Life After College

Life after College
By Ashley Rahill

With graduation rapidly zooming into view, it has become apparent that there is life after college. What a tragic reality. It seems like yesterday I filled out my college applications, moved into the dorms and attended my first class. I cannot believe I am a senior graduating in less than a month! Getting a job scares me more than anything I can imagine, so law school is the natural alternative.

Throughout high school, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in law. When I enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, I had no idea which major would best prepare me for such a goal. However, I had spoken with several practicing attorneys, and they all offered similar suggestions: Choose a major that develops your writing skills. One piece of advice led me in the direction of public relations: you should simply pick a major that you will enjoy. From the beginning, I had no intention of pursuing a career in public relations, but the field itself fascinates me. Public relations is fast-paced, exciting and requires excellent writing skills. It has been a perfect solution for me.

This semester, I was accepted to the University of Oklahoma School of Law where I will spend the next three years of my life. The last couple of months, I have begun to contemplate what type of law I might specialize. I have heard numerous times that not having a distinct area of interest when beginning law school is okay, sometimes even preferable. That’s great for all the other students in my class, but I prefer to have a concrete objective. So, in all of my frenzy, I have been researching various types of attorneys.

Just last week, I came across a website for communications lawyers. This type of attorney typically represents clients who need help with cases involving the communications industry. They are also concerned with the regulation of radio and television broadcasting to ensure satisfactory service. Wow, what a novel idea for someone with an extensive communications background! It would be hard not to retain at least some communications skills after spending four years studying public relations.

Bottom line: I will continue to hone the exceptional writing and communications skills I have acquired from my public relations background, and I will certainly put these abilities to use in whatever area of the law I choose to pursue.

Awareness is the Key: Opinion Leaders are the Answer

Awareness is the Key: Opinion Leaders are the Answer
Ashley Rahill

My client is OU Nightly, the live, student-run broadcast on the University of Oklahoma campus. Through an intensive six month campaign, we will utilize numerous public relations tactics to increase awareness about OU Nightly. Although our first priority is to increase awareness about the broadcast, at the same time, we hope to begin positioning OU Nightly as a credible news source in the minds of our publics.

During the last couple of months, we have conducted extensive background research, including an audit of our client’s reputation and of the news business in general. We have administered several surveys, and the results illustrate an overwhelming public interest in OU Nightly. The trick is to make people aware of the broadcast. Through our research, we discovered that by simply increasing awareness, people’s curiosity will prod them to watch the show for the first time. Due to the broadcast’s credibility and high level of professionalism, people are likely to remain interested.

So how do we achieve our goal? Easier than we might have imagined.

Our client recently showed an interest in reaching the Norman community through local opinion leaders in various service organizations: a public we had not previously considered. Getting opinion leaders on board launches the beginning of the trickle-down effect. Opinion leaders are informed of an issue, or in our case, a program. They, in turn, pass the information on to the remainder of the public. It seems rather careless that we neglected to realize this public sooner, as opinion leaders are the key to rallying another more reluctant public.

The course of action has been relatively simple. We compiled a contact list of service organizations such as Rotary, Lions Club and Kiwanis Club in Norman and the surrounding areas. We contacted the leaders of these organizations and are setting up a brief informational session at the clubs’ weekly meetings. Now all we have to do is convince these opinion leaders that their time won’t be wasted watching the show. The rest is up to them.

Picture link: http://www.rotarydistrict7430.org/IMupload/RotarySharesLarger%20copy.jpg

Branding and Public Relations in the Political Arena

Branding and Public Relations in the Political Arena

Ashley Rahill

Branding and public relations both play a significant role in today's political process. In a country where politics regularly make the nightly news, we have come to expect catchy slogans and polished speeches from our politicians. Public relations in politics refers to a wide range of activities, including staging debates, holding seminars for government leaders and influencing legislation. Political candidates as well as already existing government officials at the federal, state and local levels engage in public relations practices. Politicians have long recognized the need to communicate in ways that people can understand and identify.

Is this a recent development? Certainly not.

Contrary to popular belief, public relations in politics did not appear out of thin air in the last ten years. Great leaders as far back as Julius Caesar have used branding and public relations tactics to distinguish themselves from the competition and gain support for their ideas. Caesar's approach to keeping the Romans content is much like the approach used in government today. Caesar was no stranger to the PR stunt, which became a regular aspect of the public relations industry in the twentieth century. Caesar used techniques to improve his reputation while still managing to remain separated from the worsening conditions in Rome.

Let's face it. Politicians have never been strangers to the latest trends in marketing and public relations. I would even venture to say that they have become good marketers. They market themselves much the same as Apple markets its newest MP3 player or latest phone model. When we watch a presidential debate or State of the Union address, we expect a full-blown performance from our government officials and candidates and are disappointed when they fail to deliver.

Take some taglines from the 2008 presidential campaign as examples. Barack Obama's "Change we can believe in" is pure political genius. Obama has risen from the dust and is now in the lead for the Democratic Party nomination. John McCain's lead over the other Republican candidates has been significant, and his spot in the general election has become a certainty. His slogan, "Ready to lead on day one," has been inspirational to millions of Republicans.

So, why do politicians consistently choose branding and public relations tactics to get elected and increase approval ratings? The answer is simple: it works. Branding has become a necessary aspect of politics and is an approach that helps capture support. It is especially effective among young adults.

Branding has everything to do with increasing awareness and providing positive association, and in any successful political campaign, these qualities are imperative to get votes flowing and support increasing. Whether or not the politician performs well after the election is an entirely different branding question altogether.

Photograph provided by http://www.president08.net/images/homepage.jpg.