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F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 4 | w w w . o d w y e r p r . c o m

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www.odwyerpr.comDaily, up-to-the minute PR news

January: Crisis Comms. / Buyer’s GuideFebruary: Environmental & P.A.March: Food & Beverage

April: Broadcast & Social MediaMay: PR Firm Rankings

June: Global & Multicultural

July: Travel & TourismAugust: Financial/I.R.

September: Beauty & FashionOctober: Healthcare & Medical

November: High-TechDecember: Entertainment & Sports

Vol. 28, No. 2Feb. 2014

ADVERTISERS

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EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2014

O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. (212) 679-2471; fax: (212) 683-2750. Periodical postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to O’Dwyer’s, 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. O’Dwyer’s PR Report ISSN: 1931-8316. Published monthly.

PROFILES OF ENVIRONMENTALPR & PUBLIC AFFAIRS FIRMS20

27WASHINGTON REPORT32

RANKINGS OF ENVIRONMENTALPR & PUBLIC AFFAIRS FIRMS

Cerrell............................................................5

Kellen Communications.................................3

Live Star.......................................................19

Log-On..........................................................7

Makovsky...............................INSIDE COVER

Omega Travel..............................................23Rasky Baerlein..............................................8Ruder Finn...............................BACK COVERShoot Publicity.............................................11Strauss Media Strategies.............................17TV Access....................................................13

COLUMNS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTFraser Seitel

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTRichard Goldstein

OPINIONJack O’Dwyer

BOOK REVIEWJack O’Dwyer

28293031

STRATEGIES THAT ENSUREGREEN CREDIBILITY Strategies to keep in mind when

making claims that a product is environ-mentally friendly.

16EDITORIALIncome disparity to become a hot topic.6

CAVALRY RIDES IN NYC CARRIAGE DEBATECavalry Group is riding to the rescue ofManhattan’s embattled Central Park horsecarriage owners, who face unemployment.

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BILL KRESSE, O’DWYER’SILLUSTRATOR, DIESO’Dwyer’s pays tribute to William“Bill” Kresse, a professional illustrator andcartoonist who passed away in January.

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GREEN MARKETING 2.0:QUALITY IS THE MESSAGEThe eco-friendly market has goneup and down over the years, but some con-cepts never go out of style.

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PR PROBLEMS WORSENWV CHEMICAL SPILLA January 9 chemical spill leaves300,000 people without clean drinkingwater in West Virginia.

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FINDING CLEAN TECH’S SILVER LININGThe ongoing debate surroundingrenewable energy’s efficacy signalsunique challenges for energy companiesand the PR companies representing them.

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JOURNALISTS BATTLE PR,LAWYERS TO GET STORIESTop journalists discussed theirtricks of the trade at a CUNY GraduateSchool of Journalism workshop.

13

STUDY: GOVERNMENT TRUSTSINKS TO ALL-TIME LOWA new study by Edelman shows trustin world governments ranks at an all-timelow.

8CLIMATE DENIAL DIVERSIONSREVEAL ULTERIOR MOTIVESThe latest climate-denying diversions

peddled by the anti-science crowd in Congressmake previous statements sound mild by com-parison.

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FCC LOSES CASE, BUTDEBATE GOES ONAfter a legal spat with Verizon, aD.C. Court of Appeals ruled that the FCCdoesn’t have the authority to force ISPs toabide by its Net Neutrality rules.

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O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. (212) 679-2471; fax: (212) 683-2750. Periodical postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to O’Dwyer’s, 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. O’Dwyer’s PR Report ISSN: 1931-8316. Published monthly.


FEBRUARY 2014 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM6

EDITORIAL

Income disparity is a political football that will get kicked around plenty in 2014, and it’sa topic that PR students, grads and working PR practitioners should follow. Many clientsof PR pros reside in the “1%” that Bill de Blasio, newly minted Mayor of New York,

focused on during his Jauary 1 inauguration address. de Blasio promised, among otherthings, that he would “require big developers to build more affordable housing.”According to New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin, such remarks were “tub-thumping nonsense.”

As a 50-year resident and homeowner in New York we have seen housing prices hitthe stratosphere. We don’t see how they can be made affordable even for the middleclass. New York has become the No. 1 destination in the world for capital fleeing fromother countries, many of them dictatorships or oligarchies. The city is the “capital offlight capital.”

Michael Kimmelman of The New York Times said Dec. 22, 2013 that the rash of“super-tall skinny” apartments, which he called the “expensive playthings of Russianoligarchs and Chinese tycoons,” is stirring “some populist fury” and that “public over-sight” is needed.

Our first home at 44 MacKay Pl. in Brooklyn cost $24,500 in 1965, which was 2.5times our $10,000 salary at the former New York Journal-American. That was a com-mon ratio for home purchases at the time. It now has an estimated price of $712,000 or29 times what we paid for it. This is a far bigger jump than the gain in the ConsumerPrice Index which was 31 in 1964 and 233 at the end of 2013 — a multiple of 7.5. Alocal bank refused a mortgage although we had a $5,000 down payment (most of itsaved by working four years at the Connecticut Post and living at home). The bank saidthe house was built in 1930 for $5,000 and was simply not worth $24,500. Another bankwas found.

New Yorkers then typically paid one week’s pay for a small apartment in the city. Ourfirst apartment in 1961, on 12th st. between Fifth and Sixth aves., was $135 a month,equal to one week’s pay. Today, a 500-sq. ft. studio can cost $2,000 and more.

Many things then were affordable. A degree from the University of Connecticut hadcost of about $4,000 (currently $100,000 for state residents). Our wedding reception in1964 was $15 per person at a Brooklyn hotel, or about $1,500 for 100 people. We joineda golf club in Old Greenwich in 1980 for about $5,000 (currently it’s close to $100,000for the first year).

What college graduate can expect to buy a home in Brooklyn such as 44 MacKay Pl.,when a 10% down payment of $70,000 would leave a mortgage of $642,000 or at least$6,000 a month? Take-home pay would have to be at least $12,000 a month or $144,000yearly. How many PR jobs at firms or organizations are paying such wages?

Politicized grads must keep mumPR and communications grads, many of them already burdened with tens of thousands

of dollars of debt for their educations (average debt is $29,400 but many owe farmore) will be wondering about their chances for making a decent living. They are apt tobe populists although many of their employers will have politics that are opposite tothat.

Grads going into the world of PR and advertising will find that an eerie silence pre-vails in large parts of it. Speaking out of turn or at all can be career-ending. Whereas theprevious goal of PR people was having as many friends in the press as possible, the cur-rent goal seems to be having none at all.

The insistence on privacy flows from the top and envelopes entire organizations.Examples include Omnicom and its many ad agencies and PR firms (71,000 employees)and WPP Group (116,000). John Wren and Randall Weisenburger, the top execs atOMC, have kept the press at bay from their first days of taking over the company in the1990s.

O’Dwyer’s reporters used to cover the annual meetings of OMC since they were onlya few blocks away at 347 Madison Ave. Such meetings only lasted a few minutes andquestions were allowed only after the official session. Minimal if any answers weregiven. Attempts to talk with Wren after the meeting resulted in him walking away. Themeetings were moved permanently out of New York after 2002. When OMC and Publicisannounced their intention to merge last year, the press conference was in Paris. £

— Jack O’Dwyer

Income disparity will become hot PR topic in 2014

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFJack O’[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERJohn O’[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERKevin [email protected]

EDITORJon [email protected]

SENIOR EDITORGreg [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSJohn O’DwyerFraser SeitelRichard Goldstein

ADVERTISING SALESSharlene SpinglerAssociate Publisher & [email protected]

John O’DwyerAdvertising Sales [email protected]

O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016.(212) 679-2471Fax (212) 683-2750.

© Copyright 2013J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS & SERVICES:

www.odwyerpr.com4 breaking news,commentary, useful databases and more.

Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter4 An eight-page weekly with general PR news, mediaappointments and placement opportunities.

O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms4 haslistings of more than 1,400 PR firms through-out the U.S. and abroad.

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The U.S. public’s trust in governmenttumbled 16% to 37%, France’s per-centage fell 17% to 32% and Hong

Kong’s level dipped 18% to 45%.Edelman President and CEO Richard

Edelman noted the findings, which sur-veyed 27,000 people, represent a seachange from five years when businessteamed with government to regain trust.

He believes the private sector mustcompensate for the public’s distrust ofgovernment. Businesses, according toEdelman, “must lead the debate forchange.”

The Edelman CEO sees an opening forbusiness to play a bigger role in the debateover regulation since nearly eight-in-tenrespondents to the Barometer poll believegovernment should not work alone to set

regulatory policy. He warns against over-reach. It would be “a huge error in judg-ment for businesses to push for deregula-tion as they did a decade ago, saidEdelman.

Companies headquartered in the so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India andChina) countries still suffer a trust deficitvis-à-vis their counterparts in the west.For instance, Indian companies scored a35 percent trust rating and Chinese enter-prises tallied a 36% score.

Those marks trail Germany’s 80% rat-

ing and Switzerland’s 79% mark.There’s a huge trust gap in how people

in the BRIC countries view their home-grown companies compared to the rest ofthe world.

More than three-quarters (76%) ofChinese trust their native business, whilenon-Chinese give those companies a 36%rating.

A mere 21% of Americans trust Chinesecompanies, according to the 2014 barom-eter, which is the independent firm’s 14thannual survey. £


MEDIA NOTES

Study: trust in government sinks to all-time lowTrust in government ranks atan all-time low of 44%,according to Edelman’s latesttrust barometer survey.

By Kevin McCauley

Cavalry rides in for NYC carriage debacle

Believing the horses face neglect andmistreatment, de Blasio wants toreplace the popular tourist carriages

with electric cars.

St Louis-based Cavalry says it fights onbehalf of animal owners and their relatedbusinesses that “are bullied, intimidatedand have their constitutional rights violatedby all levels of government who have beeninfiltrated by, or are heavily influenced, byanimal rights extremists and animal rightsorganizations,” according to its website.

The New York Daily News reported inJanuary that the carriage owners weresolicited by CG, which is now handlingtheir social media campaign.

CG’s blog maintains the horses live a“pampered existence” and enjoy comfort-able working conditions “that would put aFrench union worker to shame.”

De Blasio’s effort is “another example ofanimal rights activists running wild,”according to CG’s blog. ‘To radical animalrights advocates and leftists like de Blasio,these businesses are necessary collateraldamage in their quest to re-order our lives.”

CG Co-Founders Mindy and MarkPatterson have opposed campaigns such asthe Humane Society of the U.S.-pushed“Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act.”

Mindy is active with the MissouriConservative Coalition’s agriculture affairspanel, American Agri-Women (HorseWelfare Committee chair), MissouriEquine Council, United Horsemen andSecure the Republic (national coordinatorfor agriculture).

Philip Christofanelli, CG’s PA Director,repped the unsuccessful OhioCongressional run of “Joe the Plumber”Wurzelbacher. £

Cavalry Group is riding to the rescue of Manhattan’s embattledCentral Park horse carriage owners, who face unemployment iffreshly minted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pulls off histhreat to shut them down. By Kevin McCauley


Kresse is perhaps best known asillustrator and co-creator of thepopular weekly comic strip

“Super” Duper, which appeared exclu-sively in the New York Daily News everySunday during the late 1960s and early’70s.

Kresse was also an artist for ArchieComics spinoff series Archie’sMadhouse, and often contributed gagand pin-up art (often referred to as “vin-tage sleaze” by modern collectors) thatran in popular men’s magazines of theday, notably digest publicationHumorama. In a 2010 retrospective ofhis work, blog Vintage Sleaze referredto Kresse as “An under-appreciatedmaster who created work which looksbetter today than it did 50 years ago.”

Kresse was born June 17, 1933 inBrooklyn. His art career began immedi-ately after graduating Brooklyn’s HighSchool of Industrial Arts, when he got ajob illustrating for famed animation stu-dio Terrytoons, which created manypopular cartoons of the post-war era,including “Mighty Mouse,” “Heckle

and Jeckle,” “Deputy Dawg,” and “TheMighty Heroes.”

Stints at the Associated Press andHerald Tribune followed, but Kresselanded his breakout role in 1968, afterhe and artist Rolf Ahlsen pitched theiridea for a Sunday strip to Daily NewsSunday editor Worth Gatewood. Thatidea became “Super” Duper, a weeklycomic about a bumbling superintendent.That strip ran every Sunday from 1968to 1972.

Kresse later became a regular on thekids variety program “The EverythingShow,” where he provided on-air draw-ing lessons to children. He also madeappearances on talk shows such as JoeFranklin, where he often drew carica-tures of celebrity guests. He published abook about cartooning titled AnIntroduction to Cartooning throughpublishing company Arco Pub.

In 1974, Kresse received anAdvertising and Illustration Award fromthe National Cartoonists Society, andwas awarded the NCS’s prestigiousSilver T-Square in 1977.

In his later years, Kresse worked as an

illustrator for O’Dwyer’s magazine,where he created art to accompany themagazine’s page six editorials. His lastcartoon for O’Dwyer’s appeared in ourNovember 2013 issue, which featured anelephant slipping on a banana peel, a ref-erence to recent missteps made by theTea Party. It would be his last publishedwork.

Kresse, a longtime Queens resident,was an active member of The Knights ofColumbus and the St. Joan of ArcTheater Group. He was also a member ofthe Berndt Toast Gang, a New Yorkbranch of the National CartoonistsSociety named after long-time Smittycartoonist Walter Berndt.

A 1994 overview of Kresse’s newspa-per work ran in Hogan’s Alley magazine.In the feature, Kresse was quoted as say-ing the following: “Don’t ever be afraidto try something new. You will learnfrom it, use it, and, hopefully, profit fromit.”

Kresse is survived by his wife,Lorraine. In lieu of flowers, donationscan be made to The North Shore AnimalLeague, at www.animalleague.org.

Below we’ve included several of ourfavorite cartoons that Bill contributed toO’Dwyer’s over the years. £

William “Bill” Kresse, a professional illustrator and cartoonistwho spent his later years providing illustrations for O’Dwyer’s,passed away on January 21. He was 80 years old.

Bill Kresse, longtime O’Dwyer’s illustrator, dies

By Jon Gingerich

FEBRUARY 2014 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 9


Just five years ago, customersseemed ready to buy anythinggreen. Clorox’s Green Works line

of cleaning products, for example,notched more than $100 million in salesin 2008 alone, according to a 2011 NewYork Times report on green products.LED-based industrial lighting seemedpoised for immediate, widespread adop-tion.

Only three years later, things lookeddifferently. Green Works lost more than40% of its sales over that time and LEDlighting, in the words of consulting firmMcKinsey & Co.’s “Lighting the Way”study on the lighting market, “developedless favorably than expected.”

Fast-forward to today, and things seemto be on the upswing again. The greenhousehold cleaning products companyMethod is admired, trendy and growing.Experts forecast a strong outlook forLEDs lighting over the next few yearswith the industry projected to grow to $42billion by 2019, equating to a 45% growthrate, according to a 2013 report byWinterGreen Research. The entire greensector is being supported and acceleratedby an improving economy and morerobust consumer spending.

Yet amidst today’s emerging optimism,it may be a good time for all of us with astake in ecologically-responsible productsto find smoother seas — to stop ridingwaves of economic cycles and to betterunderstand and act on what will motivatesustainable consumer commitment togreen products and sustainable technolo-gies in both the retail and B-to-B sectors.

The answer is not exclusively aboutenvironmental impact, and it’s not exclu-sively about better pricing. Those vari-ables, of course, matter a lot. But what’sequally important is the consumer experi-ence. What’s important, in a word, is qual-ity.

The quality of the customer experienceis essential to a product’s success. That isa marketplace axiom. But it can be over-looked by green marketers seeking tosecure broader adoption and more consis-tent growth.

In the early days of environmentalmarketing, a lot of green marketers wereconvinced that consumers would buy asustainable or energy efficient productsimply because it was the right thing todo. Today, if we’ve learned anything,we’ve seen that social conscience is ashaky foundation for consistent, mean-ingful sales — especially in tough timeswhen green products cost more.

Today, many believe that cost is themajor impediment. If we can only priceeco-friendly products and technologiescompetitively with institutional alterna-tives, this thinking goes, the barriers tosales will tumble.

