On November 8, 2017, Willamette Week featured the story, "Oh Deer," detailing how family owned brewery Old Town Brewing & Pizza was being bullied by the City of Portland. DPK Public Relations represents Old Town Brewing in this matter. As all trademark disputes can be, this one is complicated. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recognized Old Town Brewing with an incontestable trademark of a leaping deer for use in beer and alcohol, which is the highest level of trademark protection. Yet the City of Portland has filed multiple trademark applications seeking to trademark an image that encompasses a leaping deer for beer and alcohol. So far, the USPTO has rejected the city's applications three times. To date, legal fees related to these applications have cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars -- perhaps as much as $100,000 …
DPK Public Relations Founder Daniel Keeney, APR was cited as a crisis communications expert in a Washington Post story about how businesses can navigate through an online attack. The story, "A company under Trump attack makes a bold move: It repeatedly ignores him," by Danielle Paquette examines how Rexnord Corp. handled a series of tweets from the President that sought to shame the company for its decision to move manufacturing work from Indiana to Mexico eliminating 350 jobs. For its part, Rexnord privately explained its rationale for the move to its union but has kept a very low public profile -- even when faced with blistering criticism from the President. In fact, a review of news coverage in the days and weeks after the plant closure news went public shows Rexnord officials declined to comment again and again. As often …
When dealing with unpleasant PR issues, the best course of action is often to move forward and forget about the past. Learn from the negatives and have them inform substantive changes -- while at the same time working to drown them out with positive actions and information. Read more!
When a high-profile company faced the possibility of an ugly lawsuit that threatened to drag its good name through the mud, they contacted DPK Public Relations. The issue revolved around threats by a former employee to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a wrongful termination lawsuit.
The full text of the book, "The Future of Reputation," has been posted online for free -- and legal -- download. The book, which turns a critical eye on the damage that can be done through gossip and rumor on the Internet, is published by Yale Press and written by Daniel Solove, an authority on information privacy law.
The audacious lifestyle and otherworldly compensation of the CEO of Blackstone Group is prompting a fair amount of criticism and scrutiny. DPK Public Relations'' President, Dan Keeney, was interview for the following story from Reuters about the backlash: Blackstone CEO''s high profile sparks backlashNEW YORK (Reuters) - If private equity firms had aimed to steer clear of political controversy heading into an election year, the message may have been lost on Stephen Schwarzman. The CEO and co-founder of Blackstone Group this week became a lightning rod for criticism over perceptions that he makes too much money and leads an overly lavish lifestyle. Blackstone revealed his stake in the firm could be worth $7.73 billion after its initial public offering this month and that he will get a one-off payout of up to $677.2 million. One of his private staff also exposed …
If you were calling the shots in Paris Hilton''s inner circle, how would you manage her re-emergence as a cultural icon? This is your opportunity to tell the heiress what to do and describe how you will make her do it.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Virginia Tech community in this time of mourning and reflection. Look closely and all of us can find small nuggets of wisdom that can help our organizations. The fact is that this is a moment when PR counselors whisper to themselves, "There but for the grace of God go I."
An article in the February edition of Harvard Business Review, "Reputation and Its Risks," points to three situations that put reputation at risk: reputation-reality gap, changing beliefs and expectations, and weak internal coordination. This article offers a summary.
A federal court ruling suggests that a University’s colors are inherently associated with that University and therefore subject to its trademark. The case of a small mom and pop retailer going head to head with a Texas University is worth learning about and getting involved in.