Get Out There.

Walking into my fundamentals of public relations class on the first Tuesday of the semester at 6 pm at night and knowing I was going to have sit there for 3 hours honestly made me cringe. But after leaving the first class, I honestly couldn’t wait for the next week. Being excited to go to a 3 hour class every Tuesday for 15 weeks isn’t something I thought I would ever say, especially after looking over the syllabus and discussing this massive plan book project we had to do over the course of the semester. But after learning about not only the textbook definition about what PR is, but also what its REALLY like to work in the field from Adrienne Wallace, who’s teaching personality is the probably the best of all the professors I had at Grand Valley, is what truly made this class my favorite of the semester.

This semester I have added so much to my knowledge of public relations. Specifically, in my first blog post my personal definition of Public Relations was, “…that PR is the way a company communicates their messages to their clients and the public is the most effective and positive way” (Staff, 2015). Although this is true I soon realized how much more goes into public relations including secondary research, primary research, evaluation, and crisis management among many other things. With public relations being such a broad job field is probably what makes me so excited and so sure about what I want to go into this career. After this class and listening to Adrienne and other guest speakers talk to our class , I realized that having a career in public relations will be challenging, fast paced and stressful at times, but I most likely won’t be doing the same exact thing everyday, which is something I really look forward to.

I think the most important thing I learned this semester was to stop relying on a structure whether it be in life in general, in a job, or in class when working on a project, and to have confidence in the ideas I have, and to stop thinking that there is only one answer to every question. I remember going into class the night that we had our drafts due for our introduction to our plan book and everyone, including myself, was freaking out because we all said we had no idea what was going on. And then Adrienne made all us calm down and told us that we needed to stop expecting to have structure in our lives because in the real world, structure won’t exist and that we have to come up with our own ideas, be our own unique self, and basically just put ourselves and ideas out there, and that everything would work out.

That is basically when everything clicked for me, and I realized that I needed to get out there. I joined advertising club, started taking my classes way more seriously, and started to have more confidence in the work I was doing. Even through this blog, I was able to create a writing style and voice that fits my personality which made me enjoy writing blogs for class.

In my first blog I also stated that one of my goals for the semester was to use the skills I learned to help find an internship, which as of last Friday, that goal became reality. I was able to land a social media and marketing internship for the winter semester with a real estate development company in Grand Rapids called Third Coast Development. Even though this class really did stress me out sometimes and I had a few last nights/early mornings trying to perfect my plan book, I truly am grateful for the things I learned this semester, and that I took the opportunity to actually “get out there.”

Evaluation in Public Relations

Evaluation is the last, but still a very important, step in the public relations process. In the terms of a PR campaign, evaluation process let a PR team look at what was successful and unsuccessful in their campaign, why certain things worked and others didn’t, and if a reasonable return on investment (ROI) was made from the campaign. In 2011, Coca-Cola started the Share a Coke campaign which helped the brand tremendously. Although, the company’s success cannot only be credited to the campaign idea, because without correct evaluation, the campaign would not be where it stands today.

According to an article on Coca-Cola’s website about the Share a Coke campaign, the campaign was meant to be ran in Australia, starting in the summer of 2011. The campaign was formed to “…strengthen the brand’s bond with Australia’s young adults — and inspire shared moments of happiness in the real and virtual worlds” (Moye). The campaign started with 150 names that are popular in Australia. But, shortly after the campaign began, it made it’s way to 70 other countries, and consumers started to add their own twist on the campaign by requesting more names to be put on the cans for more personalized cans, which Coca-Cola gave them months later. One of the creators of the campaign, Lucie Austin, said, “The fact that your name is on a Coke bottle, it can’t get more personal that that! The campaign capitalized on the global trend of self-expression and sharing but in an emotional way. Coke is big enough to pull off an idea like this, which speaks to the iconic nature of the brand” (Moye). According to an AdWeek article written by Toni McQuilken, sales dollars compared to 2010 went up 2.5 percent overall all after more than 10 years of steady declines. By just looking at the increase in sales, it was evident that the campaign had been a success, but the PR team knew there was still work to be done.

In Anne Gregory’s book, Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns she discusses how reviewing and evaluating a campaign works and why it is important. Gregory says, “A look every 3 or 6 months and a longer look every 12 months ensure that everything is on track, and that any new situations are taken into account” (2010, p. 175). Also, “…the plan itself should remain as the route-map, with some flexibility to accommodate opportunities and problems as they arise” (Gregory, 2010, P. 175).

After Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke Campaign unexpectedly blew up around the world, and consumers wanted even more personalized bottles and cans of coke, the campaign team needed to look at their consumers wants to help increase their already successful ROI. What the campaign team did to create an even more successful campaign reflects Anne Gregory’s statements on the importance of PR campaign evaluation. Evan Holod, North American Coca-Cola brand director, told Marketing Business Weekly, “We took inspiration from our most loyal fans and created more opportunities for people to get involved, make ‘Share a Coke’ their own…..Whether it’s celebrating a proposal, creating baby announcements or just enjoying time with a friend, Share a Coke can make those moments even more special” (The Coca-Cola, 2015). By Coca-Cola putting in effort to monitor and evaluate what consumers were saying on social media,   and responding to their wants in a positive way, Coca-Cola was able to make the Share a Coke campaign much stronger than the campaign was when it started in 2011.

By looking at the Share a Coke campaign, it is easy to see why evaluation is such an important step in PR campaigns to ensure a return on investment whether it be an increase in profit or publicity. Without the evaluation step, the Share a Coke campaign may have not become as strong as it did, and it may have no been able to show consumers how dedicated Coca-Cola is to their customers. Right now, if you search #shareacoke on Twitter, there are still consumers engaged with the campaign, which again shows how impactful the evaluation stage was to the campaign that at first started out small, but ended up catching Coca-Cola drinkers all around the world.

References

Gregory, A. (2010). Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns: A Strategic Approach. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

The coca-cola company; “share a coke” returns with 1,000 reasons to enjoy a coke this summer. (2015). Marketing Business Weekly, , 83. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/docview/1674991768?accountid=39473

 

Jimmy Johns’ Social Media: Just as Amazing as their Sandwiches

You’re jealous when people order their sandwiches to the library and you’re broke so you can’t do the same. You get so excited when you actually have enough money to get your hands on their famous Italian Night Club sandwich. And you get even more excited when you get a response to you Facebook or Twitter post about how much you loved your sandwich. If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m talking about Jimmy John’s, their mouthwatering sandwiches, and their social media strategies and tactics that have helped them create the brand we know and love.

In the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ book, Share This: the social media handbook for PR professionals, edited by Stephen Waddington, he discusses the idea of organizations listening to their audiences and how it has changes over decades. He describes previous ways organizations used to get public opinion by listening to their audience by conducting door-to-door, mail, and phone polls and surveys (Waddington, 2012, p.158). While these tactics are still sometimes used today, Waddington explains how social media has made a huge change in how organizations listen to their audience. He says, “From the standpoint of the public, they now have an easy means of expressing their views and opinions about pretty much anything. Brands and institutions make for natural conversation fodder” (2012). Mainly through Facebook and Twitter, the public can post about good experiences, bad experiences, what they think of the brand, etc. And because of how fast paced social media is, organizations have the ability to get “…real-time insight into the thoughts, views, and feelings of their stakeholder audiences in a way that would be unthinkable in earlier times” (Waddington, 2012, p. 175). Organizations should take advantage of this insight, both positive and negative, in a way that works with the organization’s brand, so that the public and customers are able to experience the brand without physically being in the organization’s store or office.

In a blog post by Hult Marketing titled, Jimmy Johns — Freaky Fast Social Media, an actual encounter with Jimmy Johns’ Facebook is explained along with how Jimmy Johns responded, and why the way they handle their social media responses is something other businesses should follow. Long story short, an account manager at Hult Marketing ordered JJ’s delivery, and it never showed up. So she had a few options, call Jimmy John’s, write an email, forget about it, or take her problems to social media. So, she ended up writing what happened on Jimmy Johns’ Facebook page and got a helpful response from a representative within 2 minutes. The blog states that, “You can’t have a show-pony Facebook page. Either make one and actually talk to your customers, or don’t have one at all (not recommended.)  But, if you have one and never respond (especially to complaints) it shows you don’t care” (Freaky Fast Social Media). By Jimmy John’s responding the way they did in this case and it many other cases, it shows that not only do they have their social media under control but it also lets their brand identity shine through showing that they actually care about their customers.

