Preparing For the Big World

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Information Security Buzz

It’s bittersweet to think that this is my last blog for my class. It surely isn’t the last blog I’ll write because I know that in my future career, there are many more to come!

I have learned many things this semester that I never thought I would be capable of learning. I have learned how to create a communication plan, a Gantt Timeline, a social media release, an infographic, and so much more. I struggled at the beginning with all of these things, but I have loved learning about how to become an effective strategic thinker and creator.

Learning more about what PR contains and really is only made me love this major even more. With the many blogs that I’ve written, I have definitely learned how to broaden my thinking of what PR is. I have defined PR before using the actual definition that PRSA gives in their website as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics”, but I have learned how that exactly is done first hand.

Not only have I learned the “technical skills” of PR, but I have also learned how to build stronger relationships in all of my classes. I am graduating in a week and the most important thing that I learned this semester is how to build relationships with people. There were many of my classmates that I would have never talked to if I hadn’t been grouped with them to complete final projects. I believe I practiced how to “network” with people in all of my classes. I definitely stepped up and played the PR pro role while in school. I have always been told that networking with your classmates is important because you never know if you will be needing a job and they are in a position to help you get the job.

I have learned about the tactics that I need to be successful in my PR career, but I have also learned the importance of professional relationships. Getting to know what a person’s strengths and weaknesses are when working on a project is important for the current project, but also for any future assignments in the “working world”. I would say, for me at least, public relations is a strategic way of building strong relationships with everyone you come across with not just a client or the public. It’s all about being purposeful with everything.

Citations:

Stick Figures Image. Information Security Buzz. Information Security Buzz, Inc. 2015. Web. http://www.informationsecuritybuzz.com/understanding-risk-reward-building-relationships/

“What is Public Relations?” Public Relations Society of America. The Public Relations Society of America, 2015. Web. http://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/publicrelationsdefined/#.VQ7xdkKpX8E

A Semester In Ethics

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Analyst Forum

There is so much content that I got from this class this semester. I know that I learned everything that I hoped to learn from the beginning. I think overall I really understood how to make ethical decisions in situations. Going over the case studies in class allowed me to view cases that have actually occurred in the past and realizing how to effectively solve the problem that rises in situations.

In my future PR career, I know that I am going to be faced with many situations like the ones that we reviewed in class. I now have a much more clear idea of what should be done in any crisis situation.

I’ve realized how many mistakes many PR professionals and advertisers actually make. We were shown in class many advertisements that made no sense as to how they were released to the public. One example that I have recently reviewed was the Bud Light bottle label that had the public blow up social media with the brand name in their responses. How the PR professionals for that company handled the situation is important.

Learning more about the laws of ethics was helpful. I am still pretty freaked when it comes to thinking about the copyright rules for information that is used from other sites, but I have definitely learned why it is important that we know these. I have learned to write blogs in my 4460 class, and how to properly use information as well as citing it correctly. It all seems like things that I am talking about, I learned when younger, but I now learned them more effectively specifically for a career in PR.

I believe that the PR field is very important. Advertising gets the product known to the world, but PR creates a good image for that product. When doing so, we need to remember to think of the public and the client in order to leave a good image for ourselves working behind the scenes of it all.

I’m glad that I had to take this class. I hope that I can take all that I was taught and really apply it. It is here that we can make a difference. It’s important to be ethical because the world is already so corrupt. I like that the world of PR needs to be ethical to succeed, because it makes the job fun and worth it!

Citation:

Ethics Image. Analyst Forum. Analyst Forum, 2015. Web. http://www.analystforum.com/article/cfa/3-factors-to-nailing-ethics

A Small Mistake For A Big Company

by Elizabeth Lemuz

PR is a good tool that all companies should use to help them grow. They also help them when they begin to fall apart. Bud Light recently had a small mishap with a new advertising bottle label. PR Daily brought up the situation but didn’t really discuss much about it in “Bud Light apologizes for label that promises to turn ‘no’ into ‘yes’”. What Bud Light is being mistaken here for is for making an inappropriate suggestion to the public.

