PRowl's Seniors

PRowl is so PRoud of our seniors!

Doug Bennett (Account Executive &

Director of Finance)

Doug is currently interviewing for corporate communications positions and is now an intern at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. During the summer, Doug will begin studying for the LSATs and then apply to law schools.

Emily Ascani (Assistant Firm Director)

Emily will be continuing to intern full time this summer as a Public & Media Relations intern at Morgan Lewis, a law firm in Center City. She is looking for an entry-level public relations position in the Philadelphia area, concentrating in hospitality, tourism & corporate or agency public relations. She is interested in utilizing her skills in social media, editing, writing and blogging.

Steve Jacobs (Staff Member)



Steven Jacobs will graduate this May with a bachelor of the arts degree in strategic communication, public relations concentration. He is currently in the interviewing stages of his job search, while finishing up his internship at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. He hopes to stay in Philadelphia and land a job doing public relations for the City.

Kurie Fitzgerald (Staff Member)

After graduation Kurie will have a paid internship/PR coordinator training position with Van Eperen & Company in Rockville, Md. VE&Co's mainly focus is strategic communications consulting. Kurie plans on visiting Chicago the week after graduation and Canada during the summer. 



Frank Kunkle (Staff Member)

Frank will be continuing his internship at University of the Sciences while looking for a career in higher education. Whether corporate or nonprofit, Frank envisions working in a PR/marketing role. He would like to stay in Philadelphia for at least a few more years before thinking about moving to another city. 

Alex Crispino (Account Executive)

Alex Crispino will be graduating Magna Cum Laude and staying in the Philadelphia area. She is hoping to start her career at a Philadelphia agency and plans to eventually return to graduate school. Feel free to reach Alex on Twitter: @alexcharli.

Niki Ianni (Firm Director)

Niki Ianni is proud to be a May 2012 Temple Graduate with a degree in Strategic Communication and a concentration in Public Relations. With her sights set on nonprofit public relations, she is packing up her bags and moving to Washington, D.C., to pursue exciting career opportunities. With a passion for animal welfare and advocacy and a love for her two cats, Niki hopes to work in an organization that makes large strides and impacts in the animal world. She is incredibly excited about the adventures to come living in the nation's capitol.

We wish you all the best!

On Why the Public Relations Industry Could Use Some Help with Public Relations

PRowl Public Relations wrote about the Public Relations Defined initiative several months ago (see the post here), where PRSA invited public relations practitioners to submit their definition of public relations. The submission period began in November and drew widespread interest as well as a not-so-small amount of complaints about the initiative.

What results of the initiative? A definition was selected from the three finalists and announced on Friday, March 2, 2012. The verdict? Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. PRSA defines each part of their found definition:

Simple and straightforward, this definition focuses on the basic concept of public relations — as a communication process, one that is strategic in nature and emphasizing “mutually beneficial relationships.”

“Process” is preferable to “management function,” which can evoke ideas of control and top-down, one-way communications.

“Relationships” relates to public relations’ role in helping to bring together organizations and individuals with their key stakeholders.

“Publics” is preferable to “stakeholders,” as the former relates to the very “public” nature of public relations, whereas “stakeholders” has connotations of publicly-traded companies.

As a management function, public relations also encompass the following:

• Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact, for good or ill, the operations and plans of the organization.
• Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the organization’s social or citizenship responsibilities.
• Researching, conducting and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programs of action and communication to achieve the informed public understanding necessary to the success of an organization’s aims. These may include marketing; financial; fund raising; employee, community or government relations; and other programs.
• Planning and implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or change public policy. Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff, developing facilities — in short, managing the resources needed to perform all of the above. (via www.prsa.org, PRSA’s Official Statement on Public Relations).

What do you think of this definition? Is it in line with what you know about PR? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Must-Reads for the PR Pro: Succeeding in Organizational Leadership

As public relations professionals, the best way to stay up to date with the industry is to curl up with a good read, whether it is a book, article or blog post. Take some of your free time during break to pick up one of the books reviewed below:

Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schulz

“Onward” is a great book to learn more about organizational structure and image, as well as leadership. It provides a first-hand account of how Starbucks recreated itself, and how CEO Howard Schulz developed his main leadership philosophy. This book is especially appropriate in terms of seeing how a company was able to be successful and revive its image in one of the most tumultuous economic times in history.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott

Especially important for the modern workplace, “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” is a great read. It provides readers with the knowledge of how web communications may benefit your business. Establishing a proper personal relationship with your customers via the Internet is essential in the new media world. The book offers first-hand examples of marketing and PR trends, techniques for using social media sites, an action plan for utilizing new media and suggestions of how to craft powerful, effective messages.

