What It Takes to Be Good At Writing Press Releases

Even after studying journalism and PR it might be challenging sometimes to apply what you know into the actual job environment. I’m sure there are many people/graduates who would agree with me on this one, and think I’m not the only one who could serve here as an example of confused and frustrated starting-up PR professional with broad knowledge and little experience. Let me tell you a PR story, it won't have a proper plot, but you might find that there is a lesson there, who knows. Here it goes.

Trust and PR: How does that work

What exactly is trust? Could you define it? 

I thought so. Well, I did some research on trust in PR and this is what I came up with. It’s a small part of my research on trust. I tried to take out the most important and maybe less dull information to share with you. 

Trust is something most people can sense but have hard time to describe. “You know it when you feel it” explained ex-CEO of General Electrics, Jack Welch. Many experts claim that trust is one of the fundamental values in every relationship; whether it is between two people, between government and its public or between corporations and their stakeholders similar rules apply to all these groups while gaining and maintaining trust.

Things to consider when making a viral video: Jennifer Aniston and her Sex Tape

It's important for your video to turn into a virus

I came across this video about a month ago when I was researching different PR and media relations companies. Apparently some of their bloggers also explore various aspects of PR and they stumbled upon this commercial of Smart Water.

Graduates and the dilemma of ‘which PR Sector’

When I started my public relations course at Uni I knew there was more to PR than just pseudo events, crisis managements and CSR. What I didn’t know was the fact that PR is a much more complicated discipline than many people think it is. It’s not only either B2B or B2C. In today’s complicated business and consumer markets it is just a natural thing that public relations, with its broad concept, has developed into many specialized areas. In fact, there are so many different sectors within the PR sector that I’m beginning to think that many fresh graduates might find them selves confused after leaving universities and entering the working life.

6 reasons I might stop following you on Twitter

Some time ago I read a post ‘10 reasons I won’t follow you on Twitter’. It intrigued me and all the points the author listed I could have marked as mine own. I even felt a little embarrassed when some of them might have been referring to someone like me. After all, I’m a person who enjoys her offline life; and I have to admit, I might not check my Twitter on everyday basis.

To the contrary to some arguments the writer of the post mentions, such as not believing in following someone back if they follow you, I find it difficult to not return the gesture of someone who made an effort and followed me first.

PR Christmas Preparations - Key to Good Costumer Relations

Christmas time for many PR agencies begins in September and is probably the longest period during a year for PR promotions. But Christmas is not the only time for PR people to prove themselves. Yet, it’s the best time for most PR companies to get back in touch with clients and customers they haven’t spoken to for a long time.

Women in Orange - how an outfit can get you arrested

I just came across something rather interesting, something I’ve never actually heard about before, but I assume it was only because of my ignorance - illegal advertising at sport events (or maybe any sort of events).

Dutch women dressed in orange outfits who appeared at Wold Cup game Holland vs. Denmark were arrested on the grounds of so called ‘ambush marketing’. When I heard about this my first impression was: well, they didn’t do anything wrong. They just wore colours of the team they supported.

Child's Power - Pester Power

Targeting parents through Children

In the past marketing and PR industry tended to overlook children as a demographic audience. It is changed today as advertisers believe that young people’s spending power in the family is growing. They ‘have become the most marketed-to generation in history’, write Media Awareness Network.

BP’s oil spill crisis - How well will they handle it?

It’s a fresh news so no wonder newspapers and new media are beaming with articles about it – BP’s oil spill in Gulf of Mexico. I heard about it today in the news and then read an article in Evening Standard about the complications and costs of cleaning the mess BP will have to sponsor (it’s a lot of money I must say, 6 million pounds a day), about how people in local areas (especially fishermen) might lose their incomes because the sea-life is endangered.

The Newest New Consumer

A short history of new consumer generation

Every 20 or 30 years a new consumer appears. But who is he and who created him? Well… Lets have a look at history of modern consumer.

60’s and 70’s in the Western World were significant times not only for its major musical appearances (artists of Woodstock generation) but also because of historical breaks through, and changes in the way people lived.

Over 40 years ago the world went through so called ‘flower power experience’, with rebellious young adults rejecting consumerism their parents tried to bring them up in. This rejection resulted in a worldwide ‘human transformation movement’, which had a significant impact on creation of nonconformist new consumer. 

Whereabouts of PR in UK and PR in Poland

Comparing The Two

I looked at Consumer Public Relations in Britain and then searched through Polish websites about PR; and I came to a conclusion that the tern PR in Poland is still not very popular and often hidden under different names.

In the UK Public Relations industry is widely practiced and as many practitioners and specialists say it is a very competitive occupation. 

In Poland on the other hand, many people have never heard of public relations. 

Scary vs funny. Which one is more appealing?

I just came across a video that I couldn't place in any of UK public campaigns. I started digging a bit deeper and I found UAMK Road Safety campaign for Czech Republic government. 

