Lilly Pulitzer Employee isn't as bright as the clothes

Source: Mashable

A month ago, Lilly Pulitzer was in the spotlight for selling out within minutes after their line launched at Target. People were lined outside the store for hours and Target’s website could barely handle all the traffic. Some customers were irate they were too late to buy anything, others jumping for joy about their new purchases. There was nothing too negative about #LillyforTarget besides the fact it was so limited. Now, the famous brand is making the news for an unfortunate reason. The internet exploded Tuesday morning after an employee had fat shaming cartoons hanging at their desk.

Lilly Pulitzer is headquartered right outside of Philadelphia in King of Prussia. The employee had extremely upsetting cartoons saying things such as “Put it down, carb face.” It wasn’t long before the social media and news outlets got the word of this. This is a PR crisis that won’t be an easy fix. Discrimination against weight is a topic that sparks a lot of conversation in the fashion world. It is no secret how many women suffer from body image issues because of size 0 models and clothing lines. Their VP of Creative Communications issued an apology explaining these cartoons of one employee do not reflect the company’s values.

Hopefully this employee will be terminated and the company can move forward with launching exciting items that make females excited to buy their clothes. Plus size clothing is something really breaking through recently. It was announced that Melissa McCarthy will be launching a new plus size clothing line and Tess Holliday was recently the first plus sized model signed to a mainstream modeling agency.

During a crisis workshop in class, we learned an immediate apology from one main spokesperson is always important. Termination of this employee will make a lot of people happy, proving to the public they do not tolerate such hate towards other women. As a female clothing line it is upsetting to see discrimination targeting other women. It will be interesting to look out for ways Lilly Pulitzer plans on addressing this crisis from a PR standpoint. #Lillyforallsizes?

This blog post was written by PRowl Director of Finance Gabrielle Lacherza 

We Accept the Internship We Think We Deserve

The first day at an internship can be a lot like the first day of school when growing up. You are excited to see how your new boss operates, curious to see what peers you will get along with, and overall anxious about what lies ahead. When discussing internships throughout college, we are always told “do’s and don’t’s” or “what to wear,” but the topic of how to handle an internship that may not be giving what you deserve in return is never discussed. As a college student can be intimidating and discouraging to be at an internship that doesn’t provide you with what you feel they should, so below are some things I’ve learned along the way in how to handle that type of situation.

First off, they chose YOU. You should be confident in yourself and understand they brought you on board for a reason. A first internship during your freshman or sophomore year is the best time to grow and get a feel for an office environment. Since it is your first internship, I would say it is fair to give the company a hall pass if it is not the most structured internship program. If you find yourself doing irrelevant work sometimes, take what you can from it because you can benefit in other ways from it. As an upperclassman, it is important you chose a company that will not do that and teach you real skills for your industry. Going into your senior year, you should not be at an internship that is making you hand out flyers and go on coffee runs, ESPECIALLY if it is unpaid. Even though we are just interns, that doesn’t mean you should not be treated respectfully and feel a

part of the company.

It can be awkward deciding when it is the most appropriate time to say something to your boss if you feel things are out of hand. Always start off by asking for more work to do, or if there is a cool project you are interested in, let them know you are and you would like to help out in any way. Volunteer at events your company holds to show them you are interested in being a part of the company. If worse comes to worse and things still don’t get better it may be time to leave. Always leave on a good note and be professional about leaving by letting them know at least two weeks in advance like you would at a real job. Never burn bridges and always be nice know matter what the situation is.

In our field, there are a lot of unpaid internships, but at the same time you can find paid ones if you try. Internships should be exciting and a learning experience. They are not always rainbows and butterflies, but overall you should leave feeling you took some great things away.

By Gabrielle Lacherza 

It's A Good Thing To Be Called A "Brand Influence"

Trends in our culture are changing at rapid speed and it took me until three weeks ago to take a step back and think, “Who influences these trends?” This semester I am taking a Personal Branding course through the Advertising department in the School of Media and Communication. This course has opened my eyes to the other side of an individual’s or company’s brand; where the brand influence came from. In terms of effecting brands, an influencer is someone who thinks and expresses himself or herself differently. Jay Z to TED Talks are both examples of a “brand influence.” These influencers are who helps create and end trends, as well as assist others in creating their own.

As public relations professionals it is important to identify your personal brand and who influences you. Public relations is a field where you have to be up to date on the latest cultural trends and be confident in what makes you stand out from other practitioners. An individual’s personal brand is what can separate someone from the rest. In class, a personal brand was described as a unique promise of value. Having a stable personal brand with a core group of influencers, can not only be beneficial to one’s personal life, but can positively reflect in their career.

Embracing social media is something public relations professionals must do. Following different blog sites and social media platforms are a great way to start paying attention to brand influencers. Blogs are a way to keep up, city to city, on what the next big trend might be and how it evolved. This will expose you to new ideas and a creative world that can translate through your professional development.

Personal branding in the past has always been presented to me in strictly a professional light. I think it is important to view a brand in a deeper way and analyze how it evolved over time and who influenced it. The video below is a short film about “brand influence.” I encourage you to watch it and get a glimpse of recent influencers and their impact on society. http://www.influencersfilm.com/#/Film 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Gabrielle Lacherza.

Personal Branding Is Now Temple Made

 Personal Branding is no longer just a practice you learn about in a PR workshop or at a conference, but can now be taken as a class. The Advertising department within the School of Media and Communications at Temple is taking steps in the right direction. Four new innovative courses were added by department for the 2015 Spring semester, one of them being Personal Branding. This is exciting news for not only advertising majors, but communication majors across the board and especially PR students.

