Carstarphen's Campaigners

KENNY MOSSMAN: SPORTS PR

2011-12-01T14:57:00.012-06:00

Kenny Mossman is the voice behind all the voices of the OU Athletics Department. He is the current SID (Sports Information Director) for the University of Oklahoma.

At OU, he supervises all media relations for the sports programs, publications, the department website, graphic design, licensing and Sooner Vision, Sooner Tradition media.

In media relations, with his main responsibility pertaining to the football program, he and is staff focus on promoting and supporting OU’s student athletes in winning national awards and recognition. For examples, one could look at the Jim Thorpe award winners, Heisman Winners, The Butkus Award, and a large number of All-American athletes. The OU Football Tradition remains strong, due to these awards that are responsible for attracting some of the top student athletes across the nation.

Mossman has a string of accomplishments, including being a staff member for four NCAA football bowl games. He was on the media staff for nine men’s basketball regionals, two Men’s Final Fours, and the coordinator for four NCAA women’s basketball regionals.

He has received many award for his role as the SID, from his peers. The College Sports Information Directors of America, have given him awards on several of the publications, he and his staff have produced. For the years 2001-2007, he won consecutive awards for his “Sooner” bowl guides, which were judged the best in the nation.

OU’s SID is constantly adjusting to new technologies in the sports public relations industry. When asked about what were the biggest changes he has experienced in his field, Mossman stated, “It would have to be that we no longer have to rely on others to get our message out, and don’t have to be concerned if it would be communicated in a positive light. We still keep a close relationship with the media, but with Twitter, Facebook, our TV network and the internet, we are able to control our messages without the filtering, like never before.”

He explained that on the “downside,” the program’s student athletes also had equal access to close communication with the publics, that his staff had little control of. He feels that all organizations will deal with these issues on a daily basis.

Mossman had this advice for any future PR practitioner, “I would encourage them to have almost a ‘nerdish’ approach to emerging technology and social platforms, they need to be the person in the department or organization who understands that stuff more than anybody else, pay attention to the trade journals, watch those who have it figured it out. Management is more interested in people who do things better, different, edgier than other people are. Basically, stay technology savvy on the social network platforms."

Keep Calm and Thunder Up

2011-11-30T20:31:00.004-06:00

Danielle Toussaint has been a friend of mine for the past five years. I met her when she was dating my oldest brother while they were still in college and she has continued to be a part of our family ever since.

Danielle's story and introduction into public relations was more indirect than others, but anyone can agree that she is truly where she needs to be. Danielle is currently working for the Oklahoma City Thunder as a Service Account Manager. She got her start at the Thunder just by applying like any other recently-graduated college student. She had no previous experience with the Thunder or in the sports industry for that matter and while in college at Oklahoma State University she bounced around with career paths until the day she graduated. She tried out three different majors before meeting a very special person in her life. She found a mentor; a professor that she connected with and who had previous knowledge in the field of public relations. Danielle listened, learned, and shadowed her professor's professional and personal public relations skill sets. This professor challenged Danielle, and it is because of her that Danielle applied for the Thunder. She never thought that she would have a chance in the world at getting such a position. Now, Danielle is one of the best public relations staff members that the Thunder has on board. She might be good at what she does, but this does not mean that her job does not come without obstacles. Danielle said that figuring out the best way to approach each task, whether it's writing, communicating with her guests, or organizing events she is being constantly challenged. As she put it, "I have to constantly be at the top of my game in order to not fall behind. Well, that and pray that there are no more NBA lockouts anytime in my near future." She said adjusting to the fast-paced environment that most public relations professionals are put into was her biggest challenge.

Then when I declared my major as Public Relations, there were 11 tips that Danielle told me to follow, which her mentor also had her follow. As she tells me, these tips are her number one piece of advice to new professionals in the public relations field.

Danielle is someone that I look up to and would go to for profession or personal advice any day. Her level of poise and confidence, along with her intelligence and work ethic, are traits that a majority of people I know strive for.

The Life of a New Yorker

2011-11-29T16:27:00.016-06:00

Interview with a Professional: Irma Damhuis

By: Ashleigh Woodall

While today New York City is a vibrant city known for its historic sites, in 1977 the city was in a severe financial crisis. Crime dramatically escalated as the city began experiencing blackouts. However, that same year the city made a 180, cleaning up the streets and increasing tourism. What caused this dramatic shift? The work of Irma Damhuis, the current director of external communications at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New
York City.

Career
Damhuis graduated college with a degree in English. Having always wanted to be a lawyer, Damhuis began looking for jobs that required similar skills – writing, research, planning and communications. She landed her first job at Wells, Rich, Greene, a revolutionary advertising agency headed by the pioneer Mary Wells. It was here she landed her first big account with the State of New York and created the 1977 “I Love New York” campaign. The campaign was designed to attract more businesses and thus alleviated the above mentioned financial crisis through increasing tourism. The campaign was a huge success, transforming the city and pulling it out of the crisis. The campaign remains popular today, with the I <3 New York shirts as one of the most popular selling items in the city.

Damhuis was then convinced to pioneer healthcare public relations on the east coast, a trend that was only popular on the west coast at the time. She worked at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, creating the “Mount Sinai. Take good care of yourself” campaign that was nationally recognized and put the medical center in a prominent position in the New York market. Finally, in 2001 Damhuis took a job as the Director of External Communications at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) in New York City, where she currently works.

Daily Life
CRF puts on several events throughout the year, including the Pulse of the City Gala, the Innovation Symposium, and the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics Conference (TCT). While her day to day activities vary based on which event is occurring, she says the main components to her job are outreach phone/meetings/networking) to increase awareness of CRF and helping individual business units (Skirball, Clinical Trials Center, Meetings and Education Department) meet their business goals by garnering greater recognition for their programs, meetings and services.

Damhuis’ work is also continually changing with the advent of social media. She now helps manage CRF’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and is finding new innovative ways to use social media to CRf’s advantage. For example, during the 2011 TCT Conference she would “tweet” the key messages of various speakers and the schedule to encourage people to go to different symposiums.

Rewards and Pitfalls
Damhuis says that her biggest reward comes from seeing the positive outcomes from campaigning. For example, the TCT conference was known as a “trade show” when she started working at CRF. Through campaigning, TCT is now one of the premiere cardiovascular symposiums and is being referred to as “TCT” in most cardiovascular publications. Damhuis states the downside to working in public relations is the amount of patience necessary. Campaigns do not take overnight – they require time and effort.

Words of Wisdom
Damhuis encourages students about to graduate to be sure to hone their writing skills. Written communications are essential in securing - and then keeping - a position. She recommends writing, “…as much as you can, whatever kind of writing you enjoy, whether it be poetry, short stories, press releases, letters, and so on. It's a skill that, sadly, is not in great supply. But it will continue to be valued, and will never go out of style - even in the age of "Tweets"!” Also, she reminds students to, “BE YOURSELF! Don't try to be something you are not - people can see through that. Come to a task with an open mind and willingness to learn. It will always serve
you well.”

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/us/blackout-2003-past-blackouts-65-77-became-defining-moments-city-s-history.html
http://www.crf.org/
http://www.tctconference.com/
http://www.mountsinai.org/
http://www.iloveny.com/

Frisco ISD Director of Communications

2011-11-29T13:31:00.007-06:00

I was extremely lucky to be able to interview a professional that is not only a family friend, but is also the person who sparked my first interest in Public Relations. Shana McKay-Wortham is the Director of Communications for the Frisco Independent School District.

She grew up in the Frisco area and went to Prosper High School. She then attended college at West Texas State for her first 2 years, and graduated from Texas A&M in 1986.

She started out as a newspaper reporter, and entered the Public Relations industry in1989. She has been doing school Public Relations for 22 years, the last 14 of which have been in Frisco.

When asked what brought her to Frisco, McKay-Wortham says “Having worked in a high growth area, I knew I wanted to be in on the ground floor of Frisco ISD’s boom, and to be a part of such a winning team. Working at Frisco also allows me to be closer to family.”

The people she works with are her favorite part of her job. “They are dynamic, genuine and they truly care about kids,” says McKay-Wortham.

She also said that her job is very hectic, but she wouldn’t enjoy it as much if she didn’t face challenges on a daily basis.

In addition to her position as the FISD Director of Communications, McKay-Wortham is a Leadership Frisco graduate, served on the Board for Texas School Public Relations Association, and the National School Public Relations Association.

Outside of her job, her hobbies are reading, cooking, traveling, being outdoors and spending time with family.

The advice she offered to new professionals was to pick something you are passionate about. When you find that work, be willing to put in the hours and be enthusiastic about it.

By: Dana Swann

Photos courtesy of friscoisd.org

The Many Hats of Alyssa Gardina

2011-11-24T01:01:00.003-06:00

The Many Hats of Alyssa Gardina

By: Andrea Segura

Photo Courtesy of Alyssa Gardina

Alyssa Gardina describes herself as wearing many hats when she refers to her position in public relations. As a graphic designer, copywriter, media strategist and social media aficionado Gardina is on the new media side of the profession and represents where the field is heading in the future.

Gardina began with a brief background on herself. She is originally from New Jersey and still proudly describes herself as a ‘Jersey Girl’ She graduated from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York with a B.S. degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and a minor in American History. Gardina says she counts museums and London among her favorite things. “I love good wine, good food and good conversation, especially when I can find all 3 in one place.” Gardina also runs a successful blog on which she discusses current technology trends mixed with a refreshing bit of her quirky humor.

Gardina held two previous positions as Social Media Supervisor at Ansira and Social Media Specialist at Razor before moving to Dallas, Texas. Today Gardina is an Account Supervisor at Weber Shandwick in Dallas where She works on a variety of brands, developing their social media strategies and tactics in order to increase brand awareness and customer engagement. She is also the Vice President of Branding at Social Media Club - Dallas Chapter. She also counts co-founder of fiveoclockdallas.com, a review site and community for Dallas bars and happy hours, among the extensive list of her accomplishments. Her responsibilities with Five O’Clock Dallas included creating content for bar listings, happy hour listings, blog posts and video reviews.

Gardina says her goals are to use her well-rounded computer, creative, research and communication skills to seamlessly combine the fields of research, marketing and media production. She also is ready and willing to share her expertise and says thinking simple is key in the public relations industry.

A Life Dedicated to Music

2011-11-21T19:23:00.008-06:00

Andy Nunez is the founder, owner, and operator of Opolis Productions, LLC, a music promotions company and venue, which he manages with his wife and bandmate Marian Nunez. Nunez has a passionate history with music, starting in the 6^th grade when he formed his first band right here in Norman. As time and his skill set progressed, so did his involvement in the Oklahoma music scene. “Most people interested in music, their interest sparks at a young age, grabs them, and never lets go,” said Nunez. Such a statement holds true for Nunez, as his progression from middle school bands to former Barsuk Records band the Starlight Mints finally lead him to his current gig as a music promoter.

Nunez attended college at Rose State University and the University of Oklahoma after an early graduation from Norman High School. He did not obtain a degree, because he dropped out to pursue his music career in Oregon after a short two years. As Nunez joked, “My wife got a degree in Art Media. We’re still paying for it.”

Nunez relayed information about the status of the music industry today, and remarked that the most challenging aspect of his job was keeping up with the constant fluctuation of trends, much like music and cultural icon Bob Dylan.

When asked which advice he would give to new professionals, Nunez quickly replied, “Change with the times. Be aware of trends; this business changes at a faster pace, so you have to adapt quicker in the music industry.”

photo: courtesy of Andy Nunez

My Mentor

2011-11-20T14:04:00.002-06:00

Summer 2011 was a time in my journey to becoming a Public Relation practitioner that I would never forget. Even though I am still on my journey, I can say that my time at Devon Energy this past summer was filled with lots of knowledge and learning experiences and a time I will never experience again

My mentor during this internship was Alesha M. Leemaster, MBA, APR. Leemaster is a Senior Communications Specialist at Devon Energy. She was always quick to help me understand the different ways to deal with the media and the right way to do things in the industry. I learned so much from her and she has become someone I can go to for advise and anything I need.

Leemaster studied Public Relations at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 to 2003. She said she always loved and understood the process of public relations and knew exactly what she wanted to do when she got into college.

“A lot of people in PR say the want to join the profession because they are good with people or they are outgoing,” Leemaster said. “Those attributes are great but this profession needs people who understand the process of successful PR and have the passion needed to be successful.”

Leemaster began her career at the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, where she was a communications specialist. She stayed there for two years and then became a communications specialist for the Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OGE). Leemaster said that even though she wanted to work for a big company, she knew she had to start somewhere.

“I started off working with small companies where I was the only communications specialist,” Leemaster said. “I was responsible for every aspect of PR and that helped me acquire so many skills instead of limiting myself.”

Leemaster’s experience and her ability to handle all aspects of public relations and communications put her above her peers. In 2006, she was offered a position at Devon Energy as a Senior Communications Specialist, a position she had always dreamed of. She has been with the company ever since.

Leemaster has had a big impact in my life and she has taught me skills that I will need in my future. She also taught me to spread my wings and to make myself valuable. To be a woman in such a high position at Devon Energy shows how much talent she has and shows her passion and understanding of the process of public relations.

Media Relations in the Public Relations Profession

2011-11-16T23:02:00.005-06:00

Jill Harrison is the manager of Public Relations and Image Development at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber in downtown Oklahoma City. At a young age she has accomplished a successful career in the field of Public Relations. She is APR certified and she has received many awards in her field.

Jill Harrison, Manager of Public Relations and Image Development

Photo e-mailed to me by Jill Harrison

She received her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Spanish from the University of Kansas. In April of her senior year she began to look for a job for after graduation. She sent out her resume and other information to potential employees looking for a job. She also sent information to her advisor. One day her advisor received an e-mail about a job and recommended Jill for it, and that is how she found her first job.

