Canuckflack

Tom Murphy's PR Opinions takes a new look at the term "meta tagging" - in this case, news releases where the "quote is clearly mind-numbing. Rather than focus on a clear message it focuses on trying to get a firm in as many market segments as possible and ends up losing the point."

You know, when the Auditor General of Canada says you've been a bad boy, you really shouldn't accuse her of a "vicious personal attack" and of overstepping her authority. In a case study for poor crisis communications, the former Privacy Commissioner for the Government of Canada is the target of a number of investigations, particularly for his ability to spend $500,000 on meals in a two year period. Still, he thinks "Anyone concerned with fairness and decency should ask some very tough questions about what is going on." I mean, think of the waiters who have lost their tips!

Today, Howard Kurtz takes a look at the possibility that the traditional media's influence over voters way be waning, if behaviour by the Dean and Schwarzenegger camps is any measure. "The press corps has been giving him a hard time," says Schwarzenegger strategist Mike Murphy. "But he's not a traditional candidate -- that's his strength. We go on Larry King and talk to 2 million people instead of showing up at the L.A. Press Club to talk to 300 on C-SPAN."

Apparently, Ronald McDonald is moving up in the world. A notice in today's National Post, topped by a vaguely unsettling picture of the smiling clown, announces his appointment as "Chief Happiness Officer." Sure, this is just another tactic in the rollout of the new "i'm lovin' it" tagline, but the notice has a glaring ommission: "Over the years, Mr. McDonald has ably supported his colleagues Birdy, Grimace and Hamburglar in their careers ..." What happened to the Fry Guys? Do you remember how - before the Berlin Wall fell - we'd carefully watch public appearances by Soviet leaders to gauge who was in favour and who had recently moved to Siberia? I guess the marketing team decided the Fry Guys didn't fit in with the corporation's new healthy image. I wonder if there's a big pile of Fry Guy costumes sitting in a self-storage unit out there?

In the Wall Street Journal's Weekend Journal, Dave Shiflett rolls out his high horse and hops on for a ride, sniping at the UN's practice of appointing celebrity ambassadors for high profile issues: "Geri Halliwell, who gained international recognition as a Spice Girl and who now plumps for safe sex under U.N. auspices, explains that "fame is like a bright light." The sniffy piece, though, gets funny when he depends upon, of all places, MTV to support his case: "Not everyone is happy about celebrity advocacy, even some celebrities. Singer Damon Albarn told MTV's audience: "I've got a problem with Bono going to see the pope about Third World debt. I don't question his sincerity, but I think it's creating monsters. You see so-called stars in these situations and they seem irrelevant. They don't even dress for the part; they don't look like they're there. They look like computer-generated inserts." I wonder if that interview was on TRL.

A recent issue of In-Store Marketing discussed how companies handling the installation of point-of-purchase displays in the U.K. are now reassuring brand managers by "using handheld digital technology to ensure installations go to plan. It usually takes the form of a digital camera type device with the option of web feedback ... to provide the client with photographic evidence of successfully completed operations. If the brief is to put a biscuit display next to coffee products, installers are expected to provide compliance reports and pictures." I haven't seen that level of service from companies setting up PR booths and pop-ups. Is it just me? Or is this because consumer products companies focus more strongly on wriging value from each dollar (or, in this case, pound)?

I wanted to point out this column on copy editing from Poynter just because it contains the quote: "As someone once said to me: Editors are not word janitors."

On the Red Carpet at the Emmys: "So, is that lovely 3.4 carat ring from Winston's?" "No - Eddie's of Flatbush!" Turns out the bling bling advisor to the stars was hocking millions of dollars in jewelry. (NYT : reg. req.)

When I'm looking for a little visual stimulation and a twist of creativity, I turn to HOW Design magazine's annual guide on self promotion - on sale now.

It's a little musty, but there's a simple guide to communicating political analysis to decisionmakers and politicians in the CIA's Studies in Intelligence. A lot of these arguments can help PR types as well: Senior officials are smart, talented, confident, comfortable in their judgment, and almost always better plugged in than analysts ... analysts must bring something to the party—in short, they need to be seen as credible sources of needed expertise. ... Senior officials more often than not know the answer they want and are looking for the intelligence to support it. The key is our ability to put the political behavior that policymakers see into a larger cultural and historical context—that they do not see—with enough sophistication to demonstrate that the context matters.

I know Howard Dean's run for the nomination has developed momentum, largely because of his association with meetup.com, but Roll Call's cartoonist takes a really good shot at him.

Well, between radio tags at grocery stores and the wireless keys for the new Lexus, I can imagine a world where mall doors swing open unprompted and cash registers charge me for Swiffer gift packs still on the shelf.

from Management Today: "There's a new graduate recruit in marketing. We call him the Embryo because his head seems much larger than his body and he smells slightly of amniotic fluid (I've noticed the women in the office surreptitiously sniffing him). Smokehouse has a rigorous induction course for our graduates. It's in five phases - enthusiasm, confusion, disillusionment, bitterness and cynicism. Only graduates who get to stage five are allowed to start in marketing. We're having trouble getting the Embryo past mindless enthusiasm, which makes him almost impossible to work with. We've given him menial chores such as budgeting and strategy to keep him out of the way."

I am, I confess, a functioning crackberry addict. I have almost worn off the finish of my Blackberry 957 from continuous use: during boring meetings, on the bus, in the backyard, at hockey games and while eating lunch at Indian buffets. What do I use this wonderful little crackberry for? Email, of course. Notes, beeps and flashing lights remind me that the calendar is trying keep me on track during the day. And Web access lets me check my Yahoo mail account - since the firewall at work blocks it off. Interestingly enough, I can use the Web access to check my fantasy baseball team and post blog entries as well. BTW - are you wondering where I'm sitting while I write this?

As you would expect, I highly recommend my LaunchCast radio station for songs by the Specials, the Violent Femmes, the Jam, Prodigy, Erasure, Save Ferris and for Chris Rock, George Carlin and many more.

I'd like to post something everyday - but only if I think it will be useful to me.

A sound for you: http://tinyurl.com/nlem