Author Archive
Merry Christmas, Hon
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Laura Vozzella’s column in the Baltimore Sun does a great job of capturing the PR firestorm over a local restaurateur’s decision to trademark “Hon.”
Rather than debate the merits of the decision to claim rights to the word and the way the restaurateur went about defending her point of view, look at how PR missteps and social media are intensifying this storm.
Many people continue to say “any publicity is good publicity.” BP doesn’t think so, and the owner of this restaurant (and gift shop and festival) surely won’t believe it when this fiasco eventually fizzles out.
The mishandling of the news led to a spoof Twitter account, boycott the restaurant Facebook page, blog posts, newspaper comment section posts, a protest and a string of critical Yelp “reviews,” all within hours of this firestorm. Fanning the flames even more, the restaurant’s graphic design (and presumably not PR) consultant weighed in with a profanity-laced post (click on comments to find the one from “springray“) that went viral, while a rejected Yelp review found a new life and many more eyeballs on countless blogs.
In the meantime, Buzz is dying to hear what counsel the unidentified “publicist” referenced in The Sun‘s column offered when the the idea to trademark “Hon” was discussed!
Calling All Journalism Grads
Posted by: | CommentsSo you want to be a journalist? For the New York Times? Well then check out this video (and make sure you have a subscription to the newspaper).
Happy Thanksgiving from Buzz
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For this Thanksgiving, Tweetsgiving — whatever you choose to celebrate — Buzz and the entire crew at “The Sawmill” wish you and yours a safe, calorie-filled and relaxing holiday.
Facebook Friday: Is Facebook Email Headed Our Way?
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It’s Facebook Friday here at Sawmill, so isn’t it convenient that we’re hearing rumors today about a big Facebook announcement coming Monday.
If the investigative bloggers and re-tweeters are correct, we’ll soon have access to Facebook email addresses. What impact will a Facebook email service have on Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and AOL? We’ll soon find out. For me, buzz@facebook.com has a nice ring to it!
Update: On Monday, Nov. 15, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg announced details of what he called a “modern messaging system” that combines all of your messages (text, SMS, email) into a single conversation history and “social in-box” that filters and presents only the messages you want to see from the people you want to hear from. You can read all the details on the Facebook blog.
Sawmill’s Sweet Sixteen
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Today marks the 16th anniversary of the founding of Sawmill Marketing Public Relations in Baltimore, Md. It’s a Friday, too, so what better reason to celebrate?
It all started with an international law firm based in Philadelphia that hired us to gain visibility for their office in Washington, D.C. We continued to do some high profile work for their director of marketing over the years, and we thank them for helping to get us started back in 1995!
Updates to ‘Sawmill Guide to Baltimore Media on Twitter’
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We’ve added more updates to the “Sawmill Guide to Baltimore Media on Twitter.” Click on the link to the right of this post to access the listing we started in 2008, launched on New Year’s Day 2009 and kept updating ever since!
This version adds Patch.com, a new hyper-local online news source, a few anchors and reporters from WJZ-TV as well as some additions from The Sun.
To see what all 235+ people on the list are collectively tweeting, follow the list Jeff created. It’s your single source to track what’s happening in the region.
‘The DeMarco Factor’ Maryland PR Launch Handled by Baltimore Public Relations Firm
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BALTIMORE, Md. (June 14, 2010) – “The DeMarco Factor: Transforming Public Will into Political Power,” a new book profiling the fascinating inner workings of Annapolis, Maryland through several high-profile public health social justice advocacy campaigns created and run by Vinny DeMarco, has selected Sawmill Marketing Public Relations of Baltimore to handle PR in Maryland that includes a press event in Annapolis followed by media interviews throughout the state prior to appearances in New York and Washington, D.C.
Sawmill is handling media relations, message development and social media for the book launch.
Co-published by Vanderbilt University Press and the American Public Health Association, the book authored by Michael Pertschuk, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and founder of the Advocacy Institute, offers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the campaigns lobbyist DeMarco has orchestrated in Maryland, and how the challenges he faced were overcome, revealing insider details of DeMarco’s interactions with lawmakers, advocates, lobbyists and the media.
In 20 years of organizing advocacy campaigns in Maryland, DeMarco has led successful efforts to pass gun control laws (against National Rifle Association opposition), to hike cigarette taxes as a strategy to prevent youth smoking, and to extend health care to hundreds of thousands of low-income workers. He has also built a unique alliance of mainstream and conservative faith groups, which helped secure rare bipartisan votes in Congress for the enactment in July 2009 of landmark FDA regulation of tobacco manufacture and marketing.
About Sawmill Marketing Public Relations
Sawmill Marketing Public Relations is a Baltimore PR firm and social media marketing communications agency established in 1995 specializing in the development and execution of marketing public relations programs as business development strategies for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and professional services clients. The Maryland public relations company specializes in social media, traditional media relations, media training, and crisis communications. For additional information, visit www.sawmillmarketing.com
BALTIMORE, Md. (January 25, 2010) – Sawmill Marketing Public Relations (SMPR), headquartered in Baltimore, has been awarded a City of Baltimore Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) certification via the City’s Minority and Women’s Business Opportunity Office , according to Susan J. Anthony, founder and partner of the 15-year-old PR firm that specializes in media relations, social media, media training and crisis communications.
The PR firm also received certification from the State of Delaware via its Office of Management & Budget, Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprise, which certifies MWBEs for State of Delaware Minority and/or Women Business Enterprises.
“We have had ongoing requests for our marketing services from organizations requiring these important designations and seeking WBE and MBE certified communications and PR firms in Baltimore, Maryland and in Delaware,” she said. “We are excited to now be able to work with them and also with other companies and agencies needing our services and expertise as well as the certification.”
Anthony and SMPR partner Jeffrey A. Davis, APR have extensive experience working on city- and state-level PR assignments, particularly in the areas of transportation, health and community relations.
In 2009, Sawmill Marketing Public Relations was awarded a State of Maryland Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification (09-043).
About Sawmill Marketing Public Relations
Sawmill Marketing Public Relations is a Baltimore PR firm and social media marketing communications agency established in 1995 specializing in the development and execution of marketing public relations programs as business development strategies for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and professional services clients. The Maryland public relations company specializes in social media, traditional media relations, media training, and crisis communications. For additional information, visit www.sawmillmarketing.com
