My Practicum Experience as a Public Relations Manager for WGUR

This semester, I served as the public relations manager for WGUR 88.9 fm, and it also counted for practicum credit for me. As I was writing my practicum paper yesterday, I began to think about how far I've come this semester in regards to doing public relations for radio.

When I was first hired as the PR manager, I was extremely overwhelmed because I had never worked in radio before. I knew a lot about public relations, but it was a whole new ball game for me to apply this knowledge to an industry with which I was fairly unfamiliar.

Leading a team of people who were also unexperienced in the field proved to be somewhat of a challenge as well. We all started off the semester at somewhat of a loss every time we met. Eventually, however, we fell into a groove of brainstorming events together and then I would assign specific PR tasks for each person to carry out individually. One person would write the press release, one person would write a PSA, another would work in media relations, and another would be in charge of community involvement and donations. I would switch tasks for each person as different events occured, allowing each practicum student the most experience as possible.

I learned through this whole experience how to work as a leader in the PR field, not just as a student doing assignments for a grade. I also learned how to apply the skills I have learned in my classes to a broadcasting environment and how radio and PR can work together to produce some pretty awesome events.

I am looking forward to working even harder next semester as I finish the year out doing public relations with WGUR. The experience has taught me a lot that I can take with me as I move on to new experiences when I graduate.

Attention to Details

Tonight, WGUR was present at the home opener tailgate that the PR Admin class worked to coordinate. This was one of our bigger events that we have put on, as it consisted not only of a broadcast but of a raffle, tshirts, key chains, and free hot dogs, chips, and drinks as well. The event was a huge success, as we were one of the only other RSO's besides SGA that was not a fraternity or sorority. The main thing that I learned from this event tonight (well, not learned...but was reminded of) was that attention to detail and pre-planning are so important when dealing with PR. Also, communication is key when dealing with outside people. For example, our theme tonight was "Rock, Roll, & Recycle." We waited until last minute to find out details about recycling, and found that Milledgeville charges money to take items to the recycling center. Since this was not in our budget, we had to think on our toes and come up with a quick last minute solution. We contacted the environmental club and had to communicate with one of its members in order to get recycling containers brought to our location before the tailgate started. Also, attention to detail is something that I constantly have to remember to be aware of. Last night, I made a list of every little thing that we could possibly need once we got to the event. Tape, signs, plates, raffle items, paper for the raffle entries, a jar, coolers, ice, a grill, matches, lighter fluid....but I forgot one important thing: tongs to get the hot dogs off the grill. This forgetfulness made us have to delay our grilling while we sent someone back to their apartment to get tongs. In the big picture, this was just a small mishap, but it reminded me that attention to the small things can make or break an event and the timeliness of what you're doing.

What's happening with WGUR

WGUR has been very busy lately and we have a lot to show for it! 8 of our executive staff members and DJ's attended a conference in Louisville, Kentucky at the end of October in which we learned more about college media. I personally attended mostly PR and advertising related sessions at the conference and I learned a lot more about promoting radio. My favorite session that I attended was 80 promotional ideas in 80 minutes, so keep an eye out for some fun new events that will be born from the ideas I got there!

Mark your calendars for some great upcoming events at Georgia College sponsored by WGUR:

Nov. 17- GCSU Home Basketball Opener. WGUR will be doing a Rock, Roll, and Recycle event at 4:30 in which we will tailgate, have food, drinks, cornhole, a raffle, and promote recycling. Our team hopes to create awareness of recycling at the event and take care of the recycling after the tailgate.

Nov. 19- WGUR will be at Amici with Z97 for a canned food drive. More details to come.

Nov. 22- WGUR will be at the fountain by A&S with free Christmas cards for you to sign which will be sent to soldiers for the holidays. Please come support this great cause!

Nov. 29- WGUR will provide music for the Yule Ball, put on by the GCSU residency programs/dorms. It will be a festive night of music, food, and dancing!

Dec. 1- WGUR is sponsoring an acoustic concert at Chops for Ladies Night. More details to come.

During finals week, we will also be present at Midnight Breakfast. We will provide music and giveaways so don't miss out!

