_____LEADS

**1. ADVERTISING: GRAFFITI MURAL ADVERTISING. DENNIS ROCHE, president of ZOOM MEDIA, a lifestyle media and marketing firm that uses graffiti advertising and has created murals for the Cartoon Network, Dodge Magnum, Virgin Mobile and Snapple: "On a recent episode of 'The Apprentice,' teams competed to create graffiti murals advertisements for a new video game -- a tactic Donald Trump described as a 'new form of urban advertising.' While they may be new to 'The Donald,' graffiti murals are a tried and true marketing tactic."

**2. BUSINESS: THE IDENTITY THEFT PANDEMIC IS COMING. ROBERT L. SICILIANO, identity theft expert at IDTHEFTSECURITY.COM: "Tapes of Bank of America Corporation's financial information for 1.2 million people, including a number of U.S. senators, have been missing since December 2004. A deep, yearlong breach of security led to identity theft at Georgia-based ChoicePoint Inc. more than four months ago. In both cases, law enforcement officials told the companies to delay informing affected customers. Members of U.S. Congress have responded to the gravity of these crimes by calling for hearings. The U.S. needs to improve the rules that govern when and how companies and law enforcement inform those whose identities may have been stolen. The identity theft pandemic is coming."

**3. BUSINESS: HOW WEAK WILL PUBLIC COMPANY DISCLOSURES BE? SAL SALIBELLO, managing partner at SALIBELLO & BRODER LLP: "Public companies single out section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as the most onerous provision. Now the market awaits finding out how widespread the disclosure of one or more material weaknesses will be and how strong its reaction will be. At this point, no one knows for sure, but a lot of people are guessing."

**4. BUSINESS: NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. SHARON MULLEN, inventor and founder of INVENTIVE PARENT, can discuss whether parent-invented products will soon replace those dreamed up by large corporations: "Challenged by problems that existing products did not address, a rising trend is parents who become business owners by inventing parenting solutions out of necessity. I started Inventive Parent because I was increasingly convinced that the best products were not designed by large corporations; rather, they were created by parents who came up with solutions to problems out of necessity."

**5. CAREERS: MARCH IS IMAGE IMPROVEMENT MONTH. MARISA D'VARI, president of DEG.COM COMMUNICATIONS and author of "Building Buzz: How to Reach and Impress Your Target Audience": "Jumpstart your professional image with these five tips: invest in a sharp networking suit that positions you in a credible light; remember names and use them often; radiate positive energy with a smile; write articles and send them to contacts; and invest in your network "- it's the best way to build buzz."

**6. INTERNET: SKILL GAMING IS QUICKLY GAINING PROMINENCE. JOHN WALLIS, president of FORTUNEFUN.COM: "Skill gaming is quickly gaining prominence as the next online cash cow. Market intelligence indicates that the non-casino skill gaming market will grow this year to $5 billion. Unlike casino games, known as games of chance, a skill-based game is a game whose outcome is based on the skill level of individual players, and people like to play at home for money. Players pay to play games, such as Solitaire, Minesweeper, Hearts and proprietary games. They practice on their cell phones, but then they want to play for money, and it's a quick-growing business model." [email protected] Phone: 212-999-5585 (3/7/05)">News Contact: Ronn Torossian, [email protected] Phone: 212-999-5585 (3/7/05)

**7. MARKETING: HOW BRANDS ARE REALLY BUILT. RICK BARRERA, president of OVERPROMISE.COM and author of "Overpromise and Overdeliver: Secrets of Unshakable Customer Loyalty," which sheds new light on how brands are really built and offers practical advice to differentiate your products, services and company: "Hard times create amazing success. Despite all the talk today of an oversupply of goods and services, industry consolidation, menacing imports, stalled prices and shrinking margins, a few remarkable businesses have discovered how to make their brands irresistible to more and more customers."

**8. PHILANTHROPY: GIVING BACK THROUGH GIVING CIRCLES. JESSICA BEARMAN, deputy director of NEW VENTURES IN PHILANTHROPY: "Women across the country are changing the way Americans give to charity. Known as giving circles, small groups of friends and acquaintances are coming together to pool their money to make a real difference in their communities. Starting something big is easy. Just about any social group -" church groups, book clubs, or girls' nights out "- can become a giving circle by collectively giving to charities in their area."

