Last post for social media class..

Don't worry.. I will still continue to blog when things come up related to the world of PR and Mass Communication. Just wanted to write a quick post to tell you about my journey these last couple of months. First of all, I have to say that I have learned a lot in this process. I took the social media mini-session the second week of January and we were assigned to create and maintain a blog until now. We could also choose three more social media platforms to maintain over these past couple of months. I chose Twitter, Pinterest and Linked In. It has been fun to learn how to maintain these social media sites and to get social media savvy. I have thoroughly enjoyed this process and I plan to take a small break the next couple of weeks as school is becoming pretty hectic. I am really enjoying my classes this semester and I will be graduating in December! Hooray! Thank you so much for following along with my blog and I hope you will continue to do so.

Talk to you soon!

Clemmie

How non-profits relied on social media in 2012

In December Mashable published this blog post. I am currently working on a campaign plan for the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association and just finished a social media plan for it. I was looking at sources that discussed social media in regards to non-profits and came across this post. 

I was amazed at the statistics on this graph. Friends are more likely to donate or find out about an organization if one of their friends shared a post about that organization. Donations were the highest they have ever been last year in regards to fundraising using social media. Do any of these statistics surprise you? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Walmart's 'Buy American' Campaign

I was surfing the web tonight and found this article by The Huffington Post. About a month ago, Walmart announced that they are going to pour $50 billion into buying more American made goods throughout the next 10 years. In May, they also are set to start hiring 100,000 newly discharged veterans over the next five years. Walmart says that both of these plans are to help boost the U.S. economy.
I had not heard this before I found this article tonight. I find it interesting and assume these two campaigns are set in place as mostly a reputation booster for Walmart. Traditionally, they have had a bad reputation to many people in regards to how much employees are paid and that they are not part of any union. I read in another article not too long ago that Walmart makes about $400 billion annually and if you break down the numbers $50 billion over 10 years is really not that generous of them. I think if Walmart was really wanting to give a boost to the economy they could/would spend a lot more more than that and still make an unbelievable profit. I have also noticed a trend lately among different brands shifting to promoting more patriotism. I think Walmart is following the lead.
What are your thoughts on this new campaign from Walmart?

Burger King got hacked.

This morning the Burger King Twitter account was hacked by someone claiming to be McDonald's. The hacker said that Burger King had been sold to McDonald's and many obscene tweets were posted throughout the course of the morning. A lot of re-tweeting and around 20,000 more followers were added to the Burger King account. Twitter suspended the account a few hours after Burger King reached out to them. Later this evening Burger King finally responded and opened their account back up. They tweeted "Interesting day here at BURGER KING, but we're back! Welcome to our new followers. Hope you all stick around!"

Bryson Thorton, the spokesperson for Burger King issued an apology tonight saying, "Earlier today, our official BK Twitter Account was compromised by unauthorized users, Upon learning of this incident, our social media teams immediately began working with Twitter security administrators to suspend the compromised account until we could reestablish our brand's official Twitter page. We apologize to our loyal fans and followers, whom might have received unauthorized tweets from our account. We are pleased to announce that the account is now active again."

A lot of people were wondering why it took Burger King so long to respond and why they weren't monitoring their Twitter account. I watched the page most of the day, seeing how long it would take Burger King to respond. I personally thought it took way too long.  Do you think this will effect Burger King's reputation. Has it already?

Happy Valentine's Day as told by kids.

I thought this was cute and wanted to share!

Hope your day has been great!

Coca-Cola Addict Dies

Remember my earlier posts about Coca-Cola's new campaign targeted at being more aware of calorie intake? See it here and here. According to The Atlantic Wire, a women from New Zealand died from drinking too much Coke. The coroner said the this women drank 2.5 gallons of Coke a day and that it was a "substantial factor" in her death.The article states that her family was not too concerned about the amount of Coke she drank each day because there were no warning labels on the cans. The coroner reccommends that Coca-Cola put warning labels on the cans. A representative from Coca-Cola said that the company was disappointed to hear the coroners report. The women's death was quite unusual and the coroner recognized that the company was not responsible for her death.