I asked Jill what they hardest part about her job is and she laughed and said it depends on the day.

“For the most part working in media relations I have had difficulty because reporters have become so busy with covering so many different stories,” said Harrison. “Even when you send them newsworthy stories they do not always have time to cover it. I know they are very busy with so many stories, but they tend to be very short with you and are difficult to work with.”

I asked Jill what she would recommend to future Public Relations professionals such as myself and she was very passionate about her answer. She strongly recommended the following things:

Show up
Be on time
Have a good attitude
Never say something isn't your job
Try
Ask Questions

Find tips on being a successful intern

“There are some things they are not able to teach you in school,” said Harrison. “These tips are all things you should know before going in to a job interview. Some things come from learning and experience, but there is nothing more important that good work ethic.”

Meeting with such a successful Public Relations professional such as Jill was such an amazing opportunity. I enjoyed getting to know her and she is definitely someone I would love to be my mentor as I enter the professional world.

Advice from a PR Professional

2011-11-16T01:37:00.005-06:00

Influences from the Past

Four years ago as I considered what my ideal career path would be, I remember looking back to my conversations with our family friend Julie, a Public Relations professional at CBS San Francisco. These conversations have impacted my life and helped with my decision to enter the world of Public Relations. I recently got in contact with Julie to fill her in on my time at the University of Oklahoma and learn more about her life in San Francisco.

History of Success

Julie Pearson graduated at the University of Texas and has now been a public relations professional for 35 years. Pearson and her family of four moved to California after her husband found a job, and for the last 22 years she has worked at CBS Broadcasting in San Francisco. What she loves most about her job is the large number of people she gets to meet and the opportunities it provides her.

“Working at CBS, or rather in the Public Relations field in general, has introduced me to so many interesting people,” Pearson said. “Not only do I come in contact with so many people, but I actually form relationships with them that will last a lifetime.”

Advice

Pearson was enthusiastic to give me advice for my career as I told her I would be graduating shortly. She emphasized my need for networking and keeping in contact with everyone I meet, and explained the many opportunities made available to her through networking.

“You never know what the smallest conversations with new people can do for you,” Pearson said. “It’s extremely important to keep in touch with someone after you first meet. A simple e-mail can make all the difference.”

Additional links:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/

http://www.cbscorporation.com/corp_careers.php?id=268

http://www.blogger.com/PRBlog

http://publicrelationsblogger.com/

http://www.pr-squared.com/

Photo: Courtesy of Julie Pearson

Public Relations: Follow Your Dreams

2011-11-15T01:08:00.002-06:00

Choosing a Career Path

Megan Hundahl knew what she wanted to do with her life in grade school. She looked on with teachers and peers as the space shuttle Challenger exploded over the Atlantic Ocean. From then on, Hundahl became infatuated with national television news.

Achieving Goals

After graduating from Baylor University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Hundahl moved to New York. During her junior year in college Hundahl interned with Good Morning America and kept in touch with her boss; as a result, after graduation she began work in the booking department of Good Morning America. For 10 years, Hundahl was responsible for booking all the live guests for the show.

Currently, Hundahl is working in Uvalde, Texas as the head of public relations for Uvalde Memorial Hospital.

Everyday Challenges

In her public relations career, Hundahl finds the most difficult part of her job to be keeping ideas fresh. In order to do that she says, “You have to do a lot of reading and research.”

Advice for a Young Professional

Hundahl offered some valuable advice for those thinking of entering the public relations profession, “You have to work your way up. You have to learn every level because every level is important to your overall strategy—which is to do the best work for your organization.”

Lastly, Hundahl added, “Don’t get frustrated because you’ll learn more from failure than from success.”

Additional links:

http://www.umhtx.org/

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/topics/show/good-morning-america/

http://youngie.prblogs.org/

http://www.pr-media-blog.co.uk/

http://propr.ca/

Molly Myers

A Career Path Worth Following

2011-11-10T17:33:00.004-06:00

The Path I Wish to Take

Having interned at the Oklahoma City Thunder for two semesters and currently working part-time there, my dream job and ultimate goal through my Public Relations degree at The University of Oklahoma is to work full-time for the Thunder after graduation. Kaylee Losinger, a Guest Relations Specialist for the Oklahoma City Thunder, took the exact career path I wish to take.

How to Get the Job

Ms. Losinger, like myself, interned with the Oklahoma City Thunder the semester before she graduated. Although she graduated with one class left to take, she started working with the Thunder while finishing up her degree. Now, she works full time in the Guest Relations department.

“The first part of my job mainly revolves around communicating with the fans,” Losinger said.

Every day the Guest Relations department gets hundreds of emails from fans for variety of different reasons. Ms. Losinger’s job requires he to hold up the standards placed by the Thunder of responding to each email or request within one business day. This can include anything from sending Thunder memorabilia to fans, to responding to a question or problem.

The second part of her job is acting as a liaison between the arena staff and the staff at the Oklahoma City Thunder. During games, these groups of people constantly interact. Ms. Losinger helps them stay in contact through internal newsletters, conferences and other forms of communication.

Advice for an Aspiring Professional

When asked what her advice would be for someone wanting to go into her field of work, she simply responded, “stick with it and make all the connections you can.”

Her advice has directly affected me. While interning at the Thunder I have taken every opportunity to meet anyone I can. I get advice from anyone willing to give it and do not take for granted a single day. Hopefully, my future will lead me right where Kaylee’s led her.

Brenna Kent

November 10, 2011

Photo: Courtesy of Okeicentric

Interview With a PR Pro

2011-11-09T17:11:00.003-06:00

New to the Game

Tory Wehner is a young, public relations professional working at TBS Promotions in Dallas. She graduated from Texas A&M University in 2008 with a degree in Marketing and Business Administration. Tory celebrated her one-year anniversary at TBS Promotions last month and she says she has loved every second of it, even the hectic times. At TBS, Tory’s main clients are Metro PCS and Massage Envy. She works closely with them to promote their image and host events that will get their name out to the public. Currently, she lives in Allen, TX, a suburb of Dallas, with her boyfriend, Brett.

A Long Road

“After I graduated, oh man, I was the model of what not to do,” Tory said. When graduation rolled around, Tory had not looked for any jobs because she had held two internships and assumed that she would get an offer from at least one of them. Unfortunately, she did not hear from them again and she blames it on the fact that she lagged in keeping up her contacts so when she walked across the Aggie stage and had no plans for her life, she began frantically looking for a job. Tory accepted a position at Comerica Bank in the customer service department because that was the closest thing to public relations that she could find. Tory said she was miserable so every day was a struggle.

Finally, after three years at the bank, she met Karen Bardoff, VP of TBS Promotions, who offered her a position working on the promotions team. Since then, Tory has felt at home working in the PR field.

There is no Routine

When I questioned Tory about the routine of her day, she laughed and said, “When working in the PR/promotions area, there is zero routine. Sometimes clients call a day in advance and ask us to put on event in the next few days…yeah, those days are definitely crazy! That’s what I love most about the job but I think that is what the biggest challenge is too.” Tory believes that the surprise of each day is the hardest part because there is no way to be fully prepared; however, she also told me that the surprise is why she wanted to go into PR.

Stay Connected

Tory did not hesitate when asked what advice she would like to give someone about to make his or her debut in the PR world. “Stay connected and keep up with your contacts. You are going to need favors and contacts in almost every industry. Start making them now,” were her words of advice and, from her story, staying connected is essential to succeed.

http://blog.epromos.com/
http://thefuturebuzz.com/
http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/
http://www.providentpartners.net/blog/
http://marketingconversation.com/

The Path to Public Relations Success

2011-11-07T20:27:00.000-06:00

Working 12-hour days from the road or pouring over donor contact lists, Ashley Hahn does it all. Hahn is a public relations professional who specializes in politics. She received a degree in political science from the University of Central Oklahoma <http://www.uco.edu/> began as an intern on a local political race and never looked back. Hahn served as the Grass Roots Coordinator for Governor Mary Fallin’s gubernatorial race <http://www.maryfallin.org/>. Her work on the campaign led to a position running the Oklahoma governor’s non-profit, Friends of the Mansion: <http://www.ok.gov/governor/Mansion.html>. Most recently, Hahn has worked at the Oklahoma Department of Education’s Communications Department. She specializes in scheduling and planning events for the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Janet Barresi: <http://www.janetbarresi.com/>.

I worked with Hahn on the Oklahoma public school superintendent’s conference, Innovation, over the summer of 2011: <http://sde.state.ok.us/services/conference/Innovation/default.html>. The conference required a large amount of fundraising and organization. The event took place at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City and featured over 2,000 attendees. The window for planning the conference was very short, and Hahn (with a few staffers including myself) did an excellent job putting it together (often working in excess of 12 hours per day).

Hahn is part of a reorganized communications department that operates much like an independent public relations firm. In addition to traditional public relations work, the group attempts to create its own media for distribution. According to Hahn, however, planning events is now small task: “The most challenging part of my job is definitely pulling everything together in organizing events. You have a lot of moving parts, and it’s very stressful attempting to lock them all down to execute the actual event.” However, Hahn encourages involvement early for eager public relations professionals, “The best advice I can give is to get involved early. Seek out internships and build up your experience. The more you can competently do, the less stressful your life will be when you get a great public relations job!”

Evan Handy

Public Relations Professionals

2011-11-02T13:13:00.000-05:00

Professional Blog
Denise Hawkins graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in Marketing. She has been happily married to her husband Tom Hawkins for over 25 years. She has two stepchildren. Before coming to Buy For Le$$ and taking the position of Marketing Director, Denise worked at the Daily Oklahoman and Mathis Brothers in their Marketing departments.

Day-to-day
Denise has been at Buy For Le$$ for the past 5 years, and has enjoyed every day she has been there. She coordinates and oversees all marketing functions for the entire company on a daily basis. This includes all media, ads, social media, web and video. As a director, she manages a team of eight people in marketing, graphic design and web. She insists that good communication skills, the ability to manage a team of professionals and a positive attitude are all important skills to have when in a leadership position involving marketing.

Challenges and Rewards
“Not all days are easy ones,” said Hawkins. “Sometimes the work is tedious and stressful. However, I find so much reward in knowing that I am helping out the company and spreading our name in the community. My favorite part of the job is helping in the community. Those are my favorite tasks to coordinate.”

Advice
Hawkins had a few pieces of advice for those hoping to enter the field of marketing and climb the ladder to management. “The key to success is experience, knowledge and surrounding yourself with other skilled professionals in order to create a team that generates success,” said Hawkins. “Be persistent and always work hard. People will notice hard work and determination.”

Additional Links Used:
http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/
http://prblog.typepad.com
http://www.prnewsonline.com/prnewsblog/
http://www.buyforlessok.com
http://buddingpublicrelations.blogspot.com

Public Relations Professionals

2011-10-31T20:04:00.002-05:00

PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONAL BLOG
Monnie Romney graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in communications. She married young and had 4 kids, not leaving much time for a long career path. She spent the majority of her time carting children to ballet, soccer practice and other school activities, not focusing on work at all. When her children were all old enough, she began looking into the Public Relations field, something she always found interesting during her college career. A family friend of hers worked at Louridge, an events and retreats organization, and encouraged her to pursue a job there in event coordination.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY
11 years later, and Monnie is the head Event Coordinator at the organization, and she’s loving every minute of it. She deals with clients wanting to host banquets, brides planning their big day, employers wanting an event for their staff, and many other organizations wishing to promote their business through events. Although this organization has the largest amount of weddings, Monnie still deals with clients on a daily basis. She stresses that calmness and communication are key. One must be able to effectively communicate with clients, and then be able to relay that information to the correct people.

CHALLENGES OF EVENTS
Not all events are just fun and games, however. “It gets extremely stressful at times,” Monnie said. “Some clients have a lot of unrealistic expectations, or they don’t have a clear message they want to get across through their event. It’s sometimes a challenge coming up with that information and figuring out what exactly they want to accomplish for their organization.” With experience, you learn to ask for those things up front.

ADVICE FOR NEW PROFESSIONALS
When asked what advice she would offer to new professionals, Monnie said the list could be endless. “There are so many things I wish a professional already in the field would have told me.” The biggest one? Network whenever you have the opportunity. “Getting your name out there before graduation is so beneficial,” Monnie said. “Even if you already have a job, network. You never know when you are going to need a favor from someone and it’s a lot easier to ask for things when you know a lot of people in the field. You become much more credible to your clients as well when you have a lot of contacts.”

ADDITIONAL LINKS VISITED
http://buddingpublicrelations.blogspot.com
http://www.brillianteventplanning.com/blog.html
http://prblog.typepad.com
http://online-pr.blogspot.com/
http://www.prnewsonline.com/prnewsblog/

Public Relations Pros and Their Cons

2011-10-13T23:25:00.000-05:00

Public relations is not just a people profession, or an exercise in deceit for politicians and big corporations-- It is hard work, and quite a bit of it. Few people see the intense work environment in movies and television programs, and fewer people see the intense competition for opening positions. You are different. Not only do you get to see what the profession is like and how to become a professional, but you also get to learn a few tips from a real professional.

I interviewed Kristy, a professional who works for Cox Communications. She, like many other professionals, received an education unrelated to public relations. She began her education at Wichita State University, with a Bachelors degree in journalism. After graduation, she began her career as a reporter at the KNSS radio station in Wichita. If you are from a different field like journalism, take heart. Writing experience and communication skills matter greatly in public relations, not just a public relations major.

Kristy's job required her to cover city hall, which also meant she developed close relationships with the people there. When a public information position opened up at city hall, her relationships helped her take it. In short, a few well-placed relationships can help as much as talent and drive.

The most interesting and potentially most challenging aspect of public relations, she says, is the need to learn new information constantly. There is "something you always have to get up to speed on," she says, and she loves it. The field moves quickly and can leave practitioners behind if they do not prepare themselves. In short, if you like a dynamic work environment, public relations is for you.

