Our team has been very busy this term creating a nomination packet for the American Public Works Association’s (APWA) Top 10 Leader Award. The APWA is an international organization that provides a forum for public works professionals around the world to exchange ideas so that members can stay on top of the most innovative and efficient public works processes. The Top 10 Leader Award recognizes those professionals who have made achievements in engineering, excelled in the industry and serviced the community. APWA’s Oregon Chapter has nominated Tillamook County Public Works Director Liane Welch.

Our fantastic team, Jesse Davis, Paris Isaacs and Nicole Kramer, is busy interviewing the candidate’s co-workers, old bosses, community members and family to get the inside scoop on how Welch operates.

First, we dived into research. I knew little about public works, let alone the technicalities of planning, implementing and assessing public facilities. Turns out, public works professionals have their hands full in Tillamook County. Did you know that Tillamook County has experienced more federally declared storms than any other West coast jurisdiction in North America? This requires emergency response and crisis management from the public works team, hardly a nine-to-five job.

Once our team digested the material, we set off to interview. As upper-division students on the verge of graduation, we have been interviewed a lot – we perfect our resumes, attend cover letter writing workshops and practice answering interview questions with mentors. It has been a while since I had been on the other side conducting interviews, and these require our team to be on top of our games. For this nomination, we need to flesh out all the confusing content and maximize our 20 minutes on the phone with interviewees. Here are a few things I learned along the way:

• Research, research, research: The only way to learn about anyone is through research. For this project, I asked each interviewee how he or she knew the candidate. I received responses telling me about the public works projects or initiatives they worked on with Welch, some of which were: bioengineering erosion control, full-depth reclamation and slough consolidation conduit utilities…definitely a mouthful. In order to develop thoughtful questions, we spent time reading up on these processes and Tillamook County’s involvement with them.

• Stay casual: Interviewing is simply facilitating a conversation. Focusing too much on the question may lead you to neglect what the interviewee is saying to pry out an answer you want. Listen to interviewees and ask follow-up questions based on what they are saying – if they’re excited about it, you’ll get more details.

• Turn off phone notifications: During a phone interview, it’s easier to write notes without a phone in your hand. Speakerphone is a great option, but turn off those loud beeps that alert you of new texts, e-mail and Twitter mentions.

Our interviews have offered our team great insight into Welch’s achievements. The feedback we have received has been extremely positive. Welch is constantly praised as a collaborative communicator and leader, encouraging her employees to engage with other professionals in the industry and educate themselves on current trends. She has created relationships with all these people we interview, and those relationships have propelled her forward, positioning her as one of the top 10 public works leaders in the nation.

Writing a nomination for such a praised professional inspires the work we do in Allen Hall Public Relations. As aspiring young professionals, we are learning to become transparent communicators, inspirational leaders and relationship-builders.

Inspired by Matt Silverman’s post “The World Before the Internet,” I thought, “What would the world be like without Twitter?”

To analyze this thought, I narrowed the world down (just a little bit) to public relations students in general and Allen Hall Public Relations (AHPR) in particular.

AHPR is comprised of many Twitter-savvy public relations apprentices who share interesting and fun public relations topics with their followers.

Twitter interactions are encouraged in some classes, and AHPR agency meetings are Twitter-friendly. Tweeting allows us to build a community, share about our clients, seek help from experts and inform the rest of the world of our victories.

I joined Twitter awhile ago, but started getting into it these last few weeks. I discovered the amount of useful information that “tweeps” (twitter peeps) share with others. I realized that following conversations and reading tweets makes me feel part of the public relations community.

Although not all public relations students and practitioners are on Twitter, it is the ideal place to stay up-to-date with public relations hot topics, see what people in the industry are talking about, and interact with others who share the same interests.

Many thoughts later, I came to the conclusion that the world without Twitter would be just fine; however, it would be shameful to miss the opportunity to expand our digital footprint and become knowledgeable about the field in which we’d like to work. Because let’s be honest, being ahead of the game is more important than ever in this day and age.

So tweet away, tweeps! (But do not forget to listen first.)

