07.29.08
Posted in PRSA News at 12:24 pm by Donnie Turlington
I’ve gotta be honest, I’m pretty excited about the upcoming seminar, “Surviving the Flames, Crisis Communications from the Pros Who Invented It.” I’m looking forward to gleaning insights into the minds and strategies behind some of the most-publicized crises of the 20th Century. I know there are many PR practitioners who make a living counseling businesses and individuals in crisis preparation and management. In fact, some practitioners may feel they’re already on top of their game where crisis communications are concerned. Some undoubtedly feel like shouting, “Heck, who needs more crisis education, I know all there is to know already!”
As for me, I’m still old school in my thought that one can never be too prepared. When I sit in front of a client and offer strategic crisis counseling, a crisis preparation program or management plan, or evaluate the aftershock of a crisis situation, I want to know that I’ve done all my homework. It’s important to me as a practitioner to take advantage of the programming, and it just makes good business sense to be as best prepared as possible for the NEXT crisis situation that comes along.
Maybe it’ll take me giving up a billable day in the office, or taking a vacation day, or even doing some work while I’m at the seminar, but one way or another I cannot pass up this opportunity. Lets face it, this is also a BIG event for little ol’ PRSA Tar Heel and as a practicing communicator in Greensboro, NC, when else will I have the chance to discuss ideas with pros like Al Tortorella (who BTW, is without a doubt one of the nicest people in the business today)?
Whether I’ve been in this business for 25 years or two months, I can never turn down a chance to learn from professionals who have been there, done that, and own the crisis t-shirts.
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07.22.08
Posted in Professional Development at 3:26 pm by elizabethmckinney
In case you missed the email earlier today, registration for the Professional Development Seminar, “Surviving the Flames: Crisis Communications From the Pros Who Invented It” is now open!
Please make plans to join us on Friday, September 12 at Elon. Only 120 spots are available. For a member price of just $99, you can’t beat this opportunity.
For more information, click here.
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Posted in PRSA News at 9:54 am by kathrynwilliford
Hopefully you’ve all heard the news by now. PRSA Tar Heel is launching its own Young Professionals chapter. The purpose of this group is to benefit you: a young (or young at heart) professional working in or around the Triad. You might work at a public relations agency, a non-profit organization, or work in-house at a company or association. Whatever you do, you haven’t been doing it that long (five years or less) and there are probably some things we all have in common. We can probably learn a thing or two from each other, help each other make decisions about our careers, and have a few beers and laughs in the process.
Our first event will be Tuesday, Aug. 19 at The Village Tavern in Greensboro. We’ll be there from 6-8 p.m. Come out and join us on the patio. Enjoy some complimentary hors d’oeuvres, talk about job openings, bitch about your boss (just kidding), meet new friends, drink, have fun. At the end of the day, we want this to benefit you – your understanding of the industry, your career potential and your social calendar. As the year progresses, we’ll bring in some cool speakers, have panels on things like media relations and maybe even start up a mentor program. But for now, let’s just have a good time.
For more information, check out our group page on Facebook or e-mail us at youngpros@prsatarheel.org.
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07.21.08
Posted in Professional Development at 3:55 pm by elizabethmckinney
Post Written by PD Committee Member, Doug Allred, APR
Three-Mile Island, Bhopal, the Tylenol tampering crisis—everyone in public relations knows of and has studied at least one of them. They are our PR DNA. As a member of the professional development committee, I was pumped about this lineup and couldn’t wait to tell everyone I know. Yet one of the first comments I got in my office floored me: “You couldn’t find someone from this century?”
That threw me for a major loop. But that’s not right. These are not “ordinary crises.” These events—and the people who helped shape the responses to them—have changed our industry. These cases are in textbooks for a reason. They are timeless.
The TarHeel Chapter Professional Development Seminar on September 12 is a unique opportunity to—as Elizabeth points out—catch three giants on the same stage.
We are working on an end of the day Q&A with the group. I can’t wait for that. The answer to “How would you have done things differently with blogs and Twitter and a 24/7 news cycle?” alone will be well worth the price of admission.
I can’t wait. See you on September 12.
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07.14.08
Posted in Professional Development at 4:46 pm by elizabethmckinney
Post Written by PD Seminar Committee Member, Allison White
When I first got involved with the professional development committee this year, I was a little concerned, because I was not completely aware of the three crises that our three keynote speakers were involved in. Being young and new to the profession, I’m still learning, so I did some research after the first meeting I went to. To my surprise, and maybe to some of yours, most of these crises are still having effects today.
As recently as July 12, the Minneapolis- St. Paul Star Tribune published an article describing the hundreds of tons of toxins that are still in the former Union Carbide plant in Bhopal and what is being done about cleaning them up. Dow Chemical, which bought Union Carbide in 2001, and the Indian government still have massive communications and reputation issues on their hands surrounding this issue.
The Tylenol tampering crises in 1982 and 1986 are still referred to today, most recently in food scares and in the Chinese toy scare. Many experts and professionals dealing with recalls and product issues look to the Tylenol tampering crisis for a blueprint on how to handle similar situations.
The effects of “Three Mile Island Syndrome”- as known by some- are still felt today. It is believed to be the reason that so many Western countries do not pursue nuclear energy as an alternative source of energy, according to a recent article in the U.K.’s The Guardian.
Not only are each of 2008 professional develop speakers practicing professionals, but their respective crises, however long or short ago, has a place in today’s conversation on crisis communications.
