PR Video Response

It was so interesting viewing the videos of UW-Whitewater Alumni who majored in the public relations field. Their interviews were very insightful and everyone gave great advice. The three videos that stood out to me were Jennie Krajeck, Rick Daniels, and Heidi Murphy.


Jennie Krajeck works for Forward Janesville. Krajeck explains Gov. Scott Walker was there and she explained her typical day consisted of phone calls, emails, dealing with protesters, working with security and planning for the event. I found that really interesting. It was also great knowing that even though she took certain classes and didn't go into that field specifically, she still learned how to use that knowledge in her work.

Rick Daniels is a Greek and helps promote Greek life. The most insightful advice he gave, in my opinion, is to keep everything. Daniels says you want to be able to pull these items out when you get into the PR field and use them as resources. Daniels also says to keep up with the news and current events to be able to relate to the public and things that are happening now.

Heidi Murphy works in a boutique PR agency. I loved how she mentioned her favorite part in working in the PR field is that not every day is the same. The flexibility and unpredictable days make it interesting and exciting. She gave great advice to take unpaid internships. Any experience is worth it even if you aren't getting paid.

All of the videos shared great information and really got me even more excited to dive deeper into the PR industry!

Twitter Evolves in the PR Industry

Whether your goal as a PR professional is to connect with reporters, improve crisis information, find your next job or promote business information, Twitter has become tremendously popular within businesses and especially in the public relations industry.

I chose this trend in social media because I am actually fairly new at this social media tactic. I started using Twitter a year ago and I have come to realize I don't know why I didn't use it sooner. Twitter is a remarkable way of communicating and getting information passed by quick and to-the-point "Tweets" which are 140 characters long. I never realized 140 characters could have such an impact.  

An organization that uses this trend is the Milwaukee Brewers. What they do, is they have a marketing director tweet through an account (@Bernie_Brewer). This is a clever way to promote, first of all, because they use the mascot to interact with fans through Twitter. They tweet out ticket promotions, special deals, special games, amazing plays etc. 

In May 2011, there was a Milwaukee Brewer promotion called, "Where's Bernie?" Bernie had planted over 1,400 Bernie Brewer lawn ornaments with across the state, and had some help thanks to Milwaukee County Parks and other Wisconsin-based parks. Four hundred of the ornaments had special prizes attached. Bernie Brewer would then tweet clues on his twitter account as to where these lawn ornaments had been placed. This was a great way to interact with the fans, interact through Twitter and get people excited for the season to start.  

The Milwaukee Brewers aren't just the only sports teams that utilize Twitter. Most sports teams use Twitter which bumps their promotion by: increase of attendance, improved television ratings, increased merchandise sales and special events. 

AP Style Blog 2

1. What exactly is AP style? 

AP style is abbreviated for Associated Press style. The Purdue online writing lab clarifies AP style being the "guidelines for news writing." It is essential for PR writers to use AP style to not only provide important and resourceful information, but it also is important to know if you intend to get a job in the media world or public relations.

2. Why is it important to follow AP style? 

AP style conducts specific guidelines for writers such as specific grammar, spelling, punctuation and language use. It is important to follow AP style in writing because the content of media writing and newspapers consist of multiple writers and when they all follow the same format, the writing stays consistent. Reporters want a concise and high-quality piece. If the writing is written in AP style it is convenient for them to edit it and format it efficiently.  

3. How can knowing AP style help you as a PR practitioner?

In the article, Why I Am an AP Style Stickler: Guest Post by Sandy Young, written by Arika Daniels, she states "One of the core goals of a PR practitioner is to make reporters jobs easier - providing them with timely information, interview sources, data, high-quality images, etc." Writing in AP style is more professional and consistent and leaves reporters pleased and responding more often to AP styled work. 

4. How does knowing AP style make your news releases and fact sheets more relevant? 

Using AP style makes news releases and fact sheets more relevant because it is always being updated and keeping up with constant changes in grammar, punctuation, etc.  By enforcing all PR practitioners follow these guidelines ensures consistency, relevancy and productivity. 

5. How would you react if you were given an AP style quiz during an interview at an agency? 

As of now, I don't think I would be ready for an AP style quiz during an interview because I don't believe I am strong enough in the material as I would like to be. It would be helpful for me to read more about AP style, continue to look through the Stylebook and practice the rules and guidelines. I would feel more comfortable in a situation like that if I was more prepared than I am now. Another helpful tool I found is an article on PRSA grasping the information in the Stylebook. A helpful tool was mentioned to follow a Twitter account  (@APStylebook), which offers tips and insight on AP style for writers and professionals.  

Intro

Hello all!

I'm going to announce to everyone first and foremost that this is my very first blog ever. This should be exciting and most definitely interesting.

My name is Sara Neumann and I am a PR student in a course called Public Relations Tactics. This is a tactics class that focuses on PR tools. I am in my third year of school at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. I transferred from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee studying psychology and knew it wasn't for me. I knew I wanted to do more writing and work with people every day. I then looked into UW-Whitewater and fell in love with the communications program, clubs, and opportunities.

My goals are huge and mean a lot to me. I want to be involved in an internship by next year. I plan to graduate from UW-Whitewater with a PR major and advertising minor. I have dreams of living in a big city working in a PR agency. Ideally, I would love to work my way into becoming a PR professional in sports.

What made me so interested in sports PR is a trip I went on last spring with PRSSA, a club for public relations students at UWW. We had a presentation by the Brewers PR and marketing professionals. We also toured the stadium and got to see where all the action took place and where these professionals worked. I was so intrigued by the work they do, I really want to work my way into a profession like that.

I am very excited to dive into my PR courses and really learn all I can.