Meredith Foster Speaks to PR Class

Meredith mentioned that she does the photography for all the important council meetings and that made it clear to me that photography is still a necessary skill in a journalism career. She also said that she writes a lot. The importance of writing has been mentioned by all of the speakers who have visited our class and it is becoming clear that it is a necessary skill for every day jobs in communications.

She also talked about how much she is involved in social media. Social media is clearly a vital part of any PR job and she gave us some blogs to look up for advice on using social media. She also talked about tweeting at certain times during the day so that she reaches more of her target audience. I never realized that tweeting at certain times would be an important part of social media.

Chris Davis Take-Aways

Chris Davis spoke to our class about the importance of search engine optimization. I never realized how important this one thing could be before this class. Almost all of the speakers that we have had have mentioned this, if not expanded off of it. Chris Davis gave us his top five words for SEO. They are keywords, links, changing/new content, video, and image tagging. He really helped me see how important this step is in creating a website or promoting myself.

Davis also talked about how important creativity is in his job. He has to constantly come up with new ideas to keep his brand at the forefront of the competition. He has to be able to find a way to communicate finances to people who do not understand the language that a lot of financial people use. He helps the public understand finances by communicating it in a way that is easy to understand. This is an area of communication that I had not given much thought to, but it was interesting to hear what he had to say about what he does on a day to day basis.

PR and the Media

Watching the “Hot Coffee” documentary in class made me realize just how much PR can manipulate the media. The public did not realize how bad the woman’s burns were, because she did not have the money to fund PR practitioners. McDonald’s, on the other hand, has an overwhelming amount of money to spend on PR efforts to keep their company in a good light. The public was given the impression that this was just another woman seeking to get money off of a frivolous law suit. The PR people for McDonald’s were able to spin the story in a way that made them come out without much damage.

Promoting the “Hot Coffee” convo event at Samford helped me to see what it would be like to work on a campaign. It helped me see how much you have to be able to work with your team in order to split up the work to accomplish it. We were able get the word out about this event to all of Samford’s campus and different organizations and I think it really encouraged a larger turnout then there would have been if we had not done all the promotion.

Promoting this event also made me go outside of what I would normally be comfortable with. Rachel and I went to sorority houses to announce about the event, and it forced me to be more comfortable with being in front of a lot of people.

Jessica Simpson Take-Aways

Jessica Simpson is an independent consultant for the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Her job takes a lot more than many people would expect, but she has found a way to balance her busy schedule in order to enjoy her job and life.

Jessica emphasized the importance of having internships to gain experience in your career of choice. Every speaker that we have heard thus far in the semester has placed a lot of importance on having internships. They have said that it is one of the best things to have on your resume, and companies look to those experiences to see how much value you would bring to their company.

Research is another important factor of any communications job. Jessica specifically mentioned researching events that she is planning to ensure that they will be a success. Research is one of the only ways to ensure that the public will be pleased with any company’s work.

The last thing that Simpson mentioned was the importance of being ready with contingency plans for anything that doesn’t go well. People in communications have to be prepared for anything that comes their way.

Sean Wright Visits Samford PR Class

Sean Wright is the director of venue management for the Wright Center and the Pete Hanna Center at Samford. He came to Samford University in 2007 to help create the Pete Hanna Center.

Wright discussed how busy his schedule is on an everyday basis. The Pete Hanna Center is continually growing and the Wright Center is always in demand as a venue. He has to be able to schedule and create a calendar two years in advance and has to be able to be flexible when things need to change at the last minute.

He gave the class some important tips about his job. He said that the product is still the key, even with all the advances in technology, advertising and marketing. It is important to know your venue, patrons and market. Social media has also become a very important part of any job in communications. Facebook has become a way for patrons to communicate with venues and they can respond to the experience as well. Ticketing systems are used to promote venues now and Twitter is used to create a buzz about upcoming events. Venues have become more public than ever before, and patrons are becoming more demanding with every passing year.

John Richardson Gives Advice

John Richardson visited the Principles of PR class last Friday and shared some useful tips for our future careers in the communications field. He said that there are three things that he does everyday no matter what is going on. He strategizes, researches and does content development. He said that we need to become very comfortable with writing, because it is something we will have to do every day. I didn’t realize how much writing is involved in communications work even if you’re not in the print track of Journalism.

He also mentioned how important it is to be able to work well with other people. Public relations is all about communication, and you have to be able to communicate and work with other people in order to be successful in this field. Richardson also talked about the importance of staying on top of what is happening in the social media world. There are constantly new and better things coming out in the social media outlets, and you can’t be successful in PR if you are not a part of them or if you do not understand them fully. Awareness is the most important part of PR and advertising.

