Does My ‘Evolve or Die’ Theory Apply to PR Pros Too?

Before I get chased out of my profession by my superiors, I want to make a few things very clear:

  • I have great respect and admiration for the arsenal of long-standing media relationships PR veterans have built and maintained.
  • I willingly admit there is much that I can learn from my superiors’ successes (and, admittedly, from their struggles as well.)

Now that we’ve laid some ground-work. . .or covered my backside, whichever you find more appropriate. . .let’s get to the reason for making myself perfectly clear (other than abiding by the Co-Communications mantra, ‘Make Yourself Perfectly Clear.’) If veterans of the PR industry don’t evolve, can they survive? Or will they die-off like the newspapers we sorely miss?

Continue reading

Dear Twitter….

Dear Twitter,

I am writing you this letter because I have noticed our relationship has changed in the year plus we’ve been together. When we first met, it was exciting and fun getting to know each other. We shared jokes, discussed interesting topics, met mutual friends and even kept each other in the loop about music. Those were the days!

Then month by month, our relationship began to change. I know it’s not all you, some of it is me. I think it took a turn off the deep end when we started working together. Rather than see each other at night or during our lunchtime at work, now we are around each other every single day. It’s getting to be a bit much.

Continue reading

“Yeah…no, I don’t do that.”

Spin.

Pelikan Fountain Pen
(CC) photo credit: mobilestreetlife // flickr

Flack.

Bribe.

Pester.

Hover.

All words people seem to tack on to this career choice we have made called Public Relations. And I’m sick of it!

I had the recent pleasure of meeting one of Connecticut’s finest journalists. I’ll leave her name out here because it serves no purpose. But trust me she is a legend in this State.

Continue reading

“Yeah…I do that”

[Editor’s Note: My colleague, Kate Ottavio, apparently doesn’t do these things. . . I do. You can find her post on the topic here.]I Had This Top!

Spin — Heck yes, but spin it as ‘framing.’

Flack — It’s why I’m here. The conjugation of the verb form is easy – I flack, you flack, he flacks…the noun form — I am a flack.

Bribe — Well, not really — I have been known to offer things for free (food, samples, “review” copies . . .).

Pester — Seriously? It’s half my job.

Hover — Like I’ve got a jet-pack.

Continue reading

So What You’re Really Trying to Say…

I’m not sure if I’m the only one, but I feel that people don’t understand “Sarcastic” language. I have been in numerous situations where I have had people really think that I was serious about what I said.

Honestly, do you really think that I, or anyone, is that dumb? It’s even gotten to the point where during one of my reviews I was told I have “holes” in my head. Really? Lighten up people.

Continue reading

You Can Call It A Network…But Does It Really Work?

We’ve all heard it. That infamous phrase. The one that alludes to the worth of your network relative to the value of your knowledge. It borders on being so overused that I cringe even thinking about it.

My own feelings aside, we all know it’s true – it’s not what you know. It’s who you know.

Continue reading

Dear Flack….Leadership Skills

Dear Flack –

I’m currently at a very small agency with no departments or divisions. The boss handles all new business pitches and project management and has for years (decades). It works for her so I don’t really blame her. Even when something is “delegated” it’s still micromanaged.

The problem is that with the number of years I’ve been here all the openings at other agencies seek demonstrable PR (or related) leadership skills and/or business pitching skills. That, of course, makes sense.

Continue reading

Christina’s Coffee Talk: Arik Hanson

Arkin Hanson
Arik Hanson

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with Arik Hanson. Bringing brand loyalty to a new level, Arik is willing to drive 10 miles out of his way just for some Caribou Coffee. I guess it tastes so good once it hits your lips.  Arik’s free time is spent with, wife (Angela) and kids (Matthew and Amy), play ing golf and riff on the guitar (emphasis on riff).  His musicial taste ranges from Green Day to Johnny Cash to Tesla.  Top 3 current movies include, The Hangover (best comedy in last 5 years); Madagascar 2 (thanks to my son, Wag the Dog (one of my all-time faves and also a great movie from a PR perspective); The Dark Knight (just a tremendous movie). Professionally Arik, is principal of ACH Communications,and also long-time PRSA member, serving on the Minnesota PRSA board for the past three years and is a frequent speaker at local colleges and universities. His blog is a must-read within in the PR/Social Media industry. Especially for a newbie to social media, like myself, his blog sheds light on the industry and introduces readers to other influential people. And so I give you Arik Hanson…

Continue reading

Flack In Training — Vol. 3

Clearly, today's not a good day to tweet about anything BUT football #nfl
(CC) photo credit: andinarvaez // flickr

For the year that I spent at my internship/part time job, I was the “social media girl”. The agency I was at hadn’t previously spent much time delving into the world of online public relations, so they hired me for that specific task. For my first few months with the company, I spent my time researching the tools, following thought leaders on Twitter, reading their blogs, and figuring out how I could use social media to help our clients. Once I actually started implementing some of these tactics, I realized how much I absolutely loved working with digital media (this isn’t too surprising considering my generation can say with honesty that we’ve been using the internet for the majority of our lives). I also decided that I always wanted to do that, no matter where I was working.

Continue reading