By Cheryl Gale, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, March PR

PRWeek staff editors wrote an article at the end of December titled "Brands in Need of a Comeback in 2012," and to no surprise, BlackBerry makers, Research in Motion (RIM), made the list. As a BlackBerry user, I couldn't agree more that RIM needs to step it up a notch to compete in the Smartphone (and tablet) market.

According to this article, RIM's reputation took a major hit after the almost week-long service outage across the globe in October 2011. I have a lot of family and friends in the UK and they were without email on their devices for over a week. The outage didn't appear to last as long in the US though.

So what does RIM need to do to stay ahead of the tech curve?

For starters, their devices need to be improved greatly. BlackBerry models (Pearl, Storm and Torch to name a few) haven't drastically changed over the years and 2012 might be a good time to introduce some new product features and capabilities.

By Art Stevens, Managing Partner, StevensGouldPincus

As I gaze into my consultant's crystal ball I foresee 2012 as the year of the PR agency. It will be a year of great growth for agencies throughout the country. My prediction is based on several premises: My ongoing dialogue with agency owners whom we consult with, as well as those we represent for mergers and acquisitions.

Client budgets are stronger in 2012 to date than they've been during the past few years. And economic signs are pointing in the right direction. This is the year when agencies have an unprecedented opportunity to make big numbers: Revenue increases and record breaking profits.

But to take advantage of the tealeaf readings agency owners need to batten down the hatches and adhere to some basic but necessary principles to ensure that by December 31 they will be toasting one of the best years they've ever had. And here's how to do it:

1. Retain those key employees. Don't let them get away. As agencies grow the talent grows short. There's a greater demand on such talent and PR agency account people will be in the driver's seat. Assess which of your key people are most responsible for the success the firm has enjoyed the past few years and make plans to keep them. I've worked with agency owners during the past five years or so to help them retain vital staff members. Among the ways are compensation packages that reward key people for their contributions. Such packages include percentages of profits and revenues, new business wins, client satisfaction and management of account teams.

By Jim Sinkinson, Publisher, Bulldog Reporter

The Daily 'Dog caught up with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales before his keynote presentation at Hult International School of Business in San Francisco last week to ask him about PR's access to Wikipedia, Wikipedia's role in the SOPA/PIPA copyright protection controversy, and Wales's latest venture, the for-profit Wikia. Eleven-year-old Wikipedia is now the Web's fifth largest website, with some 460 million unique visitors a month. Here are some of the answers Wales gave us:

Many PR people perceive that Wikipedia is an insider's club, where some companies have access and others don't — that it's not a level playing field. How true is that in your opinion?

JW: That's not accurate. We want to present better protocols, and I know there has been confusion around access. But we're intending to get something out about best practices. If you're having trouble, just send us an email — info@wikipedia.com — or visit the WikiProject discussion and let us know. But you've got to be respectful and not confrontational. (Editor's note: "A WikiProject is a group of editors that collaborate on encyclopedic work at the collection of pages devoted to the management of a specific topics or family of topics within Wikipedia." Reach any article's discussion section using the Talk tab.)

What can a PR person do if false information is posted about a company or a personality?

JW: Anytime there's false information, just post it to the discussion page. We have people monitoring them, and their response is pretty fast. If it's a person, you want to go to the Biographies of Living Persons notice board. The bios are called BLPs. You can go to the article talk page or just write to info@wikipedia.org. Our editors will become an advocate for anyone with a complaint or a problem.

The Meltwater Group (www.meltwater.com), a leading online media intelligence company, and Strutta Media (www.strutta.com), a leading developer of social marketing applications and analytics for the next generation of online promotions, has announced a strategic partnership. Through this venture, Meltwater will deliver a more robust social media marketing offering, helping companies to more effectively engage with their key stakeholders. By partnering with Strutta, Meltwater continues its vigorous growth momentum established in 2011 with the acquisition of both JitterJam, a social CRM company, and IceRocket, a blog analytics tool, strengthening Meltwater's capabilities in social CRM and search engine marketing. More than ever, the company is now positioned to deliver a full suite of social media marketing solutions for its clients and extend its core capabilities beyond social and digital analytics. "As more organizations move customer promotions and digital marketing to social channels, understanding the subsequent impact on your brand becomes an integral element of a successful marketing campaign," said Niklas de Besche, executive director of Meltwater Buzz, in a news release. "This partnership represents an expanded focus for Meltwater, and by leveraging a category leader like Strutta, we're positioning ourselves as one of the most powerful and unique social media marketing companies out there."

By Jim Bucci

Numerous challenges existed when Murphy O'Brien Public Relations began working with the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (INTUR) in 2008. The second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Nicaragua had a history of revolution and civil war, a president known for anti-American sentiments and very little or any visibility among North America as a tourist destination. The government also had a tiny marketing budget for tourism development.

After digging into the country's attributes, the PR team quickly learned that Nicaragua presented much of the ecotourism opportunities of its neighbor and popular travel destination locale Costa Rica — and even more unspoiled natural beauty. The country featured a host of top beaches and eco-resorts at half the price of those in Costa Rica as well.

"We were trying to get the word out about Nicaragua as a destination location," explains Murphy O'Brien Public Relations account supervisor Sharon Boorstin. "A lot of fear existed from tourists about the country, that it was unsafe due to its political history. We wanted to convey to tourists that Nicaragua was safe and actually one of the safest countries in South America along with Costa Rica."

To dispel such misperceptions about Nicaragua as dangerous and unstable, Murphy O'Brien needed to entice top travel journalists to write about the country's beautiful scenery, warm hospitality, accommodations and rich culture.