PR Daily

The company has brought out a new campaign titled #UpForWhatever. One specific label made the public think of the company as supporting date-rape. The label on the bottle reads, “The perfect beer for removing “No” from your vocabulary for the night”. Things like this can be taken in different ways, but it is obvious which one the public understood first.

In an article titled, “At Bud Light, Plenty of ‘Yes’ Went Into the ‘No’ Label,” from The Wall Street Journal, it discusses how the campaign was created to spark a higher social media presence from beer drinkers. The article also writes how the label “started to generate anger and disbelief”.

The company clearly was trying to create a catchy ad that would become popular with a younger generation. There are many excuses in the articles that the company had for the reason that the label made it to public access. When dealing with a crisis it is important to be transparent to your public and staying in constant communication with them as well.

The public is what really makes or breaks a company. The consumers are purchasing what is advertised to them if is something that they enjoy. If a company pulls a stunt like what this company did, it tends to end badly. Bud Light did release a statement that is in the PR Daily article. They described the company as “missing the mark”, but companies can’t be “missing the mark”. I commend the company for releasing an apology to the public and making it clear as to what actually went wrong.

I believe that allowing the advertising team and the PR team to work together is a good idea. Sometimes creativity may get too involved in a situation and can prevent companies from thinking of what their general public will actually think of its product.

Citations:

“At Bud Light, Plenty of ‘Yes’ Went Into the ‘No’ Label”. The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 2015. Web. http://www.wsj.com/articles/anheuser-cans-controversial-bud-light-slogan-1430347201

“Bud Light apologizes for label that promises to turn ‘no’ into ‘yes’”. PR Daily. Ragan Communications, 2015. Web. http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/18567.aspx

Interesting Read

by Elizabeth Lemuz

I was assigned an assignment for one of my classes where I had to read a book related to PR. I don’t enjoy working on book reports, but it was something that had to be completed. Like I have mentioned before, I have decided to pursue a career in public relations. I can’t see myself doing anything other than this because I have learned to love this field. I was excited I had the opportunity to pick any PR related book. I did some searches and I found the book For Immediate Release by Ronn Torossian. Ronn Torossian is a PR professional who established the agency, 5W Public Relations, which is based in New York, NY.

I am not going to go into full detail about what the book covers and give a full book report on here because that would ruin the book for everyone, but I will discuss some important points that Torossian discusses in his book that I believe are great for anyone interested in the PR field.

Ronn Torossian

Important PR tips that you should know:

• Be transparent
• Keep it simple
• Be genuine

It is important to be transparent when dealing with the public and your client. Torossian writes, “Social media and social networking mean natural brands have to be especially transparent and authentic…”(Torossian, 71). Yes, he is referring to the brands in this case, but it works for both sides. The person that is handling the client’s well-being should be able to communicate effectively to the public as well as their client.

When communicating with the public it is best to do it in a simple manner. Not everyone is going to understand legalistic terms and you don’t want to confuse people by letting them think that you are hiding something. Torossian shares an important thought mentioning, “simplicity and clarity are key elements---big words and industry babble or academic-speak require too much effort on the part of your audience”(Torossian, 183). This is simple enough to understand right?

Building a trust with the public and your clients is done by being genuine with them. Two thoughts that I found interesting in the book is “one of the hallmarks of an authentic brand, business, or personality is how it connects with its audience on a personal level”(Torossian, 101) and “any loss of authenticity can result in loss of respect, trust, and business”(Torossian, 106). How can we take care of a public figure and the public in general if we aren’t genuine?

I hope that I didn’t give much away from the book, but that I did give enough that you would want to pick up the book and read it yourself. It really is such a great book. It contains so much knowledge that I will be using in my future in the PR field.

Citations:

“Ronn Torossian 5W Public Relations CEO Blog”. 5W. 5WPR, 2014. Web. 22 April 2015. http://ronntorossian.com/biography/

Torossian, Ronn and Karen Kelly. For Immediate Release. Dallas: BenBella Books, Inc., 2011. Print.

Social Media Helps With Shopping

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Postcrescent.com

I recently read an article about Delia’s announcement to return as an online only company. Delia’s is a teen clothing company that closed its stores last year and filed under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In the article “Delia’s announces return as an online retailer” in PR Daily, it discusses how the company is making a comeback.