It would be foolish, of course, to arguethat engineering or pricing don’t con-tribute to success. But ultimately agreen product or technology also has toprovide a consumer experience as goodas or better than a competing “dirty”brand. If not, it probably won’t sell suf-ficiently beyond the eco-niche, evengiven laudable environmental benefitsand a better price point. That’s especial-ly true because often it’s hard to drivedown costs for green products.

The McKinsey lighting study citedearlier confirmed that consumer andcommercial lighting purchase decisionsare driven as much by light quality asthey are by the cost of a bulb. A utilityexecutive confirmed this from experi-ence. He recently told me that evenwhen an LED bulb produces enoughlight, saves energy and is cost-effective,this doesn’t mean it will be broadlyadopted when color quality and consis-tency is inconsistent. He’s right; themarket failure of compact fluorescentlamps (CFLs) proves his point.

If all this seems elementary, considerthat sometimes we green marketers canharbor an almost unconscious sense thatif a product serves a higher purpose andis priced right, it somehow deserves adifferent status in the market place.

It’s instructive in this respect to lookat the lessons Toyota learned as the Priushybrid evolved from a niche green vehi-cle in the early 2000s, to its presentstanding as one of the best family cars

among the entire subcompact class (aJune New York Daily News feature onhow hybrid has changed over the yearsnoted the Prius has “evolved from aniche green car to an everyday familycar that helped change the automotiveindustry.”). From the outset, the Priushad a lot going for it with the greencrowd: a revolutionary gas/electric tech-nology and a sticker price that was moreor less competitive with similar cars,especially given itsdramatic 60-plusmiles per gallonrange. Yet it was bare-ly making money formany years after itwas launched.

Toyota changed thatlargely by recognizingthat the driver’s expe-rience would ulti-mately determine thecar’s breakout potential. The Prius suc-cess story stems in great part fromToyota’s determination to make thehybrid a “real car” driving experience. Itwas quick, for example, to addressdesign flaws that branded Prius as agreen niche automobile, like its originaltiny trunk that was necessary to accom-modate battery storage.

Today, the Prius stands with twoother Toyota landmark vehicles — theCamry and Corolla — as pillars of thecompany’s profitability and industryleadership. That happened as much asanything because Toyota defined thePrius’s competition not as otherhybrids, but as the entire economy sub-compact segment—and acted to be cer-tain that the customer experience metor surpassed those alternatives.

There are lessons here for any greenengineer or marketer. When we set thebar to exceed the customer’s currentexperience, whatever that product ortechnology may be — and couple thatwith energy savings and/or positiveenvironmental benefits our productbring — we will have crafted anunbeatable sales proposition that willbring both the sustainable business andsocial impact we desire.

Andy Beck is Executive Vice Presidentof Makovsky’s Energy and SustainabilityPractice. £

Andy Beck


By Andy Beck

Green marketing 2.0: quality is key variable to successREPORT

It’s been a rocky ride for many eco-friendly products and tech-nologies over the past decade. The market has had its ups anddowns, but marketers should remember that quality transcendsfly-by-night trends.



On January 9, a facility belongingto chemical distributor FreedomIndustries was the site of a major

industrial accident, when approximate-ly 10,000 gallons of chemicals spilledinto the Elk River.

The site of the spill was about a mileupstream from the largest water treat-ment plant in the state. The spill affect-ed 300,000 residents living in ninecounties in the Charleston area, whowere advised to abstain from using tapwater for nine days.

Freedom Industries is a distributor ofcoal-mining chemicals. The cause forthe spill was a one-inch hole in a40,000-gallon stainless steel storagetank containing 4-methylcyclohexa-nemethanol — or Crude MCHM — achemical used to wash coal. The WestVirginia Department of EnvironmentalProtection said it is still unknown howmuch of the coal-cleaning agent made itinto the water supply, but more than100 area residents admitted themselvesto hospitals, reporting nausea.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for theregion announced that it had opened aninvestigation into the spill, but current-ly no charges have been filed againstFreedom Industries.

PR firm runs to the hillsAfter handling PR duties for Freedom

Industries in the immediate aftermathof the spill, Charleston, W.V.-based PRfirm Charles Ryan & Associates laterdropped Freedom Industries as a client.Managing Partner Susan Levenski toldThe Charleston Gazette that the firmhad decided not to represent the compa-ny. The paper reported January 12 thatFreedom was founded by a two-timeconvicted felon, Carl Kennedy, whopled guilty to tax evasion and failure topay employees’ withholdings to thegovernment in 2005.

Statements from the company havebeen brief. Freedom officials gave apress conference on January 10 andreleased a statement through CRA, butthe Gazette said January 12 executiveshave “entirely avoided media requests”

since then.According to the Charleston Daily

Mail, Freedom President Gary Southernprovided little information about theaccident at the press conference. “Lookguys, it has been an extremely long day,I’m having trouble talking at themoment. I would appreciate it if wecould wrap this thing up,” Southernsaid, roughly five minutes into the pressconference, the Daily Mail reported.

In a January 10 statement attributedto Southern, the company said publicsafety is its first priority, noting that itis working with federal authorities tofix the issue and determine the extent ofthe spill. He said the company is settingup an incident command center on siteand will provide more information as it

becomes available.At least eight lawsuits have since

been filed against Freedom Industriesas a result of the spill. On January 17,the company filed for bankruptcy.

A January 12 report by The New YorkTimes noted that Freedom Industries’Elk River location hasn’t received astate or federal inspection since 1991.Others have since wondered why such afacility was erected so close to a watertreatment plant.

During a January 14 press confer-ence, House Speaker John Boehner saidthe incident did not result from a lackof federal regulations.

“We have enough regulations on thebooks,” Boehner said.

The January accident was the thirdsuch chemical spill to occur in theregion within the last five years.

President Obama on January 10signed an emergency declaration for thespill, mobilizing federal resources tohandle disaster relief. £

PR problems follow West Virginia chemical spillA January chemical spill in Charleston, West Virginia that left300,000 Mountain State residents without clean drinking waterwas confounded by a spate of communications missteps.

By Greg Hazley and Jon Gingerich



FEATURE

On January 5 “60 Minutes” aired asegment titled “The Clean TechCrash,” which drew sharp criticism

for its pessimistic take on clean energy. Thesegment argued that renewable energy andother types of clean technology are a dyingindustry, and it denounced the clean techsector for failing to create jobs and help theU.S. break free from its reliance on fossilfuels.

Critics pointed out the program was one-sided, as it focused on Department ofEnergy Loan Guarantee Program invest-ments that failed, which constitute only 3%of the whopping 97% that have experiencedsuccess across the DOE portfolio.Moreover, clean energy experts have pub-licly criticized the quality and focus of theresearch involved in the production of thesegment, as well as the biased conclusionsdrawn from failure and success rate statis-tics.

The “60 Minutes” controversy is anexcellent inflection point for clean energycompanies, and it should prompt them tothink about how they need to respond — orbetter yet, to get ahead — of this negativeperception. If they don’t challenge the skep-ticism and take a proactive stance, it mayappear to investors, potential partners andemployees they need to fuel their success,that this is the reality — those of us in thecommunications business know far toowell how perception can become reality.The solution is to respond with the rightcommunications program.

A different kind of greenAs a term, “green energy” emphasizes

the environmental benefits of renewableenergy, but it’s most closely associated withpolicy, not market demand. Business stake-holders are primarily concerned with a dif-ferent kind of green for this market: money.A great example of the need to change theconversation is a statement by MericaInternational Chief Technology OfficerRobert Rapier, who was interviewed byClimate Progress about his appearance onthe “60 Minutes” segment. Rapier said thefirst question he was asked was: “Cleantech is dead. What killed it?” He didn’t real-ize that the industry’s presumed failureswould be the basis of the segment.

Clean energy companies need to stopleading with the technology story and openinstead with the value their products pro-vide. Media and analysts tracking this mar-ket recognize that fossil fuel energy will notbe displaced until clean technologies cancompete on cost. It’s important to tacklethis head on with every interview.

Most clean tech companies have not fullydeveloped their economic story. In an emailstatement to the media, U.S. Department ofEnergy spokesman Bill Gibbons said, “Theclean energy economy in America is realand we are increasingly competitive in thisrapidly-expanding global industry.” Thisstatement was not backed up with detailsregarding how the industry is “rapidly-expanding.” Communicators will only suc-ceed in this industry if they can clarifyterms with compelling, statistical evidencethat speak to stakeholders’ and publics’demand.

Slow-paced innovation The “60 Minutes” segment kicked off

with this statement: “about a decade ago,the smart people who founded the Internetturned their attention to the energy sector.”This essentially implied the clean energyindustry should deliver breakthroughs at thesame pace as the most successful Internetstartups. Once again, the conversation mustbe changed to reflect the longer term, slow-er pace of clean tech innovation. It’s impor-tant for clean tech companies to assemblemore varied third-party endorsements. Thisincludes academic researchers, market ana-lysts, and non-political organizations.These industry watchers and experts cancomment on and support a company’svision and claims for technological solu-tions that may not yet be fully developed orimplemented. Analysts can provide surveydata and independent assessments of acompany’s strategy as well as explain andevaluate the technological and economicimpact of a company’s solutions.

Neutralizing politicsUnfortunately, there’s no getting around

the politics that surround clean energy.Public affairs is a required aspect of thecommunications strategy to create third-party support, funding opportunities andutility partner relationships. The communi-cations program of companies in this mar-

ket must involve work with local and feder-al representatives while making a concertedeffort to never align the company withpolitical parties or radical groups. An exam-ple of how to work this particular challengeis a ground-breaking event held by one ofour clients where politicians from both par-ties were in attendance. A great deal of strat-egy went into determining how the eventwas structured, who spoke, which partieswere quoted and how they were represent-ed in press materials.The event’s successwas a testament to theimportance of de-politicizing messagingaround clean tech as itcan only cause turmoilin the future.

Skeptical publics The “60 Minutes”

segment told the storyof Silicon Valley ven-ture capital investments in clean tech as wellas the notable failures of the DOE’s loanguarantee program. But, in coverage aroundthe program, GigaOM’s Katie Fehrenbacherwas quoted saying the stories of venturecapital and federal support for green tech-nology are “totally separate and different,”and that the focus on the outliers in the DOEprogram was “both stale and overblown.”

Companies must walk a fine line whenpublicly discussing trends and news aroundsuccesses, failures, strengths, risks, andopportunities of clean technology programs.The challenge for communicators is to takescientific and technical information fromvarious third-parties and find a way to tell aclear, objective economic story that helpsinvestors and business stakeholders under-stand the potential and the timeline, but alsoaddresses the questions and issues raised bythe broader groups of activists and skepticswho must at least be moved to a neutralposition.

While the “60 Minutes” segment paints agrim picture of clean energy, the debate andconversations that have emerged demon-strate the significant PR opportunities thatexist to play a role in these conversations.Investing in strategic communications cannot only help clean energy companieschange current perceptions but also achievethe long-term goal of creating advocates andstakeholders who will, in turn, invest inthem.

Emilie Salvagio is Vice President at LoisPaul and Partners, a high-tech PR firm inBoston and Austin. £

Finding clean tech’s silver lining

By Emilie Salvagio

The ongoing debate surrounding renewable energy’s efficacysignals unique challenges for energy companies, and significantPR opportunities to change negative perceptions and educateconsumers on a growing — if often misunderstood — market.

Emilie Salvagio



Speakers such as Pulitzer Prize win-ners David Barstow and WaltBogdanich of The New York Times,

Jeff Pohlman of CNBC, and author DavidCay Johnston explained how they operateon January 24 to more than 200 mostlyyounger journalists at the Graduate Schoolof Journalism at City University of NewYork.

Formal news sources such as PR areoften of no help. Members of the generalpublic are often leery about dealing withreporters, the panel noted.

Michelle Conlin of Reuters, researchinga story on builders keeping mineral rightsto land under homes they sold since theremight be oil that could be obtained via“fracking,” called 50 owners of suchhomes and only found two who would talkto her.

Conlin and other panelists had highpraise for the “techies” who are helpingreporters by mining vast reaches of data ingovernment and other sources that can beused in stories. She obtained her list ofhomebuyers that way.

Johnston focused on “1% of 1%”Johnston, President of Investigative

Reporters & Editors, which arranged theCUNY event, said the average wage ofAmericans today is $26,000 which,adjusted for inflation, is below the wagelevel in 1966. Almost all of the gains sincethen have gone to those making more than$75,000 a year, he said. The 200 highestpaid U.S. CEOs have annual packagesthat average $15 million.

Oxfam Int’l last month issued a reportcalled “Working for the Few,” timing itfor the meeting last week of the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,that said nearly half of the world’s wealthis going to the richest 1%.

The gap between rich and poor was evi-dent at the IRE meeting. A bargain rate

was offered: $55 for the entire day whichincluded a year’s membership (normally$70).

IRE, based at the University ofMissouri School of Journalism, had netassets of $4,167,608 at the end of 2012.Revenues were $2,025,196. Assetsinclude investments of $3,155,942. Duesincome was $255,826.

Whistleblowers get mixed praiseWe asked IRE Executive Director

Mark Horvit for a chance to address themeeting but he said the schedule was tootight.

Barstow, however, allowed us to speakfor a few minutes to about 100 of theattendees. After a brief description of theO’Dwyer Co., we said the January issueof Harper’s has one of the best investiga-tive pieces we have ever seen: a 16-pagereport on the servant school of MaryLouise Starkey in Denver that, while chal-lenged by Starkey who correctly pointedout inaccuracies and rapped the ethics ofHarper’s and writer John Davidson, nev-ertheless had lots of details on what it’slike to work for the super rich.

Davidson lied his way into the eight-

week, $20,000 school, pretending to be aproperty manager. He got others to sup-port his phony resume when Starky madecalls. Barstow said he would neverengage in such “sleazy” tactics. Davidsoncould have interviewed butlers to get hismaterial, said Barstow.

He said reporters get “lots of push-back” from story subjects and must learnto deal with it. His technique is to openlyapproach subjects and do all his data-gathering in the open.

Bogdanich, who has won threePulitizer prizes, follows a similar tech-nique of getting a foot in the door at thebeginning.

He says it is essential to meet the peo-ple involved in story rather than dealingwith them via phone calls or e-mails.Story subjects that resist this can be toldthat he just wants to introduce himself andtell them what he is doing since people hecalls for the story will start calling them.They can be promised off-the-record con-versations. “I don’t give up,” he said. “Iget in one way or another.” The bosses ofPR people can be called if the PR peopledo not respond,” he added. £

Journalists battle PR, lawyers to get storiesTop investigative journalists onJanuary 24 described theirboundless quests for interviewsand spoke of their unstintingefforts to get past communica-tions blockades of all sorts. IfPR blocks them, they go “up theline” to bosses, boards andanyone else.

By Jack O’Dwyer



FEATURE

Net Neutrality, in its most generalsense, is simply the idea that theInternet should be a level playing

field where all content is treated equally. Inprosaic terms, it means companies whoown the “pipes” (service providers likeAT&T, Comcast, Time Warner andVerizon) don’t get to control the contentthat flows through it.

In the near-decade since Net Neutralityentered the national dialogue, we’ve hearddoomsday scenarios from Neutrality sup-porters who claim that without clear rulesprotecting the Internet, service providerscould potentially block sites they don’t likeor establish exclusive pay-for-play agree-ments with content providers, therebyundermining the web’s egalitarian princi-ples and essentially creating a “tiered”Internet that would resemble cable.Opponents of Net Neutrality claim theInternet has thrived for 20 years withoutthese regulations, and to enact them nowwould stifle competition and innovation ina market that utilizes a diversifying arrayof technologies across a growing list oftelecommunications services.

The million-dollar question in thisdebate has always been: given the opportu-nity, would ISPs deliberately discriminateagainst or block content? A common criti-cism of the pro-Neutrality crowd has beenthat the arguments of this camp trade in acurrency of baseless suppositions, that itwould be financial suicide for those whoown the pipes to limit consumer choice,thereby potentially driving them to a com-peting ISP.

How unregulated networks would treattheir content ultimately remains to be seen,but it deserves mention that serviceproviders have over-stepped their treat-ment of content in the past. Comcast in2007 was sanctioned by the FCC for“packet forging,” or using data encryptionto block user access to popular file-sharingsite BitTorrent. AOL in 2006 brieflyblocked incoming emails fromdearaol.com, a group that opposed the

company’s “certified email” policy.Mebane, NC-based ISP Madison RiverCommunications in 2004 allegedlyblocked its customers from accessingvoice-over IP services from broadbandprovider Vonage. Then there was Google’sattempted (and ultimately doomed) wire-less partnership with Verizon, wherein thesearch giant would effectively pay Verizona fee for the privilege of being the top-tiersearch engine over the network. Finally,Verizon attorney Helgi Walker, when askedduring September oral arguments if thecompany would consider charging contentproviders for faster service, said Verizon“would be exploring those types ofarrangements.”