**9. RETAIL: ARE MEGA RETAILERS CONSIDERING THEIR TRUE ASSETS? ALEX BENDER, retail workforce expert at UNICRU, can discuss the importance of Federated's focus on the face of the company -- its people -- in the effort to bring May Department Stores into the black: "Often overlooked or thought of as mere cost centers, employees continue to be one the best ways to compete for customers. If retailers are to effectively compete, they must make the move to stand out in customer service and sales productivity. This is only accomplished by paying attention to employee satisfaction, customer service and sales productivity levels."

**10. TAX PLANNING: TAX PLANNING FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS. JAMES CASSIDY, CPA, senior tax manager at ROTHSTEIN KASS-CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS: "Whether you are investing in or relocating to the United States, focusing on tax considerations can save you a significant amount of money. Based upon your personal and business goals, tax-planning strategies could be tailored to fit your business and personal goals. There are five tax regimes in the United States that directly affect an individual's income either earned by providing services or investing in the United States. Tax advice to prepare an international assignee or investor for their financial decisions in the United States should be made before boarding the plane or soon after their arrival."

**11. TAX PLANNING: LAST-MINUTE TAX FILING TIPS. ROSS RIZZO, director of tax at SALIBELLO & BRODER LLP: "Preparing your taxes is stressful, and that anxiety often causes taxpayers to get sloppy with their returns. Take your time. Mistakes are made more often by last-minute filers. Re-check your math using a calculator. Be sure to attach all W-2 forms, and don't forget to sign your return. Both spouses must sign when filing jointly. If someone else is preparing your return, know who you're working with, and ask for an explanation of items. When you sign the return you become responsible for it."

**12. TECHNOLOGY: WIRELESS SOLUTIONS FOR AIRPORTS. MICHAEL SLINGLUFF, president of AEROSPORT, can discuss wireless communication solutions and cite examples of the best things of the next generation of communications at airport facilities, where similar scenarios will be rolled out across the U.S.: "Technology can be costly for airports of all sizes due to several factors including engineering/support, security and safety issues, and practicality vs. budgetary issues. The goal was to remain cost-efficient and, at the same time, maintain a high speed, reliable and powerful enough Wi-Fi application at a central location so not to have pilots and crew members scramble to workstations or around the airport to find the typical 'hot-spots. We didn't think a small-office/home-office solution applied to an industrial strength task would suffice at a small airport, but it turned out to be a tremendous success. One such technology called D2D technology can commonly be found in typical routers in small home or office environments. In the end, we were able to increase an airport's wireless coverage without having to install multiple access points, or bury cables around the facility.

**13. TECHNOLOGY: BANK OF AMERICA LOSES BACK-UP TAPES. BUD STODDARD, president and CEO of AMERIVAULT, is a storage and back-up expert: "Bank of America is making headlines because of their loss of computer data back-up tapes containing personal information on 1.2 million federal employees. Given the advanced back-up technologies available today, such as replication or electronic vaulting, which provide for disk-to-disk based back-up, it is surprising that Bank of America is using what many call an archaic form of back-up."

**14. WORKPLACE: DOL REPORTS AND FULL DISCLOSURE PRICING MODELS. GLENN DIAL, vice president of retirement plan services for CERIDIAN, offers kudos for reports released by the DOL on Dec. 9, 2004: "Sound judgment and prudent fiscal planning are essential when choosing a plan record keeper -" and, subsequently, the funds in the portfolio. Failure to do so can impact the ROI for the employee and potentially place the organization itself at risk for litigation. Plan sponsors should not enter into relationships with product and service providers who refuse to disclose the amount and sources of all fees and compensation they receive in connection with the plan."

**15. WORKPLACE: EMPLOYERS SHOULD IMPLEMENT EMPLOYEE BLOG POLICIES. GREGG LEMLEY, labor and employment lawyer at BRYAN CAVE LLP: "Employers should consider implementing policies regarding employee blogs. I recommend that clients develop policies regarding employee Internet activities during and after work. Over 5 million independently run blogs currently exist."