Rolling with the punches

I hope everyone has had a great 2 weeks! I feel like we haven't met in ages.

I have worked briefly in PR, I have gotten my feet damp in with PR world and so far I have loved it. I am taking PR F&P to try to sharpen my skills and learn as much as I can. To my delight, this experience has been much more then I expected. Thus far I have learned and liked the following:

1) Working with a diverse and UNIQUE (yes...I said it) group of people. Everyone in the class brings something important and significant to the table. I find this relevant to the PR world because it is an industry where you will have to work with a wide variety of people. Through our weekly meetings and our group assignments we learn to work with people, which is hugely important.

2) The importance of writing, and writing creatively. Throughout my short career, I have found writing to be the hardest yet most important part. I am excited to improve my skills and keep learning.

3) Most importantly, this past week I learned a very important lesson...roll with the punches. Last week, while doing some work in my local Starbucks, I decided to take a brief bathroom break, I left my purse, jacket and computer on the table, stupid? Yes. Upon my return to the table, my laptop had been stolen, making it the most expensive bathroom break I have ever taken. Unfortunately, in the PR industry (and in life), crap happens, but the world does not stop and you must learn to roll with the punches.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend...and take all your belongings with you when you take a bathroom break.

PRFandP Curveball: Reporter on Deadline!

You knew that curveballs were in the works. And it only makes sense that we close the Assignment Four loop with a media relations role-play exercise.

In a perfect world, everyone will participate. Unfortunately, the world isn't perfect, and we only have so much time on our hands. So, we'll play it by ear.

That means everyone needs to be prepared, just in case you're one of the randomly selected media pitchers. (I'll explain more on Monday.)

In a real-world setting, PR pros must always be prepped for that reporter on deadline. And if you don't pitch on Monday, you'll get your chance. 

Situation
You recently targeted a journalist/blogger for your Amazon Kindle Fire story pitch.  He's flooded with story ideas, and he's also on deadline, so he asks you to hop on a Skype video call to share the details. Plus, as one of Amazon's new PR pros, he wants to e-meet you. You agree to speak on Monday evening, 11/7. 

The Activity
You're Amazon's PR pro, and I'm the targeted journalist/media pro. I'll ask a series of basic questions about your pitch (e.g., 5 W's and an H). You'll clearly and succinctly answer the questions.

This is an exercise in pitching the media. You've piqued the media's interest, you have a "live" meeting, and this is your chance to sell Amazon's POV and clinch the story.

Is your story idea/pitch appropriate for your target audience? In this outlet? The journalist/blogger will make the call based upon how well you pitch/sell the idea.

Pitch Tips

• What is the most important information?
• How do you pitch your Kindle Fire story so that it's meaningful (for the media person and his audience), without being vague or fluffy?
• Speak with crisp, clear, active-voice language (I sometimes call this "speaking in bullet points").
• Why do readers of this outlet need this information?  And why should this outlet be the one to publish the information?
• You're pitching a story idea, but you're also telling a story. Keep it real.

Why Am I Sharing This on Saturday Afternoon? 

• I promised a few curve balls, and I'm a man of my word.
• Deadlines force you to consider the essentials.
• Think fast on your feet!
• This is real-life public relations.
• Outside of public relations, this is real-life professional life (How many times has a manager said, "Can you stop by and give me a quick report on that project you've been working on?").
   

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If I Only Had a Heart...

There are similarities between the field of Intelligence and Public Relations. Public Relations is a 24 hour process; a process of hunting for stories and/or news angles, gathering and analyzing information. Public Relations requires a constant awareness of information. Technically, Public Relations never sleeps which means you never sleep. This is tough because I truly miss sleep. Whatever happened to nap time?! But I digress…

Like Intelligence, Public Relations requires creative thinking for strategic development and implementation. Public Relations also requires lots of writing (more than I ever expected). I absolutely hate Intelligence writing but writing is an aspect of Public Relations I am learning to love.

Unlike Intelligence, Public Relations requires a creative approach to writing that I thoroughly enjoy. Public Relations writing is less technical and more conversational. It is personal, open and honest. When I begin writing, I feel like I am talking to an old friend instead of facing an awkward first encounter with a stranger. Intelligence is an impersonal exchange of information. Public Relations develops and sustains personal relationships. I like that.

