S uccess

Hugh M. Culbertson Chapter Ohio University PRSSA Spring 2009 Edition

Inside this edition

Events remain as effective promotional tool

Staying invovled in PR over summer 2Org. Comm. major potential alternative 3Keeping in contact with professionals 3The “Blog” debate 4PaRtners Conferece recap 5Snippets of where Seniors are headed 5Memories of a successful year 6Helpful faculty mentors 7

Tips to have a positive rst day

8Huelsman elected to national committee 9Studying abroad helpful to PR students 11

Lately, the popular topic in

the public relations eld is use of

social media; however, while theonline world presents a wealth of opportunity to heighten awarenessof the client, PR pros should alsolook to connect with audiences

ofine through the use of special

events, also known as eventmarketing.What exactly is this tactic?Business strategist Eugene Lojexplains on his Web site that eventmarketing is “using an event…toengage perspective consumers,build awareness, or market acompany’s products and services.”Don’t let the word “market”deter you from this tactic’s appeal.Public relations is about buildingrelationships between a brandand its consumers. Because thepurpose of event marketing insome way always goes back to thatgoal, it clearly belongs under thepublic relations umbrella, especiallywhen its effectiveness is taken intoconsideration.Hosting an event is anextremely effective way to foster brand awareness because it

allows the consumer to have rst-

hand experience with the product,service or company, making it morememorable.According tothe 2009 annualsurvey of corporate salesand marketingexecutivesconductedby MeetingPlannersInternational,23 percent of respondentschose eventmarketing asthe marketingdiscipline thatprovides thegreatest returnon investment.In order for such success tobe accomplished, logistical planningmust take place. For example,an event should not be held on a

national holiday or pseudo-national

holiday (e.g. Super Bowl Sunday).It is also important to integrate athoroughly developed strategy intoall aspects of event planning andproduction.One way to be strategic and

get the most bang-for-your-buck

in staging an event is to employsuccessful PR tactics in promotion.Not only are you building brandawareness among those whoattend the event, but you are alsobuilding it among television news,newspaper and social mediaaudiences. Furthermore, the brandshould be considered througheverything, from the venue chosen(i.e. is it luxurious or simple) to

the activities (i.e. carnival-esquegames or wine-tasting) to the free

souvenirs (i.e. a product sample).Events are mediumsthrough which brand messagesare communicated. Although theInternet allows people to connectwith one another anytime and

anywhere, the value of face-to-face

interaction is still extremely high.Successful PR professionals willknow to incorporate both into their strategic plans.

Sandi Combs

Page 2 PRSuccess Spring 2009 Edition

Beyond internships, break provides opportunities for growth in PR

Nicole Bersani

Internships maybe one of the best waysto gain experience;however, some studentsneed to make money, donot have time becauseof other activities, or maynot have been hired for an internship. While other students might be interningin PR roles, either creatingpress releases or justgetting coffee, no studentshould fall behind in publicrelations experiencesbecause of the summer break.The summer isa great time for workingon those professionalnetworks built from theprevious school year,asking for informationalinterviews, researchinginteresting companies,working on social networks

and nding shadowing

opportunities.Hartley Mikus,Account Executive for Fahlgren Mortine and anOhio University alumna,said when contactingprofessionals in networks,“take the time to type up

an e-mail telling them

things about yourself andasking them how thingsare going—just catchup—or if they are in thesame area as you, getcoffee or lunch. It’s alwaysgood to keep building your network and reinforcingthose contacts.”Mikus advisesstudents also to seek outinformational interviewswith professionals that

may not be in the eld

students are directlystudying. For this reason,she recalled in college,she thought she wouldnever work in an agency,and now she is workingfor one of the largest PR

rms in the nation.

“Not only isit important to doinformational interviews, itis important to do them witha variety of people,” saidMikus.“Beforeyou talkto them,givethem atime limitand be respectful of thattime limit. Business cardsand writing thank youletters are great as well.”Bryan Blaise,Account Executivefor Fleishman Hillard,explained informationalinterviews are importantbut “learning or further developingsolidtransferrable skills shouldbe the goal of your summer.”Developing theseskills could include readingbooks such as

TheTipping Point

by MalcolmGladwell, recommendedby Blaise, or

The Elementsof Style

by Strunk andWhite, recommendedby Alexandra Barkulis,Assistant AccountExecutive for FinancialDynamics. Also, keepup on blogs and onlinemedia sources such as

prdaily.com, acker.net,

prweek.com, mediapost.com, and ragan.com,recommended by Mikus.It is good tounderstand the basicsof the PR world—howto utilize it and how tocontribute—however, it isgood to learn about PRfrom different views aswell. Mikus said that PRstudents should learn thebasics,but alsospecializein asubjectthey areinterested

in such as nonprot

organizations or a sportsteam. This way, you havethe roots within PR butalso have the option to

branch out into a eld you

know best. This also goes

hand-in-hand with whatBarkulis said about ndinga related eld to PR.