“We should take these companies at theirword,” said Craig Aaron, President andCEO of Free Press, an Internet rights advo-cacy group. “These are the things they’vetalked about at trade shows, and this isexactly what Verizon’s attorney admittedthey would do. These companies have lotsof plans in the drawer, especially on thewireless side, and I think they’ve been veryclear that they want to set up an expresslane with ‘special deals’ that give usersspecial access to content. Our argument isthat an open Internet frees up competition.Right now, when it comes to content youhave a lot of places to choose, but when itcomes to the service you have very few.When you allow the company that controlsthe pipes to dictate content, individualchoice goes down. And that’s why we needNet Neutrality.”

Net Neutrality supporters have tried foryears to get Congress to pass Neutralitylegislation (it almost happened in 2006, inan early draft of the ill-fated COPE Act),but to date the only “rules” we have resem-bling Net Neutrality are found in the FCC’sOpen Internet Order, which is essentially aseries of ad hoc Neutrality principles writ-ten in 2010 that establish anti-discrimina-tion and transparency guidelines for serv-ice providers. This was the subject of therecent court case, which occurred afterVerizon challenged these rules as unen-forceable. To be clear: the court didn’t

strike down Net Neutrality; it simply saidthe FCC doesn’t have the authority to stopservice providers from blocking content.Unfortunately, it appears the FCC’s puz-zling gap in regulatory authority may havebeen the Commission’s fault all along.

FCC misclassifies broadbandUp until 2002, broadband Internet access

service, like phones, was defined astelecommunications service, coveredunder Title II of the Communications Act.Title II applies to common carrier compa-nies that provide telecommunications; inthe old days it was the portion of the lawthat said answering machines could beattached to phone lines, or that companieslike AT&T had to allow customers achoice of long distance carrier.

In 2002, at the behest of cable compa-nies, then-FCC chairman Michael Powellspearheaded an FCC decision that essen-tially redefined broadband Internet accessservice as an information service.Information services are covered underTitle I, which has a notably lighter regula-tory structure than a telecommunicationsservice provisions of Title II.

Fast-forward to 2007: the FCC repudi-ates Comcast for blocking user access toBitTorrent. Comcast sues as a result of theFCC sanction, claiming the FCC hadstepped outside its authority by dint of thefact that the FCC had exempted broadbandtransmissions from common carrier rules.And in April 2010, a federal appeals courtagreed.

As a means of establishing a Neutralityframework for broadband, the FCC in late2010 (now under the leadership of then-Chairman Julius Genachowski) wrote itsOpen Internet Order. This time Verizonchallenged the Commission, essentiallymaking the same case Comcast had laidout several years before: that the FCC hasdefined broadband service under Title I, sobroadband service companies likeComcast are not subject to telecommuni-cations services rules. And for the secondtime the courts agreed. In reclassifying

FCC loses Net Neutrality case, but debate isn’t over

0Continued on next page

After a highly publicized legal spat with Verizon, a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in January ruledthat the FCC doesn’t have the authority to force service providers to abide by its Net Neutralityrules. The news had the blogosphere in hysterics, with many positing that the ruling has effectively“killed” the Internet, but experts say the Net Neutrality issue isn’t going anywhere. Besides thelegal options still available to save it, one of the biggest players in this game — the companiesthat provide content our service providers rely on — may not allow a “closed” Internet scenarioto happen anytime soon. By Jon Gingerich



FCC loses Net Neutrality case, but debate isn’t overwhat broadband service is, the FCC essen-tially abdicated a great deal of its regulato-ry power over it.

“It would be like someone saying youcan call your dog a cat, and then express-ing surprise when your cat barks,” saidAaron.

Legal options availableExperts claim there are several ways

Neutrality regulations can be restored inlieu of the FCC’s legal shortcomings.Neutrality proponents like Free Press haveclaimed the ideal solution would be for theFCC to go back and reclassify broadbandservices as a telecommunications service,thereby returning it to the purview of TitleII of the Communications Act.

If the FCC did so, however, it would bemaking an unequivocally political state-ment, as it undermines former ChairmanPowell’s (a Republican) efforts to ease reg-ulations for the broadband industry.Current FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, aformer cable industry lobbyist, has madeno indication that he is interested in takingthis route, but released a statement inresponse to the January 14 ruling, reiterat-ing that he is “pro-open Internet.” In thesame statement, however, Wheeler alsomade known his pro-market stance, whenhe wrote that, “it is important not to prohib-it or inhibit conduct that is efficiency pro-ducing and competition enhancing.”

Wheeler’s devotion to an “open”Internet also sounded notably cavalier dur-ing a December question-and-answer ses-sion at Ohio State University, where hewaxed on a “two-sided market” scenario inwhich content giants like Netflix offer topay service providers in exchange for theprivilege of transmitting content. “I thinkwe want to let those kinds of things evolve... the marketplace is where these decisionsought to be made,” he said.

It also deserves mention that the FCChad a chance to reclassify broadband as atelecommunications service after the 2010court case with Comcast. The Commissiondidn’t do it then, so why believe it woulddo it now?

An FCC spokesperson, who did notwant to be quoted for this story, toldO’Dwyer’s that the Commission is current-ly reviewing its options, and has not deter-mined what the next course of action willbe.

The FCC doesn’t write laws. Like allgovernment agencies, its job is merely toenforce the laws passed by Congress. Theobvious way to resurrect Net Neutrality,others have said, is to have Congress writeNeutrality legislation that prohibits theInternet from becoming the cable box ofthe future. After all, Congress has alreadygiven the FCC the authority to regulate

service providers, and Congress couldreclassify those providers as common car-riers if it wanted to.

The problem, of course, is that right nowCongress isn’t particularly good at passinganything. The last time it reformed tele-phone and broadcasting laws during withthe Telecommunications Act of 1996, andthe last time a member of the House (EdMarkey (D-Mass.)) tried to attachNeutrality provisions to a bill was during2006’s COPE Act, where it was strippedout before it even reached the SenateCommerce Committee (where, beforedying an untimely death, it was immortal-ized when Alaska Senator Ted Stevensinfamously referred to the Internet as a“series of tubes”). The point is this: tryingto get Net Neutrality laws past legislatorswho liken marketplace regulations to thebubonic plague is an act far easier said thandone.

Finally, the FCC could appeal theJanuary appeals court decision to theSupreme Court. This has been hinted at,but it’s risky, because once the highestcourt in the land decides the FCC doesn’thave the authority to regulate discrimina-tion over the Internet, there’s no turningback. It also begs the question: what’s thepoint in appealing the ruling if everyoneagrees the FCC didn’t have the authority todo what they tried to do in the first place?

Content providers could be saving graceLeft with few regulatory options, it

appears, as many have long suggested, thatthe perceived openness of the Internet willbe guided by market demand before policy,that the hand most likely to shape theInternet’s future will be less ideological inscope and comprised instead of somethingfar more tenable: money. And while themedia and blogosphere went apoplecticover the news that the FCC can’t use theirtelecommunications rulebook to prohibitservice providers from blocking content,few bothered to consult the party that prof-its more from the Internet than anyone: thecontent providers themselves.

In a tiered Internet scenario, it’s contentproviders like Netflix that would reallyfeel the squeeze. Netflix, which comprisesmore than 30% of peak Internet traffic inNorth America, could be forced to payhundreds of millions to service providersfor the bandwidth they use on their net-works. In a January 22 letter attached tothe company’s fourth-quarter earningsreport, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings toldshareholders in no uncertain terms thathe’s willing to rally the company’s 33 mil-lion subscribers to prevent this scenariofrom unfolding: “Were this draconian sce-nario to unfold with some ISP, we wouldvigorously protest and encourage our

members to demand the open Internet theyare paying their ISP to deliver,” Hastingssaid.

It’s not an empty threat. Today’s con-sumer online programming habits haveessentially made the Internet a replace-ment for television, and increased demandfor services like Netflix and Hulu havebeen single-handedly responsible for anuptick in consumer subscriptions to high-er-end broadband plans. Service providersmay very well want to turn the Internetinto tomorrow’s cable box, but if Netflix’srecent statement is any indication, theymay find themselves waiting indefinitelyfor the other shoe to drop.

Indeed, it’s risky enough for serviceproviders to galvanize consumers by forc-ing them to pay for a service that provideslimited content; it’s nigh suicidal, however,for service providers to assume those con-tent providers that consumers enjoy wouldpay for the privilege to stream data on theirnetwork as long as competing ISPs remain.The anti-Neutrality camp is correct in theiroft-repeated assertion that this is a “marketissue”; it’s becoming increasingly appar-ent, however, that individual consumerchoice will make less of an influence inany closed Internet scenario than high-pro-file content providers like Netflix whoattract a growing share of those Internetusers to begin with. Contrary to what aslew of January editorials claimed, the con-tinued fight over Net Neutrality will mostlikely not manifest in a push to get the FCCto reclassify broadband or attempts to haveCongress pass anything resemblingNeutrality legislation. The real fight overNet Neutrality in 2014 will undoubtedlyfocus on Internet users trying to find a wayto get around the potential barriers erectedby service providers, with contentproviders like Netflix providing a guidinglight.

FCC authority remainsRegardless of what the future holds for

Net Neutrality, it also deserves mentionthat while the court ruled the FCC could-n’t stop service providers from discrimi-nating or blocking content, the courtupheld the FCC’s authority to adopt rulesand to continue regulating broadband. Inother words, the court essentially said thatwhat the FCC did was within their author-ity — it just didn’t go about using thatauthority the right way. The court also leftintact one rule of the FCC’s Open InternetOrder: the authority to enforce trans-parency. This means service providersstill have to disclose if and when they’regiving preferential treatment to particulardata. It might not be ideal, but given theoptions available, it’s safe to say theInternet isn’t dead yet. £



REPORT

The stakes are high: 78% of Americansreport that they will boycott a productif they discover an environmental

claim to be misleading. (Source: ConeCommunications 2013).

The potential to confuse consumers withmisleading green claims is great. Greenissues are very technical, complex and fastmoving. When claims are unclear, mar-keters can be labeled as greenwashers andtheir marketing as greenwash.

Paying close heed to the FTC GreenGuides is one important way to underscorecredibility and avoid greenwash. Otherstrategies exist too to bolster one’s credibil-ity within the larger context in which greenmarketing occurs.

Following are six strategies to keep inmind when making claims and portrayingone’s company or products as environmen-tally in step with consumer demands

Avoid generalized environmental claimsIf there’s one thing to learn from the FTC

Guides for Environmental Marketing,recently revised and published in October2012, it is to avoid portraying one’s productor company as “green” or “greener” thancompetitors. Chances are, it will be unlike-ly that you’ll be able to prove such claimsbecause the unqualified use of the term“green” is susceptible to different mean-ings. Moreover, the state of the art of thescience of measuring total environmentalimpacts on a life cycle basis. So it’s best toavoid them altogether. That includes usingproduct names and even imagery — the‘planets, babies and daisies’ that can givethe impression of eco-superiority.

The National Advertising Division of theBetter Business Bureau, the industry self-regulatory arm, echoed this concern in twocases against companies describing theirproducts as “eco-friendly” based upon asingle attribute. Green Pan claimed to be‘eco-friendly’ based on the absence of anonstick chemical, and Panasonic PlasmaTVs which didn’t contain lead or mercury.

Walk your talkA company perceived as committed to

sustainability and sound environmentalpolicies gains the good graces of con-sumers. Companies in the vanguard of cor-

porate greening have many of the followingattributes in place:

A visibly committed CEO. Only a chiefexecutive with a clear vision can makeenvironmental soundness a corporate prior-ity and forge an emotional link between acompany and its customers. CEOs at corpo-rate-sustainability pioneers Patagonia(Yvon Chouinard), Stonyfield (GaryHirshberg), and Timberland (Jeff Swartz)maintain high profiles. Projecting a person-al commitment to the environment, CEOswin their stakeholders’ trust.

Empower employees. Bring employeesup to speed about climate change, cleantechnology and green consumer behavior.Identify ways to get involved.

Be proactive. It projects leadership andsends a message to investors that risks areminimized. Regulators are less likely toimpose restrictions on companies whoseactions transcend minimum standards.Proactive companies can help define thosestandards, and discover opportunities forcost-effective eco-solutions.

In 2005, HSBC became the first majorbank to address climate change by becom-ing carbon neutral. By instigating an indus-try-leading carbon-management plan,HSBC gained the credibility to launch itsEffie Award-winning “There’s No SmallChange” U.S. retail marketing program inspring 2007.

Communicate your values. Many sus-tainability leaders, including Patagonia(“Don’t Buy This Jacket”), Stonyfield andTom’s of Maine, communicate core valuesto establish emotional connections. Alsocalled “purpose marketing” or “pro-socialmarketing,” values-based marketing avoidshard-sell ads in favor of soft-sell cam-paigns.

Green your marketing practices. Paperwith recycled and/or sustainably harvestedcontent and printed with soy-based inksreduces environmental impacts, as does theuse of electronic media to replace printedmarketing. But media is the fifth-largestindustry in the U.S., and with its growthcomes attention to the environmentalimpacts of server farms, networks, comput-ers and mobile devices.

Some brands work with organizations

such as the Institute of SustainableCommunication’s Strategic AdvertisingPartnership to explore ways to develop life-cycle-analysis product-category rules thatwould enable standardized reporting andverification of environ-mental impacts.

Be transparent.Provide access to thedetails of productsand corporate prac-tices and activelyreport on progress.

Respected nonprofitGlobal ReportingInitiative works withthe United NationsEnviro. Programme,the ISO and otherglobal groups. Its vol-untary global standardand framework meas-ures and reports oneconomic, environ-mental and social per-formance. More than1,500 companies,including Coca-Cola,GM, IBM, Novartis, Philips and Unilever,have adopted this reporting standard.

Get radical. Sustainability pathfinderssuch as Patagonia with its “FootprintChronicles,” are reporting with ‘radicaltransparency.’ Get a jump on competitorsand regulators — and score points withconsumers — by disclosing as much aspossible.

Don’t hide bad news. Consumers getangry when they suspect that companieshave hidden information. Sigg, makers ofeco-trendy aluminum bottles, learned thislesson the hard way. Thought to be BPA-free, Sigg’s bottles came under fire when anopen letter to customers from CEO SteveWasik disclosed that bottles producedbefore August 2008 contained traceamounts of BPA — and that the companyhad known about it since 2006.

Enlist the support of third partiesPopular and credible forms of third-party

support include eco-labels, environmental

Strategies that ensure green marketing credibility

By Jacquelyn Ottman and David Mallen

The fastest way to put a damper on shopper enthusiasm — not to mention damage one’s reputationand sales — is to be perceived as a greenwasher. Unfair or deceptive advertising can exposemarketers to legal risks and accompanying expense. The impact of greenwash can hit the bottom lineif disillusioned customers shift their purchases to more trustworthy competitors.

Jacquelyn Ottman

David Mallen



product declarations and cause marketing.Eco-labels. A handful of eco-

labels — the chasing-arrows recycling logo(93%), Energy Star (93%) and USDA’sCertified Organic (75%) amongthem — have gained purchase influence.

If no eco-label exists in your industry,you can help develop one. Commercial fur-niture manufacturers did this under theguidance of industry trade organizationBusiness and Institutional FurnitureManufacturers Alliance, developing theBIFMA e3 standard and level certificationin line with American National StandardsInstitute standards-development protocols.

Environmental product declarations.EPDs provide detailed, third-party-verifiedexplanations of a product’s life-cycleimpacts. Steelcase issued an excellent onefor its Think office chair per ISO 14025.The EPD shares the results of three sepa-rate life-cycle assessments to assessimpacts in North America, Europe andAsia, and describes the certifications fromdifferent countries.

Endorsements and awards. Crediblethird parties can halo brand imagery. Whenlaunching the Prius, Toyota touted the factthat the Sierra Club, the National WildlifeFederation and the United Nations eachhad bestowed some type of award orendorsement on the car.