I did not realize how much turnover there is in the communications career. Richardson talked about being prepared to move around a lot and change positions in this field in order to stay relevant. It is important to be flexible in this career track and be able to adjust to changes.

Richardson’s final words to the class were to always remember to be humane, human and humble. These things will help create a successful career and life.

Peritus

Peritus is a communications firm that specializes in Public Affairs, Public Relations, Marketing and Creative Services. Peritus is a Latin word that means “experience; skilled; expert.” Peritus has agencies in Lexington, KY, Nashville, TN, Indianapolis, IN, Columbus, OH, Birmingham, AL, and Oak Ridge,TN. I got to speak with the office in Nashville.

They have an internship program that allows the intern to get invaluable hands-on work experience. They offer their most talented interns positions with the Peritus firm. They offer internships during the summer, spring and fall. Their internships are also paid. It’s an excellent opportunity to gain experience in the field of PR.

I got to speak with Paula Jones who is currently an intern with the Nashville office. When I spoke to her she was on her way to Georgia to work on a project for them. The project is called the Coalition for Sugar Reform Project. She was trying to get ten letters signed  by bakery shops and candy shops. She had gotten one signature so far when I spoke with her. She is currently working on three projects and she said that she never has a “normal” day and that’s what she loves about working in Public Relations. She said the one thing that she does do every day is communicate.

I felt it was very beneficial for me to talk to Paula and get a better understanding of what she does. It helped me to see how much is involved on an average day in PR.

Lori Merrick Visits Principles of PR Class

On Friday, February 10th, Lori Merrick visited Samford’s campus and spoke to the Principles of PR class about her experience in the field of public relations. There were a few key takeaways that I got from her visit.

 

1. Being easily accessible to the internet world is unbelievably valuable to PR practitioners today.search Engine Optimization is a major factor for every person involved in PR today.

2. PR has become a form of storytelling. It’s the story behind what you are trying to market. You have to know your story, prove it and have a clear call to action.

3. PR has always been about media relations and it still is, but it is also about public relationships. It has evolved into getting people to talk about you or your company.

4. PR is not an easy job. It is stressful, tiring and fatiguing. I still think that PR is a gratifying field to go into. Every job has its daily stressors, but PR allows you to interact with the public and mold the way people think about things. I think it would be worth all the stress that is involved.

Moss Kendrix

Moss Kendrix was one of the first African-Americans to become involved in public relations, and also became one of the leading practitioners. He went to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. While he was there, he was the editor of the Morehouse newspaper, The Maroon Tiger. He also co-founded the Phi Delta Delta Journalism Society there. He also helped create the National Negro Newspaper Week with some friends at Morehouse College right after graduating.

 

After completing his degree, Kendrix was drafted into the United States Army. While in the Army, Kendrix worked for the Treasury Department in the War Finance Office. He traveled around the country with African-American celebrities promoting war bonds, and also frequently appeared on radio shows for the CBS network.

 

In 1944, Kendrix became the director of public relations for the Republic of Liberia’s Centennial Celebration. This was what first inspired him to pursue his career as a public relations practitioner.

 

After his time there, Kendrix founded his own public relations firm called the Moss Kendrix Organization. The organization’s motto was, “What the Public Thinks Counts!” His clients included companies such as Coca-Cola, Carnation, National Dental Association, National Education Association, the Republic of Liberia, and the Ford Motor Company.

 

Perhaps his most notable accomplishment was his relationship with Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola was not targeting African-Americans as a consumer at the time, and Kendrix felt that he could change that. He went to the Coca-Cola offices in Atlanta and made a proposal of how the company could target the African-American population. Coca-Cola hired him and he became the first African-American to obtain a major corporate account. While at Coca-Cola, Kendrix worked with celebrities to promote Coca-Cola and also helped design advertisements for the product.

Kendrix also hosted a weekly radio program called “Profiles of Our Time” on WWDC. He helped create professional groups that promote minorities, and he created the National Association of Market Developers in 1953 to support minorities in the field of public relations. He was named President Emeritus of this association.

 

Moss Kendrix was a vital part in the creation of public relations and how we see it functioning today. He helped corporations see that by ignoring an entire group of potential consumers, they were missing opportunity dollars. Kendrix helped shape the practice of public relations and helped pave the way for other African-Americans to be involved in the practice and also be seen as a valid target audience.

Sources:

http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/11/10/let_them_drink_coke/

http://www.prmuseum.com/