PR in ACTION

Here is my example of public relations in action! I chose to film an ornament exchange my apartment hosted. We sent formal invitations to every guest household and asked that they bring one $10 ornament and a dessert. We also promoted the event on Facebook. We had 21 attendees! When the guest arrived we had Christmas music playing softly in the background while everyone mingled. From there people fixed plates of food and our apartment provided hot chocolate. After everyone found a seat we had numbers 1-21 and let everyone draw. We decided against "White Elephant" because we did not want anyone to get their feelings hurt. We went in numerical order and had everyone pick an ornament, everyone watched them unwrap it and we clapped at the end to applaud the one who bought the ornament and the one who gets to keep it. This was our second ornament exchange at our apartment and we have found that it is a good way to get together one last time before the holidays and hang out before finals set in. We originally sent out approximately 36 invitations and only 21 showed up; although this is a good number I believe more would have come if it were not during last test and finals studying. I believe this was the weakness of our event-the time we chose to have it. I believe our strength was that the invitations portrayed what we wanted to happen, everyone brought an ornament and dessert and it was a fun time had by all. You may think the singing was staged, which it was, but we would have sang with or without a camera so this is truly a natural setting. It was only Phi Mu girls so everyone was comfortable with each other and mingled nicely. I wish our apartment had been bigger to accommodate all of our guest but we did the best we could with our space given. We all had a lovely time and believe that this was a form of PR because we were strengthening the bond between those of us already in a group. We promoted this event nicely and had everyone aware of it. It was organized and flowed smoothly. The event lasted about an hour, which is what we planned for, and everyone came in and out in a timely fashion. Over all I believe this was a very successful event. Everyone who came had a great time and we plan to have it again next year :)

Relay For Life Kick-Off Event!

We planned and executed the Baldwin Co. Relay For Life Kick-Off Event on November 17 at 6 p.m. at Northside Baptist Church. I believe the event went AMAZING! Everything from the decorations to the food went perfectly (minus a minor cupcake mishap!) The decorations from our theme "Celebrate a Memory" were beautiful and the food was very theme-ish and delicious! I think the best thing from the event was that we all become closer as a class. This will be our third class together and it is nice to know that we are finally bonding and becoming friends rather than just classmates. It is nice to know that I have another group of girls to come to and help me when I need them. My favorite part of the event was the cupcake lighting and the slide show. I think it all went beautifully and I know there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Relay For Life is an amazing organization and I am very thankful I was able to be apart in the planning. I learned that from good preparation and planning, your event will be successful. My dad always says Brooke remember the 5 P's...Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. This is true in any aspect of life especially event planning. I believe our PR Admin class did a fabulous job tonight. I wouldn't have changed anything about it. I hope the Relay team was as proud of us as I am. Great job tonight girls :)

An Unwithering Rose

Approximately one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime. Rose Hartley never thought she would be one of them.

The diagnosis came as quite a shock in March 2002. It was a small spot on her nose right where her glasses sat, refusing to go away. Out of curiosity she went to see dermatologist Dr. Vickie Brown, where the spot was cut off and further examined. Soon after her visit to the doctor, the phone rang and her heart dropped, “I’m sorry Rose, it is cancerous”.

“I was terrified because all I could think was having to continuously get my nose cut into,” said Hartley.

After a second visit to Dr. Brown, she had more tissue removed and the treatment lasted six months. Hartley sincerely hopes she never has to hear those dreadful words again. Although it was a mild case, it was still frightening. There are no small cancers and she was fortunate she caught hers at an early stage. She was able to get through this tough time with God, the wonderful Dr. Brown, the support of her family and friends and of course her loving husband, Phillip Hartley. Phillip is also a cancer survivor and won the battle with prostate cancer.

“I am very active in Relay For Life because I never want my children or grandchildren to have the diagnosis of cancer.”

She began volunteering for Relay For Life as a Team Captain of the Oak Hill Middle School where she worked as the secretary. She retired two years ago and became the registration chair for the Baldwin County Relay For Life.

“Rose is a very dedicated volunteer who is willing to help whenever asked. She and her husband are very involved in the Milledgeville community and enjoy helping people in any way possible,” said Relay For Life Event Chair, Jan Nutt.

Rose Hartley defeated skin cancer and is a true survivor.