The company plans on becoming an online only company now. When I first read this, I didn’t think that this would be such a good idea. People like to online shop, but they also want to have the option of shopping in an actual store, well at least I do. I don’t really like to deal with the cost of shipping or having to guess the size of clothes that will best fit me if I don’t have the opportunity to try it on first.

A good thing that Delia’s is doing with this new idea is taking the promoting to social media. This is genius! What young girl is not on social media today? This company is doing things right by using social media to promote its re-opening as an online store. This post from its Instagram account shows a text conversation about the companies new plans. Delia’s is also planning on sending out its print magazine for customers to have a hard copy of the shopping ad. The post is an creative way of sharing all the important information and also including hashtags to create a higher visibility.

PR Daily

Not only is the company using hashtags in the posts, but the hashtags are also creative! One of the tags used is #BFF and it flows perfectly in the sentence and it is shown in the above post. Delia’s also has #DeliasForever. The hashtag shows that the company has plans of sticking around longer than anyone is expecting it to. The company also got more attention thanks to actress, Anna Kendrick and her Twitter post. This led to many more tweets about the store having to close its stores as it is in USA Today Life in the short article, “Delia’s is closing!?! We’re super sad, and so is Anna Kendrick”. It’s good to have actresses tweet about your company, even if it is a sad situation like it is for this company.

In my opinion, it is exciting to see companies use social media outlets in this new way. Promoting a company and using the right tools to direct it toward a specific crowd is smart. It is social media done right.

Citations:

“Delia’s announces return as an online retailer”. PR Daily. Ragan Communications, 2015. Web. 15 April 2015. http://www.prdaily.com/socialmedia/Articles/18475.aspx

“Delia’s is closing!?! We’re super sad, and so is Anna Kendrick”. Entertain This. USA Today Life, n.d. Web. 16 April 2015. http://entertainthis.usatoday.com/2015/03/11/delias-is-closing-were-super-sad-and-so-is-anna-kendrick/

“Delia’s Store Image”. Post Crescent. A Gannett Company, n.d. Web. 15 April 2015. http://www.postcrescent.com/story/money/companies/buzz/2015/01/07/buzz-stores-close-mall/21409497/

A Mean Society

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Today’s society is controversial in many different ways. People aren’t very kind with their words or actions like they used to be, or at least seemed to be. We have now, not only a physical world, but an online one as well. The Internet has grown so quickly that it seems like it has taken over the world. I think at this point it actually may have.

I believe that society is now taking advantage of the online world that has been introduced to us. I think before the Internet, people were nasty to each other in different ways. Now because of the freedom of the online world, it is easier to express one’s opinion without having to say it directly at someone like it has been done many times before.

One example is the Civil Rights Era from 1954-1971. There was so much chaos in America during this time and people showed the way that they felt by protesting. People still protest today the way that it was done before, but they can also do protesting online. The Internet wasn’t created until the early 90s but it began being developed around 1962 according to the Computer History Museum website. People during this important time period were awful to each other because of all the segregation in America. If the Internet was a thing during this time period, the web would be exploding with many tweets on Twitter, posts on Facebook, hateful images and comments on Instagram, and much more on social media outlets.

A recent example in modern history of the public being hateful in society is toward the President of the United States. There have always been hateful comments on social media toward the president, because the Internet allows people to do this. We are all aware that we can voice our opinions and we decide to do it.

Bullying has always been an issue and now it has grown to become something even bigger now and it’s called cyberbullying. According to an article “What is Cyberbullying?” on Stopbullying.gov, cyberbullying “is bullying that takes place using electronic devices”. People use the online world to hurt others behind a screen.

I do think that society is taking advantage of the ability to express what they have always felt. It’s a lot easier today to do it without any real consequences. Our society is a lot more open to new things and the online world has taught us that. I don’t believe that society has become meaner, I think that they have finally decided to speak up and share those mean thoughts.

