Into The Wardrobe

There's something about little kids walking into a closet and entering a magical world called Narnia ruled by a huge lion named Aslan that is just so incredibly intriguing and entertaining. Whether you've read the books, seen the movies at least a few times each (like me) or haven't a clue as to who this Aslan character is, the Chronicles of Narnia exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia is sure to be enjoyable.

The premise behind the C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia is simple—four siblings enter a mysterious wardrobe leading them to a magical world filled with shimmering snow, an evil witch, and talking beavers. After several intense mythical battles, the siblings become kings and queens of this world and reign in Narnia for years. The exhibit at the Franklin Institute allows visitors to experience a real-life version of Narnia complete with movie sets, original props, and activities to partake in.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the exhibit is the scenery. Visitors take the position of the four siblings as they enter through the wardrobe into Narnia (complete with falling snow and an icy wind) and even sit on the evil White Witch's icy throne.

I've never gone to the Franklin Institute and not learned something useful, and this exhibition only reiterates that fact. With all the talk of global warming and the harm done to our environment, the Chronicles of Narnia exhibit features a display describing the impact of climate change on our planet. Visitors can build an archway inside of a castle, even with no architectural skills at all! There's also a medieval catapulting weapon, chain-mail armor, and battle reenactments.

The exhibit runs everyday until April 19. Really, what is more exciting than being able to say, "Yep, I sat on the White Witch's throne. Oh and yes, I did construct a mythical archway with my bare hands."

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations firm staff member, Marissa Sudol. Follow her on Twitter: @marissasudol

Media Lists

We are very excited to have signed both of our clients this semester, The Rebecca Davis Dance Company and Ursula's about PHace. As we gear up to start our campaign, one thing that we need to do is compile our media lists. Yesterday, PRowl Public Relations discussed some helpful tips about building a media list.

Here are a few things we came up with:

• First decide what kind of publication you're targeting. Is it a city paper or a suburban paper? Local or national? Free or paid-for?
• Create a list of publications you'd like to target and decide which section best suits what you're pitching.
• If you don't have a media database such as Media Map, try and keep track of the journalists for the publications you're pitching, and the stories they have written. This will help when pitching so you can cite past articles.
• If you do not have a specific journalist in mind, find the contact information for the editor of the section you are targeting.
• While some contact information is listed online, it often can be hard to find. If you have exhausted all resources to find the contact information, call the publication. Be prepared to introduce yourself and discuss what you're pitching in case they transfer you to the journalist or editor you're looking for.
• Make sure you keep track of all this information in an organized media list (an excel sheet is helpful). It is also good to keep track of the dates you pitch, when you follow-up, if you left a voicemail, etc.
• As publications consolidate during this tough economic time, it becomes even more important to try and stay current on changing media positions. While this is very hard for students, one thing you can do is follow @themediaisdying on Twitter. This Twitter account sends updates to those who follow it on changing positions, who gets fired, hired, etc.

Does anyone have any more tips? We'd love to hear them!

Rihanna + Chris Brown = PR Problems

The Rihanna and Chris Brown incident have garnered a great deal of press recently for many reasons. The young celebrities are dominating forces in the entertainment industry and with serious cause for concern on both ends, public relations professionals are being called in.

The rapper, singer, entertainer and more recently, actor, Chris Brown, (only 19-years-old) hired a crisis public relations agency to assist in his rather large predicament. With so much at stake, the future of his career and his credibility are at risk, if not already massively hurt. The Los Angeles based PR firm, Sitrick And Company are well known for aiding celebrities caught between negative publicity. The company can more recently be related to Mel Gibson and the public’s negative reaction to his situation. Along with the help of Sitrick, other media professional as well as lawyers, the magnitude of Chris Brown’s situation does seem to require tremendous expertise from various outlets.

Though, after visiting the website of the “Strategic Communications Firm,” as they tag themselves, the About Us section goes on to say, “Sitrick And Company is one of the nation's leading public relations firms. While best known for its communications work in sensitive situations…” So, perhaps Michael Sitrick, himself, along with his staff really does have a handle on controlling negative press and directing the media. But, after taking a look at the very very very extensive and diverse client list the firm has acquired over the past twenty years, I would be lying if I wasn’t curious about how this firm actually operates.

Is anyone familiar with the firm, Sitrick And Company? What have you heard?

Newspapers are in Trouble!

