on veils I'd like to share. This ...
Sgt. Pepper was released in June 1967 :-)
Hey Kids, pack your period costumes. It's Disaster Re-enactment Month!
Is it just me or were you also a tad perplexed by the Titanic Memorial Cruise ship that set sail Sunday with 1,309 passengers on board, the same number as were on the Titanic. The ship intends to retrace the ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic's maiden voyage and stop on the exact spot where the unsinkab...
"Transparency" -- maybe that's a concept the PRSA should look into...
Bait and switch with a twist: The Sequel
I was very pleased to see the PRSA's Board of Ethics and Professional Standards held a discussion to address the issue I raised in a previous Repman blog entitled: 'Bait and switch with a twist.' The blog concerned a new twist on the large agency world's propensity to bait-and-switch team mem...
RepMan: You make excellent points. The Titantic "reenactment" cruise is beyond creepy and inappropriate. Some people need to get a life and stop tempting fate.
I wonder: How would people feel if we "reenacted" 9/11? I think there would be unanimous outrage. I'm sure in 100 years some opportunist looking to make a quick buck will arrange a death tour.
Two more unfortunate events that happened in April:
Death of Stuart Sutcliffe: April 10, 1962
Beatles Official Breakup: April 10, 1970
Hey Kids, pack your period costumes. It's Disaster Re-enactment Month!
Is it just me or were you also a tad perplexed by the Titanic Memorial Cruise ship that set sail Sunday with 1,309 passengers on board, the same number as were on the Titanic. The ship intends to retrace the ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic's maiden voyage and stop on the exact spot where the unsinkab...
Wow. What a shame. A real recipe for disaster. I'll never understand why companies allow this kind of pervasive dysfunction to continue until it's too late to do anything about it. There were probably many smart, innovative employees there at one time who were pummeled and tossed to the curb.
Dead brand walking
After learning that Yahoo had just slashed another 2,000 jobs, Damon Vickers, a money manager in Seattle who closely follows tech stocks, said: “(Yahoo) lost the search game to Google a long time ago”. He followed that up with a poignant question, 'What do you do with a cadaver? Where do you pl...
I guess the moral of the story is "the cover-up is worse than the crime."
Also - regarding that teacher - it's unfortunate to hear how little children can be terrorized using shamed-based methods. Reading this account made me cringe. A therapist's dream.
Hands Up, Baby, Hands Up …
Today’s guest post is by Mark Pepper. Mark Pepper is Peppercom’s man in Spain. We let him think he’s the head of Peppercom’s European Division. In reality, he is just a man in Spain. He always wanted to work for a company with Pepper in its name. It took more than forty years. I was around the...
If you really want an eye-opening experience regarding the beef industry, watch "Food, Inc". Slime is the least of the problems - http://www.amazon.com/Food-Inc-Eric-Schlosser/dp/B0027BOL4G/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1333452720&sr=1-2
Slime By Any Other Name…
Today's guest post is by Peppercommer and RepChatter Co-host Deb Brown. Be sure to check out Deb's blog, StandUpExecutive.com. The pink slime crisis for the beef industry has certainly been an interesting one to watch, especially in terms of the industry’s reputation and transparency (or lack t...
I don't know why I am shocked, but I am. Another example of corporate duplicity. How do these people sleep at night? Just gimme some truth.
A new twist on bait-and-switch
I was fielding a new business call not too long ago when the prospect asked if we practiced bait-and-switch in our business development. I laughed and said, 'Not only do we not practice it, we like to tell prospects in a presentation that, for better or worse, what they see is what they get.' T...
Fascinating discussion, RepMan and Dawn.
I find it interesting that (some) women go for the "bad boy" archetype, while (some) men want the "trophy wife." Maybe it's the art of the chase that's most attractive.
The wrong guy
Long ago and far away, Angela Cody picked the wrong guy. Sadly, she’s had to live with the consequences ever since. Ladies: have you, too, picked the wrong guy? Are you strangely attracted to bad boy types who abuse you mentally, physically or psychologically? Well, chill, because: - You’re no...
What a great idea! I love when "happy accidents" spawn new creations. And kudos to the client for being open-minded enough to handle the unorthodox pitch.