Her advice to aspiring public relation practitioners: find an internship early and network. First, a good internship is the best way to learn about the job, and provides you with the best training. Second, as a public relations practitioner, you need to know the right people in an organization you want to work for. Success can be tough to find, but with the right skills and attitude, never impossible.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wichita-ks.jpg - Source for image at top

bls.gov/oco/ocos086.htm

knssradio.com

comprehension.prsa.org

ww2.cox.com/aboutus/our-story.cox

A New PR Professional: Michelle Hagans

2010-11-18T15:56:00.002-06:00

(Photo found at interpublic.com)

A New PR Professional: Michelle Hagans

By: Kathryn Collins

Michelle Hagans graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 with determination to succeed in the PR world. She now holds the title of the new Account Executive at GolinHarris in Dallas, Texas. Her time in the public relations professional industry had its start about two years ago.

Hagans graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 with a degree in Public Relations. On top of her coursework at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Hagans stepped foot into the working world early through internship experiences. Her internship opportunities included a PR internship with the well-known Richards Group in Dallas, Texas, as well as an internship at SPM Communications in Dallas, Texas. Due to her early experience as a PR practitioner, Hagans was able to get a grasp on what life after graduation entailed. She strongly encourages future PR practitioners to find as much experience in the field before graduation.

Hagans informed me of the skills necessary in order to achieve success in the public relations field. A PR professional needs to be detail-oriented, results-driven, and solution-oriented. “You have to be passionate about what you do,” said Hagans. “You must also be flexible with deadlines because you never know what will be thrown at you.”

Hagans expands her passions by learning from others in the public relations field. “You learn something new everyday in public relations,” said Hagans. “I would encourage others to find a mentor who is not at their job to teach them work ethics and how to communicate with people who have different work techniques.” She says that it is very important to learn from others in order to be the best that you can be at your job.

Michelle Hagans is inspiring to those in the Gaylord College with graduation time just around the corner. Through her internship experiences and driven attitude, she was able to accomplish her dream of being a young PR professional.

PR Professional: Kenneth Kracmer

2010-11-17T13:28:00.017-06:00

PR Professional: Kenneth Kracmer

By: Courtney Clark

Kenneth Kracmer is the Managing Partner and PR Director of HCK2 Partners in Dallas, Texas. As the namesake of the latter initials in HCK2, Kracmer confidently leads the PR side of the business and manages new-business efforts. He is approaching his 20th year of working in the PR industry, and credits his journalism experience for leading him to where he is today.

After graduating from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s in journalism, he attended Dallas Baptist University where he earned his M.B.A. degree in management. Kracmer spent his first five years out of school at the largest PR firm in Dallas, Temerlin-McClain, which has since changed to Weber Shandwick. He gained valuable experience working with many different markets, and then decided to go corporate, where he worked another five years at Excel Communications. Kracmer then took another corporate job, working for a security software company called Entrust. After two years there, he was given the opportunity to become an owner of HCK2 Partners.

Having been with HCK2 for seven years, Kracmer is a huge part of the firm’s success. Combining his corporate experience with his passion for account service, Kracmer is able to provide value for his clients and continues to earn their respect. He is an active member in the exclusive business knowledge network called Dallas Roundtable, which helps him to grow his networks while maintaining his business and leadership skills.

Kracmer considers strong writing as one of the top skills necessary for this industry. “You have to be a good writer at the very core, I don’t hire many people that aren’t journalists first,” Kracmer said. He believes that it is also important to have a good understanding of business and how businesses operate, as well as any marketing skills.

According to this industry veteran, future PR professionals should first gain as much experience as possible on the agency side. This will teach aspiring practitioners how to work across a number of companies and a number of roles in the PR profession.

“Once you get the agency experience, you can choose what you want to specialize in,” Kracmer said. “If you specialize too soon, you box yourself in and may get stuck for awhile.”

Learning Moore: An Interview with Pattye Moore

2010-11-16T10:46:00.007-06:00

Learning Moore: An Interview with Pattye Moore

By: Aran Coleman

Photo Courtesy of The Persimmon Group

Pattye Moore is a brilliant example of a successful public relations businesswoman. Moore has been in the PR industry for 30 years, and she has continued to show her expertise by moving right on up the business ladder throughout her extensive career. Her achievements are admirable and should empower any woman, or any PR professional for that matter.

We began the interview with a rundown of Moore’s past. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1979 with a degree in public relations. She is an accredited member of PRSA, the Public Relations Society of America. Moore’s career began in 1980 when The Williams Companies in Tulsa, Okla. hired her. She worked there for four years until she moved to Advertising Incorporated where she eventually served as the Account Supervisor on the Sonic account. Moore’s success on the account got her hired by Sonic Corp. By 2002, Moore became the President and a board member at Sonic Corp. In 2005, Moore became the co-owner of Instincts, LLC. “We specialize in leadership development, brand strategy and communications management,” said Moore about her company. Since 2010, Moore has also served on the board of directors for ONEOK, Inc. and QuikTrip Corporation, and she is the Chairman of the Board at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.

After discussing Moore’s career accomplishments, I wanted to learn more about her strategies for becoming a success in the PR field. She said that good communication skills are a must for any PR practitioner. The ability to write well coupled with the ability to speak make a world of difference in the realm of public relations. The next piece of knowledge Moore relayed was the need to keep up with and have a sense of curiosity about current events. It is always important to know what is going on when current events can shape the industry you work in. Finally, Moore said business savvy is extremely helpful, as a public relations practitioner. It is important to understand all of the aspects of the business you work in, including knowledge about how the companies make money and an understanding of financial terms.

To end our time together, I asked Moore for a word of advice from a PR professional to an aspiring PR practitioner. The main recommendation she left me with was to take as many college classes as possible, especially business classes. She even suggested pursuing a double major. She said, “Many PR professionals graduate with no understanding of business.”

Moore is an inspiration to PR students who want to make a difference and achieve even their biggest dreams. She used her drive and determination to get where she is today, and when it comes down to it, those attributes contributed to the majority of her success.

Courtney Sanders, Manager of Communications and Events at Child Study Center

2010-11-14T14:05:00.015-06:00

Courtney Sanders, Manager of Communications and Events at Child Study Center

By: Diana Truss

Image taken from http://www.cscfw.org/

Courtney Sanders found her passion for corporate communications at the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating from college in 2006 with a degree in Corporate Communications, Sanders has worked in public relations for four years. Immediately after college, Sanders went to work in politics. She worked as a Legislative Correspondent and was in charge of all constituent Correspondence for a United States Congressman. Following her position as a Legislative Correspondent, Sanders worked as the Grassroots Director and Communications Manager for Texas State Official, Susan Combs. Sanders worked as the liaison between the media and the Comptroller. After her career in politics, Sanders currently holds the position as the Manager of Communications and Events at the Child Study Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Child Study Center is a non-profit organization that offers a wide range of services to children who have developmental disabilities and related behavioral problems. As manager of communication and events, Sanders coordinates numerous events to raise awareness of the Child Study Center’s mission and vision with the public.

In order to work in public relations, Sanders says you must constantly be networking with other professionals. It is important to get to know all outlets of communication and be “in the know” of everything that is going on in the world of public relations. Sanders says it is also important to understand how to direct questions to the particular person you are interviewing or corresponding with, whether it be with your client target public.

Sanders offered some advice for future public relations professionals. “My main advice is to stay in touch with the people that you meet throughout your career. It is very important to network and get to know others in your field,” Sanders said. She also explained that it is valuable to follow current events that are happening not only in the United States, but also all over the world.

Elisa Milbourn

2010-11-10T13:24:00.004-06:00

Elisa Milbourn, Public Relations, Marketing and Communications Coordinator at the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau

By: Jenna Taylor

Photo taken from http://www.okccvb.org.

The Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau (OKC CVB), which is located in downtown Oklahoma City, is a division of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. According to the website, the purpose of OKC CVB is to promote Oklahoma City to visitors and enhance the city’s name and image. The Bureau also is in charge of planning and servicing conventions and other group related occasions. Elisa Milbourn has been working for the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau for over two years.

Milbourn graduated with a major in public relations from Oklahoma State University. Before pursuing her job OKC CVB, Elisa worked as a student assistant in the Athletic Media Relations Department at Oklahoma State University during her senior year of college. She then moved back to Oklahoma City after she graduated from OSU in May of 2007. After moving back, she started to search for jobs in order to begin her career. She found that it was very difficult to find a job.

Unable to find anything that was a good fit, Milbourn took a secretarial position at Hefner Middle School while she continued to research and interview for jobs. She left Hefner Middle School in 2008 and accepted her current position at the Bureau. Milbourn stated that most of her job opportunities were brought to her because of connections she had through friends and family. For example, she got hired for her current job with the help of her friend that was the PR director for the Oklahoma City Chamber at the time. She also got hired for the Hefner Middle School secretarial position because her mother worked as a teacher there.

Milbourn plays an important part of every aspect of the company. As the marketing and communications coordinator for the OKC CVB, her main job requirements include fulfilling media requests and setting up visits for the media. She also helps the Bureau’s advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen, with placing advertisements in various publications. Mostly all marketing or print materials that come out of the Bureau usually go through her before they are sent out to the public. She is in charge of the “Welcome to Oklahoma City” banners and buttons for various events that are happening around the city. She has also taken over all of the CVB promotional items such as bags, t-shirts and coffee mugs that are handed out around the city. Milbourn is currently working on updating the annual “Visitors Guide to Oklahoma City”, which is a big task toward the end of each calendar year.

When asked about what advice she would give to future PR professionals, Milbourn said, “People that want to come out of college and become a PR professional need to first network as much as possible, and second, have a passion for what they are doing.” Elisa said she loves working for the Bureau because of the people she works with and the great hours that she gets to work.

Christine Frank: The Face of Noble, Oklahoma

2010-11-09T22:46:00.008-06:00

Christine Frank: The Face of Noble, Oklahoma

By: Molly Luton

Christine Frank decided to enter the public relations field because she genuinely thought it "would be fun." She admitted, like so many students today, that she originally wanted to get involved in PR for the more exciting glamorized aspects like event planning. She said it didn't take her long to realize that PR entailed far more than planning fun events.

She began working for the Noble Chamber of Commerce five years ago and says she has truly "learned the ropes" through the process. Her official title is the Noble Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. This entails not only managing the PR side of her office, such as their Facebook page, press releases, etc. but also the necessary management functions. Working for the Noble Chamber of Commerce is her first official PR profession, but she notes that there were many times at her previous places of employment (which she preferred that I did not disclose) where she helped develop PR tactics. She attended the University of Oklahoma before transferring to the University of Tulsa where she graduated with a B.A. in Journalism. She expressed how excited she was to finally be putting into practice what she learned in college many years ago. "I didn't particularly plan on it taking almost twenty years before I landed my first PR job, but opportunities for PR positions are few and far between, she said. "When I heard about this opportunity I immediately applied and the rest is history," she noted.

When it comes to professional advice she made many valuable recommendations. She recommended that before you ever send any document, communication, e-mail etc. that you proofread it personally three times, and if possible let as many other eyes as you can look over it before you officially send it. She also said to always dress professionally. "You never know who might drop in your office, or where your day may lead you," she said. "Therefore wherever you go look your best because if an opportunity presents itself, you must be prepared to take full advantage of it. Part of that equation is looking your best to ensure that your interests and the interests of your organization are taken seriously," she said. When asked about what advice she could offer to future PR professionals she said to never give up. She emphasized that finding a job in PR is no easy task, but if it is what you want to do it is by all means worth the wait.

Michaela Webb: Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator

2010-11-09T16:26:00.005-06:00

"Michaela Webb: Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator"

By: Cathleen Shelby

(Image taken from the Facebook page of the Academy of Ballet and Theatre Arts)

Recent graduate Michaela Webb never thought that she would be able to combine two of her greatest passions in life: the arts and public relations. Webb had to work hard to achieve her dreams. But with a lot of dedication and enthusiasm, Webb got her dream job.

Webb graduated from the Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma in 2008 with a degree in public relations. She has now been in the work force for about two years.

Webb reports that she did not have a lot of professional work experience before graduating. Webb worked as an intern at Starr Tincup, and as an ‘Outside Sales Associate’ at CBeyond.

Currently, Webb now is a ‘Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator’ for the Academy of Ballet and Theatre Arts. Webb began working there in September 2009, and has loved it ever since.

When asked what some of the most important skills are for public relations professionals, Webb responds “writing, writing, writing!” She also states that it is important to be able to make connections with people you didn’t know previously, to self motivate, to have good time-management skills, and to know how to use social media.

The best advice Webb has for future public relations practitioners is to intern as much as they can before graduation and practice their writing skills.

Webb claims that she has learned a lot since graduating from the University of Oklahoma. “The fast moving world of public relations ensures that I will never be bored!” Webb said.

Tanna Vu, Director of Funds Development for Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma

2010-11-09T15:23:00.008-06:00

Tanna Vu, Director of Funds Development for Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma

By: Amber Rogers

(Photo taken from Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma Web site.)

Tanna Vu is the Director of Funds Development for Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma. Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma is affiliated with the United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill. Vu always wanted a career that matched her personality.

"I chose the PR field because it appealed to my personality style," said Vu. "I'm a people person and enjoy interacting with groups and creating relationships."

Vu has been in the public relations industry for 15 years and has worked with many corporations.

"The PR field is very diverse, meaning it allows for many job opportunities and experiences through your lifetime," said Vu. "It is very rewarding and exciting to cultivate and interact with people and know you have a part in making the company you work for successful."

Vu graduated from the Cameron University in Lawton, Okla. with a bachelor's degree in Communication. She received her master's degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. Vu has an extensive PR professional background which includes: Southwest Medical Center, BancFirst and Springhill Suites and Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott. Vu had a personal connection with Hospice along with a working relationship from a previous job. She applied to Hospice for her current position for those reasons.

