The world of public relations through the two blue eyes of a recent Uni graduate.
A simple diary or rather a reflection on my life as a student and PR and events management graduate. I usually share notes on what caught my eye. Please don't forget to feed my fish :)
I’m happy & proud to announce that my last exam took place on Tuesday, 1st June. I am free now! I am not a graduate yet (don’t have my title) but I am done with University – it feels so good...
PR class of 2010
Just one quick look at my ikea bookcase reveals about 12 books that still need to be returned to the library (plus fines to be paid - ups) and 8 books that I actually own but will never ever need in my life. I can bet all my imaginary millions on it!
On the other hand there are about 15 books that I love (Deirdre Breakenridge: PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences, and other PR books). HA, I’ve joust found a list of ‘TO READ’ books:
Deirdre Breakenridge: Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR
Brian Solis: Engage
Charlen Li & Josh Bernoff: Groundswell
Jim Macnamara: The 21st Century Media (R)EVOLUTION
David Phillips & Philip Young: Online Public Relations
Hmm, maybe one day. Will have to check them on ebay soon :) If anyone has a spare copy of any of these, please let me know.
Other part of the bookcase is full of sheets of paper filled with my notes in every possible colour and mind maps on everything and anything (some nicely stapled together, some lying freely on top of each other), notebooks and colourful file folders that contain 3 years of my life (well, some more filling is still needed to be done – I’ve just looked at my desk (*sight*).
This is actually quite upsetting: University is done! What now? What people do with all this stuff??
The last semester flew by so fast! I didn’t really get ready for the end of it, I admit. Everything was very hectic and intense in many ways. I was forced to multitask more than ever before: attending lectures and seminars, meeting deadlines for University assignments, getting group work going, applying for PR Grad jobs, looking for part time jobs, educating myself about the new digital tools and social media, blogging, tweeting, and many more. I don’t know how to ‘unitask’ anymore.
No surprise then that it feels weird to have time for the ‘things’ that I like to do like cooking, reading books, drawing, city browsing, etc. These activities have been banned from my life for a very long time. Well, let’s see how I get on with them.
My top priority is to find a job now. I just need to catch my breath first.
The Internet is affecting Public Relations in both positive and negative way. PR professionals (PROs) can research, communicate, listen, monitor and engage with their key stakeholders in much faster, therefore more convenient way. There are arguably many benefits of using the Internet but this brief is devoted to one of the negative aspects of the new PR practice: use of emails to send out irrelevant and often untargeted press releases and pitches to long lists of journalists, without considering the consequences. PROs have been spamming the opinion formers (journalists, bloggers and other non-traditional journalists) this way, and therefore the PR Industry is facing damage to its reputation and ability to achieve the influence it desires.
Recently, key PR industry figures have launched a campaign named ‘An Inconvenient PR Truth’ that aims to cut PR spam and help PROs and journalists work together better. The campaign includes a ‘bill of rights’, which is a list of demands on behalf of journalists and bloggers about how they want to be approached by the PR community. Prior to the launch of the campaign, several blog posts were published revealing the names and email addresses of PROs who had been spamming a particular journalist or blogger. This can be seen as a controversial step but it reinforced the debate about inappropriate targeting. The campaign was launched on the 28th January 2010 by Realwire CEO Adam Parker and is backed by Borkowski founder Mark Borkowski, Speed Communications MD Stephen Waddington and Umpf founder Adrian Johnson.[i] Since its launch, the numbers of supporters, such as the 3WPR founder Stephen Davies, have increased and even the CIPR published a statement of support.
The research that contributed to the launch of the campaign has found that “78 percent of press release emails are received by recipients to whom they are irrelevant and more than half (55 per cent) of recipients have taken action to block a sender of news.”[ii] This is shocking and potentially damaging to the image and reputation of the PR Industry.
The Importance of this Issue to the PR Industry
PR has gradually gained respect as one of the most cost effective and impactful marketing tools that are available to any organisation. The fact that some PR professionals have been spamming their key target audience – the media – may have a negative effect on the reputation and image of the PR industry. The media is central to PR activity. PR is about building relationships and should aim to achieve ‘balanced dialogue’ and ‘mutual understanding’ by the use of open two-way symmetric communication between PROs and the media (Grunig & Hunt, 1984). “Truly effective press relations starts with effective targeting” (Theaker, et.al., 2005). In order to establish and maintain good working relationships with the journalists, and therefore gain valuable media coverage, the PR “messages have to be tailored to the wide variety of media available, being clear about the target audience” (Theaker,et.al.,2005:59). There is a potential threat that if PR professionals don’t change their habits of sending out irrelevant and untargeted press releases and pitches, their key target audience may block their incoming communication, and as a result of this the PR message will not be received and published. PROs shouldn’t focus on”...filling up [journalists’] e-mail inboxes with unwanted material, but instead [provide] specifically targeted and relevant material” Theaker, et.al., (2005: 37). This practice will improve their relationships with the journalists and positively affect their success rate.