Mark your calendars and come out for some fun events happening the remainder of the semester. I'm hoping I can apply what I learned at this conference and that the PR team at WGUR can pull off some really great stuff this year. Thanks for supporting WGUR!

Frederick Swanston- Big agency experience with little agency attention.

As both a PR and an advertising major, sometimes it is hard for me to differentiate the two because so much of what we learn in each concentration is applicable to the other. Two weeks ago, I got to see how a PR agency runs and the types of things they do daily. Last week, I took the shadowing experience a step further and visited an advertising agency to see what they are all about.

The agency that I chose to visit was Frederick Swanston, located in Alpharetta, Georgia. I was assigned to shadow two account executives on the team, Amy and Robyn. I got to see the types of accounts they work on and how they do an ad campaign from initial contact with the client to the end result. They even showed me the computer programs and ways of storing files on a company-wide database that make it easy to keep all the information on an account organized and available to anyone in any department. I got to meet with various people in the office and talk to them for a few minutes to see what their particular jobs within the agency are. I met a few creative directors who handle the art and copywriting aspects of a campaign. I also got to meet the woman who handles most of the online web design advertising for various clients. I got to sit in on a conference call with her and Amy, as they spoke with one of their clients, Veriphone, about a new homepage design that had been developed. It was interesting to see the interaction between client and designer and how they walk through a printed out format of the site together in order to approve and/or make changes to the product.

My experience at the ad agency helped me to see how PR and ad agencies are similar in many ways, but very unique in others. They both work closely with various accounts and have similar job positions to maintain organization and structure in the office. There are obvious differences, however, in a paid advertising campaign and a PR campaign. I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to witness both sides of the spectrum and be able to compare my two concentrations from these experiences.

PRSSA Shadow Day at Porter Novelli

The GCSU PRSSA chapter offered a special opportunity to students last week when we got to participate in Shadow Day in Atlanta. We selected our order of preference for agency, corporate, and nonprofit PR, and I was assigned to Porter Novelli, a prestigious PR agency known worldwide. When we arrived, we were shown to a conference room and we met some of the top professionals in the Atlanta office. We first met Tia Jackson, the HR manager, and Katherine Mason, the Account Executive. They introduced us to the agency and gave us a basic overview of what is done there. We then were welcomed by Jana Thomas, Senior VP, who talked further about how Porter Novelli is a great company to work for. Jack Newton, Vice President, then introduced himself and presented "Social Media in Today's Marketing Mix," in which we learned how PR and social media go hand in hand. We learned the difference between participatory social media, such as Facebook, in which companies can take part in conversations and interaction with customers. There is also search engine optimization, in which PR agencies can help clients move up the list on search engines such as Bing or Google when people search a particular topic. He also talked to us about how with a product, (he gave us the example of a blog) there are creators, participants, observers, and inactives. Part of what a PR agency strives to do is to move people up this ladder so they are all participating in some way.
After hearing about social media, Wendy Ruben, Account Executive, talked to us about the healthcare practice at Porter Novelli. Most people who work in this department have both PR and medical experience and combine the two skills for a great career. Next, we heart from Katherine Wetzel, Account Supervisor, and Kara McClain, Senior Account Executive, about the technology practice at Porter Novelli. They spoke about how they don't expect all new interns and employees to know how to do everything, but they look for a willingness to learn when they are dealing with people in this department. That was encouraging to me, as I was somewhat overwhelmed with just how much responsibility is placed on the shoulders of someone working with big accounts like Porter Novelli works with. Katherine Mason, Account Executive, then came in and spoke to us about corporate and consumer practice, and then we had a roundtable discussion with some newly hired employees who just finished their internship there. This was the most laid back part of the day, as most of these people where close to our age and had just finished with internships and job searches. They encouraged us to work in an agency for 2-3 years before we step out into the corporate world. They explained to us that working with Porter Novelli will prepare you to have all the PR experience you would need to work somewhere other than in an agency, but that working for Porter Novelli long term is a great choice as well.
Overall, the experience was eye opening since I had never been to a PR agency before. I also enjoyed the mixer at Aja that evening, as I met even more PR professionals and had the chance to network.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to put this day together and let us learn more about this awesome agency. The experience was so valuable and I would love to shadow more great companies in the future.

