The hidden hybrid PR coup - Agenda Inc. LiveFeed: "There's a reason you may be considering buying a gas-electric hybrid vehicle - besides wanting to help the environment or visit the gas station less frequently. Your hybrid awareness is a direct result of what is arguably the most audacious and impressive marketing/product-placement coup in memory.Toyota/Lexus has consistently, cleverly, and tirelessly spent an estimated $100,000,000 to make 'hybrid' a household word. The Japanese juggernaut (which just surpassed GM in global sales to grab the No. 1 spot) has a secret weapon: a small but powerful nonprofit organization, the Environmental Media Association.Based in Los Angeles, EMA is single-handedly responsible for getting droves of celebrities into Toyota hybrids. (FORTUNE)
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Monday
The hidden hybrid PR coup
Thursday
Concentration in media ownership continues
Concentration in media ownership continues: "Over the last few decades, the number of media companies dominating mainstream media has dwindled. This concentration in ownership has reduced the diversity of information and range of mainstream discourse. In some countries even though the number of media outlets may be high and varied, that ownership is still small. The internet shows signs of shaking up traditional media, but for the moment most people still get a lot of their news from television and other sources."
(Via Global Issues.)
Tuesday
Doctors Pushing Anemia Drugs
What Would Mother Say?: "In case you missed it this week, one of the biggest stories to surface on the ethics front (at least to my mind), is on payments made to doctors to push anemia drugs. According to the International Herald Tribune (May 9), Amgen and Johnson and Johnson have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to doctors to prescribe potentially harmful doses of these drugs to patients."
(Via ethicaloptimist.com Blog.)
Friday
PR Tricks for a Dictator
Putting Lipstick On A Dictator: "Putting Lipstick On A Dictator
News: Rogue states hire PR firms to change public perception and win audiences with American leaders. Whatever happened to old fashioned diplomacy?...last spring, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stood before a pack of reporters for a briefing, one of Africa's most notorious dictators at her side. ... The man with her—Teodoro Obiang, president of the tiny, oil-rich nation of Equatorial Guinea—seemed less comfortable. As the journalists peppered Rice with questions, he clenched his hands against his suit coat and stared at her with a tight, puzzled grin. During his two-decade reign of torture and terror, Obiang has never faced such meddlesome media; Equatoguinean radio has declared that Obiang has 'permanent contact with the Almighty' and therefore can 'kill anyone without being called to account.' Rice turned to Obiang. 'Thank you very much for your presence here,' she cooed. 'You are a good friend, and we welcome you.'"
Book: The Chilling Truth About State Surveillance
Amazon.com: Who's Watching You?: The Chilling Truth About the State, Surveillance, and Personal Freedom (Conspiracy Books): Books: Mick Farren,John Gibb: "The threat of terrorism and the corresponding climate of fear encouraged by the government have together eroded our freedom to live our lives in peace and quiet away from the prying eyes of hidden cameras. The government is tightening its grip on us by watching and recording what we do. They are doing this because they know they can and because knowledge is power. But exactly who are 'they' and why do they want to know so much about us? This book includes chilling, accurate, and up-to-date descriptions of the methods the government (and private company proxies) use to watch us."
Tuesday
Recruiting Young Smokers with Buzz Marketing
Quit Smoking Support > Tobacco Giant's 'School Of Cool' Recruits Young Smokers: "British American Tobacco executives gather to celebrate a 'good year' at their annual shareholders' meeting in London. But health charity Action on Smoking and Health believes the company is profiting from a new generation of young smokers, recruited by global use of radical 'buzz marketing' techniques... According to BAT's own publicists, BAT has promoted its 'Lucky Strike' brand through a strategy 'to re-launch and grow the brand by targeting the underground youth community – a community that is left of centre, which sets the trends rather than follows them.'"