In a nutshell, Intelligence is like the Tin Man before he visits the Wonderful Wizard of Oz: well-meaning but stiff, mechanical and unloving. Public Relations is like the Tin Man after the visit: warm, welcoming and moveable. In Public Relations, you can express compassion. Public Relations requires a heart.

I am hoping to learn as much as possible about Public Relations. Because I am new to the field, I am a sponge soaking up everything around me. I enjoy the personal stories and lessons from classmates every Monday evening. I appreciate the candid openness of everyone and will take such lessons into consideration when I enter the field.

Come to the dark side young Sonia……

I had no true knowledge about the field of public relations. I read passages from the Occupational Outlook Handbook, but it does not do any justice to the real profession. Now about  1/3 into the PRF&P class what can I say? What do I like or dislike? I don’t know. It’s too early for me.

Choosing one aspect over another doesn’t make any sense. In any field, there will be tasks that are boring or tedious (i.e. research, interviews, press releases). I realize I must accept it all. The light and the dark. In fact, it is not what I think of public relations but how I have started to change as a result of my participation in this class. Here are a few warning signs that I want to share with my classmates. Warning: if anyone experiences any of these symptoms please do not hesitate to call Eric. He is to blame. 

Signs that you are slowly becoming indoctrinated into the darkness that is public relations:

1. Albeit unemployed, and owe your boyfriend money for the mortgage, you surreptitiously buy a Smartphone for those public relations interviews. Be prepared!

2. You refuse to watch Matt Lauer in the morning for his glib remark about Starbucks campaign to help find jobs.

3. You shush your boyfriend during television commercials because you are conducting research.

4. You pitch personal branding ideas to your potted plants.

5 Family is worried, when you mention during Sunday dinner, how you could have changed the public image of Benedict Arnold.

6. Mom calls your brother to ask,”¿quièn es thought leader?” Is your sister now in a cult?

 

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

GET COMFORTABLE WITH GETTING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

 Public relations, the media frontier. These are the missions of the course called PRF&P. It’s special 12-class mission. To explore new PR realms. To seek out new perspectives on strategic communications. To boldly take its students where they have not gone before.   

     This parody of the original Star Trek series’ opening can not touch its actual counterpart. But it highlights a central premise of the classic 1960’s sci-fi series; stepping out from familiar areas into the unknown. The same theme defines the PRF&P class.

      You may not be venturing into interstellar space with the Starship Enterprise. But the PRF&P course is taking you to achievement milestones.  You are taking a class by webcam. You are being exposed to cutting-edge concepts. You are regularly blogging, and responding to other students’ blogs. You are revising group project PR pitches.

  And the most ambitious undertakings are looming the horizon; preparing group project PR plans and final presentations.  The PRF&P course isn’t even half over. Yet by now, you realize the theme which runs throughout the class: doing new things.

   That fact underscores the importance of the following saying. Get comfortable with getting out of your comfort zone. I didn’t make it up. I heard it from Dr. Rob Gilbert. He is a sports psychology professor at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ. 

   Gilbert offers free daily motivational messages through his Success Hotline. You can hear his recorded three minute pep talks for free at 973-743-4690.  Three minutes may be short. Yet, Gilbert makes every second count with his spirited insight.

   Getting comfortable getting out of your comfort zone is one of Gilbert’s best tips. Following that advice boosts your chances of success.  Do it and you increase your ability to take career furthering risks. Do it and your fear of failure diminishes. You’ll find it much easier to accept challenges, which paves the way for career progress.

     By taking risks, you’re opening yourself up to more opportunities. If you fail, you still benefit by bolstering your personal and professional growth. As Gilbert had once said, Thomas Edison did not fail 10,000 times before inventing the light bulb. He learned 10,000 ways not to create a light bulb.  

     By getting out of your comfort zone, you’ll embrace, not ignore, chances to enlarge your social and professional network. You’ll welcome, not avoid, unheard ideas and mind-flexing lessons. You’ll enjoy, not dread, doing tasks you never tried before.  And PFR&P hinges on those aspects.

     Consider this. What do you think made Star Trek so appealing? It was the Starship Enterprise crew’s unflinching ability to venture out into the undiscovered.  They met Klingons, Romulans, Gorns, Tholians, and numerous other aliens. The spacefarers discovered planet after planet, civilization after civilization, and star after star. They accomplished all this because the starship’s crew valued initiative over comfort.

