NO WAY OUT

It is heartbreaking to know that we,the American people are aware of the wrong decisions our government is making.
However, we feel handcuffed and immobilized. Our objections and demonstrations are not paying back.
I came over this video on youtube. I couldn’t but share it with you. Please click here.

It is sad but true.


Enjoy it................

What Are You Doing?

There is a new site out there for people to join and share with others what they are doing. It is a newly created site that people around the world are joining. They are aligning themselves with this website for one purpose--to tell people what they are doing. It is called Twitter and is all about telling others what you are doing. The main page shows the latest entries with very few links on the page. Clearly the site is still a work in progress because aside from about five links, 10 people listing what they are doing, and a sign up for Twitter, there isn't much else on the page.

Twitter, although probably attempting to be the next best thing in On Line entertainment, seems to be a little lack luster in that it doesn't give me reason to care about what the other people on Twitter are doing. The whole point of the site is to share what you are doing with others, but why? The purpose makes sense, but in order to draw any more of my attention the site must first tell me this--who really cares?

Invest in YOU!

Investment conjures up thoughts about stock and trading but in this article it is all about making the right choices to make you more profitable. If done correctly, personal investing can lead to wealth and security without buying one share of stock. Investments include: Thinking, Library, Style, Mental Physical Health, Value-First, Study, and Time. Each of these investments involves pro-active behavior by an individual. The thinking investment involves taking quiet time each day with distractions to allow fresh ideas to formulate. Library investments means buying books not borrowing them because books are for reference not just a one time read. Lastly, mental investment means investing in a positive attitude because positive outcomes follow positive thinking.

5 networking tips

Networking has become a skill that must be mastered to enhance and prepare yourself for future career advances. However, according to Penelope Trunk, networking doesn't have to be a daunting task.

Trunk claims that "today's careers are made and broken by one's ability to network." In the article, The Brazen Careerist, she gives five reasons why networking can be a handy and useful tool.

#1: You dont have to be a manipulator.

As a practicer of PR we can find it useful to network in a sense that we can find out what people need and if we can assist them. People who are poor at networking often think you have to manipulate people to get what you want. These are the same people who often fail at office politics because they fail to understand that office politics is about being nice. Networking can be viewed as helping to add value to others lives.

#2: Dont think you have to be clever of funny.

Networking is again about finding what othesrs need and if you can help. So when it comes time to network you dont need a clever line, really you just need to be nice. You can be brilliant..but unappraochable, funny...but overwhelming, so just being nice helps say "I am a good listener and I am safe to talk to." This approach can be extremely useful while networking. Many people work to find a connection between other people, you can be that person that everyone thought was respectful, reliant and polite. Asking others open-ended questions will help you realize what other people are interested in.

#3: You don't have to network when your job-hunting.

Networking is something you do when you're feeling great about your work. After all, who wants to network with someone who either hates her job or doesn't have one? When networking you can search for friends...not like 2500 Myspace friends, but a small group that you can rely on or discuss ideas and interests with. These people will have other people in their network, and if a time comes that you do need a job, these people can help guide you.

#4: You don't always have to be agreeable.

Working to make a connection is important, but like any relationship there will be topics and issues where you dont agree. Discussing them is fine, but its how you treat the disagreement and continue working on the friendship.

#5: You don't have to get off the sofa.

Blogging; an incredible effective and efficient networking tool for professionals. Blogging is a way to connect with people who would most likely ignore you. For example, companies like Yahoo! and Sun have thousands of blogging employees, and CEOs of small startups often blog as well.

Liz Strauss explains on The Blog Herald that many bloggers focus primarily on building relationships. So find people you admire who blog, and start reading their blog every day. Leave intelligent comments. Most bloggers know the people who leave thoughtful comments on a regular basis. And bloggers like to help people in their blog community.

So as Trunk has described for us, networking does not have to be a scary task. It is a opportunity in which we can build friends while relaxing on the sofa. Sounds like fun.

Cavalier's Pollard Says The Wrong Thing

On a Sunday basketball game against Indiana during a 20-second time out, Cavalier's center Scot Pollard made a bad choice in telling young viewers : "Hey kids, do drugs."
It doesn't take a PR expert to realize that this kind of comment can ruin your image. After making the comment, Pollard immediately makes an on-air public apology stating, "It was a bad joke. That's all it boils down to. There are a number of things people could say about it, but it just turned out it was a bad joke. Obviously, I don't believe that."
Apology and taking blame for wrongdoing is one step in managing a PR crisis. Pollard did the right thing to apologize, but he may need to do more to regain a positive image. Sunday evening being a common family night, many kids may have heard Pollard's remark. One idea may be to get more involved with local communities. He can help out at anti-drug or drug prevention programs and teach youths about the dangers of drugs.
Although an apology was made, Pollard may want to take more steps in rebuilding his image. If he doesn't, he may forever be remembered as the guy who said, "Hey kids, do drugs."

Pet Food Recall Causes PR Nightmare

This past week has been a public relations nightmare for the Canadian based pet food company, Menu Foods. A commotion began just a few days ago when dogs and cats across the United States started to become ill and in some instances, even died from kidney failure. Menu Foods is a private-label contracted manufacturer of wet food for many pet food companies such as Eukanuba, Science Diet, and Iams. The FDA has investigated the two U.S. manufacturing plants and has decided that contaminated wheat gluten is to blame for the 14 pet fatalities.

