“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” No phrase better captures the importance of networking, not only in public relations, but in just about any industry. It’s an essential part of getting ahead, yet there are many ways to self-sabotage. For some shy folks in the biz, networking can be absolutely terrifying. But…
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Memorial Day is the unofficial kick-off of the summer movie season, marked more and more by social media-infused promotions. The goal is to drive interest among the typically young, male movie fans with a fusion of traditional and digital PR and marketing, increasing the hype and the ticket sales. Beginning in 1999 with the “found-footage”…
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On this past week’s episode of “Mad Men”, Ted Chaough, while trying to dream up campaign ideas for a margarine, riffs on the notion that various category brands can be viewed through the lens of the very popular, very silly 60s-era sitcom, “Gilligan’s Island”. The notion is that the seven ship passengers stranded on a…
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A former colleague once told me that she “interviews recreationally” – that is, she actually enjoys going on job interviews even if she isn’t actually looking to make a jump. She interviews for sport – to see what else is out there, remain savvy about the PR marketplace, and stay competitive within the field. Assuming…
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At our New York PR agency, we sometimes wish for some kind of client translation software to confirm that what we heard is what was actually meant. For example, we’re working on a proposal for a prospective client who told us, “don’t work too hard on it, we just want to see some sample ideas.”…
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Every day we make (and occasionally miss) our deadlines. Catch the train by 8:30am. Get to the bank before 5pm. Submit this blog post by…well, you get the point. Today’s definition of a deadline is “the time by which something must be finished or submitted”, but it gets its name from an older and more…
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by guest blogger George Drucker The excellent film and tremendous PR effort created on behalf of “42: The Jackie Robinson Story” which opened on screens nationwide a few weeks ago, inspired me as a PR professional. As a long-time Angeleno, and even longer PR practitioner, I have to take my Dodger baseball cap off to…
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Work demands are always changing, but thanks to technology, we can be better prepared, more organized and more confident of doing our job efficiently. Here are some great tech tools for PR pros and others to consider to make work…well…work better. 30/30 Task management can be daunting. 30/30 simplifies it and even makes it fun….
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In earlier times, a colleague would run into your office with a joke hot off the fax. Today, that just sounds like a set-up for a joke. Jokes and humor have always been part of a healthy workplace, but with the viral jokes and memes we see online, it just might be time to review…
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In travel and tourism PR the goal is to promote the visitor experience offered by your client’s destination. From producing and supporting local events to leveraging influential personalities to tell your story, there are a variety of tactics you can use to get a place or property in front of the right people. So how…
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“Gatsby’s in the zeitgeist once again,” someone recently said. It’s true that this great American novel of passion, illusion, recklessness and deceit, which chronicles the Jazz Age, is full of life and resonance today, and not just because Leonardo will portray Gatsby in the new movie. Published nearly a century ago and filmed five times…
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The results are in: When looking for a unique angle to promote a client, sometimes it helps to ask for the public’s opinion. Including an omnibus-style survey, social media poll, or even a petition with a slight political bent in your campaign can significantly change the story angle, as well as help the news spread…
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Every year, a new crop of college grads enters the work force with little experience, but as a recent college graduate, I’ve found that certain skills and practices from my college life can be put to good use in a busy PR firm. I’ve boiled it down to four key “must-do’s” for the transition from student…
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PR pros tend to be wordy people, and we all have our favorites. Here are some of ours. You may not be able to drop them into your next client press release, but if they fill the bill without making you look like a sesquipedalian (given to or characterized by the use of long words),…
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Trade shows and conferences represent an opportunity to reconnect with friends and associates in the industry; make new contacts; and be inspired by influential speeches and personalities. But, too often we view attendance as a group effort, or even a chore, sticking with the team we came with or those we know. Whether it’s a…
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Remember field trips during middle school and high school? How could you not – a day away from your desk, a chance to (possibly) spend some extra time outside, and no classwork. The best and most important part of these trips, though, was the first-hand opportunity to get out and learn or experience something new….
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Despite the cold weather in New York City, spring is here. For PR folks spring cleaning should mean more than just file purging. Consider a re-evaluation of your media contacts (although we know you do this more than once a year, right?) Here are some media list clean-up tips, to keep your lists up-to-date and…
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Is your blog flabby? Is its content the equivalent of junk food? As with other spring rituals, getting your content in shape is a worthy exercise. Ask yourself these questions and then choose a shape-up plan that works for your particular blog. Is it carrying a “spare tire”? You need sharper editing. If you are…
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In the public relations world, getting an exclusive is often a key part of a team’s overall strategy of securing the best coverage. But it is often a delicate dance between outlets, clients and agency and must be handled with a certain finesse. The definition of “exclusive” has even grown murky (see CNBC’s restrictive booking…
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Once upon a time in any given workplace, you could say this to anyone, and they would know what you meant, “So the whole team bought into this silly idea just because the CEO suggested it, it was so ‘emperor’s new clothes.’” Today, if you were to say that to a Millennial, you would get…
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Seeing really is believing, and for PR pros, a familiarization press trip, or FAM trip, is a staple for securing in-depth, first-hand coverage of a destination. A successful FAM trip will not only provide you with a way to show off your client’s tourist or business features but also give you a great opportunity to…
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In the public relations world, every day is International Women’s Day, since women outnumber men and have for years (70%, according to the Institute of Public Relations). But for the rest of the world, March 8 marks a range of events designed to inspire women and celebrate female empowerment. Rich and diverse local activities connect…
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When it comes to client work, one of the things we always ask ourselves is, “How can we help our client shine?” This is especially true if the client is in a less-than-sexy industry. However, a PR pro’s dream is for the tables to flip and the media to approach us. It’s not that hard…
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While it seems like just a simple hello or good-bye, email salutations say something about you and your company. And given that they constitute your first and last digital impression, they should not be taken for granted, dismissed or trivialized. So what is the right way to begin or end a simple business correspondence in…
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The prospect of business travel can cause anxiety in even the most intrepid PR pro. And, even though we can Skype and chat via FaceTime sometimes there is no substitute for “being there.” With this in mind, here is a guide to making that next trip for work, work as hard as it can for…
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Merely watching the Oscars on your flat screen is so five minutes ago! As we in the PR business know, nearly every experience can now be enhanced with a combination of devices, apps and social media know-how. If you are, by some chance, ONLY watching the Oscars on one screen, get with the program! Here…
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PR pros have several “products” – creative brain power, smart strategy and arms and legs to implement. This all translates to how practitioners spend their TIME – the agency world’s key to billability. Understanding exactly what a PR agency team truly does throughout the day enables account managers to see if an account is running…
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Does this sound like you? After two days in an intensive client “deep dive” replete with late night and early morning sessions, you board a plane for more meetings with an out-of-town client, and on day four you return to your office to prep for a new business meeting, leaving Friday to complete your “day…
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Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and while the office may not be where the heart is, there’s no reason why you can’t spread the love to the people you spend a majority of your day with– your co-workers. According to Business Insider, the average person will spend over 90,000 hours at work (in…
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At the start of a new client/agency relationship there is always a period of ramp-up or onboarding or whatever word you like. Most of this is on-the-fly learning about your client’s systems and processes and establishing good reporting schedules and communications. But one of the most important and often nuanced parts of the process is…
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