Posts Tagged ‘PRSSA’


The Future Of Public Relations Is Bright – The View From Above

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Gary McCormickAs you may know from my last BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas post, I had the pleasure of attending and serving on a panel at the PRSA/PRSSA Pro-Am Day in St. Louis.The some 120 attendees (about half being college communications majors), myself included, were fortunate to meet new PRSA president/CEO Gary McCormick and listen to him speak. His luncheon presentation, “A Tale of Two Sides: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” addressed why the future of PR is bright – while acknowledging the downturned economy and shuttering of many print media outlets.

McCormick began with the “Three E’s Bringing Change.”

  • Economy – budgets are down and value propositions are up, making it more difficult to succeed in the marketplace.
  • Environment – trust is down, number of messages is down, and audiences now expect to provide input.
  • Effects Strengthened Through PR/Partnerships – public relations understands how to build and sustain beneficial relationships; transference of credibility moves the messages faster and feedback is more immediate and helps facilitate needed change.

McCormick cited a number of statistics and studies to prove his point that current changes are good for PR. For example, according to CareerCast.com, PR tops other communication disciplines, such as advertising and journalism, in the listing of top 200 jobs. The annual Veronis Suhler Stevenson study predicts a consolidated aggregated growth rate for public relations as nearly 10 percent for the years 2008-2012.  Even in a downturned economy, spending on PR in the U.S. grew by more than 4 percent in 2008 and nearly 3 percent in 2009 – to $3.7 billion.  And, finally, the rise of the Internet and social media has given PR a big boost.

Why else does McCormick think the future of PR is bright? Things like: advances in technology, changing role of traditional media, reduced trust in business, 24/7 immediate/global news cycle, segmentation of messages and authentication of sources, the ongoing turf war on owning social media, and the fact that organizations will no longer own messages/messaging and that actions will define reputation are all benefits influencing the landscape of public relations.

Finally, he made the following suggestions for preparing for the future:

  1. Focus on strategy, not tactics
  2. Include all the tools available
  3. Integrate and innovate
  4. Embrace the new normal
  5. Deliver more listening points than talking points
  6. Maintain your individual brand ethics

What do you think? Are you beginning to see an upturn in business? How are the current media and economic environments affecting the way you do public relations? Share your thoughts with me and the readers of Fresh Ideas.

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Posted in Industry Events, Media Industry, Public Relations | 3 Comments »

Young Professionals: St. Louis PRSA Pro-Am Day

Monday, March 1st, 2010

I had the pleasure of attending and serving on a career panel at the PRSA/PRSSA Pro-Am Day in St. Louis last week. (New PRSA president/CEO Gary McCormick was the luncheon speaker, but that’s for a future post here on BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.)  

 In this post I’d like to share some of the advice that was provided in the “Diary of Young STLPRSAproam-youngpro panelProfessionals” session.  Allison Hughes, Lara Golike, Tanya Kath and Phillip Cleveland served as panelists and answered questions from the Missouri and southern Illinois PRSSA members in attendance.

When asked for advice about entering the job market, the panel offered these points:

  • Don’t go in with a sense of entitlement. You’ll be “knocked down a peg” and only set yourself up for disappointment.
  • Not everyone works with clients immediately. While you should have a writing portfolio, you are still the “low man on the totem pole.”
  • With entry-level positions, you may have to jump through the hoops and prove yourself until acknowledged as a professional.  It can be a long road, but you must keep on until accepted.
  • In corporate PR there can be as many as ten approvals and red lines before something is given the go-ahead.
  • Not every office is like “Devil Wears Prada!”

As far as advice about job searching and what skills should be highlighted, the panel offered this guidance:

  1. Digital PR is a must. Agencies want to hire those that already have these skills. 
  2. Be sure Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages are “clean.” With Facebook, you can set privacy filters, but keep in mind that nothing is truly private on the web. 
  3. As far as skills to be highlighted, do NOT say you are a “people person.” 
  4. Include group projects (not just individual) as this demonstrates team work.
  5. Showcase achievements rather than activities. 
  6. Be prepared for an on-the-spot writing test.
  7. When interviewing, ask lots of questions before accepting a position so you know what you’re getting into.
  8. Early in your career (or even when doing internships) – diversify. Even if you know what area you want to go into, don’t pigeon-hole your experience.

Finally, panelists were asked about some the things they wish they’d learned more about in school, to which they responded:

  • AP Style (there’s even an app for that now!)
  • Social Media
  • Reading industry magazines and newsletters as well as thought-leaders blogs.

If your local PRSA, IABC, AMA or other group has a Pro-Am event, I’d encourage you to participate in any way that you are able.  What additional advice would you offer these about-to-be young PR pros?

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Posted in Career Advice/Professional Development, Industry Events | 4 Comments »

PR Resolutions and Goals for the New Year

Friday, January 8th, 2010
Flickr Image: Gavin Luhrs

Flickr Image: Gavin Luhrs

As I began to think about the topic for this first post of the New Year, I thought about my goals and aspirations. (Colleen Flood, my colleague here at BurrellesLuce had similiar inspiration when she wrote about “Setting Smart Goals in 2010“).  Then, I realized that there is already lots of good information out there – many that parallel my own thoughts.  So, I thought I’d provide a round-up of some of the posts I’ve read in the past week – ones that I think we can all relate to. 