Since this story broke, the news media has been providing extensive coverage on the effects the food has had on the animals contaminated by it. This is obviously Menu Foods' worst nightmare. All this negative PR is hard to overcome, but the company has been proactive in posting press releases on their website. The original press release on March 16th called the recall precautionary and stated that the company is taking measures to prevent farther harm. Later press releases explain the company has improved the accuracy and user-friendliness of their website and customer service hot line.

It is apparent that Menu Foods is faced with a long, uphill battle in rebuilding their company's crediblity but they have taken steps in the right direction by quickly communicating with the public about the crisis at hand.

For a complete list of the pet food companies Menu Foods manufacturers products for, visit the Menu Foods web page.

Will your RESUME get you....or lose you the job?

As we continue our quest for a dipolma we must complete our resume for our future employers. However, a recent article had made me wary of what or how I had typed up my resume. The article written by the specialized staffing firm Robert Half International gave some important details to look closely at.

Many times resumes have small typos such as "I often use a laptap." A recent survey showed that 84 percent of executives polled said that it takes just one or two typographical errors in a resume to remove a candidate from consideration for a job opening.

This shows how your potential employer will pay close attention to your resume, and how closely you pay attention to your own resume. Hiring managers often have dozens of resumes to review and appreciate being able to scan them quickly. If you include unnecessary information -- such as your hobbies, marital status or personal trivia -- potential employers may simply bypass your application. Omit details that don't directly demonstrate how you can benefit the employer, and tailor your resume to be appropriate to the position and the company.

The article mentioned that sharing too many secrets is overwhelming and actually frowned upon. Limit interests, you do not need to indicate that you enjoy running, cooking, writing, wondering, skipping and puzzles. As an potential employee you need to show your best attributes. You employer does not need to know that you can say your ABC's backwards in less than 10 seconds.

When you conduct a resume, your are writing a professional document that is going to be read and tagged to yourself. Show your best side, do not be over casual. Use professional language, your not hanging with your pals and you need to address is in an adult manner.

All in all, you need to proof read your resume carefully, and write and conduct yourself in a professional manner which will enforce your capabilities and your potential.

"Blog-like" Times

When I read the New York Times I want to be surprised by what pops out at me. Lately I’ve seen some intriguing tales like the 92 year old who works out and gives the trainers a hoot; the woman who has been searching for her son for 35 years; and the Style section piece on the smart kid publisher of New York Observer (moving with “speed” gets those deals done, he said).

Everything I read in the Times seems like an editorial these days - very blog-like, I suppose, and a good way to compete with the ‘sphere. But not so much news.....!

Brand Yourself for Success

There is a way for everyone to carve out a certain claim to fame. Experts refer to it as personal branding. Personal branding revolves around becoming known for one major skill or attribute. It's a strategy that many companies have mastered and continue to work at. "When consumers think about Volvo, they think safety." People can brand themselves in the same way as companies. One of the most important things about branding is to understand your strengths and emphasize them. People need be unique and become skilled at something specific. The goes on to give these tips by Harvey Mackay,

Here are some of my tips for becoming a personal brand:

Become an expert at a specific thing that interests you, but build collateral skills.

Establish a target audience. Are you appealing to single men aged 20-30 or women aged 40-60?
Once you master something, spread the word. You can start with word of mouth but then try to generate publicity to help get you known. Focus on publicizing your effort. Reach out to local radio stations and community weeklies since publicity often starts small and then snowballs to major networks and newspapers.

Mackay's Moral: Be true to yourself. Your personal brand should emanate from what you know and love.

Loving Mother or PR Fanatic?

Pax Thien Jolie is the newest addition to the growing Jolie-Pitt bunch. The three-year-old Vietnamese boy will join up with his other three siblings of his adoptive family, Maddox, 5, Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 10 months. Thirty-one-year old Jolie had picked Pax from the Tam Binh orphanage over Thanskgving. Jolie will meet with officials at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, when Pax's visa application is expected to be processed.
Jolie's adoption of Pax last week caused, as expected, a worldwide media sensation. Pax is the third child she has adopted. Given that both her and Brad Pitt both are in the business of making movies, will they have enough time to devote to all four children?

To read more about Jolie's adoption, please visit click here.

Vote Different

I remember the Apple ad "1984." It only aired once. However, it was and is one of the most memorable ads ever produced. Now someone with a clever bit of computing, has re-styled "1984" into a positioning ad for Barack Obama. Obama's camp says they have no idea who created the piece. One thing is for certain, PR for the 2008 presidential candidates is not going to look like it did four years ago.

Is Advertisement So Worthy?

This week, I read an article from BusinessWeek about the rapid growth business of a Mexican Grill fast-food company - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

Like McDonald’s Corp, most successful fast-food chains spend incredible amount of money on advertisement and promotion on new food products and ideas. Although it can draw public attention immediately, the profit may not be able to cover the money they spent on ads through the mainstream mass media. There are another ways to generate awareness and public interest. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. chooses to communicate with their target audiences through TV commercials and some other traditional ways of advertisement. Indeed, it doesn’t just save billions of dollars but also leads to a positive result. The secret of a successful business is not only advertising but also unique marketing strategies. For instance, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. builds a friendly image through good customer service to retain a good relationship with customers. Moreover, the fast service and large portion of food are the attractive selling points to encourage customer’s return next time.
To learn more about this article and marketing strategies of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., go to this link:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_11/b4025088.htm?chan=search

PICTURES… A TOOL FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

I came across an article that explained why pictures are a good tool to use when attracting an audience. This tool can definitely make a difference in any public relations or marketing campaign.