But Sierra Club and Clorox learned ahard lesson when what was perceived as apaid endorsement of Clorox’s GreenWorks incited widespread criticism.Negative press ensued and sparked achange in leadership at the Sierra Club.

Cause marketing and beyond. Bestknown as promotional efforts in which abusiness donates a portion of product rev-enue to a relevant nonprofit, cause-relatedmarketing can distinguish brands in a clut-tered marketplace.

Procter & Gamble’s Dawn dishwashingliquid brand donates $1 to the MarineMammal Center and the International BirdRescue Research Center for every special-ly marked package bought. This cause-related marketing campaign capitalizesupon Dawn’s role in cleaning oil-despoiledwaterfowl.

Cause marketing is not without risk. Inresponse to consumer outrage over unethi-cal cause-related marketing and falseclaims of philanthropic support, NewYork’s attorney general in 2012 issuedtransparency guidelines stating that com-panies should clearly and prominently dis-close key information, including theamount donated to charity from each pur-chase. Companies using ribbons and simi-lar symbols also must make clear if a pur-chase triggers a donation or if the symbolsare merely for awareness of a cause.

Several brands support environmentalcauses in creative ways. Levi’s“Water<Less” products reduce water use,and brands such as Patagonia, North Faceand H&M engage consumers in reuse andrecycling. Eileen Fisher opened GreenEileen stores that sell gently used compa-ny-brand clothing and donate proceeds toinnovative programming for women andgirls. These practices ensure that environ-mental efforts are authentic, aligned withbusiness goals and in step with consumers’desires to do good via their shopping.

Promote responsible consumption It’s one thing to design greener products,

but minimizing their life-cycle impactrequires responsible use and disposal.Consider that more than 90 percent of theenergy associated with laundry detergenttakes place in the use stage, when water isheated.

Nearly all consumers (90%) agree thatit’s their responsibility to properly use anddispose of products, and 85% acknowl-edge the corporate role in providing suchinformation, according to ConeCommunications.

Start at a product’s label, because 45%of consumers report looking there forinformation about a product’s environmen-tal claims, according to Cone’s survey.

Some companies attempt to designresponsible consumption into their prod-

ucts, such as the dashboard device inToyota’s Prius that gives real-time infor-mation on fuel efficiency, and TideColdwater laundry detergent.

Focus on primary benefitsThe surest route to avoiding a green-

washer label may be to avoid using greenclaims altogether. Eco-aware or not, con-sumers want to know how products canbenefit them personally. And this is thebest way to appeal to the broadest marketsegment as well.

Focusing on primary benefits within alarger story that incorporates environmen-tal responsibility as a desirable extra ispreferred. Does your product save con-sumers money? Ads for Sears’ KenmoreHE5t Steam washer, which uses 77% lesswater and 81% less energy than oldermodels, grabs readers with a promise:“You pay for the washer. It pays for thedryer.”

Jacquelyn Ottman is a green marketingconsultant and author of “The New Rulesof Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools andInspiration for Sustainable Branding.”David Mallen is Partner and Co-Chair ofadvertising disputes at Loeb & Loeb. Thisstory was adapted from a recently releasedreport, “How to Make Credible GreenMarketing Claims: What Marketers Needto Know about the Updated FTC GreenGuides.” £




FEATURE

Reasonable people may speculatewhy free market forces and thefederal government have not taken

more decisive climate action, whichwould strengthen domestic drivers withinour economy, stimulate ingenuity andaccelerate jobs. The answer can be seenin our elected officials’ obstinacy thatshut down the government and put partypolitics ahead of serving the public, at atime when improving national securityand benefits to health from cleaner airand water were betrayed. In spite ofeverything, mitigating severe and irre-versible effects of our warming planetwould certainly have brought aboutgreater stability and prosperity for every-one.

At last, something had to give when theExecutive Branch entered the fray.President Obama directed the EPA to putan end to limitless dumping of carbonpollution from power plants and com-plete new pollution standards for bothnew and existing power plants. Obamatold America, as well as the anti-regula-tion and austerity-leaning crowd onCapitol Hill, that the Clean Air Actalready gave him a palette of options fordealing with pollution from new andexisting power plants, stationary emit-ters, vehicles, and the natural gas indus-try. Relying on existing laws and basicscience, the White House’s proposals toexpand U.S. clean energy resources andenact tougher energy efficiency standardswould no longer tolerate an intransigentCongress. As he declared in his 2013State of the Union address, “If Congresswon’t act soon to protect future genera-tions, I will.”

Reaction to Obama’s clarion calls toaction have been mixed. FrancesBeinecke, President of the NaturalResources Defense Council, referred to itas “a historic turning point” and “a robustplan for tackling climate change.”League of Conservation Voters PresidentGene Karpinski called it “by far the mostcomprehensive and ambitious adminis-trative plan proposed by any president.”

Some politicians from fossil fuel statesand the usual partisans, however, object-ed with certainty that cheap, domesticenergy was waiting for limitless mining,drilling and fracking. Any regulationsintended to curb pollution — and anyacknowledgment that climate change isreal — are simply ploys to keep U.S.businesses under federal servitude.

Climate change denial is big businessVoters are coming to grips with our

many elected officials beholden to thefossil fuel industry that finances theirreelections. The Center for AmericanProgress recently reported that 160members of the 113th Congress havetaken over $55.5 million from the indus-try that drives carbon pollution, whichalso causes climate change. CAP’sClimateProgress blog chronicled the“Anti-Science Climate Denier Caucus:113th Congress Edition,” describing how30 climate deniers in the Senate haveaccepted $21,771,227 in dirty energycampaign contributions, while the 70senators who don’t reject the sciencehave taken $12,983,250 in career contri-butions. The 130 climate deniers in theHouse have received $33,744,850 indirty energy contributions while the 303members who acknowledge climatechange have taken $22,227,594 in careercontributions. In total, climate denierscashed in $55,516,077 in dirty energycontributions.

ClimateProgress also reported that90% of the Republican leadership inboth House and Senate deny climatechange, 77% — or 17 out of 22Republican members of the HouseCommittee on Science, Space andTechnology — are climate deniers, 73%— or 22 out of 30 Republican membersof the House Energy and CommerceCommittee — deny the existence of cli-mate change, and 100% of SenateEnvironment and Public WorksCommittee Republicans have said cli-mate change is not happening or thathumans do not cause it.

Can fossil fuel energy companies con-vincingly profess “safety first” when

they support exemptions from lawsdesigned to safeguard clean air and cleanwater in communities?

The latest climate-denying diversionspeddled by lobbyists and the anti-sciencecrowd in Congress would leave newsjunkies and evencasual politicalobservers skepticalor uninterested alto-gether in findingcleaner energy alter-natives. I wouldargue that thisresponse is the resultof learned behavior.After all, 97% of sci-entists worldwidesubscribe to the fact that “climate-warm-ing trends over the past century are verylikely due to human activities.”Nevertheless, most scientists are impar-tial considering science is independent ofideology. The only disagreement in theirranks is among scientists with financialobligations to the fossil fuel industry.

Deniers go off the deep endTwo years ago, one of the most out-

spoken, polarizing and climate-denyingextremists, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) a ranking member of the SenateArmed Services Committee and formerChairman of the Senate Environmentand Public Works Committee, published“The Greatest Hoax: How the GlobalWarming Conspiracy Threatens YourFuture.”

In his bias against science, Inhofebrazenly claims: “With all of the hyste-ria, all of the fear, all of the phony sci-ence, could it be that man-made globalwarming is the greatest hoax ever perpe-trated on the American people? It suresounds like it.”

Inhofe relies on superficial rhetoricinvolving regulations that amount tohigher taxes and an array of misleadingtalking points that play well to his sup-porters and con funders by hyping how“We the People” and businesses, espe-

Latest climate denial diversions reveal ulterior motivesToo often, Americans’ capacity to work on real solutions succeeds only when we agree that a crisisexists. While many politicians have been renowned for unifying people behind a common cause,others find themselves confounded even by verifiable science and reject today’s looming concernsunder the canard that it bolsters “big” government. As the latest spate of climate-denying diversionspeddled by the anti-science crowd in Congress shows, a fine line exists between the public interestand the interests of our elected officials.

Aric Caplan


By Aric Caplan



cially, are overburdened by government.Accordingly, Inhofe maintains that “. . .for the alarmists, global warming hasnothing to do with science or scientificinquiry. Science is not about the inquiryto discover truth, but a mask to achievean ideological agenda. For some, thisissue has become a secular religion, pureand simple.” Miles Grant, a Senior

Communications Manager at theNational Wildlife Federation, observedat the blog TheGreenMiles that Inhoferecently slipped up and admitted the realreason why he pretends climate changedoesn’t exist. By effectively manufactur-ing headlines for himself, Inhofe argued,“I find fewer and fewer members of theUnited States Senate that are sympathet-ic to this whole cause,” and admitted toWABC-AM’s Aaron Klein that he onlydenies climate science because he does-n’t like the solutions being offered. Milesastutely pointed to conservatives’ bogusacademic culpability that accepting the“science” would admit that climate posesa real problem, which would lead one todiscussing the need to solve it. Next, youbecome stuck debating the science in aseemingly “endless loop” of disinforma-tion, opinion-as-fact and other baselessconspiracy theories.

Recent claims don’t ‘weather’ the factsDuring the first week of January, the

northeast experienced a “polar vortex,”which was blamed for at least 21 deaths.Both the Associated Press and TheWashington Post registered the coldest,most dangerous blast in decades. InMinneapolis, air temperatures reached23-below, Chicago set a record at minus12, and suburban St. Louis saw temper-atures of 14-below. Extreme tempera-tures even hit Hawaii, where 18-degreetemperatures were recorded atop MaunaKea, a dormant volcano.Right on cue, Fox News, Rush

Limbaugh, and ideologues at the DrudgeReport confidently opined that wintertemperatures across the United Statesdisproved global warming. Selectively,they seem only capable of causing suspi-cion of the federal government under aDemocratic administration. On the otherhand, it would be wise first to under-stand a thing or two about weather.According to NASA, the differencebetween weather and climate is a meas-ure of time. Weather is what conditionsof the atmosphere are over short inter-vals, and climate is how the atmosphere“behaves” over relatively longer peri-ods. Due to winter drought in January the

U.S. Department of Agriculture desig-

nated 12 Utah counties, Colorado, NewMexico, Nevada, Kansas, Texas,Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Oklahoma andCalifornia as primary natural-disasterareas, stressing the economic anxietyand lack of rain would likely to bring tothe regions’ farmers. Meanwhile, a record-setting heat

wave lashed the Southern Hemisphere.Australia experienced sweltering condi-tions that strained electricity suppliescausing governments to prepare fornationwide emergencies. BloombergNews reported temperatures were soar-ing to 123-degrees Fahrenheit (50.7Celsius) as punishing conditions furtherstrained electricity supplies and sparkedferocious wildfires, according to theBureau of Meteorology.Ezra Klein, who recently announced

he was leaving The Washington Post tostart his own news organization, report-ed that global warming refers to thewhole planet, not just the United States.He nailed it when he said, “Saying glob-al warming isn’t real because it’s coldout is like saying the sun isn’t realbecause it’s dark out.” McClatchy’s Washington bureau

recently reported on a January Galluppoll, taken a few days after Congressconvened, claiming Congress’ approval

rating now stood at a dismal 14%. OurLegislative Branch has become the leastproductive Congress in two decades bypassing only 55 “substantive measures,”according to the Pew Research Center.Rallying behind a common cause

would seem reasonable — and an obvi-ous answer to solving America’s prob-lems — but instead it appears the votersare getting what they deserved.Meanwhile, the voices of Americansbesieged by climate change are drown-ing out the bullhorn of special interests,be it from organized labor, farmers,small and sustainable business owners,or state visitor and tourism bureaus, whohave described severe drought and otherburdens they’ve faced as a result of cli-mate change, reiterating the importancein finding common sense solutions tocut carbon pollution, protect future gen-erations from climate change, spur theeconomy and create jobs.As former Michigan Gov. Jennifer

Granholm told a crowd of supportersduring the “I Will Act on Climate” bustour: “We don’t see energy and cleanenergy and climate change action asbeing in opposition to job creation. Wesee it as part and parcel of job creation.”

Aric Caplan is President of CaplanCommunications in Rockville, MD. £


FEBRUARY 2014 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 4 ADVERTISING SECTION20

ALLISON+PARTNERS

1025 Connecticut Ave. NW, #220Washington, D.C. 20036202/[email protected]

Brian Feldman, Partner

Allison+Partners brings clientsdeep public affairs expertise onsome of today’s most pressingenvironmental, energy, health,budget and education public poli-cy issues. Our team has led suc-cessful campaigns on issuesincluding major healthcarereform legislation, green cars,healthcare access, educationreform and Internet taxation.With an active grassroots networkthat gives our professionals ‘feeton the ground’ in everyCongressional district across thecountry, our team creates agroundswell of support for yourissue. We create messages thatresonate and ensure those mes-sages are heard by legislators andregulators, communities, NGOs,associations, communities andthe media. We have a proventrack record in environmentaladvocacy and sustainability com-munications, and maintain strongrelationships with top-tier media,ensuring that your side of thestory is always heard. Our teamdevelops strong reputations andexecutive brands, secures partner-ships, and builds a sturdy founda-tion of grassroots support foryour projects, producing busi-ness-building results for govern-ment agencies, public and privatecorporations, nonprofits and sus-tainability innovators.

APCO WORLDWIDE

700 12th St., NW, #800Washington, DC 20005202/778-1000Fax: 202/[email protected]

APCO Worldwide is an inde-pendent global communication,stakeholder engagement andbusiness strategy firm withoffices in more than 30 majorcities throughout the world.

Headquartered in Washington,D.C., and named “Public AffairsAgency of the Decade” by TheHolmes Report, APCO is well-known for its rich public affairsheritage. Since our founding 30years ago, APCO’s thriving glob-al public affairs practice remainsfundamental to our overallapproach to communication,which puts effective stakeholderengagement at the heart of ourcreative, unconventional and inte-grated communication strategies.

APCO’s Energy & Clean Techpractice, led by Maggie Brown,works with clients across all sec-tors of the energy industry —from traditional fuel sources torenewables such as hydropower,solar, wind and biofuels. APCOalso advises clients in the bur-geoning clean tech industryincluding smart grid, green build-ing, electric vehicles and energymonitoring. Clients benefit fromAPCO’s strategic alliances withthe American Council ofRenewable Energy (ACORE), theClean Tech Open, the Universityof Washington Clean TechInstitute, as well as from theinsights of Governor BillRichardson, a former U.S. secre-tary of energy, who is chairman ofAPCO’s Global PoliticalStrategies (GPS) group.

BUTLER ASSOCIATES, LLC

204 East 23rd St.New York, NY 10010212/[email protected]

One Stamford Plaza263 Tresser Blvd, 9th Fl.Stamford, CT 06901203/564-1474

Thomas P. Butler, President

Winner of two InternationalAssociation of Firefighters(IAFF) best nationalP.R./Political campaign awards in2013 and five time IAFF awardhonoree. Ranked among top 10 inthe New York market for its envi-ronmental and public affairs prac-tice. Butler Associates cam-paigns range from victoriousFortune 50 shareholder proxybattles, directing public affairs,

legal and public safety cam-paigns, to visibility for top busi-ness and financial firms and theirCEO’s. The Butler group includesseasoned pros, committed to theirclients, who deliver consistentresults. Its Litical Solutions divi-sion delivers mobile consumerengagement campaigns andaward winning advertising forbroadcast, online and print.

Clients: Association of BellTelRetirees Inc.; Christensen &Jensen, P.C.; Empire Strategies;Friends of LaGuardia AirportCoalition; Grandparents.com;Hunts Point Cooperative Market;Mechanical ContractorsAssociation of New York; NewYork Affordable ReliableElectricity Alliance; PlumbingFoundation of New York;ProtectSeniors.Org; NewRochelle Professional FireFighters Association, Local 273;Siebert Brandford Shank & Co.,LLC.; Stamford (CT) PoliceAssociation; StamfordProfessional Fire FightersAssociation; Steamfitters Local638, New York; YonkersProfessional Fire FightersAssociation; UniformedFirefighters Association (NYCity), United Auto Workers Local2377, Stamford, CT.