Citations:

“Internet History”. Computer History Museum. Computer History Museum, 2004. Web. 10 April 2015. http://www.computerhistory.org/internet_history/

“What is Cyberbullying?”. Stopbullying.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d. Web. 13 April 2015. http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html

Clorox Doesn't Think Things Through

by Elizabeth Lemuz

PR Daily

Earlier this week Clorox posted a controversial tweet on social media. It was the above image of the Clorox bottle with the copy “New emojis are alright but where’s the bleach”. This tweet grabbed the attention of many people and it wasn’t in a positive way.

Social media outlets like Twitter are great when trying to get information out there the quickest. There comes a lot of responsibility when using tools like Twitter, especially when it comes to a name brand like Clorox.

This tweet was sent out after the new emoji craze began. Apple now has released a new set of emojis where the public can change the skin color of the people emojis. The Washington Post recently published an article discussing how the new emojis are actually causing a lot more problems than before.

“The emojis are being used to make racist comments on social media and insert questions of race in texts and tweets where it may never have risen before. Instead of correcting its mistake--excluding people of color from emojis--Apple has, in some ways, made the situation worse.” (The Washington Post).

The post suggests that Apple has made this entire situation much worse than it was before. It is easy to understand where people may not like this new feature since it may cause problems with people. An article from The Washington Post titled “Apple’s new diverse emojis are more problematic than before”, mentions the Clorox tweet as well saying that “Clorox already has felt the weight of that reality, when in response to the new emojis, the brand tweeted ‘where’s the bleach?’”.

According to “Clorox tries to wash away emoji tweet” an article in PR Daily, Clorox did tweet an apology, but it took them a while to erase the original tweet that cause so much controversy.

I personally don’t believe that Clorox did the right thing by posting that tweet since they knew that the majority of the public would take it this way. If you look closely at the picture that Clorox tweeted, they didn’t use any type of people emoji to create the bottle of Clorox. It is definitely controversial just like anything else, but Clorox should be smarter when it comes to posting tweets of these sorts.

Citations:

“Clorox tries to wash away emoji tweet”. PR Daily. Ragan Communications, 2015. Web. 10 April 2015. http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/18438.aspx

“Apple’s new diverse emojis are more problematic than before”. The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2015. Web. 10 April 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/10/how-apples-new-multicultural-emojis-are-more-racist-than-before/

A Meaningful Checklist

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Levo League

I have heard many times how important it is to keep a good relationship with reporters as a PR pro. The reporters are the ones that get the information to the public. According to Entrepreneur, public relations is “using the news or business press to carry positive stories about your company or your products; cultivating a good relationship with local press representatives”. Public relations pros have to earn their spotlight in the media instead of buying it just like advertising does it.

An article on PR Daily, goes over “5 things that PR pros do that journalists love”, and discusses important tips on how to keep a good relationship with a journalist. There are 5 points that Fallon shares in her article:

• Flexibility with topics
• Curious about journalists work
• Remembering beats and coverage
• Honesty when it comes to clients
• Building real relationships

I believe that all of these tips refer back to building a strong relationship with the reporters. I understand that by doing this, there is better opportunity to get your content as a PR pro out in the media spotlight, but also in a good media spotlight. According to this article, if PR pros follow these simple tips, reporters notice and appreciate it.

The article recommends to get to know the reporter and build a friendship type of relationship, however, I have also learned that we can’t really know reporters as “friends” because it can lead to problems. Favors will be asked on both sides and at times it won’t be a good thing because of the client a PR pro may be representing.

It is a complicated situation but there needs to be a balance of both. For PR pros, there needs to be a healthy relationship with both sides. It is important to keep a good relationship with the client to seek their needs and how to best fulfill them, as well as with the reporters and not just having them think of themselves as any tool, but as a good source.

Citations:

“5 Things PR Pros Do That Journalists Love”. PR Daily. Ragan, 2015. Web. http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/18388.aspx

“Public Relations”. Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur Media, 2014. Web. http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/public-relations

“Checklist Image”. Levo League. Levo League, 2015. Web. http://www.levo.com/articles/careerexpert/simple-sweet-interview-checklist

It's Getting Real!