Nevertheless choosing the right picture can be difficult. Psychological and marketing studies tend to reveal results that state that when choosing a picture for an advertising or publicity campaign look for:

1.A picture of a woman (men prefer pictures of women, women don't care, pictures of women win)

2. Mid to late 20's (it is recommended to use pictures of people in their mid twenties. This can help you attract a broad crowd)

3. Attractive, though not necessarily sexy. Sexy turns women off, attractive appeals to both men and women.

4. Dressed nicely, but not sexy. Same rationale as above.

5.Smiling lightly, though not toothy grin. The best pictures are the ones where the model looks approving, like they're happy with you, not hitting on you, more motherly "I'm so glad to see that you're home!" looks that make you feel loved

6.Ideally her body should be turned to a bit of an angle to the camera

7. Most important - her eyes should be looking directly into the camera. The eyes are important. There's something, particularly in men (eye-tracking research) that shows that our eyes are drawn to eyes that are looking at us. You want them focused right on you.


In conclusion, choosing the right picture can be a difficult, but these simple guidelines can definitely be a of great help.

A mini-crisis for U.S. Airways

Thousands of passengers were stuck in the airport this weekend while U.S. Airways was trying to recover from the ice and snow storm. Many passengers were stuck in the airport for the entire weekend http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/us-airways-says-thousands-of-flyers/20070318161509990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001.

U.S. Airways took control of the situation as they tried to round up spare planes and have their crew members work additional flights. They tried to keep the passengers comfortable in the airports with pillows and blankets.

Still, many passengers were angry that they had spent the weekend in the airport. It looks like JetBlue isn't the only airline with problems.

You Tube and PR

If PR firms company become partner with You tube, the PR events can be broadcast in the Internet. There is a new concept, right? However, it has pros and cons:

Pros

• Repeatable
  
• Target-oriented
  
• Large reach
  
• Creative
  
• Innovative
  

Cons:

• Lower credibility(advertisement-like)
• Expensive
• Risky (new concept)
• Difficult to distinguish real-and-fake
  

You Tube have already has numerous partnership such as CBS, BBC and Universal Music Group etc. But they are mostly broadcasting company, there is not any PR firms temporary. Therefore, it is worth trying as it is valuable market strategy. Since public relations need always follow the trend of world.

Park City, Utah...Only a hit during Sundance?

After spending 2 days with my family in Park City, Utah, home of the famous ski resorts and known for it's public debut in 2002 when they hosted the Winter Olympic Games, I began noticing some things about Park City that struck me as interesting, from a media perspective. While this small town is tucked away between the canyon's of Utah and is located a mere 30 minutes away from the state's capitol, Park City's major 'claim-to-fame' is the almighty Sundance Film Festival, held every January.

As you walk about the streets of Park City, you will notice that most people are locals of the area. You will not find a GAP or a Nordstrom, but are more likely to find a ski rental shop or a 'Mountain Air Cafe.' There are no major shopping malls, but mainly strip malls, grocery stores and, of course, Main Street. Everyone in town is friendly and inviting and most know each other on a first name basis. It is upon Main Street,a mile long row of privately owned shops, restaurants and galleries, that the Film Festival takes place every year, drawing in Hollywood's biggest names for the entire week. Suddenly,for this one week of the year, this small town transforms into a celebrity event and paparazzi frenzy.

I have been in Park City during Film Festival weeks in the past and have run into the occasional celebrity (OK, it was Danny De Vito...) and am well aware of the special, VIP events that take place. Clearly, my invitation keeps getting lost in the mail, but these events are high class, first rate parties.


As a resident of Park City, I must applaud my tiny town for their courageous efforts to please these high maintenance celebrities and host this annual event each year. They have been able to draw huge amounts of media attention upon their town and tourist numbers, ski and snowboard sales and real estate purchases have definitely noted the increase of interest. It is no doubt that we owe a huge thanks to the media, for introducing the nation to Park City over the past few years.

Perhaps, though, we might be able to limit the media attention a bit? The ski slopes are getting a bit crowded.....

Handbook for blogs

Handbook for bloggers and cyber dissidents by Reporters Without Borders is a good handbook that can provide some guidances for the online bloggers. The handbook can help to guide the legal, ethic, and moral imperatives of the bloggers on how to choose and use a blog platform, and how to get picked up by search engines and aggregators. The Handbook is written with a world view, so there is discussion about technical ways to get around censorship. According to the report, China is the world champion in omniscient and effective Internet censorship, closely followed by Vietnam with its cyber-police and spies in Internet cafes.

Source: PR Blog News

Unhealthy Salads

I don't mean to bore you with another 101 boring reasons to eat healthy and work out. When we think about eating healthy we think salads right? Wrong! After reading about how salads are unhealthy too I ask myself "what can I eat?" Businessweek blog has found that companies are leaving out important facts about their servings. These fast food and sit-in do it for a reason, some of their salads are the equivalent to a hamburger and fries. What companies are doing may be called lying, concealing but to PR majors its called framing. As a consumer I personally think that companies should show the nutrition to all of it's servings. As a public relations student I believe that its a great job in framing products benefits and leaving out the negatives.

