The news in St. Louis could not have been much worse last week. Anheuser Busch, our greatest corporation and national business icon, is sold to a Belgium company, InBev. Wachovia’s new St. Louis headquarters is raided by various authorities for reported investor money management violations. American Airlines, our main carrier,…

At least that’s the opinion of one Andrew Cohen a lawyer turned communications expert who delivered a scathing editorial on the public relations industry a few weeks ago on CBS Sunday Morning. Cohen condemned our industry based on a new book written by Scott McClellan, President Bush’s former Press Secretary.…

I can understand why big corporations do it. Attempting to handle all phone calls via some kind of automated voice system saves time and money. Afterall why pay dozens of phone operators when most customers just want to know your hours of operation or how to get to your business…

In the Public Relations business you should always be prepared. I recently attended the launch of a new automobile dealership which my client, a design/build contractor, had constructed. A small area newspaper was on hand to take photos and put together an article on the proceedings. These included a ribbon…

Public Relations professionals spend countless hours helping their clients generate media coverage. Once an article or articles appear, however, a business owner may get confused as to how to take best advantage of the current publicity. Often the CEO or President will enjoy their company’s day in the limelight but…

We are often asked, “I own a relatively small business, what can public relations do for me?” While there is no one specific answer, PR can do many things to help a small company. Public Relations can help a firm become known, or better known, within its targeted client base.…

I read some nice and give-and-take recently in The Wall Street Journal about small businesses and public relations. Many small companies detailed their experiences using public relations firms. Some were positive, some were negative. The negative ones included many comments most public relations firms are used to hearing about industry…

Very exciting college football season. On balance, perhaps the best ever. Fans of teams from coast to coast, and even Hawaii, got into the conversation of a national championship game. LSU vs Ohio State? OK, we’ll take it if we have to. It would have been more fun to see…

We recently returned from an international YMCA conference held in Mexico City. It was event planning done right. The hosts did a terrific job of not only managing the events but also helping out any attendee who needed special help. In fact, it seemed like local volunteers were always within…