Kudos to Pizza Hut for jumping on celebrity Reese Witherspoon’s innocent, but not-so-nice, comment about pizza delivery drivers and turning it into some fun publicity. The actress told a journalist that her 4-year-old son, Deacon Phillippe, wants to be a pizza delivery driver when he grows up. “Not that there is anything wrong with that,… Read More
Public Relations
Authors lose during writers’ strike
An article in Publishers Weekly says the Hollywood writers’ strike is affecting authors by suspending production of the late night talk shows that publicists rely on when launching a book to a national audience. Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, for example, had interviews scheduled this week with Karen Greenberg, author of The Torture… Read More
FEMA’s phony press conference a PR disaster
Talk about a PR disaster. FEMA, the federal disaster agency, created its own when it staged a phony press conference last week in which FEMA employees posed as reporters and threw soft-ball questions at agency leaders so they could tell us what a good job they were doing at the California fires. During yesterday’s commentary on “Face the… Read More
Free press release distribution for Calif. wildfire news
Starting immediately, PR Newswire is offering to distribute press releases free of charge if they pertain to the wildfires in California. It has created an archive of releases on both the public site and the media-only PR Newswire for Journalists website. To take advantage of the free service, submit a news release via email and use the subject line “California Wildfires.” Include… Read More
Restaurants entice food bloggers with free meals
What’s behind that four-star rating of a restaurant review at your favorite foodie website? Diners can’t always know for sure. That’s because as online food sites become increasingly influential in the restaurant business, chefs and owners are offering bloggers complimenary meals to get good write-ups, explains an article in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. In fact, publicists across… Read More
Speakers, authors, consultants: Speak at colleges
If you’re a professional speaker or consultant who’s looking for a new revenue stream, or an author, publisher or info products creator who’s looking for a new audience for your books, CDs, DVDs or other products, listen up. An expert on how to get onto the college speaking circuit and generate tons of publicity doing it, will… Read More
Meet reporters at ‘New York’s Funniest Reporter’ contest
I look for every opportunity to help you connect face-to-face with journalists, and this one sounds like fun. Six New York-area journalists and broadcasters will take to the stage in a stand-up comedy competition that will raise money for Operation Uplink, a charity that supports U.S. Troops. The 2nd Annual “New York’s Funniest Reporter” contest will be at 9:30 p.m. October… Read More
Why Purell and other hand sanitizers can be dangerous
I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the glove compartment of my car because, I confess, I sometimes eat in my car when I’m in a hurry. Yesterday, when I was conducting a teleseminar for people in The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, I learned that that’s not so smart. Marilee Tolen, an expert in holistic health marketing,… Read More
BBB’s ‘accredited business’ boosts your credibiity
I love knowing that in a few weeks, I’ll no longer be just a “member” of the Better Business Bureau. I’ll be an “accredited business.” That sounds better. It also lends an aura of credibility to small businesses like mine that join the BBB to, among other things, be able to display the BBB logo on the… Read More
Press clubs: Logical place to meet journalists
If you’re looking for ways to meet your favorite local journalist in a relaxed a relaxed social setting, join your local press club. Press clubs promote journalism excellence through a variety of programs, activities and monthly meetings. Most members are from the working press, but plenty of PR people also belong. David Niles, former editor of… Read More