What do believe?

A new controversy is created

A new article has been written by well-known Reverend R. Albert Mohler Jr. The article states that there may be a biological reason for homosexuality http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/furor-over-baptists-gay-baby-article/20070315023809990001?cid=2359. Mohler goes on to state that in the future there may be technology that allows parents to find out if their unborn baby will be born homosexual or heterosexual and have the ability to change it. This statement has caused an enormous amount of outrage with different groups.

Some people are saying that he is "willing to play God" and that he is "letting homophobia take him over". His response to all of this is that he just wanted to start a conversation among people.

It is unclear at this time if this article will be damaging to his career or if it will strengthen his following in the Christian community. However, at the moment he has stayed quiet. He has not apologized for the article. Instead he has only questioned whether people actually understood what he was saying or not. It will be interesting to see how this story plays out in the next couple of days.

Show Me!

When I stumbled across this blog, I couldn't help but share it. The article discusses how some companies, or at least this one in particular, requires its employees to take actual pictures of the meeting they attend to match the itinerary of the professional development conference or work related meetings they were sent to go to. This obviously is extreme management, but it does ensure that the money spent to pay for travel is not wasted on a mini vacation. This sure makes you wonder what kind of boss you could one day work for.

Chrysler Takes Action Through Recall

After 66 reports of fire with 2004-2006 Dodge Durango SUV models, Chrysler takes action by recalling nearly 500,000 vehicles. With some technical issues involving electrical overloads and overheating in the interior of certain vehicles, Chrysler does not want to take any risks with any more complaints. Crisis management is necessary for Chrysler to maintain a good image. The car company does a good job by following some public relations tips when communicating during a crisis:
1.) Put the public first
Chrysler understands that when you show that you care about the people, it will be better public relations for you. Chrysler puts customer safety first, rather than denying the technical issues with their vehicles. By recalling the cars and trying to fix the problem, Chrylser demonstrates their concern for the public.
2.) Take responsibility
Chrysler takes responsibility by informing the public regarding the specific problem causing the fires. Rather than blaming the drivers or other parts distributed by other companies (like what happened with the Ford and Firestone tires controversy) Chrysler admits wrong and recalls all their vehicles to prevent any future accidents.
3.) Be honest
Again, Chrysler immediately admits wrong and takes the blame. The car company avoids blaming other factors that may contribute to the reported fires. Instead, they stay honest and inform the public about what has been causing the problems.
4.) Be accessible
Chrysler makes sure the recall information is accessible on their Dodge and Chrysler web sites. Furthermore, the web sites also allow you to contact the company with any questions.
During a crisis management, it is always good to make sure you follow steps in communicating with the public to maintain a good image.

Viacom to sue You Tube

Recent news posted on msn.com states that Viacom will be suing You Tube for $1 billion due to infringement issues. This lawsuit will be the first attack on the new video sharing site.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that media companies should become used to working with You Tube.com and other online sharing sites.

However, Viacom is going to be charging the Google-based site for showing over 160,000 videos without permission.

"Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws," Viacom said.

YouTube.com is a popular site featuring numerous videos from student videos to banned advertisements that were once shown during super bowl half-times.

So far Google spokesperson has made a claim that Viacom has yet to appraoch them with the infringement suit.

The problem with YouTube, Viacom and the other big media players say, is that it will pull copyright clips only after its been asked to do so, putting the burden of policing content on the copyright holders and allowing users to re-post illegal copies as soon as they are removed.

This is another example where crisis management is needed to help minimize the situation. Both companies risk losing credibility.

How to advertise a new product with PR

Traditionally, business-class travel used to mean some nice extras—a bigger chair, more entertainment choices and maybe a better meal. But these days, corporate travelers can increasingly expect five-star service in the skies. In Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class Suites, passengers get to sit in leather armchairs, sleep in full-length beds with mattresses, sip champagne all night and order up gourmet dinners whenever they feel like it.

To advertise a new product, people may first think of advertisement and marketing. However, in order to maintain a goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its public, they can asvertise with PR:

1. Consumer Relations: to involve customers. Create some games before the launching the new service. Let the public design the setting of the flight
2. Exhibitions: to let the public (maybe potential customers) to be aware of the new service provided
3. Media Relations: to create "noise". Let all the reporters (media) to try out the new premium service. News reported by media is much credible.

Cisco Traffic Jam

I came across an article that talked about Cisco and the way they handle their annual parties. Well it turns ut that Ciso put together an annual party to tahnk employees for their hard work. Mind you Cisco employees more than 11, ooo people. SO it turns out that Cisco decided to host their part y at the Shireline. The problem with the Shorline is that it is not designed for so many popele. Therefre on the day of the actual party, almost all of the employees became stuck in traffic for hours! In turns out that some even decided to turn back home!

As the article words it, " its amazing that they took an event that was suppose t generate possitive morale but turned into a really egative feeling about the company"

This should serve as a lesson for comapanies who are thinking about hosting company parties, especially these kinds of parties which are intended for their employees.... Get busses!!!!

Ethics and PR?

As a public relations student we are learning the ways of the field. We are taught to be ethical in our ways and to strengthen our code of character. While we are working towards becoming professional and ethical pr practioners.....other are slipping and recreating the stereo-tpye that many feel PR professionals are fueled with.

