Tips from Chris Davis

Chris Davis, director of integrated communication at Fi-Plan Partners, spoke to Principles of PR on Friday, April 13th. Davis is a Samford alum and has had many life experiences to make him a well-rounded professional. Davis’s presentation was both interesting and relevant and provided the class with plenty of advice.

Besides his useful, general career advice, Davis spoke a lot about internet marketing and SEO:

-”Videos bump SEO.” Davis explained that videos are crucial in SEO and keep the audience interested and checking back more frequently.

-Keywords are key to optimizing SEO. Davis taught the class how to use keywords and how to choose them to keep our websites on the top of Google search results.

-Top 5 in using SEO:

Keywords:
Links
Changing/new content
Videos
Image tagging
Davis’s presentation was very engaging, and I feel more prepared as both an intern and future PR/marketing professional.

PR for Hot Coffee

On March 30th, Stacy Smith visited our PR class to discuss our part in promoting the documentary Hot Coffee for an on-campus screening. She began by asking our thoughts on the McDonald’s case, where Stella Steinbeck sued the company after spilling their extremely hot coffee on her lap. Some were aware of the early 90′s case, while others were not. However, one thing was common: we all thought the woman’s case was ridiculous. That is until we previewed the documentary.

The documentary showed something the media had not- severe, third degree burns on Steinbeck’s body. After seeing the horrifying images, the class gasped in shock that our presumptions were completely wrong. Steinbeck was not a crazy, old lady just looking for money. She was a victim of a horrible incident with expensive medical bills.

After ten minutes of the film, Smith turned off the TV and explained what we had just seen. Steinbeck’s case was overlooked and ridiculed due to “astro-turfing.” Astro-turfing is the practice of spreading false ideas and images of people or companies to promote political ideas.

Steinbeck’s case was turned into a joke due to astro-turfing, which is why Hot Coffee was created: to shed light on a problem. The documentary’s main focus was tort reform and how it makes it more difficult for ordinary people to sue large companies.

The documentary of Steinbeck’s story motivated our class to give our PR campaign our best efforts. We reached all available media outlets on campus, such as, the Crimson, the Samford radio station, and the TV station. We also had posters printed to post in visible areas on campus. Additionally, I created a Facebook event and invited 300+ students to the screening. Although many students declined the invitation, I had posted the film’s trailer on the wall, so hopefully some students were enlightened without attending the event.

I was very moved by Hot Coffee, and I now very interested in tort reform and cases similar to Steinbeck’s. I enjoyed hearing from Smith, and I feel like the class gained a lot of great PR experience through our campaign.

Advice from Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson, an independent marketing consultant, spoke to Principles of PR on April 4. Simpson is very experienced in marketing for arts and non-profits because of her previous position as marketing director for the Alys Stephens Center. Simpson was very personable and professional and shared a lot of great advice.

-”You have to be a jack of all trades. You wear many hats!” Simpson explained that in non-profits you must learn to stretch yourself and your abilities to meet the needs of a small staff.
-”The deal is key.” Simpson said that the deal is key when booking an event. Typically, on the day the deal is made, you can project the success of the event.
-”Personality types play into all.” A marketing director must have the right personality to deal with stress. They must also know how to balance work with their life outside of the career.

Simpson was a wonderful example of success in a non-profit environment. She also gave great insight to the world of independent work.

Advice from Sean Wright

Sean Wright, director of venue management at Samford University, spoke to Principles of PR on Friday, March 9th. As director of venue management, Wright specifically works on events for the Pete Hanna Center and Leslie S. Wright Center. Wright was a very interesting speaker and shared a lot of valuable advice:

1. “Your product remains the key.” If the event is bad, it will be hard to sell. You must know your audience.

2. “Seek out partnerships.” Event management is easier when you have someone to share the risks with your company.

3. “Brand is important.” It is important to understand how your audience perceives you. The better you understand, the more profitable you are.

