by Paige Roberts Nothing screams bad PR like a complicated lawsuit on a company’s hands. Recently, this has been an issue that the energy drink company, Red Bull has been dealing with. Since 2002 Red Bull has been advertising that it’s energy drink will, “give you wings”. For some, this statement is clearly a metaphor, knowing that an energy drink doesn’t have the capability of giving a consumer literal wings. However, others took it more literally. Unsatisfied with the product because they had yet to sprout wings, buyers began to fight back with false advertising. With this messy lawsuit, one wonders how Red Bull is handling the situation. Well, they are offering $10 to any person who purchased Red Bull since 2002, if they fill out an online application. Although Red Bull settled the litigation with the sum of money, they still believe they aren’t in the wrong. A spokesman for the company stated, “Red Bull maintains its marketing and labeling have always been truthful and accurate, and denies any and all wrongdoing or liability.” When it comes to advertising, you have to also consider the role that it will play in Public Relations. Because when an advertising stunt goes wrong the only thing your company will gain is bad PR.
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by Tyler Olson Last week, an average teen named Alex had become the biggest Internet sensation, all because another female teen had posted a tweet with a picture of Alex checking out items and the caption saying “YOOOOOOOOOO”. People are questioning how and why Alex is becoming such a big sensation in such a short period of time. Is it his hair? Is it how he appeals to the public? Or was it how well he checked out his customers? Some might believe it’s because of the close resemblance to Justin Bieber’s hairstyle that had also created a worldwide Internet sensation. “This is the coolest thing to happen to Target lately, so brand managers better take advantage of it,” said Allen. This is a great opportunity for Target to take advantage of the situation and create brand awareness for the Corporation to prosper. Already, target has benefited from Alex’s Internet sensation by creating positive publicity for the corporation and boosting revenue in just the few days since the tweet had been posted. This tweet that had made Alex famous in just a couple hours shows how powerful social media is and the impact that it can have on any one individuals life. by Paige Roberts As hard as it may be, consider a world without social media. The early 2000s were the turning point for the widespread phenomena of social media. However, not only has social media changed the way we spend our time on the Internet, it also transformed the world of Public Relations. Before social media, breaking news stories would already be a day old once published in the next day’s newspaper. With the help of Twitter, breaking news can be tweeted out to an account’s followers in a matter of seconds. With the help of Facebook, there is less of a need for focus groups. Companies can use their Facebook account to have two-way communication to gain feedback from their users. Twitter and Facebook are only two of the popular social media sites that have been created. In a matter of 14 years, social media has managed to change the world of Public Relations from sending a “fax-blast” press release to sending a simple 140-character tweet. Having to collect a group of people for a lengthy focus group, to a Facebook chat with a consumer. What’s the next social media innovation coming our way? And what will happen to Public Relations when it comes? by Alana Hallett If you haven’t read or seen it in every major newspaper or news media, Ebola has officially arrived in the United States. Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian patient who recently traveled from Africa, came into Texas Presbyterian on Sept. 25, 2014 with symptoms of Ebola, but was released with antibiotics. As to why he was discharged, that’s the question on everyone’s mind. DallasNews stated that Duncan returned two days after being discharged, and was officially diagnosed with Ebola. Presbyterian hospital announced Duncan died on Oct. 8, 2014. The even worst part, he not only died, but the two nurses, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson have now contracted Ebola. The real question, has Ebola affected the hospital’s ability to communicate? Bruce Haynes, Washington consultant, states that “mixed messages from Presbyterian created confusion that undercuts the public’s confidence.” Due to the lack of communication and confidence between the hospital and public, the hospital hired Burson Marsteller, global PR firm to help them restore trust. Its public relations efforts include a new social media campaign illustrating the hashtag #presbyproud, as well as a series of videos posted on YouTube with messages from Presbyterian nurses answering the question: Do you feel safe working at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas? Daniel Varga, the clinical officer, is hoping to see a restoration in trust and confidence in the hospital to treat all patients. Will these new strategies work? Or will they fall at the hands of another fatal effort illustrating how not to handle a situation? VIDEO: https://screen.yahoo.com/top-viral-videos/texas-health-presbyterian-staff-address-194525952.html Yasmin, S., & Railey, K. (2014, October 17). Texas Presbyterian begins public relations effort to restore trust. Retrieved October 25, 2014, from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20141017-presbyterian-begins-public-relations-effort-to-restore-trust.ece by Shannon Kinney If you happened to step outside yesterday, October 22nd, you probably noticed the hoards of people crowded around The Farmer School of Business. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the line coming out of Dividends. The massive amount of people standing on the corner of High and Patterson were protesting to display their disapproval of George Will, a Washington Post columnist, coming to give a speech. Many students didn’t like the idea that Miami University was paying is a whopping $48,000 to come speak after he published a controversial piece, “Colleges become the victims of progressivism” on The Washington Post, about campus rape and sexual assault earlier this year. As many people are well aware, sexual assault has been a reoccurring issue specifically on Miami’s campus. It is not something that is taken lightly here in Oxford, Ohio. The scrutiny of the matters regarding campus rape that was shared in Will’s column did not go unnoticed or unheard in this small college town. by Paige Garty You and your friends go on a hiking trip and to remember your good times you snap a ‘selfie.’ Later, you post that picture onto social media. Little do you know you and your social media followers are not the only ones who can see the picture from your hiking excursion. Ditto Labs in Massachusetts created new software that scans people’s photos from different social media sites for companies to track how their customers are responding to their product in everyday life. 1.8 billion photos are uploaded to social networking sites every day. This means 1.8 billion photos are being scanned every day from sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. The software allows companies to track the logos and patterns on people’s clothing, the location of the picture, and even reads facial expressions to determine the satisfaction of the customer. The new program is a dream come true for marketing firms. They can now carry out extensive research with little effort and can find out vast information about their products’ consumers. Based on the results form Dittos Labs’ program, Advertisers can find out exactly how they should target their customers. You may be thinking that this is totally intrusive and simply cannot be legal, but the director of Big Brother Watch (a group that challenges policies which it believes threaten people’s privacy) says otherwise. Emma Carr told MailOnline, “Social media companies are well within their rights to scan photos for marketing purposes, which will certainly come as a surprise to many users.” I guess it is true what they say: be careful what you post on the Internet! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2791977/smile-advertisers-watching-marketing-firms-scanning-social-media-photos-clues.html by Sarah Emery Although birthdays are an exciting time of year for anyone, sharing a birthday with John Lennon (who would have turned 74 on October 9th) just makes my special day even more unique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztoSUhbNntQ How did this young man and his fellow Beatles band members become some of the most iconic names in musical history? Although they had incredible talent and charisma, even Lennon himself credited their success in a 1960s interview to the fact they “had a press agent”. The man behind much of the early success of The Beatles, Tony Barrow, started his career writing a slightly risqué alternative to his school’s newspaper. When hired, Barrow started with the mindset of promoting The Beatles with the regional press. He knew he could gain support for this new band from Liverpool organizations. Barrow soon began to branch out in his PR work, including ghostwriting articles and creating special Christmas records, helping The Beatles achieve more and more fame. His job couldn’t have been easy. Take a look at some of the pictures and the comments that he constantly had to deal with. What can students take away from the rarely told story of the PR mastermind behind The Beatles? Although even he admits that a lot of his good fortune came from being in the right place at the right time, it’s important to point out how he took advantage of his connections in his own community. Rather than taking the boys straight to London, Barrow garnered support from their hometown of Liverpool. Obviously, Barrow is an incredibly successful agent who utilized every opportunity he had to promote his clients. How can we do this in our own work, especially with the Internet right at our fingertips? How can we emulate Barrow and start small, to hopefully make it even bigger than anyone could’ve imagined? by Ellie Broaddus October is PRSA/PRSSA Relationship Month, yay! To me, my membership in PRSSA means building professional and personal relationships with other collegiate members in my PRSSA chapter here at Miami, in addition to PRSA members. After I graduate from college, I hope to transition my membership in PRSSA to PRSA in order to best develop a career in the Public Relations industry. Due to my membership in PRSSA, not only have I received amazing relationship-building and networking opportunities, but I’ve also gained access to numerous PRSSA benefits, such as my myPRSA account, which