Blogger Relations= Personalization

Last week I posted my presentation on media relations. It is so important as a PR practitioner to maintain good relationships as you work with various media, editors, and journalists because they are your source of a news outlet. However, getting more specific, how can we use social media in conjunction with media relations? Blogging is one of the best ways to do so. Not only can news media and other PR professionals follow you on your blog, but you can learn a lot by communicating with them through their blogs.
I recently found an article on Twitter that outlined the main factors of maintaining good blogger relations in order to propel your PR career.
The main element to focus on is personalization- knowing the content of the blogs that you follow and getting to know more about the author can help you develop a good relationship with them. Say you read a blog post that particularly interests you and you want to contact the author for some reason. Knowing their style or "theme" of their blog and acknowledging it in your opening sentence of your email will let them know you recognize their personalization and style, and that you connect with that. Also, be personable with them and refer to them by name in the email. Sharing this common ground with the author will help you develop a better connection.
Use this relationship you've developed and any previous research you may have done on the blog to aid you in a pitch. Being on the same page as the person you are pitching to will help you be successful, and learning how to use personalization through blogging is the first step in the process!

Media Relations

Last week, I presented a case study on media relations and World Vision's response to the 2004 tsunami in Asia. My presentation is available on scribd.com and has lots of good tidbits of information on media relations! Click on the title of this post to get to the site.

It's a Mystery....

What's the biggest mystery this fall at Georgia College?

This semester's Mystery Midterm event, sponsored by WGUR 88.9 FM of course!

I can't tell you what the event will be, obviously, but I can tell you that my PR team and all of WGUR is working very hard to make this an exciting event for students.

Here's a hint- it goes along with our theme of Health and Wellness for this year. And it involves a competition of sorts. Oh and did I mention some AWESOME prizes?

Keep the guesses coming and mark your calendars for October 4. You'll be glad you did when you see what we have to offer to our winners! We will have registration for the event on Wed. Sept. 29 at a table by the fountain. Stop by and sign up so you can take part in one of our biggest events of the semester!

WGUR upcoming events

For those of you who don't know, I am working as the Public Relations manager for WGUR 88.9 FM this year. We have a couple of events coming up in the next couple weeks that we want to make sure have a great turn out!
First, Toms Campus Club is hosting "Style Your Sole" this Thursday, Sept. 9. The event will be held in between the dorms on campus at 7 p.m. and will feature a live remote from our radio station, a film screening, and shoe decorating. The art department will be there to assist with the shoe decorating. The second part of the night is a concert downtown at Buffingtons from 10 p.m. til 1 a.m. featuring The Less, Elevation, and Jessica Long. Tickets are $5 and go to a great cause, providing shoes for children who need a pair. WGUR is excited to be a part of this event and help those less fortunate.
Second, WGUR will be helping the Sigma Nu chapter of Lamda Pi Eta as we host "What Bursts Your Bubble? A Redress of Grievances" on Sept. 16, at 12:30 in the free speech zone on front campus (the Bobcat head). We will have a large target available for you to write your biggest grievances (parking, cops, registration, etc.) and then throw a water balloon at the target to relieve some stress! Our Lamda Pi Eta members will then tally up the grievances on the target and address the most common one with whoever may be in charge of the issue. We hope students will take the opportunity to use freedom of speech to help us make changes on campus. WGUR will be doing a live remote from this event as well.
If you're available for these events, come on out, have a great time, and see how WGUR is getting involved with some great causes!

The Role of a Wedding Planner

If you're looking for a good blog to follow that guides you through the process of being a wedding planner, check out http://southerncharmevents.blogspot.com. This is my Aunt Tanya who is a wedding coordinator in Jacksonville FL.
I called her last year when I was thinking about my career to talk to her about being in the event industry. She gave me some really good tips and advice, a lot of which she has blogged about and I find very useful as I'm looking towards graduation and getting a job soon. I just wanted to share something she wrote on her blog a few days ago which is so very true, and something I have realized since working with brides:

Tanya's blog:
"The African Wedding Guide says: "...the role of the wedding consultant is that of a

• facilitator,
• mediator,
• money manager,
• artisan and
• constructor of dreams."

