PR 3310Principles of Public Relations

Tuesday, 6/2/09

Class Objectives

Lecture Ch. 4, Pr Departments and Firms

Homework assignment Ex. 2 Read chapter 5 in book, pages 128-139

What’s in the news today?

Pointers on using YouTube for effective marketing campaigns http://mashable.com/2009/06/01/youtube-

brands/ Need to keep videos fresh (rotate content),

short (less than 10 minutes) Don’t really need celebrities Want to make the video an experience…

looking through a looking glass Provide a virtual visit/experienceof some place unique/interesting

Would you consider Lubbock exotic?

People: friendly (Yes Ma’am), talk to you over the fence-type, rugged, laid back, proud of their state, family oriented

Weather: Wind/storms, cloud formations Industry: Cotton plants and mills, Wind energy Animals

Horny toads, fire ants Coyotes, cattle Chicken doves

Other Caliche Red dirt, flatness, “every tree was planted by someone” What is a caprock?

PR Departments and Firms

1st off, where do you “do” PR Inside a company (in-house) versus in a PR

firm/agency

PR Departments in NPO’s

Companies may be Non-profit organization (NPO) is a legally constituted

organization whose objective is to support or engage in activities of public or private interest without any commercial or monetary profit.

Serve the public good Profits are not for shareholders (but do need to be profitable in

order to exist/operate) This sector employs ~ 10.2 million full and part-time employees Often looking for volunteering experience

Ex. educational, religious, scientific, charities, relief foundations, private foundations

Big: TT, Red Cross, American Cancer Society Small: local charity, Buddy Holly Center

PR Departments in Government Orgs.

Non-profit companies may be Government funded organizations

Do you have/want experience with this type of area?

Often called “public affairs” Majority in D.C.

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/job-JMU7ZIPJT77;_ylt=AnJAMU7YkPiJoglb3kqbkzX6Q6IX?source=SRP

http://www.opajobs.com/

PR Departments in for-Profit Companies For-profit are “normal” companies Big (notice the companies are not just PR)

Ketchum: http://www.ketchum.com/ Ogilvy: http://www.ogilvy.com/ (go to

OgivlyPR, look at career video) Small companies house PR departments in

Marketing departments May be 1-2 people May be lumped in with Sales department!

Advantages to working on the corporate side Salaries are higher Benefits are higher Resources (budgets) are higher

Disadvantages of working on the corporate side Approval process is longer Lack of support (you may be only one “doing”

PR, especially in smaller companies; have to prove job/worth)

Work is routine (esp. in larger companies) Friction with other departments

Legal, Human resources, advertising, marketing

Whose “turf” is it? Whose budget will this come out of? Who gets to claim the success of a campaign?

Working at a PR or Marketing agency; Why use a PR Firm? Fresh outlook Skills and expertise that company personnel do

not have Often, many companies try to do things “in-

house” first because they think it’s cheaper Media contacts are already developed Country-wide coverage Special problem solving abilities Credibility /expertise/ a history of doing PR

activities

Why not to use PR Firms

Superficial grasp of product/industry/person (not in-depth enough)

Costs may appear to be higher than doing it in-house

Lack of full time employees (inability to reach at all times) Potential conflicts of interest (does your PR

firm represent your competition?) Confidential material; don’t want it to leak

Services PR Firms Provide

Marketing communications Executive speech training Research and evaluation and media analysis

(data analysis) Grant writing Event planning Crisis communication

Breadth versus depth

Most any time you work for smaller companies or organizations, you will gain breadth experience You will wear many hats; become exposed to

a variety of clients, different marketing and PR strategies

Learn every aspect of PR, from placing executives at trade shows to writing press releases, to “pitching” and being the person who counsels clients

Positives: not boring

Breadth

When you work for agencies, you also gain breadth experience Positives:

Gives you access to lots of mentors in your field, since you're surrounded by people who have similar career interests and might be a few years ahead of you

Peers, networking ops, etc. Because of breadth, can see what “works” and

doesn’t (in terms of campaigns)

Depth

Most any time you work for larger companies/orgs. and agencies, you will gain depth experience Do the same thing over and over and become more of

an expert At writing news releases, organizing events, etc.

You become immersed in the company's marketing strategy and its day-to-day workings.

Good to know if you want to operate your own small business some day

You have more responsibility because you're focused on publicizing the one business, service, or product.

More crucial as there’s only 1 egg in your basket

Pay scale

Non-profit small is lowest Non-profit staff salaries are 25% lower than

business or government salaries on average Non-profit large Agency small Agency large Corporation small Corporations large BLS for “public relations specialists”

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos086.htm

Warnings when looking for PR jobs

Be careful about “sales” type responsibilities If you don’t like asking for $$, don’t look at

non-profits Job titles may be misleading

PR job may be all writing/ Journalist job may include PR + design

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/job-JZZ8IZPX9UB;_ylt=AvB028xLmDddVdPxYEmsUWf6Q6IX?source=SRP

PR titles

Starting with entry and working to experienced Intern (may be paid or may not be paid) Specialist Communicator Manager Director V.P.

Advice for looking for PR jobs 1st things 1st- ignore most job titles

Person creating title may not know what the title means No official meaning to titles PR, Graphic designer, marketing communication

manager/assistant… Instead, look at job responsibilities

Even here, the responsibilities may not make sense Remember that job posting is a “wish list” from employer… Always apply to jobs in which you are at least 75% qualified And apply to jobs in which you are over-qualified

You don’t know who you are competing against!

Advice for looking for PR jobs

Network! (both real and virtual) Search in many different locations

Think about it this way… where would my potential boss/company post a listing?

Search under many terms Marketing, PR, corporate affairs, marketing

communications At the interview, ask questions (interviews are 2-way,

or should be) Unconventional advice: at an interview, bring a

portfolio or something visual (in paper-format)

Video: Toxic Sludge is Good for You

NOTE: This is just one viewpoint (and a rather negative one) of Public Relations

Chapters 7, 8 (genetically modified food) Extras Title 2 (more on vnr)