Dad goes digital

I’ve been talking with my dad about his public relations.

Not his personal pr, but his professional public relations strategy. While his company, Hazelden, does work with a PR firm, my dad hasn’t done much to promote his talents. And talented he is.

Although, I’m a bit biased.

Anyways, to get his pr going, I pitched to him the idea of a blog. His blog will fuction more as a Web site that helps people find out more about what my dad does and how he can be contacted. By the way, my dad specializes in addiction medicine and gives speeches on this topic. I think eventually he wants this to be his main source of income.

One of the things we have in common is our love to travel. Which I think is one of the reasons my dad loves to go and give his speeches. Don’t get me wrong, he is very passionate about what he does, but the travel is definitely a plus for him.

Any advice for his site? What I’m thinking is a WordPress site that includes what he does, his qualifications, what he’s done, some news clippings and links. I’m also trying to convince my dad to do a few blog posts every so often, but I’m not sure if I can sell him on the writing idea! I think I’ll check out some examples online, but check back later for a link!

Beijing Olympics

Not another blog post about the Olympics.

I know what you’re thinking. But, this is my blog so I guess I can decide what goes on it.

Anyways, as always, there seems to be a lot of bad public relations going on at the 2008 Olympics. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Olympics. I’d watch them all day if I could.

But it saddens me to see the true purpose and meaning of the games getting lost in the competitive spirit between teams. I’m not going to list examples, you can find them yourself if you’re really interested in seeing some seemingly racist comments. Or photos.

It does look like the United States attempted to do some precautionary public relations tactics. I recently read an article about how some U.S.  athletes learned about Chinese customs and etiquite. I think it was a great idea.

I think they may have wanted to expand this informational briefing to include a few other cultures. Or maybe just explain what is the bare minimum for being acceptable… Either way, I think it’s a great example of precautionary public relation tactics.

Keeping it real.

Imagine a scenario where you have a problem and you go to extended lengths to figure out how to fix it effectively. You write up plans, memos, charts, budgets and presentations. But the problem isn’t real, and your plan won’t ever be used.

I have trouble committing the time necessary to create a truly excellent communication plan in my public relations classes because I know there isn’t the slightest possibility they will ever be used. It’s difficult for me to justify spending a huge amount of time on something that won’t end up affecting anything but my grade. Of course, I spend the necessary time to complete the project, but I still feel that there are people out there that would benefit from the skills of my classmates.

Now imagine a scenario where students work with local non-profit organizations, or even other student groups on campus, to create communication plans that could actually be used. I would love to see a public relations class similar to Allen Hall Public Relations, a student-run public relations group that I’m a part of at the University of Oregon.

Students could bring their own contacts and work with the professor to find an appropriate partner who needs a public relations plan. In essence, the class could be run like a small agency, and students could get experience with real-world problems as they arise. I’m not talking anything major like a pr plan for Safeway, but my professors often mention that smaller non-profits are often in need for some pr planning.

I may be crazy, and my idea for a public relations planning class may be way out there, but I think some students may agree that they might be more invested if they knew their plan may actually be put into action.

Although, even in the work environment, not every plan sees the light of day. But it would be nice to know that my plan has a chance.

Mamma Mia!

It worked.

The public relations ploy of this play worked on me.

Management of the Mamma Mia Production that recently came to the Hult Center in Eugene, Ore., offered a pair of tickets to any sorority member who wanted them under the condition the member would use the tickets and get dressed up for the play. Of course, they also asked that we talk up the play if we enjoyed ourselves.

I took them up on the offer, and so did much of Greek Life. I wasn’t the only Greek member in the balcony last Tuesday. I suspect the management of the play wanted opening night to be sold out and it wasn’t looking good, hence the free tickets. The Hult center wasn’t packed for opening night, but there were a lot of people there.

The musical was great. I’ve never been to one so I don’t have much to compare to, but it was a great experience. It’s not often that a college student like me can afford to spend $35 or more dollars on a one night outing, so it was great that the company offered the tickets for free. I’ve talked up the musical enough in the past week to have earned them back their money, I do believe.

We talk about these kind of public relation tactics in class and it was nice to see that such a tactic actually works in the “real world.” It’s hard to measure the effects of a good public relations plan, so it’s gratifying to experience it first hand and I can use this experience after I graduate.

Thanks Mamma Mia!

Losing campaigns

I lost my ASUO campaign last week. Not the best feeling, but I’m over it. I think.

While I didn’t win, I did gain a lot of knowledge about campaigning. Over the two weeks of primaries and general elections, there were many grievances filed and even more controversy surrounding the elections.

I was astounded by how many people really take student elections so seriously. But, I guess that’s not really the point of this post.

Previously when I considered my future career, a career in political campaigning never seemed attractive. But, after my brush with political campaigns, I have a new interest in the process.

Our campaign was managed similarly to a public relations plan. The challenge was to get certain students elected, the situation was analyzed, and there were various strategies used to get our slate elected.