The World is Flat, 3.0 by Tom Friedman

To know your world is to be a better public relations practitioner. Tom Friedman helps readers to understand globalization. It is important to know how globalization provides opportunities for individual and organizational success, how it is helping poverty around the world and how it may be detrimental environmentally, socially and politically. The book helps address the essential question “How may globalization effect different industries?”

How to Win Friends and Influence People

This was one of the first books I read relating to public relations, and one of the most influential I have read so far. The best advice I received from this book is how to communicate with others and to value them and instead of manipulating their attitudes and beliefs working to change them by ethical means.

Do you have any PR reads to add to our list? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

The Fashion Industry and its Glaring PR issue

It is no secret that from the outside looking in, the fashion industry has a major PR problem: most of its waiflike beauties have light complexions. This is to say, the fashion industry hires people that look like the majority of those who work in the industry.

However, recent news has revealed an increase in models of color in headlining shows during New York Fashion Week. According to the New York Times blog "On the Runway" Keli Goff, a fashion industry watchdog and blogger, found that 90 percent of the 200-plus designers featured in Fashion Week had at least one black model, a seven percent jump from last year.

Though this is good news for the industry’s PR reputation, the industry still has to fix the problem at hand. So, what can they do to address it? The simple solution is to hire more models of color and feature them in advertisements. Another, more loftier suggestion, is for fashion houses to host events that celebrate women of color in the fashion industry. This would show that fashion houses are trying to change and are making the effort to diversify the industry more than ever before. In the future, professionals in the fashion industry can also come together to have a panel event where fashion experts discuss industry race issues and come up with ways to ultimately evolve the industry for the better.

Do you have any creative suggestions for the fashion industry to diversify itself? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Avoiding all-too-common PR Snafus

One of the most important things to do when writing press releases, emails, pitches, etc. is to proofread. Error-free writing is a must when trying to get your writing picked up by journalists. In order to help you steer clear of errors, here are some things to keep in mind when sending information to the media:

Do not use internet language, slang, or little-known acronyms

As you will see below, it is incredibly unprofessional, and often confusing, to understand important information when it is not written in plain English. Avoid at all costs using abbreviated statements like TTYL and LOL. A blast email sent from a PR agency to PRNewser in 2010 shows why internet language should not be used when writing for public relations:

The subject line for the pitch email read:

Pls send this firm wide and to my whole rolodex asap—also to PR trade list on Y drive in media lists—pls do so asap—also pr newswire, etc.

If the person who sent this email had paid closer attention to what they were sending, the issue could have been avoided. Showing directions for pitch distribution reflects poorly on the agency’s credibility.

Always check for typos and missing words

Even if you think something is perfect, look over it for typos. Better yet, have a coworker look over it. A simple email with an overlooked typo could mean the difference between the word “as” and a more explicit word. Typos can be detrimental to the purpose of your writing, like the following skincare company’s marketing copy:

“Pulse is a state-of-the-art spa, catering to people who have skin.”

Always make sure you send your email to the right person

Nothing is more offensive to the person receiving your message than addressing them incorrectly. Sending an email greeting Diane instead of Dan is an automatic way to get your email put into an editor’s trash bin.

Do not use emoticons when sending a professional email

This may seem like common sense, but I have seen emails to executives filled with smiley faces. Use of emoticons is one of the most unprofessional ways to communicate via email. So please, do not send a message with one of these guys in it: .

Subject lines should always be error-free

The subject line is the first thing that a person sees when they look through their email inbox. Subject line errors are both embarrassing and a way to land your email in the trash bin. For instance, if you are announcing someone as the Vice President of Finance and they really are the CFO, you have given out incorrect information that, unfortunately, may get used by the media as it is assumed that the information you sent out is correct.