Tips from Meredith Foster

On Friday, March 2nd, Meredith Foster of Girl Scouts of America spoke about PR for non-profits. Foster offered several tips for people pursuing a career in the non-profit sector:

First, there are no big budgets in non-profits. Because of this, PR practitioners are forced to take on several different roles for a company when trying to achieve goals.

Foster also discussed the importance of knowing your target audience. A person must be fully aware of who they are trying to reach, their demographics, and their interests. This makes social media easier and more efficient when trying to post things for certain audiences.

Lastly, Foster emphasized the importance of building and maintaing a portfolio to share with employers. Having a portfolio of work is essential when looking for jobs, especially in this field. Employers need to see that you are experienced and capable ofhandling duties for certain positions.

Tips from John Richardson

I was sick and absent from class last Friday, but from reading other posts, I learned:

You should be ready and willing for change in the communications field. People often move from job to job because of the constant change happening within the business. However, all the experience in different jobs helps further your career.

Portfolios are vital in communications. A strong one can land you freelance work, which is a great way to work on your own time while still making money. However, independent contract work requires good time management skills.

Communications is a creative industry; therefore, you should use your creativity when applying for jobs as well. The creativity will make you stand out and help attain your dream job.

Write. And write frequently. It doesn’t matter what it is for, you just need to become comfortable with it. Writing is a required skill in the industry, yet, not everyone has the natural ability to write well.

O2 Ideas

For my interview assignment, I talked to Jackie Woodall, senior account officer for O2 Ideas. O2 Ideas is an advertising and PR firm located just down the road from Samford on Lakeshore Drive.

I began by asking her what a typical day at work was like. Woodall responded with, “Well, there is actually NO typical day.” She explained that she is one of three other people who oversee their client services department and personnel. She elaborated by stating, “Any day could be me working a creative brief, doing timelines, estimates, talking things through with the clients, or making suggestions.” More specifically, Woodall oversees projects and campaigns with Toys-R-Us, Chik-fil-A, and Dunkin’ Donuts, which are all on a national level. She also said that a lot of the national clients, such as the one she works with, involve a lot of internal communications and employment branding. I was amazed to learn that some of these clients included Verizon and Honda.

When asked what someone needs to do to get her job, she simply replied with, “Internships.” She said, “Internships are absolutely key. They show experience. They make you stand out. They teach you valuable skills that will you bring to the table.” Woodall really stressed that internships are essential to land a career in the communications field these days. Not only did she explain what is gained from having one, but she also expressed how important it is to pursue multiple internships.

Woodall said that beginning salaries for this career range anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000. However, she said cannot accurately answer the question, because it really “depends on location.” She said that salaries range from place to place, and it really depends on how established the firm is. Woodall then encouraged me to do some outside research by simply searching for statistics on Google.

I then asked Woodall what she likes best and least about her job. She responded with, “I LOVE my clients. I love working with smart people, and I love working with people who appreciate your opinion.” She further stated that, “Advertising is not brain surgery. To me, a lot of it is common sense. To be able to sit and think of a common sense approach to something is really fun.” On the contrary, Woodall also explained that her job can be very stressful. She said that some clients might call and want something by an “unrealistic timeline.” “You have to remember when to fall on your sword with the client,” she advised. “It is what it is. . . But I love me job. It’s the only thing that I’ve ever wanted to do,” said Woodall.

To wrap up the interview, I asked Woodall what she recommended to prepare for a job in communication. “I would just say follow whatever the recommended core classes are for that major. And internships. I can’t stress the importance of internships enough. But internships that are relevant,” said Woodall. “Walk away from the internships with something for your portfolio. Something to be proud of,” she further stated. Woodall ended with these wise, true words, “Really decide what you want to do and focus on it. That’s the only way you will become good at it.”

