The story of how a clever new advertising campaign for the Motrin pain reliever turned into a nightmare for Johnson & Johnson is really a case of how something old can suddenly be new again. Despite all the furor they generated in the blogosphere and beyond, the ads themselves are really rather benign. It’s a clever take on the popular practice of mothers carrying infants in a sling on their chest – something that might give ... Read More

It seems that as newspapers continue to shed staff in response to the new media realities they’ve been forced to confront, the reporters they’re casting away are finding a leaner, meaner venue in which to ply their craft. Non-profit websites that employ professional journalists to focus on investigating and breaking local news are popping up all across the country – and causing more than a few headaches for those who sometimes end up in their ... Read More

It used to be that wire service coverage represented a major coup for communications professionals. When the Associated Press or Reuters picked up your story, it would be seen in newspapers around the world, picked up by radio and TV stations and – more recently – linked to the inboxes of millions of web-based e-mail users. Most important, you could always depend on the balanced reporting that helped the wires build an almost unassailable brand ... Read More

According to data recently released by law firm marketing consultants Alyn-Weiss & Associates, the number of transactional, corporate, and defense law firms that employ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to generate new business has nearly tripled over the last two years. For the better part of the last decade, the plaintiffs’ bar remained a full Internet generation ahead of the defense when it came to Web savvy. Now, it seems that the competition – at least ... Read More

In a high-anxiety environment – such as the one created by the current financial crisis – wild rumors all too often carry the weight of fact. When a company’s stakeholders hear troublesome news, they don’t have the luxury of waiting around for confirmation. They’ll opt for the knee-jerk reaction almost every time. Just ask Apple investors whose stock lost ten percent of its value in ten minutes after false reports that CEO Steve Jobs had ... Read More

The Chinese government’s decision to allow foreign news correspondents to interview anyone without prior permission is a major milestone for journalists around the world. But just as significant as the free press implications are the new challenges that this development creates for Chinese companies in crisis. Whether the issue has been melamine in baby formula and pet food or lead paint in toys, Chinese companies used to be able to shade themselves from the spotlight under ... Read More