Read about lessons learned as a Photojournalism grad enters the world of Public Relations.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
THIS WEEKS HELPFUL READS
Blogging tips from Hemingway to the deadly sins of public speaking and how to be bold at work (or even in class!), here are a few articles I have found useful while focusing on presentations, group work and blog writing at school this week...
Friday, November 23, 2012
GIFT OF COMMUNICATION
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
hosted their 8th annual Gift of Communication yesterday and I had the
wonderful opportunity to be involved.
As a holiday gift to the United Way and the entire community, IABC
members donated 2.5 hours of time to help organizations to help solve their
greatest communication issues. Issues brought to the table included corporate
communications, public relations, employee communications, marketing
communications, public affairs and many other forms of business communications.
The event invited seven organizations and they were
individually paired with one or two IABC members and students from Mohawk College
and McMaster University . Organizations included
HARRRP, Student Open Circles, Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton,
Hamilton Youth Steel Orchestra, Robert Land Community Association, Hamilton St.
John Ambulance, and Hamilton Council on Aging.
I was selected to work with the Hamilton Association of
Residential and Recreational Redevelopment Programs (HARRRP), which had two
organization representatives present. Major issues discussed were how to better
brand HARRRP in the community to help increase
sponsorship and donor contributions.
This event came at a perfect time since we are currently
working on creating IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) plans in class. This
workshop offered a new level of learning for me as a student, allowing me to
work on real life situations alongside a knowledgeable communications
professional. I felt that I was able to actively participate in the discussions
and offer invaluable insight to the organization.
I believe that there is no better gift to give than to offer
the best skills you have and feel that the Gift of Communication is wonderful
gift to give organizations that would not normally be able to invest in. All
participating organizations were very enthusiastic and appeared to be very
grateful for a new set of eyes on their communication plans. I look forward to hopefully
being able to give the gift of communication again in the future!
Thank you IABC!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
AGENCY FIELD TRIP
Recently, the class left our typical learning environment, boarded a
school bus and headed to downtown Toronto to visit a couple Public Relations
Agencies.
The field trip was a very informative, positive and
an eye opening experience. Overall, both agency visits were very enlightening
and I could speak highly of both but I was overly impressed with the second
stop at Hill& Knowlton agency. Only knowing the basic information and
intimidating facts about agencies prior to this field trip, I had no desire to
work at a firm or agency. Hill & Knowlton possessed an exciting atmosphere
and work ethic that knocked my socks off and ultimately changed my opinion and
outlook on agency work. I was impressed with their think bold and big attitude
and the high standards they adhere to and the variety of work that they work
on.
Hill & Knowlton is Canada’s top-rated public
affairs and public relations consultancy. They have a network of 83 offices in
46 countries and nine Canadian offices. H&K offers small-agency focus with
large-agency resources. The agency works alongside with a variety of large
scale clients including Bell, Virgin, Ducks Unlimited, Royal Canadian Mint,
Mental Health Commission of Canada, etc.
Hill & Knowlton showed me the importance of
branding yourself and being different, from how you present yourself to the
experience you have listed on your resume. They value their employees and the
experience they bring to client work. Appropriately delegating team members to
client projects allows the company to benefit and make use of all employees’
individual talents. Showing this understanding of their employees’ individual
skills, made me really take notice of their appreciation of all skills their
team members have to offer. This in turn would make all team members feel
valuable and essential to projects.
I was impressed with the positive
environment within the agency. While sitting in the presentation, I was able to
take notice of employees walking past and noticed a continuous positive vibe
from every person that walked by. The two H&K employees that were in the
presentation to speak of their involvement within the company were also very
optimistic and mentioned how they thoroughly enjoy working within the agency.
They spoke of how they appreciate the variety of work they are able to work on
which allows them to continuously stay focused on projects as they do not find
themselves bored of repetitive work. Even when asked what they do not enjoy,
they couldn’t even speak negatively about anything other than an administrative
task of calculating account hours.
The high standard they
adhere, quality of work, variety of client projects and continuous dedication
to cooperative work in a bold and different approach is definitely motivating. Many classmates were
turned off by the agency environment; felt it was overwhelming, intimidating
and strongly believe that it is not a place they plan to work at. Coming from
previously working in the news industry, where it is a busy and competitive
work place- an agency just might be a great fit for me in the world of PR. Having previous media experience will still allow me to work within media
relations (which I desire) while improving on other various PR skills. The fast paced
environment and high standards is an environment I would definitely excel in
and look forward to one day having the opportunity to work within an agency and
learning from senior coworkers who offer great expertise to a variety of work.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
PUBLIC RELATIONS IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY
While studying photojournalism, sports writing and photography was a great passion of mine and a focus I wished to pursue. I loved the excitement of being included on media lists, connecting with the teams media relations representatives and building my collection of media passes. There is nothing more thrilling than being on the sidelines during any sporting event, getting an up close glimpse at all the action and emotion.
When I discovered my interest in Public Relations, I
thought it was an ideal opportunity to combine my love for sports and previous
media experience. Prior to the start of classes in September, I contacted many
sporting organizations in search of PR internship and was lucky to obtain a
position with a hockey team within the Ontario Hockey League which has turned
into a great starting point and learning experience.