At Allen Hall Public Relations we are often presented with opportunities that would not have come our way were we not a part of this agency. Two weeks ago, I had one such opportunity land in my lap.

I am the account supervisor of our New Venture Championship (NVC) team, along with account executives Nic Corpora and Tara Gremillion. The three of us work in conjunction with Allen Hall Advertising (AHA) to help NVC put on a successful business plan competition for graduate students in April. The competition takes place in Portland, and is widely recognized as one of the top competitions of its type in the country.

The sponsors of NVC are crucial to the competition’s survival. This year several students from AHA and I were approached with the task of presenting to the CEO of NVC’s title sponsor, Columbia Sportswear. That’s right, folks—we jumped on a bus and strutted into Tim Boyle’s conference room at the Columbia headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

Mr. Boyle had not been given a personal update about his investment in NVC in three years, and since the competition is experiencing a rebrand this year the timing was perfect. We were informed of the presentation about a week in advance, which put our communication skills on the spot. The designers at AHA worked tirelessly on an aesthetically pleasing PowerPoint while AHA members Joe DeFever, Matt Casey and myself perfected our public speaking skills. By the time Friday, January 7 rolled around we were perfectly polished for Mr. Boyle.

Ma Boyle Country. Photo credit: pdxmim

Walking into the headquarters of Columbia Sportswear, we were greeted by a wall-sized portrait of Mrs. Gert Boyle, Tim Boyle’s mother and Columbia chairman of the board, alongside the slogan “Ma Boyle Country.” Right off the bat we knew this was no joke—we were in Boyle territory. The office itself had a very open feel, and with Columbia gear around every corner there was no question these people lived and breathed the brand. We were led to a conference room where we were left to prepare ourselves and take it all in.

When Tim Boyle entered the room, the mood instantly changed. A friend of Tim Gleason, Dean of the UO School of Journalism and Communication, who accompanied us on the journey, his presence was friendly yet demanding. One would think that the CEO of a company such as Columbia would show little interest when some undergraduate students showed up in their cheaply tailored business attire from a sales rack, but Mr. Boyle commanded our eye contact throughout the presentation. He took notes and nodded, and even interjected at the appropriate times to give his input. When we were finished, he asked insightful questions that we had not even prepared for—luckily we all knew the account well enough to hit a few curveballs out of the park.

I was simply taken aback by his interest and willingness to listen to our presentation. At the end of our talk he gave us a few moments for the sweat on our palms to dry before handing out passes to the employee store around the corner. Then it was off to the BCS National Championship for Mr. Boyle and back to Eugene for the NVC team. Talk about living in a different world—Mr. Boyle’s ability to command that much respect and interest from a room is a learned ability we can only hope to achieve.

Fall 2010 Fred Meyer team

Fall term was a busy one for the Fred Meyer team. We got to work right away, assisting Fred Meyer’s public affairs team by creating media lists, writing press releases and media alerts, and doing media relations work.

We pitched a number of stories:

In October, we wrote and pitched a release about a t-shirt signing held at the West Eugene Fred Meyer. Duck football legend Kenny Wheaton, whose famous play known as “The Pick” is considered the greatest play in Oregon football history, signed the shirts to benefit the Kenny Wheaton Foundation, his charity benefitting underprivileged children in the Eugene area.

We were also able to secure coverage for a check presentation held at Fred Meyer’s Santa Clara location in Eugene. Fred Meyer donated over $81,000 to the Oregon chapter of Operation Homefront, an organization that provides emergency assistance and other services for families of veterans. The donation was a combination of money collected in coin jars at Fred Meyer checkstands and contributions from Fred Meyer associates. We received coverage from KEZI, Eugene’s ABC affiliate. (Video: http://kezi.com/news/local/197481)

Our media relations efforts really paid off in December, when we crafted a social media press release announcing Christmas for Kids, an event held at the Hollywood Fred Meyer in Portland. The event gives low-income children a chance to shop with volunteers and purchase Christmas gifts for themselves and their family members. Two of Portland’s major network news affiliates, KOIN (CBS) and KATU (ABC) attended the event and featured it in their evening newscasts.