Bobcat PRSSA Presents PR Day

The GCSU chapter of PRSSA hosted a "PR Day" on November 4 from 1-5. It was an amazing day and we had a great turn out. There were amazing speakers: Cristy Williams, VP of communications with GE Money, Jena Simonds, director of communications and branding for Streamline Consultants, LLC, Keynote Speaker: Bert DuMars, VP E-Business & Interactive Marketing at Newell Rubbermaid, Katherine Mason, Account Executive with Porter Novelli. Each speaker shared their knowledge of PR and talked on different topics to give us a wide range of information.

I equally enjoyed them all and learned very valuable information. One thing I learned was how to successfully dress for the job I "want" and not the one you are asking for. Always over dress if you are unsure. I learned that you must be determined and pro active in any job. Over achieve and do beyond what is asked of you. It is important to research the company before you apply and have a knowledge of what they are about because you need to know if you would be a good fit with them just as they are wondering that about you. I have always heard it is not what you know, it is who you know, but I was proven wrong. Do not go into a job wondering who you need to get in good with. If you preform to a high standard, you will get noticed and the right people will pay attention to you. It is what you do and not who you know that is important. I learned that is OK to try and negotiate your salary, ask what you think is acceptable for you to live off of but do not be unreasonable. Mr. Bert DuMars shared very useful information about social media because he is very familiar with it. He knows it is important for everyone in the PR field to understand different types of social media because that is the direction all public relations is heading. No one is 100% sure where social media is going-it is all test and learn so as it grows, so must your knowledge of it. Being a junior, I learned that I need to start networking and trying to land as many internships as possible. I should start working on my portfolio and resume and get a head start and start applying for internships this Christmas break and next summer. They shared great insight to the internships available in their firms as well as other places to apply. Each speaker offered their contact information and told us to contact them for further help if needed which is great!

I am very glad that our PRSSA chapter was able to put on such a great session. I believe it was very helpful for all who attended and I look forward to the one next year!

Fall 2009 Practicum

This semester, I am doing my practicum with the GCSU Choral Department and loving every minute of it! The Choral Director, Jennifer Flory, is a joy to work with and is being so helpful. Thus far I have written press releases, designed posters and t-shirts and recorded their performances. I was unfamiliar with the poster designing and recording before I became her practicum student, but I am very glad she has asked me to do both because I will possibly need experience in both. As a professional, you do not say, "I do not know how to do that", you suck it up and get the job done.

I think practicums are a great thing and I am very grateful GCSU offers this because it gives us real life experience in what we are interested in. Having a client that depends on you changes everything. Besides giving us experience, these practicums give us pieces for our portfolio and things we can actually use to get future jobs.

Thus far I have had my press release published, my posters used and two of my t-shirts printed. The big events I have worked on are High School Choral Day, the Mendelssohn Bicentennial Celebration and the Disney Delights Concert. I am learning so much and having a great time while doing it.

I will be doing advertising for WGUR next semester and hope that I will learn as much from this one as I did with the music department. I would recommend this practicum to anyone!

How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference...The Tipping Point

I recently finished the amazing book by Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. I believe this book gives insider information to everyone who reads it, and it was a great requirement for our Public Relations Administration class.

The tipping point is that dramatic moment when a trend or idea becomes an epidemic caused by a little change that has a big effect. It only takes a group of people to make a bold step for the whole world to be changed forever. I liked that Gladwell used real life experiences that most were familiar with to help everyone grasp and understand the concept of tipping. The book defines three characteristics necessary to cause the tip: The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context.

The Law of the Few is the idea that a select few people drive society. Gladwell divides these people into three groups. These are the Connectors, the Mavens, and the Salesmen. The Connector is a person who knows many people. They have many acquaintances and can bring people together because they are involved in many social circles. The Mavens accumulate an abundant amount of knowledge and share it with others. Mavens want to solve others problems and do this by solving their own. They inform the connectors of the information. The Salesmen persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we hear. They make you feel welcome and they sell a product or idea to you.

I believe that I am a maven. I love discovering new things and finding out new information then sharing it with others. I like knowing things before others and I feel accomplished when I give them the inside information and help them out. When shopping I want to know that I am getting the best product I am searching for with the best deal. When I find this deal I am quick to tell my friends so they can benefit from it as well. I would like to think I am a connector but because I am a quite and reserved person, I usually do not make the initiative to meet new people. Luckily, some of my best friends are connectors and help me to branch out and still stay connected. I am defiantly not a salesmen because I do not like to put people in uncomfortable situations and make them feel forced to make a decision.

