Sunday, December 12, 2010

Mid-way marker

As I chain myself to my chair in the library to get all of my last minute work done, I'm thinking about how I'm half way completed with graduate school.  Whew!- it most definitely took a toll on me but it feels great to almost be done.  It's been a rough journey thus far and I'm sure it will only get worse but I have gotten a lot from these five classes within the last four months! 

I am more confident in my knowledge of the theoretical disciplines of the field as well as how to apply the concepts to the "real" work in the industry.  Four months down, four more to go and already I feel like I have a better idea where I'm heading and where I would like to be in the industry.  When you're a kid in school, your teachers always have the assignments of "What do you want to be when you grow up" but actually figuring it out it is a lot harder then you think. (Or at least it was for me.) 

Pin-pointing the field of public relations was one step, but in my undergrad I still was unsure of where in public relations I fell or in that case where I wanted to fall.  Now, the picture is becoming a little clearer to me.  I'm finally starting to focus on the bulls eye! 

Well, back to the books I go...it is finals week!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Thank God for # 2


Glory day! The Yankees and Derek Jeter have finally come to agreement after a month of negotiations. I can't imagine the Bronx bombers without shortstop and captain Derek Jeter.

As a BIG Yankees fan, it would break my heart to not see Jeter in the lineup. Jeter embodies a true "capitan" and still has much to offer. During negotiations, Jeter remained private on the progression. On November 18th, Hal Steinbrenner said "it is important what our fans think...this is a business negotiation! None of us want to make this personal because it's not personal. Both sides have a lot of respect for each other. My family has a lot of respect for Derek and I believe it's a mutual thing. Its been a good history!"


Following Steinbrenner's comments, Casey Close, Jeter's agent, said to AOL FanHouse "we do agree with Hal's and Brian Cashman's recent comments that this contract is about business and winning championships. Clearly, baseball is a business, and Derek's impact on the sport's most valuable franchise cannot be overstated. Moreover, no athlete embodies the spirit of a champion more than Derek Jeter."

Jeter's new contract is expected to be $15-$17 million(3 year deal) per season and will include deferred money.  It has not been officially announced because Jeter still needs to pass a physical examination however, in 2014 the deal can also increase in value depending on performance.

I say, lets go Jeter! I know you still have the heat. God bless #2.


Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Power of SPSS

   Statistical analysis is the numbers that matter in public relations.  It's time to let go of the common fear of numbers and jump into a crucial portion of public relations, demonstrating the value of our work! 

  SPSS formerly known as "Statistical Package for the Social Sciences" is widely used.  Market researchers, health researchers, survey companies, government, education researchers, and marketing organizations are a few to name.  As I sat in on yesterday's seminar, "How to measure public relations in a new media age" at Quinnipiac University, by KDPaine & Partners (Measures of Success) I realized the vast importance of this measurable communications tool. 

  Katie Delahaye Paine, CEO of KDPaine & Partners says that when hiring, people that know SPSS are automatic shoe-ins!  She also says the purpose of measurement is demonstrating what doesn't work and applying the appropriate measures to those actions.  Paine also notes the importance oh how to do measurement correctly. 


  It is all about learning  how to improve business performance  IBM's, SPSS Sample Power, provides a guide to providing effortless precision.  IBM's SPSS software has been being used for over forty years in planning, data collecting, data access, data management and preparation, analysis, reporting, and deployment.  
 
  We are now in a field that it is not enough to just say this is what I did, or I put out "x" amount of press releases.  We must be able to bear the fruits of our labor!    

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Twitter--Innovative & Savvy way of introducing Healthcare PR jobs

Just out of mere curiosity, today I googled "health care pr jobs."  What came up should not have surprised me, yet it did!  One of the first items that caught my eye was @Twitter-HlthcarePRjobs.  Savvy idea of creating a Twitter account just to list available positions. 

@HlthcarePRjobs is the Twitter account of Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown, NY.  Orange Regional Medical Center is said to be a "health care leader that still maintains a sense of intimacy and a state-of-the-art facility with a tremendous sense of community. You'll find the benefits you deserve with the rewards you can see. You'll find the advancement, flexibility and resources to advance your career and provide the care that your patients need.Orange Regional Medical Center - successful careers are common here."  As a prospective student seeking employment, it all sounds so enticing!



