By: Margaret Werren The 2022 PRSSA ICON session, “What Aspiring Pros Should Know About PR” showcased how public relations really works. Hosted by Melissa Vela-Williamson, who has over 20 years of experience across different public relations sectors, topics showcased included getting started in PR, making positive first impressions, email rules, and media relations. Williamson is an accredited, internationally-recognized public relations expert, national columnist and podcast host. Williamson has nearly two decades of multicultural and integrated communications experience; she serves as a consultant, trainer and account director at her boutique firm, MVW Communications. Some of her clients include Kampgrounds of America, H-E-B, Alamo Colleges District, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas and Texas State University. Williamson is a certified diversity professional where she leverages her PR and DEI expertise to create social good. Smart Talk: Public Relations Essentials All Pros Should Know Published in 2022, Williamson’s book, “Smart Talk: Public Relations Essentials All Pros Should Know” is a guide to navigating the evolving PR industry and forging your own path toward an impactful and successful career. Williamson wanted to showcase how to develop beneficial relationships, creating integrated communication strategies, planning targeted campaigns and advising clients in their diversity and inclusion efforts. Some chapter titles in the book highlight what PR actually is, media relations do’s and don'ts, planning like a pro, starting smart with PR etiquette, tailoring to serve multicultural needs, understanding integrated marketing communication and building your PR toolkit. Getting Started in Public Relations Williamson’s presentation started with describing all the different sectors of public relations and tips on getting started in the field. “The top piece of advice I would have for you that is going to make you marketable and what employers are looking for is that they want experience. They want to know that you can jump in and help,” Williamson said. They're not going to spend their days training you. And you need evidence of that experience.” Another tip Williamson shared for getting started in public relations is building your own personal brand and the importance of building and maintaining two-way relationships. “Customer service is #1 in public relations. If you work in PR, you are going to be helpful in a million different ways,” Williamson said.”If you are not helpful, that is going to be remembered too.” Emailing is More Important Than You Think Williamson stressed the importance of email etiquette in the field of public relations and how it can sometimes make or break relationships with journalists. “I have a whole chapter about media relations and how the very embarrassing things that happened to me with missteps in emails and follow-ups, it’s a really important part of our job,” Williamson said. “How you handle email is actually super important. It’s going to be your main communication tool. With email, there are actually a lot of unwritten rules that you don’t learn until you embarrass yourself.” Her top rules when it comes to using email the correct way are watch your tone, take complex topics offline, keep it short and sweet, edit before sending, think before you send, follow the To, CC and BCC rules, watch punctuation and remember what you write is published. Effective Media Relations Williamson defined effective media relations as starting with planning and ending with delivering a clear, impactful message that benefits your organization. “Tip #1 is just accept that [media relations] will always be intimidating your whole career. It will be uncomfortable your whole career. Doesn’t mean you can’t be good at it,” Williamson said. “The thing with media relations is to know that it is a game and you have to be proactive, have purpose and be intentional. Such as curating and maintaining relationships with journalists.” A second important tip Williamson shared was to understand what is newsworthy and how to tailor your pitch to a journalist by making it effective. “Understanding what is actually newsworthy is really hard. You may have an employer that thinks everything is newsworthy,” Williamson said. “I have a whole chapter where I line out the nine criteria that journalists are trained on to look for newsworthiness. If you know what they are, you can stack them and make a story excellent when you pitch it.” RPIE Method Williamson broke down the four-step process of public relations using the acronym RPIE, which stands for research, planning, implementation and evaluation. Below is her breakdown of each letter. She emphasized that you will be the top pro if you understand strategic communication planning. Research: “Understanding there is something you can gather: information online, secondary research someone has done and what are the numbers and data.” Planning: “For a lot of clients, it is making the time to sit down and think. If you are in the agency world, you have more time to think than the client’s who are working in house do because they are busy putting out fires day to day.” Implementation: “When you put that plan into action. Plans are worth nothing if you don’t activate them. While you are doing that plan, figure out what is working and what is not and then make changes along the way. Document that so your next plan is even easier.” Evaluation: “How can we measure the reaction?”
