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No matter what he fails at or accomplishes later in his career, the first line in Mark Penn's obit will be, "He headed Hillary Clinton's ill-fated Presidential Campaign." The lesson clearly in this high-profile disaster, both for Penn and all the players in the Hillary campaign, is that brandnames may have become a liability, not an asset.
The sexual fantasy that Victoria's Secret has been selling has lost its heart and soul. For example, it's put on the shelves undies which are, well, too sexy and whose sizing ignore us porked-up females, particularly aging Baby Boomers. Where are romance and feeling good about our bods as they are? So, as Amy Merrick reports in today's THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, the brand is re-thinking its identity and merchandise. Its sales are down about eight percent.
The amazing thing is that a shrewd bunch like Hillary Inc. chose an old-line public relations player like Mark Penn. Those PR folks usually trot old traditional approaches and try to dazzle with big names in their agencies. Not surprisingly they charge the big bucks. According to ODWYERPR.COM, Penn billed the Hillary folks $10 million for the work he commissioned. And it's that out-of-date PR, ranging from the advice to the billable hour, which is really under attack as everyone, be it THE NEW YORK OBSERVER or pol Leon Panetta, lays into Penn.
Continue reading "Mark Penn - The Symbol of Old-Line, Over-Billed, Big-Name Public Relations" »
Again. This time the New York Times Inc. hits the wall in its online About.com unit. The last time was when it had to throw in the towel on its paid-subscription TimesSelect.com.
Continue reading "New York Times Inc. - The Gang Who Can't Go Digital" »
Last Tuesday Bill Marler - who, of all people, is a lawyer - delivered testimony before the Committee on Energy and Commerce. It sounded just like a speech. Marler, who has become very powerful and wealthy in the legal profession, somehow figured out that being totally conversational in testifying is the ultimate persuasive weapon. In fact, he frames the content as a riveting narrative. Here you can download Marler's testimony:
Continue reading "Testimony - Think Speech, Not White Paper" »
At 5:30 PM my prospect and I were hustled out of the Starbucks on Church Street in New Haven, Connecticut. We had made this appointment to get to know each other long before the chain abruptly announced it was closing its stores across the nation to do what I think of as three hours spent hanging on a cross, contemplating its many sins in customer service.
Continue reading "Three Hours on the Cross - Starbucks suffers for its sins" »
Gawker, which is supposed to do the gawking, has become the gawked at. The latest happening inside the fiery bowels of Nick Denton's digital empire is the termination of Maggie Shnayerson. She was, reports John Koblin at THE NEW YORK OBSERVER, a media reporter. Shnayerson notes for the record that she was canned via email.
It's now downright conventional wisdom that professional adversity is the best advantage a career can get. Think iPhone Steve Jobs, $23-million girl Laurel Touby [featured in March INC.], and GOP front-runner John McCain. I also think about my own spiraling upward career trajectory which took off after my communications boutique, stocks, 401K and mind all caved in 2003.
So, Mark J. Penn, head of Burson-Marsteller and Hillary's campaign guru, might find that he has become very fortunate.
Continue reading "What an opportunity, Mark J. Penn - Adversity May Be Upon You" »
Texas Governor Rick Perry, who might be to the right of George W. Bush, wrote a book on the Boy Scouts of America. It's called "On My Honor." And from the tone of the interviewer Deborah Solomon in the liberal THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, some folks have trouble with the Boy Scouts of America and therefore with Governor Perry's views.
It isn't that the writers' strike broke us out of the habit of sitting and watching TV. The real reason that we won't won't be watching the Oscars Sunday night is that we now make our own art forms and entertainment. We are the Gen Web. Hollywood or even indie film is not what we talk about.
