Brotman Winter Fried holds 40th anniversary party ... Geoff Livingston is moving on from CRT/tanaka ... Lipman Hearne adds Adam Shapiro as VP in its D.C. public affairs team ... RMR & Associates reports that Robyn Sachs, president & CEO of RMR & Associates, has been named the 2009 winner of the Small Business Mentorship Award. 

U.S. newspaper circulation has hit its lowest level in seven decades, as papers across the country lost 10.6 percent of their paying readers from April through September, compared with a year earlier, reported Frank Ahrens in Tuesday’s Washington Post.

The November issue of Washingtonian magazine lists 50 great places to work in our area.  On the list were Merritt Group and The Hatcher Group. In the same issue, APCO Worldwide’s Margery Kraus was named to the magazine's Business Hall of Fame. 

The techPresident web site carried an item on Oct. 15, by Micah L. Sifry, titled “One Year After Obama, Most Big DC Orgs Aren't Embracing Social Media Tools” that discusses how DC-based organizations have and have not started to use social media tools. 

Volkswagen of America tapped Interpublic Group of Cos.' Deutsch, Los Angeles, as its new national and regional creative agency of record in a closely watched review, according to executives familiar with the matter, reports AdAge.

Members of IABC/Washington came together last evening for its 2009 Silver Inkwell Awards gala to congratulate the winners of this year's awards program.

Vocus, Inc, a leading provider of on-demand software for public relations management, announced financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009. Revenues for the quarter were $21.0 million, a 5% increase over the same period last year;

Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) held a reception on Oct. 14 at the Homer Building to honor 2009 PR Woman of the Year honorees - Kirsten Suto Seckler, Special Olympics; Sarah Temple, Ogilvy Public Relations; and Jody Arlington, Georgetown Entertainment and Media Alliance, shown above - past PR Women of the Year, WWPR board members and PR Woman of the Year sponsors.

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Over 500 RSVPs have been received for the SPOOKY UNION Halloween Party on Sat., Oct. 31, and only 100 more tickets are available.

ADVERTORIAL by Robb High Consulting

The mistake: Bad casting.

After an agency review clients always tell the winner and losers the decision was based on the “thinking” or the “ideas.” Why? Because they want it to appear their selection was based on “professional” criteria.

Brunner Digital adds two new accounts; the Pulmonary Hypertension Association hired Environics Communications; and, Crosby Marketing Communications added Justin Miller as group creative director, interactive. 

Members of the Washington, DC, advertising community will be cleaning up a portion of Rock Creek Park on Saturday morning, November 7^th.  Those who work in the local advertising community, their family members and friends will meet at the historic Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Read More »

Focused Image Inc. hired Stacey Salsman as senior account executive. Salsman has more than five years of experience in advertising, marketing and media planning; and Warschawski promoted Erin Bradin to senior associate.

On Oct, 22, attend the only event entirely focused on using Twitter to deliver measurable business results in real time. Meet leading social media experts, marketers, customer service and technology executives using micro-blogging to build communities, provide customer service, change brand perceptions and increase revenue. Discover best practices and lessons learned during case studies, panel discussions and keynotes from the companies, government agencies and non-profits using Twitter as a business tool.  Speakers include Craig Newmark, Steve Rubel, Read More »

ADVERTORIAL: by Robb High Consulting 

The CEO 'has' to be there. The director of strategy, too. The head account person, of course. The creative director and the team that did the work being presented (for ad agencies.) The media director, as well. The digital specialist (to show that the agency is part of the modern world). And finally, the team of people that will work on the account (because the client asked for that).

Pretty soon that adds up to a lot of people . . . and a formula for failure.

The Wonderland Commemorative Book for The Washington Ballet is set to launch this week. It’s a fundraiser produced for the ballet by Design Army and Cade Martin Photography.  According to Pum Lefebure, Design Army’s creative director, they have received great feedback, and Graphic Design USA is running an article in November issue

If there was one take-away message from a "lunch and learn" session titled “2010 Planning Tips for Government Communicators,” sponsored by Vocus and Capitol Communicator at the National Press Club, it was you have to think about how new media impacts your communications plans, programs and daily activities. 

Ricochet Public Relations, Inc., which serves healthcare, technology and industrial clients, has opened a D.C. office. Banks Willis, a ten-year legislative and corporate communications veteran who spent six years at General Electric Company after serving as a staffer for former Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) on the Armed Services Committee, will head the new practice.

Mac Mannes, Inc., a promotional branding agency, has been selected by Woolly Mammoth Theatre company to re-brand their in-theatre Woolly Matter store.  

No good deed is left unpunished – or at least unridiculed – as Bill Novelli, AARP’s recently retired CEO and founder of Porter Novelli, takes a jab from Martina Navratilova, Sam Donaldson, Bob Druckenmiller, Tom Nelson, Andrew Stern and other roasters at the upcoming “Roast Bill, Save a Kid” fundraising gala on November 5, 2009, benefiting Kidsave International.

For nearly three decades, reported the New York Times on Oct. 5, the Federal Trade Commission’s rules regarding the relationships between advertisers and product reviewers and endorsers were deemed adequate. Then came the age of blogging and social media.

Grafik reports that it added six new clients in recent months and Van Eperen Public Relations announces a name change.

The current economic climate and its resulting impact on advertising is affecting area broadcasters, with many having to take pay cuts, reports the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the union that represents many area broadcasters.

Reingold Inc. has been awarded a contract valued at more than $600,000 per year, along with subcontractor Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR), to promote The Nation's Report Card.

R2integrated (R2i), a leading Internet marketing company, in partnership with Corrigan Sports Enterprises (CSE) announced that the 2009 Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival will be presented online through a new social media platform called R2iSMASH.

Capitol Communicator held its second “connecting communicators” event last evening.  A diverse crowd of approximately 150 communicators registered for the networking event,

Audi has engaged RTC Relationship Marketing to serve as its customer relationship marketing agency of record. Under the agreement with Audi, the D.C.-based agency will develop enhanced owner communications, programs to increase loyalty and efforts to attract new customers to the Audi brand

Merrick Towle Communications has been retained by Messiah Village, one of the oldest continuous-care retirement communities in the country; and Warschawski, a Baltimore-based agency, has been hired by Buster Sports, a website covering college football and basketball.

Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) announced that the finalists for this year’s "Washington PR Woman of the Year" Award have been selected. The winner of this year’s award will be chosen from the following honorees:

GovDelivery, a provider of government-to-citizen communication solutions, acquired D.C.-based GovLoop, the social network for the government community. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.