02.24.09
Posted in Newsletter at 9:17 am by Leslie Brooks
Say, did everyone see what happened to Tropicana’s rebrand attempt when it said it had had the last straw and went with a glass on its packaging instead? Some 35 million dollars went down the drain when consumers used social media to bash and reject the new pacakging. Consequently, Tropicana issued a statement saying they’d heard its consumers and will pull the new packaging. We can’t control the state of the economy, our job security or the value of our 401Ks but we sure as heck can control the packaging of our orange juice! Americans united.
Permalink
04.01.08
Posted in Newsletter at 12:03 pm by Tamara McLendon
I’m continually amazed at how widely PR pros vary in their understanding and use of technology. For example, I spoke with a client-side practitioner recently who is still faxing out press releases to media. I’ve also spoken with practitioners who optimize their wire releases for search engine rankings. Clearly, there’s a spectrum of interest and knowledge.
My gut tells me that this is a problem for media relations work, but maybe it’s not. When I was a reporter years ago, I didn’t have a strong reaction either way to getting emailed news releases or faxed ones. So maybe the reason to take the time to learn it isn’t so much the reaction of the reporters themselves, but the work it takes to reach them in the first place.
Here’s an example of why I’ll never give up my communications technology. ILast week, I was able to complete a task within a few hours that would have taken days just a few years ago, if we could have done it at all. I had 40 doctors names that my client wanted to recognize for National Doctor’s Day, but the very idea of sending out 40 separate releases to 40 different markets made me break out in hives just thinking about it.
But there was a solution. Our email service allows us to include personalizing fields in each email, into which we could automatically load the doctor’s name, practice name, location, and even a quote specific to their market. We used our online media research service to quickly pull lists of consumer media in each of the markets, and loaded those email addresses into the email service as well.
Before lunch, 1500 reporters around the country had press releases in hand tailored to each of their markets and the specific doctors in those markets. We received several placements and blurbs, and the doctors were pleased as punch that we did it just for them. What was the alternative? Frankly, there was no alternative. If we’d been unable to automate the process, we just wouldn’t have done it. A manual send would have taken more than a month’s worth of retainer hours. Definitely not an option.
That’s just a quick anecdote to show that while communications technology may present us with a steep learning curve, once mastered, it can save hours of drudgery and even allow activities that would have been out of the question without it. Just some food for thought.
Permalink
12.03.07
Posted in Newsletter at 2:32 pm by A.-C. McGraw
Did 2007 make a difference in your life on any level? It did for me. I had the fortune of teaming up with some of the hardest working and talented folks I know — your Tar Heel chapter board — to meet our goals and objectives for the year. Our focus was growing membership and improving the chapter programming. A lot of hard work went into this. I hope you’ll let us know how you think we fared.
It’s been a pleasure working with this team of volunteers who have your best interests at heart! Month after month they deliver benefitial programming, lead APR sessions, work to keep the membership functioning smoothly and ethically, and truly care that it is a solid and productive chapter.
One step better than working with such an effective group is knowing that we’re friends. These are friendships forged as we worked hard together on something that was important to us. One of our keys to building these relationships and helping the chapter, is that we had an unwritten rule: check your egos at the door, but bring in your talents and skills. Here’s some of what I saw. Outgoing president Rick Hodson’s voice promoting objectivity, president-elect Aaron Wall asking “what if” questions exploring outside the box, Secretary Deanna Holt Miller always seeking ways to connect constituencies, and Treasurer Kris Kriofske habitually tapping into his creative vantage. Our VPs are the core workers: Outgoing membership VP Amy Utt’s work was constant and demanding, and she always brought enthusiasm; interim VP Teresa Loflin is picking up Utt’s reins and following in her footsteps; Professional Development VP Donnie Turlington is a bear of a force but always diplomatic, and VP of Ethics Ken Smith is decisive, yet fair in play. Outgoing VP of PR Kevin Ellwood pitch hit where needed, and Tamara McLendon, our interim VP of PR, routinely sets up for the grand slam for all of the chapter’s PR needs. And we all benefit from our assembly delegate, Eric Fletcher, whose voice of reason is loud enough to be heard. So, thanks to you, board, for your commitment and excellence!