  

 

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Palin's Strategy

Every time something comes up about Sarah Palin's new series on TLC I can't help but wonder what her strategy is behind this.  What are her PR people thinking?

"Sarah Palin's Alaska" premieres this Sunday.  Alessandra Stanley of the NY Times writes "It’s a nature series for political voyeurs: viewers get to observe Ms. Palin observing nature."  What's the angle on this?  Besides the fact that clearly Palin enjoys being in the lime light.

It is unsure of whether Palin intends on running in the 2012 presidential election, but in my opinion if she is, does she think this is going to help.  Palin does have a strong fan base, shockingly! But for those who are not in the midst of her popularity, myself particularly, I  remember her saying in a preview of one of the episodes, how she'd rather be doing this any day than be in office (something along those lines).  I take that offensively because if she does intend on running, what does that say about her work ethics?

PR strategy or not? Who knows.  I don't think it's going to work in her benefit though. Time will tell.  I can't wait for Sunday!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

PR's BIG QUESTION...what's the ROI?

Practitioners within the field are constantly being pressured to have hard evidence and clearly demonstrate the return on investment (ROI).  But how exactly do we measure the value of public relations within organizations?  Much research has been done and is still being done on how we can prove our value, but "we" practitioners know that public relations is a strong force to be reckoned with. 

Mark Weiner of PRSA writes about the steps you could take to prove to your organization the wealth in public relations.  The article titled "Make Your Case for Public Relations" provides the following steps:
  • "Measure and evaluate your PR performance, whether it's requested or not."
  • "Know the difference between measurement and evaluation.  Measurement is a form of arithmetic and evaluation is a form of professional and contextual analysis, from which value is derived."  (Babbie describes evaluation research as research that studies the effects of social interventions.)
  •  "Make it easy for executives to understand the power of public relations by speaking the language of business. Data is power — many PR practitioners can’t define “buzz,” let alone impute a value."  (No, not Buzz Light Year or buzz like a bumble bee but when I think "buzz" in regards to public relations I think about the conversations/controversy that occurs from press releases.  In a sense we get people talking.  You want your product or idea out there, well public relations can and will find a way to get people talking about your product/idea....thus creating a "buzz." 
  • "Uncover the value system in your own organization before fussing over “what to measure.” Executives will tell you what’s important — follow their guidance to reduce risk but incorporate higher forms of measurement to help them evolve."
  • "Create a research, analysis and measurement culture within your own PR team. Validate success and use shortfalls as opportunities for learning."
     
     Sooner, rather than later though, I do believe that we will have to prove our efficiency through numbers.  Where is research studies going with ROI?  Who will be the all-mighty one to crack the code?
     
     
     
     
    

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

MySpace Re-vamped!

With MySpace's slow depletion in value to "social media elites,"  CEO Mike Jones calls for some new changes to take place.  Some much needed changes, seeing that numbers have dropped dramatically over the last few years.  "The company is expected to make $297 million in 2011, down from $470 million in 2009, according to eMarketer(Slutsky, adage.com)."

The new Myspace 's layout is referred to as having a "Tetris style" by Mike Macaadan, MySpace VP User Experience.  The new screen broken into various segments, videos, information, pictures galore, and updates.  MySpace just might have found its new vocation.  It seems to me that Myspace is now being geared more towards musicians, artists, and celebrities.  Myspace's promotional tactics are both convenient and strategical.

In "MySpace Relaunch Focuses on Successful Niche: Entertainment," from Adage.com, Chief Revenue Officer, Nada Stirratt refers to the Glee page on MySpace and its advertising capabilities.  Glee's MySpace page is sponsored by a said name brand.  On the page guests are able to view Glee cast members wearing said name brand and are also directed to where they can purchase items to be just like Glee!  Its all about easy access to consumers!  "Connection" also jumps to mind, because it allows fans to feel like they have a little piece of  "heaven."  They connect with Glee cast member because they know what they are wearing and in turn are able to purchase the same items.

MySpace's new launch is savvy and innovative.  Circling in on musicians, artists, and celebrities-entertainment; I think will prove to be a positive note for them.  Kudos!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

How prepared will we be for the public relations industry? Can I practice in Japan?

