Bad PR Example Thursday, Apr 23 2009

Ok so remember way back when I said that the outdoors store in clemson was doing this really GREAT job at Grassroutes PR in Clemson? Well, that was when I wasn’t so INCREDIBLY annoyed with the emails that have been overflowing my inbox since the day I joined the group.  So he asked hundreds of people to join his facebook group to get exposure for the Clemson Outdoor Adventures Outfitters shop in may.  Then he sends every single one of the people in his group really long emails all the time telling us about the promotional events going on that week.  It’s like, enough already.  I’ll post one below that I received yesterday so you can kind of get an idea of how annoying this can be:

“It’s that time of year again when the pollen is out and students are cramming. Spring Finals are just around the corner and you know what that means…

Sell Books… Buy Gear!!!

Here’s your latest exclusive dealio:
40% off all Spring Clothing including Patagonia, North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Roxy, Quiksilver
40% off all Keen shoes
15% off Chacos and Rainbows (or more see below)
20% off all backpacks

Deal details: If you want 40% off of Rainbows do two things. Buy $50 worth of clothing (post discount pricing) and say the password.

What’s the password? Why it’s “Say hello to my little friends…”

There is a sale going on at the shop but the discounts are not as good as offered to the Facebook Group. Let’s just say it’s my way of saying thanks for putting up with all my posts…

How long will it last? Maybe one day or maybe through Finals… There’s only one way to find out and that’s to stop by the shop. Besides, you were planning on coming by and visiting before you left for your Summer adventures anyway… Right???

Good Luck with your studies and early congratulations to all the Spring Graduates! Just think, you are just days away from being able to wake up from the nightmare where you are in a class and there is a test and you have forgotten to study for it and think, whew! that could never happen to me again… By the way, I still have that dream on odd occassion. And no, I don’t need any dream analysis on that one but thanks just the same.

Lee”

This is the kind of stuff that should be posted on his group for people who WANT to be updated that specific week…not sent out in mass emails.  Maybe PRSSA could offer them some volunteer PR work?

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Viral Video for Verizon Wireless Thursday, Apr 23 2009

This is something that I shared with our PR class this semester that I thought was a pretty cool PR thing that Verizon Wireless did.  So you know “the network” right? For those of you who don’t, verizon has this marketing idea that they have used in commercials where they say that their network comprised of hundreds of verizon employees, literally follows its customers wherever they go.  Well, verizon actually sent their network out to follow random customers to reach out to the verizon wireless community.  Here is the video.  I think this is a great idea!  Anyways, this was one of my examples of good PR because the video spread like wildfire and it was a great example of Verizon wireless trying to reach out to the community.

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Teach for America marketing position Thursday, Apr 23 2009

This is a really beneficial and important organization.  My dad practices medicine and growing up I was always aware of the issues surrounding high versus low income areas and the healthcare that is available to them.  In the time that I have spent reflecting on it, I have become more and more convinced that education is almost as, if not just as important an issue for these low income communities as healthcare.  A quality education is absolutely essential to creating opportunities for kids that can affect them for the rest of their lives.  The difference in the quality of education that low income communities face is completely unfair.  How can we expect people from lower income areas to compete with everyone else in the professional world when they have not had the same academic opportunities?  Teach for America is an organization that helps to end this inequity.  I was reccommended for an internship with them next year (ok, I didn’t get it, but I would encourage others to apply next year!) where they ask a student on clemson’s campus to promote and recruit for teach for america.  I actually only became really interested in the organization after the campus coordinator came to speak to my chapter about applying to teach.  I have never been interested in teaching before but something about the way he presented it sparked my interest.  Maybe it was that this is about so much more than teaching; it’s about changing lives and changing our world for the better.  This position is perfect for those interested Public Relations and Marketing and it’s something that I think any one of the public relations students would really enjoy doing.  You must be comfortable speaking to organizations or classes and, perhaps more importantly, speaking one-on-one with people who are interested in joining the corps.  It may even be beneficial to use online social media tools like a blog, twitter account or facebook group to market Teach for America on Clemson’s campus.  I think that the experience that I would gain in helping to promote Teach for America on campus would be invaluable in the real world and it would be such a privilege to gain this experience while promoting something that is so important. 

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New Semester in PR is a Chance to Refocus Goals Thursday, Jan 15 2009

So I’m back on the blogging scene with a refreshed desire to perfect, or at least improve my Public Relations skills and techniques. In my first class of stakeholder communication, we started out by watching a video on propenmic featuring top PR execs who had specific advice on what characteristics were crucial in future PR executives. Below are some of the ideas that I took from the video that I thought stood out.

-We must know what the client’s next question is before they ask it.

-We tell stories that move people, and figure out how to best convey stories to our publics.

-We should be thoughtful, creative, and speedy.

-Curiosity is key.

-We should have a spine so that we can share necessary information even if clients may not want to hear it.

-Must write well

-Gotta know research.

-Acquire experience in crisis.

-Know how to do “word of mouth”.

-Understand how to apply social media.

-Get great at asking questions.

-PASSION

-Make suggestions that are out of the box.

-Transform from public relations to personal relations.

-Be an expert while remaining personable.

-BE BOLD.

I think that these ideas should help to define goals for myself in this upcoming semester, and keep me on track as I try to gain a solid understanding of what PR is and how best to practice it. The three things that I hope to focus on in particular this semester are: to be bold and consistent in expressing myself in the social media world, to practice thinking out of the box, and to improve my writing techniques.

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Discovering the joys of twittering Thursday, Dec 11 2008

Through the PRinciples class, I did not necessarily discover the fun in blogging, but I certainly discover the joys of twittering.  It’s a fast, convenient way to let people know what’s going on with you, and to see what’s going on with others in the twitter world.  I’m able to connect to pr professionals, and read posts that they think are interesting.  So while I may not be writing 3-5 hundred words every week, I am staying connected to the PR world via instant tweets.  We learned a couple of other cool features of this social media tool.  For instance, one class we had a live twitter session, where we took notes via twitter.  Our class has used twitter as a great source for asking communal questions to our professor about assignments and tests.  Finally, it has certainly be the easiest way for me to keep up with my classmates, and decide on times to meet.  I feel like you can learn a lot from twitter even though it is a much more concise form of social media.  This is one tool I hope to continue using after the PRinciples class!

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