So, what do you think? Should Coca-Cola put labels on their products warning that drinking too much can be harmful to a person's health? OR is it just common sense.. like eating too much McDonald's can make you fat?

I thought this was interesting considering that Coke just launched their new health conscious campaign.

Tornado Tragedy strikes USM, and what the university did right.

Yesterday, around 5:45 pm an EF-4 tornado with winds peaking at 170 mph struck Hattiesburg and the University of Southern Mississippi. It left 82 people injured but amazingly there are no reported deaths at this time.
Some photos:

Here is a video of the tornado crossing Hardy Street striking the campus from Storm Spotter John Sibley:

Now, I have to brag on the university for a moment. They handled this situation in the best way possible. They were consistent in keeping the students, faculty, staff and parents informed. They sent out text messages and phone calls regarding the multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings in a timely manner all afternoon and night and continued to keep us all informed even throughout today. I think their action preparedness plan paid off and I am so glad they know exactly what to do when and if a tragedy should strike. I think it saved a lot of lives on campus. The City of Hattiesburg was also very prepared. They put their plan into action and were on the scene as soon as the tornado passed through. Residents heeded the warnings and the loss of human life was none. Please keep Hattiesburg, USM and the surrounding areas in your thoughts and prayers. I know we will need it in the coming days as the recovery process is happening.

What can't PR pros live without?

PR News did a Facebook and Twitter survey asking PR pros what they can't live without. There were some great answers. Some of my favorites include: patience, a sense of humor and tough skin. Many others replied with clients, social media, smart phone, email, coffee, etc.

So, basically this:

What is the most important thing you think a PR pro can't live without?

So God made a PR Pro.

Did you see the Super Bowl Dodge Ram commercial "So God made a Farmer"? Well, I was surfing on Twitter a couple days later and found this. A play off of the poem "So God made a Farmer", I thought this was creative and downright accurate.  Written by Arik Hanson on his site Communications Conversations, the poem goes like this:

On the eighth day, God looked down on this world and said, “I need someone to help these retail companies, schools, manufacturers, hospitals, start-ups, tech companies, restaurants, hotels, sports franchises and news organizations communicate better.”

So, God made a PR pro.

God said, “I need someone to wake up at 4 a.m., manage a live shot down at the Mall of America outside when it’s 5 degrees outside, then get back to the office by 7, take a two-hour client call at 8, get to a new business meeting at 10:30, take the new AE out to lunch, crank out a strategic plan and proof a news release in the afternoon, pick up the kids at 5:45, get them to ice skating lessons, eat dinner, go back online and complete billing reports, send a few emails to clients, finish the news release and do it all again the next day.”

So, God made a PR pro.

God said, “I need someone who can sit in a meeting with a room full of senior-level executives and stand toe-to-teo with the CEO and tell him he needs to take a risk in the first quarter with a new campaign based on her recommendations, then turn around and sympathize with her team and figure out how they’re going to get the whole plan done in just 12 days.”

So, God made a PR pro.

God said, “I need someone who can break down analytics and glean useful insights for clients. Someone who can crank out a news release, a blog post, and an annual report in a single afternoon. Someone who can manage and lead a team. Someone who can mentor younger team members. Someone who can massage and manage a client’s concerns, then sit in a room with an assistant account executive and listen to their challenges.”

So, God made a PR pro.

God said, “I need someone strong enough to handle a crisis–where the client has absolutely no clue what to do next. Someone who can handle the heat when it gets so hot you can actually feel the sweat through the phone. But someone kind enough that other employees love coming to work with her each day.”

So, God made a PR pro.