One foul PR practice was found in a news release from Innotrac Coporation of Atlanta, GA. In this news release a announcement surfaced which boasted a "multi-year, multi-million dollar customer service and technical support agreement" with a large corporate client.

The company's stock went crazy and and doubled in volume. The trading volume came close to 300,000 shares (compared to an average of just 10,000).

Later that day that company issued a statement claiming that the release was not authorized by the company and that the news was not true.

This is a good example of where a small crisis management team should come into play. This also shows how fast a small news release can catch wind with the public; and as a example the increase of the companys stock. The false news release that was published was not related with the comapany, however it makes me wonder how this was printed or released without someone checking the information first. Well, anyway...I thought this was a good example of how PR practioners are still in question of their ethics.

Don't Be Fooled by Advertisement

Over 1,000 calories for a salad?! Yes, that is the truth.
As the media and Hollywood portray skinny as the perfect body shape and beauty, healthy diets become a trend in recent years. However, the incredible ad may hire us from the truth. Most healthy diets include salad as part of the essential element and most of us keep this concept in mind. However, the truth is that salad with different toppings and salad dressing may obtain calories that are even more than the regular food.

Here are some examples:
Hardee's Southwest Chicken Salad
(1,100 calories, 83g fat, 1,910mg sodium, 59g carbs, 4g fiber, 6g sugars, 29g protein)

Bob Evans Chili & Cheese Taco Salad
(1,381 calories, 72g fat, 3,263mg sodium, 182g carbs, 23g fiber, 30g sugars, 42g protein)

For everyone who are interested on diet, please be careful and don’t be fooled by advertisement and media. Salad with vegetable is good for your health but it really depends on what is in it and the served portion.

For more information, please read this article from BusinessWeek website:
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/index.html

- Jasmine

CRM is replacing public relations or what?

Did you know that Cause-Related Marketing or CRM serves as public relations. CRM generates lot of publicity and media towards a firm. CRM benefits the organiztion in many ways:

-Increased sales
-Increased visibility
-Increased customer loyalty
-Enhanced company image
-Positive media coverage

Cause-Related Marketing is when a well- known company teams up with a non-profit organization to generate money for it through the company products.
An example of a successful CRM is the one Lee company created. Lee company teamed up with The Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research. Through a good marketing, Lee launched Lee National Denim Day to fund the breast cancer association.........


Read more about Lee's campaign on Lee website

A Lesson Worth While.

The PR. Differently Blog has some key advice to us up and coming student. If using google images is your main source for photos, make sure you are double checking what they are. During a story on Krispy Kreme's new wheat doghnut a tv prodocuer learned the hard way. Look at the bottom of the image.



This should be a lesson to us all. Proof before you use.

Change of schedule

The guest speaker originally scheduled for tomorrow can't make it, so I'll be rescheduling her...probably after spring break. I'll keep you posted.

Instead, tomorrow we'll cover Media Interview Prep, originally scheduled for April 23, and have an in-class exercise.

Successfully pitching your story.

The Bad Pitch Blog has provided yet another tidbit of useful information for novice PR practitioners.

When you pitch a story to the press, it is always difficult to decide how many times to follow-up with your pitch.

If you call too many times, you run the risk of becoming a nuisance, and earning yourself a reputation as a pest.

If you call too few times, you run the risk of your story not getting picked up regardless of how newsworthy it is and how well you pitched it.

According to the experience of the blog's author, a story that is followed up 1-2 times after the initial pitch has a 25 percent change of being picked up. Following up 3-5 times has a 50 percent chance, and 6-8 has a 25 percent chance.

Hopefully this takes some of the guess work out of making follow-up calls. It is important to follow up pitches multiple times, and follow-up calls should be made more than once.

I've learned that even though it feels kind of needy, and desperate, it's worth it to get your story in the news.

The New PR Wiki

What is a wiki? According to PR Blog News , wiki it’s a web page or a web site that can be edited easily by multiple users, like Wikipedia. It is the most elegant, simplest, cheapest web-based collaboration tool available. The New PR Wiki is launched and maintained by wiki maestro Constantin Basturea (PR meets WWW ). It is the best sources for resources on PR 2.0. The chronology and lessons of the revolution are within New PR Wiki, including great background on Astroturf and social media releases.

It is believed that wikis can help to build the global knowledge bank. I believe that it will be an advantage if someone can simply the usage of wikis to the public because it can help to increase individual's knowledge.

Formal dressing/ Causal Wear

Many people argue that it is not necessary to wear a suit to work, and especially for presentation, casual wear also can be dress code. Maybe the current trend toward casual dress at work has made people more lax about what they wear. In addition, many people work from home where there are no rules regarding dress.

For me, I will try to look my professional best, in black suit, high heel shoes; and appropriately make up. To make sure I look tidy and smart to audiences as first impression is key point to success

I am not saying the person in jeans is not as intelligent as the one wearing the formal suit, possibly, he or she maybe more so. If we add all the ingredients, knowledge, preparation and appearance can guarantee to make a good impression, why do we take a risk to wear casual wear?

In conclusion, I view that formal wear is necessary to presentation, as the audiences of presentation is talking about huge investment to our company. We should avoid any errors to make it perfect. Meanwhile, I agree that we can wear causal wear in the office and daily work if it can fit with companies’ culture.

