Get
Noticed.
Sometimes finding the
right media contact is a little like feeling your way around
in the dark. Unless you have our secret weapon - the
Hampton Roads Media Directory. Full listings
of all media outlets updated quarterly.
$35 members/$50 non-members
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Join
PRSA in May, June & July
2008 and
get PRSA
a Chapter
membership
free for one year!
Join
PRSA National during this special offer at the regular
member rate of $290
($225 national dues plus $65 initiation fee), and get
your local PRSA Hampton Roads Chapter membership
FREE for one year.
(Former PRSA
members
who have been inactive for at least one year are also
eligible for this offer.)
Contact Christine
Dwyer for an
application or click here
for
more information.
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Quote
of the day
"Talent
without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates.
There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's
going to be forward, backward, or sideways."
H.
Jackson Brown, Jr.
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Next
up:
Hap-PRSA
Hour May 21
Spring
into action and join PRSA Hampton Roads members for a networking
social on Wednesday, May 21, at 6 p.m. at
Jillian's in Norfolk's Waterside. Enjoy networking
with fellow PR professionals, lots of games and excitement!
For
a complete schedule of PRSA HR's Hap-PRSA Hours and reservation
information, click
here.
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April 2008
Treasurer's Report
Mindy
Hughes, APR, Treasurer
March expenses:$167.37
YTD
income:$8,400.78
YTD
expenses:$3,695.67
Total
assets:$20,406.10
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 From
the PresidentEmma
Inman, APR
Exciting Learning Opportunities
Abound
According
to the 2007 Arketi Web Watch survey, journalists are
using the Internet more than ever--and in some not-so-expected
ways.
Did
you know that. . .
-
93% of the journalists surveyed said they use the
Internet to find news sources;
-
89% said they use the Internet to find story ideas;
-
72% said they read blogs;
-
39% said they listen to pod casts?
Not
only is the Internet changing the way reporters do
their jobs, it's changing the traditional definition
of a news "source."
That means there's more and more competition
out there for us, as PR professionals, as we try to
place our experts in the public spotlight.
The
Internet is also changing the way news agencies report
the news. In Hampton Roads in the last few months
Inside Business has redesigned its Web site and all
of our local newspapers and television stations have
online news staff who are responsible for using the
Web to make their news accessible to Web-savvy media
consumers.
What
does that mean for us?
We need to understand how this changing media
landscape impacts our relationships with the media.
And we need to understand how to use the Web, including
social networks and blogging, to get our messages
out and our news noticed.
Hampton
Roads PRSA has some exciting upcoming programs to
help us do just that.
First, at our luncheon meeting on July 9, a
media panel of local publishers and online news directors
will give us the inside scoop on what's happening
with local media and how we need to engage with them.
At
our professional development conference on October
1, we're going to spend a full day learning during
a new media mini boot camp hosted by nationally-recognized
new media expert Eric Schwartzman. If you don't know
who Eric Schwartzman is, check out PRSA National's
professional development catalogue online. He puts
on a two day boot camp several times year that is
always a sellout! (And we're bringing him to Hampton
Roads at a tenth of the cost to you!) And we're going
to hear how the Internet was put to use to manage
one of the worst crises ever to take place in Virginia-as
Larry Hincker, our keynote luncheon speaker, tells
us about how he and his team managed the shooting
at Virginia Tech.
Your
board is working hard to bring you high caliber learning
opportunities.
Watch this newsletter and the Web site (and
your mailboxes) for more info to come.
And save the dates on your calendars.
Great things are in store for you through your
chapter of PRSA.
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July
Chapter Meeting
The Future of Local Media:
How the Internet is Changing What They Do and
How They Do It
A panel featuring
Maurice Jones, publisher of The Virginian-Pilot;
Jane Elizabeth, director of online news, The Virginian-Pilot;
Jane Alvarez-Wertz, online news director, WAVY;
Digby Solomon, publisher of the Daily Press;
and Tom Davidson, Tribune Interactive Project Director,
The Daily Press., Inc., will discuss this
extremely timely topic.
Wednesday,
July 9
11:00
a.m. - Networking and registration
11:30 a.m.-
1:00 p.m. - Lunch and program
The
Murray Center
455 Brambleton
Avenue, Norfolk
Cost:
$35 members
and military
$45 guests
$25 students
Reservations
/ Registration
Reservation
deadline: Noon, July 7
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Ethel the Ethics Evangelist:
Win
Loot! Say the Magic Word and Win a Hundred Dollars!
OK,
so you're not REALLY going to win a hundred dollars
by saying the magic word, as Groucho Marx's guests
did on "You Bet Your Life," (perhaps an example of
unethical behavior?), but you CAN win cool loot with
your correct answers!
Here
are five situations presenting ethical decision-making
opportunities. Answer each set of questions by a short
sentence or two. Send your answers to: gail@theprbuzz.com.
The two members
submitting the most correct answers will win
either a hardback copy of "The
New Rules of Marketing and PR" by David Meerman Scott,
donated by The Buzz Factory, or a healthcare
goodie basket donated by Sentara featuring
insulated canvas cooler,
sunglasses and holder,a pedometer, sunscreen, edibles
and more! (Winners will be drawn from
a bowl at the next PRSA meeting on July 9. You must
be present to win.)