  Professor and chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland, Elizabeth L. Toth and Linda Aldoory, associate professor at the University of Maryland, conducted one of the first in-depth studies of how "us," the students are being taught and prepared for the workplace.   Dr. Aldoory said that the project built on valuable earlier studies, and “our analysis broadened the geographic scope of study and stressed in-depth qualitative discourse as a basis for its conclusions.” 


  Toth and Aldoory used qualitative methods in order to conduct their studies.  In their studies they reviewed  218 educational  institution websites in 39 countries and in 20 of those countries, they conducted 20 in-depth interviews.  In their studies, they found that "undergraduate programs almost without exception are focused on professional preparation rather than academic theory. Dr. Aldoory noted that “Internships, industry participation and course work that provides skills plus knowledge are the norm. Graduate programs are highly focused on strategic thinking and advanced practice.”  


  In my experience in studying public relations in my undergrad at Iona College and moving forward, I agree that this is the matter in which "we" are being educated.  Their research gives an accurate picture to how "we, the new age practitioners" are being molded for the workplace.


    “A First Look: An In-Depth Analysis of Global Public Relations Education,”  funded by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), is essential to the field because it is important to see how "we" are being molded and prepared.  Although geography and cultures vary, key ideas still prevail.  Molded an prepared for the workplace in the United States, can I be a "new age" practitioner in Japan?  Will my education be just as effective in the preparation for another countries workplace?  




   Aldoory said "...overall, we found many well-developed, substantive programs preparing future public relations professionals with the knowledge and skills they will need for our profession." 

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The cool way to do Surveys in PR

  In a recent internship at REVOLUCION, a full-service hispanic based agency, I had the opportunity of creating suveys for research with our various clients.  A process that may have once been scutinizing and tedious was a one-two-three process with Surveymonkey.com.  "Surveymonkey makes it easy to conduct, manage and analyze research that drives our business forward (market researcher at Facebook says on Surveymonkey.com)."

  It didn't dawn on me until reading the various methods in the chapter, that at that point in time I was employing a research method in order to get responses from clients on logo creation.  Surveymonkey made it easy to put in the questions at hand with images and create various answers in which the clients would choose.  I would then submit the surveys and all the client had to do was follow a link and complete the process of the survey.  Once completing the survey I was able to get direct results.  Surveymonkey made research easy and it was extremely efficient.  By using a survey with clients, you are creating a two-way symmetrical model and then are able to put both your ideas and their ideas into projects(in this specific case, logo development).  This two-way communication was extremely effective because it lends to clear specificity with an organization and its client at hand.

Surveymonkey also allows for you to personlize the survey with your own company logos, making it fit with your company, instead of looking like some generic census form.

  The text gives fault to online surveys because it doesn't show a collaborative representation.  However, I think it is effective in the case of creating a survey for a select group of people and distributing in a timely manner.  Who reads the mail anymore?  Most of my own mail sits on my kitchen chair for weeks! It's all about technology and having things at your finger tips...if you want me to see it, send it in an email!  We are a constantly moving society and the internet, surveymonkey along with many others, employ a viable method to surveys in research for organizations. 

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Do libraries antiquate old school? Or have libraries upgraded?

  
  We live in a society that is in a constant demand to keep up with technology.  What happened to old school libraries and card catalogs?  Do people still go to dark, grungy, smelling libraries?

  The Daily News' article Libraries launch apps to sync with iPod generation, discusses how libraries have updated and how they use social media to stay relevant to today's publics.  How are they doing it? Libraries are tweeting, texting, and creating apps, seeing that people today usually have smart phones like Blackberry, and iPhones attached to them as another limb.  They are using these forms of technology to inform people of past due books and also to inform people of the opportunity for free music downloads available to them. 

  The article also discusses immerging sites such as Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/) which is basically an online book club but with the capability of social media.  You are able to get the books you like and it also keeps track of the books you read over the year.      

  In Preston. N.J., there is a waiting list for people to try out the Kindle.  That's pretty innovative on the part of libraries to now have Kindles.  It all comes back to technology.  By staying up-to-date and "keeping up with the Jones" they are building back the popularity that once existed for libraries.  