Between the five of us, we were all able to get a taste of writing, media list creation and media relations. Having the chance to pitch media and earn coverage is an invaluable opportunity for students, and we’re excited to continue supporting the public affairs team at Fred Meyer and being part of their work in our community.

Yo Gabba Gabba featuring Andy Samberg on Nickelodeon

Our team recently took on the task of promoting a Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! event to benefit Springfield/Eugene Habitat for Humanity and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Promotion was a challenge due to time constraints and a lack of physical promotional materials, but our team got on it to generate as much buzz as we could. We were initially a bit confused as to how we could possibly attract a college audience to a children’s show, but with a little more research we found that Yo Gabba Gabba! draws a unique, boundary-crossing audience with appearances from talents such as The Roots, MGMT, Snoop Dogg, Jack Black and Biz Markie with “Biz’s Beat of the Day.” Keller Williams was the special musical guest in Eugene at the Hult Center.

The Fall 2010 Habitat for Humanity team: Krista Detwiler, Kevin Kennedy, Austin Clark & Rachel Koppes

To promote the event we used Facebook and Twitter and quickly produced some media materials including a news release, media advisory and fact sheet. We succeeded in having an article written about the event in the Oregon Daily Emerald, which was very exciting. We all learned a lot through the process, especially through collaborating with the Daily Emerald. Delegation, communication and teamwork were key and we were so happy to see a great turnout at the event. A couple of us attended and couldn’t help but dance, sing and beat box throughout the energetic show.  As a team, we are excited to see what else we can accomplish for the Habitat for Humanity and the ReStore!

Notice some differences? While the two commercials are both advertising the Toyota car company, they display very different meanings. They each insinuate different reasons for why their viewers should buy a Toyota. The U.S. and international commercials even played different music in the background, or none at all, which can also play a fairly large role in the successfulness of the campaign.

Creating campaigns with commercials are very costly, not to mention also time consuming. It would be easy for a multi-national company to launch one commercial worldwide and call it good; however, cultural values are going to be a more important issue than price. A public relations or advertising professional must approach a new commercial campaign, or any campaign for that matter, ready to reflect the values, beliefs and realities of the particular culture they are distributing the campaign for.

For example, in Europe energy and water prices are extremely high. So, when trying to promote a new appliance, it would be beneficial as a professional to keep this in mind by highlighting its “light water use,” for example. It is extremely important to be aware of international and cultural differences, especially when looking at what will make a successful commercial.

Countries have different likes/dislikes, cultural values and forms of communication. Feel free to “go global,” but remember that a lot of thought must be put into every detail and decision, big or small, to ensure that you are promoting your company’s product in the best way possible.

– Kaitlin Shrier, Account Supervisor

photo by JohnLeGear via Flickr

Sure, packing your room with the intention of unpacking in another country sounds a bit intimidating. In actuality, the experience of working abroad could be well worth the initial goose bumps. Whether you’re interested in surfing down under or eating potatoes in Ireland, working for a PR firm abroad can be a great way to set your resume apart and gain experience in an international market.

Here are a few international firms that may spark your interest in an international PR career.

Location: Melbourne and Sydney, Australia
Firm: Ann Morrison Public Relations
Founded: Nearly two decades ago
Specialty: AMPR originally began as a firm specializing in fashion and lifestyle PR but have also expanded their talent to benefit the business, service and automotive fields. Visit AMPR’s website and Twitter.

Location: Dublin, Ireland
Firm: Drury Communications
Founded: Nearly 20 years ago
Specialty: Ranging from consumer to financial PR, litigation communication to public affairs, Drury Communications can provide its employees with a wide array of opportunities. Its mission emphasizes the link between effective communication and successful communication in its mission: “We believe in strategic partnership and rock-solid relationships.” Visit Drury’s website.

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Firm: Spice PR
Founded: 2002
Specialty: Spice PR fancies itself an expert in fashion, food, design and lifestyle work. From Jeffery West to Volvo to Evian, Spice manufactures creative campaigns to establish or secure its clients’ brands. Visit Spice’s website and Blog.

