A Financial Times article from Friday, March 26 (online subscriber edition here; free PDF version here), noted that global advertising spending is set to rise 4 percent in 2011, as the advertising, PR and marketing industries start to see a surge in client confidence, revenues and overall re-emergence of the world’s economies. What I found particularly interesting was the note in the third paragraph of the article which explains that even with a strong overall global ad spending growth, the total 2011 global ad spending will still below 2006 levels, which is right about the time the US and UK—which are the world’s top spender on advertising, marketing and PR budgets—saw a drastic uptick in overall corporate market and stock values. Continue reading
Tag Archives: PR
Like, duh! Ten Tips to Totally Rock Your Internship
You got in the door! You landed that dream internship that will be a glowing addition to your resume. So now that you’re hired, don’t forget to try not to get fired.
Here are ten tips to keeping your internship…even excelling at it. This should be common sense, but I’m sad to report some people just don’t get it. Continue reading
Why We Have Such a Crush on Twitter (and Not On Facebook)
It’s no secret PR professionals have an unhealthy relationship with Twitter. Despite the existence of countless other social networking platforms, including Facebook (which actually has much higher numbers than Twitter), people working in PR seem to naturally gravitate towards the micro-blogging service more than anything else. We give out our Twitter handles at networking events and print them on our business cards, which is especially interesting considering LinkedIn is probably the most professional social media platform out there. However, professionalism doesn’t have everything to do with it- Twitter is as much for creating friendships as it is for forming business relationships. So why are all of us flacks such hopeless (and I mean hopeless) Twitter fiends? Continue reading
We Know Nothing
We all like to go after the “Social Media Experts” claiming there’s no way anyone can a) be an expert in such a new field or b) such a quickly changing field. Beyond the semantics (“expert” vs. “experience” (as much as one can get), “guru,” “knowledgeable in,” “has an instinctive grasp of,” or my favorite undefinable (but likely true in some cases) “just gets”) there’s certainly something to be said for being able to use labels professionally which make us appear to have some higher level of comprehension in our field (and in many cases this is true).
Here’s the kick in the pants — PR pros, and other professionals in the related communications fields, don’t really “know” anything either when it comes to this stuff that a first or second year wouldn’t. Continue reading
When the Shiny Objects Disappear, Where Do You Get Story Ideas?
As 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
Work-Life Balance is Your Decision
There 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
Stress Relief for the PR Pro
Any job/career can cause stress. My dad, for example, is an engineer. He builds buildings. He loves his job and does it well, but it’s demanding. He’s one of the most HIGH STRUNG people I know I will ever meet in my life and is always a little on the stressed side. Coming from his lovely gene-pool, I am also high-strung, Type A, etc., etc., which translates oh-so-conveniently into the fast-paced, multitasking world of PR. And I have to say it has only worked to my advantage in this field. Ask me 20 years from now…it might be a different story. Continue reading
Branded Content – The Love Child of PR, Advertising and Direct Marketing
Imagine you are an editor of a newspaper. You’ve got limited resources. Not enough staff, out-of-date computers, maybe even labor problems, too. You check your e-mail one deadline morning and see a ready-made article about Product SuperAwesome prewritten from your favorite PR pro (wink wink)! With your publisher breathing down your neck, 30 minutes until the final edition goes to print and a gaping space in your publication, you slap the article about Product SuperAwesome’s industry into your paper and everyone is happy. Continue reading
Storytelling Is At the Heart of Effective PR
I have been reading a lot lately. Really, way more reading than I was doing in previous months. From the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times on the weekend, to amNY and Metro weekdays, and a slew of business and advertising trades in between, I have been trying to immerse myself in two of the professional areas I have the most passion in: small business and media.
Despite the fact that many of the publications that I have been reading have their own unique audience (For anyone who hasn’t done it yet, check out FT Weekend. Honestly, one of the best papers you will read.), the underlying fact of the matter is that each and every one of them tries to do the same thing at the end of the day: tell its readers great stories in a compelling medium that they enjoy. Continue reading
The Fate of John Mayer’s Image
The concept of public figures getting caught up in racist scandals isn’t exactly brand new – many a good reputation has been permanently tarnished thanks to misspoken words and overheard conversations. Even though their careers are getting back on track, people won’t be forgetting the ignorant words of Don Imus or Mel Gibson anytime soon and their brands now have entirely different connotations. However, the entertainment world was still rocked a few weeks ago when John Mayer’s offensive and way-too-honest interview with Playboy Magazine was released. Continue reading