The course description describes personal branding as promoting your own skills and strengths. The course will take an in depth look at the new channels of communication that make up the social media and Web 2.0 space. It will use case studies and real-life media examples teaching students how to embrace social networks, user generated content, and blogs, to name just a few channels. Personal branding is one of the most beneficial things a young professional can do. The Advertising department is ahead of the game by realizing how important professional development is.

The class section offered filled up within the first week of registration. It will be interesting to hear the feedback from the students taking the first time course. “I’m looking forward to see how Personal Branding will be turned into a full semesters curriculum”, says Faiz Mandviwalla, who is majoring in public relations and minoring in sociology here at Temple. “I am excited to be one of the first students to ever take this course at Temple.”

Personal branding is a hot topic in the public relations industry. It is important for aspiring PR pros to build a unique, personal brand and share it with other professionals. This can be done by creating a blog, forming a strong social media presence, and creating stand out business cards. For upperclassman trying to fill up their final semesters with useful classes, this is a perfect option to have available. My advertising professor, Dana Saewitz, highly recommends taking this relevant course. This is a prime example of Temple University taking charge in preparation for the real world.

How else do you think Temple has taken charge within the School of Media and Communication? 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Gabrielle Lacherza. 

Email Etiquette 101

Compulsively checking your email account is one thing every PR professional can relate to. Emails are a constant form of communication and it is important to know how to efficiently write one. Below are 4 of my favorite tips for writing an exceptional email:

1. Get straight the to point. Reading more than one is something no one enjoys doing. Cutting out unnecessary words is one way to get straight to the point. Focus on what is most important and people will be more inclined to read what you sent.

2. Use proper spelling and grammar. This will show that you are not careless and keep things professional. It is important to have a good reputation with your collegues and people you have to engage with.

3. Have a proper signature. It is important to have an appropriate signature depending on whom you are writing to. My favorite one to use is “Best” because it can be formal or casual. Using “Thank You” is also a good option when closing an email.

4. Keep it simple. Along with getting straight to the point, keeping it simple is another key tip. No fancy font or colors is the way to go.

Once you get the hang of writing emails they will be fun and quicker than you anticipated. Email is the most common form of communication and it is something one must be good at to do well in the professional world.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Gabrielle Lacherza.

The Mix Up: Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising

It’s safe to say that for our generation public relations, marketing and advertising are all in one professional melting pot. This wasn’t always the case, but in recent years it has shown that the best campaigns and strategic plans involve a portion of each. Many public relations internship descriptions will be linked to these two other fields. Although they can go hand in hand with one another, let’s take a look at the difference.

 

PR vs Advertising

Public relations is earned media where advertising and paid media, plain and simple. When it comes down to drawing the line between the two, advertising is focused on immediate effects for promotion of the product. This difference falls under the telling vs. selling factor.Advertising’s main goal is the sell the product. PR is more concerned with specialized communication with media and building a relationship with them. Another difference is the control factor. Advertising has complete control of what they are portraying to the media. Public relations cannot beassured that their story will be covered and hands over themajority of control to the media. Lastly, the cost difference is another way to separate the two. Advertising often costs significantly more.

 

PR vs Marketing

Both of these fields are concerned with achieving business goals, but public relations focuses on numerous audiences, where marketing focuses on the customer audience. Public relations has to keep in mind they are under the watch of many, internally and externally. Marketing wants the sale, bottom line. It puts its efforts in coming up with tactics to drive an immediate purchase. Public relations keeps itsfocus on driving awareness about the story. One quote thatseems to clear things us perfectly is “PR lights the fire, Marketing fans the flames.”

 

The lines can still be blurry when trying to figure out what falls under each category. Despite their differences, the fields often lend each other a helping hand. Public relations professionals most likely will find themselves working on a project that can be considered advertising or marketing work. When it’s all said and done, you want your brands to be promoted in the best, most effective way which often times means combining a little bit of everything.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Gabrielle Lacherza. 

The Skimm: The New Newsletter

Maybe skim milk isn’t your thing and you’re a whole milk kind of person, but I can guarantee you there is a different kind of Skimm you will enjoy in life. The Skimm is an online daily newsletter that simplifies the latest current events with a twist of humor. It was originated by two women in their 20s from New York and Chicago, Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin. “Your new secret weapon," as Forbes magazine calls it, will soon become an essential part of your morning routine.

As public relations major it is crucial to be caught up on what is going on in the world around you in order to be successful. My Introduction to PR class professor constantly stresses the importance of staying on top of current events and has visit different news sites repeatedly. Good PR is being able to give your public what they want at the time and being up to date on the world’s views will only help you further your career.  Covering everything from the government shutdown to what actor will play Christian Grey in “50 Shades of Grey,” The Skimm is sent out every morning around 6 am for all of us that are up and ready to start the hectic day. You can read it while enjoying your coffee during five rare minutes of downtime or during your subway ride to work. It gives you everything you need to know to start your day right in an extremely snappy and sweet fashion. This newsletter seems to be a match made in heaven for any PR professional who is already familiar with not wasting any words or any time. A year since The Skimm was introduced to the world and I only was lured into it three months ago. For those of you who are reading about it for the first time now, don’t waste anymore time and hop on The Skimm!

All you have to do is log onto their website www.theskimm.com and enter your email address to subscribe. In addition to receiving their Monday through Friday email you can follow them on Twitter, Instagram or their blog as well. The Skimm will save you precious time from not having to turn to five other news outlets to receive the biggest headlines of the week.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Gabrielle Lacherza.