  Pretty remarkable for the pr person that sat down and strategized ways to bring back people to the library.  Kudos to them!

  I have noticed the library in my home-town has been completely renovated...on the outside at least.  I wonder what it looks like on the inside.  I don't think I've been there since I was 10!     

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Ethics...does it exist today in public relations?

 
As we devle farther into each week's material it is clear that ethics is a fundamental aspect in the field...or atleast in studies it is.  In reviewing various business crises I posed a question whether or not ethics exists or is it a matter of do what you have to do? Or is it becoming easier to find ways around it?

  The recent case I reviewed was the Johnson and Johnson crisis with the subdivision McNeil.  Time and time again J&J had the opportunity to act ethically and do what was right for it's consumers yet that was not the case.  J&J's credo claims "to put the needs and well-being of the people we serve first." In my opinion people-J&J's consumers took a back seat to sales and production.  J&J was behaving in respects to a utilitartian code of ethics, whic is the end justifies the mean.  J&J had hopes that they could trick consumers and basically be sly and go behind our backs to conduct their own phantom recalls.  They were looking for an easy way out.  Is this something one of America's iconic, trusted brands does?  Do they believe in ethics?

(Check out the various accounts the FDA had with J&J and McNeil at http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Testimony/ucm213640.htm)

  Bill Weldon, current CEO was quoted in Fortune as saying "Given the conditions that we're working with today, I think we've responded in probably the most responsible way any company could've responded (Fortune)."  "...the most responsible way....," I think not! What about your ethics? What does he have to say about a phantom recall?  Does he believe that it is okay to lie to his consumers that have stood by the brand?   

  J&J's crisis still has more pages to fill so I guess we'll see if the end truly justtified the means.  Is it worth it to to be unethical and break trusts that are so hard to build?  Once people have lost faith in your brand and reputation, it is near impossible to get those same consumers back.

 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

2010 Pepsi Max Campaign ( "Zero Calories-Same Pepsi Taste")

  In the last few weeks I have been involved in promoting Pepsi Max.  In doing so, Pepsi is using this time of year, football season, as their platform.  Pepsi is conducting a splurge of events!  Last Sunday, I was able to promote at the New Meadowlands Stadium for their opening day...madness! Considering the amount of commercials that are made specifically for Super Bowl...what better place to promote the product itself then at a game? "NFL and the Super Bowl is just, absolutely, the best stage to get our zero-calorie message out for Pepsi   Max. We are restaging the Pepsi Max brand and putting a tremendous amount of resources behind it, and   we couldn't think of a better place to get that message out," said Jill Beraud, chief marketing officer,   PepsiCo Beverages Americas. " (Adage.com)
  
  I chose this particular subject because in reviewing how to do a research project, I thought that Pepsi was in a way conducting their own research project that would generate sales for Pepsi Max.  Pepsi Max isn't a new product on the market.  In fact, it has been out for several years, but their thoughts to promote it is because they have created a new look for the product along with a new logo.  
  
  It is interesting to see the material being applied to "real life."  My job in the promotion is involved with the population and sampling portion of a research project.  In choosing football as their platform, Pepsi has decided that people who watch football or go to football games are the people in which they desire to study(or sell to).  Part of my job is to spread the "Zero calorie, same Pepsi taste" message to the publics at the game.  I also distribute free samples and other miscellaneous items (i.e. shirts). 
  
  I'm interested to see how this stage of the process can lead to analysis.  How does Pepsi move forward? What do they look at after this launch?  What kind of measures do they have intact to see if it was a successful campaign? 

  This Sunday will be another telling event for how Pepsi is doing.  Give it a shot-"Zero Calories, same Pepsi taste!"  


  Let's Go Giants!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Welcome!

  Welcome to "PR In My Mind" by yours truly Christine.  I'm a recent graduate of Iona College with my B.A. in communications, specifically public relations.  Currently I'm at Quinnipiac University for my M.S. in public relations.  I'm looking forward to gaining a better grasp on the industry and how to implement the various tools and techniques to further my career.

  At this very moment I'm unsure of exactly what I'd like to do in public relations however, I would like it to pertain to my interests in fashion, entertainment, and/or sports.

  Here's to the endless possibilities and where the future may bring me! CHEERS!