CAPLAN COMMUNICATIONS

LLC

1700 Rockville Pike, Suite 400Rockville, MD 20852301/998-6592Fax: 301/983-2126ccinfo@caplancommunications.comwww.caplancommunications.com

Aric Caplan, President

Caplan Communications’ prac-tice champions social and envi-ronmental justice causes. Weadvocate for renewable energy,clean air and clean water laws,stewardship of America’s publiclands, national parks and rivers,as well as sustainable, local foodpractices.

February 2014 marks ouragency’s 10th anniversary serv-ing issues in the public interest.Caplan delivers strategy, crisisand rapid-response media rela-tions, messaging and full-service

campaign implementation by tar-geting audiences locally and onthe national stage.

Clients: Alaska WildernessLeague, American Rivers,Defenders of Wildlife,Earthjustice, EnvironmentalDefense Fund, EnvironmentalEntrepreneurs (E2), Friends ofthe Earth, Greenpeace USA,League of Conservation Voters,National Geographic Society,National Parks ConservationAssociation, Natural ResourcesDefense Council, NationalWildlife Federation, Physiciansfor Social Responsibility, Unionof Concerned Scientists and TheWaterkeeper Alliance.

CERRELL ASSOCIATES, INC.

320 North Larchmont Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90004323/466-3445Fax: 323/466-8653www.cerrell.com

Hal Dash, Chairman & CEOLisa Gritzner, PresidentSteve Bullock, CFO

Cerrell is California’s seniorpublic relations and public affairsfirm. With an extensive depth andbreadth of experience in SouthernCalifornia and around the state,our firm has consistently deliv-ered results for corporate, non-profit and government clientsacross a wide range of industriesand sectors since our founding in1966.

Through nearly five decades ofsuccess, Cerrell has developed anunparalleled body of knowledgeand experience in all facets ofpublic affairs. But what makesour firm truly unique among ourcompetitors is that we don’t sim-ply specialize in one specificissue area; we have five robustpractice areas and nearly 30 eliteand diverse professionals with adiversity of communicationsexperience under one roof.Cerrell is equipped to engage inthe kind of collaborative, multi-faceted strategic problem-solvingthat delivers results our clientsneed in complex, rapidly chang-ing environments.

Specifically, our firm providesservices in the areas of media

ENVIRONMENTAL PR& PUBLIC AFFAIRS

O’Dwyer’sguide to:


ADVERTISING SECTION 3 FEBRUARY 2014 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 21

relations and crisis communication,local government advocacy, cam-paigns and issues management,energy and environment, and landuse planning.

Our Media Relations & CrisisCommunication team’s (SeanRossall, VP) expert understandingof the messages and events thatmove the media allows Cerrell totell our clients’ stories strategically.Successfully harnessing the powerof the media is about more than justmanaging a story; it’s about makingsure that you are a part of the pub-lic narrative. Our team works at theintersection of traditional and socialmedia tools, securing media cover-age from New York to Washington,D.C. to Los Angeles.Cerrell’s Energy & Environmentteam (Macaria Flores, VP) pro-vides expert strategic counsel andoutreach services to a wide varietyof corporate, non-profit and gov-ernment clients. Energy and envi-ronmental issues are some of themost challenging and complexissues facing businesses and gov-ernment today. National andCalifornia-specific regulatory andlegislative mandates for air, waterand habitat make working in thestate more challenging than any-where else in the country. Our teamunderstands this complex regulato-ry framework and the sensitiveenvironmental, political and com-munity impacts that often accom-pany these issues.

Our Local Government practice(Lisa Gritzner, President) employsa team-oriented approach that helpsour clients successfully navigatelocal and state government, engagedecision-makers and, ultimately,achieve their desired results —securing a government contract,passing an ordinance or stopping anunfavorable action. Our local gov-ernment team is composed of sea-soned professionals who are formercity, state and federal governmentstaff members.

Cerrell’s skilled Campaigns &Issues Management team (BrandonStephenson, VP) manages everyaspect of a political or issue-basedcampaign in a strategic manner toachieve our clients’ goals —whether it’s achieving success onElection Day or winning a votebefore a governing body.

Cerrell’s Land Use team (AlisaKarlan, VP) employs a team-ori-ented approach on developmentprojects that help our clients suc-cessfully navigate the complex, andoften political, entitlement process.We thoughtfully engage communi-ties and opinion leaders to buildconsensus to provide decision-makers the support they need to

approve our clients’ projects.For more information about

Cerrell, visit us online at www.cer-rell.com. To contact us about howwe can help your company ororganization, call 323/466-3445 oremail us at [email protected].

Cerrell is a partner of TheWorldcom Public Relations Group

COOPERKATZ &COMPANY

205 Lexington Avenue, 5th FloorNew York, NY 10016www.cooperkatz.com

Ralph Katz, PrincipalAnne Green, President / CEO

CooperKatz has significantexperience helping clients respondto complex business, public policyor environmental issues with inte-grated communications solutionsthat deliver results. Our expertisehelps organizations strategizeissues, articulate key perspectivesand leverage opportunities.Relevant cases include: Majornational strike that shut down anindustry; Marketing of controver-sial products; Copyright / trade-mark protection in digital realm;Issues regarding healthcare reform/ delivery; Environmental impactof motor vehicles; Announcingmajor renewable energy invest-ments; Publicizing global environ-mental initiatives; Privacy / track-ing issues related to online behav-ioral advertising; and Promotingscientific research into sustainabil-ity / environmental issues

CooperKatz has developed pub-lic affairs and / or environmentalcampaigns for a wide range ofclients, including AmericanCleaning Institute (ACI),American Society of Composers,Authors and Publishers (ASCAP),Association of NationalAdvertisers (ANA), DigitalAdvertising Alliance, MSN,Northern Arizona University, OtisWorldwide, Philadelphia Eagles,Piaggio Group Americas, ThePhysicians Foundation and USPreventive Medicine.

COYNE PUBLICRELATIONS

5 Wood Hollow Road Parsippany, NJ 07054973/588-2000www.coynepr.com

1065 Avenue of the Americas28th FloorNew York, NY 10018212/938-0166

604 Arizona AveSuite 10Santa Monica, CA 90401310/395-6110

Thomas F. Coyne, CEORich Lukis, President

Coyne Public Relations is a lead-ing independent public relationsagency, representing some of theworld’s most well-known brands incategories including Automotive,Beauty & Fashion, Food &Nutrition, Health & Wellness,Media & Publishing, Pet & Animal,Retail & Restaurant, Sports,Technology, Toys & JuvenileProducts and Travel. From tradition-al to social media, we combine strat-egy and creativity to generate thebest possible results for our clients— taking each and every clientexactly where they want to be, andbeyond.

Coyne PR specializes in a rangeof services, including brand build-ing, product launches, events & pro-motions, sponsorship activation,corporate communications, causemarketing, social media, corporatesocial responsibility and crisis man-agement. Coyne PR boasts anemployee retention rate over 90 per-cent, an internal digital design studioto support our clients’ needs andalways provides a best teamapproach to every account. Recentexperience includes work with UPSon their sustainability initiatives aswell as Sealed Air Corporation’sSmartLife platform.

CROSBY

705 Melvin AvenueAnnapolis, MD 21401410/626-0805www.crosbymarketing.com

Raymond Crosby, PresidentTammy Ebaugh, EVP, ChiefStrategy OfficerJeff Rosenberg, Advocacy &Social Marketing Practice LeaderJoel Machak, Executive CreativeDirector

For 40 years, Crosby hashelped clients Inspire ActionsThat Matter™ — actions that pos-itively impact people’s lives andcontribute to the greater good.From inspiring Americans to saveenergy to stopping the spread ofinvasive species that harm ournatural resources, Crosby part-ners with clients to raise aware-ness and spur action on issuesrelating to the environment, ener-gy, public health, sustainabilityand responsible development.

Crosby serves a wide range ofnonprofits, advocacy groups,government agencies and compa-nies in the environmental sector.The firm has created award-win-ning outreach and integratedcampaigns for the EPA ENERGYSTAR program, USDA, Super-efficient Equipment andAppliance Deployment (SEAD)initiative, Apex Wind Energy, theCatholic Coalition on ClimateChange and others.

Services include marketingresearch and planning, branddevelopment, stakeholderengagement, community andmulticultural outreach, PR, digi-tal marketing, PSAs, and socialmarketing and behavior-changecampaigns that deploy a mix ofpaid, earned, shared and ownedmedia.

Crosby ranks among the coun-try’s leading independent agenciesand has offices in Annapolis, Md.,and Washington, D.C.

PROFILES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PR & PUBLIC AFFAIRS FIRMS

Crosby Creative Director Joel Machak directs photo shoot for EPA’sENERGY STAR program.



DAVIES

808 State StreetSanta Barbara, CA 93101 805/963-5929 [email protected]

Los Angeles: 310/395-9510 Washington, D.C.: 202/580-8930

John Davies, CEORobb Rice, EVPTaylor Canfield, EVPLisa Palmer, SVPJoshua Boisvert, VPSasha Boghosian, VPCaitlin Bidwell, CorporateAdministrator

Our nearly flawless record forproject approvals over 30 yearsspeaks for itself — if you want towin, hire Davies. We are theaward winning national publicaffairs firm of choice for clientsfaced with high stakes, definingissues that they can’t afford tolose. Davies has turned publicaffairs into an art. We providethoughtful strategies, compellingmessages and precise tacticalexecution to overcome controver-sy and crisis. We have worked incountless contentious arenas overthe last 30 years, but we havechosen four specific areas onwhich to focus our depth ofexpertise: Real Estate, Energy &Environment, Mining and Crisis.

FAHLGREN MORTINE

4030 Easton Station, Suite 300Columbus, OH 43219614/383-1500Fax: 614/[email protected]@fahlgren.comwww.fahlgrenmortine.com

Neil Mortine, President and CEOBob Boltz, Executive VicePresident, Public Affairs Lead

Fahlgren Mortine’s publicaffairs professionals have a suc-cessful track record of helpingclients navigate the often difficultwaters where private- and public-sector issues and concerns inter-sect. Collectively, we havedecades of experience workingwith businesses, trade associa-tions, and informal and formalcoalitions, as well as governmentofficials, public agencies and themedia. Our core competenciesinclude supporting industry coali-tions; organizing and supportinggrassroots advocacy efforts; plan-

ning and conducting specialevents and conferences; writingpolicy briefs, position papers,legislative testimony and otheradvocacy materials; and coordi-nating newspaper editorial boardmeetings and outreach to themedia.

Our team of public affairs pro-fessionals has the required work-ing knowledge of executive andlegislative government processesto enable us to develop effectivecommunication strategies, mes-sages, materials and activities tosupport clients’ advocacy goals.The agency’s public affairs rev-enues have grown, on average,67.9 percent per year since thepractice was established in 2010.

FINN PARTNERS

301 East 57th StreetNew York, NY 10022212/715-1600www.finnpartners.com

1129 20th St. NW, #200Washington, D.C. 20036202/466-7800 (Finn)202/667-0901 (Widmeyer)

Anne Glauber, Global Issues (NY)Jessica Ross, Public Affairs ( FinnPartners D.C.)Jim Luetkemeyer, Public Affairs(Widmeyer D.C.)

At Finn Partners, with itsrecently acquired WidmeyerCommunications, we offeraward-winning and provenexpertise in Environmental PRand in Public Affairs.

Our staff members in the envi-ronmental practice have exten-sive understanding of today’s keyissues and tomorrow’s considera-tions. They confront client issuesranging from: Sustainable agri-culture, Renewable energy,Climate change, Clean technolo-gy, Energy efficiency, Water pol-lution and scarcity, Smart grid togreen buildings.

And, with the acquisition ofWidmeyer Communications,Finn Partners’ public affairs prac-tice has established itself as aleader in the sector.

The Finn/Widmeyer PublicAffairs team includes staff in bothWashington D.C. and New York.We specialize in raising aware-ness for many causes utilizing theunderlying issues to strengthenour clients’ corporate reputations,support marketing goals, elevatenonprofit initiatives and changepublic thinking with measurableresults. Our clients include indus-try leaders, established privatesector companies, innovative

start-ups, utilities, and non-profitorganizations — all who are deal-ing with complex issues that canpresent unique communicationschallenges.

Specifically, with our counseland follow-through programs wedrive visibility and inform thepublic, lawmakers, opinion lead-ers, and the media on complexlegislative and regulatory issues.We serve as overall managers ofmany national and multi-statepublic affairs campaigns, executehigh-profile media relations pro-grams, plan news-making eventsand initiate broad-based grass-roots advocacy efforts. We directsuccessful issues managementcampaigns inside the Beltway, inkey states and globally.

GIBBS & SOELL,INC.

Worldwide Headquarters60 East 42nd Street, 44th floorNew York, NY 10165212/697-2600Sustainability Consulting Practice:312/[email protected]

Luke Lambert, President andCEOJeff Altheide, Executive VicePresidentRon Loch, Sr. Vice President andManaging Director, SustainabilityConsulting Practice

Gibbs & Soell is the businesscommunications firm for clientsseeking a strategic approach tocorporate social responsibility(CSR) that improves relation-ships with stakeholders and real-izes greater business value fromsustainability efforts.

With headquarters in NewYork, offices in Chicago, Raleighand Basel, Switzerland, and affil-iates in 50+ countries, we adviseon sustainability reporting, strate-gic messaging and stakeholderengagement, materiality analysis,green technology marketing, sup-ply chain monitoring, and causemarketing. Our portfolio encom-passes a broad array of media,content, creative, digital, social,and event services.

The fifth edition of our annualSense & Sustainability® Studycontinues to be an authoritativesource for research into consumeropinions on the corporate com-mitment to environmental, socialand governance (ESG) responsi-bilities. G&S also advancesthought leadership via programsthat feature journalists from lead-ing news organizations, among

them Businessweek, Newsweekand Time.

We achieve business results byprecisely aligning sustainabilitycommunications with corporatestrategies.

MAKOVSKY ENERGY AND

SUSTAINABILITYPRACTICE

Makovsky Energy andSustainability Practice1425 K Street, NWWashington, D.C. 20005www.makovsky.com

Andy Beck, Executive VicePresident

In today’s crowded and compet-itive energy markets, many compa-nies are falling short in their com-munications. They’re forgetting avital principle: that we motivatebehavior by understanding andaddressing the desires and needs ofthe end-user customer. Vauntingproduct and service attributes —the default marketing formulaamong many companies — willonly move the needle so far. What’soften lacking is the missing link:persuasive communications to end-user customers, based on genuineinsight into how the products andservices benefit end-users andaddress their needs. This is whereMakovsky comes in.

Makovsky was founded on —and continues to be guided by — asingular vision. Before many oth-ers, we saw that agencies couldplay a vital role in helping clientssucceed in highly specialized busi-ness sectors that require focusedknowledge to connect and commu-nicate with customer and investors.This was the inspiration for ourguiding principle, “The Power ofSpecialized Thinking.”

We have an extraordinary recordof success in building name recog-nition, share of voice and increasedrevenue for companies of all sizes.Led by the U.S. Department ofEnergy’s former head of publicaffairs, our energy and sustainabili-ty practice has decades of collec-tive experience working with andfor companies just like yours. Thefirm’s services include brand posi-tioning, corporate identity design,Website design, content develop-ment, programming, public out-reach, media relations, and thoughtleadership development.

Our success stories typically

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MARX LAYNE &CO.

31420 Northwestern Hwy., #100Farmington Hills, MI 48334248/855-6777 Ext. [email protected]

Michael Layne, Managing Partner

For more than 25 years, Detroit-based Marx Layne & Company hasprovided outstanding, results-ori-ented communications counsel to abroad range of clients in the busi-ness, government and nonprofitsectors.

Our proven ability to design andlaunch successful public relationscampaigns, develop creative com-munications solutions and exceedclient expectations has earned us areputation as a valued partner andan industry leader. We are highlyskilled at integrating communica-tions, utilizing media relations,social media, content marketing,community relations and crisiscommunications.