Plenty of responsibilities come with her title. Vu is responsible for ensuring funds, writing grants, holding special events, and writing donor appeal letters. She oversees marketing and education at the agency. Vu also creates brochures, creates and maintains social networking sites and creates other tools to help Hospice stay ahead of competitors. Vu is tasked with speaking on behalf of Hospice at civic groups and other venues about how Hospice impacts the communities they serve.

According to Vu, the top knowledge that is needed in the PR field is communication, marketing and human relations skills. She believes the skills necessary include the ability to relate to people on a personal level and the ability to articulate information to the community using various media such as print, radio, television or other groups.

The most rewarding part of Vu's position is knowing that she contributed to the success of continuing the legacy of Hospice by making sure the public is educated about Hospice's services. The advice she wants to give to students studying in the PR field is to look into a PR internship to ensure that PR is one's passion and to allow students to begin developing skills outside of the classroom.

Kirstin Farris, Marketing Director of Excel Physical Therapy

2010-11-09T14:42:00.008-06:00

Photo from collegesforphysicaltherapy.com

Kirstin Farris, Marketing Director of Excel Physical Therapy

By Kylie Schneider

Kirstin Farris is the Marketing Director for Excel Physical Therapy in Tulsa, Oklahoma and surrounding areas. Excel Physical Therapy specializes in outpatient care. Therapists focus on pre and post operative areas such as spine, knee, shoulder, elbow, hand, foot, and ankle. As they state on their website, “Excel Therapists are trained and licensed to provide programs such as functional capacity evaluations and work conditioning for worker's compensation injuries.” (Information from Exceltherapyok.com)

Kirstin has been in the marketing and sales industry for about 15 years and has definitely found her niche. In college, Kirstin received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology and minored in gerontology. Her initial plans were to work in some sort of elderly social work but she changed her mind as she discovered new interests. She served as a Pharmaceutical Representative for eight years and prior to that worked briefly in radio and TV sales.

It is Kirstin’s job, as Marketing Director, to market Excel to physicians and workers compensation nurses and adjusters. She must target these audience members with the right information that will be relevant to their business and encourage them to refer patients to Excel as is typical in areas that use public relations. Excel participates in special events such as golf tournaments and conferences such as the Oklahoma Public Safety Conference to create better awareness of the organization and reach their target publics.

Kirstin believes not being afraid to ask the right questions is the most important part of a successful marketing or public relations career. “If you cannot ask the right questions,” said Kirstin. “You don’t know how to go about fixing a client’s potential problems.” As far as advice for those wanting to go into the field of marketing or public relations, Kirstin thinks it is most important to put yourself in front of people. As Kirstin says, “I interviewed as many people as I could who worked in the field to see if it was something I would even be interested in doing and I found out that it was.”

Kinsey Crocker, Realizing the Potential of Public Relations

2010-11-09T13:01:00.005-06:00

Kinsey Crocker, Realizing the Potential of Public Relations

by: Katylee Strange

Photo from: www.anglinpublicrelations.com

Kinsey Crocker is an Account Executive for a public relations agency in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma called Anglin Public Relations Inc. Crocker is one of the few people who happened into the profession of public relations. Like many students Crocker started off in college at the University of Central Oklahoma not knowing exactly what she wanted to do. Crocker said, “I looked into degrees in science, in art and communication. I pretty much looked into everything.” She ended up deciding to get her degree in Corporate Communication because she realized the job potential the degree had. Crocker got an internship with Anglin PR her senior year of college and has been working there ever since. “The internship is the first time I got in depth with public relations and just fell in love with it because it was so diverse,” said Crocker. The diversity of public relations and the agency style work is what grabbed Crocker’s attention because it allowed her to do so many things and be involved with the many things she was interested in. Crocker has been at the agency for six years. She started off as an intern and continually got promoted from an account specialist to account coordinator to account executive. As an account executive, Crocker said she is the primary contact on a lot of different accounts. “I hold meeting with clients and help determine their goals. I also work through the four step process and helping them do research and determine what the should be doing, creating plans, implementing plans and evaluating plans and writing proposals for potential clients,” said Crocker. Anglin PR Inc. works with a variety of clients including University of Oklahoma’s Engineering College, Homeless Alliance, and Oklahoma City Home and Garden Show to name a few. One specialty area the company works are with companies that have big ideas and want to solve problems for the community and for the state.

Not only is Crocker a productive member of Anglin PR Inc she is also an active member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). “I’ve been going to meetings since my internship, so for six years. Currently I am a board member at large and in January I will be the Secretary.” Crocker says some of the benefits of being involved in PRSA is that it helps public relations professionals meet a lot of different people and helps with networking. Being involved can also build a name for yourself and can even help get clients. And finally it can help keep up with industry trends. Being a public relations professional, Crocker says the ability to write and write well is essential. Also key skills are experience, because it is proof that the students know what they are doing and having basic knowledge of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Some advice Crocker would give to future PR professionals is to, “get internships and as much experience as you can while in school.”

Becca Weigman, President and Managing Partner for TM Advertising

2010-11-09T00:04:00.003-06:00

Becca Weigman, President of TM Advertising

By: Morgan McMahan

Becca Weigman became the new President and Managing Partner for TM Advertising as of May 10, 2010. Weigman has been in the marketing and advertising business for more than twenty years, specializing in brand strategy and CRM digital marketing. She graduated from Loyola College in Maryland in 1989 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Weigman worked for RAPP from 2006-2010, where she was U.S. Chief of Marketing and Managing Director of the company’s Dallas and Chicago offices. Her leadership and client-centric focus in digital marketing led the agency to become the first CRM agency named to Ad Age’s 2008 Agency A-list. Before RAPP and TM Advertising, Weigman worked at Trahan Burden Charles as Executive VP in charge of multi-channel development and direct response efforts for the agency. In the beginning of her career, Weigman interned for Bozell Worldwide right out of college, and then she worked briefly for Arnold and Tracy Locke. Weigman says that the most essential skills needed to be a PR or Marketing professional are multimedia, communication, and writing skills.

TM Advertising is an independent subsidiary of Interpublic Group, which is one of the largest marketing communications companies in the United States. Major clients of TM advertising are American Airlines, American Heart Association, and Discover Network. Since Weigman’s addition to TM Advertising, the company has been honored with two Effie Awards. The Effie Awards is a declaration of an agencies achievement in the industry by honoring prestigious campaigns in all forms of marketing communications. The two Effies awarded were both Bronze Effies for effectiveness in the Media Category, and for effectiveness in the Healthcare Products and Services category. Her client responsibilities have ranged from categories such as travel, technology, financial, and retail.

When asked what Weigman’s advice is for future PR professionals, she responded by saying, “never limit yourself to just one focus when studying public relations, because companies and agencies will require additional knowledge in fields such as marketing and advertising.” Also, she is very passionate about digital marketing, so she suggests that ‘’students should be very familiar with social CRM and online marketing because customer-to-customer conversations are essential for managing existing customers and engaging with new prospects.”

Shelly Hill, Sales and Marketing Manager at S.P. Richards

2010-11-08T22:23:00.006-06:00

Shelly Hill, Sales and Marketing Manager at S.P. Richards

By: Laura Hill

Shelly Hill has won over 20 awards at S.P. Richards, which is a fully owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company. Just to name a few awards, Hill is now of one the top sales people in her division, has been in the President’s Club seven times, and was included in the 1^st Inaugural Sales Advisory Board.

Hill consults business owners on market conditions, and instructs her clients how to advertise and market their business against mega accounts, like Office Depot and Staples. She also creates sales campaigns and identifies sale opportunities. Hill said public relations is a large part of what she does.

“I use public relations in two ways. I have to build a good relationship between my company and my clients. I meet with top clients week-to-week to keep a strong relationship. I consult with them on their business. I show them all the resources we have to off them, so they do not go to the competitor,” Hill said.

She also helps her clients build strong relationship with their clients.

“It is important for my client to have good public relations with their customers. It keeps their name in the forefront of their minds,” Hill said. “Public relations builds trust, loyalty and relationships, which increases sales.”

Hill often uses Constant Contact to design newsletters and Websites. She says this a tool that helps her and her clients contact their customers. She designed a Website for Wilson Office Supply, one of her customers, to help them build public relations.

Ironically, Hill started out at Office Depot. She went from Office Depot to an office position at S.P. Richards. She worked in the office for eight years in the customer service department.

“It was difficult to get an outside sales position. You pretty much had to wait for someone to die,” Hill joked. “A gentleman was going to retire, so I asked for that position.”

Hill said it was an easy transition. She had built many relationships with her soon-to-be clients over the phone in customer service. She said she felt like she had an advantage.

“I did a terrible job at first. I was so overwhelmed, but after six months I became one of the top sales people in the company,” Hill said.

Currently, Hill has 49 clients, and her market is worth $18 million.

South Africa's Youth Entrepreneurship PR Campaign

2010-11-08T14:50:00.006-06:00

By: EJ Carrion

Since the downturn spiral of our economy and the decrease of jobs, promoting entrepreneurship has been an effective and motivational way to help students create a positive future. The Youth Entrepreneurship Campaign 2010 (YEC2010) is a campaign focused on educating youth on entrepreneurship in South Africa. The YEC2010's vision is to instill the entrepreneurship mindset in students so that that they can be the stepping stone to South Africa’s entrepreneurship endeavors. Younger generations provide creativity and an understanding of technological trends, which could spark new ideas and inventions. The campaign also wants South Africa’s government to build an atmosphere that is advantageous to young entrepreneurs and startups. The campaign’s also believes that entrepreneurship will increase the wellbeing of their economy. The PR campaign is an example of how PR can promote change and develop a community that supports the change.

The official logo of the Youth Entrepreneurship Campaign

The campaign developed this change toward entrepreneurship education by providing students with; mentors, finance courses, grant applications, and classes that help them create sustainable ideas. The campaign played a dominant role in motivating projects that were focused on transferring knowledge, creating awareness of opportunities and available assistance and support to young people where their entrepreneurial needs are concerned. The campaign provided onsite youth-focused coaching on business information, products and services generated by other organizations including partner organizations.

Lastly, the YEC2010 encouraged business professionals to support young people and their ventures by enabling them with development and sustainable resources that allows youth to believe that they can create their own enterprises. The campaign could not have been as successful without the support of the South African Chamber of Commerce, Umsobmuvu Youth Foundation, and the NAFCOC Youth.

Relative video that focuses on teaching entrepreneurship

Tango PR: Mastering the art of connecting communities

2010-11-08T14:05:00.005-06:00

By: EJ Carrion

Jorge Hernandez, President of Tango Public Relations, has volunteered his time and service to help the community set up events, community projects, and conventions. By being a community leader, Hernandez discovered an untapped market that would benefit from public relations. He realized that there was potential business in helping companies advance their relationships within the Hispanic community by the events he hosted. “It is so important for business professionals to identify opportunities. When you notice a problem, try to be the solution.” Hernandez realized that there was no one more qualified in helping companies connect to the Hispanic community than himself.

He graduated from Southern Nazarene University, a private Catholic university located in Bethany, Oklahoma. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Relations to pursue a career as a guidance counselor to help Hispanic students excel in school. Hernandez’s passion for the Hispanic community led him to his first job as a youth prevention specialist for the Latino Community Development Agency. He helped motivate students and citizens in the community to build a better foundation for youth in the Hispanic community.

He became a popular face in the community and was someone people could count on to influence and impact the Latinos in Oklahoma City. An opportunity sprouted when a bank opened up in the Hispanic community and was searching for a representative that was well connected and trusted by the citizens that live there. Exceptionally qualified for the job, Hernandez found a new outlet and industry to help him leverage the Hispanic community forward. After a few years working for the bank, he developed an interest in finance and became in agent for New York Life Insurance.

Now Hernandez and his wife, Brenda Hernandez, own a franchise for Allstate which has helped them strengthen their status in the community. “It is very difficult for companies to brand themselves in the Hispanic market, said Mr. Hernandez, you have to have people that can represent your service and build loyalty within the community.”
While working with Allstate, Hernandez created Tango Public Relation, a public relations firm that specialized in positioning companies to be fully embraced by the Hispanic community. They are located in the heart and soul of Oklahoma City’s Hispanic community. Hernandez recognized that Fortune 500 companies need guidance by an expert that knows how to build strong relationships and communicate efficiently with the Hispanic market.

“Public Relations is such an inside essential for companies especially in the Hispanic community,” said Hernandez. “Hispanics grasp their culture so well, and in order to become a part of their lifestyle you have to be able to gain their trust. Once companies can gain that trust, the Hispanic community will become very loyal customers.”

Tango Public Relation lives by the saying “mi casa su casa” as Hernandez and his close niche group of practitioners provide strategic planning and strategies that are relevant in today’s Hispanic community. According to their official website, Tango PR has been in charge of hosting events for the Feliz Las Americas, Bricktown Association, The Yard Dawgs, and the Oklahoma City Public Schools. What we can learn from Tango PR and Hernandez is that public relations is about building communities and helping those communities connect to one another effectively.

Great video that goes along with the theme of building communities

James Thach

2010-11-07T20:07:00.010-06:00

Photo taken by Expressemploymentprofessionals.com

James Thach, Corporate Communications at Express Employment Professionals

By: Katie Graham

From 2006 to 2009, after graduating from Gaylord with an advertising degree, James Thach decided to take his internship to another level and actually work for it as Corporate Communications with Express Employment Professionals. Express Employment Professionals is a company that’s main goal is to show people how to find jobs. It has been around for over 25 years, helping people find the human resources and job skills to seek a career and a future. Thach worked at the international headquarters where he wrote blogs, columns, and press releases for internal and external audiences. His press releases consisted of writing to people about the latest employment and new office spaces that were available at the time. He would fill in the blank, with people, the insight as to how to go about seeking a job as well. Most of his blogs were fun facts to audiences about “How to be Interviewed,” or “How to Interview,” or “Top 10 ways to find the correct skills needed for your job.” Thach said that most of his time dealt with press releases that showed publicity to new job employment.