As PR practitioners, we rely on newspapers to get our stories out and in the public. But what happens when the company that produces some pretty big newspapers files for bankruptcy? Well, this is exactly what's happening here in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Media Holdings, LLC owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, two of the largest newspapers in the city, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In a modern world with dwindling resources, we have to come up with other ways to get our news out. The Inquirer and Daily News aren't stopping production any time in the near future, but could this be the first step in technology taking over everything in our world?

What do you think?

Client Update: The Rebecca Davis Dance Company

Here we are, heading into our third semester (not including Summer 2008) with The Rebecca Davis Dance Company, and we couldn't be more excited! This semester, our account team looks like this:

Me: Assistant Firm Director
Samantha Sultzer: Senior Account Manager (PRowl's newest position, added this semester)
Jade Barnes: Account Executive
Reilly Fies: Staff Member, Secretary, Director of Finance (This girl does it all!)
Emily Woodward: Staff Member, New member this semester
Evan Nicholson: Staff Member, New member this semester

We've got a good mix of new members and veterans of PRowl Public Relations. Here's a sneak peak of what we have going on this semester:

• We're working to promote RDDC's upcoming performance called Van Gogh. It's the story of Vincent Van Gogh's life, told through eight important people in his life. The eight people are represented by eight of Van Gogh's paintings. RDDC is always coming up with new and exciting ways to bring history and social issues to life!
• The performance is April 15 and 16, 2009 at The Prince Music Theater in Center City, Philadelphia. Both performances are at 8 p.m.
• We already have some of our tactics planned out. We're doing some new things, as well as bringing back some tried and true favorites. Hint: Look for PRowl members out and about at First Friday in April ..
• We'll be doing some social media work, and well as more traditional media relations. Being in college gives us a chance to really dive into social media. It's something that many of our clients look to us for help with.

I'll make sure to post more details about our campaign and the performance as the semester rolls on. Stay tuned!

PRSSA Update

Since PRSSA is PRowl Public Relations' sister organization, I thought our readers would like to know what Temple University's PRSSA chapter is up to this semester.

This semester, we will have two great guest speakers. This coming Tuesday, Aimee Cirucci will be speaking to the chapter about negotiating pay for your first entry-level job. In April, Gary Frisch will be speaking to the chapter about how he started his own PR firm, and how we can too.

Instead of having general meetings each week, every other week we hold committee meetings. The four committees are:

1. Fundraising- Plans and executes fun events to raise money for the chapter.
2. Newsletter- Brainstorms, writes, and edits articles for our chapter's newsletter.
3. Public Relations- Allows students to put what they learn in class to good use doing PR for other student organizations.
4. Community Service- Plans community service events for the chapter to participate in.

In order to get members even more involved, we've put a point system into place that allows members to accumulate points for coming to meetings and events, wearing our PRSSA t-shirt, writing articles for the newsletter and much more. The member with the most amount of points at the end of the semester will win a prize.

Tomorrow we will be holding a cupcake sale in the Student Activities Center from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

We are also planning a networking event for the spring, so stay tuned for more details!

What is your PRSSA chapter doing this semester?

Mountain Dew Mouth

Last week I read an article about a dentist donating his time and money to help those with no dental insurance in the Appalachia region. Central Appalachia is number one in America in toothlessness, and Dr. Edwin Smith saw the severity of the situation, mainly affecting children. Using his own resources, Smith created a mobile dental clinic that he travels with a few times a week to help those in need of tooth repair.

The article named the tooth decay problem “Mountain Dew mouth.” While the problem is not specifically caused by Mountain Dew, a product of PepsiCo, the amount of sugar in the drink compared to other soft beverages is significantly higher, thus the name “Mountain Dew mouth.” PepsiCo originally issued a statement saying that soft drinks cannot be blamed for tooth decay. The company said if individuals maintain a balanced diet and brush properly the problem can be avoided.

Two days later when a report of this issue aired on “Good Morning America,” PepsiCo decided to reach out to the dentist and offer support in his efforts to help those in need. A main concern will be to educate the people of the region on proper dental care and following a balanced diet.

I was happy to hear of the action PepsiCo decided to take. Mountain Dew does not solely cause tooth decay and has gotten a bad reputation since “Mountain Dew mouth” has become a common name, but by helping those affected by the problem, PepsiCo is restoring the image of the company and its beverages.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations firm staff member, Laura Macenka. Follow her on Twitter: @lauramacenka