Freelance Opportunity!

Looking for an opportunity to build your skills and earn some cash? Well....

Breslow Partners is hiring freelance PR people
Want to build your resume and earn a little cash? Contact Tina Breslow at Breslow Partners. We’re looking for people who are PR passionate (tech, web, food, whatever) with a thirst for truth, an affinity for ambition and a love of life. We’re a small, dynamic public relations firm that specializes in lifestyle and hospitality. We’re looking for a few self-starters who can roll up their sleeves, dig in, and help promote our clients in national magazines, on line and through social networking. If you’ve got what we need, drop me a line at tina@breslowpartners.com

Happy Birthday Apple!

I myself am a fan of the Apple technologies… I have a MacBook and I’ve had my fair share of iPods as well (which I couldn’t live without). It seems this week most major news websites have put together articles and slideshows about the history of Apple. This Saturday (1/31/08) marks the 25th anniversary of Macintosh. Check out the “Top 10 Apple Moments,” TIME has put together. (Though I think the recent “PC guy and MAC guy (Justin Long)” deserve a spot on the list.)

However, through the years the company has continuously grown, positioning itself with the hottest and trendiest technologies, always outshining their previous products. It would be interesting to see how the company’s public relations staff operates. After quickly researching about Apple’s PR, there weren’t many positive comments, but it was interesting that each Apple product has an individual PR team. So there is the iPod PR team, the MacBook PR team, the iPhone PR team, and well you get the point. The corporate giant of Apple is a force to be reckoned with, I think I’ll wonder some more about what working for them would be like.

All in all, it really is amazing how technology has advanced tremendously over the years, especially the progress of Apple.

Murphy's Law

At my internship today, I was given the opportunity to attend the Philadelphia Public Relations Association's (PPRA) luncheon. After checking in and eating lunch, we listened to a panel to speak about "Murphy's Law: Memorable Moments and Lessons Learned from Special-Event Superstars." The panel included:

Jim Cohn (Moderator) - Mid-Atlantic Events Magazine
Keeya Branson-Davis - Penns Landing Corporation
Lisette Bralow - Philadelphia Folksong Society
Danielle Cohn - Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau
Scott Mirkin - ESM Productions, Inc.
Susan Norcross - Cashman & Associates

They shared their stories from a torrential downpour and flooded pier for an outdoor orchestra, a hurricane happening during an outdoor folk festival, and a zoo having to evacuate everyone, while animals were screaming in the background. Balloons and confetti were dropped from the ceiling, before the dinner was finished, resulting in confetti in all of the drinks and a complete mess all over the dining room. Looking back on those experiences, everyone laughed. But when it was happening, they weren't thrilled at all.

Here are a few tips they gave while having an event:

• There is a very fine line between Murphy's Law and negligence. Safety always comes first. The only time Murphy's Law should happen is days prior to the event, when all of the preliminary checks are being done.
• Always stay professional, no matter what the situation is.
• Always keep your service consistent. Your client is your top priority. You must go out of your way to make everything run smoothly.
• When handing out a media kit or any kind of readings, keep it simple. Only give the top points because that's all people want to know about. They should only need the "who, what, where and when." They should already know "why."
• Read every single contract that is involved in your event.
• Everyone involved needs to be on the same page. Make sure everyone is informed so information is consistent.
• Always have back up. The amazing Phillies World Series parade? Even though it was planned in less than 48 hours, there were back-up tractor trailers on the streets surrounding the parade route, just in case something happened.
• Trust who you're working with.
• Consider rain insurance...seriously. Have reservations for a tent, just in case.

There's a lot of behind the scenes work that happens during an event, and you always have to be prepared!

Wikipedia Has a Competitor!

Professors always tell students NOT to use Wikipedia as a source. Even though I doubt no one does, it doesn't mean that people aren't getting any information off of it anyway. It just so happens that one of my professors today read us a definition straight from Wikipedia. Part of the reason Wikipedia is not a credible source is because people can go into the articles and edit them on their own. So what would happen if a research name we trusted created a website like Wikipedia?

