Insights ...

Taking a Public Relations Campaigns course was a great way to put all the tools I acquired throughout my college experience to use in real-world situations. One of my favorite experiences from the class came from the beginning of the semester, when I was able to pick a non-profit organization to be my client. Classmates that chose this client as well became my group members. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with the Adoptive Parents Committee, with whom we worked on an event/campaign to help their organization gain more publicity and awareness. The Adoptive Parents Committee (APC) is a non-profit parent support group comprised of volunteers dedicated to improving all aspects of adoption and interim (foster) care. APC, the oldest adoptive parent group in North America and was formed in 1955 by a small group of people who shared their adoptive experiences.

With the organization holding its annual 31^st Adoptive Parents Conference on November 20, 2011, we were responsible for coming up with a PR plan to help the organization bring more individuals to the event as well as making more people aware of the organization and what they stand for.

Our PR team created output objectives to be used for the conference. Our biggest objective was the creation a the Adoptive Parents Committee Blog, which served as a platform to members as well as others who are passionate about the adoption process and want to share the stories.

I have learned a great deal in taking this course. Having this ‘real life’ experience, where I was able to see everything I’ve worked on in previous PR classes put to hard work has made me realize I am ready to move forward after graduation, and will have the necessary tools to be a successful PR professional.  

What PR Pros Can Expect In The New Year

As times change, so will the way PR professionals do their jobs.  

 

Social media will continue to define PR. Social media has and will continue to grow as public relations professionals’ ultimate tool to use for their clients/campaigns, while also utilizing traditional outlets. These social media outlets allow companies, individuals and/or organizations to engage in multi-way communication, and receive immediate feedback from their various stakeholders and publics.

 

The downsides, however, are that bad news will spread faster and reach a larger audience; Making things more difficult for crisis communicators who want to control a given situation.

 

The PR profession will be dominated by new ways to communicate through arising technologies.

 

Now more than ever, public relations professionals need to familiarize themselves with a new supply of tools to adjust and thrive in a digital world.

H&M’s Virtual Models: Smart Move?

Are virtual models different from mannequins?

 

Clothing retailer H&M has been receiving criticism for creating computer-generated bodies to model the store’s swimwear and lingerie on its website.

 

The virtual figures had real models’ heads digitally attached in post-production, which gave the image a very realistic human appearance.

A major issue is that H&M is doing this and not making a disclaimer, essentially trying to pass off this digital body as a real one. Jennifer Ward, a rep for H&M, told Fox News, “The virtual mannequins are used in the same way as we use mannequins in our stores for ladies wear and menswear,” meaning that they're just for displaying garments and are not meant to represent actual people.

Anyone have a problem with this??

Strike Two For Jetblue

JetBlue has a history of leaving its passengers stranded on planes on the tarmac, remember February 14, 2007?

Several JetBlue flights were diverted from Newark to Hartford due to weather conditions. Once the plane touched down in Hartford at approximately 1:30 p.m., it did not move until 9 p.m.

 

More than 100 passengers on the JetBlue flight were left onboard the plane without food, water or functioning bathrooms.

 

Yes, it was in the best interest for Jetblue to issue some sort of apology statement, which JetBlue Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster did in a video posted to JetBlue's corporate communications channel. In the statement, Jetblue promised to investigate the problem and fix it, however, JetBlue has failed to solve this problem, and once again passengers on a JetBlue flight were left stranded on an airplane for more than six hours.

 

I think it should be a very big wake-up call for Jetblue that they need some serious work when one of their own pilots ultimately had to call airport officials and plead with them to send police, telling them "Look, you know, we can't seem to get any help from our own company."

 

They say they are concerned for their passengers, but what about the crewmembers? The crewmembers went through this terrible ordeal just like the passengers, and yet Jetblue has done nothing to comfort them.

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart has again found itself facing some bad publicity.

 

According to authorities, at least two people were jabbed with syringes found in clothing at a Wal-Mart store in Cartersville, Georgia.

 

A shopper, of the Cartersville community, was stuck by a syringe while looking at a package of bras. All she wanted to do was check the size when her finger was pricked.

 

The store's manager advised her to go to the Medical Center where she was tested for AIDS and hepatitis

 

According to the shopper, Wal-Mart is not willing to pay for preventive treatment to prevent HIV, which cost $1,300, unless they discover that it was an employee’s doing.  

 

Wal-Mart needs to step up and do the right thing. Even if it was not one of Wal-Mart’s employees and was a random person who placed the syringe there or someone from the packing company, the incident still occurred in the Wal-Mart store. I feel it is their responsibility to take the blame, apologize and move forward. Which is not only the right thing to do morally, but also the right thing to do if Wal-Mart wants to get through the incident without further tarnishing the brand’s reputation.

The PR Professional

People often ask me, “What does a public relations professional actually do?”

To start off, a public relations professional serves as an advocate for clients looking to build and maintain positive relationships with the public. Their clients may include businesses, nonprofit organizations, the government, an individual, universities, hospitals, and other groups

Another way of looking at public relations professionals is thinking about them as image shapers.  It is the job of the public relations professional to generate positive publicity for their client and enhance their reputation.

In order to make this possible is it vital for public relations professionals to create strong, lasting relationships with journalists and other members of the mass media. This allows for the best coverage and placement for their clients, which allows for greater awareness.