In addition to these things, if you've ever been a involved with a wedding, you also know the kind of stress involved with planning a wedding. Add to the above description,

• therapist,

• sounding board and
• even punching bag, figuratively of course,
when frazzled nerves come into play."

What a perfect way to sum it up. So, when people ask me why I'm so interested in being a wedding coordinator?
Well because I want to be a constructor of dreams, of course!

Event Planning Workshop

Today, for my public relations position at WGUR 88.9 FM, I thought it would be a good idea for my PR team and I to attend an event planning workshop put on by the GIVE Pacesetters program here at Georgia College. Although I worked all summer doing special events, it is easy to forget some really key elements when planning events, especially when they have to be coordinated and approved on campus. I also realized that many of the people working on my team this semester are freshmen or sophomores and don't have any experience at all.

We were introduced to many important people on campus that are necessary to communicate with before putting on an event. We learned the importance of reserving campus space for an event through R25, catering policies and contracts with Sodexo, technology and equipment that is available to use for free on campus such as projectors and speakers, and the table reservation and flyer approval processes. I was glad to have one meeting where all of this information was consolidated and my whole team could see how much pre-planning goes into events.

We talked about the importance of the RACE method of planning events. R is for research. What are other organizations planning? What are the rules and regulations for doing such an event? How have similar events worked out for others in the past? A is for action. Planning ahead and making reservations for space, tables, equipment, etc. way in advance. Putting together a team of people who can bring all the loose ends together to pull it off. The event industry is action oriented and you've got to have a game plan. C is for communication. How are you going to communicate with the public about your event? How are you going to promote it? What are the best ways to reach the audience you're targeting? And E is for evaluation. Keep a list of things you need to improve upon for your next event. Take a survey of those who participated and see what they thought your strengths and weaknesses were. Survey your team members and see if there is a way to make the process easier for all of you.

As someone who has worked with events before, none of this information was new to me, but it was a great reminder to stay on top of things and think far enough ahead that you don't find yourself in a bind at the last minute.

I'm excited for my PR team to work with me and for us to all learn and grow together this year. Be watching out for some great events compliments of your student radio station, WGUR 88.9 FM!

A Taste of the Event Industry

Myself with Lindley Hewatt, event planner, and Lynn Lilly, owner

Sandy Springs Family Fun Day

Bridal Fashion Show

The Chronicles of Online Dating book launch

The Designer Bride

This summer, I had the opportunity to work on site with an event planning company, Lilly White Events. The company is owned and run by Lynn Lilly, who also is the owner of Blackout Productions and Social Lilly. I worked collectively for all three companies. Lilly White Events specializes in weddings and wedding-based events. Blackout Productions mainly works with alcohol vendors and doing promotional events for liquor companies. Social Lilly is the networking aspect of the company, which includes a book that Lynn Lilly and Lindley Hewatt wrote and published, featuring Atlanta's top bridal vendors. I was excited to be able to work with such a wide realm of events.

The first event that I did with the company was a promotional night at Steel Restraunt and Lounge. We basically planned the night to have complimentary sushi and giveaways so that the trendy Midtown hotspot could bring in an even larger Friday night crowd.

The next event I did was The Designer Bride Event at Lion's Gate Mansion in Buckhead. Many of the vendors from Social Lilly were at the venue and offered their product samples and services to brides looking to book with them. I was in charge of swag bags and coordinating vendors to donate to them. We also hosted a bridal lingerie, bridesmaides dresses, and wedding gown fashion show, which I had the opportunity to model in. (But not the lingerie, thank goodness!) It was really exciting to see the workings behind the scenes and what it takes to put on a successful fashion show.

I also worked with our Russian Standard White Nights premiere party. The Russian Standard vodka company is premiering their vodka one city at a time, and I got to be a part of the team that planned the Atlanta premiere. The night was complete with Russian Standard cocktail samples, go-go dancers, a DJ, and many well known Atlanta socialites.

Next, I helped with the Seven Deadly Sins of Summer at Whiskey Park. Once again, I worked with vendors to produce swag bags, and also with Three Olives Vodka for giveaways .

We worked with the Sandy Springs Police Department to put on Sandy Springs Family Fun Day, benefitting the SSPD benevolent fund. We worked with Event Rentals Unlimited to have tents, tables, chairs, trash cans, etc. in addition to the climbing wall, moon walks, face painting, and many other fun activities throughout the day.

