Building a Web site to market your company? You need to read this!

MarketingProfs.com brings you another enlightening article with a clever title no less: Fresh Eye for the Marketing Guy.

Local Board of Directors Opening

Twin Cities Community Voice Mail is seeking a PR expert to join the Board of Directors to assist the organization in creating and executing PR strategies, branding and anniversary proimotions. Should have knowledge of local media including TV, radio and print.

For information, contact Shari McGuire, (shariandjim@comcast.net or 612-667-9397) or Marcy Shapiro (marcytccvm@aol.com or 651-603-0390).

Nominate a colleague for this year's Donald G. Padilla Community Classic Award!

Do you know a Minnesota PRSA member who has demonstrated a long-term commitment to strengthening the community by sharing his or her expertise and knowledge of public relations with nonprofit organizations? If so, consider nominating them for the Donald G. Padilla Community Classic Award. More information on the award, nomination process and deadline is available at Minnesota PRSA's Website.

Volunteer and Help College PR Students

The Minnesota PRSA Student Relations committee is seeking professional mentors for this year's Pro-Am Day on November 14, 2003. We are looking for public relations professionals from corporate, agency and non-profit sectors to host a PRSSA student during the day. Pro-Am Day professionals are asked to share their knowledge and expertise with the student shadows. If you are interested, please contact Michelle Scheuermann at mscheuermann@gopherstateonecall.org or Tracy Carlson at tcarlson@psbpr.com.

Fast Horse Inc. Hires Senior Account Executive

Fast Horse Inc., a public relations firm specializing in consumer marketing, has hired Allison Resner as Senior Account Executive. Resner specializes in developing and executing consumer marketing campaigns, product launches, sponsorship awareness campaigns, special events and media relations programs on behalf of local and national consumer clients.

Minneapolis has two new publications

The Saint Paul Pioneer Press announced today that it is launching two new publications. The first publication, which launched today, is CareerBuilder Extra an employment paper that will target entry-level and high-turnover jobs. The other is HomeSeller West which is an expansion of the paper's HomeSeller section currently distributed in the east metro area and western Wisconsin, will launch Oct. 31.

See the Business Journal article.

Orange Glow

Barely six months after Campbell Mithun announced it had won the Orange Glo account, the advertising firm lost the account. I reported in February the following:

Campbell Mithun to create campaign for Orange Glo

The Business Journal reported today that Minneapolis-based advertising agency Campbell Mithun has been hired by Orange Glo International in Denver, Colo. Billings were not released, but Orange Glo spent $47.5 million on advertising in the period January through October 2002.


Get the full Business Journal story on why they lost the account here.

Bloggin on Business

I need to figure out a better way to make sure I can blog while I am on business, but until I get around to doing that I will just hope and pray that you will not get too upset if I don't update this site much over the next four weeks. I have two trips set up over the next month, so in the mean time here is another site you may want to check out.

Agency / Client Relationships

With budgets still tight the potential for friction between agency and clients increases exponentially, if you are facing some tension check out this article from the PR & Marketing Network. It includes some comments from Matt Kucharski an employee at PSB in the Twin Cities.

Obese PR

This week the Minneapolis Star Tribune has been running a series on eating healthy and how obese Americans are becoming. With the aging American population and our population rapidly gaining weight this is going to be a growing audience.

As I sit here I am snacking on a Pop Tart as a mid-afternoon snack, and besides getting my lunch and another cup of coffee I have been sitting at my desk for over seven hours. So in an effort to get me off my butt, my company has joined Health Partners 10,000 steps program.

The idea of the program is to encourage employees to take more steps through out the day. We are each given a DIGI Walker pedometer that counts our steps through out the day and at the end of the day we enter our total steps into a computer program on the Internet and it tells us how we are doing.

The program is based on the Surgeon General's recommendation that we need 30 minutes of moderate exercise everyday -- supposedly 10,000 steps is about equivalent to that. So, even though I sit most of the day the program has encouraged me to hit the gym after work and I am averaging of 10,000 steps a day. We'll see if I can keep it up...

So what's my point? Essentially, I don't really have one other than if you work in consumer based public relations you would be wise to jump on the band wagon of nip and tuck T.V. shows and start selling the health benefits of your product and give your clients an extreme makeover.

Our Pledge and its History...

As a member of Toastmasters I look forward to starting every meeting by saying the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation under God, indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.

As I write this there is a debate surrounding whether or not the Pledge should be recited in schools and the Supreme Court has agreed to take the case. I feel strongly that the majority of people who would like to take the Pledge out of schools don't fully understand the issue. Here are some links that will help debunk some urban myths surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance:

Myth: The Pledge of Allegiance contains the words "under God," proving we are a Christian Nation.

Reality: http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/cs/blcsm_gov_pledge.htm

Myth: The Constitution calls for the separation of Church and State.

Reality: http://www.noapathy.org/tracts/mythofseparation.html

After you have read the above articles place you vote below.

Should the Pledge of Allegiance be allowed in school?

Yes No What is the Pledge?

View the results Hosted by WebEnalysis

Blog for Business

MarketingProfs.com's reporter Barbara Payne helps answer an important question today that you need to know the answer to...Is a Blog Right for Your Company?

Here is an excerpt:

It Works

A recent Harvard Business Review article recounted how the CEO of a midsize corporation stood up at a big company meeting to introduce a new product theyÂ’d developed, only to find that most of the audience already knew about it.

Why?

Because they’d been reading the blog of one of the company’s junior associates—who chronicled the progress of the development. Not surprisingly, HBR heralded this as a wakeup call to corporate marketing folks.

Get the full story here...

MAGGIE KAETER JOINS PADILLA SPEER BEARDSLEY

Padilla Speer Beardsley announced today that Maggie Kaeter has joined the firm's industry and technology practice as a senior account executive for agricultural media relations.

According to the press release Kaeter previously wrote for clients in agriculture, technology, health care and general business. In addition to writing several books for The Everything Series (Adams Media), she was editor-in-chief of the magazines Potentials in Marketing and Farm Store. She also served as account manager at Vernacular Engineering and employee communications editor for SUPERVALU.

Too Much to Write and No Time!!!

To those of you who read this blog regularily I apologize for the dry content recently and the lack of updates. October is historically an extremely busy month for me and this one is no different.

If you are less busy than I am here are some interesting articles to read:

MTV considers offering music downloads

Cargill launches international campaign

Minnesota unemployment claims hold steady, drop nationally

Food supply security getting tighter

Get a job now...

Account Executive
Join an employee-owned public relations firm and help us grow. You must have three to five years of public relations experience with business-to-business marketing working with agriculture, manufacturing or technology companies. Skills: excellent writer; ability to understand and explain complex subjects and experience with trade media relations. Experience working at a public relations agency is a plus. Padilla Speer Beardsley offers great benefits and is an equal opportunity employer. Send resume to Stephanie Grogg at resumes@psbpr.com or 1101 West River Parkway #400, Minneapolis, MN 55415. For more information www.psbpr.com.

Get more information from Monster.com.

PSB wins new account...

MINNEAPOLIS (October 1, 2003) - Padilla Speer Beardsley Inc., has been named agency of record for BASF Turf and Ornamental Group