The Cyrk

Movin’ on up, to (a new part of) the East Side & Joining The Cyrk

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As much as we’ve loved our time in the Buckman Neighborhood – rubbing shoulders with the mad scientists of Distillery Row, descending like locusts upon local eateries such as Robo Taco and Vivo, and working with neighbors Bremik, Tapalaya, Po’Boy Art and more – it’s the dawn of a new year and a new era for AM:PM PR.

We survived an overinflated panic surrounding a misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar, and we figured why not treat ourselves to a new space. Not to toot our own horns (TOOT!), but it’s a doozie.

At the beginning of February, we’ll take up residence in the Cyrk Building on southeast 20th and Clinton. For those of you who’ve yet to cast your eyes on this miracle of modern building techniques, feel free to drive by and check it out. It’s a gorgeous space that we’ll share both with our brothers in arms at 7/Apps and our clients EE Northwest. The latter owns the building and was kind enough to approve our tenant application. We’ll try to keep the noise level down.

AM:PM PR joins the Cyrk-us

For those of you who understand how calendars work and are wondering about the omission of a little thing called January, well done. That was a test, and it’s nice to see that you were paying attention. As construction is finished up on our new space, we’ll be going back to our roots.

Just as in the early days of AM:PM, we’ll be a bit like the French Resistance, except with public relations instead of freedom fighting, and minus the Gauloises. We’ll meet at a variety of our favorite coffee shops, restaurants and watering holes, keeping the client work that’s our bread and butter firmly intact. You likely won’t notice much difference unless you meet us face-to-face, in which case the password is “Le Coq Sportif.” Also, feel free to give us suggestions for great coffee shops that can accommodate large groups of mostly serious professionals.

During the next month, we’ll keep you updated on our activities and the construction’s progress via the usual channels: our blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. We’ll also be getting to know our new neighbors. We’ve already visited St. Jacks, Compote, The Night Light Lounge and more, and look forward to getting to know them and their tasty offerings even better.

When we get moved into the new space, we don’t expect you’ll miss it. We’ll have a hard time not crowing from pride about our new digs, and of course there will be office-warming festivities to attend to. Keep an eye out for something occurring around St. Patrick’s Day.

We’ll also be working on new job titles and a high-flying new concept for the website that will highlight the subtle circus theme of our new digs. Prepare yourself for the greatest communications show on Earth, or at least in Portland. In the meantime, Happy New Year. We hope you’ve got as much to look forward as we do.

 

ICBC booths

Long-time Intel spokesman linking up with AM:PM PR

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As winter begins and the New Year approaches, 2013 is looking like Spring to us. Our new offices are under construction. New clients are coming aboard. And today we confirmed that one of Oregon’s most respected and visible communications professionals plans to affiliate with us early next year.

In an email to his Intel colleagues and friends, Bill MacKenzie, a long-time Intel spokesman announced today that after 15 years as spokesman for Intel in Oregon, the state’s largest private employer, he’ll soon launch his “post-Intel life.”

Before starting his high-visibility job at Intel, Bill spent a decade as a business and politics reporter at The Oregonian. He also held senior positions on the staff of a subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Department of Commerce, including service as a foreign affairs officer working with the Department of State on treaty negotiations.

In announcing his future plans, Bill told friends he plans a short break before starting part-time work over the next year for the Encore Fellowship Program and Social Venture Partners Portland. He also plans some non-fiction writing, including journalism.

But what we liked best was reading this: “I’ll also be affiliating with Portland PR firm AM:PM PR to offer PR services such as corporate communications, crisis communications and media relations training.”

We couldn’t be more excited. Allison and I worked with Bill and his team at Intel more than a decade ago, helping with communications about one of Intel’s multi-billion dollar investment announcements. We also facilitated Intel’s former Community Advisory Panel, part of the company’s communications with its neighbors.

He’s been a good friend and a helpful professional colleague ever since.

In his email, Bill reflected on his time at Intel: “I’m proud to have played a part in handling hundreds of critical business issues with the media and in helping to secure public support for $37.5 billion of Strategic Investment Program Agreements that have facilitated billions of dollars of Intel investments in Oregon and generated thousands of high-skill, family-wage jobs. I’m also proud that Intel has consistently been voted Oregon’s most admired tech company and one of the most admired companies across all industries during my tenure.”

Intel has reason to be proud of the contribution Bill has made to Intel’s success in Oregon, and we’re pleased he thinks enough of us to link up with us.