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MAYO COMMUNICATIONS

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7248 Bernadine Ave., 2nd FL.West Hills (LA), CA 91307818/340-5300Fax: 818/340-2550publicity@mayocommunications.commayocommunications.commayocommunications.word-press.com (MAYO Blog)LAentertainmentPublicity.com

MAYO offers award-winningnational media placement, enter-tainment publicity, environmentalpublic affairs and community out-reach, website design, Online pub-lic relations, SEO, blogs, RSS feeds,events planning, media training, cor-porate communications, newslet-ters, crisis comm., litigation PR,minority marketing, executivecoaching, community outreach,media tours, strategic planning,message development, cause mar-keting, executive spokesperson,trade show support, bylined articlesand white papers, corporate andbrand strategy, educational cam-paigns, reputation mgmt. and digitalpublic affairs. Most of MAYO’sclients are environmentally friendlyor recycle Mother Nature’sresources. MAYO Client, OperationBlankets of Love (OBOL) servessome 60+ Animal Shelters rescuingabout 1,000 animals per month at nocharge. The charity started out as anidea to collect, recycle and provide afew blankets to the shelters, butwhen the Founders Eileen and BradSmulson asked pet stores andfriends to donate blankets and sup-plies, dozens became hundreds andnow thousands of blankets anditems are donated monthly.

Clients: Operationblanketsoflove,LA; Buddy Princeton & theIncorruptibles, LA; China TelecomAmericas; City Glam Events,Melbourne, Australia; ClotteeMcAfee, Stevie Wonder CostumeDesigner, LA ; Dancing Mom’s Nia& Holly Frazier, Hollywood; EddyMoney ; Frederick R. Rawlins, LA;Global Onslaught-Australia, UK;Hollywood East (HULU.com);Jeremy London, Director /Producer, Hollywood; MarinaAnderson, Actress, Hollywood;Martin Campbell, Director, Malibu;Michelle Torres, Casting Director /Actress, New Orleans; Mother LoveShow, Radio Talk Show, LA;Nuttin’ But Stringz, NY; PERISoftware Solutions, Inc., NJ; PreetSohi, Actress, Hollywood;SafeMedia.com, Boca Raton, Fl;Status LA Magazine, Hollywood;

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MWW

One Meadowlands PlazaEast Rutherford, NJ 07073201/507-9500Fax: 201/507-0092www.mww.com/mwwgov

Michael W. Kempner, Presidentand Chief Executive OfficerWilliam P. Murray, ExecutiveVice President Public Affairs

MWW is one of the nation’s topmid-sized public relations firmsand one of the five largest inde-pendent global agencies. MWW’sgovernment relations and publicaffairs professionals have workedat the highest levels of the execu-tive branch, Congress and state andlocal governments. We help ourclients to re-architect the conversa-tion surrounding their brands andtheir issues, to increase trust andrelevance and make them MatterMoreTM among key stakeholders.Our extensive experience, contactsand deep access to Democratic andRepublican leaders in major con-gressional committees and govern-ment agencies, coupled with ourproprietary 50-state network,enables clients to achieve their pub-lic policy goals at the federal, stateor municipal level. With deepunderstanding of all communica-tions channels, extensive relation-ships with NGOs, and our provengrassroots and grasstops communi-cations programs, from full nation-al coalitions to direct consensusbuilding among third-party organi-zations, we propel our clients’ mes-sages to the forefront of the publicpolicy debate and shape the con-cepts that resonate and reach theaudiences that have an impact.

OGILVY PUBLICRELATIONS

1111 19th Street NW10th FloorWashington, DC 20036202/[email protected]@ogilvy.com

Jamie Moeller, Global ManagingDirector, Public AffairsEddie Fernandez, Senior VicePresident and Group Director,OgilvyEarth West

Ogilvy PR’s Public Affairs

Practice has more than 150 pro-fessionals in 30 markets aroundthe world, including key politicalcenters in Brussels, Beijing andWashington, DC and was recog-nized by The Holmes Report asPublic Affairs Agency of the Yearin 2012. We provide clients withinsights into the factors shapingglobal policy and the ability tonavigate the intricacies of localpolicy arenas. While each markethas distinctive political and gov-ernment systems, we recognizethat increasingly public affairschallenges are global. As a result,we operate the Practice globally,ensuring seamless coordinationand best-in-class local execution.With former legislative, WhiteHouse, European Commissionand ministerial staff, politicalorganizers and public policyexperts, we run our public affairscampaigns as if they were politi-cal campaigns.

OgilvyEarth, Ogilvy PR’s sus-tainability and clean tech special-ty group, combines industryknowledge with a multi-discipli-nary approach to help both entre-preneurial start-ups and majorcorporations tell a credible andcompelling story about how prod-ucts, services and processes eitherharness renewable materials andenergy sources, reduce the use ofnatural resources, and/or cutemissions and waste.

PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS

INC.

One East Wacker Drive Suite 2450Chicago, IL 60601312/558-1770Fax: 312/558-5425www.pcipr.com

Jill Allread, PresidentDorothy Oliver Pirovano, CEO

Experience distinguishes PCIas a go-to agency on green issues.We serve a diversity of environ-mental clients, from advocacyorganizations and professionalassociations, nationally rankedzoos and aquariums, conservationgroups and regulatory agencies. Itis an agency priority to use sus-tainable business practices dailyat PCI because we share the beliefwith our environmentally con-scious clients that it’s importantto live sustainably.

Several of PCI senior coun-selors have significant experienceworking in and for environmentalorganizations. This first-hand


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MAKOVSKY0Continued from page 22



experience brings extraordinaryinsight and benefits to our clientsthrough PCI’s creative strategiesto our understanding of knowingwhat words resonate and promptpublic engagement on greenissues.

For most of our 51 years, PCIhas represented clients in the con-servation and environment field.Today a growing segment of ourbusiness consists of clients thatseek national and regional coun-sel on issues, including land use,water quality, wildlife conserva-tion, marine life protection andliving sustainably.

We create and launch cam-paigns, operate consumer aware-ness programs; celebrateannouncements and milestones,manage social media campaignsand create content and strategiesthat inform, excite and connectpublics with our clients’ mes-sages. This includes handlingcrises, coaching spokespersonsand providing an outside-in per-spective that is difficult for peo-ple within an organization tomuster.

More than 75 percent of PCI’snew business is generatedthrough word of mouth, includingreferrals and personal recommen-dations from our clients. This isparticularly true within our con-servation and environment prac-tice since PCI has established areputation of understanding ourclients’ needs and deliveringresults.

Once clients begin workingwith PCI, they stay. Nearly halfof our clients in the conservationand environmental fields havebeen with us 10 year or more andour clients benefit.

POWELL TATE

733 10th Street, NWWashington, D.C. 20001202/383-9700www.powelltate.com

Pam Jenkins, President ofPowell Tate, based inWashington, D.C., is one of themost respected names in publicaffairs. Established in 1991 as abipartisan firm, Powell Tate staffinclude top communications andpolicy experts from both partieson Capitol Hill, the White House,federal agencies, trade associa-tions, advocacy organizations andthe media. No matter which partycontrols Congress, Powell Tateprofessionals help craft anddeliver powerful messages and

activate advocates to achieveresults.

While Powell Tate can helpclients reach top opinion leadersin Washington, the agency alsospecializes in state and local pub-lic affairs campaigns and grass-roots outreach, especiallythrough digital communicationsand social media advocacy.Major areas of expertise includehealthcare, nonprofit advocacy,financial services, education,energy and environment, technol-ogy, international communica-tions and defense. The firm’sleading crisis and litigation com-munications practice helps clientsprevent, proactively respond toand recover from severe threatsto their organization, reputationor brand. Powell Tate is a divisionof Weber Shandwick.

RASKY BAERLEINSTRATEGIC

COMMUNICATIONS

70 Franklin Street, Third FloorBoston, MA 02110617/443-9933www.rasky.comTwitter: @Rasky Baerlein,@GreentechPR,@RBSC_Health, @RBSC_non-profit, @RBSC_PA

Rasky Baerlein StrategicCommunications is a nationallyrecognized public and govern-ment relations firm with morethan a decade of experience pro-viding exceptional client serviceto organizations that operate atthe intersection of business, poli-tics and media. With offices inBoston and Washington, D.C.,the firm offers a comprehensiverange of services, including pub-lic affairs, government relations,public relations, corporate &marketing communications, cri-sis & reputation management,international representation, andmedia & presentation training.

Rasky Baerlein’s PublicAffairs practice has extensiveexperience representing multina-tional clients’ interests beforelocal, state and federal govern-ments, and can help you takeadvantage of the strong relation-ships we have built with electedofficials in both New Englandand on Capitol Hill.

The Energy and Environmentpractice, led by 12- year EPAVeteran, Jim Cabot, excels inhelping clients achieve their busi-ness objectives through integrat-

ed communications strategies,working with companies rangingfrom large utilities to clean techstart-ups and a burgeoning rosterof renewable energy companies.

The firm has served and isserving a broad range of clientsincluding: the American Councilon Renewable Energy (ACORE),Ameresco, Eli Lilly & Company,First Wind, GDF Suez EnergyNorth America, Mascoma, SolarEnergy Industries Association(SEIA), Toyota and VeoliaEnergy North America.Rasky Baerlein. Results. ExpertlyDelivered.

ROGERS &COWAN

PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER8687 Melrose Ave., 7th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90069310/854-8117Fax: 310/854-8106www.rogersandcowan.com

Tom Tardio, CEO

Rogers & Cowan is the leadingentertainment marketing and PRagency with U.S. offices in LosAngeles and New York. We offerclients a proven approach to build-ing awareness and support for theirenvironmental and public affairsinitiatives by leveraging the power-ful influences of the entertainmentindustry coupled with a strong cor-porate and trade PR strategy.

Our team manages and executesenvironmental PR and PA cam-paigns for clients in the technology,entertainment, food and beverage,automotive, aviation and non-prof-it industries, including Fortune 500companies, philanthropies andorganizations, trade associations,filmmakers and distributors andinternational celebrities and record-ing artists.

Whether we are building aware-ness for the EKOCYCLE brand, apartnership with Coca-Cola andwill.i.am to support recycling;launching Hangar 25, the world’sfirst solar-powered aircraft facilityat the Burbank airport; creating adigital campaign to raise awarenessfor clean water; raising awarenessfor the Green BusinessRoundtable, a public/private greenevent featuring former PresidentBill Clinton and Los Angeles pub-lic officials; or building excitementfor the eco-documentaries; we pro-vide our clients with the PR andmarketing strategies, access andrelationships to secure the rightprint, broadcast and social media

coverage with the right messagingto help clients’ promote their vari-ous initiatives.

Some clients/projects haveincluded EKOCYCLE, CauseSwarm Flash Flood for Good cam-paign benefiting P&G’s Children’sSafe Water Program, Dasani PlantBottle, Shangri-La Construction:Hangar 25 and 302 Carson in LasVegas, Green BusinessRoundtable, Fisker Karma, eco-doc The Age of Stupid, Cabo SaoRoque Resort, Natural ResourcesDefense Council, Children’sHealth Environmental Coalitionfeaturing Olivia Newton-John andKelly Preston, Bloomberg NewsWhite House Correspondent’sDinner After Party, and TexasInstruments LED TV.

RUDER FINN

301 East 57th StreetNew York, NY 10022212/593-6400

Kathy Bloomgarden, CEOMichael Schubert, ChiefInnovation OfficerRachel Spielman, Global Headof Corporate Communications Sarah Coles, Senior VicePresident, CorporateCommunications

Ruder Finn, a leading independ-ent global communications agency,has vast experience developing anddeploying strategic environmentalPR and public affairs programs.The firm’s expertise lies in workingwith clients to shape opinions, cre-ate awareness and mobilize audi-ences around corporate socialresponsibility and environmentalinitiatives across our four pillars ofCorporate & Public Trust, Health& Wellness, Technology &Innovation and ConsumerConnections.

At Ruder Finn, we believe thatcorporate responsibility and corpo-rate citizenship should beengrained in the business model.Through comprehensive commu-nications programs, our dedicatedCorporate Social Responsibility(CSR) practice has counseledclients on how to creatively andstrategically integrate CSR intotheir business models and core val-ues, resulting in initiatives that area natural extension of what thecompany already stands for. RuderFinn has extensive experience increating and implementing plansthat increase visibility, mobilizeaudiences to take action, drive dis-

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0Continued on page 26




cussion and influence policy mak-ers, the media and the general pub-lic around causes such as recycling,solar energy, water usage and envi-ronmental protection.

Ruder Finn takes a multi-disci-plinary approach to public affairs,specializing in crisis communica-tions, lobbying and influencerengagement. With strong beltway,media relationships and digitalcommunications expertise, wehave created and implementedstrategic public affairs programs tohelp educate policy makers, buildsupport for regulatory and legisla-tive actions, manage critical issuesand drive bottom line results forour clients. Ruder Finn’s publicaffairs experts are well-versed onlegislative and regulatory issuesfacing a range of industries andhave cultivated high-level personaland professional relationships withkey players and influencers in theUS and across the globe.

SACHS MEDIAGROUP

114 S. Duval StreetTallahassee, FL 32301850/222-1996www.sachsmedia.com

Ron Sachs, President & CEO

Sachs Media Group (SMG) isFlorida’s dominant public affairscommunications firm, buildingpublic and opinion-leader supportfor issues of statewide, regionaland national importance. Withstrong bipartisan relationships,

the SMG team is a smart, strongand strategic partner to any suc-cessful government relationsteam, generating public support,on-message media coverage andthird-party validation of clientpriorities.

The firm combines public rela-tions, marketing, advertising, cri-sis management, grassroots anddigital/social media strategies,creating effective campaigns forcorporate, nonprofit and govern-ment clients and is a nationalleader in branding and publiceducation campaigns.

The firm’s leadership team —steeped in media, governmentand politics — deeply under-stands how to shape issues, movepublic and policymaker opinion,and win in the halls of power.

The firm is headquartered inTallahassee, with offices inOrlando and Washington, D.C.SMG is the go-to firm for publicaffairs in Florida and the south-east.

SCHNEIDERASSOCIATES

2 Oliver Street, Suite 901Boston, MA 02109617/536-3300www.schneiderpr.com

Joan Schneider, Chief ExecutiveOfficer Phil Pennellatore, President

At Schneider Associates, wedefine public affairs as anythingthat impacts public opinion anddrives behavior. That covers a lot ofterritory, especially in today’s com-plex communications environmentwhere missteps can result in crisissituations instantaneously. Whetheryou’re facing a media crisis, secur-

ing town permitting approvals,advancing social or environmentalcauses, or trying to influence deci-sion-makers at all levels of govern-ment, Schneider Associates canhelp. We implement a proprietaryprocess known as CommunityLaunch™ to develop campaignsand government relations strategiesfor premier commercial, retail, andresidential real estate developers aswell as corporations, nonprofits,and municipalities. We build sup-port to drive initiatives through thepublic process, and execute cam-paigns for our clients. Learn moreabout Schneider Associates atwww.schneiderpr.com

STANTON COMMUNICATIONS

INC.

1150 Connecticut Ave., NWSuite 810Washington, DC 20036202/223-4933www.stantoncomm.com

Peter Stanton, PresidentPatrick Brady, ManagingDirector/Public Affairs

Stanton Communications is rec-ognized as a leading mid-sized,independent communications firmwith offices in Washington, D.C.,New York and Baltimore. To pro-vide advocacy and communica-tions on complex environmentalissues, Stanton Communications’Environmental Public AffairsGroup brings together a special-ized team of skilled professionalswith state and national reach.

Our team offers the right mix ofexperience and capability toenable clients to address chal-lenges and controversies success-fully. Stanton Communications’professionals have experiencedealing with the full spectrum ofscientific and environmental mat-ters including climate change andthe introduction of new technolo-gies, transboundry movements ofhazardous waste, project permit-ting and siting, chemical safetyand community health concerns.Based in Washington, D.C., ourEnvironmental Public AffairsGroup offers national and localsupport through media outreach,issue advocacy, and crisis commu-nications. Our programs encom-pass traditional and social media,proprietary research and contentdevelopment, coalition building,stakeholder engagement, issueadvertising and spokespersonpreparation.

WEBER SHANDWICK

733 Tenth Street, NWWashington, DC 20010www.webershandwick.com

600 Battery St. San Francisco, CA 94111

Paul Massey, Executive VicePresident, Social Impact,Sustainability and Energy Cindy Drucker, Executive VicePresident (D.C.)William Brent, Executive VicePresident (San Francisco)

Weber Shandwick is one ofthe world’s leading and mostinnovative communicationsfirms with 126 offices in 81countries. Through our special-ized Social Impact,Sustainability and Energy offer-ings, we bring clients a full-range of strategic, integratedcommunications services alongwith in-depth subject matterexpertise needed to navigate thecomplexities of the socialresponsibility, sustainability andenergy-related arenas.

