Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year, New Image, New Book: Where's My 15 Minutes

Public Relations Is Not Just for Celebrities Anymore; Learn How to Handle Your Image

Jan. 2, 2009 — Howard Bragman is the founder of FifteenMinutes.com, a strategic media and public relations agency with offices in Los Angeles and New York and is well respected for his work as a crisis counselor.

In his new book, "Where's My 15 Minutes," he talks about how he's helped some of Hollywood's most famous and infamous step from pitfalls to stardom and how those same techniques can be used for anyone's life. Read a few excerpts of his book below.


Howard's 10 Commandments of P.R.
1. All press is not good press

2. Perception is reality

3. Create a brand

4. The truth seeks its own level... eventually

5. Energize your base

6. The media will not wait for you

7. There is no wall between public and private

8. The medium is still the message

9. They're only building you up to knock you down

10. Everyone has a second act

SOURCE

Charles Hamilton's Brooklyn Girls Video

I'm not from Brooklyn, but I've been addicted to this song for two weeks. I hope you enjoy it as much as me...

Milwaukee's Best?

Ok, I know this is random but I'm up late watching The Bad Girls Club on Oxygen and just realized that one of the girls on this season's show is from my hometown Milwaukee. Her name is Sarah and according to her "back home in Milwaukee I was 'THE HOT GIRL'" Alrighty then. Just trying to support hometown talent. LOL





This last episode was quite eventful. Here are the highlights...

The Irony of Beyonce's Single Ladies Song & Her Snobish Comments About the Jacksons

Am I the only one in the universe that finds it IRONIC that Beyonce sings the new single woman's anthem "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It), even though she is VERY married to JAY Z? I admit I love the song. You might even catch me doing the little "Single Ladies" dance (you know the one that Beyonce does in the video where she turns her left hand from side to side. Still don't know what I'm talking about? Then reference 1:51 on the video below LOL)



Speaking of Beyonce, I ran across this article on Access Hollywood's website . I wanted to post it for two reasons: 1) I thought it was interesting that Beyonce opens up about the power struggle between her and her hubby. 2)I thought what she said about the Jacksons at the end of the article was very rude. Almost snobish. I'm sure her publicist will be sending out a statement regarding that comment in the near future. BONUS: Did any of you catch the typos/grammatical errors in two of her quotes? I haven't seen the actual Elle article, so I'm hoping they were just typos!

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --
Beyonce has been married to rap superstar Jay-Z for just nine months and it appears the couple is still adjusting to life betrothed.

The singer told Elle magazine in their January issue that her prior relationships have taught her “that the worst thing you can do is press [someone].”

“I’m satisfied with myself, things that are supposed to happen will happen” Beyonce continued.

For the “Cadillac Records” star, a successful love life is found by “[finding] somebody who make you a better person.”

“You are who you’re around,” Beyonce continued, “And if I don’t want to be like you, I don’t want to be around you.”

As for the relationship dynamics for Beyonce and Jay-Z, who are both heads of their own entertainment empires, the singer told the mag it’s all about give and take.

“It’s a power struggle, I’m finding out,” she said of their marriage. “But if I didn’t respect someone and they didn’t have that strength, then I would be bored. I wouldn’t be attracted to them. But at the same time, I’m not looking for someone to dominate me.”

And when the topic of having kids comes up, Beyonce is quick to let her feelings on the matter be known.

“No way! I’m terrified of delivering a child because I saw my nephew born. That traumatized me,” she said of sister Solange’s 2004 birth.

After taking a moment to relax, the singer admits that her fears of childbirth may not last forever, adding, “I’m only 27, I’ve got time.”

And more relaxation is exactly what Beyonce is focusing on.

Despite releasing her third solo album, “I Am…Sasha Fierce,” and recently playing the iconic Etta James on the big screen, the 27-year-old told the mag her current life isn’t about the limelight.

“Being this huge pop star is not my focus right now, " Beyonce added. “I’ve done that. I wanted to sell a million records, and I sold a million records. I wanted to go platinum, I went platinum. I’ve been working nonstop since I was 15. I don’t even know how to chill out.”

