8/19/2008 3:21 PM
As PRWeek celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, the publication is featuring online interviews with the industry’s key leaders to discuss the most significant changes in PR over the past 10 years.
Our very own U.S. CEO Patrick Ford and New York Market Leader Tony Telloni talk about the evolution of PR and where they were 10 years ago. Pat Ford believes the “explosion of new media and the change in the nature of stakeholder engagement has created tremendous opportunities in our business and has blurred the lines to a great extent that has existed before between advertising and PR, grassroots and traditional communications and internal and external communications.” 7/30/2008 4:35 PM Burson-Marsteller has just launched a new digital campaign on behalf of the George Foreman Grill. The focus of the campaign is an online web show focused on the brand's healthy lifestyle principle. Hosted by fitness and nutrition experts Michael Feigin and Lawson Harris, the webisodes are designed to entertain, motivate and educate viewers through friendly competition and healthier cooking methods. The B-M team led by Tony Telloni has also developed the brand's new website, complete with a list of grilling products and recipes.
The campaign is an effort to help the show's contestants and viewers lose weight. Over the next few months, the show's four contenders will try to 'knock out the fat' as they compete to lose the greatest percentage of body fat. Through increased exercise and change of diet, each will strive to get down to their ideal weight. More importantly, the contestants will be taking a real step toward leading an ongoing healthy lifestyle. Viewers can upload supportive videos and messages to the contenders or vote on the best ideas of other viewers. The next webisode will be uploaded to the site on August 5th.
This fall B-M will also help lead the marketing and communications efforts for the company's sponsorship for the U.S. Open. 7/24/2008 6:48 PMThe White House has announced that B-M's Global Vice Chair Karen Hughes will be part of the seven member U.S. Presidential delegation to the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on August 24th. 7/17/2008 5:59 PM
WPP, Burson-Marsteller's parent company, has just issued its latest Corporate Responsibility Report, which describes WPP's CR activities  in the calendar year 2007 and the first half of 2008. WPP has been at the forefront of Corporate Responsibility reporting since 2002, when the company released its first CR report.
We are proud that two B-M programs are highlighted in this year's report: 6/30/2008 4:35 PM
B-M's U.S. Corporate Practice Chair Andy Goldberg talks about the implications of Carl Icahn's new blog with PRWeek.
An article featuring B-M Asia's Lead Digital Strategist Charlie Pownall in The Strait Times, which was first published back in April, is now available on line.
U.S. Managing Director Jim Cunningham discusses in the Financial Times how companies operating in fuel intensive industries should react to high oil prices. 6/27/2008 5:04 PM
B-M Brussels has published an analysis of the ramifications of the recent "NO" vote by Irish voters on the European Union's "Lisbon Treaty". The executive summary is copied below as is a PDF of the full report. 
Executive summary
The rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by Ireland has thrown the European Union into another constitutional crisis. The text – already ratified by 18 member states via parliamentary procedures – aims to make the EU more efficient and democratic, but Irish voters rejected ratification of the text by 53% to 47%, on a high turnout.
With other EU leaders promising that the ratification process will continue, the spotlight now falls on foreign ministers and EU leaders. Both the General Affairs Council and the European Council meet this week and will hold crisis talks on the way ahead. The issue seems set to dominate the forthcoming French presidency as the European Union seeks to find a solution.
At present, three main questions dominate the discussion on how the EU can extract itself from the problems posed by the Irish vote. Can the Irish be offered concessions and asked to vote again on the Treaty? Will the Treaty be abandoned, possibly in favour of introduction of its provisions by Council accords, inter-institutional agreements, or via an accession treaty with Croatia? Or will the other member states continue ratification to isolate Ireland – forcing another vote, or even a two-tier Europe?
At present, all options have difficulties – whether legal or political – and it seems likely that a renewed period of Euro-pragmatism will follow in the months and years to come.
PDF "What's Next for Europe?" 6/17/2008 11:30 AM
 As part of B-M's Most Valued Podiums (MVPs) study, which was published last month by Carol Ballock and her team, B-M also ranked media reputation surveys.
According to the study, the 10 most influential reputation rankings for 2008 are:
- Fortune's Most Admired Companies
- Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For
- Corporate Responsibility Officer's 100 Best Corporate Citizens
- BusinessWeek's Best Global Brands
- Barron's World's 100 Most and Least Respected Big Companies
- Barron's World's Best CEOs
- DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity
- Financial Times' Best Places to Work in EU/UK
- Wall Street Journal's 50 Women to Watch
- Working Mother's 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers
Carol and B-M's rankings expertise was also recently featured in PRWeek (subscription required).
Five years ago, when Burson-Marsteller started tracking "Best of..." and "Top 100..." corporate scorecard features, the agency followed less than 100 rankings.
Today, Burson's executive positioning group specializes in pitching clients to more than 300 rankings - and not just in the US, but China, Germany, UK, and various other countries.
Carol Ballock, an MD in Burson's corporate practice, says that rather than zero in on a single survey, she often suggests that her clients approach the entire rankings environment. This includes developing content that can be repurposed across multiple submissions, which increases the likelihood of success.
"We've also noticed some companies are too modest on initial applications, due in part to inexperience," Ballock adds. She advises reviewing past rankings, reaching out to the compilation staff early, and really submerging oneself in the publication overall. Also, it's important to think long-term, by submitting over the course of multiple years, continually enhancing submissions, and not growing frustrated with snubs or complacent with victories, she adds.
Ultimately, Ballock says, the investment in developing high-quality submissions, including associated collateral, produces material that can be used for other purposes, especially if your client does win and needs to brand the win across everything the company does, "like a straight-A report card you get to show off all year long."
Reminder: The submissions for Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For are due mid-July. 6/11/2008 11:34 AM
Burson-Marsteller recently announced a second major partnership that will significantly impact our footprint in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). We entered into an exclusive partnership with Arcay Communications, a leading South African firm headquartered in Johannesburg.
This agreement with Arcay allows B-M to offer client service in more than 40 countries in Africa including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. This alliance along with B-M's recently announced partnership in the Middle East with Asda'a has seen the firm's EMEA footprint grow dramatically in the last few weeks. 1
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