Location: London, UK
Firm: The London PR Agency
Founded: 2007 by former journalist Steve McComish
Specialty: The London PR Agency is a consumer and B2B PR firm and has extensive experience in UK national media relations. The agency is so confident in its ability to garner results that it guarantees national coverage to all committed clients. Visit the London PR Agency’s website and Twitter.

– Cassi Gritzmacher, Account Executive

• Guests. The ability to correctly identify your audience will greatly shape your planning, day-of-show, and follow-up steps.  Know where your guests will be coming from, what they’re doing after, and how your event can be the best part of their evening (or day).  Remember to always give guests a take-away (or like many of us referred to them at our childhood birthday parties, a “party favor”).  This shows guests your sincere appreciation for their company.  Always make sure to follow-up after the event, too – both to thank them again for coming and to gain their opinion on the event’s success.
• Venue. It’s a no brainer (or at least I hope it is) that your venue must be large enough to accommodate your total guest count.  If you’ve never been to the venue before day-of-show, always arrive at least one hour prior (this means before catering, flowers, etc., are scheduled to arrive, not the guests).  You never know what funky challenges might occur (i.e., non-adjustable thermostat set to a whopping 96 degrees, no ramp for your three guests who cannot climb stairs).
• Signage. If you represent an organization or have a sponsor(s), make sure you credit important parties with signage.  Signage should be large enough to be seen and small enough that it doesn’t become the backdrop in every candid photo.
• Budget. Plain and simple: stay within it.
• Helpers. I know everyone refers to you as the “Hostess with the Mostess,” but that doesn’t mean you didn’t (or shouldn’t) have assistants along the way.  Don’t try to be a one-person team – you’ll end up fatigued and unable to enjoy (or spectate) any aspect of the event because you’ll be too busy running around like crazy.  Get a team together (with individuals you can trust), delegate with purpose, and always show appreciation for your teammates.
• Cold food is a no go. The venue is amazing!  There is an open bar and guests look overjoyed.  They then bite into a wonderfully looking filet mignon, and their faces quiver at the taste of cold steak.  Regardless of how great everything else is, guests will always remember a cold meal and talk about it in the weeks to come.
• Personal toolkit. Create your own personal toolkit and stock it with the answers to potential event crises, which will happen.  Some items in my toolkit include Band-Aids, superglue, tape (Scotch Blue and Scotch Double-Sided), matches, tape measure, markers, pens, blank nametags, and a rubber doorstop.

With these seven tips, your toolkit is already half full.  It’s your job to fill the rest!

Good luck and happy event planning!

– Saramaya Weissman, Account Supervisor

Professional franchises have used public relations to influence the behavior of their publics in multiple ways. Some organizations have made suggestions to reduce ticket prices. As much as they would like to maximize profit, they understand that in some cases public money was used to fund the facility in which the game is played.

Another way is by emphasizing details that are not always visible. Studies have shown that developing a professional sports franchise in a city can significantly boost the economy in that area. When a new franchise is brought into a city there will be increased spending in that area due to the high number of fans who want to attend. These franchises also help by creating hundreds of jobs for those in search of work.

Job created by a professional athletic franchise.

One way franchises can look beyond themselves and into the community is by creating international relations. A few seasons ago the NFL sent the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets overseas to play a regular season game. This was a good idea to try to generate public interest abroad in areas where American football doesn’t exist. A second way franchises can focus on the community is by using creative promotions that attract fans. The Minnesota Twins recently started a promotion called “break a bat plant a tree.” Such a promotion is attractive to fans because it aligns with the eco-friendly movement that is gaining ground all over the world.

How are these franchises bettering the community? One way that professional sports reach out to the community is by forming organizations such as the Pro Players Association that work voluntarily on behalf of the community. A second way is by providing assistance for community projects. The Colorado Rockies assist with the building and revitalization of baseball fields for youth baseball, allowing children all over the state of Colorado to enjoy the great game of baseball.

– David Runberg, Account Executive