Despite being a part of a successful family in the music industry, Beyonce told Elle that people often confused her upbringing with the life of the Jackson family.

“I grew up upper-class,” she said. " Private school, My dad had a Jaguar. We’re African-American and we work together as a family, so people assume we’re like the Jacksons. But I didn’t have parents using me to get out of a bad situation.”

SOURCE

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Top Tips for Pitching Media

I usually think people's top tips for pitching media are SO LAME, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a tip list earlier today that I actually agree with (for the most part). My personal favorites are: copy and paste your release in the body of the email, personalize your pitch and know the audience. Amen, amen and amen! Check the rest out HERE

Are Lobbyists & PR experts spinning the Gaza Attack?

My Two Cents: Who cares about the "PR war" when people are losing their lives?

Israel uses the 'perfect time' to fight the PR war

The rocket-pocked zone surrounding Gaza is not only one of the biggest political fault lines in the Middle East. It is also the front line of the desperate propaganda war being waged by Israel and its Palestinian foe, Hamas.

Within hours of Israel launching its offensive against Gaza, lobbyists, spin-doctors and public relations experts were mobilised to head off critical reaction around the globe.

“The problem is that the numbers are not very flattering,” one pro-Israel lobbyist said, commenting on the huge disparity between the 360 Palestinians and four Israelis killed in the conflict.

Hamas, whose leaders have been driven underground by Israeli attacks, has relied on the shocking images of civilian casualties in Gaza, taken by local media workers, to rally support for its cause, and looked to the fury of the Arab street and firebrand preachers to mobilise grassroots support.

Source

Monday, December 29, 2008

VH1's I Love Money 2 Cast Revealed


I admit I am not perfect. One of my character flaws is I easily get sucked into ridiculously stupid reality television shows. It all started with the Real World when I was in college. Puck changed my life. Oh and Lately I've been addicted to Rock of Love Charm School 2 and Real CHance of Love on VH1. The one show I didn't like was I Love Money. And of course VH1 is bringing it back for another season. They recently announced the new cast. Some of the well known characters are Buddah, Buckwild, It, Cali, Heat, Myamme and Leilene.

Barack the Magic Negro: I Think It's Funny

Why is everyone getting their undies in a bundle about the Barack the Magic Negro song? I'm black, I voted for Barack and I think the song is FUNNY!! Furthermore, it's REALLY old. I saw the video, which Youtube recently removed, and heard the song months ago. So why suddenly is it an issue? The song is posted HERE if you haven't heard it.

It's just as funny as the Sarah Palin skits on SNL. Isn't this political satire???

What's the big deal--Am I missing something?????

*sigh*

Have You Heard About CheapOAir?

As most of you know, I came home to Milwaukee to spend Christmas with my family. Despite the cold weather, it was a great holiday...until it was time for me to fly back to Charlotte yesterday. Although I travel between Milwaukee and Charlotte at least once a month for business, because I fly on a companion pass (with an airline that shall remain nameless),I am always listed as a stand by passenger. Well yesterday was NOT a good day to fly stand by! I was the 16th person on the stand by list for my flight yesterday. I ended up staying an extra night in Milwaukee. A few minutes ago I bought a ticket that leaves at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. Thank GAWD!

But as I was researching tickets I ran across a website that I hadn't heard of before: www.cheapoair.com . They have some good deals too! I found a ticket on CheapOAir for $175 (not including taxes and fees) leaving tomorrow from Milwaukee to Charlotte. Unfortunately, I had already purchased a ticket on Northwest for $214 (not including taxes and fees), but I thought I'd share the site with the blogosphere just in case anyone is looking for travel deals! Consider it my gift to you this holiday season.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Sharon Osbourne Beat Up Megan at the Charm School Reunion

Wow. This is great! I have a feeling this might be a PR stunt to create buzz for Megan's new VH1 Show called Trophy Wife.