You always hear people say, “thanks for the opportunity to serve,” and it really is true. Serving as your president has been a tremendous and positive experience and one I’ll never forget.
We, the board, look forward to serving you in 2008! We send our best and most joyous holiday wishes to you, your family and friends! Sincerely, A.-C. McGraw, President,
Tar Heel PRSA Chapter
president@tarheel.org
Permalink
12.01.07
Posted in Newsletter at 12:46 pm by Tamara McLendon
I’m a history buff, specifically American 19th century history. I recently picked up a classic that I hadn’t made time to read in the past, A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. While other historians tend to look at the past through the lens of the winners – the ruling class and elite – Zinn looks at history from the perspective of the losers – the laborers, native peoples, women and people of color. He talks about the painful truth of the American Revolution; it was a ploy by the Colonial elite to remove the British from rule, only to insert themselves. He shows that other historians have glossed over the horrors of the voyages of Columbus (like the torture and extinction of native peoples on what was to become the island of Haiti) in favor of discussing the benefits of conquest to the conquerors.
So what does this have to do with PR? Clearly, the winners get to write their own PR and have it unquestioningly inserted into the annals of history. They had the ability to write their own stories and have them accepted at face value by the masses, untruths which thrive even today. The power of PR comes with a requirement of responsibility. Just because we can convince the public of our point of view doesn’t mean we have carte blanche to do it willy nilly. Our desire to win must be strongly tempered by our desire to do the right thing.
Permalink
11.01.07
Posted in Newsletter at 8:27 pm by Tamara McLendon
I was excited to announce this week that they nominations period for the 2007 PRSA Tarheel Awards has been opened, and will continue to accept nominations through the month of November. it’s the biggest and best way we know to recognize our fellow members who are active in the PR community and in the Chapter, and who are doing really amazing work. We don’t often take the time to acknowledge each other’s successes, so let’s do it now.
If you respect the work your colleagues are doing, let them know with a nomination for the Outstanding PR Award. If you appreciate the work a particular board member has done to improve the chapter, let us know you’d like to see them on the short list for the Leadership Award. And if you think your organization has done a great job of communicating with the public over the last year, send us a submission for the Tar Heel Communicator Award. It doesn’t cost anything, and takes just a few minutes, so please send us your ideas. Just download the form, fill it out and mail or email it to me before Nov. 30.
After that, drop by the PRSA site and register for the event itself. It’s going to be a great evening, and we’d love to see you there with your partner or a friend!
Tamara McLendon
Vice President of Public Relations
pr@prsatarheel.org
Permalink
Posted in Newsletter at 7:49 pm by A.-C. McGraw
Follow my thinking for a minute. If you keep doing things the same way you did them last year ,you’re out of date. Need proof? Think about the number of revolutions taking place in the communications’ world. Is social media real? Who are the new influencers? Do you need a big budget to be an effective communicator? How important is it to stay current with technology trends? Or, when switching beats, who sets the order for issues management? How do you get to the management table? If any of the following make you wince, worry or whine, hang your head, dog, because you’ve just been outed: You’re behind the times.
How bad could it get? You wouldn’t want to see those lost opportunities mount that high that quickly. If you’re a private practitioner or in an agency, it could mean dropped clients or no new ones. If in corporate or government work, you could be missing where the clients are meeting.
My advice, get replugged in now. That could include doing more relevant reading, high-tailing it to a conference, picking up the phone and calling one of your peers in the Tar Heel chapter, attending the chapter’s professional development seminars or using this blog. In fact, I heartily invite you to help us make this blog a must-read by contributing your winning and loosing tales. Or tell us what your recommended PR/communications reading is and how it’s helped you, explain trends and best practices you know or don’t know about, ask for help with unsolved crises or offer it.
Just do it — plug in now!
A.-C. McGraw
President, Tar Heel Chapter
president@prsatarheel.org
Permalink