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Me at the Texas Rangers Ballpark

      Today I got to go on a tour around the Arlington and Fort Worth area visiting NBC 5 Studios, Six Flags Over Texas, Pavlov Agency, Ranch Radio, and the Texas Rangers Ballpark. It was a planned tour by the staff of the Dallas Area Alliance For Women In the Media Foundation.

      I learned a lot from attending such amazing companies today. I didn’t really know what exactly to expect from the tour but I was very excited to attend. I was able to experience what the world of journalism is really like. I haven’t had much experience out in the journalism world until today. I learned more about broadcast journalism, marketing, PR, advertising, sales, and so much more.

      We began our tour at NBC 5 Studios in Fort Worth, Texas. We got to hear from the VP of Telemundo 39, Kristi Nelson, and many more professionals in the NBC 5 news field. It was a privilege to hear great advice from them when it comes to applying for an internship or a job in the news world. I don’t plan on going into broadcast journalism, but it was definitely great to see and hear what all is going on during the day at their stations.

     The second tour was at Six Flags in Arlington, Texas. This was an exciting one! We didn't get to ride any roller coasters, but we were able to learn more about what the park does to bring in customers and how to entertain them. It was cool to see what the behind-the-scenes looks like!

      We also visited Pavlov, Ranch Radio, and The Texas Rangers Ballpark. These last three were a bit rushed just because we were on a schedule and we had all been asking so many questions on the previous tours. It was all a really great experience. Today only made me want to go out into the journalism world a lot sooner! It was interesting to see the world that has been described to me so many times before. 

An Ethical Problem in PR & Advertising

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Public Relations and Advertising in my opinion are two exciting careers to work in. Professionals have the to opportunity to be creative and cater new ideas to the public. There is always something new to do and the job never gets boring. These careers can also get pretty complicated and make it hard to get the job done as well.

One of the most common ethical problem that is in advertising and PR would have to be how persuasion is seen as unethical because it is deceptive. The majority of people understand that advertising is supposed to give you an idea of what the product is like, but it the product isn’t going to be exactly what is seen on tv or on paper ads. One example is when you go to your favorite restaurant. You see a hamburger that looks appetizing on the menu, and once you get it, it looks nothing like what was on the menu.

There are of course, more serious examples than this, but this is something that I am always really not content with. As a consumer, I know that the item I order of the restaurant menu is not going to be exactly like what is pictured. This is just how advertising seems to work. I know that the products have to be advertised in a way that I won’t refuse it and will buy it.

In PR, the messages that the are given to the public aren’t always very transparent, and that causes problems. I believe as PR professionals, there is some information that needs to not be shared with the public in order to protect both parties, but it isn’t seen like this by the public all the time. Much of the things PR professionals do causes them more problems. At times, I believe the professionals are to blame, but then there are times they are just doing their job.

It all goes back to ethics. We have been discussing in class the importance of ethics so much that I don’t see why there would be a problem in the first place, but then again, I’m not out working with actual clients yet. I’m learning basics. I am glad I am learning the basics now before going out into the working field because this way I can help clients in the future.

Why is being ethical a problem in these two fields? Why is deceptive persuasion a specific problem? I found an article on the Institute for Public Relations discussing PR and ethics. One reason being ethical is a problem today according to this article is because, “Press agents were concerned with generating publicity at almost any cost” (Moyer). From the beginning PR has been in a bad light. I believe because we have all realized what trouble this has caused, we want to change the face of PR.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) states that, “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics”. It is the job of professionals to help both the public and the client. I believe in order to be ethical in any situation, the option that is best for both parties will be enough. There is already discussion about how PR situations aren’t very transparent, but there needs to be more transparency in order to please both parties.

Therefore, I believe that deceptive persuasion is a problem today in advertising and PR. It has caused problems that don’t need to be there and can be prevented, but it is still occurring.

Citations:

“Ethics and Public Relations.” Institute for Public Relations. Wieck, 2011. Web. http://www.instituteforpr.org/ethics-and-public-relations/

“What is Public Relations?” Public Relations Society of America. The Public Relations Society of America, 2015. Web. http://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/publicrelationsdefined/#.VQ7xdkKpX8E