The Stickiness Factor makes something memorable and keeps you coming back for more. The Power of Context reminds us that “epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur”.

Our PR Admin class has all three types of people Gladwell describes, and I feel that we can use this to our advantage when trying to tip our Relay For Life event in a community that is unwilling to give. We can use our Mavens to research information and pass it on to our connectors who will find the people for our salesmen to target and get to participate in our event. Because money is such a big issue now days, I believe we can use free publicity to promote the event without requiring much money and still make it a success. If we target the right group of people, they will in turn spread the information and influence others to participate in the event as well as give to it. Having the “Relay For Life” name associated with our event also helps make it successful, because businesses are aware of the organization and are more willing to give if they know exactly where their products are going. Because we have such a diverse group of people in our class, we can come together with our different talents and benefit this event. When the event is over I hope we have achieved the Stickiness Factor because this is an annual event and hopefully the community of Baldwin County will begin to be aware of the event and prepare for it every year.

Twitter is a great example of what the tipping point describes. One person started it, and from there it became a huge fad. This did not only become popular in social lives, but now businesses and organizations are using it to connect as well. Blogging, microblogging and social media networking sites are beginning to take over the world and because a few people took that initiative and venture out, so have a million other people. It has helped many more people become connectors because once tweet can lead to a new friend, free food or maybe even a job. This book defiantly applies to everything social media is now offering us and I believe it is only going tip more.

I really enjoyed this book and believe everyone in the professional world should read it. My father was actually a maven because he passed it on to me. It was not until it was required for my class that I read it, and I am sure glad I did!

Blog Action Day 2009

First I would like to say that I think blog action day is an amazing thing! It is great that people from all over the world can connect and express their feelings of a uniform topic and all work for a greater cause!

Although it is not something we sit and ponder every day, climate is something that affects each and every one of us. Most of our thoughts on climate only go as far as the temperature outside or weather that day. We rarely think about the long term consequences we will face due to climate. The fact that climate threatens to cause famine, flooding, war and millions of refugees makes everyone stop and think a little more about it. Climate has made many drastic changes in our world recently with tsunamis, the war in Iraq and closer to home, the recent flooding in Atlanta.

Sadly there is not much we can do to change the climate. I believe that if it is God’s will, he will do what he sees fit, however there are preventable things that we can do. Using more eco-friendly products are a start. Many companies and businesses have made everything from toothpaste to cars that are better for the environment. Just recently we have all become more aware of how the climate is changing around us and “going green” has become a growing trend. I think choosing alternatives that are more environmentally friendly are great. I believe if everyone does their part to be more conscious of the products they buy we can improve and protect our ozone layer as well as our entire world.

As a future public relations specialist or working in an advertising agency, I do not see my career as being affected by the climate, but it will be. As the going green trend becomes more popular, clients will chose representatives that feel the same way, and are familiar with the products that support the going green life style. If I were to get a client that wanted me to promote a green product of theirs, I would have no idea what audience it needed to reach or what I needed to do with their information. Because this is so popular I know that I need to do my research and be familiar with it, because there is no doubt in my mind that this issue will come up in my future career. As far as the other issues with climate goes, crisis communication is a big part of public relations. If my business was caught in the middle of a terrible situation such as a flood, I would have to know how to over come it and get the business back on its feet. Also if the company I represented wanted to help fight hunger, I would want to promote it along with the businesses name in a successful way. Whether I go the public relations or advertising route, I will have to be fully aware of what is going on in the world how climate is constantly affecting it.

Although the climate’s affects seem to get worse on our world every year, I think the way people are beginning to do their part will help stop and reverse the damages drastically. I am excited to see how I can help and improve the environment through public relations or advertising dealing with climate change. This was all possible with www.blogactionday.com

Relay For Life Pitch

"Unwrapping the Cure" was the theme for my amazing group of Anna Bryson and Corinne Burstein. We worked very well together and spent a lot of time organizing and coming up with ideas. We tried to carry idea from the title all the way to the table decorations. We wanted it our theme to be simplistic and uniform which I think we accomplished. We chose the three colors purple, white and silver to represent Relay. The thing we found most difficult was trying to think of things that would be different from the other groups since we all had the same theme. We tried to find something that would make us stand out and judging by the request, they liked the candy bar the best. I really enjoyed this project because it gave us real life experience with real clients that we had to work for. Also the fact that it was a competition made us work harder to achieve the goal. I was a little disappointed after the pitch because we worked so hard and long and did not get chosen. We spent a lot of time and money on the pitch and I thought we had a really good chance at winning but our idea was not what the judges were looking for. I think the group that got picked did a great job and we will all have fun working on their theme together. I am really looking forward to making this event happen for the Baldwin County Relay For Life!