      Look at it from the reverse. Would Enterprise would be so legendary if the ship never dared to leave the solar system?  What could Star Trek ever be if Captain Kirk was content to orbit our system’s planets and asteroids? Would the series make history if the Enterprise’s crew cowered at the thought of meeting extraterrestrials?  Perhaps as the 23rd century version of McHale’s Navy.

    Back on present day Earth, there’s one bunch that has been learning the value of leaving its comfort zone.  That’s the students of the Fall 2011 online PRF&P class. They have been gaining a much better understanding of public relations. That is due altogether to the students’ willingness to go what they never have gone before. And you know why that is so special?  We don’t have to wait for the 23rd century to see an enterprising group reaching for the stars.

Touching Base

Firstly - I’m on a power high from being granted administrator rights this week.  It’s a lot of fun, and there is so much we can do with this, our first crowdsourcing collaboration.  Working off Sonia’s base template, I’ve added a picture and a little welcome note which I would love for someone to either build on, or scratch completely with a new angle (perhaps a more serious or professional tone?).  Aside from a few layout and font tweaks, I’m saving the really cool stuff (here are some examples) for the next team mate to experiment with.

I came into this course looking for the ‘nuts & bolts’ of PR with a very limited understanding of the true scope and influence. 

What I like most about the industry so far: the platform it provides to encourage social & corporate change via the messages we put out there.

I’ve said it before but I am loving the authentic (yeah I know, buzzword alert) New PR approach. 

I dislike the concept of using ‘conflict’ tactics, but I think it’s down to an uneducated personal perspective and I would love to learn more about this area. 

An unexpected learning curve, but extremely rewarding one this early in the game, is our team project. Learning how to interact, negotiate, interpret and develop our PR Plan’s together is obviously such a necessity in the industry but something I didn’t factor, especially in the online learning environment. But I am very grateful for it.

Your PRFandP Reality Check

(This is the week's official blog post.)

This canine certainly didn't create anything like PRFandP, huh? Our conversations are anything but pointless.

Sonia and I hopped on a call about Assignment Four earlier this week. We also shared a laugh about this item in Ragan's PR Daily: 53 signs you work in public relations. While the item is tongue-in-cheek, there's a hint of truth to each of the 53 signs. Take a few minutes to read the list.

We're a  1/3 of the way through PRFandP, so let's do a  little self-assessment. A PRFandP group therapy session, if you will. Since we don't have an official assignment this week (other than Assignment 3 revisions), this seems like a fitting topic.

Each of you came to PRFandP with your own idea of public relations, the industry. Where do you stand today? (You don't have to love each and every part of the industry.) What part of PR do you enjoy? What could you do without? What are you hoping to learn in the next 1/3 of PRFandP?

We're all about new PR here, so feel free to select a point-of-view, and then be transparent, honest and candid. 

A Taste Of Winter Can't Chill Halloween

  Eric Chandler’s Halloween appearance as Superman on the PRF&P blog may have succeeded with flying colors. But I wish Batman could also have flashed his cape. Maybe he could have prevented Mr. Freeze from socking the Gotham metro area just before Oct. 31. Who would have predicted that? Who could have believed there’d be snow covered ground right on Halloween? Even the Joker would think that was a joke.  

   I know Commission Gordon isn’t laughing. Out where I live, about 30 miles northwest from Manhattan, things are still not back to normal. The police still have barricades around fallen trees, low hanging wires, and a few blacked out traffic lights.

   Nevertheless, the wintry fluke on Halloween did not deter about 100 kids from knocking on my door for candy.  They came in their colorful costumes between 4 and 8:30 p.m.; sometimes in groups of seven or eight. I had thought the 75 candy bars I had stacked by my front door would be more than enough.

  By 7 p.m., I ran out of sweets. I resorted to my backup supply of yellow pencils. By then, I saw the writing on the wall. The children’s Halloween spirit snapped the cold spell like witchcraft.  Many youngsters came to my porch laughing, prancing, and screaming “Trick or Treat.” Some of them exclaimed “Look what I got!” when I handed them candy. Almost all of them said “Thank you.”

  The evening’s darkness and frigidity did not stop children from swarming my street. My neighborhood teemed with colorfully attired little ones going from house to house. Their parents cheerfully accompanied them. Between all the visitors, and the steady stop-and-go of cars and minivans, you’d think there was a Halloween ball nearby.

