Archive for March, 2007
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I love this analogy! The Ladders, a job search engine that lists jobs mainly in the $100K + salary range, has this terrific site around the 7 deadly sins of interviewing. My favorite is “sloth,” I think. Mostly because I see this with soon-to-be or recent graduates more than I’d like. Excerpt: Winging it is never good, particularly in an interview. Be able to show knowledge of your potential employer, awareness of the industry, and the company’s business strategy. The level of detail in your questions should match your experience. What questions match your level of expertise? If you know you’re going into an entry-level position that is going to be media relations focused, ask questions about the day-to-day of your potential job. Will you be pitching? Or providing support? What kind of mentoring does the agency offer? There are plenty of ways to show your genuine interest in a... Continue Reading
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Marie Clarke Brill of AfricaAction.org recently conducted a workshop on media relations with the Oregon Peace Institute and social activists with the Portland Genocide Awareness Coalition in May 2006. For “non PR” or entry-level PR or students of PR… or even veterans who may need a media relations refresher that’s specific for social justice issues, I thought this was clear and pretty interesting. The video is 45 minutes long, so hang tight.... Permalink
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I’m getting through the “grading” of blogs and have found some more gems to share with you: Alison Burns: Ali has a great sense of humor and sense of adventure. She (thanks to her amazing parents) is able to travel for six months before she has to find a “real” job. Lucky, lucky girl.Have You Ever Noticed: Ali asks whether emotional appeal is the new sex appeal and talks about the Kleenex “let it out” campaign. Kate Long:Artistically Challenged: A great post that I can fully relate to about expanding one’s vocabulary about art beyond “that’s cool.” Thanks for a great term.... Permalink
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Last week, PR Week awarded Fleishman-Hillard in New York Campaign of the Year 2007 for its pro bono work to raise awareness about asthma among students in New York City public schools. Now, Waggener Edstrom has been awarded Gold in Not-for-Profit/Association/Government at the 2006 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media Relations & Publicity for its pro bono work with the Autism Treatment Network (and offers some great tips for doing nonprofit PR work). Public relations practitioners and agencies really have so much power to do good work. It’s refreshing to see two large agencies giving back to their communities in such meaningful ways. I hope other agencies follow the lead.... Permalink
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Students in my Advanced PR Writing have been blogging the last five weeks. It was an experiment on my part and it worked pretty well. In fact, I think next term I’ll have the students start sooner so they have time to find their blogging “voice.” Stu’s Clues: In my PR Thinkin’ ChairFirst of all, more than a little odd that Stu references the perennial children’s favorite – down the the “thinking chair” – but he did an outstanding job with this assignment and I hope he keeps his blog up. My favorite posts -I Keep a Fire Extinguisher in my Pants (ok, I admit it, I mostly like the headline. funny!)NBA Severs Ties with Tim Hardaway PRemonitionsDanielle Galluzzo is a rising star. Not afraid to ask when she doesn’t know, contribute when she has a good idea and commit herself fully to every assignment (whether it is a new... Continue Reading
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John Wagner of On Message posts today about how NOT to look for a job. His experience is just an example of the lack of common courtesy that is all too common. Another example – last week, the managers of the student-run PR agency at the Univ. of Oregon conducted interviews and “hired” for Spring term (students don’t get paid, but all are treated as agency employees and the students can get credit). After doing nearly 20 interviews, the 8 hires were called and congratulated and those who weren’t hired were also called. One student who was not hired proceeded to question the manager on her decision. The manager told that her best advice would be for the student to work on her professionalism – being sure to dress appropriately for an interview and coming to the interview prepared. Rather than saying, “thank you. I will work on that and... Continue Reading
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According to the Bad Pitch Blog (love them!), the answer is between and three and five pitches. And sometimes it can take up to a year to work a good story in a key media outlet. Based on Kevin Dugan’s anecdotal evidence, this post does a great job of giving you solid guidelines for managing client expectations for a media relations campaign. I suggest you save it, bookmark it, print it, tattoo it somewhere, print it, whatever. I have certainly had clients that, despite my best efforts to manage expectations, never understood why the ratio wasn’t 1:1 (pitches:stories). I love Kevin and the Bad Pitch Blog for laying this out so simply. The Bad Pitch Blog: The Math Behind Good Pitches... Permalink
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The Creative Group recently polled 250 marketing and communication professionals about the most overused buzz words. The problem with buzzwords, of course, is that when overused they become meaningless and cliche. When in doubt, use clear concrete language that cannot be misunderstood by any audience. The same language should be effective when talking to your peers as it does when talking to a client… or, the real test, when talking to your mom. Here are some of my favorites form the Creative Group’s survey: (and my commentary) Outside-the-box: outside what box? i think this is so overused that the outside of the box has actually become the inside of the box. Synergy: Guilty of using. Probably even in public. Bad. The big idea: Isn’t this the name of that TV show on CNN with at advertising guy? Hmmm… ROI: This one is tough. In some situations, you’re almost expected to... Continue Reading
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PR Week, the key industry trade publication has awarded agencies, individuals and campaigns in 33 categories for 2007. My favorites: Community Relations Campaign of the Year: Erasing Asthma (with no client and no budget)Public Affairs Campaign of the Year: Reaching “legacy moms” with an environmental campaignCause Related Campaign of the Year: Lemons to Lemonade – lemonade stands for charityPR Student of the Year: No, not from the UofO, but Meghan Stafford had some really good ideas And for you students soon-to-be on the job market:Small PR Agency of the Year: DG&AMid-Size PR Agency of the Year: Chandler ChiccoLarge Agency of the Year: Golin Harris... Permalink
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