My assumption is that this is something similar to UK government's campaign THINK! However, the viral videos of the two public campaigns are different. While UK's ads appeal for safe driving is presented in a dark and scary way, Czech Republic is reaching out to people using humour.

Is it because of cultural differences?

What do you think? Which one is more appealing? Does it depend on target audience?

But see for yourself:

Starbucks Twitter Campaign - When the enemy hijacks your social media campaign

It's exactly what happened to Starbucks in the summer of 2009. Activist, Robert Greenwald, who tried to raise awareness about Starbucks policies on employee unions, spotted a perfect moment to take over Starbucks Twitter campaign.

I came across this news when I was researching for my own social media campaign and it struck me when I read about this ‘hijacking’. Maybe it will sound naïve but I didn’t think people actually do such things. I thought maybe sabotaging the campaign, but not taking control over it.

Stress is contagious, but so is good mood. So take your time and Relax

Viral Campaign - Slow Down For a Moment

This campaign is just a theory. It is one of my New Media assignments. I’ve decided to prepare stress awareness campaign for the government where the target audience are working people aged 24 to 35. Below is the executive summary and rationale for the campaign as well as the viral video I prepared for it.

Executive Summary

The government has planned a social media campaign addressing stress issues caused by modern life. The campaign is using such new media tools as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and viral videos presenting moments worth slowing down for.

How Not To Manage a Crisis

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Case study: Crisis Management of Cadbury and Odwalla 

"There are two kinds of companies: those that have had crisis, and those that will.” 

(PR Week 1999)

In this post I’m going to focus on two particular case studies of crisis management, the Cadbury’s Salmonella Scare in UK and Odwalla E.Coli outbreak in USA. These cases aren’t new anymore but they give opportunity to compare two similar situations which were approached in two very different ways. Below is a video presentation on these two cases.

But first, a little bit of basic background on crisis management (mostly for those who don’t know anything about it).

Political PR, did it ruin the trust in politicians and is threatening democratic system?

The answer to this question isn’t easy (as to any of the questions people in my PR course had to face in debate battles). There are people who blame PR for government propaganda, for manipulating information and spinning it, for trying to control the media. People I’ve met who think PR is responsible for lack of trust in politicians are, however, a minority. Most individuals rarely think about PR as a cause of mistrust towards the government or politicians, because PR is rarely visible to them (unless they investigate on articles or study on PR issues for example).

While researching the reasons behind public distrust towards politicians and government, I came across a few statistics that showed that nearly 70% of UK population doesn’t believe public institutions. In his blog post "Trouble With Trust", Mark Thompson (director of BBC) explained that the media are responsible for the lack of this trust in public officials. Media always portray politicians in a negative way and even if they say the truth there always will be suspicion that he/she might be not telling things as they are. “Hardly ever a politician who does a good job hits headlines in the press or TV“, wrote one of the commentators of Thompson’s blogs.

Social Media Means of Life

People describe new media as modern revolution. Is it true?

Social networking is the biggest shift since industrial revolution, claim new media experts. In only four years it took over developed countries beating up traditional media such as TV, radio and newspapers. It is now number one online activity leaving behind porn and web surfing. 

It is gradually overtaking the way we shop, socialize, work and do business, learn and fall in love. Statistics show that 1 in 8 married couples in America today met via social media. Though it might not sound new to us, as there were internet chat rooms long before social media existed and people tended to meet with someone they have never seen any way, social platforms offer different things that online chats don't have.

Does ethical PR exists only in NGOs?

Since we started our Contemporary Theory in PR class I often catch myself thinking about ethics in public relations profession. The more I read about PR work for corporations and governments the more I thought that probably only NGOs and public relations for charities can be ethical.

But recently my thinking diverted from that preliminary thought. I still don’t actually have a simple yes or no answer to the question whether only NGOs or voluntary sector can practice ethical PR (answers to questions about ethics and morality are hardly ever black or white), but I have a broader idea of what methods NGOs use to influence people. And they not always are fair play.

Cover Letter YouTube style

In my previous post I wrote on how twitter and other social platforms can cost you a job. But now I want to show you, how such content sharing sites as YouTube for example can get you a job if you do it in a creative and smart way.

This is exactly how Alec Bedrzycki (woohoo, he has Polish roots :), fresh marketing graduate, used social media to find an entry level position in marketing industry.

Here is his cover letter that actually got him a job:

Watch what you’re Tweeting!

How social media can cost you a job

As social media is now a significant part of many careers out there (such as public relations for example), knowing how to use social platforms for professional purposes can be a big advantage. Being active on facebook and twitter seem to be ‘a must’ nowadays and there aren’t many people left who don’t actually have an account on one or two networking sites.

Popular among individual people at first, social media now are now also necessity for many companies and corporations (just have a look around facebook for instance; there are facebook groups with Starbucks, Ford Motor, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, and many more). As Howard Bragman PR professional and writer said, social media is the future for brands and if none of them wants to fall behind, they have to be active on social platforms. This however makes it difficult for individuals to take part in this online part of life, mainly because of limit forced upon their freedom to express themselves.

See here, how...