Thought Bubble
When I was invited to attend the Council of PR Firm’s annual Critical Issues Forum this past month for a program centered on “Social Revolution,” I’ll admit I was excited and, more importantly, intrigued.
As a recent college graduate – I’ve been working for a year and a half here at CooperKatz – social media has been omnipresent both in my education and my post-college work life. I was interested to hear what the various industry speakers and panelists would have to say about something I’ve considered a permanent fixture on my personal landscape for almost six years.
The decision by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to downgrade the United States’ sovereign debt from AAA to AA+ elicited an avalanche of commentary from the industry, the media, the government and the public.
The main dialogue focused on whether or not S&P made an appropriate decision (not to mention the issue of that $2 trillion calculation error). But the controversial move also reignited ongoing debates over the state of the credits rating industry – specifically the role and position of the “big three” (S&P, Moody’s and Fitch) – in the wake of the financial crisis where the ratings agencies gave AAA status to mortgage-backed assets that quickly turned toxic.
This offered up a powerful opportunity for a new market entrant to voice its perspective on the significant and systemic problems with the credit ratings “status quo,” and the changes needed to re-establish credibility.
Yes it’s the start of a new work week, but also the first Monday of the new year and the new decade! Goodbye "Uh-Ohs" and hello "Aught Ten"!
Time to move on from debates on whether 2000-2009 was the ‘worst decade…ever’ (as well as arguments over whether the new decade starts now, or in 2011). We’re onward and upward here at CooperKatz – looking forward to what awaits us, our client partners and the PR industry as a whole in the year to come. So while we hope for the best and know there are never any guarantees, here’s our initial take on the road ahead and a few of the signs we’re seeing.
Buckle up and let’s roll!
I usually cringe when I hear PR people say, “I got into PR because I'm a ‘people person.’" A “people person”…really? It seems like a given that anyone in the communications field would like working with people. But recently I participated in two public relations / communications events that again reminded me of the ‘P’ in PR, and what personal relationships mean to our profession.
Many print publishers have turned to the digital world as a way to stem falling circulations and advertising revenue hardships. Most have Web pages, but many are directing significant energy toward devices like the iPhone or the iPod touch in an attempt to garner a digital fan base of E-Readers. Magazines such as Elle, SPIN and Car & Driver all have iPhone applications available. And according to AdAge, Conde Nast recently announced the upcoming launch of their iPhone application for GQ.
So what’s so special about the GQ app? Unlike other magazine applications, which often exclude stories that are in the print version (including much of the significant editorial content), the GQ app will offer a full replica of the magazine. For $2.99 per issue, users will be able to see every page as it appears in print with all of the content modified for the small screen. As a result, people who pay for the app will count toward GQ’s paid circulation by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.