Creativity is the key to success

Whether a corporation can be successul or not greatly depends on a good PR team in the corporation. Good PR needs to be creative. Here is an real example. The UpSNAP Inc is going to join the Sound Choice to offer mobile karaoke. Let me first briefly introduce what these two companies do in case some of you may not notice them. UpSNAP Inc is the premier provider of free mobile search and streaming mobile audio enterainment while Sound Choice is the industry leader of Karaoke for more than twenty years.

Now, you can sing karaoke no matter when and where. Just text a message with the UpSNAP shortcode. Then, you are able to choose any songs you like from the online catalog in your cellphone. A good PR strategy can be easy and simple like this: make public interest into daily life, which can be accessed easily. It is cheap. It is convenient. Yet, it is too early to draw conclusion that this new idea of singing karaoke will become as popular as YouTube. But these two companies are already successful in having a good start with a creative idea. We will see how it is going to affect us.

Crisis Management: IBM

Crisis management involves identifying a crisis, planning a response to the crisis and confronting and resolving the crisis. It is especially important to a corporation. Think IBM did quite well in the retrieval of its laptops battery which is produced by SONY.

Accept Responsibility: SONY is willing to financially support the retrieval, which does not cause financial hardship to the company.

Protect the Consumer: In order to protect users' safety, IBM made an announcement which was the retrieval of 52.6 million pieces of batteries.

Find the Truth: IBM found out that when a user was using his IBM laptop in the Los Angeles Airport, it caused fire because his laptop was over-heated. But nobody got hurt.

Will MTV Win You Back?

Over the last few years, with the creation and recent uproar of the networking site Myspace and the video downloading site YouTube, MTV has found that it is losing viewers to the Internet. In order to gain back younger viewers MTV intends on expanding its already huge internet base. MTV Networks, which includes MTV channels and Comedy Central, has 150 websites in 162 countries but plans on creating more to draw youth away from sites like YouTube and Myspace.

MTV is hoping that creating a site similar to YouTube where viewers can watch their favorite MTV shows, edit them, and manipulate them however they want will attract attention. MTV knows that youth are spending more time on the Internet and playing video games than watching television. Although the younger viewers that MTV is targeting with the creation of these new sites spend a lot of time on the Internet, they rarely spend too much time on one cite. MTV views this as an opportunity to capture their attention with as many sites as possible.

But will these sites be successful, you decide.

Don't Mind The Rats...

Eww...are the first thoughts that come to mind when talking about the recent circus involving Taco bell/ KFC, New York Health Department and rats! Yes I said rats. In recent events, a video showing rats creeping around inside of Taco Bell was released. That's not the disgusting part, it was filmed the day after Taco Bell/ KFC resturant received a passing grade by New York city's Health Department. This is a huge chink in "image armor" for Taco Bell/ KFC resturants and New York city's Health Department. Yum brands which owns the resturant released a comment by President Emil Brolick stating We have taken what has happened in New York very seriously." This event will not only tarnish Taco Bell/ KFC reputation for healthy clean resturants, it may lose some customers for good. Each party involved has a lot of work to do.

What would you do as the representing PR firm for Taco Bell/ KFC?

Who is Amanda Chapel?

The Washington Post tried to find out. Her bio says she's got loads of PR experience under her belt. Her scathing satire didn't sit well with many PR folks, last spring though. According to The Bivings Report she could be several people. But one thing's for certain, she offers harsh criticism of our industry and makes us think -- which is ultimately a good thing, in my opinion.

7 Signs That Your Press Release Sucks...

...brought to you by Naked PR with commentary by me.

"It's amazing what a solid news angle, a carefully written and edited release, and something as basic as contact information can do. Yet, you'd be surprised at how many press releases are distributed every day violating these and other press release writing sins. Don't be a sinner if you want to be a winner...at least in the PR game."
--Naked PR


1. Your press release headline is so "cutesy" that no one could possibly tell what the hell your news is by looking at it.
According to Naked PR, headlines ought to be descriptive and "lightly embellished" to make them catchy. A good thing to remember: "catchy does not equal cutesy."

2. You neglect to leave your full contact information.
Pretty obvious why giving all of your contact information is important. IF a journalist wants to pick up your story, they are probably going to want more details, background information, etc. IF they desire this information, they are going to have to be able to get in touch with you. THUS, it behooves you to include your email address and phone number.

3. You don't tell us why your story is newsworthy until the conclusion of the press release.
If your event doesn't sound interesting or newsworthy at the beginning, nobody is going to continue reading.

4. Your news release resembles a novel.
Too much copy is a turn-off. Journalists get countless press releases everyday. A good rule of thumb is to keep press releases limited to one page.

5. Any 6th grader could tell you were too lazy to proofread your press release.
Every time I come across typos or AP errors in press releases, interoffice memos, or even emails, I find it hard to get past the flub. Sure, I continue reading and get the intended message, but I do so with a decreased amount of respect for the author. As young people trying to get our feet wet, it is extremely important for us to be meticulous in our proofreading. We must check and double-check everything, and I don't just mean spell check. Have someone else read your press releases before you send them out. They might catch errors and help save your street cred, or they'll say that you've done a splendid job and boost your ego a bit. Win-win situation.

