In all honesty, the Bateman competition has been my absolute best chance to put all of my pr skills to practice. I've been amazed at how this experience has challenged and enhanced my knowledge and skills in the field of public relations. The internships I've had have been pretty good, but it's totally different when you're planning goals, objectives, and tactics totally from scratch...and also implementing them at that!
At our first team meeting, our advisor labeled me as "the glue of the team" and named me the account executive. Let me be the first to say that it's just a title. I get to handle some of the administrative duties such as turning in paperwork and sending email overveiws, but other than that - I just fill in where there's a need! It's baffling how well our team has worked together, I only hope that working with others in the working world will be this easy.
The competition's client, Family Caregiving 101, has required us to perform lots of research on the topic, since those of us on the team don't have much knowledge about the issue of caregiving. After exploring the resources in our area, we found a wealth of services and information for caregivers and have worked to connect caregivers with those services. We've implemented an awesome local web site to do just that. We also had a very successful caregiving fair where we had a panel discussion and gave local service providers a chance to share their information with attending caregivers.
As we complete the final phases of the project, I look forward using the skills I've learned in my job...that is when I get one...we'll have to save that for another post!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
New Media and PR
Yes, whether we like it or not, new media is raising its far-reaching and interesting head. Honestly, I'm not Internet savvy. It's hard for me to have time to search the web for blog posts and other social media, but I know that with the changing pr tactics that I will have to learn and learn to like! Because my PR campaigns class requires that I start to learn more about blogging, I'm beginning to somewhat understand its importance. I propose that my college add a social media course to our required major courses in order to better enable students to become in tune with today's new public relations strategies.
Forward (Erin Caldwell's blog) explains that though students may not blog everyday, they should still be aware and know how to use the resources that blogging provides.
I've learned so much from the blog posts that I've read and I'm looking forward to learning more and developing my blogging techniques to catch up with the new media trends! Wish me luck!
Forward (Erin Caldwell's blog) explains that though students may not blog everyday, they should still be aware and know how to use the resources that blogging provides.
I've learned so much from the blog posts that I've read and I'm looking forward to learning more and developing my blogging techniques to catch up with the new media trends! Wish me luck!
Friday, February 9, 2007
PR vs. Advertising
Before I knew that I wanted to go into public relations, I clumped marketing, public relations, and advertising in the same vague category. Now that I've learned more about the feilds, I realize how distinctly different each field is from the other. Though, yes, they are all communication in some form, each has a specific and strategic role to play in branding, image and publicity.
Recently an article published in The Advertiser highlighted the differences between advertising and public relations and admitted that advertising doesn't have the control it once had when attempting to target certain audiences. They give a lot of credit to new innovations in the public relations field, hence the name of the article "PR Steals the Spotlight."
I believe PR, as opposed to advertising, has the ability to be more innovative and flexible when reaching target audiences. PR practioners are able to find the people, what they do, where they are, what they read, etc. and formulate plans to best reach them in an effective way. We are able to RELATE with our audiences, instead of flashing 30 minute tv slots or full pages adds in their face.
Not to bash advertising by any means, because pr uses a lot of similar tactics. I'm just saying that people in business or any field for that matter should be on the look out for public relations to be a major front-runner in all forms of communication. Yes, we're stealing the spotlight, and get ready 'cause we're here to stay.
Recently an article published in The Advertiser highlighted the differences between advertising and public relations and admitted that advertising doesn't have the control it once had when attempting to target certain audiences. They give a lot of credit to new innovations in the public relations field, hence the name of the article "PR Steals the Spotlight."
I believe PR, as opposed to advertising, has the ability to be more innovative and flexible when reaching target audiences. PR practioners are able to find the people, what they do, where they are, what they read, etc. and formulate plans to best reach them in an effective way. We are able to RELATE with our audiences, instead of flashing 30 minute tv slots or full pages adds in their face.
Not to bash advertising by any means, because pr uses a lot of similar tactics. I'm just saying that people in business or any field for that matter should be on the look out for public relations to be a major front-runner in all forms of communication. Yes, we're stealing the spotlight, and get ready 'cause we're here to stay.
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