Lobbying in Public Relations

Before I officially became a Public Relations major, I was back and forth between a bunch of different possible majors and career paths. At one point, I was set on becoming a lawyer. Now that I'm studying public relations, I've been looking into the different career routes I can take after graduation, and one of my recent findings, lobbying, particularly stuck out in my mind. For me, it seems like the best of both worlds--it's a combination of my interest in law and my major in public relations!

Lobbying is a fast-growing field that is closely connected to public relations, for the role of a lobbyist is to influence legislators, using the art of persuasion, on behalf of an organization’s point of view on various issues. Lobbyists aim to influence the policy making of the institutions to produce policies and legislation that are beneficial to their employers.

Since lobbying is about communicating with policy-makers, it is always beneficial to familiarize oneself with the political scene. Many of the lobbying career opportunities are concentrated in the political sphere of Washington, D.C., where graduates can gain experience working as congressional aides or with government agencies prior to beginning a career as a lobbyist. Many prospective lobbyists begin by working for environmental and advocacy organizations, where they can promote their agendas by meeting with members of Congress, legislative aides, and leaders of governmental agencies.

The primary skill of a lobbyist is to construct and communicate messages to legislators. If you're like me and have an interest in the legislative scene, maybe a lobbyist is the perfect career to pursue with your public relations degree!

Some statistics, according to the Princeton Review:

• There are approximately 106,000 people in the profession
• 35% are female; 65% are male
• The average starting salary is $20,000
• The average salary after 5 years is $50,000
• The average salary after 10 to 15 years is $80,000
• Major employers include Greenpeace, AARP, and Sacramento Advocates

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Marissa Sudol.

San Diego Zoo Pictures!

I can't believe it's almost been a week since I was in San Diego attending the PRSSA National Conference with Temple PRSSA's president, Jess Lawlor!

Here are some pictures of us at the zoo!

Jess (left) and I on our tour bus!

Jess loves giraffes!

Hyenas are by far one of the scariest and creepiest looking animals...

So cute! Momma gorilla carrying around her baby gorilla!

Jess and I were obsessed with this orangutan!

Behind dogs, an orangutan is my favorite animal!

Has anyone ever seen Orangutan Island on the Animal Planet? It was probably my favorite "reality" television show, following the lives of an orangutan village!

To bring it local - a baby Orangutan was born five weeks ago at the Philadelphia Zoo and now they're asking the public to help name her! The choices are Batu, Kadoa or Anoano. You have until November 26 to vote on the name you like best.

Click here to vote now! Can anyone guess my choice?

Burberry Meets Social Media

Burberry founder, Thomas Burberry, first designed the famous trench coat for British army officers in 1914. This 95-year-old fashion icon is Burberry’s top selling product and now has a social networking site dedicated to “the art of the trench.”

On Monday Burberry launched a social networking site, http://artofthetrench.com/. This site encourages viewers to submit pictures displaying them in their trench. They ask for participants to share their “trench coat” stories. The site features trenches all over the world on cyclists, children, in the rain and in Paris.

A majority of luxury good companies have been skeptical about getting on the web. They have been afraid that this non-traditional marketing tool would hurt their credibility. In the past, most believed that the web was for bargain buyers and counterfeit items. Now they are realizing that in order to reach their younger publics they are going to have to enter their turf, the Web.

During the current recession the $226 billion market for luxury goods saw an 8 percent drop. The market is expected to begin to grow once baby boomers retire and younger workers take their place.

Social media has made an impact on our lives and is now moving into our closets. It has become an ideal branding tool and has become another business strategy that we, as public relations practitioners, have to utilize better than anyone else out there.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Josie Fox.

Philly.com's Twitter Directory

I always like sharing when I find something interesting, so for you Philadelphia folks out there... Check out this page!
(It's Philly.com's Twitter Directory)

The page has streaming tweets from everyone including the word "philly" in them, while there is also a list of all the Twitter accounts of staff members from Philly.com, Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer and Phrequency.com.

Sarah Palin goes on Oprah

For you Oprah followers out there you probably already know that Sarah Palin will be appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show soon. The episode will air on Monday, November 16th and sizzle reels have already been previewing the highly anticipated show. Last night Oprah tweeted breaking news after finishing the taping of the former Alaskan governor's interview, sending Tweeters to a YouTube video. (Check it out!)

It is no secret Oprah was an avid Obama supporter during the 2008 presidential campaign, while she remains a supporter of the now president. Both Palin and Winfrey have encountered criticism alike for doing the interview together. So what do you think, will you tune in to watch the interview?

*Interesting Fact: Michelle Obama was the first person to appear on the cover of O Magazine alongside Oprah Winfrey for the April 2009 issue.

Always Remember Your Strategy

This week, while preparing a public relations campaign for a new client, I learned the importance of always thinking strategically. It is easy, especially when you're working with a small team, to get caught up in the small details of your plan. I've learned that details are extremely important, but only if they accomplish your goals and further your PR campaign strategy.

During the plan writing process you must always think about what you're writing and ask yourself, 'how does this accomplish my goal?' If the detail that you're writing doesn't fit perfectly into the puzzle that is your strategic campaign then you have to get rid of it, or rethink your entire strategy.

I've learned that a campaign strategy is like a container, and your tactics are what you will use to fill your container, but you have to make sure that those tactics will fit inside.

The most important piece of the strategy puzzle is research. Without researching your client, the environment in which you'll be working and the audience that you'll be reaching out to, you can't have a sensible strategic campaign. Research is the backbone to your business goals, and you can't just make them up.

When you're up to your eyeballs in campaign details and it starts to feel overwhelming, just take a step back and think, 'does this fit into my strategy?' This simple advice has given me a tool to create an effective campaign that can actually get results. I hope it helps you as well!

4 Types of Writers

This video from Ragan.com describes four categories that many writers fit into. The four categories are:

• Mr. Know it All
• Mr. Sensitivity
• Mr. Suck Up
• Mr. Lazy Bones

The men in the video role play to show viewers these four different types of writers, and it's a funny video. Even though it's a funny video, I'm sure a lot of people can think of coworkers and peers that fit into these four categories. This is a good reminder to all of us always try our best or else we may end up in one of these categories!