If you’re Vikram Pandit, the CEO of Citibank, the answer is yes. Last year, Pandit vowed he’d take no salary until the bank became profitable. So he didn’t. But Citibank is now back in the black, which is why this past week, Citibank’s board announced that they’d reinstate a salary for Pandit. Of course, Pandit…
Posts in Issues
Reverberations: The FTC Means Business (and What PR Firms Should Do)
In recent weeks, the FTC has demonstrated that it is not fooling around when it comes to blogging ethics. We strongly encourage public relations agencies to consult with legal counsel and to adopt strong and clear policies regarding blogs and other forms of consumer-generated media.
Has Generation Y Changed?: Update from the World of Emerging Adulthood
We all know the rumors about Generation Y. On the one hand, they’re talented, tech-savvy, and altruistic (see our April 14 posting). On the other, they’ve coddled, ambivalent and narcissistic (or so people say…). Three years after the Great Recession broke out, with unemployment levels still looming at almost ten percent, it’s worth asking: Have…
The Significance of Being Recognized
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for HP’s board of directors. I’m certain thousands of other corporate leaders have also faced struggles of their own in the hiring and firing of executives, albeit without the same public scrutiny. Every day people in power must make significant, challenging decisions. How do these kinds of decisions…
Does This Make You Angry? America’s Current State of Mind
Are Americans angry yet? Hell, yeah! Conventional wisdom holds that the country is in a poisonous mood, and that incumbents better watch out come November. What conventional wisdom doesn’t always capture is just how expansive anger currently is, not merely as a political phenomenon, but as a cultural one. We all know about Glenn Beck,…
Should You Really Be Taking That Vacation?
It’s a serious question…kind of. In our world of 24/7, blitzkrieg media coverage, taking vacations isn’t for the faint of heart. Sometimes it makes for some pretty serious bad media coverage. This past Christmas, President Obama was criticized by conservatives and some media commentators for remaining in Hawaii after an attempted terrorist attack on a…
Of PR and Pencils: Building a Bridge between Public Relations and Procurement
Even after years of exposure to one another, PR and Procurement still isn’t a match made in heaven. Dealing with client procurement departments often remains exasperating, due in large part to procurement’s lack of understanding of what public relations firms do for their companies. Some of the concerns raised on the agency side relate to…
Getting to Know the CEO
What do today’s CEOs care about? It’s a burning question for any agency seeking to be considered indispensable. Fortunately, some initial answers are there for the taking. Recent survey data reveals that several of the issues preoccupying CEOs are ones that our industry is especially well placed to help address. Take reputation. As our economy…
Why Should I Work For You, Dude?
It’s spring again, time to interview and select the next crop of fresh-faced young employees recently graduated from America’s colleges. Agencies across our industry face a critical question: How can we best convince the talented, tech-savvy Millennials we want to hire that a career in PR and with our company is right for them? Given…
Better Pitch Practices (or, Just Say No!)
The question of who owns intellectual property (IP) created during a new business pitch is becoming an increasingly hot button issue in today’s marketplace. As Ad Age reported, the 4A’s recently sent an official letter to consultants urging them to use contract language “that reflects advertising agencies’ right to retain creative ideas presented during new-business…