Jimmy John’s has also been taking on the Twitter sphere by storm when it comes to how the company interacts with the public on their page. In a case study done by Kevin O’Connell on socialnomics.net titled, Jimmy John’s: Serving up Freaky Fast Tweets, he says, “they [Jimmy John’s] have created one of the most engaging digital voice’s I’ve come across” (2013). Since the company’s target demographic is of people ages 16-24, as explained in the article, it is vital that Jimmy John’s puts a strong effort into their twitter account. O’Connell credits Jimmy Johns’ Twitter success to their “minute-by-minute” conversation tracking. Also, their characteristic of being their audiences’ “best friend”, O’Connell says, “If you want to do social media right you must connect with your audience. Social media relies on a digital voice that is engaging, provides humor, has human characteristics and is relevant” (2013). Lastly, they don’t make their social media all about them, a large portion of JJ’s twitter page is replies to the public because, “…to do social right and connect you have to understand that it’s not all about the PUSH!” (O’Connell, 2013). Once again, how Jimmy John’s is present on social media shows the public that they care about their customers’ thoughts and experiences, not just about their company being successful.

Now, obviously this social media strategy isn’t one that will work for all companies. But it shows that although it is a serious matter to get a brand’s identity across to the public, the way a company communicates it on social doesn’t always have to be serious, and that authentic engagement with the public is important.

References

CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) (2012). Share This : The Social Media Handbook for PR Professionals. S. Waddington (Ed.) Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

Event Planning: Is it really THAT stressful?

Last week, in my fundamentals of public relations class, we discussed event planning. I was really excited to talk about it in class and was even more excited when we got to do a small assignment where we came up with a theme, timeline, venue, budget allocations, etc. for an event that happens on GVSU’s campus called the Superior Awards. When I was in high school I had big dreams of strictly being a wedding planner, but after finding out exactly what that job was all about and learning more about what PR is, I started to become more interested in working for a PR firm in event planning & management.

Something I first asked myself when I started to become interested in a mix of event planning and public relations, was how do the two interchange or work together? In a blog post written by Michele Spiewak, account director at Rhino Public Relations, she says, “Public relations – through traditional and new channels – can effectively generate ticker sales and attendance, secure sponsors and advertisers, create a buzz of excitement and public awareness, and encourage media to attend and/or cover the event” (2012). Public Relations is such a broad career and there are so many different parts to it, but one thing PR does is communicate. Event planners can use PR to communicate their messages for the event through a number of channels including, “media outreach, social media, e-mail marketing, and web site updates” (Spiewak, 2012). And by starting this communication early, an event planner can secure publicity. Spiewak says, The writers and photographers who attend local galas and charity events have packed schedules that fill up well in advance. Get on their radar early to secure their interest and attendance” (2012). Being an organized event planner with some PR tricks in your toolbox can make all the difference in the success of an event.

Even though it seems as if having a strong PR background would make event planning easier, I have heard from a lot of people and professors that work in the field, that event planning is VERY stressful. And who wants to be stressed out, because stress causes pimples, and who wants pimples? Not me. BUT, after reading a blog titled Ten Reasons why I love working in events by Michael Heipel Concept & Consulting, I found some reassurance in pursuing a job in event planning. Heipel makes the point that, “Nothing ever stays the same, Every event is different, and reinventing the wheel is part of our fantastic journey as event organizers” (2014). I could see this being one of the reasons the career is so stressful, but also why people like it because it becomes a challenge to stay up to date and to be creative in more than one way. Heipel says the the type of creative you use in event planning isn’t necessarily the same creative you would use in an advertising agency, and that in event planning, creative work is on “…multiple levels: meeting design, interaction design, web advertising, email marketing, social media, print advertising, sponsorship campaigns…There is not end for creative ideas!” (2014). And the last point that gives me hope in enjoying a career in event planning is the point Heipel makes about bringing people together. He says that, “those are the kind of events are success when people meet, learn together, get inspired and leave the event doing things differently than before. Hopefully better than before” (2014). I think this would be the most rewarding part of working in event planning; seeing that an event you worked on was successful.

Another possible stress of event planning can be how to start planning. In Louise Freeman’s Alaska Business Monthly article, she explains to “Start with the big picture” (2011). Instead of jumping right to the specifics like dates, catering, and location, planners need to understand the event overall and what they are trying to accomplish by holding the event. Michele Speiwak also backs this idea of having a big idea or what she calls a “hook” to “give people (including the media) a reason to attend” (2012).

