IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Public Relations

  • On Wisconsin! The Protest Continues

    Starting last week, up to 25,000 peaceful protestors have surrounded the Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin.  It isn’t a matter of what they want, but what they don’t want.  Republican Governor, Scott Walker, proposed a bill that many union members are viewing as anti-union.  The bill requires state employees to pay a larger share of health care costs and pensions.  It also diminishes some of their collective bargaining rights and no longer would require state workers to join unions or pay membership dues.

    With Democratic State Senators fleeing Wisconsin to avoid voting on the bill, doctors writing sick notes for teachers to protest, and President Obama calling the bill an “assault on unions,” Madison’s liberal brand and activist reputation are giving the Governor a run for his money.  So why are other states watching the clash anxiously?

    Wisconsin is not the only state dealing with an extreme budget deficit.  With no easy way to fix the problem, they must consider some very tough budget cuts, many of which are opposed by organized labor.  Unions across the nation have successfully rallied and won many such battles, such as in Oregon and Arizona last year.  However, as seen in New Jersey and New York, governors from both political parties have reached out to business groups to form political action committees to advertise and put out messages to counteract unions.  If Governor Walker is also successful, he will be paving the road for many more states to stand up against government employee unions.

    These unions get their power by charging dues, these dues are used to run their daily operations and support political campaigns or individuals for elected office.  For example, in the 2008 elections, $400 million dollars were given by unions to elect Obama and other Democrats.  With Wisconsin threatening to remove unions’ rights to require state workers to join and pay dues, the unions’ relationships with members and political figures will no longer be one offering as much financial reciprocity. 

    How does this relate to IMC?  Government employee unions have large budgets to advertise their political views on bills, candidates, campaigns, etc.  They also survive knowing their membership will not diminish and their relationships with members and elected officials will remain productive.  However, if Wisconsin approves this bill it has the potential to reduce the financial power and sets up a pattern that could be followed by other states.  

    To learn more, click here to view a video on the protests:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFU7mn9pOhA

    -Carissa Niederkorn, Tiffany Evans, Deji Adeleke, Anna Kate Babnik, Katie Eagle

  • Public Relations Specialist: A Top Job for 2011

    According to the U.S.News and World Report, one of the 50 best careers for 2011 is a Public Relations Specialist. One definition for Public Relations given by the Public Relations Society of American (PRSA) is that “PR helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”PR specialists are hired to create a relationship with the public and to hopefully generate success.

    U.S. News and World Report stated that between 2008-2018, the employment of public relations specialist is intended to rise 24 percent. That 24 percent increase is appealing for us future PR specialists, especially in this current economic climate.

    So, what does it take to become a PR specialist?

    First off, most PR specialists have a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies, Journalism, Public Relations, or Business. In any field, it is important to get experience. Internships, especially in PR, are important to build your résumé because that is what projects yourself to potential employers. You must be able to think fast and accurately, have stress control, and be confident in what you do. In all communication fields, having good writing skills is obviously a necessity along with strong communication.

    In the previous post, Katelyn Truss talked about how important it is to create a brand for ourselves. Knowing your brand allows you to be more appealing to employers and eventually, your specific brand could attract customers for the business. It is appealing to employers when the person they are thinking about hiring is proud of what they’ve accomplished and has a positive outlook about the person they’ve become.

    Gary McCormick, CEO, of PRSA gives some advice for future PR Specialists in U.S. News’ article for “Top 50 Jobs of 2011”. He explains that getting a job in PR comes down to networking and that, “it’s really the cornerstone for what we do for clients and companies all the time.”

    Integrated Marketing Communication programs use public relations to advertise, market, influence, promote, build relationships with the customer, communicate new products, defend products, build excitement over a product, and so much more.

    Check out this video from PRSA: “The Value of Public Relations.”

    -Micaela Fouhy

  • Price Tag on a Super Bowl Ticket? Not for these fans.

    It seems fans whose plans were altered by seating issues at this years Super Bowl have filed a lawsuit against the NFL. Go figure. The lawsuit also targets specifically the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones and alleges a breach of contract, fraud, and deceptive sales practices. The massive group of fans, as many as a thousand people, are pushing for a collective gain up to $5 million from the NFL. While some of these fans pushing for the lawsuit are legit (400 fans did not even get a seat for the game), others seem to be coming off as a bit forced such as season-ticket holders who weren’t aware that they would be in “temporary seats”.

    Perhaps the NFL’s biggest problem stemmed from an inadequate offer that would have given the displaced fans $2,400 and even a ticket to next year’s Super Bowl, airfare and hotel included. But clearly this just is not good enough for these fans who felt gipped out of their paid-for seats. Apparently the NFL should have made these fans an offer they couldn’t refuse, at least up front, and now they will really have to pay for it. Clearly, the NFL cannot afford to get into a legal battle with these angry fans as it would lead to nothing more than a public relations disaster and a huge blow to the brand. It is no secret now that the league is to blame for the seating fiasco. So now in order to evade future damage to sales efforts and brand integrity and credibility, the NFL needs to do whatever it now takes to keep its faithful customers.

    Apparently there is no price tag on a Super Bowl ticket for these fans and they show no signs of dropping the issue. It seems at this point, the main hope for the NFL is that this story gets out of the media as fast as possible, and without further damage to the brand and future marketing and sales efforts and profits.