Have you ever seen any of these common “snafus”? Do you have any other tips on avoiding such mistakes? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Launching a Successful Contest

Contests are a fun way to develop a company’s brand, create relationships with users or celebrate a company milestone. So, what do contests have to do with public relations and what does it take to garner publicity from your contest? Putting together a contest is one of the best ways to get your company publicity for little to no cost, though the contest must be clever enough for the media to cover it. Contests are also full of public relations activities such as writing press releases, pitching the contest to media (if it is unique), writing letters and website copy. Like many public relations campaigns, the best place to develop ideas is in a brainstorming session. Sit down with your department and discuss why your company or client should have a contest, outline the goal of the contest and brainstorm ideas for unique contests.

A warning—contests are not easy to put together. There are many things that a public relations practitioner must do for a contest to be successful. Here is a contest time-line that my internship supervisor gave to me:

1. Brainstorm with your department
-Have your colleagues bring in contest ideas. After the brainstorming session pick the best idea and create a presentation for corporate officers, or your client.

2. Make sure corporate officers or clients support the contest
-If you cannot gain their support, there is no way you are going to create a contest.

3. Discuss the contest with legal and decide how you are going to pick a winner
-There is no way of getting around it! You must have legal go through a copy of the contest and create terms and conditions, so that contest participants will not sue your client or company. Once you have addressed legal issues and discussed the contest with corporate officers, you are well on your way to launching the contest website.

4. Decide how you are going to pick a winner
-Will you do a random drawing for a sweepstakes-style contest, or will you read through entries for your story-style contest?
5. Create simple, engaging entry copy for the website, social media sites and email newsletters
-These are not the only outlets you have to promote the contest. There are other cost-effective alternatives such as creating contest entry fliers to hand out on college campuses.

6. Document entries
-A good way to do this is to set up a folder in your email. Also, for written contests, it is best to go through entries weekly and pick out potential winners.

7. Find a winner, announce the winner and evaluate the contest
-Write the winner to tell them they won your contest, announce the winner on the contest website, post their story, use social media to announce the winner and evaluate the contest. Finally, if the contest was successful, will you do it again?

An example of a creative, successful contest: http://www.pizzaproverbs.com/

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Takeaways from 'Social Media Engagement'

The amount of information out there always amazes me. With that said, in a recent search for information about how organizations should be using social media, I found a website that compiles Keynote and PowerPoint presentations. Presentations range from web design to social media topics. A particularly good PowerPoint on the site is called Social Media Engagement. Some interesting takeaways:

“On the right day, with the right story anyone can command a bigger,
more attentive audience than any TV network.”
• Social media will eventually be called just plain “media.”
Basically, the world will acknowledge that the power to publish
information to large audiences is no longer in the hands of the
organization, but the audience.

“The upside is infinite”
• For organizations that utilize it correctly, it is obvious that
social media is great news. As the presentation states “The power of a
good story will be multiplied many times over by the voices of the
brand’s fans and advocates, the cost of media will plummet for most
brands because distribution costs on social media are close to zero.”

“Up until a year ago, saying ‘no’ to social media was a safe course…”
• Organizational silence tells the web community you do not care about
them, or that you are hiding something. “You cannot hold the moral
high ground if everyone knows that you never fire.”

The most important thing I learned from this PowerPoint is that before
starting any type of social media effort, the organization must make
sure they know their brand, and their brand’s story. Essentially, a
brand must know who they are before trying to tell its audience a
story about itself. Starting with the brand, one must determine the
brand’s core narrative. Next, the audience must be determined.
Organizations must figure out the media habits of its audience, their
passions, expectations, etc. Finally, an organization must figure out
what their competition is doing with social media so they can
determine what they can offer that their audience cannot find
elsewhere.

Check out noteandpoint.com for more interesting slides and continue
your search for new innovative idea of how to utilize social media!


This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Interning at Earth Networks-Weatherbug

When I began interning with Earth Networks – WeatherBug on May 16, 2011, I was in for a pleasant surprise. From previous experience I figured the first day at my internship would be all about adjusting, getting introduced to the people that I would be working with for two months, etc. I figured wrong. My internship director put me to work from the moment I entered the big glass doors in the Earth Networks office. For those of you who do not know, the company that I am interning for is the owner and provider of WeatherBug products and services and has a network of various weather related monitoring systems.

