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Paid actors stand in line for iPhones
There were long lines of people in Poland to buy the new iPhone 3G, just like in the U.S. But in Poland, those lined up were paid actors. The Polish subsidiary of the French firm France Telecom (Orange) admitted that they had staged the popular demand for the new device. "It was a marketing stunt," said Wojciech Jabczynski, the spokesperson for the French company. "We found it to be an interesting strategy. The goal was to grab people's attention. The people standing in line let passers-by know about the iPhone. We couldn't expect the same fever that there was in the U.S., taking into account that Apple products are less known in Poland and in Central Europe." In an odd twist, some paid line-standers sold their spot to others for between 30 and 90 euros (US $45 to $135). The Polish subsidiary of the German company Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) also launched the iPhone in Poland, but without lines of (fake or real) customers. Orange later denied that it had paid people to stand in line, according to Advertising Age. A France Telecom spokeswoman explained, "As part of the excitement around the launch of the iPhone, some of our team have been joining customers outside our shops. Their aim is to welcome people to the Orange shop, share in their excitement and give information about Orange tariffs." Apple did not comment. There were long lines of people in Poland to buy the new iPhone 3G, just like in the U.S. But in Poland, those lined up were paid acto... more
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Getting the DNC Wired Up
"It will take more than a whoppingly huge stadium to host tens of thousands of party insiders, journalists, and bloggers who began arriving in Denver this weekend for the Democratic convention.
Even though actual news may be scarce, attendees are nevertheless hauling along laptops, cell phones, wireless cards, and innumerable other gadgets, all of which will place a severe severe strain on the city's communication infrastructure.
To handle the increased demand, the Democrats have enlisted the support of Qwest, Cisco Systems, and other companies to upgrade the technical infrastructure at the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field.
Working with two large facilities made the logistics of the convention more challenging, said Damon Jones, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Convention Committee, or DNCC. "We essentially had to duplicate a lot of the infrastructure," he said.
Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, is scheduled to accept his party's nomination at Invesco Field. It's the home of the Denver Broncos and is capable of holding around 75,000 people--far more than the Pepsi Center about a mile away.
As part of its planning process, the DNCC created a Technology Advisory Council, made up of representatives from Qwest, Microsoft, Cisco, Google, AT&T, Level3, Comcast, EchoStar, Hewlett-Packard, Symantec, as well as Denver city officials and Colorado state officials..." "It will take more than a whoppingly huge stadium to host tens of thousands of party insiders, journalists, and bloggers who bega... more -
Photos: McCain's Week of Horrible Images
The images from Barack Obama's trip abroad have been, one might say, picture perfect. From the stern shot of Obama with Gen. David Petraeus to the somber photos from Israel's Holocaust Museum, one guesses that Obama's campaign couldn't be more pleased.
As for John McCain -- well, that's another story (see link for pics) The images from Barack Obama's trip abroad have been, one might say, picture perfect. From the stern shot of Obama with Gen. Davi... more -
Barack Obama tries to repair a PR blunder, but 2 days too late
He's been a quick learner. But it's too late this time for the Democrat who wants to move into the White House next January. And then get his kids a dog.
As our Swamp colleagues report here, Barack Obama finally commented last night on the highly controversial Muslim cover of this week's New Yorker magazine. And he said all the right things. But he was about 54 hours tardy.
The controversial New Yorker magazine cover showing Barack Obama as a Muslim and his wife Michelle as a liberation fighter 72108
Sunday, as soon as the elitist magazine released its provocative cartoon cover, Obama declined comment, not wanting to elevate it to something important enough for a candidate to speak on. Fine. But, as The Ticket promptly reported here, advisors still sent out his communications director, Bill Burton, to denounce it:
"The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Sen. Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree."
The McCain campaign immediately (and ultimately self-servingly) issued a similar statement quoting Tucker Bounds as saying, "We completely agree with the Obama campaign. It's tasteless and offensive."
The cover of this week's New Yorker magazine depicts Obama in one-piece Muslim garb and headdress fist-bumping his booted, Afro-wearing wife Michelle in camo clothes with an AK-47 and ammo-belt slung over her shoulder beneath a portrait of Osama bin Laden while the American flag burns in the fireplace -- in the presidential Oval Office. Other than that, nothing particularly....
...incendiary in an election year full of rumors about the freshman senator's little-known past.
The cartoon has every detail that an intellectual magazine would think makes perfectly obvious over-the-top satire. And every detail that the Obama campaign would like the world not to think about or associate with its guy.
Denouncing it Sunday was an instinctive act. Genuine, to be sure. But really dumb damage control.