  I think there’s a greater lesson in the heartwarming turnout I encountered on this snowy Oct. 31. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Determination wins out over setbacks. That fact, which youngsters exemplified on Halloween, applies to public relations. Namely, PR people who let an unforeseen blast of winter be their fall are selling themselves a snow job.       

Pocahontas saves more than John Smith...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MELISSA ANNOUNCES AFFORDABLE POCAHONTAS COSTUME SECRETS

NEW YORK, October 31, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) - Melissa Rodriguez (NASDAQ: MROD) today announced secrets to making your own Pocahontas costume. 

"Making your own costume is an affordable way to celebrate Halloween", Melissa said.  "The most important step is buying a dress you can wear after Halloween is over!".

Resources:

• Beige Dress - Century 21 Department Store
• Turquoise Jewelry - Burlington Coat Factory
• Oompa Loompa Makeup - CVS Loreal True Blend in Cappucchino

Yeah Baby!

Group costumes are my favorites! It was last year's Halloween celebration and to get in the party, we had to respect the theme: A 90's movie. What would have been yours?

Am I game (refering to the class intro subject)? I think so, I have decided to represent Foxy Cleopatra in the movie Gold member....???!!!! Yes yes even tho I have a skin whiter than the snow and mesuring 5"2', I did it. (I am the blond, curly one)

WHAT? hum, I was wearing some.... gold stuff.

Also, if anyone is asking about my friend's costume: No she wasn't representing Geri from The Spice Girls!!!

Oh I forgot, the principal character, here he is:

YEAH BABY!

It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Supermen

Eric Chandler: Pre-Op

Herbert Chavez: Post-Op

 

 Happy Halloween, PRFandP'ers!

Who wore it best? Even I have to vote for Superman-obsessed Herbert Chavez, the young man who has gone under-the-knife (several times) so that he could look like the Man of Steel.

Just a quick reminder that there will be no class tonight. Since we met on the NYU holiday, Columbus Day, please head out and enjoy your evening.

New PR is about sharing, and it would be great to see you -- in some kind of Halloween costume (past or present works).  It's not an assignment, per se, but consider it an unofficial extension of Assignment 4. 

Come on ... this will be fun. You are the news. Post your own Halloween photo, a snappy headline and the first paragraph of your Halloween press release.

 

Sparking headlines

Perhaps Eric’s link How to write a perfect email pitch intimidated you when you read: “Even if the rest of your email sounds like it was crafted by Shakespeare himself, non one will read it if the subject line scares them off.” Did you ever felt writing your best post ever but having no title for it? How much time did it takes you to come out with a decent headlines for your assignment 4 press release? Whether you are a PR pro, a reporter, or just blogging for fun, it is all about it.

What if it were as easy as that?

Warning: The language in that video might be a little...spicy

Crowdsourcing- Giving Students a Glimpse of the 'Real World' Before Graduation

I must admit that I was a bit confused with the definition of crowdsourcing even after watching the two video's Eric posted. I was wrong to think that linkedin was a perfect example of crowdsourcing. So, I did a little research on my own and found a website that I believe is a great crowdsourcing tool. The company is called Colspark (www.colspark.com).

Companies using students is mutually beneficial. Students represent a generation that can help an organization in need of innovative ideas and feedback. In turn, companies are giving students an outlet, via colspark.com, to express their thoughts and get a good look at the corporate world they will soon be a part of - hopefully.

The Brainnnnnnnnstorm (in a spooky Halloween voice)

Similar to Melissa, I can be quite coconutty! This week I decided to write about what first came to mind when reading about crowd sourcing.

I find the idea of crowd sourcing to be similar to one of the most effect tools within a PR work place: Brainstorming.

When trying to pitch a new client, I find the most affect way to generate ideas and strategies is to pull together people from all over your company for a brainstorm. The ideas of 10 people are far greater then the ideas of 1. If you find yourself with no one to brainstorm with, you can also talk your ideas over with your friends and family.

It is also important to remember that there is no such thing as “stupid questions” or “dumb ideas”. A brainstorm should be a non-judgmental creative thinking space where all ideas are helpful.

For example, when generating ideas for our most recent assignment, a brainstorm would be very beneficial.