Before starting my internship, the most I knew about weather was from either watching the news or quickly looking at the local weather on my phone (of course I did a ton of research on the company before I started my internship). Little did I know there is much more to know in order to be a great public relations professional at Earth Networks. During my first week on the job I did a lot of public relations activities that, as a student, I learn about but never had the opportunity to actually do. For instance, my intern director had me do a run through of Vocus, a public relations distribution and news monitoring service. This is a valuable tool for me, and I am lucky to that I learned how to use this service. I also wrote a press release, wrote and distributed a media advisory via BusinessWire, and created a “retweeting 101” document to be sent out to meteorologists and other key people in the organization.

On top of all this, I am learning a great deal about the inner workings of a technology company. One of my favorite parts of working here is how nice and supportive everyone is. I am able to tell my boss what I want to learn more about and how she can help me further my skills. My experience so far here has taught me that perception is everything. Here are some tips from my first week:

1. Word choice is everything: Avoid using negative words like “ruin,” or words that assume the reader of the press release is uninformed.
2. Always have someone else read your work: When I was writing a press release I created about four drafts. I sent each of those drafts to my boss for critique and approval. Though it may take longer to send than you want it to, nothing is worse than sending out wrong information.
3. Ask questions: If you do not know what you are doing, do not try to pretend you do. For instance, I had to ask several questions about Vocus in order to understand how to use it.
4. Put your best foot forward: If you are selective and choose the internship that is best for you and what you want to learn, this tip should be no problem! Come to work with a smile on your face and be ready to be the best intern you can be.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Is Social Media the Final Frontier?

Is social media the final frontier? From what many in the public relations and marketing industry have stated, it seems so. PR Newswire, in following what can be called a social media trend, launched social media tools to help organizations enhance their Facebook presence, connect with their current consumer base and gain new consumers.

How do these new social media tools work? Organizations can design custom tabs to highlight campaigns and products and share this information strictly with their fans. They will also be able to conduct promotions and interactive polling in what PR Newswire calls a “convenient dashboard.” Other features include Twitter feeds and tools to provide fans with up-to-date information without any effort, which allow organizations to easily observe and measure discussion as well as feedback on their Facebook page. Why is this launch important for the public relations and marketing industry? The new tools are easy to use but very effective in terms of how companies can position themselves on social media sites.

PR Newswire’s social media tools do not to simply monitor how many people visit their Facebook pages or how many people retweet them on Twitter. Instead of simply making a Facebook fan page with hopes of gaining a presence, organizations now have a means to target specific groups of people with specific messages that will meet their needs accordingly.

Visit PR Newswire for more information about the social media tools and for an interactive introduction to the tools.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Advice from a Junior PR Major

There are a many of moments when I look back at my college career so far and think of what I could have or should have done in order to further my professional career. In this assessment of my college career I wish to discuss what I have learned in my experience so far. It is my hope that my story will help younger students as they begin to make decisions about their future.

One thing that has helped me as a public relations professional in the making is that I have spent a great deal of time reaching out to fellow students and professionals who are more knowledgeable about the field than I am. One of the greatest resources within the university for reaching out to professionals are the office hours professors provide. Going to talk to professors during their office hours was especially helpful to me because I learned more about my professors’ fields of study, got help with my writing, and built relationships that continue to be beneficial. While visiting a professor’s office hours may be intimidating at first, the benefits are great since professors can become mentors for your future as a public relations professional.

Another thing I have learned is that you can never ask too many questions. Inquiry proves that you have interest and that you are invested in learning more about a topic, a field, or an organization. My ability to ask questions helped me learn more about some of my professors and helped me become a member of PRowl Public Relations.

A final thing I have learned that I would like to impart here is that you should invest time and care into your work. Essentially, it only hurts your ability to be a great public relations professional if you do not care what you turn in. This is especially true with your writing. If do not try to improve your writing it is only hurting your chances of landing your dream job. If you learn one thing from this post, do not turn in lackluster work if you want a dazzling response.

The above are some of the greatest lessons I learned in my three years at Temple. What lessons have you learned in your undergraduate career that may help younger students?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

A Grassroots Movement at Temple?

In response to recent armed robberies around Temple University’s campus, students have created a way to voice their opinions on the subject. A Temple student created a Facebook event called “Eyes Around Temple” that is meant to help students “stand together and think of ways to protect [themselves] and fellow students.” The creation of this event makes me question how effective students’ voicing their opinion on Facebook is. More specifically, is “Eyes Around Temple” a form of grassroots public relations or is it just a group of 2,000+ students who voice their opinions but do not put them to use?

