10.29.08
Posted in PRSA News at 11:33 am by elizabethmckinney
How many press secretaries has our current president had?
I’m not sure about you, but it feels like it’s been a revolving door up there. I know that many of us are fans of the original press secretary, Ari Fleischer, but I’m continually shocked to see a new press secretary. If my count is right, we’ve had four: Ari, Scott McClellan, Tony Snow and now, Dana Perino.
In contrast, President Clinton had four as well, over 8 years. President Bush’s father had one. President Reagan had two.
So, what’s the point? I guess I just wonder why these changes have been so frequent. We all know that consistency in your message to your audiences is important. Changing spokespeople that often just seems like a challenge that is not be worth the consequences.
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10.23.08
Posted in PRSA News, Spinks Awards and Banquet at 10:43 am by Stephanie Skordas
You may have seen it in your inbox already, but just in case you didn’t … Peter Shankman is the speaker for this year’s Spinks Banquet.
Shankman may be best known for his free email service, Help a Reporter Out or HARO for short. A CEO, entrepreneur, a social media guru, Peter Shankman runs The Geek Factory in New York City with clients worldwide.
If you’re one of the PR pros who’s never heard of HARO, click the link above to learn more. It’s a free three-times daily email filled with queries from top reporters and bloggers, all looking for sources. There are more than 36,000 subscribers now, and it all started with a Facebook page less than a year ago. The group got too big for Facebook quickly and now Shankman does the daily emails instead.
AdWeek offers this article about Shankman. Editor and Publisher says this.
In addition to his HARO emails and PR/Marketing work, Shankman is an author, a skydiver and owner of two big-boned cats. If you’re not following him on Twitter yet, you should be. (http://twitter.com/skydiver)
And you can follow me too if you want: http://twitter.com/stephskordas. Just sayin’.
So now you know who the speaker is! Great news, huh?
On to other stuff … time to get your nominations in! We have reached out to the Raleigh and Charlotte chapters to make up the judging panel, so we need to make sure there’s enough time to get your nominations to them. The deadline is NEXT FRIDAY at 5pm. That’s Halloween folks. Don’t get spooked, but do get your nominations in.
You can mail them, deliver them … heck, you can EMAIL them to me. I’m looking at shiny trophy catalogs. Don’t you want your name on one?
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09.24.08
Posted in PRSA News at 10:47 am by Stephanie Skordas
Fall is not only the season that brings us crisp apples, colorful leaves and frost on the pumpkin, but also the annual Spinks Awards nominations. This year, in addition to the traditional four awards, the Tar Heel chapter has added four new awards. Please check out the nomination packet, which includes descriptions of all the awards and explains the new ones:
Rookie of the Year
For an outstanding young professional with less than three years in the industry who has made a noteworthy contribution to our profession.
Best Web Site
We’re anxious to see your Web sites, launched between November 1, 2007 and October 30, 2008. While cool design and interesting interfaces are great, your results matter as much or more.
Best Event
From company events to produce launches to galas, tell us how your event made a difference.
Best News Release
Sometimes you just sit back and say to yourself, “My release is a work of art!!” or “Holy cow, the media LOVE my release.” So share that with us.
For all the categories, you must be a member of the PRSA Tar Heel chapter in good standing. So if you have questions about your standing, check with Teresa Loughlin to make sure you’re eligible. And all the entries judge work from November 1, 2007 to October 30, 2008.
The deadline for entries? Don’t be spooked, but it’s 5pm on October 31, 2008. You can mail them to me or bring them in person.
Stephanie Skordas
RLF Communications
301 North Elm Street, Suite 102
Greensboro, NC 27401
If you’re familiar with downtown Greensboro, RLF Communications is on the first floor of the U.S. Trust Building at the intersection of Elm and Bellemeade. There’s handy parking in a city deck right across Bellemeade.
If you have questions about nominations or the awards, please email me at pr@prsatarheel.org or call me at 336-553-1803. You can also contact my colleagues Alana Allen, aallen@rlfcommunications.com and 336-553-1806 and Jennifer Seeley, jseeley@rlfcommunications.com and 336-553-1708.
Stay tuned for more information about the Banquet, which will be held on January 15th, 2009. We’ve got an interesting keynote speaker lined up!
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08.25.08
Posted in PRSA News at 9:28 pm by Aaron Wall, APR
I am pleased to report that the Tar Heel Chapter was recently recognized as the PRSA chapter with the second highest growth in National members for a medium chapter. The recognition will result in one, all-expense-paid trip to PRSA’s 2008 International Conference, which will be attended by Teresa Loflin, who has led the Tar Heel Chapter’s membership efforts this year. The achievement marks a milestone in the chapter’s 27 year history with membership at an all time high of 118.
While the board had set goals for increased membership at its planning retreat back in October 2007, the results for 2008 have exceeded expectations. Welcome to all of our new members and congratulations to Teresa on a job well done.
Stay tuned for details on a special luncheon for new members to be scheduled this fall.
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08.20.08
Posted in PRSA News at 1:27 pm by Leslie Brooks
… in the hope that some of you will offer me some really helpful advice. I confess – when it comes to blogging about anything my mind goes blank. It’s like all the good ideas, thoughts, opinions and anything of value I ever have or could have written about go completely out of my head, leaving me with nothing there but dust bunnies. And believe, me, they don’t translate well to blogs. I want to become a blogger – there, I said it. And not just any sort of blogger but a good one at that. Yep, that’s what I want. Am I over thinking this whole blogging thing? I know it’s not a like I’m writing a dissertation that’s going to be graded or judged. Yet when I sit down at my keyboard, fingers poised to type – poof – nothing. Does anyone have any advice for me? Please tell me I’m not the only person in the PR world who feels brain dead when it comes to blogging. Help?
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08.12.08
Posted in PRSA News at 11:31 am by kensmith
Crisis management is about more than long documents and crisis teams or being in the middle of a disaster and figuring out what to do. Sometimes it’s simply about corporate responsibility and doing the right thing in order to avoid a crisis. And recent experience has proven to me that sometimes doing the right thing can be fraught with its own perils.
Recently I worked with a company genuinely interested in doing the right thing. At 5 p.m. the evening before we made a major national announcement, we made a minor change (3 words) to an already-approved news release. It seemed simple enough, but that one change was the first in a bizarre series of events:
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A computer crash caused a delay in video revisions, making for a long evening and a late night approval
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The client’s husband was carried to the emergency room via ambulance (thankfully he is fine) the night before our announcement
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A team member set-off our burglar alarm the morning of our announcement
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The news release distribution service choked on our video, so we had to manually upload it at the last minute
Yes, even the best laid plans can go awry even when you’re doing the right things and situations can go from calm to chaotic in minutes. Our professional development seminar, Communicating Through the Flames: Crisis Communications From the Pros Who Invented It, will help you find your way. I hope that you will join me on September 12 at Elon University to hear the inside stories and wisdom from the experts who created modern crisis management.
Now it’s your turn to share. What’s one of the strangest things you’ve encountered when dealing with a crisis or simply trying to avert one?
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08.01.08
Posted in PRSA News at 4:09 pm by Tamara McLendon
Just an interesting historical note: I just finished reading about President Wilson and how the U.S. got involved in World War I. Wilson was the first to actively use public relations to try to persuade the nation that we should take a particular course of action; in this case, jumping into the war. Apparently, much of the country was against it. His PR person used the phrase “making the world safe for democracy” in his communications. Sounds familiar…
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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 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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07.04.08
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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