Lori Merricks speaks to Principles of PR class

On Friday, February 10th, Lori Merricks of Luckie & Co. spoke to the Principles of Public Relations class. Merricks shared some valuable tips and advice to the future PR practioners:

1. Top 7 Skills Needed:
-writing
-effective listening
-focus
-delivery
-pitching
-credibility and findabilty
-measurement

2. Google is the world’s reputation management system and tomorrow’s PR metric.

3. PR is:
-results
-strategic function and research
-conversation starter and prolonger
-about genuine human connections
-an expert in their client’s industry
-able to outline crisis communications strategies and implement them
-an industry for writers, researchers, lovers of communication, and news

4. You must know your story. Be able to prove it. And have a clear call to action.

Carl R. Byoir

By: Hilliary Hallman and Jonathan Bailey

Carl Byoir began his PR career at age 14 when he became a reporter for his town’s newspaper, The Des Moines Register. A few years later, at age 17, he became the managing editor for the Waterloo Times Tribune. He then went on to attend the University of Iowa. While at the university, Byoir started his first unofficial PR campaign while trying to become managing editor of the school’s yearbook, The Hawkeye.

After school, Byoir joined the Hearst magazine empire as an advertising, promotions, and circulation apprentice and later became the circulation manager. Because of his success, he was sent to NYC to save Cosmopolitan magazine’s decreasing sales.

After working in NYC, Byoir received a call from George Creel to assist on the newly created World War I CPI. During his service on CPI, he wrote The League of Oppressed Nations. Byoir took on more political work when he was hired on to the Lithuanian National Council to help recognize the nation as a free, independent ally. He used print media, speeches, editorials, and sent telegrams to influential parties to gain support for Congress’s decision.

Then in 1921, Byoir started working at Nuxated Iron in without compensation to prove that he was fit for the job. He proved himself and became both Vice President and General Manager by the time he left in 1929.

After his time at Nuxated, Byoir moved down to Cuba to lease two small newspapers. He signed a five year $300,000 contract with the Cuban government to increase American tourism and to provide him with a government PR job. Tourism rose by more than 200% in the first year; however, he was often criticized by the US for his involvement with Cuba’s President Gerardo Machado.

Byoir was dissatisfied with Herbert Hoover’s attempts to salvage the economy during the Great Depression, so he started the “War Against Depression.” However, the campaign was a bust and only created about 1,000 jobs.

After the “War Against Depression” failure, Carl Byoir and Associates won the Henry Dohert, a shady businessman, account. Keith Morgan, who worked under FDR, called and requested that Dohert make a donation to the president’s foundation. Byoir saw this as an opportunity to rebuild his client’s reputation and took on all the work while taking no credit. He created FDR Birthday Balls as fundraising events for the foundation, and the parties gave Dohert’s reputation an overhaul. The FDR Birthday Balls still exist today, except under a new name: March of Dimes.

Freeport Sulphur Company was Byoir’s first big industrial account. It owned a large amount of sulfur deposits in Louisiana and Texas. The severance tax in Louisiana increased more than 200%, and he was hired to prevent a similar trend in Texas. Byoir’s executives chose the third-party technique, and the Texas legislators ended up voting against the tax.

Byoir’s firm was hired by The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company in 1937, and his campaign ended up repealing the anti-chain store tax laws.

Later, Truckers in Pennsylvania wanted to raise the weight limit on trucks to 60,000 pounds to expand their growing businesses. Upset with the competition, Eastern Railroads hired Byoir’s firm to mount a counter strike to keep truckers from stealing railroad clients. Byoir created unfavorable ads about truckers, and almost overnight the bill was vetoed. However, the railroad companies were not pleased with the outcome and fought back with a lawsuit that became a five year battle. Byoir was sure his company would prevail, but he died shortly before the court decision.

 

 

“Carl Byoir may not have moved mountains, but he definitely made a career of motivating people to do it for him.”
-PR Museum

Sources:

http://www.prmuseum.com/byoir/cbintro.html

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Carl_Byoir

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall01/Jones/byoir.html