Although event planning seems like a stressful job, it seems as if that is what makes it fun for those who have careers in it and enjoy it. The fast pace and ever changing atmosphere of PR makes event planners be creative and think on their feet. Call me crazy, but working for a PR firm in event planning & management is still my dream job until someone gives me a REALLY good reason (fingers crossed nobody does) to change my mind.

References

Freeman, L. (2011). Event planning tips: ensuring attendees return next    year. Alaska Business Monthly, 27(7). Retrieved  from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/ps/i.do?  p=AONE&u=lom_gvalleysu&id=GALE%7CA261386387&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&  userGroup=lom_gvalleysu&authCount=1#

Hope Solo: A PR Hot Mess

Hope Solo; a goalie young soccer player aspire to be, the goalie with the most shutouts in the National Women’s Soccer League, and the goalie that was apart of the badass U.S. national team with a recent World Cup title. But, this internationally known goalie had big problems with negative press surrounding her right before and during the World Cup, stemming from a domestic violence case she was involved in, in June of 2014.

In June of 2014, after an altercation with her sister and 17 year old nephew, Hope Solo was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault. Although, the two victims failed to appear in court for court ordered interviews and the times they did show up to court, their stories about the night of the assault were different. Because of this, Solo asked for the charges to be dropped, and even with documents released to the Seattle Times showing the harm Solo had put on her nephew, the charges against solo were dropped in January. This controversy stayed pretty quiet until days before the first match of the World Cup was going to take place, there were people angered that Solo was not suspended and that she would be someone representing the U.S.

Solo, her teammates, and coaches stayed quiet for the most part when it came it questions and media surrounding the controversy. During one particular interview where Solo was asked about the incident, she told reporters, “I am here to talk about World Cup and Soccer”. There were interviews where her coach responded in the same kind of manner. Although, in February right after the charges had been dropped, Solo did come out and say that she was the victim in the case, which further confused many people. Also, after a World Cup game during a press conference, one of Solo’s teammates, Carli Lloyd was asked about the incident and Lloyd response was that she was “focused on soccer”, and that it was “old news” and her and Solo “laugh about it”. “LAUGH ABOUT IT”?! First of all, domestic violence is never something anyone should be laughing about, and second of all, there are many things Hope Solo and her PR team could have and quite frankly, should have done differently.

If I were apart of Hope Solo’s PR team I would have made it important that a press conference needed to be put together right after the situation was made visible to the public, because “…not speaking or speaking too late-encourages public distrust” (Thenell, 2004, p. 53).I would have also helped Solo take corrective action but going to classes to help with anger management or classes about domestic violence so that it would be shown to the public that she is working past this problem. During the press conference, Solo would have given a full apology to not only the victims of her actions, but also the fans in the teammates she let down. Denise C. Walker in her book Mass Notification and Crisis Communication that when addressing the public one should provide information that is “accurate, caring, credible, empathetic, pertinent, and timely” (2011, p. 379). Solo followed not one of these characteristics in any press conferences or interviews she took part in.

As for Solo’s coach and teammates who were questioned while this controversy took place, if I were apart of the PR team I would have made sure that they also were prepared for when they were questioned on Solo’s actions. I would have instructed them to emphasize that although they cannot speak for Solo, they can refer back to the apology she made, the fact that she is working on her problems to ensure that it won’t happen again, and NOT tell the media that it is something you and Hope laugh about.

Crises aren’t something any company, organization, or person wants to deal with and are hard to admit to when you could have done something to prevent them. What Hope Solo went through was not only unfortunate for the victims, but also for herself due to the fact that it could have potentially taken away her play time during the World Cup. Solo’s actions and the way she, her teammates, and coach handled the press and media afterwards created a lot of backlash that could have been prevented if her PR team and herself addressed the public in a timely and appropriate matter.

References

Thenell, J. (2004). Library’s Crisis Communications Planner : A PR Guide for Handling Every Emergency. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions.

Walker, Denise C. (2011). Mass Notification and Crisis Communications: Planning, Preparedness, and Systems. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

Why Research?

