Name: Johna Burke
Email:
Bio: I’ve been in the media monitoring and measurement business for nine years, joining BurrellesLuce in 2000. How did I get here? I was a client. I was the PR and IR director at U-Haul International for nearly 11 years. Then I chose to help make my former peers more efficient and effective. I enjoy my role as a trusted advisor and am enthused to speak about best practices in public relations. My commentaries on the subject have appeared in PR print and web outlets. Currently, I chair the Southern Region of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). So what am I passionate about, aside from measurement? My family which includes my three “boys” (Boston terriers). By the way, did I mention that I am also a master at Seinfeld trivia? Twitter: @gojohnab; LinkedIn: Johna Burke; Friendfeed: gojohnab; Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Posts by Johna Burke:
Apps I LOVE for the DROID
August 6th, 2010
I recently joined the Droid world. I LOVE my Droid Incredible. The coverage is amazing, the clear picture and fast processor allow me to view websites and videos on the go, access Adobe files with crisp clarity and truly work “in the cloud.” And of course the tool that every public relations professional needs at all times – a camera. The Droid comes with a 8 mega pixel camera for all your photo needs. But my real Droid joy comes from the many apps I now have at my fingertips.
I don’t know how many apps are too many or too few. After reviewing the app marketplace I downloaded, tested, and kept the following free apps to help organize and maximize my mobile experience:
AndroNews: Provides fast links to major news sources: CNN, USA Today, WSJ.com and BBC to name a few.
Evernote: My most-used, must-have app for organizing notes on all of my devices. The “cloud” at its finest.
Facebook: Full-featured Facebook interface.
FourSquare: Not totally sure why, but I continue to “check-in” from time to time.
Google Goggles: Snap a picture and launch an automatic Google search of whatever you’ve scanned. *CAUTION people searches yield XXX results
Magic8Ball: To help with my really tough day-to-day decisions.
Scanlife: Allows me to engage and maximize the QR Code experience.
TMZ: Celebrity gossip. A supplement to my subscription to People!
Touiteur: My Twitter app of choice. I tried several apps, including the Twitter app and found Touiteur to be the best, most feature-rich.
UrbanSpoon: Scouting new restaurants either at home or on the road.
Where: Provides easy-access reviews and allows local vendors to send me coupons when I’m in proximity of their location.
All of the apps I share here are free. I don’t mind paying for an app if it’s good, but there are so many great free apps you don’t necessarily have to invest to maximize your mobile experience. Though I caution you before settling on any apps; thoroughly read the reviews. Don’t be fooled by the overall rating. Upon digging deeper into the reviews I realized many of the reviewers who provided detailed feedback actually ranked the app lower than the overall rating. Those higher ratings were primarily just the rating with a very brief “It’s excellent” or some mundane response.
I know we have a lot of Blackberry, iPhone and Droid users who follow the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog so I ask you to please share: What are your go-to apps? How do you use them to stay organized and be more efficient? If you are in PR or media relations have you helped create an app for your brand or client’s initiative? Can you give examples of successful app marketing campaigns?
2010 Bulldog Reporter Media Relations Summit: Patrice Tanaka Interviewed by Johna Burke, BurrellesLuce
August 3rd, 2010Transcript -
JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and we’re here at the 2010 Bulldog Media Relations Summit. I’m joined by Patrice.
Patrice, will you please introduce yourself?
PATRICE TANAKA: I’m Patrice Tanaka, co-chair and chief creative officer of CRT/tanaka.
BURKE: Patrice, at your agency you have some world-renowned talent. What are some of the challenges that you’re facing in the PR and media relations industry as far as some of the area of expertise that you have?
TANAKA: Well, because our agency is–has really kind of developed beyond just media relations, many of our assignments are integrated communications assignments that involve, yes, media relations. And by media relations, I mean traditional and social media. So that in and of itself is a much bigger territory for an agency to cover. But beyond that, we also get involved in branding work, we get involved in advertising sometimes for clients, we get involved in event marketing and even trade support programs. So every assignment that we take on is very different in terms of its scope, including the scope of the media relations that we do for clients.
BURKE: It is a whole new landscape out there that we are all struggling with, for sure. But where can people find you in social media?
TANAKA: Well, you can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. That’s about–and I’m on Foursquare now, though I’m not really that active. I’m not a mayor of anything yet.
BURKE: Lots of territory they can still stalk you, then. Patrice, thank you so much for making time today.
TANAKA: Thanks, Johna.
PRSA 2010 Counselors Academy: Tom Gable, Gable PR, and Johna Burke, BurrellesLuce
July 28th, 2010Transcript -
JOHNA BURKE: Hello, everyone. This is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Counselor’s Academy with Tom.
