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 Professional Development at 4:59 pm by kathrynwilliford
Flowing wine, engaging conversation and delicious crab dip! These are some of the words that can be used to sum up the first PRSA Tar Heel Young Pros event, held last night at The Village Tavern in Greensboro. Nearly two dozen 20-somethings were in attendance representing PR agencies and in-house PR departments from across the Triad. Guests chatted about everything from jobs to apartments to the latest bestsellers.
There were several announcements made by members about the chapter’s upcoming professional development seminar at Elon University and the first annual “Free to Breathe” 5K in November. A drawing was held for a Starbucks gift card and Bouvier Kelly’s Allison White took home the $25 prize (hey Allison, I like skinny French vanilla lattes!)
Overall, it’s safe to say that our kickoff event was a big success. Thank you to the PRSA Tar Heel Chapter for supporting our efforts to launch this group and to everyone who came out last night. We look forward to seeing you all again at our next event, Tuesday, Sept. 16!
For more information, check out our Facebook group or e-mail us at youngpros@prsatarheel.org
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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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Posted in Professional Development at 12:58 pm by elizabethmckinney
Crises happen everyday and all around us. Need evidence? Here is a smattering of the crises represented in today’s headlines. Of course, this list does not highlight those crises that are “kept quiet.”
- At least 45 killed as plane skids off runway in Madrid
- Russian Military Trucks Leave Georgia, But No Major Pullout
- Ohio Congresswoman Hospitalized
- French President Visits Kabul After 10 Troops Killed
- US Stocks Drop as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Plunge; UAL Falls
- Apple updates iPhone software to fix glitches
- Dave Matthews Band’s saxophone player dies
- Bombings in Algeria Kill 11
- Arsenic in Drinking Water Raises Diabetes Risk
- Tropical Storm Fay hugs Florida’s Atlantic coast
- Media frustration builds during Olympic Games
As the leader of the organizing group of our upcoming Professional Development Seminar on Crisis Communications, I’ve heard a number of comments from those inside and outside the chapter about relevance of crisis to their positions. Those comments have ranged from, “Do you think the topic applies to young professionals?” to “Oh, I’ve done crisis all my life. I know all I ever need to know.”
Let me address both of these comments. First, yes and emphatically yes, I do believe that crisis communications applies to young professionals. You never know when a crisis is going to affect your company or your clients and you need to be prepared. Learning something about crisis, especially that you need to have a plan in place, that you need top-level support for that plan, and that crises are completely unpredictable are the three most important lessons. To learn those lessons from senior practitioners and those who have managed some of the most difficult and renowned crises in the world—veritably, those who wrote the book on crisis management—is an opportunity that will likely not present itself again in your lifetime.
Secondly, do you? Let’s consider that statement in relation to some of the audiences affected by three of the headlines above:
1) Media frustration builds during Olympic Games
What would you do if you were:
a. the United States Olympic Committee?
b. the International Olympic Committee?
c. the media contact for the Beijing Olympics?
d. the United Nations?
e. the Associated Press?
f. an athlete representative whose story is censored?
2) Arsenic in Drinking Water Raises Diabetes Risk
What would you do if you were:
a. The company leaching the arsenic into the groundwater?
b. The diabetes association?
c. The local hospital?
d. The Environmental Protection Agency?
e. A patient diagnosed with diabetes after drinking contaminated water?
f. The city or state government?
g. The water authority for your local community?
3) Dave Matthews Band’s saxophone player dies
What would you do if you were:
a. The band’s publicist?
b. The band?
c. The Dave Matthews Band fan club president?
d. The record label?
e. The upcoming performance venues?
f. The hospitals where he was treated?
g. The ATV Safety Institute?
h. The Charlottesville, VA, government board in charge of regulations about ATV use?
From this evaluation, it becomes painfully obvious that just because your organization or your client did not generate the crisis, it does not mean that you will not be affected. It means that you should be aware of what could affect your clients or your company’s industry and that you need to have a plan in place for dealing with such unexpected occurrences.
This is a golden opportunity. Register for the September 12 Professional Development Seminar at Elon. Come learn from the masters. Return to your job and feel better prepared for your next impending crisis.
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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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08.05.08
Posted in Professional Development at 4:16 pm by elizabethmckinney
(Blog post written by PRSA PD Committee Member, Bob Conn)
A major disaster is enveloping your company. People are dead.
Your adrenalin starts rising and your heart begins racing. What do you do?
You need to quickly implement your crisis communication plan. Would you be ready?
Veterans of a number of major disasters – poisoned Tylenol, the Three Mile Island nuclear power station, the spreading of deadly chemicals from a plant in Bhopal, India, the shootings at Columbine High School – will be speaking at the PRSA Tar Heel Chapter’s 2008 Professional Development Seminar: “Surviving the Flames: Crisis Communications from the Pros Who Invented It.”
The all-day seminar is at Elon University on September 12 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration is now open for chapter members.
The speakers include:
Al Tortorella, Ogilvy PR, Tylenol Crisis
Steven Fink, Lexicon Communications, Three Mile Island Crisis
Mike Herman, Catevo Group, Union Carbide (Bhopal, India) Crisis
Nora Carr, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Columbine Crisis
Rick Amme, Amme & Associates
Register today and join us for this once-in-a-lifetime event.
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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 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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