    -Eric Holtzman, Chad Graves, Ryan Kelley, Maxann Keller, Katelyn Truss

  • Super Bowl Mixed With Red and Pink Flowers?

    Super Bowl XLV had 111 million viewers throughout the entire game, but it doesn’t stop there.  “A record-breaking 169.2 million people tuned in to the program for at least a portion of the game” according to Fox News.  With this many people, and a majority of the audience being male, what else could be better than reminding men about Valentine’s Day?  The game is played a week before V-day, still allowing the men with crushes, significant others, and spouses to order flowers and various other red and pink gifts.

    The Super Bowl submerges men into drinking beer with their buddies, talking about football and, thanks to Go-Daddy commercials, hot chicks.  Teleflora was able to combine all these aspects into an effective, realistic and catchy commercial.  Speaking on behalf of the female population, men are stereotyped into not knowing how to express their feelings, especially around Saint Valentine’s Day.  In the commercial, the guy expresses his feelings for Kim in a not-so-romantic way; “your rack is unreal” doesn’t really scream romance.

    Teleflora’s effectiveness of this commercial is outstanding.  Targeting men and illustrating a guys perspective on Valentine’s Day and translating that into the beauty of flowers is what the overall audience of the Super Bowl will enjoy.  Comical, yet true, this commercial and Teleflora as a company, will be remembered.

    -Lauren DeHart

  • Corporate Communication: Then and Now

    Corporate Communication began in the early 1900’s during the time the United States was mass producing and consuming products.  Today, we have a market that is based more on supply and demand, not solely in bulk amounts.  Communication practitioners have had to alter the way their discipline is managed.  As far back as the start of the 1900’s, practitioners in the field of public relations, marketing and publicists were employed by corporations.  A lot of these jobs entailed playing the “gullible” card in order for the corporation to manipulate the public.

    In the 1930’s “writers, publicists and advertising agents were needed on a more continuous basis” rather than temporary jobs.  Shortly thereafter, marketing and public relations became two distinct professions.  For decades, these two were looked at differently.  During the 1980’s, they began to be looked at together again under the same umbrella due to so many similarities

    The world of corporate communication has changed over the course of the past century, and will continue to change.  With the field of technology advancing by the hour, this will drastically change the role of marketing and public relations practitioners.  The growing popularity of smart phones, twitter, blogs, etc. will continue to rise and connect people and the field of communication must also continue to keep the pace with these advances.

    Breanna Alexander

    Lauren Dehart

    Lauren Smith

    Kelly Wiley

  • Corporate Communication Wrap Up

    As our time in the Corporate Communication classroom comes to a close, the information and knowledge that we have gained will continue with us as we each venture out after graduation into our desired career field.  Among the class of communication majors are students interested in event planning, public relations, integrated marketing communication and advertising, just to name a few.  Corporate communication is involved in all of these industries.  As stated in Corporate Communication: a guide to theory and practice by Joep Cornelissen, one of our required readings for the course, “Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.”

    When the course first started back in August, not a single student in the class knew what the definition of corporate communication was.  Even though everyone registered to take the class, no one really had an idea of what it entailed.  Today, every student in the class has a definition of corporate communication, as well as plenty of detailed and background information that will give people a better understanding of the topic.  A big improvement from three months ago, wouldn’t you agree?

    We have covered a variety of forms of corporate communication that take place in sports, music, movies, politics, crisis management and careers this semester.  We have learned that communication is essential when it comes to an organization’s corporate image and identity, reputation, stakeholders and shareholders.  We have learned what makes a company go from good to great, the characteristics of a great company and why every company should strive to become one.  We hope we have left everyone with a better understanding of corporate communication.

    REMINDER! This week is NBC’s Green Week!  Green Week runs from November 14-21.  All this week, green topics will be featured into news and your favorite shows on the NBC network, such as 30 Rock and The Office, as well as special reports, fundraisers and documentaries.  Join NBC in celebrating the numerous ways that you can make a difference in the environment.

    -Danielle Dorantich

  • Corporate Holiday Humbugs

    It’s getting to be that time of year, when the weather drops below 40 and people start to prepare themselves (and their bank accounts) for the holiday season. From turkey, stuffing and cranberries; to presents, garland and twinkling lights, there is always someone convincing you that the holiday season will be even more memorable if you spend just a little more money. Companies gear up for this busy season, creating entire strategic plans to tackle the influx of customers that will be searching their shelves and racks for the “perfect” presents this year. Television Ads and radio commercials turn from normal to intensely tacky within a week after halloween, and you begin to wonder how advertisements for holiday merchandise progressed to this magnitude.

    Many believe that the religious background of the holidays celebrated around this time of year gets overpowered by the materials and tangible items that are repeatedly portrayed to consumers. However, this is not the only gripe that is muttered around this time of year. Companies everywhere are constantly trying to change the way they reach their customers around the holiday season: ranging from television and radio advertisements, to mailing catalogues and going door to door. Many people view this as intrusive and not a very persuasive way to promote sales within the company.

    As a result, many believe there must be a balance: where families can celebrate the holiday season and enjoy time with their families and friends, all while avoiding the initial panic that so many experience when the season arrives. Companies must be able to advertise in a manner that doesn’t send chills down consumer’s spines every time they hear a radio ad and create havoc within the shopping malls to make that 3a.m. sale. After all: its a season where families should enjoy their time together, instead of the gifts they receive.

    -Lora Hampton