Public Relations

After enjoying the largest profits of any company, ever, in 2005, Exxon Mobil has the resources -- and the need -- for expanded PR. The new campaign will "educate consumers and media about the inner workings of the oil industry, and the costs of producing, shipping, and refining crude," reports PR Week. It will include "PR, advertising, and media tours," as well as opinion pieces and meetings with editorial boards, including with regional and local media.

The Lincoln Group, the PR firm charged with placing U.S. friendly stories in the Iraqi press, has recently created a new staff position: director of media relations. The firm, which was one of three defense contractors awarded a $300 million Pentagon contract to help out with winning the information war, apparently needed help burnishing its own image.

"Local TV news operations hungry for free content have intersected with brand brokers looking for product placement opportunities," writes Advertising Age. The segments "typically come in the form of four-minute lifestyle segments that are dedicated to one brand and feature a brand's spokesperson chatting with the show's host and delivering the product's message to viewers.

The U.S. Army is looking for "guiding PR" for its biometrics operations in Virginia and West Virginia. "Biometrics encompasses technology like iris, face and hand scanning and voice recognition, along with traditional fingerprint identification, usually for security applications.