The word “research” has made me cringe since I started doing research projects and papers in elementary school. But I am now realizing, through classes I am taking in college, that research is going to be a HUGE part of any job I land in the Public Relations field, so I better learn to love it, right? Although research can be boring and take a lot of effort and time, it is going to be one of my best friends in Public Relations.

There are many different types of research that can be done in Public Relations, from surveys and polls, to focus groups, to primary and secondary research, and so on. All of these forms of research are important in PR, but some types tend to get commonly overlooked. Brigitta Brunner explained in her book review on Don Stacks’, Primer of Public Relations Research  that case studies “…[are] highly valued but underused in the field” (Brunner, 2003, pg. 421-22). Case studies show PR teams what has worked for certain organizations, and what hasn’t worked for others. Case studies could help largely when a team is stuck trying to figure out where to go with a new idea or campaign by being able to already see what is successful in trying to reach their target market.

Research is a huge part in PR campaigns for many reasons, but two important reasons that research is important, is that is helps you strategize and make informed decisions. When starting a new PR campaign for an organization it is easy to get overwhelmed and to feel like you don’t know where to start. But doing research on what the organization needs to work on and what their target market wants from them, you will be able to get yourself started and “…establish realistic goals, meet communications objectives, and increase your campaigns chances for success” (Shanchez, 2013, para. 4).  It is always important to research so that you have factual information to back up every decision you make regarding any PR campaign you are working on. Not only will research help you back yourself when it comes to your ideas, thoughts, and decisions, it will also give you confidence in decisions you are making.

Also, in order to create a successful campaign, one of a PR team’s many jobs is to create an alliance with the public in the most effective way by creating and image for the organization that the public agrees with.“Research, when conducted properly, eliminates bias and gives the leader of a company a realistic picture of how various members of the public perceive the organization” (Symes, n.d., para. 1).  Creating a favorable image wouldn’t be possible if a PR team created an image that they THINK the public wants to see, doing research and figuring out what the public likes, dislikes, needs, wants, and supports will help a PR team most effectively create a relationship with an organization’s followers.

Although many people, including myself, dread doing any kind of research, it is a vital part in all aspects of public relations. Without research, PR teams wouldn’t have successful campaigns. From figuring out how to effectively start the works of a PR campaign, to having confidence in your campaign decisions, to creating a message that the public will agree with, none of this would be possible without conducting some kind of research.

References

Brunner, B. R. (2003). The Importance of Research to Public Relations. Review Of Communication, 3(4), 419-423. doi: 10.1080/1535859032000106327

Pre-PR Reflection

My senior year of high school is when I first started to learn what Public Relations is. Throughout high school I took a few marketing classes and ended up working in the school store senior year where myself and a group of a few other student workers handled the PR of the school store, which was VERY amateur. So, coming into college I had a very basic understanding that PR is the way a company communicates their messages to their clients and the public is the most effective and positive way.

After taking a few Ad & PR major required courses I have began to widen my understanding of all the things one working in the PR field is capable of doing for a company. There are so many different ways to get a company’s thoughts, ideas, and messages across to the public wether it be through social media, events, advertisements, and/or campaigns; the work in the field of PR can vary widely.

After taking a class about technology in Ad & PR, I became very interested in the social media side of PR. I think that one of the most important PR aspects of social media is listening to your clients, customers, and target market. In today’s world, we are so technologically driven and social media is where myself and many other people go to find out about different companies and to talk about what we think of these companies or experiences, good and bad, that we have had when dealing with a company. Social media is so fast paced and constantly changing, and it is important to have a team of people who keeps up with these changes in an effective way. As well as a team who is also able to communicate on their social media sites in a way that is effective with their site visitors.

I feel that public relations is not only important for a company, but for any person that is trying to create a brand for them self, especially someone trying to start their career (college students). Its almost like you are your own public relations team. Everyday, almost everyone is on social media in at least one way whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, etc. one needs to convey a message of what kind of person overall he or she is. I think many people get wrapped up in creating an image for themselves that they think society wants to see, which is stupid. When being your own public relations team and creating a brand for yourself online, I think it is most important to be authentic, to share your opinion, and to be consistent with the self brand you are trying to put across.

From what I have stated above I think that I have a very surface level understanding of what PR is and all the things that can accomplished within the public relations field. I know that there are many different areas of public relations aside from social media and I hope to be able to explore those different areas to find where in this field I fit in.