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We caught another case of spring fever here at 360. We had it bad in 2007. So bad, that we actually planned a special shin-dig where those suffering from the symptoms could come and rid themselves of the disease. What is this miracle cure, you ask? Well, it is the 360PR Spring Fling, of course. It turns out, all you need to get better is food, spirits and great company!

360 staff and a variety of our local clients and vendors came out last night for our 2nd Annual Spring Fling at 28 Degrees in the South End - just a few blocks from our office. It was a blast to see some old faces and meet some new ones as well. Plus, we lucked out with the weather - the rain held off, so we spent the evening out on the patio.

Click here to check out a Flickr slideshow of photos!

Thanks to everyone who came. Hope to see you next year!

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If we’re in a recession, it sure wasn’t apparent at last night’s SABRE awards event in New York. Held at the glamorous Cipriani across from Grand Central Station, the event had PR’s finest lining up behind red velvet ropes to get in. 360 was there, with programs nominated in three categories (one of which we won for best Media/Magazine Placement).

Our Converge™ network partners were out in force – with Carmichael Lynch Spong, rbb Public Relations and M. Booth & Associates all nominated. rbb won a Gold SABRE in the Corporate Image category for Florida Power & Light’s Storm Secure Program, and Carmichael grabbed two awards, a Gold in the Trade Show category for Sherwin-Williams Paint Stores Group and a Silver for the cleverly named “On Your Bark, Get Set, PETCO!” campaign.

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Filed under: Events and Conferences, PR Industry | 2 Comments →

Nearly 10,000 entries were submitted from more than 60 countries for the 12th Annual Webby Awards. Just this week, winners were named in over 100 categories. I haven’t even come close to browsing all of the winners (if I did there is no way I would have accomplished anything else today), but wanted to share a few favorites that are using the web in wonderful ways. There’s a handful - dig in…

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As you may remember from earlier posts, 360 attended the BlogHer Business Conference at the beginning of April. A handful of the women bloggers in attendance made a pit stop at The Today Show for interviews while they were in NYC. A month later, the segment, which comments on the growing number of mom bloggers and why businesses find this audience attractive, just aired on NBC.

The video also gives viewers a better understanding of why this group of women blog in the first place. I love Mir Kamin’s comment that “blogging is cheaper than therapy” - very true. Click on the image below to watch the segment (and if you look closely at the image, you’ll see the heads of Carrie, Laura and myself):

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It’s a wonder with all today’s mothers do that they’re not planning their own Mother’s Day celebration - in fact many probably are. It’s not that mothers of past generations didn’t work as hard. They worked differently, and they didn’t have Web 2.0 in their corner. But sometimes the best networking happens the good, old-fashioned way - face to face. At next week’s Detours & OnRamps conference in Boston, 200 moms will gather to discuss how to balance work and family life, many looking to make their next career move.

The list of speakers includes some amazing women who have found a way to balance work and family life - entrepreneurs like Jo McChesney, who helped found Isis Maternity, Meryl Otis Kessler, publisher of Hybrid Mom, Christine Koh, founder of Boston Mamas, and Sheila Marcelo, founder and CEO of sitter service Care.com. It’s hard not to notice, and perhaps no coincidence, that each of these women launched a business to help women in their everyday, busy, family lives.

I also recently had a fun lunch with Erin Kane, who created Manic Mommies. “Manic” seems to be the operative word for today’s moms trying to do it all.

My guess is, if you asked these women leaders - and the moms you meet at the grocery store, playground and school - what they really want for Mother’s Day, the answer would be “more time.” More time for their families, for their businesses, and for themselves. That, and maybe getting to sleep in on Sunday. You don’t need a credit card for either, but they’re both priceless.

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As most of you are well aware by now, former Live with Regis & Kathie star Kathie Lee Gifford has joined the ranks of Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira. Dubbed “America’s most meaninglessly controversial figure” by the Washington Post, Kathie Lee, 54, has emerged from retirement to co-host the fourth hour of NBC’s Today Show. Click here to continue reading →

Filed under: Media and Press, PR Industry | 3 Comments →

Let’s face it. The business world needs interns.

And I’m not just saying that because I was one once (actually three times). As May and graduations approach, it brings me back to all those summers scrambling to get my resume into pristine shape, picking up my suits from the cleaners and hunting for an internship.

But enough reminiscing. Let’s get to the “here and now”. As the seasons change, so often do the faces of interns looking to gain valuable experience outside of the classroom. Here at 360, we recently bid farewell to a rock star group of spring interns, and are now gearing up for the summer talent to arrive (coping with the lack of interns in between semesters can be rough – but we persevere).

The ROI in interns for 360, and any company for that matter, is clear. Media lists get built and perfected, mailers are shipped, event details are buttoned down, all with the help of interns. But what about the interns’ experience? Was it worth giving up hours that could have been spent doing homework, enjoying the college experience with friends, or simply taking a break from papers and exams? According to a Recent Survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the answer is yes. In 2007, nearly 36 percent of new college graduates were hired by the companies where they previously interned.

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One of the oldest tricks in the proverbial PR handbook is to leverage a brand’s anniversary. The timely news hook of an anniversary makes this strategy effective and the campaign put in place surrounding it (such as a brand fan event, partnership, or limited edition product release) is what completes the “story.”