It had to be someone who could write and edit. Interpret and influence. Direct and debate. Consult and collaborate. Organize and categorize. Evaluate and motivate. Lecture and listen. Someone who was willing to take risks. To push the envelope for her clients. To go above and beyond. Day after day after day after day. Someone who has an insatiable curiousity and someone who simply loved to learn.

So, God made a PR pro.

But above all, it had to be someone with a strong moral compass–someone with ethics. Because without that, she is nothing. Someone who’s hyper-organized. Loves lists. And love to complete them. Loves coffee. And loves to read. Someone, who loves grammar so much she spell checks text messages. Someone who has CNN on in the background along with Tweetdeck and 18 columns. And someone who wakes up each morning, takes a shower, eats breakfast and looks in the mirror and says, “I am a PR pro.”

I love the last paragraph the most. What a wonderful reminder about what being a PR pro is all about. We need to remember that as PR professionals out first and foremost responsibility is to be ethical, because in the end if you are not, what is it all for? What do you think about this poem? Comment below and let me know!

My favorite Super Bowl Ads

Here are some of my favorite ads from this year's Super Bowl:

I certainly have a lot to discuss in my paper. Some of them sure did not disappoint!  What were your favorite ads this year? Were there some ads you didn't like?

10 Worst Super Bowl Ads

First off, Happy Groundhog Day! Supposedly spring will come early this year. In honor of the Super Bowl tomorrow, I went in search of some of the worst Super Bowl ads. Luckily, Mashable did all of the hard work for me. You can see the gallery here.

Some were just plain bad, some I didn't understand and the Apple one below was really dark.

I thought this was an interesting topic to look into. Tomorrow, I will do a post on my favorite ad/ads from tomorrow's Super Bowl. Are there any ads you deem some of the Super Bowl's "worst"?

My life in Academia.

Ever feel like this?

Well, that is how my week has been. Lately school has gotten pretty busy. Now, I'm not complaining yet.. I started my new job and I have some interesting assignments I'm working on and I wanted to share. This weekend I am doing a critical analysis on an advertisement for my Critical and Cultural Theory class. My group picked this ad. Huggies had a lot of criticism over their "Dad-Test" Campaign and we thought this would be a great one to critique. I am also doing a small reaction paper on the Super Bowl ads. That should be fun right? I also have a social media plan I need to get started on for the mini-session I took. (It was a great class!) My favorite assignment yet is for the campaigns class I am taking this semester. I am doing a campaign for the Historical Hattiesburg Downtown Association. I am super excited about this. I always liked being involved in the Mainstreet organization in my hometown so I decided to seek out the organization in Hattiesburg like it. I met with the Executive Director and learned quite a bit about the organization and I am excited to get started on the campaign. Well, that is it for now. Plenty to keep me busy. Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!

The Piano Stairs

Today I was searching for an advertisement to analyze for one of my classes and came across this video:

The point of this project was to make the stairs fun so that people would take the stairs more often than the escalator.The video stated that 66% more people took the stairs after the transformation. I just thought this was incredibly creative and just plain cool and I wanted to share.

Happy Friday!

"Rethinking Reputation"

I am currently reading a book for my PR Strategies class that is titled " Rethinking Reputation: How PR Trumps Marketing and Advertising in the New Media World." Fraser P. Seitel and John Doorley authored this book. So far Part I has been a very interesting read and it focuses on building reputation. The people and companies highlighted in the first five chapters  are very hard working and creative. Some of the stories are incredible.
 I think my favorite story was the one about the two girls who were juniors in college when they started their company CitySlips. Susie Levitt and Katie Shea attended New York University and met their junior year. They quickly became good friends and they both wanted to start their own business. A few weeks later the girls came up with an idea. They both were complaining about how they love high heels but hate how their feet hurt when they have to wear them for long periods of time. The idea was born that maybe there can be stylish shoes that are comfortable too. The girls started the process with only $10,000. It was only enough to choose a manufacturer and produce a first batch of the slippers. With some good old relationship building these girls were able to get far. Everything fell into place for them because they were willing to take the time and reach out for help. In the end CitySlips became insanely popular. They were able to accomplish their dream. Their key: "Relationships are like magic slippers. Cherish them!" (pp. 27)

(I do not own this image)

So, if you want a light read, this is a good book about success stories based on PR concepts. I am sure Part II will be as good as Part I. So if you get time check this book out, and if you have already read it, let me know what you think!