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By: Katherine Masko
The romanticization and outdated narrative of public relations has created a false perception of PR in the eyes of the general public, according to Brandi Boatner, the self-titled “Beyoncé of the Business World.” In actuality, Boatner works with external influencers for IBM, a technology company. PR has been falsely publicized in movies and television due to shows like “Emily in Paris” and “Scandal.” Often, Hollywood shows a character snapping a quick photo, posting it on social media and that creates the entire PR campaign. This incorrect representation of PR in the real world creates a dangerous narrative for rising PR professionals. Boatner said it is a problem, and it's young people's prerogative to fix it. Broadcast Television and Media “Sex and the City” character, Samantha Jones, was characterized as a PR professional, but actions speak louder than words. The character was shown, more often than not, hosting extravagant parties, getting into the most popular clubs and “bar-hopping and bed-hopping” in New York City. Boatner stressed that Samantha Jones rarely spoke to a journalist. Olivia Pope from “Scandal” was the first Black woman lead on prime-time television and her character was based on PR professional Judy Smith, who has previously spoken at ICON. Still, “Scandal” creates a cultural perception of crises happening every day and killing people to keep secrets, secret. Cultural Perception Problems Bar-hopping, extravagant parties and murder are not what the field of public relations is supposed to be. Strategy, influence and writing are, according to Boatner. “It is such a good time to be in PR because you can do so many things,” Boatner said. “But, people don’t know what we do.” Media relations come to mind for many members of the general public as a PR job requirement, but there is far more to PR than that. Internal communications, crisis communications, content marketing, influencer relationships and more all fall under PR. Yet, What Can Be Done to Change That? “PR people,” Boatner said. “We influence other people.” Like the theme for ICON 2022, the power of influence comes down to reputation. As PR professionals, being strategic and mindful of PR’s online reputation can lead to heavy influence. “If PR pros can’t manage our own reputation as an industry, why should our clients let us manage their reputation?” Boatner questioned. “The New Narrative for PR” Boatner suggests that relying on modern communication skills like digital intelligence, behavioral science, crisis management, influencer relations and more can create a new space for PR to grow. She created a new narrative about the modern storyteller that she feels fits the power and influence future PR professionals should strive for. For her, the modern storytellers should be three things: scientists, strategists and creators. Scientists uncover and analyze what drives the world, strategists find ways to connect and create action plans and creators articulate stories in creative, impactful ways. Boatner acknowledges that this new narrative can be difficult, but there are ways to combat it. “The best PR pros know how to strategically communicate their personal and organizational positioning to be dynamic and forward-thinking,” Boatner said. Boatner spent the remainder of the time answering questions from students. She said one of her favorite things is to give back to students by speaking at ICON as often as possible. ICON 2022 is the 17th year she’s attended. “PR is a pink industry,” Boatner said. “It is up to you all in this room to be the change the PR profession needs.” By: Blake Serrano
The second day of the 2022 PRSSA ICON Conference featured two speakers from PepsiCo who shared inside secrets on their engaging advertisements and campaigns. Garrett Shipman serves as the senior manager of digital communications at PepsiCo. Shipman said that he worked with a variety of companies before PepsiCo, but found that what set it apart from the rest was its mission of being “purpose-driven.” Shipman also said he thinks that PepsiCo is different from its competitors because they have built an authentic, well-established relationship with its stakeholders. “We’ve been building this reputation among our audiences that we are getting involved in the community and not forgetting our roots as a company,” Shipman says. “The three pillars that are a part of this strategy are our employment brand, corporate citizenship and consumer interests.” Ashley Capps is the director of external communications for Frito Lay North America at PepsiCo. Capps echoed that her past experience working in agency communications enhanced her career and role at PepsiCo. “At the beginning of your career, working at an agency is really helpful and it will let you dabble in a lot of industries,” Capps relayed. “It will ultimately help you narrow what you love, what you hate, and what you thrive at.” Capps also mentioned some of the important day-to-day duties that have allowed her to build a great relationship with Frito-Lay and PepsiCo audiences. “I work with all of our marketing teams to take their products or campaigns and launch them to the world,” Capps added. “So if you see a new product on the shelf or a Super Bowl advertisement, those are some of the many things that I work on.” Shipman and Capps also made the session engaging by adding a trivia session that included Frito-Lay merchandise as prizes. “The trivia made the session informative and fun at the same time, “ said PRSSA Kent Chapter President, Kayla Polansky. “Everyone was so determined to get the free prizes and there was definitely some light competition.” By: Kayla Polansky
