Michelle Han
March 24, 2016 | 02:34:01
Public relations practitioners are acutely aware of the changing seasons and what’s happening on the calendar. Back-to-school time brings pitches about ramping up and starting anew, while the holidays generate angles about celebrating, gifting, feasting, and making resolutions. Now that winter is receding in the Northeast, we’re seeing people flock to spring-like activities, and PR people are no exception. Here are five things your PR team might be doing now that spring has sprung.
Plan a redesign. Whether it’s your website, your logo or your office layout (did you catch ours, by the way?), spring tends to inspire PR teams to freshen up the look of things. It’s more than just a typical “spring cleaning” or cosmetic change. Design has important implications for user experience, an important and growing area for businesses. So open up the windows, grab some design inspiration, and shake things up a bit. You might ruffle some feathers at first, but change tends to invigorate in the long run.
Travel. After a long cold winter, getting the itch to explore new places is understandable. Now is the time when PR pros like to dust off their suitcases and see a bit of the world. But don’t think taking time off for travel — and away from work — is a bad thing. Working in a creative profession like PR requires time to unplug and refresh oneself to be able to return to work and continue generating fresh ideas. Take it as a good sign if you see team members taking a week to travel, get a change of scenery, and new adventures under their belts. They’ll return to work the better for it.
Book speaking engagements. Warming temperatures in the Northeast means late spring and early summer conferences are finalizing their rosters of speakers and panelists for some of their most well-attended conferences and events. A robust calendar of speaking engagements is a key tenet of a strong thought leadership program — a core part of any public relations program for most brands and companies looking to improve visibility in their category.
Lock in awards. Since much of public relations is about earned endorsements, awards form another key component of any public visibility campaign. Our team has seen a flurry of award deadlines in recent weeks, meaning we’ve been heads down on detail oriented, customized applications for some of the most coveted industry honors. Even if the awards in question do not pan out, the process is a helpful way to repurpose and recast content such as existing messaging and previously published materials. The documentation, if well organized, is bound to come in handy somewhere else down the road.
Meet up in person. We all know the drill: as soon as no-jacket weather arrives, expect longer waits for outdoor spots at your favorite watering holes. But this is a good thing. PR people know the value of developing and maintaining relationships — with clients, media, other industry people, potential partners, etc. — and one of the best ways to do that is face to face. Sunny skies and warmer weather facilitates the in-person meet-up more than anything. Table for two, outside, please?
Actually, people always like to travel in spring.