According to bnet.com, the CBS interactive business network, grassroots public relations involves community level campaigning. It also “…calls for dealing with the public at large in a simple, manageable ‘close to home’ manner.” It is about identifying key communication skills and using them to start a movement for change.

In connection with the aforementioned definition of grassroots public relations, the “Eyes Around Temple” cannot be considered grassroots public relations, because the creator of the message does not seem to have made a clear plan or campaign. Students post their complaints and ideas for change, but has the creator of the original message thought of how to disseminate the messages of these students in order to create an effective campaign? I think not, so I offer some suggestions in order to create a grassroots public relations campaign:

1. Assess the need for change, and create an outline of what that change should look like

• Do you want there to be less violence in the Temple area, more protection of the students, etc.

2. Create a list of audiences you wish to reach

3. Determine how you will reach these audiences

• Facebook is a good place to start but try to use the messages students have posted to create an ad campaign, or to notify Temple’s administration that a number of students have voiced their concern about lack of protection on campus

4. Identify messages that will be “close to home” and will reach your community/audience

• Specifically, Temple students are affected so how do you create a message that will get them to do something?

5. Assess your messages and the success of your campaign

• For instance, did it reach your audience and did you help create change?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Using Social Media for Social Good

The other day I was perusing one of my favorite sites, Mashable.com, when I saw something of interest on the main page. The page featured a story about a non-profit organization using Foursquare to raise awareness about homelessness. The North Carolina non-profit organization, Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) provides food, shelter and clothing to the city’s homeless. The organization recently launched a Foursquare initiative “designed to unsettle application users and raise awareness around homelessness in Durham. “ Basically, UMD wants to inspire Foursquare users to check into unusual locations, such as abandoned warehouses, to raise awareness about homelessness prevention.

After reading this article, I realized Mashable.com features non-profit organizations on a regular basis in its Social Good section. This section is dedicated to discussing organizations’ social works projects. It allows readers to see how organizations are using social networking sites to promote their causes and it allows readers to track the success of these projects.

Social media is a great way to raise awareness and many organizations are finding unique ways to promote their cause. Check out how some organizations are using social media to promote non-profit campaigns at http://mashable.com/social-good/.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Advice for Future PR Professionals

As a college student, I constantly think about my future. As such, I try to keep myself as up to date as possible with industry trends. Specifically, I keep on the lookout for blog posts and articles that discuss how people view public relations professionals and what our role is in the new media landscape. The question I keep in the back of my head when looking for this sort of information is: What does the ever-changing industry landscape mean for current college students as we enter the workforce?

A Mashable blog post discusses the role we may play in the public relations industry after we graduate. Mark Hopkins notes that bloggers and journalists are steering away from accepting the traditional public relations vehicles because they do not want their information “spoon fed” to them. Now, more than ever, making genuine connections plays a huge role in public relations.

So, what must we prepare ourselves for after graduation? Here is a set of guidelines for the non-traditional public relations professional:

1. Become a connector not a gatekeeper
Instead of controlling all information you give out, serve as a connector for your client as well as your media contacts. Being a connector means that you make connections that help people in ways that do not necessarily benefit your client. These connections can help you in the long run because media contacts will remember that you were a good source for information and may refer you to another media professional that can help you and your client.

2. Press releases aren’t dead
While press releases are not dead, you need to specifically target the channels that will effectively reach your publics. Yes, you are taught to do this already, but many public relations professionals are using new media as a means to reach EVERYONE and their mother. Sending press releases to thousands of media contacts without a specific target is like sending a beauty industry client’s information to a men’s lifestyle magazine- not productive.

3. Stay in contact
Remain in constant contact with the people you have formed relationships with. Correspond with them about things happening in your area of expertise over lunch or through a quick email or phone call. These conversations may have little to do with your client, but as mentioned before it is all about your connections. You never know who your contacts may be able to introduce you to.

4. Think less about the “shape” of the story
When you think less about the shape of the story, you will be able to focus more on what the public wants from your client and what journalists wants to write about versus what you think is important about your client’s product, idea, etc. Chances are, this will help your press releases become stories more frequently.

Finally, do not be afraid to get to know your contacts on a professional level. Talk to them about how they feel about trends and public relations as a profession in general. Knowing what they need or want from you will help you develop a better message. Also, continually be on the lookout for changes in the industry. Staying up to date will only help you in the long run.