We’ve worked with a number of clients on anniversary campaigns. Bear with me as I geek out for a minute…. One year ago today we helped Turbine launch the award-winning massively multiplayer online game (MMO) The Lord of the Rings Online. To celebrate, Turbine has released tons of new game content, new pricing options and in-game events.

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About 10 years ago, when I moved back to Boston from DC, I stumbled upon (literally stumbled) The Women’s Lunch Place on Newbury Street. Sandwiched between the high-end cafes and shoe stores was this humble organization doing incredibly important work – providing a nutritious mid-day meal and day-time gathering place for homeless and poor women, some of whom, though working, can’t afford to buy lunch every day. When the overnight shelters closed each morning, The Women’s Lunch Place opened its doors.

Today, The Women’s Lunch Place gives hundreds of women a place to receive mail, do their laundry, take a shower, receive a range of support services and enjoy a good meal in a congenial, non-threatening environment.

An easy (and fun) way to support The Women’s Lunch Place is to purchase one of their Mother’s Day cards. For a donation of $25, the staff and guests will send a beautifully designed, hand-signed card on your behalf to your mom, grandmother, sister, aunt or other woman in your life. This year’s card features a bright watercolor painting by an artist who was served by The Women’s Lunch Place.

The Women’s Lunch Place Mother’s Day cards are available through May 6. If you know of an organization offering a way to give to mom and give back or have a cause your passionate about, we’d love to hear about it!

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This is my first official post on the 360 blog and I’ve decided to tackle a hot topic …industry awards! Is it just me or does anyone else feel a mini panic attack coming on when the first Call for Entries is announced? We all dream of plaques and speeches (”I’d like to thank the Academy, my mother and the tech guys who fixed that pesky spam issue…”). Then reality sets in. Wait a minute, who’s going to write these? And, perhaps most important, who the heck is going to compile the binder? Is the first aid kit stocked with Tums? It’s no secret that award submissions take a lot of work. But there’s a great sense of accomplishment when all is said and done. While it’s not my all-time favorite activity, awards are an important vehicle for raising the bar and recognizing best practices in the PR industry.

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Today some 25,000 runners will travel 26.2 miles from Hopkinton, MA to Boston in the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. Our office in Copley Square happens to be just a couple of blocks from the finish line, so I always try to swing by to check it out (although with 50,000 fans expected along the race route with many in Boston, its hard to get a great view at the finish line unless you show up hours before to park your lawn chair and cooler).

At any sporting event you’ll find BIG brand sponsors and advertisers aplenty. For the first time in 112 years, corporate ads have been permitted on the marathon starting and finishing lines. According to the Boston Athletic Association in a recent AP article, these changes illustrate distance running’s dependence on sponsors - for prize money, publicity, operating expenses, donations to cities and towns along the route to provide public safety and other services, etc.

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Filed under: Boston, Events and Conferences | 1 Comment →

I was going through the mail last weekend when a catalog from Design Within Reach caught my attention.

They ask what seems to be a very simple question, “What Is Green?” But there certainly isn’t a simple answer. Sustainable, eco-friendly, recycled, recyclable, up-cycle, carbon footprint, low VOC, Greenguard, LEED, renewable energy, global warming, carbon emissions, and the list goes on. What does it all mean?

“Green” and “eco-friendly” are part of our everyday vernacular. According to a recent article in PR Week, the number of media covering green products and topics has more than tripled in the last 18 months. I have four magazines at my desk and three of them promote green articles on their covers. Newsweek asks “Who’s the Greenest of Them All?” Woman’s Day offers tips to “Save Money, Go Green.” Wondertime wants to get the kids involved, with “The Green Project Kids Can’t Resist.”

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Filed under: Green Marketing, Media and Press | 2 Comments →

One of our main practice areas at 360 is video games and virtual worlds. I’m a bit of a gamer myself and happen to be in very good company. According to NPD, US video game sales hit $17.9 billion in 2007 (which is up 43% year-over-year). With such growth, it makes sense that there is a video game conference dedicated solely to the marketing of games. In its third year, the MI6 Conference was held last week in San Francisco. We’ve been following the game marketing and conference coverage over the past week and one headline in particular caught my attention yesterday - Blake Snow of Next-Gen.biz posted a list of the Top 10 Game Industry Taglines.

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It’s hard to escape the buzz about marketing to moms these days. At 360, we’re entrenched in the mom market, and conferences dedicated exclusively to the mom market have sprung up in recent years (M2Moms is a prime example). But let’s not forget the dads - who, pardon the pun, offer fertile ground for marketers too. I’m not talking about the sliver segment of stay-at-home dads. More important than how much time dad spends at home is his level of participation in the parenting partnership. If you’re interested in more on this “dad factor,” the following 360PR article, published in The Council of PR Firms’ Firm Voice earlier this month, may be of interest.

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Laura, Carrie and I hopped on the Acela last week and headed for NYC. We joined a mix of PR pros, brand managers, bloggers, and social media execs at the 2008 BlogHer Business Conference.

Over the course of two days, we took part in a number of panels and sessions all about blogs (and other social media) and the opportunities for brands today. For those who couldn’t attend, here are some take-aways:

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