What PR misconception would you like to clear up?

PR News did an informal poll on Facebook and asked, "What’s the one PR misconception you’d like to clear up?” See it here.

The poll turned up some interesting answers. Many respondents answered with the usual PR is the same as journalism/marketing/advertising etc, PR people are "spin doctors", that PR is all about writing press releases, PR people are glorified "party planners", that PR is BS, and many more.

I think most of the answers were right on. There are a lot of misconceptions about public relations. I think it is our job as PR professionals to try to educate the public on what PR is and clear up those misconceptions. So, PR professionals and students, what is a misconception you would like to clear up?

Coke's Campaign- New Ad "Be OK"

The second ad for the new Coca-Cola Campaign was released during American Idol on Wednesday. This spot called "Be OK" once again stresses the importance of being fit and healthy and showcases how easy it is to burn calories while having fun. The ad starts out with a can of Coke that equals "140 HAPPY Calories to spend on EXTRA happy activities." It then showcases people doing "happy activities" and emphasizes if you do this activity for this amount of time you will burn calories without even knowing it and maybe enough to burn off a can of Coke. So, what are your opinions on this ad from Coke? I think it is a nice complement to their previous ad "Coming Together". This campaign will be an interesting one to watch from Coke.

Coke's new campaign

Yesterday, Coca-Cola unveiled a new ad campaign targeted at fighting obesity. They are planning to launch a series of ads this week in the United States that highlight some of the new choices Coke is offering to their consumers. They are clearly marking the calorie content on the front of the packaging and offering more low calorie and no calorie options of some of their most highly consumed beverages. They are re-packaging the sodas into smaller serving sizes in an effort to do their part to end the obesity epidemic. Their first ad titled "Coming Together" was launched yesterday and  in a featured story on their website they state they will launch later this week another ad titled "Be OK."  Several well known blogs have touched on this today and many of the comments think this campaign is hypocritical on Coca-Cola's part. Other comments also feel like Coke is doing a good thing by telling the consumer to educate themselves on how many calories they intake. So what do you think about Coke's newest campaign? Hypocritical or good marketing sense? Both? I'd love to hear your feedback.

Facebook in Real Life.

Since it is late I thought I'd share one of my favorite social media "funny videos" with you. Facebook in real life. Does facebook ever make you feel like this in real life?

What is PR?

This is a question Public Relations professionals and students alike ask themselves quite often. There are many definitions of PR. Last semester my PR Theory class had a ongoing discussion of this very question all semester. We came up with answers like "managing strategic relationships", "managing and maintaining reputations and relationships with the media and various publics", "relationship builder", "creating, maintaining and managing relationships that benefit each party" etc. 
Yesterday, PRowl Public Relations posted on their blog a graphic that PRNewswire compiled of all the definitions of PR that their followers and friends came up with: http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?blog=2355207&link=aHR0cDovL3Byb3dscHVibGljcmVsYXRpb25zLmJsb2dzcG90LmNvbS8

PR(Plus) made a very creative video with how they define public relations.

So, how do YOU define PR? Post in the comments below! Thanks for reading.

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Hello!

Hi, My name is Clemmie. I am currently a grad student at The University of Southern Mississippi working on my MS in Public Relations. I graduated from Mississippi University for Women with a BA in Communication in 2011. I started this blog to look into articles that discuss issues and topics concerning Public Relations and the Mass Communication fields. In my free time I enjoy books, movies, crafts, music, weather and history. Thank you for viewing the blog!