It's been my experience that people say that want new, innovative, out-of-the-box thinkers, but, unfortunately, they wind up choosing the tried and true.
An agency- firing idea
While rummaging through my sock drawer the other day, I found myself unable to locate a clean, matched pair. I asked my wife if there might be any in the wash. She responded by telling me to check the mismatched sock pile in the laundry room. The name triggered a Pavlovian response, and I was...
I like the Frank Abagnale solution. Either that -- or have Koz set up a non-profit to care for the hungry and homeless. That $6000 shower curtain could feed a village.
How would you repair Prisoner 05A4820’s reputation?
Guess what iconographic villain of greed and wretched excess may be seeing the light of day as soon as this August? None other than Prisoner 05A4820 himself! What's that, the number doesn’t ring a bell? Then, try this on for size: Dennis Kozlowski, or ‘Koz’ as his fellow inmates call him, ma...
No wonder there is so much turnover among CMOs in companies... Gut instincts? Give me a break.
Talk about not walking the walk
Clients insist upon it. Agencies obsess about it. But, according to a new survey of 243 chief marketing officers, a whopping 57 percent DON'T establish their budgets according to ROI measures. Instead, more than two-thirds said they base their budget decisions on historical spending patterns ...
Now that Greg Smith has blown the whistle on the toxic "greed is good" philosophy of Goldman Sachs (which, quite honestly, should be no surprise to anyone who has ever worked in the financial services industry) I hope he uses his 15 minutes to start a new chapter and career where he "gives back" to those less fortunate.
Glengarry Glen Sachs
The very best public relations counsel in the world can't fix a broken product or service. That's why, in light of yesterday's brutal Greg Smith essay in The New York Times, Goldman Sachs would be better advised to spend its money on smarter initiatives. Instead of following a typical PR fir...
Wow - that Summit sounds like it happened inside a bubble where the participants drank large quantities of Kool-Aid.
Sounds like they slapped each other on the back and congratulated each other... for what, I don't know, since you aptly point out that the serious issues affecting the PR industry were not addressed.
It's morning in America. Again
PR Week's March issue features an agency summit in which “CEOs from nine leading firms met to discuss how PR can continue boosting its stock at the highest business levels.” Typically, the Summit Nine featured the CEOs of six holding company firms (or those owned or formerly owned by holding ...
You're absolutely right; there is no strategy for rudeness. But in the cases you've described, it's not only rudeness, but bad business.
An agency deserves the courtesy of a "thanks, but no thanks" conversation at the very least. Radio silence is the cowardly way out.
Silence is anything but golden
I recently stumbled across an interesting article on Raintoday.com, a website aimed at sales professionals. Written by Colleen Francis, and entitled, 'What to do when your prospect or client goes silent,' the piece lists a number of reasons why a prospective client may be ignoring your follow...
If it's any comfort at all...
As a former client of PR firms, I can tell you that I have never cared about these awards. It was never a deal-breaker regarding which agency I chose to hire for a campaign.
What's your firm's batting average?
We did pretty well at a leading PR industry awards program last week. Of the six programs we submitted for judging, two were named finalists. And, of those two, one won an award. So, if this particular awards' program embraced transparency, they'd have listed Peppercom's batting average as follo...
"These individuals are classically-trained salesmen, accountants or engineers who can't measure branding, positioning, sentiment or social media. So, they dismiss it."
RepMan - You've pinpointed the problem in a nutshell. Unless these folks can "monetize" (a totally manufactured word that I cannot stand) PR, they see it as an expendable "expense," along with other "non-revenue generating" departments (like HR).
Do clients consider your firm a 'nonproductive' expenditure?
For every article I read in PR Week, The Holmes Report or on the Arthur W. Page web site congratulating our industry for having won a seat at the coveted C-suite table, I see just as many advertising trade stories reporting the exact opposite. The most recent example appeared in the February...
The "Habit Heroes" exhibit at Epcot sounds reprehensible. This just proves that companies like Disney are in the business of Entertainment and not Education. They should stick to what they do best -- animated family films that are politically incorrect.
Nutritional education should be aimed at the parents of Snacker, Glutton and Lead Bottom, not the kids.
