Monthly Archives: March 2010

CTMichaels

Act of Nature and Lifetime TV

5 Comments

Television set in swimming poolEver wonder what would happen if the world ended? Well this past weekend the world almost did. For those of us in the northeast we all were exposed to the most disgusting form of weather…torrential downpours in a city. It’s not like torrential downpour in the country, its okay there…you always drive everywhere, in the city…Not so much. Life shuts down worse than when it snows.

I was totally ready to stay in and enjoy my time, save some money, do some work, catch up on TV, but I ran into a problem. For months a movie has been being pushed on Lifetime TV, “Who is Clark Rockefeller?” It’s based on a true story, seemingly dramatic, and appeared to be a night of entertainment, I was exciting to find out that the movie was debuting when I was stranded in my house! Continue reading →

Jess Greco

Dunkin’ Donuts: Keeping Customers Loyal Via Social Media

11 Comments
Little Girl Eating a Donut
Not the author 🙂

It’s no big secret that I am a bigger Dunkin’ Donuts fan than most.  This weekend, in the wake of New Jersey’s monster hurricane, I traveled to three different Dunkin’s just to get hash browns and an iced coffee, and then I went to a fourth one later that night.  Today I somehow found myself in a Starbucks and asked for a medium iced coffee three times before I realized I was supposed to say Grande.  Dunkin’ is sort of always on my brain.

And I’m definitely not the only one.  Last month, Dunkin’ Donuts was named number one in customer loyalty (in the coffee category) for the fourth straight year, which shows just how many people in the United States have made stopping at the infamous chain part of their daily routine.  Of course the question that a study like this raises is, what is it that Dunkin’ Donuts does that inspires such utter devotion among their consumers? Continue reading →

Danielle Cyr

When the Shiny Objects Disappear, Where Do You Get Story Ideas?

1 Comment

Old-fashioned toy ambulanceAs PR pros, it can be difficult to resist becoming an ambulance chaser. Sometimes, those big shiny openings to pitch a client are nearly impossible to resist. But what about the times when there isn’t an obvious point of entry? When you’re on your own to craft the story from inception to execution?

A recent survey by Middleberg/Ross revealed that 98% of journalists go online daily to generate story ideas and access information. Clearly, the web is working for them, and maybe for some of us as well. Over the past year, we’ve become increasingly familiar with hearing journalists site social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as sources for story ideas. My question is, where are the PR people getting their story ideas? Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Work-Life Balance is Your Decision

26 Comments

Coffee Stained Sticky Pad with Broken Pencil and Telephone ReceiverThere is no doubt the public relations business is a busy, exciting and hyperactive assault on the mind, senses and body. Simply put: It is a profession that requires you to mentally (and sometimes physically, particularly with those pesky events) give it your all every day. And at one end of the spectrum, these indelible facets of the business are what makes it so great and such a wonderful profession to work in, but they can also be the downfall of many, the cause of extreme burnout, if not managed and dealt with properly.

Which is probably why there are so many damn blog posts, articles, books, and Web sites devoted to work/life balance and effective time management and whether you need to separate your personal life/time from your professional life/time, or if you should choose the new trendy time-management theory of “your job and your personal life should blend harmoniously and in perfect sequence with one another.”

I say bulls*** to all of that. Continue reading →

Heather Whaling

Advice for Nonprofits: Ask and You Shall Receive

3 Comments

Technology Concepts 1As I help nonprofits improve their public relations and social media efforts, I’m struck by the fact that, regardless of size or mission, they often ask similar questions. I’m sure other groups have similar questions, which is why I’m excited to start this new PRBC series, which aims to answer nonprofits’ most burning questions.

Question: I’m having trouble establishing tangible goals & objectives in regards to media measurement for my non-profit organization. I’ve gotten stories placed in the paper or on local tv & radio stations in the past, but that was reactive, nothing strategically planned. Any advice? Continue reading →

Kate Ottavio

URGENT e-mails – Please stop abusing the ! notification

2 Comments

sign post with exclamation markI have one MAJOR pet peeve.

Who am I kidding? I have a lot of pet peeves.

Ok, well one of the things that I’d like to vent about today is the High Importance E-mail Indicator ! ! !

One day last week, POP goes an e-mail right into my inbox. This e-mail was from a lovely young lady I had spoken to about internship opportunities with my firm. A routine e-mail at best. But definitely NOT of high importance. Lucky girl . . . she marked that e-mail with that little red exclamation point. Continue reading →

Nathan "PRCog" Burgess

Working as a Team

14 Comments

Thinkstock Single Image SetAs previously mentioned the PRBC group emails quite a bit throughout the day on a variety of topics.  Frequently they actually involve the blog – does a proposed post create a conflict of interest, upcoming events, discussing substantive PR issues for posts, etc.  And sometimes not so much.

Anyone who has to work as part of a team or committee, whether that’s an internal team or a team composed of a client, their internal PR person, the outside agency and frequently others (so probably all of us), has had to deal with various agendas and personalities at the table.  Each with their own goals, some necessary, others merely desirable. Continue reading →

Marie Baker, Uncategorized

Your Social Media Idea in a Sentence

3 Comments

If you didn’t know already, the PRBC has our very own Facebook Fan Page. Every Friday, we ask everyone a random question in a series called “Fun Facts Friday.” Last week we just finished up presenting our 35 ideas about social media in 30 minutes, so we asked you to share your one social media idea in a sentence.

Here is what a couple of you had to say: Continue reading →

Keegan Shoutz

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

10 Comments

Man holding cell phone to head thinkingAs a public relations undergrad graduating in May, I have recently started the job search much like many others. Upon doing so, I learned a great deal about the industry and communicating with other professionals to get your name out there. I have conducted in-depth interviews with professionals that interest me, become President of my university’s Public Relations Student Society of America, participated in Minnesota’s Public Relations Society of America job shadowing event, etc. (the list could goes on and on).

In my opinion, the toughest part of applying for these jobs isn’t doing your research on companies you like and incorporating its views into why you would make a great candidate, and it’s definitely not making solid connections with people who work at your agencies of interest. The toughest part for me (and I’m sure a lot of you applying for jobs will agree) is the waiting! Continue reading →