Thach also wrote pamphlets for the franchisees listing potential employment in the local areas. The pamphlets also showed where temporary workers were and became the “umbrella” to showing the progress of the company. Overall, quality writing was his main skill because he had to show a sense of reputation to the company, while publicizing to the audience the skills, material and training suited for the type of job that person was looking for. His knowledge consisted of knowing the franchisees and his company he was writing for. If he didn't know the rural area, he wouldn't know the jobs, therefore would have nothing to write about.

One of his responsibilities was to interview 2 franchisees about temporary works and economic trends. Thach would ask the franchisees about the trends that are possibly coming up, while predicting the work area that might have openings in the future. He would then send it to the publisher, where the pamphlet would then be published and sent out to the public to those wanting to find the fastest way to look for their job. This was best known as the Rosenberg Surveys.

His longest responsibility was actually building the main website for Express Employment Professionals. He designed it entirely by himself.

“It was pretty fun, don’t get me wrong, but I had to have my AP book on me at all times,” Thach said.

He is not currently working there anymore because of the amount of writing he had to endure every day. He got the job from interning there but never thought he would have a job right outside of graduating. Thach said that his best opportunities came from interning and to do as many as possible. This is what allows you to learn what you like and do not like out of a career. Thach also mentioned that even though you have graduated, it doesn’t mean you should throw away your AP book. Like mentioned above, he used his AP book every day during his time at Express Employment Professionals. It was a stable job, but not what he was looking for. It was a reality check, showing how much you are required to write in a job like this.

Thach now works for Crooked Tie Studios, where he records and creates wedding videos.

“It has nothing to do with my last job, but I love social media and photography so why not?” Thach said. His photography class got him into this, and his advertising capstone class pulled him further away from doing any kind of advertising.

Overall, James Thach is a writer and writing is his passion because it is the easiest to him. He wouldn’t mind doing more press releases and blogs, but for right now he’s getting his kicks out of going to weddings and making memories.

Jennifer Haveman

2010-11-06T11:02:00.006-05:00

Photo taken from andersonhansonhlanton.com

Jennifer Haveman, Account Executive at Anderson Hanson Blanton

By: Christy French

Anderson Hanson Blanton is an advertising, marketing and public relations agency in Dallas, Texas. They take a no-nonsense approach to ensure they meet their clients’ needs and work within their desired budgets. Their core philosophy is to appeal to their clients’ target publics by making their clients’ products emotionally appealing.

Jennifer Haveman has an undergraduate degree in English Literature. The majority of her experience in PR and marketing was learned on the job. She expressed she has had some great mentors along the way, as well as some mentors who pushed her to her full potential.

Looking back, Haveman says she has been involved in the PR /Marketing industry since the 8^th grade. She was on the yearbook staff in Junior High, the newspaper staff in high school and then was in news radio during college. She took a small detour in the nonprofit world working with at risk youth before stepping back into the advertising arena. “I learned a lot about marketing and PR working for a nonprofit,” says Haveman. “There was never a budget for PR so I learned quickly how to gather the facts, tell the story and then sell the story in order to raise money to reach the people in need.” Haveman says it was just a natural progression that she came to work for an Anderson Hanson Blanton in 2007.

Haveman says the most challenging part about working in this industry is unearthing the needs of their clients. Most clients have an agenda when they meet with her. “It is important to take the time to talk to them and find out the story they don’t see,” says Haveman. “Then the company can help them develop this story to build a strong message for their target audience.”

“For new PR professionals, first, they need to be professional, and show a smile and good attitude,” says Haveman. “Second, be a self-starter and take the extra effort no matter what you are asked to do. Research your clients, competitors, relevant industries and media trends.”

Haley Downing: Account Manager for Waller & Company

2010-11-05T20:48:00.005-05:00

Haley Downing: Account Manager for Waller & Company
By Callie Gillock

Haley Downing, a recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma, found her niche in public relations when she entered college. At a young age, Downing knew she had a passion for writing like none other. After completing her first PR entry class she discovered an industry where writing was integrated with social interaction and client relations, which was what she was looking for.

Downing graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree from Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations. She is now the Account Manager for Waller & Company, a PR firm located in Tulsa.

Waller & Company is a full-service public relations firm that was founded in 1996. This organization believes having a strong PR firm requires mutually beneficial relationships with all clients. Waller & Company strives to build lasting relationships with clients by creating resourceful ideas and solutions that will satisfy companies’ needs.

Not only does her job allow her to fulfill her passion for writing, but it also permits her to explore different areas in public relations. “I love working with such a diverse spectrum of clients,” Downing exclaimed. “Our firm has restaurant and hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare and technology divisions so we are always busy doing something different and coming up with new ideas for each of the client industries.”

When getting into the PR business you need something that sets you apart from everyone else. “My advice to young PR professionals is to complete as many internships as you possibly can before looking for an entry level position,” said Downing. “The University of Oklahoma adequately prepared me for an entry level PR position, but my internships set me apart from other applicants while job searching.”

For a successful career path, PR professionals should have a creative mindset and a proactive approach with all client relations. Also, Downing insists, “a PR practitioner should have knowledge of AP style writing, familiarity with PR writing, document formats and research techniques.”

Houda Elyazgi - Senior Account Executive for Saxum PR

2010-11-05T19:41:00.026-05:00

Photo provided by Saxum PR website.

By Cassie Little

It didn’t take Houda Elyazgi much time to make it in the world of public relations after graduation from the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2007. After just three years working in the field, Elyazgi is a Senior Account Executive for Saxum PR at the firm’s Oklahoma City location.

Elyazgi said her job is one that requires competence in many fields as well as a lot of patience. Some of the skills she considers most important include: communication, writing, oratory, leadership, multimedia and social skills. She describes the work as hectic and exciting but very rewarding at the same time. One of her favorite parts of the job is the opportunity she’s been given to work with non-profit organizations.

A typical workday for Elyazgi is always changing. She said most workdays start early in the morning consuming a vast amount of media including newspapers like The Oklahoman and The Tulsa World, as well as numerous online sources. Then, her day is filled with client meetings and campaign tasks.

She considers the most difficult part of her job the high stress level it invokes. She said the best way to not be overwhelmed at work is to take a deep breath, step back and remember to take the job one step at a time.

While many challenges are included when working in public relations, Elyazgi said the benefits outweigh the obstacles. She suggests that future PR practitioners work to take initiative and use their voices.

“Never be afraid to step on someone’s toes and challenge yourself,” she said. “If you’re always comfortable, you’re doing something wrong.”

David Joplin: A True Professional Communicator

2010-11-05T16:56:00.003-05:00

David Joplin: A True Professional Communicator
By Sabrina DuFran

Photo provided by Moore Norman Technology Center website

Communications and professionalism are strategies that David Joplin, Director of Marketing and Communications at Moore Norman Technology Center, has mastered; however, in his unpretentious way, he confides that the “truth is, none of us have all the answers.”

Joplin actually began his career in communications working on movies, such as “Rainman,” “Offerings,” and a commercial spot for Nissan. He then began as Video Producer for the Oklahoma Department of CareerTech, where he developed corporate, promotional and training videos for new and growing Oklahoma companies.

“Between film, commercial, public relations and marketing, I have worked in the communications field for almost 20 years,” he explained. The past 12 years Joplin has been Director of Marketing and Communications, first at Canadian Valley Technology, and now at Moore Norman Technology Center. He supervises a marketing and communications department of six full time and eight part-time staff members for a $30 million plus organization. Joplin and his staff are responsible for all marketing, public and media relations, advertising, crisis communications and student recruitment.

Joplin received his undergraduate and master’s degree from the Gaylord College of Journalism at the University of Oklahoma. Broadcast Journalism was his emphasis for his undergraduate degree, and for his master’s degree he studied Public Relations. He also conducted graduate work at the University of North Texas and was accepted to UCLA’s film school.

The importance of research in the communication profession cannot be stressed enough, as far as Joplin is concerned. “You must be diligent about conducting research on the front end to guide your communication strategies and messages, but even more importantly, be able to provide post-campaign evaluation data…you must be able to ‘show’ results,” Joplin said.

Joplin advises future PR professionals to consistently follow the R.A.C.E. formula (Research, Action Planning, Communication, Evaluation) for successful results. “Ours is a nebulous profession; therefore, the more we hold ourselves accountable to demonstrate irrefutable results, the more we will succeed,” Joplin advised. He also stressed the importance of learning from your “elders” in the public relation field, as well as focusing on all job responsibilities of the positions in the public relations department. “Each job matters,” he explained, “and we must learn from others throughout our entire professional lives.”

Public relations is about effective communication with your audience. “At the end of the day, the questions will always be: did your audience understand your message, and did that message make a positive impact?” he concluded.

Ben Elder: Communications Specialist for Cherokee Nation

2010-11-04T16:48:00.008-05:00

Ben Elder is a communications pro that believes everyone involved in the industry should realize the true "Tao" of public relations and communications. Elder, who has been in the industry for five years, is the Senior Communications Specialist for Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Nation is the sovereign working government of the Cherokee people. The tribe is federally acknowledged and consists of more than 290,000 Cherokee residents. The capital is in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Elder attended Oklahoma State University where he received his Journalism and Broadcasting degree. At this time, he is in the process of obtaining his Masters of Science in Strategic Communications from Oklahoma State University-Tulsa. His professional background ranges from doing contract work for the Worlds Fair in Edmond, to working full-time in the music industry. He has been working for Cherokee Nation since 2007 and is the head of the strategic communications for the cultural tourism department .

There are many skills that are required in the field of public relations and communications. "This profession is all about reading people and picking up on verbal nuances and patterns," Elder explains. "That's the key to being a great communicator." There will be many types of people a professional will communicate with every day, therefore it is important to meet the communication approach of those you work with. Another major skill that is very beneficial in this area of business is knowing how to work with the Web. In Elder’s words, “If you are savvy on the Web, you are an immediate asset to your organization.”

As for advice for future PR professionals, reading and writing every day is crucial, according to this communications expert. Ben Elder gave an insightful look into the public relations industry with information and advice that could help any PR practitioner in the making.

The image on this post was received from http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v018/v018p357.html

Kandy Parsons Senior Development Officer

2010-11-03T21:33:00.015-05:00

Kandy Parsons, Senior Development Officer

by, Carrie Bugg

Kandy Parsons is the Senior Development Officer at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oklahoma. She is an Oklahoma native and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Business Education. Before she worked for Make-A-Wish, Parsons worked as a marketing representative at the Xerox Corporation from 1985 to 1991. In her time here, Parsons was trained in sales. This proved to be very helpful in her current position. "I’m not afraid to make the “ask” which is where many people stumble. I’m tenacious so I keep working until I get what I need," Parsons said. In 1992, she became a substitute teacher and a community volunteer. Parsons has always had a passion for community service work.

In the spring of 2007, Parsons was looking for another career. She was leading a bible study and praying about her career path when someone suggested Make-A-Wish. Parsons researched the organization and adored its mission. "It combined two of my favorite things: kids and charity work," Parsons said. She interviewed with the organization and became a member of the Make-A-Wish staff in June of that same year. She has been working there for three years.

Parsons is oversees all fundraising efforts for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oklahoma. MAWFO does not receive any state or federal funding, so every dollar must be raised by the organization. However, every dollar raised in Oklahoma stays in the state to grant the wishes of Oklahoma children. Parson's favorite aspects of her job are meeting the wish families and working on fundraising with student groups in a program called Kids for Wish Kids. KFWK gives students an opportunity to create and manage fundraising projects to grant wishes of kids their own age. "It's wonderful to see kids passionate about helping others," Parsons said. She also enjoys the opportunity to meet so many people from all over Oklahoma.

Parsons said the most difficult aspect of her job is recruiting funding for wishes. It is challenging to get many foundations to understand just how many people one wish can effect through a grant application. "It looks like you affect only one person with a wish, when in reality, a wish affects the child's family and the community," Parsons said.

In contrast, the most rewarding part of Parsons' job is improving someone's life every day. "It is wonderful to hear from the wish kids and their families about what a wonderful experience a wish was for them," Parsons said. She enjoys building relationships with the wish kids.

Parsons encouraged future public relations professionals to be passionate about their career choice. "I work many long hours, but I don't mind because I love what I do," Parsons said. Seeing the smiles on children's faces is worth working for.

American Airlines Goes Pink for Breast Cancer

2010-11-01T21:30:00.004-05:00

American Airlines Goes Pink for Breast Cancer

By: Jenna Taylor

Thousands of individuals work to raise awareness of a terrible disease during the month of October. October represents National Breast Cancer Awareness month and American Airlines is dedicated to helping with this cause. American Airlines has long been a supporter of a breast cancer and has been partners with Susan G. Komen for the Cure for many years.
American Airlines, American Eagle and Susan G. Komen for the Cure have partnered up this year and are having a "Pink-out" at airports across the country Oct. 1-15. The purpose of this “Pink Out” is to observe National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and raise funds to find the cure for breast cancer which all three organizations are very passionate about. The "Pink-out" will take place in 18 different cities that range from the East coast to the West coast. American Airlines and American Eagle employees will be wearing pink clothing in order to represent the cause. The employees will also be decorating the ticket counters, jetways, baggage claims and aircrafts in the color pink to raise awareness of breast cancer. American Airlines has been promoting the event through various resources and hopes that their customers will also take the initiative to wear pink as they travel any of the days during the two week “Pink Out”. All of these initiatives have been put into action in order to support the overall goal of American Airlines to raise $1 million for breast cancer research.

