News-July 2010

PR Pros Advise BP’s Dudley
By Michael Bush, July 26, 2010
Robert Dudley is preparing to replace Tony Hayward as CEO of BP, and some public relations executives think that’s a good move.Advertising Age interviewed two, including Marian Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America. “Mr. Hayward is symbolic of what is wrong,” said Salzman, who also gave some thoughts on BP’s branding on the Huffington Post, “so he needs to be forgotten so that the global community can contemplate forgiving.”

Headstrong, Part IV: Braininess Re-examined
By Marian Salzman, July 23, 2010
“We might all think about our brains differently now than we did even a decade ago,” says Marian Salzman in this final part of her series on the brain, “but one thing that hasn’t really changed is the concept of braininess.” Tina Fey has made braininess sexy, and thanks to Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and others, more kids are aspiring to be tech gurus than ever. Salzman talks about her campaign to preserve her “non-brainy hair” (“My whole routine was this: Don’t look brainy but be brainy,” she says) and about the analytical nature and distance of braininess, among other ideas—plus a few conclusions.

Headstrong, Part III: Second Thoughts About Multitasking
By Marian Salzman, July 22, 2010
On the third anniversary of her craniotomy to remove a brain tumor, Marian Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, has been thinking a lot about brain health. Turns out, she’s very au courant, as more people are talking about multitasking and how it affects their brain ever since a spate of new studies has shown that it’s not all it’s been cracked up to be. In this third part of a four-part series, Salzman ponders technology addictions, distractions and the information onslaught—and how her life since her surgery has been affected by all of them. (Hint: It’s a balancing act.)

Headstrong, Part II: The Creative Process
By Marian Salzman, July 21, 2010
In this second of a four-part series about the brain, Marian Salzman muses about the functions she took for granted before her craniotomy to remove a tumor in July 2007—from “automatic” tasks such as walking, talking and reading, to the brain’s higher missions such as memory and creativity, the latter of which she calls “arguably job No. 1 for everyone’s brains these days.” Salzman talks about the four steps of the creative process and how her experience has changed her approach to creativity, including becoming more analytical and more open to collaboration.

Headstrong, Part I: My World Turned Upside Down
By Marian Salzman, July 20, 2010
In spring 2007, Marian Salzman was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a meningioma. A frequent-flying top ad executive at the time, Salzman was also making popular annual trend predictions and keeping up a full schedule of media appearances and international speaking engagements. Brain surgery followed, along with a successful recovery, but not without bumps in the road—and life changes, including a career switch to public relations and a realignment of her advocacy and philanthropic priorities. This is the first in a series of four posts about the brain in general and Salzman’s experience.

Retailers Luring Teens with Social Tools
By Tobi Elkin, July 16, 2010
Marian Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, talked to eMarketer about kids’ shopping habits, behaviors and expectations. She had this advice when asked for the Q&A how retailers should use social media to reach teen consumers: “Talk their talk and walk in their shoes, but don’t overmarket, overpromise or be too in their faces electronically or anywhere else. Realize that reduce and reuse is a green message but also part of teens’ commitment to values. It’s social. It’s not marketing; it’s a conversation, not a lecture.”