What does a PR professional do on a sports team you might
ask?
PR for a sports team involves the coordination of the flow of information from teams to the media and providing the public with sports news items, team data and player information. Public Relations also plays an important "promotional" role in generating public interest, increasing teams' visibility and filling stadiums with fans.
PR for a sports team involves the coordination of the flow of information from teams to the media and providing the public with sports news items, team data and player information. Public Relations also plays an important "promotional" role in generating public interest, increasing teams' visibility and filling stadiums with fans.
They do everything from writing newspaper stories and media
releases to preparing media kits. They are responsible for responding to media information
requests which can include setting up coach or player interviews after games
and media attendance requests for games.
PR representatives are also often required to deal with difficult or
sensitive news stories relating to the team or players, having to throw the
most positive light on any situation.
On top of their media relation duties, PR sport experts
are also typically accountable for the team’s social media and community initiatives
and promoting the organization in an effort to increase fan followers, game attendance
and the teams’ visibility.
Public Relations for a sport organization is a vital component
to a team’s success and as long as the public has a desire for sporting events,
there will always be a need for a great sports PR expert!
Don't forget to add this sports PR blog to your blog reads which offers a look into the sports industry from a PR point of view, written by the Community Relations Manager for the Detroit Red Wings. http://sportsprblog.com/blog/
Saturday, November 3, 2012
JOURNALISM VS. PUBLIC RELATIONS
Some newcomers might think it is quite a jump from working
in the journalism industry to seeking a career in public relations; I would beg
to differ.
For quite some time, Journalism and PR have battled against
each other but I believe that both share similar qualities and neither could
survive without each other. PR uses the media as a tool to share their client’s
stories and to get a message out; Journalists defend the public’s best interest.
Both fields seek to deliver key messages that are of interest to others and they
equally understand how to relate and communicate well to the public in order to
successfully deliver those messages. Most importantly, each share very similar morals and ethical obligations
to the wider public. It is time to stop viewing it as one VERSUS the other and better understand the
true us AND them relationship.
Although it is ancient thinking, some journalists still look
at Public Relation Practitioners as spin doctors and view PR as the dark side. Despite
the primordial thinkers, I do believe that both industries are beginning to
better understand what each other does. The building of stronger relationships
is heading both industries in the right direction to hopefully one day end the
rivalry and allow them to see how they could benefit from having great ties with
one another. After all, both industry professionals have extensive networks
that could be beneficial to each other down the road in their separate fields
of work… not to mention they both enjoy a great drink out after the work day is
over!
Check out this great blog post on how to better connect with
journalists http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/12424.aspx
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
COME ALONG FOR THE RIDE
Welcome! This is a new blog dedicated to my journey along a new education
and career path in Public Relations. I will primarily be writing blog posts for
my instructor for a class assignment (Hi, Tim!) but I certainly hope to gain
the interest of aspiring PR professionals who will hopefully find my posts
useful, good or bad.
I have previously graduated with a diploma in Photojournalism, learning newspaper and documentary photography and key reporting skills. I briefly worked in the news industry as a photo editor for a company that had a long list of great newspapers across Canada and feel very privileged to have had that opportunity. I had the chance to meet many great photographers, writers and editors over the past couple of years and gained invaluable skills that I would never take back.
Looking at my personal long term plan, the newspaper industry wasn’t an ideal fit and I had a desire for a profession in communications that could offer long term industry stability. After much research, Public Relations seemed like a great fit. After all, it is one of the fastest growing industries!
At the moment, I have a strong desire to head down the path of media relations within the sports industry. Combining my previous media experience, my love for sports photography and sporting events, media relations seems like an ideal match. I have a long road ahead of me and will continue to keep my options open while studying but I believe it is still beneficial to have some direction mapped out.
There are many various opportunities in PR and I will consider and research each one along the way. I will continue to share updates, thoughts and lessons learned as I travel down a new road! I can guarantee there will be road blocks and detours along the way but hope my lessons learned will be of some interest and value to you.
Hope you enjoy the ride!
I have previously graduated with a diploma in Photojournalism, learning newspaper and documentary photography and key reporting skills. I briefly worked in the news industry as a photo editor for a company that had a long list of great newspapers across Canada and feel very privileged to have had that opportunity. I had the chance to meet many great photographers, writers and editors over the past couple of years and gained invaluable skills that I would never take back.
Looking at my personal long term plan, the newspaper industry wasn’t an ideal fit and I had a desire for a profession in communications that could offer long term industry stability. After much research, Public Relations seemed like a great fit. After all, it is one of the fastest growing industries!
At the moment, I have a strong desire to head down the path of media relations within the sports industry. Combining my previous media experience, my love for sports photography and sporting events, media relations seems like an ideal match. I have a long road ahead of me and will continue to keep my options open while studying but I believe it is still beneficial to have some direction mapped out.
There are many various opportunities in PR and I will consider and research each one along the way. I will continue to share updates, thoughts and lessons learned as I travel down a new road! I can guarantee there will be road blocks and detours along the way but hope my lessons learned will be of some interest and value to you.
Hope you enjoy the ride!
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