HINT:
It's easy! Look for the answers at the number #1 resource
for PRSA members!
1.
You work for a fruit association. The focus of a promotional
campaign is to encourage a lifelong healthy habit
of eating fruit every day. The audience is families
of preschoolers, children ages three to five. A strategy
you're working on is to form an organization of parents
to be spokespeople for healthy eating habits.
What
would make this organization a front group? What
would ensure that this organization is not a front group?
2.
You work for a public relations firm. A client requests
that your firm dedicates a person to their account.
You are assigned for six months to this client and
will work in their office fulltime.
How
do you introduce yourself to a local reporter doing
a business story on the company?
3.
You work in a corporate communications division for
a manufacturer. Management decides the company needs
a new, fresh logo. As a member of the team assigned
this task, you are asked to propose three concepts.
You do research on the Internet and identify three
promising ideas.
How
can you ethically use research as inspiration for
a creative idea? Describe when using research is plagiarism
.
4.
You work in the communications department of a local
hospital. A major car accident, involving 25 people,
occurred about 2 a.m. last night. A neighbor calls
you and says that her 17-year-old high school son
has not come home from visiting a friend in the neighborhood
of the accident. You know that the accident involved
adults; no teenagers or children have been admitted.
What
can you ethically and legally tell your friend?
5.
You are working on an announcement of a new product.
The client expects international and national media
publicity. Your persistence and ingenuity paid off
and the client is very pleased with the results. You
did not anticipate, however, the amount of time on
the phone this project required. The international
phone cost was triple the amount you had budgeted.
What
is a proper way to bill for this expense?
What
is an improper way to bill for this expense?
Remember
what Ethel says: Always do the RIGHT thing!
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Pinnacle Awards are back and we need your help!
Do
you have an eye for detail? Do you enjoy event coordinating
and planning? Well, the awards committee needs you!
Help
us plan the 2008 Pinnacle Awards, which will be
held on September 10. We will be exchanging our
entries with the Hoosier chapter for judging.
Please
contact committee co-chair, Meredith Mobley at 757-351-7366
or via email at meredith.mobley@forrent.com.
Hope
to hear from you soon!
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Online diversity survey
coming soon
Be
on the lookout later this week for and email regarding PRSA
HR's 2008 online Diversity Survey. This
tool will help us better understand where we are and
what improvements we can make. Please take the
time to answer this survey--your feedback is critical.
If
you have any questions or would like to participate
on the Diversity Committee, please contact Diversity
Committee co-chairs Misti
Goodson
or Marcia
Taylor. |
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PR
Marvels & Miscues
Who Stepped
Up
Great Public Relations
Opportunities Are Right
Under Your Nose:
Most
business owners and public relations professionals
have the potential to generate some form of
recurring publicity if they look hard enough and ask
the right questions.
For
instance, the Norfolk Botanical Gardens is a wonderful
attraction in Norfolk, Virginia. But for many years,
the only way they generated publicity was by adding
a new attraction, which wasn't that often.
However,
a stroke of public relations brilliance changed
all that a few years ago. Management placed a web
cam in the branches just above an eagle's nest and
instantly the entire world could watch how eagles
lived and raised their young.
Reporters took notice!
The
Eagle Cam sparked a renewed interest in the Norfolk
attraction and has consistently generated positive
publicity.
In late April, the local media covered the
successful hatching of an eaglet.
The Virginian-Pilot ran a photo and
six inch story in their popular "5 cities at a glance"
section, and the editorial page did a seven inch
piece.
I
believe every business has at least one built-in,
golden marketing opportunity, whether that public
relations opportunity involves knowledge or entertainment.
Another
example is Spectrum Printing in Virginia Beach.
New customers frequently told owner Dick
Olenych that they would have used his print shop
sooner if they had known he was right across from
CopyMax on Virginia Beach Blvd., where they were
paying the high rates and not receiving the personal
service. Dick,
whose business is known as "The Happy Printers,"
will soon station a yellow paint can mascot named
Sonny in front of his building, ala, Liberty Tax.
It fits well and was right under his nose
to discover.
The adventures of Sonny may be legendary,
as I understand he's a bit wily.
Tom
Davidson of Davidson Leadership runs an email marketing
campaign titled Leaderslips & Tips: The Good,
The Bad & The Bungled.
He could easily draw from this product on
a yearly basis and present his, or a panel's, top
three good and bad leadership moves.
That could easily turn into a recurring stream
of publicity.
Keep
your eyes open for businesses and organizations
that consistently receive positive media coverage.
What built-in or one-off item from your product,
service, issue or cause can you exploit to generate
media coverage and brand awareness?
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News & Views
in published monthly for members of the Hampton Roads
Virginia Chapter of PRSA.
Feedback please! Your opinions are important. Please
e-mail questions, comments, suggestions, story ideas or
concerns about News & Views to
Jennie
Burge.
Listings
for the job bank should be sent to Karen
King, APR .
Changes
in membership information should be made in the Chapter's
online Membership
Directory.
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