While it seems like Spring to us, Bill is waiting for the real thing before setting off for a long-planned lark: “On May 9, 2013, I’ll embark on a bicycle trip from the edge of the Pacific Ocean to Boston, long an adventure on my bucket list.”

Bill has many more adventures in him, and we look forward to sharing some with him at AM:PM PR.

Oregon Manufacturing Industry

Canny Tax Policy Works

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Oregon has maintained its stake in the competitive manufacturing sector over the past two decades by a canny approach to tax policy.

Governor Kitzhaber’s proposal this week to create a tax policy guarantee for large manufacturers, such as Nike, is the latest in a line of proposals dating back to 1984 when Oregon lawmakers repealed the state’s worldwide unitary tax.

The circumstances through the years have been the same – state leaders needed effective ideas Oregon could afford to attract or retain major employers. Clever tax policy did the trick.

nike logo
The 1984 repeal of the unitary tax occurred during an economic downturn and threats by Japanese and other foreign companies to blacklist Oregon. Repeal of the unitary tax wound up causing only a minor tax revenue drop, but served as a red carpet to companies such as NEC and Epson that responded by quickly building manufacturing plants in Oregon.

In the early 2000s, manufacturers with large physical footprints and lots of employees in Oregon complained that the state’s apportionment formula to determine tax liability penalized them. The three-factor formula weighed property value, employees and in-state sales equally.

Lawmakers recognized the tax disincentive for companies such as Intel and Precision Castparts to keep investing here and adding jobs. They modified the apportionment formula to give double weight to in-state sales.

Under continuing pressure from the manufacturing sector, lawmakers agreed to phase out the three-factor formula and replace it with an apportionment scheme that just considered in-state sales.

That change eliminated the penalty manufacturers felt when they expanded their operations and hired more workers. It undoubtedly reduced state corporate tax bills, but the addition of more, often higher-paid workers increased personal income tax collections. On balance, the state achieved a net positive.

Local communities also benefitted from higher industrial property valuations that helped pay for schools and firehouses and new residents who bought or built homes and shopped in local stores.

Kitzhaber’s latest idea basically enshrines the latest good idea for manufacturers who promise to make sizable investments and create jobs. It doesn’t cost anything, but it will reap dividends by once again helping Oregon stand apart from the crowd – and eager industrial recruiters from California, Arizona and Colorado and cities such as Austin and Raleigh-Durham.

Some may question Kitzhaber’s haste in summoning lawmakers to pass tax legislation undeniably intended to entice Nike to stay and expand. But it’s no different than Governor Vic Atiyeh who summoned a small group including us 20 years ago to count votes on repeal of the unitary tax.

Oregon’s sizable, productive and diverse manufacturing sector is the evidence of a smart, cost-effective strategy that still works.

New MySpace steps onto the field

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by Cam Clark

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, MySpace has been reborn, and I have taken a plunge into the new world. Under the ownership of a seemingly endlessly talented Justin Timbmerlake, this is a whole new beast.

The first thing you notice about the new MySpace, especially if you had an account on the old MySpace, is that it’s beautiful. It’s very visual, with lots of context-based menuing. Although it was disorienting at first, the side scrolling has quickly grown on me.

new myspaceIt is also very apparent that the site is now focused solely on music. Every piece of the site appears to be wrapped around the idea of listening, sharing, and exploring music. With access to what seems to be a massive collection, you can quickly immerse yourself.

MySpace is not without its issues though. The icon showing who you’re connected to, although simple, looks like a master card logo, and it is not instantly clear how to use it. Also, what do the different states of the icon mean? It’s not always obvious how certain layers of the site are opened and closed. There is also a stark lack of intuitive linking; I find myself trying to click on things that don’t have links, especially in the “Discovery” area.

From a competition standpoint, I wonder what Facebook thinks of MySpace’s re-entry into the social scene. After spending some time with the site, I realized that it isn’t so much Facebook that should be paying attention to this brand resurrection as Spotify, Pandora, and potentially iTunes.

I can easily see teens and 20-somethings taking to a platform like this, especially those who really enjoy exploring and sharing music. The big question, since currently there are no ads or subscription fees, is, “Where will the money come from?” Once MySpace starts generating income, how will that translate into compensation for the artists? And without any obvious features to best the dominant music players in the industry, how will MySpace compete?

Getting to play with the new MySpace has really created more questions for me than have been answered. At the same time, it’s fun to see a great player come out of retirement, and it will be fun to watch MySpace step out onto the field again. Whether or not the company hits it out of the park this time around is another question entirely.