We put on the Sex and the City 2 premiere party the night before the movie was even released in theatres. The event was sponsored by Skyy Vodka, which provided cocktails for the evening. The swag bags were amazing and guests were so happy with the vendors that were present to offer products and services before the film screening.

We did a book launch party for Love, Sex, & Deception: The Chronicles of Online Dating. Once again, the event was spectacular with swag bags, a lingerie fashion show, and a wonderful venue (Tongue & Groove).

The last big event of the summer that I did was Brides Who Lunch Bon Voyage. Brides and their guests traveled in provided transportation to 3 different venues, appropriate for bridal luncheons, rehearsal dinners, or anything of the sort. Vendors were at each location, and my mom got to be the featured bridal florist at Steel. Brides had a chance to book with photographers, florists, jewelers, cake specialists, and many other bridal vendors.

My favorite part of the job was working with a particular bride and groom to plan their wedding, scheduled for next Spring. I loved this because I got to work with them from step one, and be there with them every step of the way. We went to catering meetings, cake tastings, florists, talked about dress choices, venues, and everything in between. I loved having the chance to help a bride make her wedding day amazing.

I learned so much working with Lynn and I got a better sense of what it takes to be successful in this industry. The skills I learned and experience I gained will prove so valuable to me as I work toward my career in the future.

PR in ACTION!

We've gotten a lot of hands-on experience with Public Relations throughout our Mass Comm careers so far, but we often don't stop and think about how often PR is really used. So to illustrate a good example of everyday public relations, I attended the Digital Bridges Open House last week. They did a great job of promoting their event through Facebook events, posting it on their individual Facebooks, word of mouth, Twitter, etc. The event itself had PR written all over it. They used tactics to get people to attend such as free pizza, wings, and refreshments, and free jump drives to the first 100 guests. There were informational handouts for various community events and programs, as well as a knowledgeable group of PR students to answer any questions. These promotional methods made for a highly successful event. There were so many people in attendence, and I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves. (especially the icecream bar!) Take a look at the video and see "PR in Action" for yourself!

2010 Athletic Auction- How'd We Do???

I never thought I'd see the day that all of our hard work payed off and we actually saw the auction come together, but we did, and it was awesome. This past Saturday was the night that all the long hours and frustrations and commitment came together and we put on a night for our guests to remember. So how'd we do overall?

Strengths

-We had a committed team who has worked together on various projects in the past.

-We had different people with different skills that could bring their individual talents to the table.

-We had a sufficient amount of time to think the whole thing through and come up with some great ideas.

-We had the support of the athletic department and the school.

-We had many contacts that were able to help donate and help (easels, the mural, the singers, etc.)

-We had a large space to work with and room to have large, statement-making props such as the mural and the stage.

Weaknesses

-We only had a budget of $1,000 to work with.

-We had a limited amount of time for actual WORK DAYS, even though we had a lot of time to brainstorm ideas.

-It was our first big event and the whole thing was a learning process for all of us.

-Schedules were sometimes hard to mesh. The fact that this fell during Masters week (which I worked an excessive amount of hours for) and Greek Week meant that we all had to work our schedules and come up with times for all of us to meet outside of class. The crazy schedule also meant all of us were tired and stretched thinly, which can make it hard to be productive.

-Although we had a large space to work with, the space was, after all, an athletic gym, which took some thinking to transform it into a more elegant space.

Opportunities

-This gave us a great jumping off point for future events. I think we all really proved ourselves.

-This auction is a huge, high dollar event that will look great on our resumes, and hopefully open doors for us in the future.

-There were many people at the auction who sought the Dream Team out and complimented us on our work. Who knows what kind of contacts and networking can occur through the guests that were there?

Threats

-As I stated before, Greek Week and Masters week were during this same time. Conflicting schedules not only for us but for prospective guests to the event could be a huge threat.

-People could be unaware of what a great night the auction really is, and choose to do something they consider more fun instead.

-People may not want to spend the money to come to this event because of the tough economic times.

-People from other schools may feel competition with GC&SU and not feel compelled to donate money to our athletics programs.