According to TMZ:

Megan Hauserman claims Sharon went ballistic during a taping of the show's reunion special Saturday night -- accusing Osbourne of running across the stage, grabbing Megan by her hair and refusing to let go.

Hauserman claims Sharon (who is the host of the show) continued to pull and scratch until security eventually separated the two. Megan went to the hospital Sunday afternoon and filed a report with the LAPD on Sunday night.

According to Megan, the whole thing started after Sharon took a verbal shot at her, and the Charmed School" contestant responded by telling Sharon she is only famous for managing a brain dead rock star -- and then all hell broke loose.

SOURCE

PR Pillow Talk Dangerous for Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's top public relations firms have long supplied grist to a mill hungry for tips about financial deals, but revelations in an insider trading case could lead to that stream of information slowing down.

U.S. authorities have accused former Lehman Brothers salesman Matthew Devlin of tipping friends and relatives about 13 impending mergers with confidential information he got from his wife Nina, a partner at Brunswick Group, an international financial communications firm.

While Nina Devlin is not charged in the case, and Brunswick has said the information was obtained without her knowledge, the breach of client trust is immense, PR experts said.

Brunswick said on Monday it has suspended Devlin pending the outcome of an internal review by outside counsel, saying it was an "appropriate course of action in this situation".

Experts said the case shows the danger of "pillow talk" between PR professionals and their spouses, or gossip with friends.

The Devlin case involved some of the biggest deals in the last four years including Alcoa Inc's $27 billion hostile offer for Alcan in 2007 and Dow Chemical's $15 billion acquisition of Rohm & Haas this year.

There will likely be a crackdown at PR firms with such sensitive news, not only on who has access to information but where and when they have access.


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Mark Penn's firm resigns Pakistan People's Party account

Opposition researchers dredging up tough questions for Hillary Clinton's secretary of state confirmation hearings have just lost a key piece of ammunition: The global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, headed by her campaign strategist Mark Penn, has quietly ended a two-year relationship with the Pakistan People's Party, the ruling party of Pakistan.

The questions could have been awkward for Clinton both politically and substantively, since she will have to manage relationships both with the Pakistanis and their cross-border rivals in India.

Still, the details of the Pakistan contract provide a rare and revealing look at the techniques Penn's firm promised a foreign government to use to legally influence American public opinion and official policy.

According to the terms of a contract on file with the Department of Justice's Foreign Agent Registration Office, Burson-Marsteller planned to interview "100 American political journalists and business elites in Washington, DC and New York, as well as elites in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Pakistani expatriates living in the United States. The contract made clear that Mark Penn's market research consultancy Penn, Schoen, Berland & Associates would also contribute to the project.

Other efforts Burson-Marsteller would conduct on behalf of the Pakistan People's Party included conducting "an internal brainstorming session," authoring "white papers" by experts and academics, and drafting and seeking placement of op-ed pieces in newspapers. "Burson-Marsteller will work with the [Pakistan People's Party] to draft and seek placement of op-ed pieces on the issue and will identify appropriate 'authors,' depending on tone and subject," the contract noted.

What's more, Burson-Marsteller promised it would promote credible "third-party" supporters of Pakistan, recruiting such backers from the ranks of "former U.S. government officials involved with Pakistan during their tenure"; "Academics and think tank experts"; and "Pakistani Americans in influential positions."

In the lobbying section of the contract, the companies committed to launching a broad public affairs campaign within the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress, coordinating meetings for the late Prime Minister Bhutto in Washington, as well as working to "identify House and Senate champions."

The public relations firm also promised an aggressive reach out to American journalists, such as New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman and Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria. Burson-Marsteller planned to compose articles about the need to hold free elections in Pakistan and "place these articles in top publications." And finally, it said it would find Pakistani families living in the United States whose plight might make good raw material for journalists writing human-interest feature stories.

The most recent version of the contract on file with the Department of Justice was signed in January, 2007 by Rob Tappan of Burson-Marsteller and Asif Ali Zardari, who is now the president of Pakistan.

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