Tom, will you introduce yourself?
TOM GABLE: Hi there. Tom Gable, I’m CEO of Gable PR from San Diego, California. And I’ve been in the public relations business more than 30 years.
BURKE: And, Tom, you just did a session on strategies for success. Can you tell the people that aren’t able to attend some of those key takeaways and areas where they need to focus in order to make their agencies successful?
GABLE: Yeah. The whole idea is that a system can help make C players into B players, B players into A players. When I first started in the agency business as a journalist, the PR profession was mostly unbalanced; people were ambiguous; they weren’t doing good management. It was all based on the success of the individual talent. So if a good person left, client service would suffer. The idea is that there’s a lot of great books on this, including “E Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber, a whole lot of other research books on what you try and do is build the system so it’s very easy for people to follow through, to set goals for their clients, and then to move forward according to specific plans. And if you have systems for quality control, client planning, creativity and–built in, then you’re going to be more successful in the long run.
BURKE: Great, Tom. And I want to make sure everybody knows that you also are a PRSA fellow.
GABLE: Yes, ma’am.
BURKE: And if you can let them know where they can find you on the web and in social media.
GABLE: OK, the web is www.gablepr.com, G-A-B-L-E-P-R.com. And then I tweet @tomgable. And so just neat, clean and simple. Make it easy.
BURKE: Great. Thank you so much for your time, Tom.
GABLE: OK. My pleasure.
Highlights from PRSA Travel & Tourism 2010: Mike McDougall, Bausch & Lomb & Johna Burke, BurrellesLuce
July 23rd, 2010Transcript -
JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference with Mike.
Mike, will you please introduce yourself?
MIKE McDOUGAL: Sure. I’m Mike McDougal. I’m vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for Bausch & Lomb.
BURKE: Great. Now, Mike, you just did a presentation about merging of traditional and social media. Are there any lessons learned that you can share with the people here about, you know, things that you’ve learned along the way that maybe can help them avoid some of those same mistakes?
McDOUGAL: Sure. I think there’s three things. One, you need to have a strategy. You can’t just jump in and try something from a social media sense without some strategy behind it. So even a basic strategy, get it in line. Two, it’s not either/or, it’s both. It’s have social media and traditional. Blend them to get better results, let them play off each other. And then third is have fun. You’re in this environment where, especially with social, you have a little more latitude to take yourself not so seriously. So I think those are the–probably the three things I’d come away with.
BURKE: I think those are three great takeaways. Thanks so much. And where can people find you on the web and in social media?
McDOUGAL: Sure. On the web it’s–my Twitter is @mikemcdoug, M-I-K-E-M-C-D-O-U-G. Or you can find me at mmcdougal@bausch.com.
BURKE: Great. Thanks so much.
McDOUGAL: Thanks.
Highlights From PRSA 2010 Travel & Tourism: Chris Chrystal, Nevada Commission of Tourism
July 20th, 2010Transcript -
JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference with Chris.
Chris, will you please introduce yourself?
CHRIS CHRYSTAL: Yes, I’m Chris Chrystal. I’m media relations manager for the Nevada Commission of Tourism.
BURKE: Chris, now, you know, a lot of conversation is going on around social media. And I know that you’re a member of PRSA, SATW and NASHTA. Can you talk a little bit about how you’re making the most out of your memberships in these times of the hype of social media?
CHRYSTAL: Yes, and that’s a good question. Being a member entitles us to be able to attend the conferences, and when we go we meet our peers and from–people from all over the country who are in public relations or are travel writers. And it’s been very, very useful for us. It’s a wonderful tool because you get to find out what’s going on, what they are doing, what they are saying, what’s happening. You get to catch up on all the latest tactics and industry activities that we need to know. And there are things that you–you might not find that out just sitting behind your computer in your office. You’d have to do a lot of research online to be able to get the same things that you get at a conference. And with the membership in your organizations, you also can communicate with people. You’ve got a built-in network, you’ve got people you can e-mail that they will accept you because you’re one of them, you’re one of the members of the–their organization. And networking’s really important now more than ever, because the industry is changing really fast and really drastically. And it’s a challenge for everyone to try to even keep up day-to-day. It’s never been like this before, it’s never been moving as fast as it is now.
BURKE: Well, thank you so much, Chris. And where can people connect with you online?
CHRYSTAL: Well, our website, travelnevada.com. If they want to contact our media relations department, I’m cchrystal, C-H-R-Y-S-T-A-L, at travelnevada.com.
BURKE: Great. Thank you so much, Chris.
CHRYSTAL: My pleasure.