These are just some of my thoughts on the whole experience, but I feel that overall, the event was a huge success. We worked so hard to pull this off and I appreciate every single person on our team! I can't think of a better group of people to work with. Great job guys!

Game Assessment

1. My event was the GCSU Senior Athletic Ceremony which I planned in conjunction with Brittni Collins. We had the intention to make the night a little more "special" by having certificates for the teachers recognized, a reception for them with the Bobcat Club, and just overall having the night planned completely so it ran smoothly and was the best yet. However, we had some trouble nailing down a final list of athletes and faculty so it made the planning process a little difficult. Al Weston was a big help to us in the process though, as he sent us a list of names updated every time he got the word. We basically just took the initiative to make nice certificates for the faculty and make sure everyone was lined up and ready to head out on the court when their name was called. We heard positive feedback from many people that, while we felt that we could have done a better job organizing and planning, the ceremony was a huge success.

2. I do feel that the event was a success. There were a decent amount of people at our game, but what I was most proud of was that the majority of athletes and faculty involved in the ceremony did show up and participate. Many who had been a part of Senior Night in the past let us know that this year's ceremony was much more organized than it has been in previous years. I felt good overall knowing that we worked well with the information and timeline we were given.

3. The most important thing that I took away from this event was not to rely on other people to get you the information you need. Relying on others often leads to things falling through the cracks and miscommunication. If you need something done, it's best to take the initiative, be proactive, and find out for yourself.

4. The only thing I would have wanted to do over is to get the names of people sooner so that everything wasn't so last minute. However, I feel that in this particular situation, it was beyond our control and we did a good job of improvising and working well at the last minute to pull it all together.

5. I would give Brittni and myself an A for this game, simply because it was a success, and because we learned from this experience how to handle a situation if a client isn't really on the same page as far as time restraints, etc. We worked with what we were given and still pulled it off flawlessly.

6. To keep Mean in Green alive, I think it's important that our PR class continue promoting it through Facebook events, word of mouth, attending games, etc. as long as we are at GCSU. I also hope that the next PR Writing and Admin classes will continue our efforts. The cheerleaders and athletes themselves also have a big responsibility to help spread the school spirit. We need to come up with a cheer or have the cheerleaders do so in order to keep the spirit alive and the crowd involved. Let's face it, we have really made Mean in Green a huge success since its conception. We need to continue selling shirts and pushing the brand through any GCSU memorabilia that we can. It's just too great to let it die out.

LONG LIVE MEAN IN GREEN!

Branding Myself

Brands are hugely recognizeable both in the public relations and advertising fields, but many people don't realize the thought and reflection that must go in to creating a brand for something or someone.
This became apparent to me this week as I worked on an advertising project that involved writing a 6 word memoir about myself. In essence, I was looking to cut out the clutter of my hectic life and focus on something that was important and meaningful to me as a person. I really had to focus on the one aspect of myself that I wanted to represent, although there are many different routes I could have gone with. My six words that I chose for THIS particular assignment, however, were "The world's bigger than it seems." I used these six focused words to represent the fact that I often live in a bubble, (my school, my job, my close friends) and that I need to realize there's more out there than what's inside my own bubble.
Now, while this assignment was eye-opening and helped me learn to focus my energy into a short, concise point, I feel that it's also important to learn the art of branding oneself in a way that would be appropriate for general recognition/cohesiveness of my blog, twitter, facebook, resume, portfolio, etc. I haven't taken this step yet, but I've been brainstorming on some ideas so that I have a brand that I can put on whatever it is I'm dealing with.
Some important factors in a brand include a consistent color, font, logo, and name. I've been looking through some social media sites belonging to people named "Shannon Twomey" and there are a lot of people with that name. My first step needs to be branding myself so that I am recognized by the name "Shannon Kate Twomey." This way, when future employers/businesses are looking for me online, they'll know me because I include my middle name in everything that belongs to me.
I haven't decided on a logo yet, but I'm going to get a friend to give me some photoshop lessons so I can create something truely beautiful, eye-catching, and memorable. I think it's important to have the skill to create an appealing logo so that you will stand out from the rest of the crowd. The color that I am currently using on my resume is a burnt orange/red color that really pops off the page, and it's used on a swirly corner design I have placed by my name. I plan on changing this depending on what type of logo I create, but I really like the color that I have chosen.
As my creative branding process continues and I come up with my FABULOUS logo, I'll be sure to post it! Be on the lookout!