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Posted in Professional Development at 10:42 am by Leslie Brooks
Here’s a link to a recent blog post from Mark Stevens on PR News Digital PR Blog. He makes an important point – one that I’m hearing more and more from a variety of sources. It looks to me like we need to listen and learn.
http://www.prnewsonline.com/blog/index.php/why-are-pr-people-so-lazy/
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07.07.08
Posted in Professional Development at 4:32 pm by elizabethmckinney
If you know anything about me, you know that I love a challenge. It gives me a chance to test myself, to see what I can accomplish. It’s a hold-over from my childhood years; my family is one of over-achievers. Almost all of us have master’s degrees and at least one of us will end up with a Ph.D., I’m pretty sure. I’m willing to bet on it. So when Donnie asked me to take on the Professional Development Seminar, after talking with Leslie Brooks about her experience last year, I said yes.
I’ve definitely got the challenge that I wanted, even more so than I anticipated.
Tomorrow, at our Summer Social, I’ll be announcing more great news about the Professional Development Seminar. You should have already received your Save the Date, and I hope your calendar was immediately blocked for Friday, September 12.
You know that we’re bringing together the pioneers of crisis communication, but were you aware they have NEVER been presenters at the same conference before? Yes, you read that correctly: the PRSA Tarheel Chapter is the FIRST and ONLY group to ever bring these three speakers together. Not national. Not international. Not DC or San Francisco or Seattle or Denver or Houston. Us. Your group. The Tarheel Chapter. Your chapter.
This seminar is just another step in a long succession of improvements to our professional development endeavors. Professional development isn’t helpful if you don’t ever use it and crisis communications is something we should all be familiar with as professional communicators–because someday, somewhere, somehow, someone will need our crisis assistance.
Please join us on September 12. It will be well worth your time and your money. (And it will help me–and my committee–be successful in this challenge!)
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07.04.08
Posted in PRSA News at 3:18 pm by Tamara McLendon
Objective: To find a home for the tiny kitten we found in our backyard on Wednesday.
Strategy: Use electronic media to touch a targeted audience of cat-lovers, asking for their referral to people in desperate need of a kitten.
Execution: Three members of the Leapfrog staff emailed a subset of their individual contact lists with a call-to-action for forwarding the email to cat-lovers. The email included fuzzy pictures (fuzzy because of the cell-phone picture quality and the intrinsic fuzziness of the cat) and lots of straight-forward information.
Results: Two interested responses, both from people who had received the email forward from the original recipient, and one final taker. As of this morning, the kitten has a great new home in Winston-Salem with an experienced cat owner.
We’re thinking about submitting this campaign for the 2008 Outstanding PR Award….
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07.03.08
Posted in Monthly Meetings, PRSA News at 9:29 am by Aaron Wall, APR
Lately I’ve been thinking about what to expect at our upcoming Summer Social. Salsa dancing I must admit is somewhat alien to me. Having grown up in the Wesleyan Church, it goes without saying that most forms of dancing are alien to me. In fact, I had to take lessons just to be able to waltz at my own wedding. So when Teresa Loflin, our VP of membership told me the theme for this year’s social is “Salsa the Night Away with PRSA,” I thought, “this should be interesting.”
So I did a little research on the subject and was intrigued at just how much culture could be woven into one basic form of dance. Did you know there are no less than nine different styles of Salsa? Cuban, Los Angeles, New York, Venezolana, Columbian, Mambo, Peurto Rican, La Rueda and Salsa Disco. I’m not certain which style or variation of styles we’ll be taught on Tuesday evening, but I am sure its going to be fun.
And it’s looking like were going to have a great turnout too, with lots of new members and quests. I’m looking forward to a fun and exciting event. Hope to see you there.
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07.02.08
Posted in Professional Development at 5:05 pm by John Mims, APR
Yesterday’s post about the lifecycle of our blog got me thinking. While he does not come right out and say it, it appears that Rick is over this blog thing. Well, should he be?
While I personally follow blogs and have my own, I do not think that every company, every client every individual should have a blog. Blogs are merely another tactic in our public relations arsenal. Sometimes they make sense for our companies and clients. Sometimes, they don’t.
For the Tar Heel Chapter, I see this blog as moderately important. Outside of our meetings, there is no place for us to share opinions with the chapter as a whole. This blog also gives our members a forum to ask advice of other members. This blog was never intended to replace communications options but rather to enhance and add to them.
So, is anyone reading? Turns out, we have a decent following. As of the writing of this post, we have 117 members in the Tar Heel Chapter. Last month we had 153 unique visitors. Each month, that total continues to grow. On top of that, we had 1,329 visits last month meaning that our 153 visitors stopped by the blog more than 8 times. That number, too, has been on the increase since the inception of the blog. Clearly, someone has found value in the posts on this blog.
Rick is right about the frequency of blogging. Frankly, consistency is a problem with most blogs. In the one year that this blog has been operational, we have had about 30 posts or about 2.5 a month. Some months we have more; some we have less. In most cases, the heavy months occur when there is a major PRSA event.
What can we do? Well, more people can post on the blog. If you want to post on the blog, sign up. Having more voices only helps deliver to our readers. You all have information that you can share with the group. Another option is to post comments. Comments are dying on blogs across the Internet. Although readership is up, fewer people are commenting. No one knows why. On this blog, we can buck that trend.
In the end, the conversation about using blogs is akin to using newspapers as a medium. It is important that we understand both mediums and use them when the strategy calls for it.
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