Not only will they be wearing pink clothing and decorating the building with the color pink, American Airlines will also be flying their eight pink-ribbon planes to Susan G. Komen events as a reminder of the devastating disease that affects so many women today.
In my opinion, this is a fun way for American Airlines and American Eagle employees and customers to support Komen for the Cure during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The goal of this campaign is to develop a way to unite people and communities in the fight to end breast cancer. This campaign also increases the ability to promote the organizations that are involved with the cause and portray them in a positive light to the public. In this particular case study, women were mostly targeted because of their likelihood to relate to the issue of breast cancer. American Airlines and American Eagle had a good strategy of using eight pink-ribbon planes to act as a reminder to the community about the campaign. This campaign shows what a powerful role public relations can play in raising awareness of an important cause, such as breast cancer.

For more information about American Airlines and their partnership with Susan G. Komen, visit http://joinus.aa.com/komen?anchorlocation=directurl&title=komen.

Photo taken from Join American Airlines Website.

Stuck on "Brand" Aid

2010-11-01T20:51:00.004-05:00

Stuck on “Brand” Aid

By Aran Coleman

Photo courtesy of Ogilvy PR

BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages have long been a staple in every family’s first-aid kit as a source of healing, comfort and protection. The popularity and name recognition of the iconic BAND-AID® Brand provided the company with more than just success. Over time, copycat brands emerged, trying to ride along on the coattails of BAND-AID® Brand’s well-deserved notoriety.

BAND-AID® realized that it was vitally important for the company to keep its brand name relevant and distinguishable from brands tainting their prestige. Therefore, BAND-AID® decided to seek out the help of Ogilvy PR to develop a communication platform that would update the brand without losing any its significance.

The main objective for the new BAND-AID® campaign was to emphasize the strength of the brand and create a better connection with the current generation of web-savvy consumers, especially moms and dads. They decided to use emotion as a means to relate to their target publics. This new and improved identity could make BAND-AID® uniquely their own. They used the word “stick-with-it-ness" to promote the emotional and functional aspects of the versatile brand. They used to campaign to try and make “stick-with-it-ness” a household concept.

The new initiative was dubbed the Stick With It! Campaign. The biggest tactic used was the creation of the first-ever Stick With It! Awards. This event was created to acknowledge and honor everyday kids who have "stuck with it" in the different aspects of their lives. Ogilvy worked with BAND-AID® and Nickelodeon in a joint effort to bring validity to the campaign. A contest was implemented and the prizes were a vacation to Hollywood and a tour of the Nickelodeon Animation Studios. Ogilvy used 15-year old Nickelodeon star Emma Roberts (the new Nancy Drew) to improve awareness for the campaign and the contest. Having Roberts as a spokesperson gave kids someone to identify with and drew attention to the overall goal of the initiative. To get the word out, she was sent on an extensive media tour where she visited radio stations and made public appearances. This strategy made a huge difference in reaching not only children, but also their parents.

The Stick With It! campaign went above and beyond what was expected. Coverage of the initiative exploded, bringing in over 65 million media hits for BAND-AID®. Most of the exposure was aimed at kids and parents together by using a famous spokesperson and other methods. Thanks to the involvement of Roberts, 3,500 entries were submitted for the contest. Stick With It! successfully highlighted the BAND-AID® Brand reliability. They also found a unique way to update the brand and give it a new pop to keep and attract consumers.

Dawn: 1 Bottle=$1 To Save Wildlife

2010-10-29T18:36:00.014-05:00

(Photo Courtesy of Official Dawn Website)

By: Courtney Clark

For the past 30 years, Dawn dish soap has been committed to conserving wildlife. The Proctor and Gamble brand, Dawn, launched a campaign called "Saving Wildlife". This campaign is cause-related, and donates $1 to conserving wildlife for every bottle of Dawn dish soap purchased. Once the donation is activated online, one dollar, up to $500,000 is donated to the International Bird Rescue Research Center and the Marine Mammal Center.

While Dawn has always been involved with saving wildlife, the recent oil spill in the gulf has given consumers a new motivation. Dawn has created special edition bottles of dish soap with pictures of different animals being affected by the oil spill in the gulf. In addition, Dawn's latest commercials show how the grease dissolving soap is actually used to clean oil off of the affected animals. These emotional commercials target animal lovers and those with a passion for wildlife conservation. This strategy is used to motivate consumers to purchase Dawn dish soap over all the other brands.

On the website where the consumer can enter their donation, visitors are made aware of the Facebook page called Everyday Wildlife Champions. By joining this page, visitors can connect with other Everyday Wildlife Champions and discover more ways to get involved in saving wildlife.

Dawn has surpassed its goal of $500,000 but is still activating donations. Overall, this is a successful campaign that is driven by the cause. The campaign motivates its publics to get involved in helping the oil crisis by simply purchasing a bottle of Dawn.

Walmart Joins the Blogosphere

2010-10-29T15:44:00.003-05:00

(Image from chrisuggen.blogspot.com)

Walmart Joins the Blogosphere

By: Kathryn Collins

The Walmart Corporation has created one of the most successful super stores in the entire world. Due to its low prices and its ability to relate to everyday people, the store has shown that it can continue to climb the charts of accomplishment. The creator of Walmart strives to exceed to expectations of the client and eliminate any inconveniences. However, the store has not had the best reputation in recent years.

Despite its overwhelming success, Walmart has received a lot of complaints from clients and workers over issues such as health benefits and low wages. In order to improve its image and clear up any misconceptions about the corporate, Walmart has launched a blogging campaign. The goal of the campaign is to bind up wounds with employees and consumers by giving positive feedback to their concerns. I believe that this strategy is beneficial because it allows Walmart to be more personal with the target publics through direct communication. It is crucial in a campaign to relate to your audience and address any possible complaints.

Although this campaign seem as if it would clear out any negative talk about Walmart, there have been reports of "flogging," or fake blogging, through social media campaigns. Bloggers are sometimes paid to write positive things in order to improve the image of the company. How can the corporation be trusted with through a false campaign? Also, Walmart has failed in a previous campaign utilizing social media through Facebook. This campaign failed due to a lack of dialogue with the audience. Public relations for Walmart needs to focus on interactive communication between the audience and the corporation. Is social media really the best tactic for a public relations campaign?

Gatorade "Replay" Campaign

2010-10-28T09:39:00.004-05:00

Photograph by Edward C. Clougherty

Gatorade "Replay" Campaign

by Bo Walbrick

One more play, one more shot, one more game—a second chance at the glory days of their youth is a dream that lives in the heart of any former high school athlete. Gatorade, makers of the most popular sports drink in history, has been making some of those dreams a reality for a few American men over thirty.

Gatorade launched its Replay campaign as part of an effort to motivate men in their thirties, who used to consume the sports drink in their youth, adopt healthier, more active lifestyles. The study was based upon the statistic that 70% of U.S. adults in their thirties do not exercise enough.

Now into its third season of the campaign, Gatorade has sponsored three separate Replay games. In the first season of the campaign, Gatorade staged a rematch of a 1993 high school football game between teams from Easton, Pennsylvania, and Phillipsburgh, New Jersey. The 1993 contest ended in a 7-7 tie.

In the second season of the Replay campaign, Gatorade staged a rematch of two high school basketball teams from Michigan who played one another in 1999. In 1999, the game was abandoned due to one of the players getting his throat sliced by a skate.

In the recently played third season competition of the Replay campaign, Gatorade staged a rematch of two Chicago high school basketball teams whose game in 2000, ended in controversy.

The campaign has been a major success to say the least. Not only has it inspired many men over thirty to adopt more active lifestyles, but Gatorade has seen increases in sales of its products since the campaign began.

Gatorade created a website for the campaign where Replay fans can watch webisodes from each of the three seasons. They also posted workout videos inspired the workouts of the men who competed in the Replay games. A Facebook application was also created that helps fans reunite with former high school teammates.

In 2010, at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Gatorade was given the grand prix award in the promotional and public relations categories. The multi-faceted campaign was developed by ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day.

The overall campaign concept is brilliant in its own right, but the use of the website with videos of the Replay seasons along with workout videos is an effective public relations tool. Also, the implementation of the Facebook application is a great way to tap into social media and create an interactive communication channel for people to get more involved.

Disney's "Magic of Healthy Living"

2010-10-25T11:45:00.009-05:00

(Image: www.disneychannelmedianet.com)

Magic of Healthy Living

By: Diana Truss

In an effort to helping children lead healthier lifestyles, Disney kicked off a public relations campaign entitled “Magic of Healthy Living”, in order to educate children on the importance of healthy eating and leading an active lifestyle. The campaign was launched on September 30, 2010 and will continue for an entire year.

The goal of the campaign is to inform children on the importance of eating healthy as well as maintaining an active lifestyle. Disney understands the value and benefit of eating healthy and wants children to engage in this lifestyle. Disney paired with First Lady Michelle Obama and various Disney Channel stars, such as Nick Jonas, Brenda Song, Alyson Stoner and Tiffany Thornton to deliver public service announcements that will air on the Disney Channel, Radio Disney, Disney.com, Disney XD and the ABC network.

There will also be two web sites available for parents and children to access who want to learn more about the campaign’s efforts. These web sites can be found at Disney.com/healthyfun and Family.com/healthymagic. The web sites feature healthy recipes, tips for healthy living and exercise suggestions.

Starting October 21, 2010, Disney is featuring a national essay contest through the campaign called Magic of Healthy Living the Weekend, where children can submit ideas about how to live a smart, healthy lifestyle at home, school or in their community. There will be 50 winners across the United States who will have the opportunity to spend the weekend at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Along with the campaign, Disney will give a $1 million grant in order to build gardens and play spaces in 10 underprivileged communities around the nation. Disney will team up with KaBOOM, a non-profit organization whose vision is to provide playgrounds for every child within walking distance.

In my opinion, Disney’s multimedia initiative is very effective in delivering their messages by having Disney Channel stars that kids recognize and look up to discuss healthy living. The fact that Michelle Obama also appears in the campaign is effective as well. Obama is extremely passionate about eating healthy and is highly recognized by families. It is effective and appealing to have celebrities deliver information regarding nutrition because it grabs the attention of parents and children when they see famous teenagers who they love to watch on television and in movies. Also, Michelle Obama has a reputation for eating smart and parents are going to listen to what she has to say.

"Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty"

2010-10-24T16:07:00.005-05:00

“Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty”

By: Cathleen Shelby

(Image taken from the official Dove web page.)

From young girls to old women, much is expected in terms of what society has labeled beauty. This unrealistic view of what is “beautiful” has left many women feeling as if they are falling short of society’s demands. After a global study conducted by Dove, called “The Real Truth about Beauty: A World Report,” Dove learned that women now view beauty as something that is near impossible to attain. To change this negative cycle, Dove launched a campaign to alter this caustic reality. In 2004, “Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty” began, hoping to help girls learn to love themselves the way they naturally are.

The Dove campaign had several phases in which Dove worked with other partners, including: Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Girls Inc. Together, Dove and their partners aimed to raise the amount of self esteem women, particularly young girls, have for themselves.

The main topics in this campaign are self-esteem and body image. The target public focuses mainly on young girls, but is for all women in general.

There were many strategies used in this campaign. One of the first strategies was using everyday women with bodies of different shapes and sizes to be the models for the campaign. This advertisement projected these women, who were not society’s ideal “beauties,” laughing and appearing happy and comfortable in their own skin. The campaign included television and print advertisements, videos, and workshops all based on revealing issues with body image and how to fix them.

Dove also has created a self-esteem fund, so that every product that is bought, some of the money goes to the fund. The fund sponsors programs that teach young women how to deal with body issues and ways to maintain good self-esteem.

National Solid Waste Management Authority of Jamaica

2010-10-23T12:01:00.011-05:00

The National Solid Waste Management Authority

(NSWMA) is showing Jamaica it “is cool to be clean.”

By Katylee Strange

picture from NSWMA website

In April 2010 Jamaica’s National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) launched their campaign to increase revenue-generating initiatives to help decrease Jamaica’s overall solid waste. The campaign used local event to help promote its ideas of its “cool to be clean” by participating in the Bacchanal Jamaica road march on April 11, and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's Independence Float Parade.

After The campaign included promoting aspects of the National Solid Waste Management Act that was passed in 2001. With the help of the act the country is working to safeguard the public health and ensure that the waste is collected, transported, recycled, reused or disposed of in a way that is environmentally sound. The act created an Authority that would help regulate the waste management in Jamaica. The Authority would help convert dumps into landfills, design and designate new landfills, provide collectors of solid waste, and create other guidelines relating to solid waste management. Those are just a few of the many things the Authority does to regulate solid waste in Jamaica.

The Sustainable Development and Regional Planning Division Planning Institute of Jamaica conducted research in 2007 to determine the effectiveness of their current solid waste disposal plan. The country realized something needed to be done about their solid waste management efforts. The article “Management of Hazardous & Solid Waste in Jamaica” shows the connection between economic activity and volume of waste produced. NSWMA decided to launch the campaign in order to reduce the hazards of solid waste. The National Solid Waste Management Authority’s mission statement is to “efficient and effective collection, disposal and management of solid waste while promoting change through public education.”

The NSWMA website allows people to learn about what the mission statement and goals of NSWMA as well as the work that has been done in the past that transformed dumps into usable and environmentally friendly landfills. The website also contains a collection schedule that people in Jamaica can look up when solid waste collection will occur in their region. There are also fun ways for children to get involved on the website in the “Fun for Kids” section.

Overall the campaign is a way a new way to promote an environmentally safe way of disposing solid waste in a country that has not known for sanitation and waste management in the past, Jamaica. Jamaica is a small country that cannot afford to overlook sanitation disposal of the 2,825,928 people’s solid waste that live on the 10,991 sq km island.

For more information about National Solid Waste Management Authority and their efforts to make Jamaica a more sanitary country visit http://www.nswma.gov.jm/.