The Tipping Point - How Can We Tip the Auction???

Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point is an eye opening book that emphasizes the importance of details. I've read the book before (or at least parts of it) but I never appreciated it the way I did this time around. I think the reason for this is because I am involved in Public Relations now, and it's all in the details, especially when it comes to the Athletic Auction.
I remembered especially the story of the subways in New York. At the time, the city and the subways were hot spots for crime. There were murders, break-ins, violent intimidation, and muggings every day. Gladwell recounts the story of Goetz, a white college professor who was intimidated by four young "thugs" on the subway. Instead of letting them push him around, he went over the edge and shot them right then and there. Due to the media attention that this story brought, New York City officials realized it was time to do something about the crime rate. They started by simply paying attention to the details. They cleaned the subway cars, painted over the graffiti, and took care of broken windows. Any time vandalism took place, it was immediately repaired in order to send the message, "You can spend your time vandalizing, painting graffiti, etc., but we're just going to paint right over it as soon as it happens." This attention to detail sent a dramatic message to all those who lived in the city- people DO care about their environments, because their environments play a part on the behavior that takes place around them. When the environment is clean and in order, people's behavior will fall in to place.
I also really enjoyed the section on "stickiness" as applied to Sesame Street and Blue's Clues. I never thought about how much research and thought went into children's television shows to hold their attention and make the show something the children will return to again and again. Interaction was a huge part of making kid's shows sticky. The more the children could participate and answer questions, the stickier the shows seemed to be. There were countless studies done and examples covered on this matter, and I found all of them very interesting. It would take a very patient person to deal with children and study those little details and clues in order to make the television show a success. Gladwell also talked about stickiness in terms of group behavior. In his example, the Ya-Ya Sisterhood epidemic became huge because it wasn't just individuals going to the book tours/signings, it was GROUPS of friends who had tipped the popularity by a word-of-mouth epidemic.
Gladwell also talked about three different types of people, Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. Connectors are those people who know so many others that they bring others together. The author gave an example of how he could trace the majority of his friends back to one man who had introduced him and linked him to most of those friends that he met. I started thinking about that myself, and realized that I may also be a connector. Even in high school, I was friends with so many different groups of people that I had a way of bringing many of them together to form new friendships. I hung out with the cheerleaders from my squad, the chorus girls I sang with, the baseball team my boyfriend was a part of, the "weird" emo kids that I found a special place in my heart for (and the strange music they listened to...I tried it out for a while!), etc. Cheerleaders never associated with that group, yet some of my good cheerleading buddies met and liked some of the "different" people I had become close to. For this reason, I do feel that I would fall under the Connector category. Mavens are people who are full of knowledge, expertise, and facts. To illustrate this, Gladwell referred to Mark Alpert, who was detailed and wise and curious. This type of person has "the knowledge and the social skills to start word-of-mouth epidemics" that can tip something and make it a huge success. The third group Gladwell referred to was Salesmen. These people are convincing, outgoing, and also knowledgeable. Moine said that a great salesman has a great number and high quality of answers to the objections that clients often raise. Salesmen also have energy, charisma, and a persuasiveness that allows people to trust and agree with them.
When applying these principles to the Athletic Auction, I felt the most important aspect was first of all the details. Our pitch focused on making this event something more elegant and completely thought through from the first to the last detail. Our budget, presentation, decor, etc. were all very specific in what we thought would make this event a success. Spending time on the details will make this event glamorous, elegant, and set the bar high for events in the future. As Gladwell explained, people respond to their environment in a way that is rather subconscious, yet hugely important. (As the example of crime in a graffiti-ridden city proved). When our guests see the details we payed attention to in order to provide an excellent environment, I hope that they will enjoy themselves and appreciate this auction more than ever before. We can also use the different types of people we have in our class to work together to cover every detail. We can use our salesmen and their charisma to help pitch our ideas successfully. We can use our connectors in the class to find contacts from all different departments for donated items, help with props, materials, or whatever we need. And we can use our mavens and the knowledge they possess, as well as their ability to find great deals to aid in the auction process. I also hope that the things that we learn through this process can be applied in future years (aka become "sticky") so that every auction from here on out is widely successful.
I am thrilled and looking forward to applying the knowledge I have collected from my Public Relations courses in order to make this auction tip. With our team's hard work and attention to detail, I know we can do it!