It was a huge PR mistake by a campaign that doesn't make many. The denunciations by both presidential campaigns accomplished one thing: They pushed a simple cartoon to the top of most-searched terms online and the top of the news lists of countless online sites, commenters, cable news shows, commentators and network TV newscasts for more than two days. No doubt it also helped the bottom line, boosting New Yorker single-copy sales this week. He's been a quick learner. But it's too late this time for the Democrat who wants to move into the White House next January.... more -
Call For Submissions
We decided that smart is the new pretty. We need smart people like you to submit under the radar content that is smart and perhaps snarky too. Artists, videographers, photographers, pr peeps, bands, writers, designers, anyone! Got something to share? Send us a tip. Contact us at: info@thegrittyandthepretty.com
PS: we are a pro-female and gay friendly site... We decided that smart is the new pretty. We need smart people like you to submit under the radar content that is smart and perhaps s... more -
Man Set in Concrete Block...Race to Escape.
This pod chronicles the execution of a live and unauthorised stunt 150m from The Houses of Parliament, directly opposite The London Eye and 100m from the London Territorial Police Headquarters. This was not a typical PR crowd gathering exercise but more a 'just to see if they could get away with it' stunt.
Vernon Gibson (promoter of MillionPoundTreasureHunt.com) and his crew chose to quickly manoeuvre escapologist Jonathan Goodwin into place at 4.30am on Victoria Embankment just 150m from Big Ben. The only problem was that most of Jonathan's body was set hard into a large 4ft square block of concrete weighing over 1.5 Tonnes....and he hadn't EVER tried this before.
Jonathan is now in a race against time to escape before the day is out, or before the authorities (Metropolitan Police, MOD, Westminster council) notice what the hell they're up to and decide to take serious action.
Will Vernon, Jonathan and their crew succeed in completing the 'one-off' feat OR do they get caught, arrested, fined and/or thrown in prison cells....? This pod chronicles the execution of a live and unauthorised stunt 150m from The Houses of Parliament, directly opposite The London Ey... more -
Vocab can cut environmental conflicts
It's the way you say it: Ecologists have developed a new "tool" that involves a novel use of computer-aided content analysis and is based on the recent environmental conflict surrounding hedgehog culling on the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. It's the way you say it: Ecologists have developed a new "tool" that involves a novel use of computer-aided content ana... more
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Army's PR team works the All-American Bowl
How can you counter "daily stories and blog entries that portray the negative aspects of joining the military"? That was PR firm Weber Shandwick's job, in the lead-up to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January 2008. For the 11 month, $342,000 PR campaign, Weber Shandwick paired "athletes with local Army members for bowl-watching parties and football and Army skills competitions, creating feature-story opportunities." How can you counter "daily stories and blog entries that portray the negative aspects of joining the military"? That was PR ... more
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Blair to unite Religions
He aims to increase dialogue and practical work between the world's religions. "This is how I want to spend the rest of my life," he said.
Messiah of all good.. or king of PR? He aims to increase dialogue and practical work between the world's religions. "This is how I want to spend the rest of my l... more -
Nissan PR stunt backfires
Dressed like ordinary commuters, the free-stylers found an extraordinary way of negotiating London Waterloo's morning traffic.
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Police forces spend £40m on PR
Police forces spent nearly £40 million on PR and marketing last year, a survey showed.
The sum would have paid for an extra 1,400 full-time police officers, or funded the £30 million cost of the disputed police pay rise in England and Wales. Police forces spent nearly £40 million on PR and marketing last year, a survey showed. ... more -
PR DI TUTTA ITALIA UNITEVI !
E' nato il primo social network dedicato ai professionisti italiani di relazioni pubbliche (in italiano RP, in inglese PR). In pochissimi giorni si sono iscritti 500 persone provenienti da agenzie di comunicazione, aziende, responsabili comunicazione e inmmagine, consulenti rinomati. E' un'idea di facile realizzazione ma il suo successo indica bene la forte necessità di aggregazione verticale che hanno determinate professioni o realtà.
Un settore fortemente attento ai media, tradizionali e nuovi, particolarmente attivo su Internet, come quello dei consulenti di comunicazione, ancora non aveva un suo spazio di confronto e riflessione, a parte quello ufficiale dell'associazione professionale FERPI (www.ferpi.it). Possibile?
Forse è per questo che il successo di PR Italia è così grande!
Altra nota curiosa è l'autore: ning è una piattaforma che permette agli internauti di fabbricare il proprio social network, ma l'autore di PR Italia non si sa chi è. E' di sicuro un consulente italiano, ma con poca voglia, evidentemente, di apparire. E' nato il primo social network dedicato ai professionisti italiani di relazioni pubbliche (in italiano RP, in inglese PR). In po... more -
The Future of Media in 2008
57% of senior executives in the media and entertainment industries view user-generated content as one of the top three challenges they face today. Filmed on April 19, 2008 at Podcamp DC, I interview several media makers from organizations as diverse as NPR, Porter Novelli, CNN, Harris Teeters, etc., who are creating their own content for their own niches on their own time, and foresee a future that will make traditional media obsolete. 57% of senior executives in the media and entertainment industries view user-generated content as one of the top three challenges they... more
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The iPhone Is Here!
It's an iPod! It's a cell phone! It's an internet device! No, it's the new Apple iPhone! In this Current Tech pod, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces the creation of this revolutionary device. It's an iPod! It's a cell phone! It's an internet device! No, it's the new Apple iPhone! In this Current Tech pod,... more
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