“Know somethingbesides PR and know itwell. Know it in additionto communication,” saidBarkulis. “Communication

is your rst and foremost

skill, but know somethingelse as well.”Social networksare another great wayto keep up with PRskills. Twitter, LinkedIn,PROpenMic,Facebook, Flickr,YouTube and blogs(whether creating or reading) are just a few of many social media toolsPR students can utilize.Tressa L. Robbins,Vice President for MediaContacts at BurrellesLucesaid “it’s a good idea toget on Twitter and begin“shadowing” (stalking) PRpros—young and old—togain perspective andknowledge of what’s goingon in the industry. Be sureto follow the #PRentry and#PRintern hashtags sothat when you are readyto intern, you’ll alreadyhave a good idea of whatfolks are looking for andwhat kinds of internshipsare out there.”Robbins alsosuggested joining theLinkedIn group for publicrelations internships and

entry-level jobs, which are

extensions of the Twitter hashtags previouslymentioned.Just remember,there is a differencebetween “managing”these social networks

and having one in the rst

place.“In social media,manage your onlinevisibility,” said Hartley.“Even in college, you donot have a professionaland then a personal

prole—they are the

same. Be cautious; don’tcomplain on Twitter. Your

“It’s always good to keep building your network.”

Continued on page 10

-Hartley Mikus

Adria Courtot

Mantaining professional networks important for student growthOrganizational Communication major provides alternative to PR

In today’s competitivecorporate world, PR professionalsare expected of to possess strongwritten and verbal communicationskills. The ambiguity of these

credentials begs the question to

many students: Which major willprovide the best preparation for a job in PR?Traditionally, students whowish to pursue a public relationsdegree will declare Journalismmajors. However, some studentshave opted to take a differentapproach.The School of Communication Studies is analternative for students, whowish to study the fundamentals of communication, while pursuing a

“related eld” to supplement their

major. The school is divided intothree programs: OrganizationalCommunication, Communicationand Public Advocacy, and HealthCommunication. Typically students,who select public relations astheir specialized area, declareorganizational communicationmajors.Career Services Adviser,Brandon Bute attributes studentinterest in communication studies

to the exibility it offers.

“Students view it as a moreversatile degree. It gives them moreoptions and doesn’t lock them intoone particular path,” said Bute.A graduate of the

Kathleen Haney Continued on page 4



Network, network, network.Everybody who has listened toweekly PRSSA speakers hasheard about the importance of networking. Maybe you’ve joinedTwitter, cleaned up your Facebook,

and made a LinkedIn prole, but

now what? There are plenty of opportunities to make contacts withprofessionals, but more importantly,how do you keep them?

The rst step in networking

is the initial contact. With the help of social media sites, such as Twitter or LinkedIn, this has become aseasy as clicking a button. However,simply following someone onTwitter does not constitute “makinga contact.” Introduce yourself, leavea message, make an impressionand your presence known.Another great place to makecontacts is readily available at theweekly PRSSA meetings. Not onlydo meetings provide the opportunityto network with other members,the featured speakers make greatadditions to any network. Speakersoften stick around after meetings, soinstead of grabbing a business cardand rushing out, wait around andintroduce yourself. This will come inhandy if you intend to contact themin the future as they will be morecapable of putting a face with your name.While making contacts can

be difcult, especially for those who

are timid, keeping contacts is thehard part. Once people are in your network, it will take some effort onyour part to keep them there.Engage with your contacts,whether that means asking

questions or starting a conversation

in response to something they havesaid. Utilize your contacts as sourcesin schoolwork or extracurricular

activities; it will atter them that you

think of them as a knowledgeablesource. Heather Farr, a freshmanin PRSSA, uses interviewing as a

successful networking technique.

“When I interview, I almostalways do it by phone because Ifeel that it is more personal” Farr said. “Also, I don’t keep it strictlybusiness. After the interview, I ask