Playing Defense: Social media users pose a threat to SEC sports teams

The Southeastern Conference has issued new rules that prohibit fans from sharing videos and photos for commercial use during games according to an Aug. 20 article in The New York Times. These rules are aimed at social media users who copy TV broadcast and create their own highlight reels and post them on sights, and charge fees for advertisers and those who access their sights. Some disagree with these new rules saying the social media tools help promote the conference. Many fans have created unofficial websites for their favorite teams and these are viewed as competitors for other traditional media outlets and advertisers. The SEC wants to protect itself against new innovations in the future. Personally I think as long as the websites are not charging money to view and advertise on the site it is fine. It is not right that they will make money off of SEC game footage but as long as it is free to viewers, it is bringing attention to the games therefore promoting them in a positive way. I do not think it is competition because people would rather view accredited sites over a personal blog of Facebook page for information. The more the name is out, the better public relations there are. I think you should continue to let fans post what they want about their favorite teams. It seems that the SEC is creating more trouble for themselves when in the end it is not a very big deal.

Tweet temptation: Twitter may allow advertising

According to prsa.org, Twitter announced on September 10th, they are contemplating the possibility of advertising. They believe microblogging sites provide an attractive platform for advertisers to promote their brands. I see where Twitter is coming from because using advertising on the side will not only make them a profit, but will attract more people to their site. As a Twitter user, I believe I would find the advertising on the side distracting and annoying because I do not like it when I use Facebook but if in the long run it is more lucrative for Twitter then they should add it. I think it is a smart business move for Twitter to publish that they are thinking about adding advertising before they actually do it to get the public talking about their name. If someone who has never heard of Twitter before sees this release, they may be curious and want to go find out more about it. By waiting to add the advertising, it seems like they are giving the public a chance to voice their opinion in what they want. Many Twitter users are concerned with how advertising will affect their Tweets. They are worried pop up ads will dilute the creditability of their tweet. I think Twitter should construct a poll of some sort and ask the users what they want. The avid users are the ones who will be affected by this change and they need to consult them before making any drastic decisions.

My Public Relations Skills

After reviewing the post on davefleet.com I believe my public relations skills are as follows:

Writing: I have had a lot of experience with writing for public relations thus far in college and I know I will have many more chances to improve upon my current ones. I am able to pick out good writings and know what elements a good press release needs to have.

Communication Skills: I know how to effectively communicate with others and I can get things done in a productive manor. I enjoy talking to others and sharing knowledge.

Attention to Detail: This is a big skill of mine because I analyze every detail of what I do and make sure everything is into play. Little details are important to me and I do not let anything slide.

Media Relations: I am working on this skill and I am trying to networking every opportunity I get. I know how to make a media list and I have had a little experience pitching items so although I am still developing in this category, I have a little knowledge already.

Work Ethic: I realize public relations is not a typical job and will require more out of me than a regular job and I am willing to commit to it. I work well under pressure and I like deadlines. I try to pitch in and help everyone around me achieve their best.

Blogging: Obviously I am working on this skill. I know that blogging is and will continue to be an important part of public relations and I am trying to learn all there is to know about it.

Micro Blogging: I am also working on this skill and I hope to be fully trained in the 'twitter' world by the end of my college career. I know this is also an important part of public relations and I am willing to learn all there is to know about it.

There are a few areas I am still unknowledgeable about and I still need to work on before becoming a professional. Pro-activeness, seo, coding, blogger relations, social media ethics are the ones listed on the blog and I had very little experience with. I would like to learn about all of these areas in our public relations administration class.

Why Public Relations?

Why did I choose Public Relations as a concentration?...Because it is FUN! Who would want to sit and do math problems all day when you can plan events or help promote a company? I knew I wanted to be a mass communications major (hence why I chose GCSU) but I was unsure of what I wanted to concentrate on. I worked for a local magazine at home and I throughly enjoyed the advertising part of that so I chose that and I also had an interest in special events so I decided to double. I enjoy working with people and like to have fun while doing it. I really enjoy everything that public relations and advertising represent and think that by choosing these two as a profession, I will never actually be going to 'work'.