6. It reads like a testimonial.
Press releases are not advertising tools. They are publicity tools. The press doesn't care what your customers say.

7. Your mommy thinks you deserve a front page story.
You might think you've nailed the press release and have a story that the press is going to eat up. Always run your angle by an unbiased person, or at least someone who will tell you if it sucks.

If it sounds like you're begging the press to pay attention to you...it's because you are. We have to fight for column inches in print and for seconds on television. I think these tips are a good way to give your press release a leg-up on the competition and increase your chances of being a winner.

Blogging and Business

Blogging becomes a trend in recent years because of the rise of high speed internet, lower price computers and home businesses. Search plays a significant role because it allows people to find bloggings easily by specific topics or names.

The writer of this blog post noticed that customers are getting more and more control to determine what should be considered as relevant search results when they use search. If they are get enough votes, search will go ahead and upgrade or downgrade certain website or blog. Good ones will stay and the rest will just simply be removed.

It works the same in the business field. It is always beneficial to pay attention on how the media is affecting your business so that you will be able to catch up with the new generation. Also, your business website or blog will be found when people try to search those up-to-date information in search engines.
To see more information, please go check out this blog:

http://blogbusinesssummit.com/2007/03/search_turned_u.htm

- Jasmine

JetBlue And Their Attempt To Restore Their Image

When JetBlue Airways experienced operational malfunctions in February, causing 1, 096 flights to be cancelled and angering more than 100,000 passengers, the company came up with several PR tactics to hopefully regain their customer-friendly image. First, JetBlue passed the JetBlue Airways Customer Bill of Rights, providing customers experiencing flight delays with vouchers ranging from $25 to regular ticket prices. This was a nice PR method to show their concern for their customers for creating inconveniences and one way to handle their image. It was necessary since the incident caused not only angry customers, but also their stocks to drop 4.87% (CNN).
In addition, on JetBlue's website, on the Customer Bill of Rights page, they even put a video provided by You Tube showing David Neeleman, CEO and founder of JetBlue. In the video, Neeleman shares a public apology, assuring that the problem would never occur again. This video is also a good PR Tactic, in which JetBlue takes blame by recognizing their fault, apologizes, and promises a future with no more problems.
Third, also on JetBlue's website, they have a "Speak Up" page where customers are welcome to share their compliments or complaints. This encourages customer opinion, which can later be used by the company to analyze how their company is running and how tactics used are changing customer opinions.
Even though JetBlue went through a rough period, they knew how to restore their image with various PR tactics. These tactics will hopefully help JetBlue regain their customer-friendly image and bring them back on their feet.

Dame Anita Roddick's "green" concept

Dame Anita Roddick is my definitely my idol. She creates a great concept for her brand; it is very successful. For me, this success is good for our environment.

She is not only "say" it, she did many works to protect our environment. "One key area where my business and personal interests naturally combine is through The Body Shop Community Trade initiatives." She also contribute a lot beside the corporate. It make me to think if all corporate can combine the Human Right/ protection of environment etc. those stuff is good for us with the business. They gain the most successful from my POV.

Starbucks is running out of “Caffeine”

The big chain has reported that by expanding so feverishly and losing the exclusiveness they once had, they have actually accused their brand to lose value and become commercialized. This is allowing competition to really compete, even chains like McDonalds that aren’t in the business of making coffee but posing a threat to the large chain. The spokesperson for Starbucks said regarding expansion, “in retrospect, have (led) to the watering down of the Starbucks experience, and, what some might call the commoditization of our brand,". But the future goals of Starbucks are articulated to keep expanding, “Starbucks to become one of the world's most recognized brands, with 40,000 locations around the globe, or more than triple its current count of about 13,000. But to do that, Starbucks must improve its efficiencies and make other changes that threaten to erode the virtues that made it so successful -- which in turn could jeopardize its ability to charge premium prices.” It will be interesting to see what Starbucks does to improve its image, and push for quality, while still expanding in numbers.

Proofreading and PROOFLOOKING

After reading some blogs that I have regularly been following, I came across the importance of prooflooking. There was a printed Derek Jeter baseball card that looks like any other card. But when I looked more closer, there was a picture of President Bush in the stands that someone had apparently inserted in.
We all remember to proofread words and text, but we sometimes forget that graphics, photos and any other details we tend to look over always need to be reviewed carefully as well. So proofreading needs to include prooflooking too.
There was a company mentioned also. NCR, which is a company that mainly manages servers and networks for ATMs, made a simple classic mistake that could have been easily avoided if it were a little bit more careful. NCR printed up large quantities of an important corporate document that included a full-length picture of its CEO. After the document was proofread, it was printed and distributed. Apparently, the CEO's zipper was down and someone lost their job over a proofreading error.
So just remember that when proofreading, don't forget about the graphics.

New problem for FEMA

FEMA now has a new problem to deal with after kicking out 58 households. Katrina victims are angry that they are getting kicked out. One victim said, "They know how to put me out, but they don't know how to help me out. That's how I look at it." http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/katrina-victims-evacuate-trailer-park/20070305155209990001

A FEMA spokesperson made a statement that the decision was for the safety of the residents. The mobile home park had problems with "raw sewage and periodic power outages."

