A bit of summer reading..

I just finished reading the book Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger, who is also the author of the book The Devil Wears Prada. It was a really fun and entertaining book, about a woman named Bette, who is fired from her dreadful banking job. Her Uncle gets her a job working at the hottest PR Firm in NYC, and Better is thrust into a fabulous world of fashion, partying, and most stressful of all, her new job and her new life.

While I was reading the book, I questioned the validity of the PR Firm that Bette worked at. For instance, some parts of the book were extremely accurate, at least to my knowledge. Scenes depicted Bette sending out press releases, taking phone calls with the media, and scoping out locations for events. However, other parts of the book made me question its validity. For instance, Bette was encouraged to go out every single night of the week until 4 in the morning, only to make it work by 8 am, cheery? I don't think so.

Another thing that I found quite ridiculous was when Bette was photographed with a celebrity, and the tabloids produced the picture with a caption about this PR Firm's newest associate. At the first mention, Bette's boss was thrilled with the publicity, but soon the photographers were writing mean, crude things about Bette, yet her boss encouraged her to keep hanging out with this celebrity, so they could keep getting publicity. I know that all publicity is good publicity, but isn't that taking things a bit too far?

Also, and this may or not really exist in PR Firms, but something that I personally just think is so cool, was what the book called 'The List.' 'The List" was a database with the name of every media person (which I know many PR firms have), every celebrity, anyone remotely connected to a celebrity, their likes, dislikes, who they travel with, their agent's name, their manager's name, all cross referenced under categories. 'The List' was probably the books PR Firm's claim to fame.

If you have read this book, what do you think? Do you think it depicts a real PR Firm? I personally enjoyed the book, but needed to step back and remind myself that it was just a work of fiction.

Greater Philadelphia's Strategic Plan for The Future

Today I received in the mail a nicely printed booklet titled “Tourism 2008 Report to the Region” from the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC). Enclosed in this annual report were press clippings about Philadelphia from all over the nation, media impressions, GPTMC’s strategic plan to build the region’s image in future years, their marketing plan, situational analysis, advertising plan and much much more. Little to say, a PR and Marketing major’s dream booklet. As I traveled on the Broad Street line I sunk into Philadelphia’s communications plan for the future.

To any of you who were not lucky enough to find a copy today, below are some excerpts:

“GPTMC makes Philadelphia and The Countryside ® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.”

“Making the region a star destination through the following: advertising in print, television, radio, outdoors and online; brand development; consumer collateral materials; consumer and media relations; cultural tourism marketing; event-based marketing; hotel packaging and more.”

2007 Media Impressions:
Public Relations: 2,982 stories reaching 867,525,270 people.

The Strategic Plan:
“Our brand promise...is: “Philadelphia. Independence.” To the visitor, independence in Philadelphia is experienced in a number of ways, and these ways indicate our brand components: fun, authenticity, history, accessibility and discovery.

The Marketing Plan:
“GPTMC’s marketing plan for 2008 is based on 14 marketing strategies that integrate advertising, public relations, gophila.com, research and partnerships.

A few of the strategies:
1. Brand and position Philadelphia as a premier destination with so much to do, focusing on its fun, vibrant side; its history, food, arts and entertainment; its thriving neighborhoods; and its outdoor opportunities.
2. Convert potential visitors into actual visitors through gophila.com, a 24/7, global online visitor center that entices visitors to come to Philadelphia now and provides them with itinerary-building tools to plan and purchase their trips.
3. Reach out to emerging markets that will become the visitor base of Philadelphia’s future, including multicultural visitors, those less familiar with Greater Philadelphia as a destination and young and high-tech travelers through campaigns such as uwishunu ®.
4. Build the buzz about the Philadelphia region by continuing to develop and expand relationships with media so they are equipped to tell the new Philadelphia story and tout the region’s many wonderful attractions.
5. Enhance our audiences’ interaction with the Philadelphia brand through two-way communication with visitors, such as social media marketing, consumer-generated media, online/offline come-back messages and merchandise sales that allow visitors to take a piece of Philadelphia home with them.
6. Ensure that every GPTMC initiative has a research foundation and tracking mechanism to gauge success, provide accountability measures and inform future marketing direction.