Time schedule
Week 1 (01/032010 – 07/03/2010)
Conduct initial research: “An Inconvenient PR Truth” campaign, media coverage (focus on the media side and PR side separately). Is that a PR stunt? Create a list of key journalists & PROs for a survey.
Week 2 (08/03/2010 – 14/03/2010)
Prepare two short surveys (media & PROs) based on the previous findings and seed them on LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Send them directly to the key PR Practitioners and the key journalists.
Week 3 (15/03/2010 – 21/03/2010)
Conduct research on potential reasons behind PR spam and what actions have been undertaken to stop this bad practice (CIPR and other educational bodies). Who or what is to blame? E.g. lack of skills and education, laziness of PR professionals, technology (Internet), payment by resultsoriented pay structures (problems with measurement and educating clients), etc.
Week 4 (22/03/2010 – 28/03/2010)
Evaluate and analyse the outcomes of the surveys. Look for the real reasons behind sending out untargeted press releases and pitches, and what steps have been undertaken on the media side to stop this bad practice. Do the journalists and bloggers really mind?
Week 5 & 6 (29/03/2010 – 11/04/2010) EASTER BREAK
Start putting the information together & suggest possible solutions to achieve two-way symmetric PR.
Week 7 (12/04/2010 – 18/04/2010)
Summarize the data and create first draft of the reports and presentation.
Week 8 (19/04/2010 – 25/04/2010)
Create presentation – select the key information and decide on the correct structure.
Week 9 (26/04/2010 – 02/05/2010) GROUP PRESENTATION DUE
Practice presentation presentational skills as a group.
Week 10 (03/05/2010 – 07/05/2010)REPORT DUE
Edit the report (individually) – Introduction, Conclusion, Executive Summary, Appendix, etc.
I finally found the time to upload my BR Corporate Strategy PR Brief presentation on SlideShare.net! Yey! I am really excited about it!It is an example of the way I work I suppose – I am a perfectionist who focuses on details and spends lots of time doing research.
The presentation has unexpectedly improved my personal SEO too, which is just a cherry on the cake. I was encouraged to upload more of my work by some of my Twitter followers - BTW thank you all for you support. I intend to do exactly that ;)
Third year in a PR course is always tough. It is no longer only about delivering assignments, chasing deadlines and sitting exams. The new addition to the busy life of soon-to-be-graduates is the hunt for the dream job. Most of us decide to focus on the PR Grad Scheme applications and some start using Twitter and blogging to enhance their ‘digital footprint’ and ‘PR themselves’... there is a lot to do to succeed!!
In November, I started working on a 2010 Grad PR Scheme list. I found it essential to kick off the whole process of applying EARLY because you never know how busy you are going to be after Christmas.
The first Grad Scheme I applied for was the WPP Marketing Fellowship. I didn’t get in but not because I wasn’t good enough. Yes it was a bit upsetting to be rejected but I always wanted to work in PR so Marketing Fellowship wouldn’t give me what I wanted anyway. The WPP Marketing Fellowship comprises of three one-year rotations through WPP companies – PR, Marketing, Research, etc. Yes I’d have gained a broad experience during the Scheme but what for?
After the initial set back, I had to RECONSIDER my aspirations, desires and preferences. It would be a massive waste of time applying for something I wasn’t into. So since then, I have applied only for PR Schemes that I found interesting and felt that they were ‘right’ for me.
I have discovered a hidden passion for the digital world so started looking at agencies offering jobs/schemes in Digital PR, Consumer Technology, and similar. I’ve applied for quite a few and I am now eagerly awaiting THE phone call.
Recently, I’ve been thinking of the benefits of being in a PR Grad Scheme: team building, training, support, etc. These key aspects are highly desirable by most of the students who need some initial introduction. It is quite interesting to see recent graduates counting only on their social media presence hoping that it will do the trick and get them the dream job in PR.
Don’t get me wrong I’ve been focusing on my ‘digital footprint’ too but still made the time to apply for PR Grad Schemes. Some students only ‘PR themselves and their communication skills’ to the agencies via Twitter & Blog, etc. Is it a good strategy? - Certainly yes. I managed to get my PR Internship this way. But is it enough?
To conclude, any soon-to-be-graduate has to do his/hers best to enhance the ‘digital footprint’ they have, select and apply for the appropriate PR Grad Schemes that fits their aspirations and desires, and also finish the University in a decent way – with good marks. It is tough! I am in this process right now and sometimes I had to prioritise what was more important to do – Uni or Applications.