In today’s digital age, it can be easy to post mistakes with the click of a button. At the ICON PRSSA National Conference, Anne Marie Mitchell, associate professor at Columbia College of Chicago, spoke about how modern-day Youtubers handle communication crises. Mitchell began her career as a speech writer and soon got into publications afterwards. Before beginning her research on the topic, Mitchell made sure to watch no apology videos beforehand. She said that theory relied heavily on examining the aspects of digital apology videos. One public relations theory Mitchell closely evaluated was the Image Repair Theory proposed by William Benoit. This theory was Mitchell’s starting point in her research and has since utilized this theory in her teachings of public relations. “This is what got me super excited about doing this research,” she said. “I was going to be able to take this theory and apply it to social media, or ultimately, the next generation.” This theory breaks down three vital elements that must happen in order for a crisis to occur:
Research showed from Mitchell’s studies that audience members who had already followed the creator were more likely to hold forgiveness. Additionally, her research found that the majority of creators apologized for a content problem (42%) and racism (19%), and the majority of creators were male and emphasized a natural look. While sharing some interesting information about theory, Mitchell also tied back to the basis of research to answer the simple question: Why YouTube? According to research, YouTube already had an estimated 37 million channels in 2010 and 22,000 channels that had already reached one million subscribers. And while some may think that the platform is just for adults, it also caters to the younger audience. According to Mitchell’s research, 29% of those aged 8 through 12 aspire to become a YouTuber. Mitchell began the first part of her research in the spring of 2020 during the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. While sitting at home and evaluating apology videos, she explained how she paid attention to key aspects, such as eye contact, lighting, video production, makeup and the overall message. Grace Kindl
Suzanne Droese, founder of Droese Public Relations, opened her session by asking attendees what luxury meant to them. Droese worked with a variety of luxury brands, such as Gucci, Mulberry, Bumble, Valentino and Sprinkles Cupcakes. Key Things to Remember Luxury brands cater to small audiences. The key to any good public relations campaign is an approach tailored to the targeted audience. For luxury brands, that targeted audience is a much smaller pool and can be difficult to hit just right. Campaigns are typically tailored to customers with discretionary income. The campaigns for luxury brands often have different objectives than most campaigns. Due to the specific niche audience it is trying to reach, the goal may not be as much to spread awareness as it is to create exclusivity. This does not apply to every luxury brand, but many create a scarcity in order to boost its exclusivity. Think a Birkin bag by Hermès or a product with very few made. “People want what they can’t have,” Droese said. Similar to many companies, luxury brands have a distinctive voice. Overall it should sound educated, informed and concise. When a consumer is looking at the products of a luxury brand, they should feel like the brand knows who it is. “People are buying into you knowing your stuff,” Droese said. Principles of Luxury Providing a seamless experience: The experience audiences receive both online and offline should match. This includes experiences consumers have on social media, not just online shopping. The messaging social media teams put together should feel succinct with that of the messaging in store. Offering convenience: Luxury consumers, like most people, value their time. When taking time out of their day to shop at a luxury store, convenience is one of the most important things they can be offered. This can range from tasks like offering coffee to gift wrapping. Emphasizing lifestyle: The messaging of luxury brands does not always need to spell things out. Droese used the Johnny Depp Dior ad campaign as an example to explain this. The campaign consisted of actor Johnny Depp playing guitar in the desert and introducing “Sauvage elixir,” a new cologne. The underlying theme of the ad was “sexy” in Droese’s words, but that was never explicitly said. Telling the story: This is not specific to luxury brands. All public relations campaigns should be focused on story telling. The aspect that is specific to luxury is history. Many luxurious brands (i.e. Gucci) have been around for decades. Telling the audience about its history and making it a part of its brand is one of the keys to luxury storytelling in the modern day. Standing firm: Luxury brands must stick to their brand. Successfully communicating is required in any market, but specifically in luxury. With a niche audience, if a brand strays, it loses. “They have to know their DNA, they have to know their story and they can’t stray from it,” Droese said. Suzanne’s Super Seven Secrets for Success Droese ended the session with advice for attendees. This advice could be applied to the audience’s experience working in the field, as well as their day to day life.
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