PR In Action

To capture PR In Action, I showed one of my classmates and fellow MSCM majors Lauren Gilbert doing PR related to the school radio station, WGUR, that she works for.

A lot of times when people think or PR they think Events, Events, Events, but they don't think about EVERYTHING that goes into them. I've learned more and more about it since I started the major and there's so much more to it than anyone realizes.

Basically, any event is heavily PR as is the planning process, but one of the other most important parts is communication with the public to get them there to make the event a success. That is what I captured in my video. A small part of PR, but a major part nonetheless.

Where will I end up in PR? Lindsay Lohan's Agent, perhaps? (Case Study)

"Friday night, it's getting late, your friends are buggin' because they want to be out doing something before the night is over. Who do they turn to?? YOU!! You've always got a plan, always got people to call, always got places to go. Heck, Bud Light should make a Real Man of Genius commercial about you... Mr. After Hours Event Coordinator."

Today, I had an interesting conversation with my Public Relations teacher where we discussed what type of PR jobs would be a good fit for me in the future. She told me that she thinks the best fit for me would be something that changes every day. I think that this is true. I enjoy change and new experiences and think that I would thrive in a job that is fast paced.

One thing I know about myself is that I am always taking care of people. With my group of friends, I am the coordinator. This is not out of the ordinary for someone like me studying Public Relations but I always set everything up, keep people posted, and organize whatever we are doing. That is why when I saw the T-shirt shown above, I had to buy it – it is so me!

This very PR-esque trait about me, however, combined with my love for all things Entertainment is the reason I think I would be great in Entertainment PR. With the media’s huge involvement in the daily life of celebrities these days, it seems that many of them have their Publicists on speed dial. They stay in close contact with them and the Publicist helps them in many aspects of their life – they set everything up, keep everyone posted, and organize things just like I do with my friends.

Following up on an idea I had for a blog for this semester, I wanted to post a small case study of something going on in the news lately and imagine myself as the PR practitioner in that situation. Anyone who reads Entertainment news, blogs, etc. knows that there is A LOT going on Lindsay Lohan’s life recently. She seems in and out of a tumultuous relationship, there are rumors of drug and substance abuse, and her family is severely under the scrutiny of the media. Here’s what I would do if I were her publicist:

1. If Lindsay is abusing drugs and/or alcohol, that is the first thing that needs to be stopped. I would recommend leaving LA and going to rehab to start preparing to get her life under control.

2. Lindsay’s next step would be distancing herself from her Ex and any other bad influences in her life. She needs to start out fresh.

3. After rehab if needed and cutting out the bad to start over fresh, I believe Lindsay should hire a financial planner to get her finances under control and address any current business contracts she has to assess her obligations.

4. Improvement is a long process, but once Lindsay is feeling better and starting to return to more to herself, I believe she needs to come clean to the public. They will not stop speculating until they really know what is going on. Whether a magazine interview, a TV interview, or a press conference, she needs to get herself on the same page as the public and let them know she is back.

5. When she is truly ready to work again, I believe she needs to finish recording the album she is contracted to do for her record label and do a movie that she is passionate about. At this point, she does not need to focus on the money. She needs to ease herself back into her career doing something she loves to get adjusted again. If she is ready and able to do something she is passionate about, the passion may come through and the public may begin to see her as they used to.

I definitely thing being a celebrity PR agent would be a good fit for me. It is fun just thinking about what it would be like and I know I would love it. And if Lindsay Lohan needs my assistance, I am available this June!

1,2,3: Things I learned from the Athletics Auction

In my last post on this blog, I discussed the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the Athletics Auction in a SWOT Analysis. The Auction was such a huge part of this semester and my college career for that matter, however, that I felt it deserved more than I covered in the last post.
My PR Teacher discussed with our class today how the Auction was one of the best experiences we could have possibly had to learn what PR is like in a real life scenario or event like this one. I had been thinking about that a lot since the auction. As the biggest event I have done at this point in my college career, I feel like I have come a long way in my experiences since the auction. Therefore, I wanted to do a post of a few of the things I learned:

1. Plan ahead
From the point that you know about an event that is happening, it is never too early to start planning and getting things done. Being a PR professional almost makes you like an artist and an event can be like a piece of their art. Creativity will give an event its edge and the more time you have to be creative, the ideas will keep growing and growing until they are the best they can be.

2. Know when you can’t plan ahead
In PR, it is generally good to plan ahead, but it is also good to know when things are out of your control. By nature, PR (especially in event planning) becomes chaotic at times. Do all that you can do at the beginning, but when it comes down to crunch time, just know that you did what you could and take everything else that gets thrown at you in stride.

3. Keep a good attitude/Think positive
In times of great tension, people sometimes let stress get the best of them. Not only in PR but also in everyday life, keep everything in perspective. All you can do is try your best. Everything always works out as long as you keep focused and keeping a good attitude is, without a doubt, the BEST way to do that.

I never want to hear the word "easel" again ; )

Well, the auction is over! As usual, it was a great experience and I learned A LOT (More to come on that later). Also as usual in the world of PR, I learned both through both successes and mistakes. To say positive and negative, I believe, is too strongly worded because the auction went very smooth. But there are always improvements that could be made. I will discuss both our successes and shortcomings through a SWOT analysis.
Strengths
In terms of strengths, there were many. We had a great theme thanks to the winning pitch team that came off better than I could have ever expected. We really do have a lot of talent in our class. We also had many creative and great ideas that gave the auction the wow factor. I saw it come together over months and still felt shocked by the greatness of the end result. A final strength that I feel made the auction what it was is hard work. Speaking for myself, I put everything I had into the auction. I know that everyone else did too. It was time consuming and stressful and very hard work, but in the end, we did it and it was so worth it.
Weaknesses
In terms of weaknesses, I truly don’t feel there were many. It would have been nice to not have been pressed and working until the very last minute in a stressful environment. Realistically, however, it was our first time planning an event to this capacity and nothing will ever go perfect. That is what I’m realizing Public Relations is really about. Taking what is thrown at you in stride, dealing with it accordingly, and learning to do it better each time.
Opportunities
There were several opportunities in this instance. The main goal of the auction was to raise money for athletics and we did it. I believe we raised under $30,000 which is a lot of money. In terms of the class, we also had the opportunity to gain great experience and learn new things. I know I definitely did.
Threats
As previously stated, the goal of this event was to raise money. We did, and we raised a lot, but the money raised was down from last year. Obviously, our biggest threat was the economy. People are not spending money the way they used to and have to conserve during this time of economic crisis. Another threat could have simply been the fact that it was Masters Weekend. What can you do?
In the end, I believe the strengths of the auction definitely outweighed the weaknesses and we more capitalized on the opportunity than were taken down by the threats. In the end, I will say what I seem to say every time I do something for this class – What an experience!