5 Ways that Bloggers Are Like the Cool Kids in High School

I went to a great presentation this week by @jaykrall on Blogger Relations. He talked in depth about how PR pros can seek and engage bloggers with their brand. Great speaker if anyone is looking for one.

One thing he said is that bloggers know other bloggers. I guess I never really thought about it but of course they do. The challenge is breaking into that group. There are many similarities between bloggers and the cool group in high school. Continue reading

Drop the Salesman Mentality

I love PR. I really do. Yet, as much as I enjoy working in PR, there are definitely some parts of the business that concern me, and frankly have me worried about the state of the business in the future. One of those areas is how some in PR seemingly view their jobs with a saleperson’s mentality.

That whole, “Hey journalist, buy into this idea NOW! You gotta jump on this now, because I’m going to go after the next living soul I can find who will listen to my spin!” Or my personal favorite: “You owe me big for this hit.”

Continue reading

Giant PR Lessons from the Super Bowl Champions

“We’re humble enough to prepare, confident enough to perform.”– Tom Coughlin, head coach, New York Giants

It goes beyond saying that I was on top of the world seeing the New York Football Giants come out the winners in Super Bowl XLVI. The story is well known: At 7-7, the Giants needed to win out to get into the post-season. Well, the rest is history, as Big Blue rolled their way to Indianapolis and defeated the New England Patriots for their second title in four years. Continue reading

Considering Making the Switch from Agency to In-House?

Determining the next move in your career path is a tough decision especially when changing from agency to in-house communications. While yes it is all PR and based on the same principles, strategies and tactics the daily work style, skill set and environment can be drastically different.

Often times the attraction to an agency is the multiple clients, the variety of industries, the camaraderie of other communications professionals and even the swank office. Agency PR pros are talking to media daily and don’t typically have politics to deal with since they don’t directly work for the companies they represent.

If you are considering leaving time sheets in the past, for stability, security and routine make sure the switch it is a fit for you and an answer to what you are trying to leave behind. The pros of working in-house does typically include better health benefits, more opportunity for advancement and fewer barriers to implement new PR programs. Continue reading

Apple’s Positive Earnings Report Creates Bad PR

Wait, what?

Last week, Apple released its fourth quarter 2011 earnings, posting a profit of $13.06 billion on revenue of $46 billion. Earnings per share were $13.87, far exceeding analysts’ expectations of $10.08 per share. Fueled in large part by their stratospheric sales of the iPad and iPhone, Apple’s monstrous quarter brought bright smiles to shareholders but also started to illuminate the spotlight on a not so glamorous side of their business: outsourcing labor to China. Continue reading

Visiting the Valley Girls: A Lesson in Branding

After graduating from college in Philadelphia, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a post-graduate degree from a prestigious fashion and design school.  Sparing you all the gory details, suffice to say that the culture shock was extreme, as I was surrounded by stereotypical “Valley girls,” most no older than 18.  But after a few weeks, I realized that these girls weren’t just putting on a show – they knew the art of personal branding, and they knew it well.

Here are the branding lessons I learned while visiting the valley girls: Continue reading