Weber Shandwick’s globalSocial Impact team creates best-in-class, award-winning engage-ment campaigns, partnering withleading corporate, foundation,and nonprofit clients to advanceshared value and positive changeon social issues with consumers,thought leaders, media and otherkey stakeholders. Our sustain-ability professionals bring long-standing expertise working withcorporations to distinguish sus-tainability progress and leader-ship, often through multi-stake-holder engagement. Our globalEnergy team provides tailoredcommunications and engage-ment services designed to meetthe continually evolving energyefficiency, renewables, energyinnovation, utilities, oil & gasand chemical marketplace.

Weber Shandwick counselsclients on social responsibility,sustainability and energy issuesmanagement and public affairsstrategy in partnership with theagency’s specialized publicaffairs division, Powell Tate,based in Washington,D.C. Powell Tate staff includestop communications and policyexperts from both parties onCapitol Hill, the White House,federal agencies, trade associa-tions, advocacy organizationsand the media. £

RUDER FINN0Continued from page 25

Sachs Media Group: Ron Sachs, President/CEO and Michelle Ubben,Partner, COO, & Director of Campaigns & Branding.


APCO Worldwide Wash., D.C.

Edelman New York

Davies Santa Barbara

Development Counsellors Int’l New York

Finn Partners New York

Cerrell Associates Los Angeles

Rasky Baerlein Strategic Comms. Boston

MWW Group E. Rutherford

Singer Assocs. San Francisco

Seven Twenty Strategies Wash., D.C.

Levick Strategic Comms. Wash., D.C.

Sachs Media Group Tallahassee

Crosby Marketing Comms. Annapolis

Ruder Finn New York

Butler Associates New York

Allison+Partners San Francisco

Fahlgren Mortine Columbus, OH

Public Communications Inc. Chicago

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

Jackson Spalding Atlanta

Hirons & Company Indianapolis

rbb Public Relations Miami

Standing Partnership St. Louis

Kaplow New York

Bliss Integrated Comm. New York

French | West | Vaughan Raleigh

Schneider Assocs. Boston

PadillaCRT Minneapolis

McNeely Pigott & Fox Nashville

VPE Public Relations S. Pasadena

Rosica Communications Paramus, NJ

Beehive Public Relations St. Paul

Gregory FCA Ardmore, PA

Zeno Group New York

Red Sky PR Boise, ID

Trevelino/Keller Atlanta

Coyne PR Parsippany

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

$30,747,224

13,678,493

10,280,901

4,823,932

4,648,054

4,505,793

3,958,761

3,759,000

2,734,817

2,408,791

2,294,162

1,342,420

1,139,085

905,586

857,225

850,000

779,651

772,331

716,479

705,000

571,175

544,725

506,000

480,000

465,440

435,756

292,178

223,562

159,225

107,348

90,215

73,000

72,613

52,554

50,000

40,000

O’DWYER’S RANKINGSENVIRONMENTAL & PUBLIC AFFAIRS PR FIRMS

Firm Net Fees (2012) Firm Net Fees (2012)

© Copyright 2013 The J.R. O'Dwyer Co.



OPINION Professional Development

Aren’t you sick of all those dopeylists of the best and worst of2013? Of course you are — par-

ticularly of those “Public RelationsWinners andSinners!” Gag mewith a spoon.

Enough alreadywith GropingMayor Filner andCrack SmokingMayor Ford andPitiable Paula Deenand God-ForsakenAnthony Weiner. Imean who cares?

What we reallyneed to know iswhat happens next.And so, by populardemand, here iswhat we can look

forward to with the leading “PublicRelations Headlines of 2014.”“A&E & Hillbilly Homophobe Kiss

and Make Up”In February, a loving bow will be tied

on the end-of-the-year dust-up betweenthe Arts & Entertainment network andthe star of its blockbuster reality show,“Duck Dynasty.”

Although the brave network took theunprecedented step of suspending theduck darlings’ elder statesman andchief wackadoodle Phil Robertson —with pay and after an entire SeasonFour was safely in the can — A&Edemonstrated that it could let bygonesbe bygones.

For his part, the bible-thumpingRobertson stayed true to his “freespeech values” but agreed to watch himself a bit more closely, after aninterview in Gentlemen’s Quarterly —Gentlemen’s Quarterly??? — went hor-ribly off-the-rails.

And so in the end — while A&E sat-isfied its liberal fans by taking quickaction, and Robertson accommodatedhis conservative base by not backingdown from his beliefs — the two sidesdemonstrated they weren’t too dug in tocompromise.

Meanwhile, the controversy breathednew life into a show that cynics sug-gested was getting a little long-of-beard. So the now-settled squabble

appeared just in the nick of time.Wotta coincidence!“Obamacare Flops Miserably;

Sebelius Takes Blame”And speaking of much ado about

nothing, President Obama, having losthis Administration’s only legitimateachievement in six years — BenBernanke — will continue to struggle.By June, it will be clearer than ever thatthe Patient Protection and AffordableCare Act — pejoratively referred toeven by Democrats as “Obamacare” —is a colossal nightmare.

With the Employer Mandate leadingto thousands of companies droppingemployee insurance, sick old peopleflooding the system for reimbursement,healthy young people avoiding signingup and taking the consequences, and allpenalties waived — the media and pub-lic will seek the blood of the individualresponsible.

The President, bravely accepting that“the responsibility rests in the OvalOffice,” will point the finger of blamesquarely at Health and Human ServicesSecretary Katherine Sebelius. Silver-tongued Sebelius will gracefullyacknowledge her mistakes, Teflon talkher way out of danger, and announceher intention to run for the Senate, towhich she will most assuredly be elect-ed.“Schumer, McCain Fail to Shut

Up”And speaking of the Senate, in

September, the approval rating ofCongress will approach negative num-bers, with a majority of Americansagreeing that the U.S. Congress consti-tutes the “lowest form of human life.”

Out of the morass will emerge two bi-partisan individuals adjudged the “low-est of the low.”

On the left, Sen. Chuck Schumer —eager to jump on any train crash, massmurder, corporate scandal, or any othertidbit that might get his mush on televi-sion — will set a modern day record formeaningless press conferences-fol-lowed by-wasteful/non-productive leg-islative bill drafting. Schumer will alsobe voted, “Number One Reason PeopleDespise New Yorkers.”

On the right, Sen. John McCain —entering his fourth decade of remindingpeople he was a prisoner of war — willcontinue to ride into any foreign hotspot to make toothless pronouncements

that earn him publicity and his countryagita. (McCain’s trusty sidekick,Lindsay Graham, will continue toaccompany him and sweep the back ofhis horse.)“Chris Christie Balloon

Punctured”And speaking of politics, in

November, Gov. Chris Christie willannounce his plans to seek theRepublican nomination for President.

The announcement will be muted onaccount of Christie having sufferedembarrassing public relations setbacks,including but not limited to:

• Christie costing the state of NewJersey $7 million for insisting thatCorey Booker’s shoe-in Senate electionbe held on a ballot separate from his, sothe popular-but-impotent Newarkmayor wouldn’t pull votes from thegovernor.

• The revelation that Christie, him-self, quarterbacked the closing ofGeorge Washington Bridge access lanesto get back at a non-supportive Fort Leemayor.

• The rising crescendo of outragefrom New Jersey poor people stillhomeless from Hurricane Sandy, blam-ing Christie for taking credit withoutdelivering.

Undaunted by the negative publicityand declining poll numbers, the gover-nor will vow to wage “as fierce a cam-paign for President” as did his politicalmentor, Rudy Giuliani.“Public Relations Nit-Twit Canned

Over Dumb Tweet”And speaking about going down in

flames, at year-end yet another sadstory will be reported about a bright-eyed public relations millennial losingher job after posting a moronic messagethat goes viral.

In this unfortunate exchange, the U.S.public relations director for theLamborghini Company, enroute toMonaco for the Grand Prix, will besummarily terminated after using thecorporate account to tweet to her 150bestest friends, “OMG, don’t theseNewark baggage handlers everbathe??? SMDH!!!”

Public relations “experts” and Internet“gurus” will immediately flock to theairwaves to denounce such capriciousmisuse of hallowed social media andsolemnly predict, “This cautionary taleshould end this practice for good.” £

Fraser P. Seitel hasbeen a communicationsconsultant, author andteacher for 30 years. Heis the author of thePrentice-Hall text, ThePractice of PublicRelations.

Forecasting PR headlines of 2014By Fraser Seitel



Financial Management

Ihave written many columns on what ittakes to make a profit by providingpublic relations services. However,

many of PR firm advisors are on the samebandwagon. Thismonth I will codifysome of the bestthinking on the sub-ject from advisors.

Art StevensArt Stevens, a

Partner atStevensGouldPincus,wrote a blog forPRSA last monthtitled “Principlesfor Profit.” The firstthing an agencyshould do accord-ing to Art is to

become familiar with the SCP annualbenchmarking survey. I agree with hisadvice. The survey polls about 150agencies each year. Its principal goal isto evaluate annual agency profitability.The survey compares overhead costs asa percentage of gross revenue. The pre-vailing profitabilityratio for PR agenciesaccording to Art is20%. This means youneed to configure allyour costs, includingsalaries, so that theyare 80 percent of rev-enue.

In order to makeyour agency prof-itable, Art suggests the following: Do notoverstaff, do not over service clients, anddevelop metrics to determine the prof-itability of each account and the billabili-ty of your account team.

Al CroftAl Croft, was the publisher of

Management Strategies. The wealth ofinformation he imparted on the agencybusiness is beyond belief. In 2001, hewrote about tracking client profitability.In my humble opinion, many PR agen-cies do not have a clue if their clients areprofitable. First step in tracking clientprofitability is to purchase software thatwill do this.

Most software systems that track clientprofitability consider two major factors:(1) The salaries/benefit cost-to-income-

ratio for each client. (How many hours atwhat salary/benefits cost level wereinvested in each client?); and (2) a stan-dard percentage of your firm overheadapplied to each client. (Overhead per-centage is determined by dividing totaloverhead costs — including non-billablesalary costs by total annual salary directsalary costs.)

Depending on client needs, you cancontrol individualclient profitability byadjusting salaries/ben-efit cost-to-incomeratio. The lower thesalary-to-income ratiopercentage, the higheryour profits will be.According to Al, youearn the most profitwhen the most highlycompetent, least costly professionals domost of the work. I agree! Ratios below30-33 percent usually will ensure goodprofitability.

To summarize Al’s advice over theyears, in order to manage your businessmost profitably, you minimally needthese five pieces of information:

1. Cash Flow;2. Individual staff productivity;3. Overall agency profitability;4. Individual client profitability; and5. Overall agency operating profit. A bit or two from meShould you lower prices to attract more

revenue? After many years in recession,the U.S. economy continues to plodalong, leaving thousands of businessowners in a quandary as to how to contin-ue running their business profitably. Theyface a delicate balancing act: Should theyimplement higher prices for their productor services in order to become more (orstay) profitable? Or should they standbehind their clientele and keep prices aslow as possible?

It is a difficult choice indeed. If you arein this situation you understand how justone wrong move could eventually makeyou regret your decision. Here is whatyou need to consider to make the rightdecision.

Develop a strategyWhen developing a pricing strategy,

consider a number of distinct situationalfactors such as:

1. Costs. Factor in your fixed costssuch as rent, utilities and salaries, plusvariable costs such as freelance.

2. Economics. Research what the mar-ket will bear relative to supply anddemand, price elasticity and other condi-tions, such as economic expansion orrecession.

3. Customers/clients. Know whatyour customers expect when it comes tocapabilities and features. For example,do they value quality service. How dothey define quality service? You can eas-ily ask them this: What will you need tosee six months from now to know thatyou made the right decision to hire us?You are really asking what their expecta-tions of a quality service relationship are. 4. Uniqueness. Do you fully under-

stand how your service addresses yourcustomers’ expectations and values? Ifyou don’t, you are likely not meetingtheir needs, which in turn means it mightbe easy for them to align with anotheragency.

5. Competitors. Research your com-petition by understanding the servicesthey offer. Also look at their strengthsand weaknesses, pricing strategies, dis-counts and special incentives. This canhelp you better understand how yourcompany stacks up with similar agencies.An intangible factor in the decision-mak-ing process is customer (yes your clientsare your customers so I use this instead ofclient) perception. As an example, a cus-tomer may perceive an underpriced serv-ice as lower quality — even if it is not —and sign on with another agency.

Pricing is key.While pricing strategies depend on

your situation, you essentially have twochoices: raise or drop price. Althoughdropping prices in a lackluster economymay make sense in order to keep cus-tomers, more often it is best to maintaincurrent pricing or even price your servicea bit higher than your competition, as thisconveys higher quality and allows nego-tiating room without jeopardizing profits.Relying on low prices to differentiateyour service is risky. This strategy mayescalate to a price war where, eventually,your larger gun competitors will be theonly ones firing. Large agencies withgreater resources and operating efficien-cies can quickly take out smaller ones.

Finally, you may need to hike prices toremain profitable when, for example, thesalary scale for talent rises. In suchcases, a graduated price increase is lessnoticeable and more palatable for cus-tomers. £

PR agency profitability wisdom from the prosBy Richard Goldstein

Richard Goldsteinis a partner atBuchbinder Tunick &Company LLP, NewYork, Certified PublicAccountants.

Art Stevens

Al Croft



OPINION Opinion

New York PR people are currentlysending about $350,000 each yearto PR Society of America and the

Int’l Assn. of Business Communicators —two groups whose policies do not serve

New Yorkers andwhich bring discreditto PR rather thanimprove its image.

Both groups aremarred by a lack ofdemocratic practicesin their governance;poor, late and evenillegal financialreporting, and aninability to deal with

the press — supposedly the chief duty ofPR people.

Members of the New York chaptersshould be allowed to take secure votes onseceding from their national associations.

National dues of the PR Society are$255. Combined national/local dues for aNew York member of IABC are $329. PRSNew York members also pay $90 to thechapter. PRS chapter members total 798 butthere are at least 100 others in the area thatdon’t belong to the chapter.

New York has unique problemsPRS/New York members should not be

sending money to the downtown h.q. ofthe Society whose APR-obsessed cultureis opposite to that of New Yorkers. Onlyabout 40 New York members areAPR. IABC/NY members should not besending about $100,000 to the SanFrancisco h.q.

Last year was the “most tumultuous” inthe history of IABC, wrote Dave Murrayin his Writing Boots blog. The year startedoff with the completion of a reduction of16 of the staff of 32, a mass “Friday night”firing that longtime member RogerD’Aprix said violated “every known prin-ciple of internal communications.”

COO Christopher Sorek, who with theboard implemented that carnage, was goneby mid-2013 but the damage remains.

IABC also switched its eight-times-a-year magazine to online only and perma-nently suspended its Accredited BusinessCommunicator program. “Certificates”will be awarded in the future but it willtake years to get the ISO supervised pro-gram going. ABC’s will not be grandfa-thered into the new designation.

IABC Chair Robin McCandless,addressing the 2013 annual meeting,

likened Murray and other critics to “dogshumping in the park.”

Although, unlike PRS, IABC allowsjournalists to join, a lot of good it does us.Only one financial report a year escapesfrom IABC and then only at the lastminute. PRS allows members to see e-mails and phones of other members butnot IABC. A member seeking to reachanother IABC member must send the mes-sage to IABC which forwards it. Membercontact points are cloaked.

NYWICI, IPR ditched national groupsTwo New York PR entities have

chucked the bonds of national groups andhave prospered — New York Women inCommunications, which split from theAssociation of Women inCommunications in 1998 and has 2,100members, and the Institute for PR, whichsplit from the PR Society in 1989 and hadrevenues of $611,994 in 2012.

NYWICI had revenues of $621,153 in2012. It has an extensive slate of programsfor media as well as PR people at all stagesof their careers. More than 1,000 attend itsannual Matrix Awards banquet in theWaldorf-Astoria. Net assets are $320,444.AWC’s revenues of $272,542 in 2012 areless than half the revenues of NYWICI.Liabilities of $86,015 of AWC exceededassets of $72,132.

The Foundation of the PR Society, cre-ated after IPR broke away over the issue ofmandatory APR for board members, hadrevenues of $186,413 in 2012, which isless than a third of the revenues of IPR.Net assets of the Foundation were$574,907 at the end of 2012. This is toolarge a sum for the Foundation to be“hoarding” when it could be put to usefulpurposes such as a mid New York facilityfor PR and press. The PR Society itself isalso guilty of hoarding. Its cash, savingsand investments totaled $5,624,643 at theend of 2012. It is much larger now becauseits $2.4 million in stock enjoyed a substan-tial rise.