"Think Outside Your Bubble" Shows Impact Public Relations Can Have in Government

2010-10-23T11:42:00.005-05:00

photo courtesy of Ogilvy PR

By Kylie Schneider

In 2006, Ogilvy Public Relations was hired by Planned Parenthood California to help create a campaign against Proposition 85 in California. Prop. 85 would have forced physicians to report any abortions performed on minors to a parent or guardian. Prop. 85 barred abortion for minors until 48 hours after a Doctor notifies a parent or legal guardian, except in a medical emergency or with a waiver from a judge or parent. Married or emancipated minors were to be exempt. The main argument against Prop. 85 and the reason Planned Parenthood wanted to develop a campaign against it is because it was believed that it would force a young girl to tell an abusive parent or guardian that she was pregnant which could cause her harm. The campaigns key message was that not every girl lives in a home where she can go to her parent for help.

Prop. 85 had previously been defeated as Prop. 73 in 2005. As a result, Ogilvy needed to make certain that every dollar had maximum impact on voters. Ogilvy began by researching people’s stances on certain issues. Data showed there was a shift from 2005 to 2006 in which supporters of the proposition had gained favor by exploiting the danger of child predators on the Internet. From polling and focus groups, research showed that focusing on domestic violence and less fortunate girls had the potential to change women’s’ votes from “yes” to “no” on Prop. 85. Ogilvy chose to focus on teens who could not speak openly with their parents for fear of violent repercussions by.

A test TV spot called “Think Outside Your Bubble” was created to measure the effectiveness of its message delivery to voters. The commercial shows a large bubble floating through a yard as a voice over featured a woman speaking about how she knows her daughter would feel free to come to her for help if she was pregnant. At the end the bubble travels to a home where the viewer can hear yelling and the bubble pops as the narrator realizes not every girl is as lucky as her daughter. The ad’s main goal was to remind people that, although they may have positive and trustful relationships with their daughters, not all young girls live in safe environments where she can communicate with her mother or guardian.

Test results showed that the ad successfully moved women and had a very strong emotional effect on men as well. Satisfied with the results, Planned Parenthood and Ogilvy launched the “Think Outside Your Bubble” ad campaign.

Upon evaluation, “Think Outside Your Bubble” was a clear success. The campaign helped raise support against Prop. 85 among major Democratic officeholders and the public. All major California newspapers published pieces against the proposition and the campaign also changed the stance of two newspapers which had supported Prop. 73 in 2005. Additionally, eight California counties, which had voted “yes” on Prop. 73 voted “no” on Prop. 85. In the end, with the help of “Think Outside Your Bubble”, Prop. 85 was defeated by a 9.5 percent margin which was a 4.5 percent increase from the defeat in 2005.

To accomplish their goals, Ogilvy appealed to people’s emotions on the serious issue of child abuse to garner support against a proposition that could have potentially put young girls in danger. Women voters were especially targeted because of their likelihood to relate what they saw to their relationships with their own daughters and feel sorry for girls who cannot depend on their parent or guardian for support. Through research of attitudes and political stances, as well as testing the emotional responses of an ad before airing it, Planned Parenthood and Ogilvy were able to prevent an unfair law from being made a reality. This campaign shows what a powerful role Public Relations can play in the political spectrum.

Huggies "Every Little Bottom" Campaign

2010-10-22T19:03:00.006-05:00

Improving the Well Being of Mothers and Babies

By: Morgan McMahan

Photo: Huggies' website

Huggies created its “Every Little Bottom” campaign to fight the diaper need for new mothers to improve the well being for both mother and children. Huggies will donate 20 million diapers in the United States over the next eight months. The campaign kicked off with a generous of two million diapers to the ten local diaper banks across the country.

In a case study about new mothers, it was found that 1 in every 3 mothers is forced to sacrifice basic everyday needs like food and childcare because of the need for diapers.

According to the website, on average, babies use from 6-10 diapers a day adding up to about $75 per month. When the child is 2 ½ years old, one child will have already used around 7,000 diapers. Some mothers struggle to provide their babies new diapers, and in desperate situations some mothers are forced to clean already used diapers to reuse them on their children.

The goal for the Huggies campaign is to collect 22.5 million diapers worldwide through donations. Currently, the campaign has generated 2.5 million. Huggies supports diaper banks, which collects, stores, and distributes clean diapers to families who are financially unstable. Diapers are collected through donations, diaper drives, and through diaper banks.

Huggies partnered with the March of Dimes organization when the company realized the crucial and widespread need of diapers. Together, the two organizations will be committed to restoring and maintaining the health of mothers and babies in need.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

The March of Dimes is responsible for raising awareness for the diaper need across the country by encouraging friends and family to donate diapers to diaper banks through channels like Facebook and Twitter.

To make this campaign successful, Huggies is creating a new branding mechanism called “Diaper Your Baby, and a Baby in Need,” which includes a specially-marked pack of Huggies diapers or wipes that, if purchased, will help diaper a baby in need to add to the 20 million diapers donated by Huggies in the campaign. Also, Huggies has a virtual diaper drive on its website to identify nearby diaper banks in an area. To add, Huggies will be hosting over 1500 local events to address the diaper need to community organizations.

In addition to raising awareness, Ellen Pompeo, star of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” has accepted the position of “Every Little Bottom’s’’ ambassador. She is using her celebrity to spread the word of the “Every Little Bottom” campaign by appearing on talk shows like ‘The Ellen Show’ to promote the cause and bring awareness to the issue.

For More Information on the 'Every Little Bottom' Campaign,

Visit: www.everylittlebottom.com

TOMS SHOES: ONE FOR ONE

2010-10-21T23:00:00.008-05:00

TOMS SHOES: ONE FOR ONE

By: Molly Luton

TOMS Shoes has virtually taken the shoe industry by storm due to their worthwhile cause and unique public relations effort. The company's seemingly constant PR campaign entitled "One for One," has caused them to gain worldwide attention. The campaign states that, "With every pair you purchase TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need." TOMS Shoes was founded by Blake Mycoskie who created the company after he visited Argentina and found that many of the children there do not have shoes to protect their feet. Within one year of creating the TOMS Shoes company he was able to go back to Argentina bearing 10,000 shoes to give away as a result of people purchasing TOMS and contributing to the greater good.

As of now, TOMS Shoes has given over 10 million pairs of shoes to children in need. TOMS Shoes has created a company that is thriving due to the fact that people genuinely want to help other people, especially children, and TOMS has created a genius way for them to translate this passion by tapping into people's emotions. They utilize creative advertising that emphasizes how purchasing a single pair of shoes can make a huge difference to a child in need. They highlight the reasons why children need shoes, beyond the obvious, in the majority of their efforts. These reasons are that without shoes children can contract diseases through stepping on soil, they can get wounds and cuts that can turn into serious infections and lastly that without proper footwear children are often not allowed to attend school and thus never receive an education.

TOMS' campaign is catching on with other companies as well. Companies like Ralph Lauren created a Polo TOMS shoe and promised to match every pair purchased with the gift of a pair to a child without shoes.

As a part of their ongoing PR campaign that ingeniously benefits their company, as well as children in need of shoes, TOMS successfully created the first annual "One Day Without Shoes." This day challenged people around the globe to not wear shoes and thereby feel what a child without shoes experiences on a daily basis. The day centered around the profound influence that having shoes can make on a child's life. 250,000 people participated in the event in April 2010, and TOMS is once again challenging people to participate in the second annual, "One Day Without Shoes," on April 5, 2011.

As a result of these efforts TOMS is managing to become incredibly successful during a time when many companies around the country are struggling to survive. The combination of their cause and the quality of their shoes will surely allow TOMS to further their mission for many years to come.

Photo taken from the TOMS SHOES Blog.

A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives

2010-10-21T00:36:00.010-05:00

A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives
By: Amber Rogers
Photo: NFL Web site

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States. The National Football League (NFL) has launched a campaign in support of the fight against breast cancer. "A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives" is the name of the campaign and it focuses on the importance of annual screening for women especially over the age of 40. Since the month of October is nationally recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness month, NFL players, coaches and referees will be wearing pink, the color associated with breast cancer, apparel to help raise awareness for the cause. They are going to auction of the apparel at the NFL Auction and the proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society and team charities.

This is the second year the NFL has run this campaign. The campaign was originated by DeAngelo Williams who is the Carolina Panthers' running back. He wanted to start this campaign because it hit close to home. His mother is a breast cancer survivor, but he has three aunts who have died from the disease. Williams is not the only person in the NFL who has dealt with the disease. Many people's lives in the NFL has been affected by breast cancer.

Williams heard of some players wearing pink gloves and suggested that players wear other appareal to support the cause such as cleats. They are even using pink coins in the coin tosses in the beginning of the games. Players wear a pink ribbon sticker on the back of their helmets and some also wear pink shoes, tape, or gloves to show their support.

Several retails stores, such as Dicks and Lids, along with NFL merchandise stores are involved in the fight against breast cancer and plan to donate a portion of their proceeds to breast cancer charities.

People who are not in the NFL can participate in the cause as well by joining a local American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk as part of an NFL fan team. So far the walk has raised $12, 687.50. All proceeds from the campaign will be donated to a breast cancer organization or charity.

To learn more about or get involved in the campaign, visit the NFL Web site.

Oprah's No Phone Zone

2010-10-20T16:10:00.005-05:00

Take the No Phone Zone Pledge Today!
By: Katie Graham
Photo: By Harpo Studios

Sixteen people will die today…and tomorrow…and the next due to texting and driving. Real statistics like these have made the “No Phone Zone” a growing campaign. Six thousand deaths can be prevented with this campaign, as well as 500,000 collisions per year. Oprah Winfrey is a successful public relation’s campaigner, and with her help and popularity, this campaign has become a pledge in saving lives. Twenty four states and D.C. have banned all cell phones while 8 states have prohibited all drivers from using handheld phones. This campaign provides information such as personal stories from real people who have experienced a fatal tragedy concerning the use of cell phones, while allowing viewers to sign a petition that states they will not text and drive. More and more people have signed this petition and it has become a special feature on the Oprah Winfrey show. Stars such as Justin Bieber and Julia Roberts have signed the petition, using the use of celebrities to popularize and help make this campaign succeed in awareness. Oprah will not stop until everyone knows the dangers of texting and driving.

VIDEO: "A Mother's Message About Driving and Cell Phones"

When you check out the Web site, you have access to partnering with the no phone zone, making an official commitment to never text and drive and watching personal stories with videos from families who have lost a loved one from the distractions of cell phones. In the end, you have the choice of taking the no Phone Zone Pledge:

“I pledge to make my car a No Phone Zone. Beginning right now, I will do my part to help put an end to distracted driving by committing to drive as responsibly as I can.” (http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html)

With this, you can choose one:

“I will not text while I am driving.”

“I will not text while driving and will use only handsfree calling if I need to speak on the phone while I am driving.”

“I will not text or use my phone while I am driving. If I need to use my phone, I will pull over to a secure location.”

Right now, there are 403,237 pledged to keep our roads safe. Overall, this campaign provides a personal touch to the saying “don’t text and drive.” By exposing people to the real life dangers of the pain this has on the families and drivers, more people are thinking twice before picking up their cell phone.

$24K Event 2010

2010-10-20T10:57:00.006-05:00

$24K Event brought back due to popular demand

By: Christy French

Photo: David House "The DFW House Guy"

Due to the poor economy and homes not be able to be sold at their full value, Coldwell Banker is bringing back their $24K Event. This program allows their clients the chance to gain extra publicity for their home. In order to have their home listed in the Event, all they have to do is speak to their Coldwell Banker sales associate. The Event features hundreds of homes, varying in price and type of home buyer.

The event was first implemented in 2009 and was such a great success that Coldwell Banker wanted to launch it again for 2010. The company's goal for the event is to have the homes listed to as many potential buyers as possible through the use of different media outlets. In addition to the selling aspect of the event, the twist for this year's event is the sales associate who closes a transaction with a potential buyer will be eligible for the $24K grand prize. Sue Meyer, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, says other real estate companies are also eligible to participate.

For the event, Coldwell Banker is planning to launch e-mail campaigns on cbdfw.com, newspaper advertising and editorials, and even partake in online marketing. Additionally, the home seller has the option to place a yard sign in their yard to distinguish the home as a $24K Event listing.

More information can be obtained about the $24K Event and Coldwell Banker by visiting www.cbdfw.com, or contacting the manager of Coldwell Banker's 19 offices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Save Lids to Save Lives

2010-10-19T21:27:00.005-05:00

Save Lids to Save Lives

By Laura Hill

Yoplait's "Save Lids to Save Lives" is a campaign developed to donate money to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is an organization dedicated to raising awareness and fighting breast cancer. The lids are pink, which is the color associated with breast care awareness.

For every pink lid from a Yoplait product sent to the company before December 31, 10 cents will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Yoplait guarantees a $500,000 donation, and the amount can reach $1.6 million.

To participate, one must purchase a participating Yoplait product. The product will feature a pink lid with the "Save Lids to Save Lives" logo. The lids must be saved, rinsed and sent to Yoplait. The instructions and mailing address can be found here.

This year, Yoplait is also working with Fondo Yoplait Para La Mujer Hispana to reach the Hispanic community.

This is Yoplait's 12th Annual Drive of "Save Lids to Save Lives". Throughout these years, Yoplait has donated $25 million.

Anyone interested in learning more information can visit their Web site. Under "Breast Cancer Initiative" one can find many useful tips in donating his or her pink Yoplait lids. Anyone with a Facebook can also like "Save Lids to Save Lives'" Facebook group page to keep updated with the campaign.

Photo: Powerpact.com

OFF THE MAT, INTO THE WORLD

2010-10-19T09:40:00.014-05:00

Photo provided by the Engage Network.