is filled with award-winning Public Relations case studies, daily briefings of top Public Relations news, and leadership tools! Our chapter’s Sponsor Chapter is the East Central Chapter, and I am so excited to continue meeting with more of these members and learning about their experiences working in Public Relations. Our chapter’s calendar is filled with guest speakers who visit our campus and inform us about the firms they work with, as well as provide us with networking opportunities, career mentoring, tips for working within the Public Relations field, information about internship opportunities, and so much more. “If we’re about building ‘mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics,’ we acknowledge such relationships must be founded upon mutual trust.” – George L. Johnson, APR, Fellow PRSA by Rachael Booth Social Media. It surrounds us everywhere. Social media websites are portrayed in the media as positive inventions that have benefited society. However, beneath all the excitement and advancements social media brings, what are the consequences? It has been said that Facebook can cause loneliness and depression. Studies have shown that the way users portray their lives and display photos, specifically photos of vacations, cause others to envy them. Taking a closer look, Facebook may not be the biggest criminal here. These four reasons explain why:
The question here is will social media sites continue to tell us that the best images are what give us our worth and will we continue to be influenced by the ideologies social media presents? WINTER, J. (2013, July 23). Selfie Loathing Instagram is even more depressing than Facebook. Slate. Retrieved October 5, 2014 from http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/2013/07/instagram_and_self_esteem_why_the_photo_sharing_network_is_even_more_depressing.html by Alexis Godshall As a member of Public Relations Student Society of America, I have learned first hand how helpful the Public Relations Society of America’s website is to students. The website guides users through the process of becoming a member of the society as well as allows you to learn about different chapters, and the benefits of membership. It also updates individuals on latest jobs in the market, recent news and upcoming events in the field. Public Relations Society of America allows posts the days of the upcoming webinars. Personally, my favorite aspect of the website is the job and career section. The site allows you to search for jobs, internships, post resumes, ask experts any questions, and it provides information about salaries. One incredible benefit for college and universities, PR agencies, nonprofits, government and state agencies, and health care organizations is the 25 percent discount they receive to post a job on the website. In regards to the job field, this website also provides links and dates to upcoming learning opportunities. The events teach professional development and training. One of the newest sessions includes teaching professionals in the field about the social media era and how to be more effective in terms of usage of social media. If you are interested in more information or just eager to visit the site, please search: www.prsa.org in your web browser. by Kaylie Kueppers Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) now has a new strategy for 2014-2016. They have adapted the past mission and vision to help the profession continue forward and allow the association to be the best for it’s members. The new vision of PRSA is to be more focused on allowing public relations to lead the way of achieving goals. This means that PR will no longer just be another aspect of a company but now come before marketing and advertising. The new mission will allow all members of PRSA to achieve their goals without discrimination and by having the correct resources available. This means that PRSA will continually be changing to be the best association for public relations professionals. PRSA is also going to be focused on growing the association because the field of public relations is growing rapidly. This will allow for a more diverse field as well as more input from members. This is a video created by PRSA explaining the exciting plans for the future. by Kaylie Kueppers Are you questioning if a college degree is worth it with this economy? Think again.
As we all know, the unemployment rate is high in America. Many of us have that thought in the back of our mind that we try not to think about, “am I really going to find a job when I graduate?” Many of us also wonder if the college degree is worth the pricey tuition we pay. Well, I have something to say to ease your nerves a little bit. Even though the unemployment rate for those recently graduated from college is 8.9 percent, the rate for those who earned a degree in Communications is only 7.3 percent. This is relatively low especially if you consider your other option: dropping out of college. The unemployment rate for those without at least a bachelor’s degree is a shocking 31.5 percent. I know you are worried about finding a job now, especially with all your schoolwork piling up, but don’t question your education. Don’t worry about landing your dream job right away because employers tend to prefer those with higher education for almost any position. Earning your degree looks a little better now, right? |
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