Independence has been good for bothNYWICI and IPR.

New Yorkers should vote on secessionThis issue of whether New York chapter

members should split from national shouldbe put to a secure e-mail vote conducted viaCondorcet or a similar e-mail voting serv-ice.

That would take place after a full airingof both sides of this issue via all availablevenues including the O’Dwyer website.

We’re hopeful that the chapter will coop-

erate with this initiative and not throw road-blocks in its path as happened in 2010 whenthe New York-based Committee for aDemocratic PRSA sought to strike the rulethat bars non-accredited members fromrunning for national office.

Gary McCormick, 2010 Chair, immedi-ately rejected the CDP’s request to e-mailthe proposal to the Society’s 21,000 mem-bers.

He told this website in an e-mail May 11,2010, the day after CDP announced its ini-tiative:

“While we are aware of the group’sactivities and have discussed with themabout how they could best proceed inobtaining signatures for the petition, wehave not seen any language for the amend-ment nor has it received the required signa-tures for consideration at Assembly at thistime.”

Impetus Must Come From MembersOnly a popular uprising by member will

have any effect on chapter leaders whohave shown themselves to be subservientto national directives.

This was obvious April 2, 2013 whenthe chapter allowed noxious national poli-cies to dominate its student forum day atNew York University.

The late Society VP-PR ArthurYann stationed himself by the door of theNYU building to make sure no O’Dwyeror other reporters gained entrance.

Yann, 48, died suddenly June 13 whileon the train to his home in Fairfield, Conn.He had an arduous commute of about twohours each way because of the downtownlocation of PRS h.q.

An offer of free O’Dwyer’s Directory ofPR Firms was made to the forum butchapter President Lea-Ann Germindersaid O’Dwyer and other companies wouldhave to pay $1,000 each to exhibit anyproducts.

There was no literature table at allalthough trade directories and other infor-mational products would have been ofhelp to the students in seeking jobs.

Reporters were also banned from acareer forum of the Georgia chapter of theSociety on Feb. 22, 2013. Offers of freeO’Dwyer’s directories were turned downby Georgia, the second largest Societychapter.

The Council of PR Firms, meanwhile,which staged similar student career forumsat Boston University Oct. 3 and San JoseNov. 5, allowed press coverage of each andraffled off O’Dwyer’s Directories at each. £

New Yorkers ill-served by national PR groups

Jack O’Dwyer



F inancial journalists failed to warnabout the banking abuses thatstalled the economy in 2008 and

threatened ten million Americans withforeclosure, Dean Starkman ofColumbia Journalism Review chargesin The Watchdog That Didn’t Bark.

Starkman makes a sweeping indict-ment of his fellow journalists, claimingthat in the critical years between 2004and 2006, there was a lack of “inves-tigative stories that directly confrontthe powerful institutions about basicbusiness practices while those institu-tions were still powerful.”

Starkman asked leading financialmedia in 2009 to provide their bestwork during the period leading up tothe meltdown.

The conclusion he reached was a“simple one,” says his article in theJanuary/February Columbia JournalismReview: “The business press had doneeverything but take on the institutionsthat brought down the financial sys-tem.”

Some reporters did warn of problemsStarkman admits that some financial

reporters did sound the alarm includingNYT’s Diana Henriques and ChrisRoush who authored “UnheededWarnings” for the January/December2009 American Journalism Review.

Erin Avrelund of Barron’s inter-viewed 100 sources in documenting in2001 that Bernie Madoff’s returns oninvestments were mathematicallyimpossible unless some kind of Ponzischeme was involved. Also ignoredwere similar findings of financial fraudinvestigator Harry Markopolos whocomplained several times about Madoffto the Securities & ExchangeCommission. Losses via Madoff wereestimated at $65 billion.

Johnston, in a Nov. 15, 2011 Reuterscolumn, said the Financial CrisisInquiry Commission’s report showedthat a number of people saw the comingdisaster but were “squelched orignored.” Johnston said another “eco-nomic nightmare” was possible unless

Congress and President Obama started“paying attention to the facts.”Johnston wrote about overpriced hous-ing twice for the Sunday New YorkTimes in 2004 and similar notes weresounded by Gretchen Morgenson andFloyd Norris of New York Times.

Not enough mea culpas from pressWhile admitting that some warnings

were voiced by financialjournalists, Starkman saysthat “beyond speeches andassertions, the businesspress has not published amajor story on its ownpeculiar role in the finan-cial system before the cri-sis. It has, meanwhile,investigated and taken totask virtually every otherpossible agent in the crisis:Wall Street banks, mortgage lenders,the Federal Reserve, SEC, Fannie Mae,Freddy Mac, the Office of theComptroller of the Currency, compen-sation consultants, and so on. This kindof forensic work is entirely appropriate.But what about the watchdog?”

One rebuttal that journalists arealready making to the Starkman book isthat journalists don’t have the power tosubpoena books and records of banksand investment houses. Only govern-ment can take such actions, they say.

NYFWA too cozy with Wall St. housesUnmentioned in the five-page CJR

article about the book in the CJR is theNew York Financial Writers’ Assn.,which hosts a black-tie banquet eachyear for Wall Streeters and financialreporters.

Among the more than 1,000 atten-dees on Nov. 22, 2013 at the MarriottMarquis were at least 300 financialjournalists who were guests of majorWall Street houses, banks and blue chipcompanies. Tables are $3,500.

Hosts included BlackRock ($4 tril-lion under management), Bank of NewYork Mellon, BNP Paribas, CreditSuisse, Deutsch Boerse Group, NAS-DAQ, NYSE Euronext, PNC FinancialServices Group, Prudential Financial,United Services Automobile Assn.,Wells Fargo Advantage Funds,Vanguard Group and VerizonCommunications.

Reporters included 36 fromBloomberg, 34 from Thomson Reutersand 32 from the Wall Street Journal as

well as staffers from numerous otherfinancial media including the FinancialTimes, CBS, Associated Press, MarketNews, CNBC, Fortune, InvestmentNews, BBC, American Banker, DailyBeast, Fox Business, The Street, CNNMoney, Yahoo!Finance, The Deal,BuzzFeed, Barron’s, Forbes, andWCBS CEO Radio. Five New York

Times reporters were present.Al Jezeera America hosted atable.

The Columbia J School andits magazine have long beenamong the most active partic-ipants in NYFWA. The 2011-12 roster of members listed26 professors and students asmembers. Also a member isStarkman. Terri Thompson,director of the Knight-

Bagehot Fellowship at the Columbia JSchool, was NYFWA president in1995-96.

Media reporter David Carr of the NewYork Times has written that reporterswho call blue chip companies find theyare blocked by “PR underlinges” whodeliver “slop.” Those policies are craft-ed at Seminar and at the Arthur W. PageSociety, a group of nearly 400 PR peo-ple for major companies that is domi-nated by Seminarians. The 30-membersteering committee of Seminar meetsall year long and Seminarians consultwith each other all year long.

Starkman, while he is exploring thefaults of the financial press, shouldlook to CJR’s own failure to examinethe propriety of financial reporters asguests of major financial institutions atthe annual “Follies” and CJR’s failureto look into PR Seminar.

The 2009 Seminar only attracted 127PR executives instead of the usual 160,possibly because of criticism of busi-ness executives living high on the hogat a time of economic turmoil.

The financial press should not be inany sort of an activity that looks like itsobjectivity is being compromised. Therelationship between the financial pressand the financial institutions that havemisbehaved and brought the U.S. to itsfinancial knees needs to be examined.Starkman’s book is a start. £

— Jack O’Dwyer

Financial writers failed in ’08 meltdown, says book“The Watchdog That Didn’t Bark: TheFinancial Crisis and the Disappearance ofInvestigative Journalism.”

Columbia University Press (Jan., 2014) • 368 pages

Book Review

By Dean Starkman



WASHINGTON REPORT

Greg Wilson, a Washington communicator and formerSenior VP with Levick StrategicCommunications, has landed at

Curley and Company in the capital.Curley is the 12-year-old firm of former

Edelman technology VP and Hill aideJennifer Curley. Clients have includedAARP, Google, the Anti-SpywareCoalition and the U.S. Dept. ofCommerce.

Wilson recently ran his own shop inHerndon, Va., for the past five years.

Prior to Levick, where he co-led its legal and professionalservices practice group, he was Director of Public andGovernment affairs at Solutia and VP at Shandwick PA. Hestarted out as an aide to Rep. (now Senator) Jim Inhofe (R-Okla). £

Wilson to Curley in DC

Washington’s FP1 Strategies added Ricky Diaz,spokesperson for North Carolina’s Dept. of Healthand Human Services, as VP on Jan. 24.

Partner Terry Nelson says Diaz’ “hands-on experience” incrafting messages will help clients “effectively drive the debateand win tough fights.”

Diaz, according to WRAL, served as the department’s “light-ning rod” for controversies connected with food stamp enroll-ment, Medicaid billing and mailing 50,000 insurance cards to thewrong people.

Prior to landing the top communications job at DHHS, he wasPress Secretary for Gov. Pat McCrory’s 2012 gubernatorial run.

Nelson was National Political Director for Bush/Cheney 2004,Senior Advisor to the National Republican Senate Committeeand Reprsentative for Walmart, Pfizer, AARP, U.S. Chamber ofCommerce, Fox Entertainment and American ChemistryCouncil. £

GOP shop dials Diaz

The Personal Care ProductsCouncil, the Washington tradegroup for makers of cosmetics and

similar products, has tapped Lisa Powersfor the Executive VP for PA andCommunications.

The promotion fills a slot vacated lastMay by Kathleen Dezio, who moved tothe Alliance of Marine Mammal Parksand Aquariums.

Powers joined the group in 2006 afterserving as Senior VP for The Mercury Group and manager ofcomms. and PR for the Association of Women’s Health,Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

The Council’s 600-plus members include L’Oreal USA,Merck, Colgate and Playtex. £

Powers heads comms forPersonal Care Products Council

Powers

Joe Steranka, former CEO of PGA America, has joinedBuffalo Communications (Vienna, Va.) as Chief GlobalStrategist to bolster its reach in the

golf/lifestyle categories.The 13-year-old Buffalo, which has 30

staffers, is part of Billy Casper Golf, No. 1owner/operator of golf courses.

Steranka, one-time PGA director of com-munications who stepped down from thehelm in 2012 after a seven-year stint, isremembered for rebranding the organiza-tion and contributing the return of the sportto the 2016 Olympics.

Prior to the PGA, the 55-year-old workedat the National Basketball Assn.’s Cleveland Cavaliers andWashington Bullets. He also did a stint at sports agency ProServ.

Buffalo has offices in New York, Boston, Miami, Minneapolis,Phoenix and Raleight. It counts LPGA Tour, Adams Golf, WorldGolf Foundation, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, ECCO Sport, FilaGolf, Galvin Green and Kaua’i Visitors Bureau among clients. £

Ex-PGA chief to Buffalo

Steranka

Wilson

Bud Cramer, a nine-term Democratic Congressman fromAlabama who left the House in2009, has moved to FTI Consulting

in Washington as a Managing Director inits Strategic Communications operation.

He joins FTI’s public affairs operationand will focus on government affairsassignments. FTI acquired lobbying shopC2 Group in March 2013 to boost its lob-bying and PA capabilities.

Cramer, a Blue Dog Democratic duringhis time on the Hill, representedAlabama’s 5th Congressional district before declining to seekanother term in 2008. He has been Chair of Wexler & WalkerPublic Policy Associates and vice chair of Capitol HillConsulting Group since leaving the House.

FTI Strategic Communications Chief Ed Reilly praisedCramer’s “deep understanding of the intersection of marketforces and government policy.” £

Ex-Congressman to FTI

Cramer



International PR News

Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., New York, NY, registered January 10, 2014 for Government of Japan, Tokyo, to perform public relations and communi-cation services as a subcontractor to Dentsu who will contract with the Government of Japan. Specifically, will identify, propose, and advise Dentsuand Japan regarding opportunities In the U.S. for academicians and experts selected by Dentsu and Japan to inform, educate, and address audi-ences concerning current affairs, culture, economic development, tourism, and/or other highlights regarding Japan.

Steptoe & Johnson, LLP, Washington, D.C., registered January 6, 2014 for Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to inter-face with the U.S. Government, international organizations and private companies on immigration matters and economic development.

¸ NEW FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION ACT FILINGSFARA News

Below is a list of select companies that have registered with the U.S. Department of Justice, FARA Registration Unit, Washington,D.C., in order to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, regarding their consulting and communications work onbehalf of foreign principals, including governments, political parties, organizations, and individuals. For a complete list of filings,visit www.fara.gov.

G NEW LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT FILINGSBelow is a list of select companies that have registered with the Secretary of the Senate, Office of Public Records, and the Clerkof the House of Representatives, Legislative Resource Center, Washington, D.C., in order to comply with the Lobbying DisclosureAct of 1995. For a complete list of filings, visit www.senate.gov.

Becker & Po liakoff, P.A., Washington, D.C., registered January 17, 2014 for ShotSpotter Inc., Newark, CA, regarding issues related tofirearm technology. The company provides gunshot location, alert, and analysis.

Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C., registered January 17, 2014 for Dell, Inc., Round Rock, TX, regard-ing patent law.

Card & Associates, LLC, McLean, VA, registered January 17, 2014 for National Troopers Coalition, regarding criminal justice funding for lawenforcement and collective bargaining for law enforcement.

Miller & Chevalier, CHTD, Washington, D.C., registered January 17, 2014 for National Milk Producers Federation, Arlington, VA, regarding leg-islation to reauthorize farm programs and reform U.S. dairy policy.

Wyman Consulting, Washington, D.C., registered January 17, 2014 for Calypso Exploration, LLC, Norcross, GA, regarding energy legislationtreatment of oil and gas production in the tax code.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Washington, D.C., registered January 17, 2014 for Organization of Iranian American Communities,West Sacramento, CA, regarding policies supporting the safety of the residents of Camp Hurriya/Liberty in Iraq and their resettlement outside Iraq.

Lobbying News

FleishmanHillard, which is keeping the world updated onBrazil’s preparations for the 2014 World Cup and 2016Olympics, also helped the country deal with allegations

that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on presidentDilma Rousseff, her top advisors and national oil companyPetrobras, according to the Omnicom’s units lobbying filing.

FH provided contact information to Fusion TV for Rousseff’sinterview during the U.N. General Assembly on which shetalked about the mega-sporting events, Internet neutrality, mar-riage equality and allegations that the Obama White Housespied electronically on Brazilians.

It handled an ensuing release that was called “Brazil’s statevisit to the U.S. postponed.”

FH also distributed the official Brazilian statement on thedetention of David Miranda, Brazilian partner of journalistGlenn Greenwald, Snowden’s ally.

Miranda was walking through London’s Heathrow Airportwhen British authorities detained him for nine hours under theU.K.’s Terror Act of 2002.

Brazil paid FH $500,000 in fees for the six-month periodended October. £

FleishmanHillard backsBrazil on NSA spying

APorter Novelli affiliate is helping the tens of thousands ofprotesters in the heart of Kiev, who have rallied againstthe stifling rule of strongman President Viktor

Yanukovych.More than 50,000 protestors jammed Independence Square in

January to demand an early election.They have been infuriated with Yanukovych since his

December decision to scotch closer integration with theEuropean Union in favor of warmer ties with Russia’s VladimirPutin, who dangled a $15 billion bailout package in front ofUkraine’s leadership.

Bloomberg reports that RIM Porter Novelli, which is based inMoscow, is helping the Ukrainian opposition Civic PlatformMaydan party work the press.

The Moscow-based firm has arranged visits to IndependenceSquare for reporters from nine countries.

The opposition group is paying for the journalists’ trip to Kiev.A RIMPN spokesperson declined to say who is picking up the

travel tab.The anti-Yanukovych protests are the biggest street demonstra-

tions to hit Ukraine in a decade. £

Porter Novelli takes onUkrainian strongman



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PR Buyer’s Guide To be featured in the monthly Buyer’s Guide,Contact John O’Dwyer, [email protected]

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Responsible for strategically positioning theC40 as one of the most impactful global climateorganizations and raising the profile of our membercities in this regard. The Communications team fosters knowledge sharing with external and internalaudiences, and collaborates with C40 membercities, partners and other stakeholders to raise visibility and communicate major milestones andsuccesses.

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