This seems to be the newest pulic relations problem for FEMA. They first received negative publicity when they did not respond in a timely manner to the victims of Hurrican Katrina. They have taken on an interesting angle in this case. Instead of taking blame and admiting to kicking people out of the park, they are claiming that they had no choice and it was for the resident's safety. Whether or not this tactic will work is up in the air. FEMA seems to have a pattern with passing the blame off onto other people.

I founs some good tips and techniques regarding public speaking and wantes to share them with the class, since we have our presentations this week.

1. Know your topic. There might be someone in your audience who is familiar with what you are saying and if you say something that is not factual, you might loose credibility.

2. Do not read from notes. Always talk convinced and preferably without using notes. Since we are using a POwer Point slide show for our presentation, it will be better if we follow up from the main pints on the slides, instead of reading off of notes.

3. Pause in between ideas and points. This will give you and your audience some time to reflect an think on the ideas that you mention.

4.. Mantain good eye contact with your audience. This is a must in all presentations.

5. If possible, add humor to your presentation. This will enhance it and make it more lively.

6. When using visual aids. Make them clear and simple. Dont have too much information on slides because it might become hectic for the audience to read.

7. Always be prepeared for questions or comments.

8. VERY IMPORTANT!...Always have a backup plan for your presentation. The equipment might not work the day of your speech, so always have your information saved on two items.

I hope this will help you guys!

Public Relations is Reaching a Growing Minority Population

With a growing Latino population in the United States, it is a wonder if the Public Relations techniques being used will be effective enough to reach such a massive minority group. A great number of Latinos can be reached effectively through Spanish media but for others a mere translation will not be enough. This is true for second and third generation Latinos who do not speak Spanish. Companies must find new media that will deliver their messages effectively to these audiences.

Perhaps Blogs can be the media that is needed. With a huge development of blogs there are many that targeted for that segment of the latino population. These blogs do a great job of addressing Latino concerns, promoting their dreams and explaining their unique perspectives. Among these blogs are Vivirlatino, Latinalista and LatinoPundit.

I found a very intersting book that addresses this issue. I hope you enjoy it.

Octavio Rojas, writing as part of the Virtual Road Show "Relaciones Públicas. La Eficacia de la Influencia – Public Relations. The Effectiveness of Influence" (for a synopsis of the book in English click on the picture)

How To Be A Good Guest

I found those tips on how to be a good guest, on the PR blog that I am following and I want to share them with the class. Here are the tips:

-Always mention your company at least 3 times in a 15 minute interview.
Most Producers know and understand that’s why you’re on their broadcast in the first place. Most will never bring it up so you have to be a “used car salesman” and mention it.

-Be yourself!
Don’t try to be Rush Limbaugh or any radio announcer….it sounds phony and most
Producers can see it coming a mile away.

-Be concise
Summarize your main point in a crisp 3 minutes. That’s how long you will get when you’re on a TV program or a radio broadcast.

-Think before you speak
Speak slowly; I didn’t say dead. Speak like you talk and think before you speak.

-Offer your help
Offer the Editor or Producer help in ways to write or how to cover your story.
Don’t be pushy, but you can offer valuable insight into possible angles for the story.

-Always say thank you
Too many times a guest leaves without thanking the crew, the hosts, the producer.

Blogs don't write themselves-some blogging tips

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like blogging is extremely difficult. I find myself searching for a topic to write on for several days. After I find that topic, I'll analyze it to death until I think it's too boring to write about, or have no idea how to lay it out.

Then in my quest to find a topic, I stumbled over a blog like it was a kick to the head. "Tips on writing content for your blog" was published by Piaras Kelly in 2005, but thank goodness it's still up for people like me. My favorite tip is # 10- "Be controversial: Don't be a sheep, stand out and voice your own opinion." That was probably my biggest fear- that someone wouldn't like or that noone would care about what I wrote. But like Kelly said, "Who cares if nobody agrees with you?" I guess I won't!

The New Rules of PR

PRWebs CEO and founder David McInnis is set to host a free webinar featuring David Meerman Scott, author of the "New Rules of PR" forcusing on how to create a press release strategy for reaching buyers directly.

Davids ebook offers PR professionals the tools they need to survive in today's world of social media. David McInnis, Founder and CEO of PRWeb said "This webinar provides professionals the opportunity to discuss 'The New Rules of PR' directly with David and further develop strategies and tips to create an effective press release."

This ebook has become a must have guide for PR practioners. David Meerman Scott is an online thought leadership strategist. The programs he has developed have won numerous awards and are responsible for selling over one billion dollars in products and services worldwide. His work is highly used throught the field of public relations.

Scotts other book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly" will be published around June 2007. Leaving PR practioners looking forward to his future work, hoping for more insight and professional tips to succeed in the field.

The content of the New Rules of PR will benefit many people in the field of PR and will serve as a tool to students learning the ways and rules of public relations.

PR Blogs

There are lots of websites out there that provide blogs with recent PR news. However, some of them are getting worse.

For example, the PR releases now running on Bloglines PR circuit … VP appointed here, SVP there, blah blah here and there. It used to be a very great source for ideas. But now the blogs are mostly about blah is being proud to lead blah and become the leader of the industry.

Google blog search for "public relations" yield for even better results and informational blogs than Bloglines do. For example, one of the results is today Arizona Venture Capital is sponsoring a conference that highlights use of social media by Arizona companies, featuring social media gurus Robert Scoble and Chris Heuer.

Sources: PR Blog News