To download this report online go to : gophila.com/research

Just an interesting article...

I came across this article in the New York Times this morning. It touches on key issues, presidential candidates, gas prices, and environmental issues. Of course it is an opinion piece, but it was thought provoking, at least for me. Take a look...

The Magical iPhone

Hey, didn't this happen last summer?

Recently, Apple has announced that they are coming out with a new version of the phone according to this NY Times article.

What's the fascination with Apple's iPhone?

iPhone's can do many of the same things that BlackBerry's and other cell phones can do. So, what makes this phone so special? So special that it sold 1.7 million phones in its first three months, and that after being released only a year ago is already coming out with a new version of the phone?

Well, I would have to say that nothing is extra special about the phone. What is extra special is Apple's PR and marketing team.

First, they would not reveal the launch date of the phone until just a few short weeks before the June 29th launch. They did however, release information about the phone, creating hype before consumers even knew the date that they could purchase the coveted item.

Then, they launched a series of fabulous ads that caught people's attention making a point to show the public that the phone had many uses. One commercial depicted a man watching a movie on the phone, and then deciding he was hungry, googling a restaurant, and then calling the restaurant all in a matter of seconds. This message clearly appealed to the American audience who loves to multi-task and finish things as quickly as possible.

Hey, it doesn't impress me, but if the great PR attracts you to the item, a new version of the phone is expected to come out sometime this summer.

When YOU Do the Interview...

When you're working for your client, they may have special events that they want stories written about or they have a story idea that they feel should be in the media. In order to write this story, you will need to know more about what / who you're writing about and will most likely need quotes to support your writing. Here are a few tips to get you started on some great writing:

- Research. Before you do any kind of interviewing, make sure you research both the topic of the story and who you are interviewing. You want to come into the interview with a strong knowledge of what you are writing about and the person you're talking to.

- Questions. If you're doing an interview, you're going to be asking questions. Brainstorm question ideas and know what you are going to ask BEFORE you start asking. Be sure to check with your client to see if there is anything specific that should be asked and to make sure the questions you formulated are okay.

- Take notes. Make sure you bring either a notebook or a mini tape recorder with you so you don't miss anything that is said. You may think that you have a good memory, but there may be little details that you missed.

- Smile. Be friendly. Nobody likes to be interviewed by a miserable person. Smile, shake their hand, thank them for letting you interview them, etc...

- Organize your thoughts and notes. After then interview, go back to your notes and look through them to find any really good things that may have come from the interview. Then, get all of your ideas together and start writing!

Tips for Client Meetings

With many new summer clients, PRowl members will be attending a lot of client meetings. These meetings are a chance to talk about what's going on with the account, as well as a chance for the account team to show the client how professional and responsible staff members are. Here are some of the most important things to make sure a client meeting goes as smoothly as possible.

• Be on time - Arriving on time is crucial. Make sure you give yourself more than enough time to get to the meeting. This includes getting directions ahead of time and being prepared. For example, if you need to bring along materials, print them the night before the meeting and save yourself the stress of doing it right before you leave!

• Be professional - Always dress according to your company's dress code. No matter how many meetings you have with a client and how friendly you are with them, you still need to maintain a professional appearance. If you are unsure of how to dress, ask a superior within the company.

• Be prepared - This means not only knowing the material you are presenting to them, but being prepared to answer any question a client may ask. Obviously you have no way to know what they will ask, but being mentally prepared to answer questions will make the meeting easier.

Is Oprah Winfrey's Career in Danger?

Should celebrities and public figures endorse political candidates? How much of an effect do you think their political stances have on regular people? Apparently, they have quite an effect...but not in the way you might think.

According to this NY Times article, Oprah Winfrey's television show ratings fell 7% this year, possibly due to her endorsement of presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Some celebrities endorse candidates with the hope that they can spread the word, and raise the profile of that candidate, but Oprah's endorsement has actually hurt her career.

Not all of Oprah's fans are Democrats or Obama supporters and feel betrayed, as they have discussed on the show's message boards.

Oprah may have lost credibility by bringing her personal beliefs to the forefront.

Do you think candidates should publicly endorse candidates, or do you think they should keep their mouth's shut, and do their job?