Encyclopedia Britannica is doing just that. Later this week, users will be able to edit and enhance content on Encyclopedia Britannica's website. Some of the approved content that users post will even be published in the print copy of the encyclopedias!

"What we are trying to do is shifting ... to a much more proactive role for the user and reader where the reader is not only going to learn from reading the article but by modifying the article and — importantly — by maybe creating his own content or her own content." - Jorge Cauz, Britannica's president.

There are so many PR related issues in this article. First I immediately thought of brands. The goal of many campaigns is to make people trust in a certain brand, so they will be loyal consumers of that brand for a length of time. Wikipedia is not a name that people trust, but Britannica definitely is. Also, it's mentioned that Britannica is 241 years old, and they obviously want to spice up their traditional approach to research. How many of us still go to the library and search through encyclopedias when doing a research paper? Just like many companies out there, Britannica wants and NEEDS to keep up with the times!

So how about it? Do you think Britannica can take on Wikipedia? Who will come out on top?

Find the whole article here!

Setting Yourself Apart and Learning More About PR

We will be taking a short hiatus from the PR Freelance series, but no fear! It will be back soon!

PR students everywhere are doing things to set themselves apart. I blogged about this a few weeks ago on Career Girls.

Rachel Esterline, a PR student at Central Michigan University is definitely on the path to success with her online ventures. She writes a popular blog called A Step Ahead and recently has launched a PR book club called Learn It, Live It, Love It.

The idea behind the book group is that PR students and professionals will read a chosen book about PR or professional development each month and discuss it on the blog.

To join, e-mail PRBookGroup@gmail.com to become an official member of Learn It, Live it, Love it.

Send the following information:

• Name
• E-mail address
• Blog name and link (if applicable)
• Twitter (if applicable)
• Book suggestions
• Note if you are a student or a professional
• Optional: A short (six sentence maximum) bio about yourself

I already signed up, and I hope that you will too! Any tiny aspect that makes you different from another candidate counts. Being able to discuss the PR industry and topics surrounding it are key when interviewing for a job or internship.

New Subject, Please!

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get super bored with all the political/election coverage! Although we here at PRowl Public Relations realize the importance of discussing what's in the news (and looking at the last few weeks of posts, I'd say we covered it well), I think it's also time for a mindless post having nothing to do with current politics.

Today marks the end of Temple University students' first week of classes, and I hope all of your semesters have gotten off to a great start!

Are any readers enrolled in classes they may need some advice in? Leave a comment and we'll see if we, or another reader, may know something about it! Or, are you enrolled in a great class you want to shout to the world? Tell us about that too!

I personally think I'm going to love my Risk Management & Insurance class this semester (although it's not a communications class...) and I'm a little nervous about a course I'm taking that focuses on the analysis of social movements. Wish me luck!

We look forward to hearing from you and hope that your semester is a great one!

Obama will keep his Blackberry!

President Obama won’t have to feel disconnected from co-workers, friends and family outside of Washington. After all the talk about having to give up his Blackberry once entering the White House due to security reasons, the President will get to keep his Blackberry but not before he’s assigned a new address and a spy-proof encryption package is applied. He will be the first President communicating, texting and e-mailing from a personal handheld device!

So what will this mean for Blackberry? Think of all the positive press J Crew has been getting from Michelle Obama’s wardrobe choices. Both Sasha and Malia’s outfits from the inauguration on Tuesday were also J Crew, which received great press, as well. It seems anything associated with the Obama’s lends itself to positive press.

I’m curious to see if Blackberry will touch on the fact that arguably the most important person in the country and one of the most famous people in the world, the President, is a loyal fan of their product. But I bet they’re happy he hasn’t switched to the iPhone!


*Picture from www.guardian.co.uk