My PR 107 Campaign Experience

As the first semester of my senior year dwindles down, it is bittersweet to know that it is all coming to and end. By "IT" I mean the four hard years that we have all put so much work into but have also anxiously waited for them to be finished. This semester concludes my public relations courses at Hofstra and I have to say, it has been more than enjoyable. At the start of the semester, I was not sure if I would enjoy PR 107 and what seemed like the heavy and intense responsibility of representing a client from the community. I was also overwhelmed after I was named the team spokesperson and could not stop thinking about how much hard work it would be on top of my already hectic schedule as a student athlete. Despite all of my fear and hesitation, PR 107 has surely become one of my favorite classes here at Hofstra. This class gave me so much experience and a realistic feel that I will definitely be able to take away from me when I graduate in May. Working with our client, Theresa Roden, was an absolute pleasure and we all learned so much from her. While there were definitely times when everyone was frustrated, I can honestly say that all of that has been forgotten when the big picture was revealed. This class- unlike our other PR classes-- has provided me with actual results and demonstrates how your work as a pr practitioner can pay off. It was the best feeling to have Theresa Roden tell us that she is so grateful for us and to express her constant appreciation through the entire project. Seeing actual results is what makes this class amazing and I am so thankful to have been apart of it this semester!

Penn State's PR Crisis

While this past week has been a series of unfortunate events for Penn State and its students, the school and its current situation has unfortunately been a text book illustration of what not to do when dealing with crisis PR. It's hard to believe that such a huge institution such as Penn State had no plan for the public relations crisis that blew up as the report recently went public. What bothers me most is the fact that this school had so much time to prepare for something like this to go public. Most crisis situations in PR are considered crises because the client or institution did not have time to develop response strategies or construct standby statements-- in Penn State's case, this is false. Because the sexual abuse scandals have occurred over time and were brought to the attention of the University and its athletic program, Penn State had more than enough time to develop a PR crisis management plan in the case of it leaking to the press. Due to the fact that Penn State did not develop a plan, this once prestigious and reputable school is extremely far from gaining control of the crisis that has overtaken the news/media.

Even after the story had leaked and there were reported riots taking place on Penn States' campus, the school's representatives did a poor job of communicating to the public. According to a source, the press conference that was held by the Vice President of the school's board of trustees was extremely "cold and corporate" rather than recognizing the emotional impact that this scandal has caused for many people. Penn State's response to the crisis was so poor that it was actually compared to the term "whiplash" on the public.

There is too much to say on what Penn State "should have done" in this situation. However, one thing COULD have been implemented and that is a crisis management plan, which would have ensured that action would have been taken immediately by being honest and open to the public.

"mcRib, the Game"

McDonalds recently announced its bringing back of the "mcRib"-a boneless pork sandwich that was first introduced in 1982 and is usually only offered at random franchises. In order to successfully tell America about this new (but old) sandwich, McDonalds has decided to launch a game on Facebook that asks players to chart their progress using the "#mcRib" hashtag on Twitter. The game, titled "The Quest", is hoping to generate interest among the younger crowd, a source says.

I think that this is a great idea created by McDonalds because it not only calls for action by making a game, but also generates high interest by combining two very popular social media sites (Facebook, Twitter). I think that this will be a successful PR/marketing move due to past social media experiences that McDonalds has created such as "McDonalds Monopoly".

"10 Disastrous PR Moves by Companies"-TheStreet

Recently in my media relations class, we discussed companies/clients who have inappropriately handled a situation among the media. One of the examples we were provided with in class was a Tyra Banks interview that took place several months ago. The interview went wrong when Tyra Banks was asked a difficult/controversial question and did not know how to reply-- instead, her publicist responded therefore making poor Tyra look twice as bad. In a similar light, TheStreet published an article detailing the top disastrous PR moves that companies made and why they are noted. The article is focused on situations where a company's or client's public response amid controversy was either too little, too late, or dishonest. One of my personal favorite controversies is the crisis centered on Abercrombie & Fitch in 2002. Back in the day, Abercrombie received a large amount of negative feedback due to T-shirts seen as "reinforcing negative Asian-American stereotypes". An example of this could be found on a shirt complete with Chinese laundry workers and rice-paddy hats, with the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make it White". A&F was slammed with charges of racism and protests against the brand. The company's explanation? "We personally thought Asians would love this T-shirt". Another great example of a spokesperson gone bad can be found in the BP case, which TheStreet classifies as being in the top 10 worst PR moves. Not only did CEO Tony Hayward decide and then declare that he wanted his life back, but the company took the worst route possible by trying to pass the blame off to other contractors and underplayed all the damage they have caused. One of the most crucial aspects of crisis management is understanding the media and knowing how to fix your mistake-instead of further offending them!

How social media follows us... everywhere.

On Thursday, Mashable published an article titled "NASA Invites Twitter Followers to View Next Launch--In Person", which details NASA's newest attempt to engage the public in its travels to space. NASA is inviting 150 of its lucky Twitter followers to witness the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket set off for Mars on November 25. These "tweetups" have been planned for the most notable times during the process-- especially the tweets during the launch of the shuttle. According to the article, this is a huge step for NASA and serves two very big purposes. The first purpose for tweeting in space is that it builds NASA's social reputation and attracts the public (since it's not every day you see an astronaut tweeting from Space). Secondly, the article states that Twitter will also help build a case for relevance as the agency shrinks, privatizes, and outsources more of its operations and faces continued budgetary pressure. In order to be selected as one of the fortunate 150 followers, one must submit an application. If selected, participants receive the opportunity to get a front-row seat for the launch while meeting and talking with NASA engineers and scientists.

Overall,I think NASA came up with a great idea involving social media. Space travel has always been a mysterious event for many people. Because it has always been featured on television or in the news, the public has never been given the chance to engage and actually feel like they're apart of the journey. What better way to do this than to introduce Twitter into the space mission? By allowing NASA's followers to keep abreast with important news and events taking place in Space, it will build the organization's rep while also demonstrating openness to its publics. NASA will surely benefit from this social media tactic.

UPS introduces a new and great idea

According to Mashable.com, UPS has recently launched a new service that will notify customers via text message, email, or phone call at some point the day before they receive a package. This service, titled "UPS My Choice" is apparently free unless a customer would like to pay $5.00 to reschedule the delivery or reroute the package to another address. The main objective for this new strategy is to cut back the costs of multiple delivery attempts that are caused by online shoppers. While this is clearly a marketing plan for UPS, I think it can turn into a great PR move as well. This new application can allow UPS to cater to its customers who are busy throughout the day and do not have time to be at home to wait around for a package. The service can better reach the needs of the people who work 9-5 and are forced to do most of their shopping online. Personally, I find it extremely frustrating to come home to a note on my door saying that the UPS service has "just missed me" and I will need to go pick up my package at the selected location or wait for the second time they come. To me, this new service will not only benefit UPS by cutting back the costs of missed deliveries but it will also help those customers who are busy throughout the day by notifying them through technology. Either way, I think it is a win- win!