2009 – Page 3 – The PR Perspective

June 19, 2009

Nike and Nambe

Portland, Oregon is home to Nike. It is one of the most successful marketing companies in the world, it happens to sell shoes. Outsourcing its shoe and apparel to overseas factories has raised the ire of many humanitarian groups and consumer groups. Nike is able to offset the negative perceptions through its sponsorships and endorsements. Their product is good… I would not say it is great. Nike’s marketing needs to be great, because it is a marketing firm that happens to sell shoes.

June 12, 2009

The Longest Best Day of the Year

June 21st is one of my favorite days of the year. In addition to being my sister’s birthday, the summer solstice provides the most daylight in the Northern Hemisphere.

DTVs New Challenge

After a false start in February, the day has finally come when broadcast television stations make the switch to a digital signal… Today!

May 31, 2009

Counselors Academy

Today’s Meet the Press provided a good backdrop for discussions that took place at the PRSA Counselors Academy in La Quinta California.

Back East, the “change” words that were prominent in the Meet The Press discussion from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange included investment, downsizing, competitiveness, opportunity and innovation.

Out here in the West, those words resonated throughout Steve McKee’s keynote address. Reflecting on themes from his successful book When Growth Stalls, McKee drove home the point that understanding the causes of failure is the key to eventual success. He identified ways to identify reasons why growth stalls, they include: Lack of Consensus, Loss of Focus, Loss of Nerve, and Lack of Consistency. He finished by encouraging CEOs and business owners to take a confidential self-assessment at http://www.whengrowthstalls.com. As a side note, The Garrity Group was (and still is) a proud sponsor of Steve McKee’s address to the Counselors Academy.

May 25, 2009

When Growth Stalls

I am a magazine kind of person. I will thumb through and read business and hobby magazines more readily than I do books. It is how I am made. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy a good book or novel, they just don’t end up on my reading list for various reasons.

One of the books I just finished, a few hours ago, is written by a good friend Steve McKee. It is called When Growth Stalls.

May 22, 2009

Indy o’ Indy were art Thou?

Memorial Day weekend use to be one of those “iconic” weekends for auto racing, featuring its “Super Bowl”, the Indianapolis 500.

April 3, 2009

God save the Queen and her iPod!

“Good policy fosters good public relations” has long been something that we’ve successfully woven into the communication fabric of our clients. Based on a recent gift from President Obama to the Queen of England, we could say that good foreign policy fosters good public relations.

March 18, 2009

You’re Good Enough…

“You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and, doggone it, people like you” – Stuart Smalley