By: Cassie Little

In 2007 the Engage Network, which includes programs like “What’s Your Tree” and “Green for All,” partnered with some of yoga’s biggest names to create “Off the Mat, Into the World.” “Off the mat” is an organization that strives to bring social awareness to yoga practitioners and create grassroots movements within communities and abroad. Because the meaning of the word yoga is “union,” yoga classes are a great place to integrate a message for union between human beings and social change in society.

Currently, “Off the Mat” is engaged in the “Global Seva Challenge,” this is a project that encourages the yoga community around the world to make donations and give time to communities in crisis. Through grassroots fundraising and community service, "Off the Mat" raised $524,000 for community work in Cambodia in 2008, $577,000 for work in Uganda in 2009, and is currently working to raise money for communities in South Africa.

Not only is "Off the Mat" doing great things abroad, it is an organization that strives to encourage people to do what they can wherever they are, in their own communities. By becoming more socially aware and conscious, yoga practitioners around the world are making a difference through fundraising and volunteerism. Seane Corn, one of the founding members of “Off the Mat,” expressed that she believes service is one of the most incredible things a person can do because just as much as service helps others in need, it brings purpose and self awareness to the volunteer.

For more information, visit www.offthematintotheworld.org.

"Wear Yellow Live Strong"

2010-10-17T14:24:00.007-05:00

Wear Yellow Live Strong

By Callie Gillock

Every year millions of people around the world are affected by cancer. On October 2, 1996, Lance Armstrong – one of the world’s best cyclists – was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Armstrong, like many others, ignored the warning signs of cancer. By the time Armstrong received the diagnosis, his cancer had already spread to his lungs, brain and abdomen. Unaware of what the future would hold, Lance Armstrong created the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation, which is now known as LIVESTRONG, is a foundation that donates 81 cents of every dollar raised to services for cancer survivors as well as support for LIVESTRONG programs. In May 2004, the foundation teamed up with Nike and created the LIVESTRONG bracelet. The yellow bracelet is a part of the educational program “Wear Yellow Live Strong”. The program was created in an effort to raise awareness and money for cancer research. To date, there have been over 70 million bracelets sold worldwide. Since the foundation began in 1997, it has raised more than $325 million.

Marking the anniversary of Armstrong’s cancer diagnosis, every October 2 LIVESTRONG day has been dedicated to a global day of action. The worldwide event is to bring people together and wear yellow to honor people affected by cancer. People all over the world are invited to create their own LIVESTRONG event throughout the month of October. Nearly 1,142 events in 832 cities spanning over 65 countries have already been created.

The LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign brings together millions of people nation wide working together to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

Picture Source: Nashmaximus

Live United.

2010-10-17T00:00:00.231-05:00

Photo provide by United Way of Norman

Live United.

By Sabrina DuFran

The United Way is an organization that improves lives by the caring power of communities to advance in the common good around the world. Norman's campaign "Live United" is tied with the Unitied Way national campaign, which raises money for non-profit organizations in the community.

The public of the United Way of Norman campaign is the community individuals of Norman. Donations to the Norman United Way go directly to the Norman people with 85 cents of every dollar helping the community. Funded are 33 programs at 24 agencies in the Norman Area. These programs are divided among four Impact Areas:

Basic Needs
Successful Children and Youth
Strong and Safe Individuals
Families, Seniors and Persons with Disabilities

     This year's campaign funding goal is to raise $1.95 million. As of September 18, 2010, the Pacesetter campaign, which is a prelude to the community campaign, had already raised $991,372, half of the total goal. The Pacesetter group is composed of local social service agencies, businesses and community organizations, and has proven to be a good indicator of how the year's campaign will develop. This  first accomplishment was announced at the annual kick-off of the main event, Day of Caring.

       Norman's main activity, Day Of Caring, matches volunteer workers with community agencies and organizations for the day, giving the agencies an opportunity to complete projects that require more manpower than they normally would have. More than 100 volunteers gave of their time this year for Norman's United Way kick-off event.
       Other planned events included a ticketed "Celebrity Sing" for community leaders which provided dinner, dancing and a live auction at the Riverwind Casino. Donations raised assisted with the start of the campaign.
       The Stuff The Bus event collected a bus load of school supplies for Norman students in need. The two high school Rotary Interact Clubs along with the United Way Teen Advisors gathered to promote this drive for those public school students who were unable to begin the year with their needed school supplies.

       Since the community of Norman lies in the greater metro area of Oklahoma City, many Norman residents work outside of Norman. A strategy exists even for such a difficult situation as this. Giving to the United Way through payroll deduction at an individual's place of employment many times creates a loss of interaction with their community. With "Designate 7100" these Norman residents are able to select Norman as the designated community to receive their donations while still enabling them to partcipate in their employee's United Way drive.

United Way Funded Programs:

Central Oklahoma Community Action Agency
Health For Friends
Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma
NAIC- Norman Addicion Information and Counseling
Transition House
Bethesda
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Oklahoma
Bridges
Cleveland County CASA
Center for Children and Families, Inc.
Community After School Program, CASP, Inc.
Mary Abbott Children's House
Parents Helping Parents
Kaleidoscope
Meals on Wheels of Norman
ABLE- Council for Developmental Disabilities
Among Friends
Full Circle
Thunderbird Clubhouse
Aging Services Inc.

Give a Day. Get a Disney Day

2010-10-15T18:53:00.003-05:00

By: Carrie Bugg

In an effort to increase volunteerism in communities across America, Disney Parks launched its “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” campaign on January 1, 2010. The idea was simple: Families sign up to volunteer for one day at a HandsOn Network charity, and they receive a one day single park pass to Disneyland or Walt Disney World. The campaign goal was to recruit one million volunteers for the HandsOn Network. This goal was achieved in just three short months.

The HandsOn Network is the largest volunteer network in the United States with HandsOn Action Centers in more than 250 communities. Each year, the network provides about 30 million volunteer hours.

To get the word out about this campaign, Disney marketing and public relations professionals created a viral campaign centered on the Muppets. Disney produced multiple Internet videos and television commercials featuring our favorite Muppet characters performing various acts of community service in exchange for one special day at a Disney park. These videos are lighthearted and funny. Disney website visitors could forward the Muppet videos to their friends and family. This contributed to the rapid success of the campaign. Disney PR professionals took advantage of the networking capabilities through the Internet and let their audiences do some of the publicity for them.

After the campaign’s completion, Disney launched a series of videos following families participating in the volunteer efforts. These videos are posted on the Disney Parks website. Each video displays a different family and how they benefited from volunteering together. The campaign brought awareness to Disney and its efforts to make the world a better place to live.

2010-10-14T21:28:00.014-05:00

"Practice Safe Sun Campaign"

By: Katy Costello

Cosmopolitan Magazine launched their "Practice Safe Sun" campaign in 2006 in order to make women aware of the dangers of unprotected UV exposure. The goal of the campaign is to caution young women about the relation of such exposure and the risk of getting skin cancer. Cosmo uses a number of tactics in order to get their message out and promote women's health.

The magazine teamed up with a nonprofit organization, the Melanoma Research Foundation, with hopes of making a difference and fighting this deadly form of skin cancer. MRF is an organization committed to increasing awareness about Melanoma and helping to find a cure. Cosmo promotes a fashionable bracelet that one will receive after donating $10 to the foundation. If someone makes a $25 donation, three bracelets will be sent in return. Young women will be attracted to the cause with an incentive such as a stylish bracelet that is promoted in the magazine and the Web site. Cosmo has a major focus on the dangers of indoor tanning, because many of their readers today partake in it. The sections in the magazine dedicated to the "Practice Safe Sun" campaign include pictures and quotes from different celebrities who have taken the pledge not to tan. Because so many young women admire these celebrities, the impact could potentially be very large. If more and more celebrities are contributing to the campaign and taking the pledge not to tan, it could greatly influence those women who look up to them.

Indoor tanning and unprotected UV exposure has been a growing problem among young women today. The "Practice Safe Sun" campaign is a great cause that implements clever tactics to increase awareness of the risks that come along with tanning. Not only does the campaign aim to make these dangers more known, but at the same time, it is helping a foundation with a great cause.

The image on this post was retrieved from http://www.firstgiving.com/cosmopolitan

Public Relations and the Future: Ours for the Taking

2010-04-30T23:21:00.004-05:00

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."'

— Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) American writer and management consultant.

Perhaps no truer words have been spoken than Mr. Drucker's own. Peter Drucker made a significant impact on American business and his statement presents an interesting challenge to anyone who has a goal and the ambition to bring your goals into fruition. His challenge is to grab life by the reigns and take control. College has already presented numerous hurdles in my pursuit for academic excellence, and I know that entering the public relations workforce will share similarities, and then some.

Who...you mean us?

Regardless, it the task charged to each of us at the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism, as well as those already practicing PR, to stay on top of our profession. This includes, but is not limited to, providing the highest grade of work for those we represent, maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with the public, and all the while keeping with the latest trends. Ideally, trends represent what is popular and what is successful, and those we represent should expect no less from our work. Before his death in 2005, Peter Drucker, 95, helped define one of the leading creators and utilizers of current PR trends, the nonprofit company.

No money, no problems.

Drucker believed that nonprofit organizations were the leading innovation of the 20th century. A benefit of enrolling in Dr. Meta Castarphsen's public relations capstone course at OU, is getting the opportunity to work directly with a nonprofit organization over the course of six months and learning how to be creative and effective, WITHOUT ANY MONEY! Perhaps no money is a slight embellishment, however, sadly it is not far from the truth. At any rate, this challenge only inspires the aspiring public relations practitioner more, as we are taught the there are no problems only opportunities. Pressure and forced creativity have helped produce some of my best work, meanwhile I have learned from trends in PR to aid in my success.

Social Media: 2010's Biggest Misunderstanding.

Whether we are given two sticks and asked to make fire, handed lemons and asked to make lemonade, or provided with a minimal budget and told to prepare a fully functional PR campaign, it is the PR practitioners job to stay fresh and innovative with the use of our tactics. One of the greatest allies for the fiscally challenged public relations professional has been the advent of social media and the booming success it has had since its rise to the top. Other trends in PR, as set out by pr2020.com, include the use of guerilla, incoming, and content marketing, however, the most relevant, and popular trend seems to be the use of social media to reach target publics.

The biggest pitfall of using social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, is the assumption that because young professionals have been using these Web sites for for five years or so, then they naturally can use these effectively. NOT TRUE! I consider myself an avid user of Facebook, however, this in no way makes me qualified nor adequately experienced enough to represent my organization on the internet. There are many mistakes that can be made without proper care, mistakes that could cost you your or worse, the credibility of the company being represented.

Now, now. I can hear all of you Web junkies out there cyber-berating me. But hear me now, while social media can be an extremely cheap and effective tool for every PR professional, it can also be the dagger to the heart if not practiced with thorough discretion.

Social Media!

2010-04-28T20:13:00.002-05:00

Social Media.

One of the biggest trends affecting not just public relations, but all businesses is of course, the rise of social media, according to smallbiztrends.com. This rise in the use of social media is also related to another trend currently affecting public relations, the use of on line videos.

It is safe to say that the majority of public relations practitioners and students are aware of the benefits of social media. The use of social media enables a campaign to reach large numbers of a target audience, yet is interactive and therefore a bit more personal at the same time. A practitioner is able to measure the success of a message or campaign by keeping track of the number of responses a social media item receives, or the number of views a video receives.

However, the use of social media has become so prevalent in the public relations field that posting a video or photos isn’t enough anymore. As Bianca Gordon, one of the judges for our client presentations pointed out, people don’t want to just view a video or see a message anymore; they want incentive. They want to know that there is something in it for them.

As far as what this incentive could be, there is a vast amount of possibilities. Perhaps the credits at the end of an on line video could provide information to sign up for some kind of drawing that offers a prize. It could be as simple as guaranteeing that viewing a video, or joining a Facebook group, or following a Twitter account would make followers privy to special deals or discounts.

Businesses See Increasing Value in PR

2010-04-27T21:01:00.003-05:00

By Clara Mitcham

According to PR 20/20, a PR/Marketing Blog, consumer-generated content along with other various forms of social media are not longer just a trend in public relations, they are a vital function of the profession. This means that public relations professionals must not only have excellent speaking and writing skills, but they must have a dynamic understanding of how to integrate various forms of marketing into a cohesive campaign. The good news is that businesses are becoming increasingly savvy towards the evolving role of public relations and the increasingly standardized public relations tools for measuring the success of multi-media campaigns.

According to Christine Perkett, founder PerkettPR, an increased ability to measure the effects of a campaign by seeing where consumers are driven on a website allows them to measure success quickly and efficiently. These new forms of electronic evaluation will show if a campaign is unsuccessful immediately, therefore, holding public relations professionals to the highest standard and making them directly accountable for their work.

The Public Relations Society of America said that social metrics technologies are helping PR professionals sort response through social media channels like Twitter and suggests that professions must have a thorough knowledge of blogging culture. According to PRSA, content analysis will continue to be very important role in measuring success. Measurement is becoming increasingly creative as businesses look for new ways to quantify the overall image of their organization, however, managing vast amounts of consumer-generated content continues to present unique challenges to public relations professionals.

In conclusion, the social media have helped legitimize public relations to many members of the business community and being able to continue to quantify the success of those PR tactics will be crucial to relationship between PR and the business field.

Articles Cited:

Perkett, Christine. Public Relations Trends for 2010.
http://bx.businessweek.com/digital-public-relations/public-relations-trends-for-2010/4213942808559917994-ce6ac9a1bf58f0dd9301ed29654242e5/

Roetzer, Paul. 10 Public Relations Trends that will change the Industry forever. PR 20/20 Blog. http://www.pr2020.com/page/10-public-relations-trends-that-will-change-the-industry-forever

Walton, Susan. What You Can expect in the Coming Year. http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/Tactics/Articles/view/8482/1006/What_you_can_expect_in_the_coming_year