  • Associated Press business writer Joyce M. Rosenburg did a story on small business owners making resolutions. The first interviewee was a PR agency owner and her resolution was one we should all strive to do:  spend quality time with clients. In that same article, another PR agency president planned to improve her work/life balance. 
  • My Twitter friend @PRcog has some resolutions, found on the PRBC (PR Breakfast Club), site that I think many of us can relate to, as well: Stop using descriptors like “cutting (or bleeding) edge,” “revolutionary” or the “next big thing” and to convince clients to stop caring about their follower/fan count.  He doesn’t say it, but it’s implied that they should be focusing more on the strategy, not the tool. 
  • Linda Jacobson, APR, published her New Year wish list which included promising to only put out quality content (versus a press release just for the sake of releasing something). She also encouraged us to “play nice with others,” stating that, “Marketers, advertisers and PR professionals need to be on the same team. Playing to each strength usually gets targeted results. When one of the three legs decides not to do this, the result skews and doesn’t deliver full strength.”
  • Charlotte Schaff posted her top ten resolutions on the Valley PR blog, which include making the most of her PRSA membership, improve media relations by being a connector and source to the media, and (one I can personally relate to) saying “no” more often. 
  • PR student and PRSSA national vice president of professional development, Nick Lucido resolves to learn to lead – his resolutions are in relation to his studies but can be applied in the business world as well.
  • Finally, Brian Solis, in his “Greatest Hits of 2009” series, states “Our resolutions for 2010 must include learning and participation. With an open mind and an open heart, we can continue to learn, grow, and in turn, teach those around us to make 2010 a banner year for new media literacy and change.”

 What resolutions have you made? What would you add to this list? I look forward to your participation!

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Posted in Career Advice/Professional Development, Public Relations | 2 Comments »

Being a Public Relations Mentor

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Mentoring is an opportunity to pay it forward. Seventy percent of jobs are found through networking, according to a BusinessWeek article.  Lori George Billingsley, director of issues communications at The Coca-Cola Company and past PRSA multicultural communications section chair, claims her mentor of 18 years has been instrumental in helping her secure all of the PR jobs she’s held.  PRSSA has gone as far as dedicating an entire month (October) as being PRSA-PRSSA Relationship Month to encourage mentor-protégé relationships between the professional and student societies.

In researching being a PR mentor, I found quite a bit of good information on how to find a public relations mentor, where to find a mentor, and finding the right mentor; however, I wasn’t able to find much on being a PR mentor. 

Let’s face it, we’re all doing twice as much with half as much time these days (or at least it seems that way). So why should you invest the time to mentor?  Here are my three reasons for becoming a mentor:

  • Good way to learn.  I’m not necessarily talking about “reverse mentoring,” but it may be as simple (and enlightening) as discovering a new slant on an old strategy, method, or practice. Furthermore, you’ll encounter your protégé’s world and take away that experience. You may even learn something about yourself in the process.
  • Expand your network. Many of us work in non-traditional work settings these days, participate in webinars versus group meetings, and generally have less face-time together. Whether you work in a traditional office setting or not, mentoring is a great way to expand your reach. Your protégé today may be a hiring manager or client tomorrow.
  • Return the favor. “Pay it forward.” “Share the wealth.” However you want to phrase it, it just plain feels good to help others. When you mentor, you leave a legacy of sorts – your work ethic, character, experience, and even your professional personality are instilled into your mentee. 

Still believe you don’t have time to be a mentor? Then, how about participating in social media conversations or participating in Twitter chats such as #PRStudChat, #u30pro, #journchat, or #solopr just to name a few. Arik Hanson thinks this sort of “virtual mentoring” is the wave of the future per his recent vlog post over at The Spinks blog.  BurrelleLuce’s own Valerie Simon agrees, commenting “While there is certainly an important value in that old school (one-to-one, face-to-face) mentor/mentee relationship, virtual mentoring offers an important opportunity to gain access to a broad gamut of leaders.”

I’m eager to hear about your mentor relationships and thoughts.

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Posted in Career Advice/Professional Development, Public Relations | 12 Comments »

PRSSA National Conference: Student-run PR Firms

Monday, November 9th, 2009

73984912_20While in San Diego for the PRSA 2009 International Conference, of which BurrellesLuce is a sponsor, I went over to the PRSSA National Conference and sat-in on the Student-run Firm Workshop. Nick Lucido, PRSSA national vice president of professional development and University of Michigan student, moderated the session. 

Mark Mahoney, senior communications specialist for Kohler, kicked off the session by introducing a national collegiate marketing competition for Save Water America. The competition requires the chapter/student-run firm to respond to a request for proposal (RFP) and develop an executive proposal outlining a marketing and public relations plan and budget. They will receive money and supplies to execute their marketing plan and will be judged on several criteria including creativity, media value, attendees, and local product sales.

The top team wins $10,000 worth of water-conserving products for their school, an all-expense paid trip to Kohler headquarters with roundtable executive meeting, and water conservation products for each team member. First and second runners-up will also receive water conservation products for their school and team members. (more…)

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Posted in Career Advice/Professional Development, Industry Events, Public Relations | 6 Comments »

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