Twitter - Learning Slowly but Surely!

Dr. Carter uses Twitter more than anyone I know and I've been trying to learn the benefits and quirks to it lately. I know it's a great social networking tool and can be very useful in finding potential internships, jobs, connections, etc., but it's taken me a while to get there. I started following some ad agencies, since I'm partly an ad major, but mostly I've been focusing on finding event planners, especially in the wedding industry. I know a woman who runs a complete wedding planning facility out of Jacksonville, FL, and I found her on Twitter. She's talked to me a lot about the ups and downs, the details, planning, and everything that goes in to planning and executing a bride's big day through her Twitter, I've found some other really interesting event coordinators, and I've also found a lot of interesting people just searching on my own. What I find most interesting, however, is how many messages I get to my phone every day (via Twitter) about new event planners that are following ME that I haven't even followed yet. It makes me excited that I'm getting these connections, even though some of them are really far away, but I hope that I can use this to my benefit. I browse through a lot of their links and pictures they post just because I love weddings and could get lost in the articles and stories and albums people post. I have also set up an almost definate weekend this spring to go to Jacksonville and help Southern Charm Events put on a wedding. I'm glad that Dr. Carter has gotten us in to Twitter and has helped me realize how important and helpful it can really be. I'm looking forward to meeting and speaking with many more PR professionals via Twitter!
You can follow my Tweets @ www.twitter.com/shannon_twomey
I look forward to Tweeting with you!

PR Trip to Flagler College

The PR Dream Team responsible for "Mean in Green" had the awesome opportunity to travel to Flagler College in St. Augustine to present some of our ideas to the sports marketing classes and the PRSSA chapter about how we have been able to incorporate PR into the athletics program at Georgia College. In addition to all of the memories and inside jokes that were a result of our trip, we learned a lot just by having the opportunity to present and share what we've been doing with other people who are interested in the same thing. Flagler's PRSSA chapter also had a lot of ideas for us to take home and make our own, including a great idea to have a student run PR firm responsible for doing some non-profit PR work. As a class, we have been talking about some ideas and some of us are very interested in developing the same type of program at our school. This was our first chance to take our hard work to the next level and have a professional day to make a presentation and really go over all the great things we've accomplished the past semester.

It was also really neat to tour the Flagler campus and do some sightseeing while we were there. We had breakfast on the beach one morning, and even though it was chilly, we walked out to the ocean and got to take a few pictures before our meeting with the PRSSA chapter. My favorite part of the trip was touring the PGA Tour Productions studio, where we got to see how a lot of the visuals and special effects are done for the broadcasts of the Tour. It was really neat to see all of that put into action, especially since I work at a golf course and am usually right in the middle of all the golf action that happens throughout the season.

I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to go with the Dream Team and grow closer as a class and as a team. It was definately a memorable and helpful experience!

What I hope to do with PR

When I first came to GCSU, I wasn't sure what I really wanted to major in and ultimately do with my life. I finally decided that I wanted to explore the Mass Comm world, and spent some time concentrating on the writing aspect, thinking that I wanted to be a journalist. It wasn't until the Mass Comm Mixer my freshman year that I even thought to look into public relations, and once I did a little digging, I realized that I would enjoy this field much more than journalism. It is so versatile and teaches you skills that are applicable in so many different areas of your life. It involves some writing, lots of planning and organizing (which is what I'm best at) and working with different people and media.
My mom has done a lot of work with her own small business doing wedding planning, mostly for friends of our family who are getting married. I absolutely am enthralled and obsessed with everything wedding related, and the more I think about my future, the more I hope that I can use my PR skills and event planning experiences to work with my mom and do special events. Even if weddings are just a small part of the events I coordinate, I know that ultimately, I want to use PR to follow a career path that will take me in that direction. Maybe one day my mom and I will even have our own special event business...who knows? But I can't wait to find out!

First Blog Post

Let the blogging begin :)