This campaign definitely recognized the fact that people needs to receive messages more than once to really understand and retain them. Our plan also recognized that not everyone receives messages in the same way. We used t-shirts, we used ad campaigns, we handed out leaflets, we hung door hangers, we spoke one-on-one and we addressed large groups. All, or course, were in line with campaign rules.

What I’m trying to say is that I have a new appreciation for public relations campaign management. Although I haven’t really tried it, the little taste I got this term changed my mind.

Video News Releases

I’ve been hearing more and more about the controversy surrounding VNRs, or video news releases.

A video news release is similar to a print news release, but it is all video and audio. Often a VNR is similarly formatted with a similar style as a broadcast news segment.

In the last week I have heard about VNRs in my electronic media, or broadcast, classes and also in my public relations activity, Allen Hall Public Relations.

Both references were brought up when we were discussing ethical issues. My electronic media class was discussing the ethical issues brought up with the use of VNR’s as hard news. Some examples of broadcast news stations passing off VNR’s as broadcast segments the station produced. Some examples can be found via this link.

As the only public relations major in the class, of course the professor asked me what public relations professionals think about this practice. A recent study in the Public Relations Journal found that VNR’s that are labeled in the broadcast actually reflect more credibility on both the the broadcast station and the sponsor producing the segment. This article can be found via this link.

It looks like we agree. In my electronic media classes we agreed that the use of VNR’s as original news material is unethical. The discussion in my public relations group followed similar views on the topic.

What do you think?

Blog, blog, blog

I’m currently at the New Venture Championship, the event that my team in Allen Hall Public Relations represents. The NVC is a business plan competition for graduate students from across the U.S. and the world.

So far I have spent much of the event observing group presentations and blogging about the experience. We have now concluded the Final Presentation Round and the teams are getting individual feedback from judges.

When I woke up at 7 a.m. this Saturday morning, I was not too excited about the prospect of staying until 8 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Portland. But now that I’m here, I’m having more fun than I ever thought I would. It’s been a great experience not only to blog about the teams and the progress at the competition, but the presentations have been interesting and engaging. It’s also interesting to talk and hear about the experiences of the individual team members.

We find out the winners in about three hours! Check out the NVC Web site later to see which teams won.

Complementary major

I finally completed all of my projects for my field production class.

I chose electronic media to be my second major because I feel that many of the PR tactics have become increasingly digital and many focus on video. That being said, some of the projects have been posted to youtube.com.

With a group of five others, Dina Kupfer, Deborah Knauf, Sarah Miller, Shanead Mueller and Jason Shannon, we completed a PSA, a short documentary, a trailer and a dramatic short. If you need a good laugh, click the links to check them out.

My favorite is the PSA. You’ll see why. It’s pretty funny.

Enjoy!

Not just another hard class

As I said before, I’m very much interested when I hear someone ask a public relations student, or professional, what public relations is.

At a recent gathering, a public relations student answered by describing what his role was as the public relations adviser to the campaign team. He talked about how he advises the candidates on how to answer questions from the press. He also mentioned that he would help prepare the candidates if they were to be interviewed on television.

This reminded me of my second major in electronic media. In my electronic media classes I learn about television production, framing, editing, sound, and many other components of film. But I realized how this might be helpful in public relations.

Suppose I was representing a candidate who was to be interviewed on television, I would know that if the camera man was shooting the candidate from a low angle, it would make the candidate seem authoritative and strong. This can be a bad thing, or a good thing.

If the cameraman was shooting down at the candidate, it would diminish the candidate. This would definitely be a bad image to put out.

I would know that often a hand held microphone or a desk microphone may lend some authority and credibility to the candidate. Simple bits of knowledge like this can very much change the outcome of an interview.

Electronic media again is a boost to my public relations education. It’s good to know that these difficult classes aren’t for nothing.

What is PR?

It’s always interesting to me when I hear public relations professionals describe what public relations really is.

The definition I like the most so far is from my newest public relations professor, Tom Hagley. He says that public relations is influencing behavior.

I think this fits well. Of all the things that professionals do each day, influencing behavior is the common theme between each action. Whether it’s writing news releases, preparing speech notes, or even blogging, the end result centers on influencing the behavior of others.

Today I had several opportunities to influence behavior. I used an e-mail to encourage sorority members to complete AlcoholEdu, an online drug and alcohol course. I’m not sure how much behavior I really influenced though. Anyone have any ideas?

Then I went on to class and then to the campaign trailer for my slate outside the EMU. There I helped influence others to vote in the upcoming ASUO elections by selling 25 cent pizza. I think this tactic might have been a bit more successful at influencing behavior. Don’t forget to vote next week on DuckWeb!

Finally, I returned home to meet with two others to plan our upcoming philanthropic barbecue that Chi Omega is hosting with a fraternity, AEPi. There we discussed how to influence the behavior of students on campus to attend our barbecue and donate to the Make A Wish Foundation and the philanthropy of AEPi. We decided on posters, a press release and in person announcements to increase attendance. We’ll see how that goes in a matter of time. Stop by and check out the barbecue Thursday,  May 8.

I’m off to influence some more behavior. Whose behavior have you influenced today?