There's nothing magical about mixed messages
I've long disliked the Disney experience. In fact, when I think of Disney, my mind conjures up such memories as: - Endless lines of screaming kids and stressed out parents broiling under Florida's Vietnam jungle-like humidity. - Outrageous a la carte pricing for items ranging from Mickey and Mi...
Yoga isn't a sport, therefore, it should not be included in the Olympic Games. The mere suggestion demonstrates how Westernized this spiritual practice has become, what with "power Yoga" classes, etc. Seems to defeat the entire purpose of the discipline.
Regarding the NYT article, I, too, thought it unfair. The writer paints with "Broad strokes" (pun intended) and unfairly maligns the entire discipline of yoga because of the questionable practices of some of its leaders. That's like holding Jesus accountable for the corruption of some Catholic Church priests.
Don't Get Your Sushumna Nadi in a Bunch
Today's guest post is by Peppercommers Stephanie Lowenthal and Morgan Salinger. The New York Times senior writer William J. Broad has recently published a few controversial articles on the practice of yoga. The latest article covered the recent sex scandal involving John Friend, the founder ...
"Can you imagine the Twilight films trying to connect with white men over 60?"
That didn't stop the Academy from honoring the "Lord of the Rings" franchise in 2001-2003... I remember one year Peter Jackson and Co. swept the Oscars.
And the Losers Are…
Today's guest post is by Peppercommer and Rep-Chatter co-host, Deb Brown. Yesterday, Repman blogged about the public relations industry and the fact that it needs to do more to attract more men to the field. This past Sunday night was Oscar night, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sc...
I agree with RepMan; it's a perception problem that has been fostered by the young clipboard-wielding, gum-snapping, superficial "party planners" who are portrayed on TV as overseeing PR.
As a woman in PR, it's been my experience that folks generally don't take the role seriously as a profession that requires skill, training, and strategic prowess. They think anyone can do it because all it requires is the ability to alphabetize a list and check off names at the door of a posh nightclub.
Why would men want to join a field that promises low entry-level wages to work in this kind of environment?
Name one other industry that’s purposely alienating 50 percent of its recruiting base
Visionaries such as Mike Paul and Kim Hunter are to be congratulated for their efforts in making public relations a more diverse field. But, while we’re making great strides in diversity, we’re going in the reverse direction in addressing an equally perplexing problem: the near total lack of...
Even if they were told the calorie/fat content of the food, it wouldn't matter. They would still eat it. The same way that smokers have ignored the Surgeon General's warnings on cigarette packets for years. You can't save people from their own nasty habits.
Be Careful What You Wish For
Today's guest post is by Peppercommer and RepChatter Co-host, Deb Brown. We all know that restaurants live or die by their reputation. Yet, one restaurant, which RepMan wrote about in the past, called the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, is proud of its insane theme and 6,000 calorie Triple ...
No matter how disgusting and unhealthy the food in this establishment is, it has the right to exist, and patrons have the right to buy and consume this artery-clogging food if they choose to do so. I don't want the government deciding what food I can and cannot eat.
Be Careful What You Wish For
Today's guest post is by Peppercommer and RepChatter Co-host, Deb Brown. We all know that restaurants live or die by their reputation. Yet, one restaurant, which RepMan wrote about in the past, called the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, is proud of its insane theme and 6,000 calorie Triple ...
My Definition of Success:
Health, daily bread, a nice roof over my head, great family and friends.
Everything else in life is a bonus.
You da man!
I had a fascinating conversation the other day with Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun and his senior communications strategists. We were discussing the subject of trust, the erosion of trust in virtually every segment of society, and the need for current and future generations to ...
I am so glad to see the former CongressDog rallying behind a worthy cause since his "PR faux pas" awhile back.
I agree with the Mick that Mitt's treatment of the family dog, Seamus, is reprehensible.
Attention must be paid to such a dog.
MICK MOUNTS MILLION DOG MARCH AGAINST MITT
Also Wails About 'Wimpification' of Canines LINCROFT, NJ - February 17, 2012 - Outspoken former U.S. Congressdog Mick Cody today announced he'd be leading a million dog march to undermine Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's chances in the upcoming Michigan primary. The controve...
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