Who Do You Fly With?

Air New Zealand wants you to fly with them, and they created a eye-catching new campaign to grab your attention! The TV commercial runs with the message that they have nothing to hide; you pay up front for everything. So that means no paying extra for drinks and snacks on the place, and other fees that make travelers irritated.

Not only do they have a new slogan, the people playing the Air New Zealand employees in the spot are completely naked. They have uniforms that are painted on, to go along with the "nothing to hide" message. All of the employees seen in the commercial are actual Air New Zealand employees, too! Even the CEO appears in the commercial.

I found this interesting information on CNN.com, and you can catch the video here!

Making the Most of Your Summer Internship

It's summertime and, for many of us, that means internship time!

"Internships can provide an excellent opportunity to gain insight into a career in public relations and provide the experience and connections you need to get your first job," Valerie Simon points out. Here are some tip she gave for making the most out of your summer internship:

• Demonstrate professionalism and dedication early on.
• Keep up with news about the public relations industry.
• "Those who aspire to a career in PR should be on Twitter," Simon said. She suggested using these hashtags on Twitter to keep up with what's going on in the world of PR: #pradvice, #printern, #entrypr.
• Develop a presence on LinkedIn, and monitor groups like #PRintern, #EntryPR.

Here are some tips of my own, based my experiences at my internship thus far:

• Keep up with the news. This can mean news about PR, national news and local news.
• Keep up with the media. The newspaper companies in my area are undergoing restructuring, so information that is current now may be subject to change in mere days. In our business, you cannot take a passive role when it comes to obtaining critical information like this.
• Double-check yourself. Double-check everything, from the facts you're using in releases to the files you are sending out as attachments. I've learned that it is extremely important in this business to be thorough and consistent.
• Become active in your community. Your skills in PR give you a unique way of contributing to worthy causes. These opportunities also give you the chance to build upon your network and your credibility therein.
• Always do your best. Even though mistakes may be made along the way, the fact that you're invested in the company and are trying your hardest also means a lot.
• Ask a lot of questions. Don't hold back! Now is the time to learn.
• Seek constructive feedback. This will only make you stronger- as a person and as a job candidate down the road.
• Watch closely! Observing everything from PR pros' writing styles to the way they handle their business can teach you a lot. There are learning experiences in every moment of everyday.
• Form meaningful relationships. Though you should always maintain professionalism, make conversation, learn from and share with others in a friendly way as well. Don't simply disseminate information to them and be on your way.
• Seek responsibility. This gives you more chances to learn and improve on many skills, from writing to using social media to pitching!

Easy Breezy Summer Coverage

This summer has been pretty quiet so far in terms of hard-news. There has been an occasional scandal and some stories about international affairs, but all-in-all the majority of news space has been spent covering the economic crisis. The media can only run so many stories about the economy, which means that there is a lot of print space and air time up for the taking.

As Richard Laermer of the Bad Pitch Blog points out, "more space means plenty of opportunities for coverage in daily papers, on network affiliates, and in trade, consumer and business magazines"--and virtually every other medium!

Here are some tips from Laermer on the Bad Pitch Blog for making sure you score some of that space for your clients:

1. Make it timely- Remember that it's summertime! Laermer reminds us to "tie your pitch to something in the here and now."
2. Work the holidays- Make yourself "available on the holiday weekends- 4th of July and Labor Day- when producers have a tough time finding guests" because a lot of their staff (or your competitors, for that matter) are on vacation.
3. Think smallish- Laermer explains "Coverage in smaller markets or smaller-circulation publications can be just as effective in achieving business objectives." He also reminds us that getting coverage in larger, more key markets can be easy if a "local summer angle" is utilized.
4. Present company- "If you haven't submitted products to relevant holiday gift guides, get going!" These publications tend to have long-lead deadlines.
5. Agency review- "If you're not getting the coverage you merit- or, if you're not seeing a clear return on your PR investment- summer is the time for the ole agency review." Laermer suggests making a list of five companies and simply asking them what they could do for you. "Compare this to what you have now," he says, "Even if you stick with the old firm, it's good to hear new thinking."

My own tip:
Use the economic state to your advantage- although everyone is tired of hearing about the economy, we are all feeling the economic strain. Find a way to tie your pitch- and your product- to the economy in addition to tying it into the summer season.

Have you noticed that it is easier to get coverage this summer? What strategies have you been using to cash in on the available news space?

Vacation!

Currently on vacation at Stone Harbor on the New Jersey shore! What has everyone else done with their summer? It's critical to take a breather in order to ensure you don't run out of steam!

Criminals using Twitter

The news has been buzzing about Iran recently and now the topic of cyberspace crime may even be an issue as well. Social media sites like Twitter can be considered a dangerous place where cyber criminals are able to communicate.

This short video from CNN.com briefly touches on the subject. Check it out below:

What Are You Trying to Sell?

As students hoping to join the workforce one day soon, especially in this economy, we all know the importance of a strong resume. As prospective public relations practitioners, though, the nature of our field of work will place added scrutiny on our ability to communicate our value effectively and concisely on our resumes. I recently came across an article by Kevin Fitzpatrick in the Central Penn Business Journal that I thought shared a fresh way to think about the dreaded resume.

Fitzpatrick describes the resume as "a central point in [one's] self-marketing campaign." He goes on to explain that the purpose of a resume is to generate interest in a potential "buyer" (future employer).

"The basic principles of Marketing 101 apply when writing and presenting your resume. You must give the reader a reason to want to find out more. Your resume should position your product- you- in a way that distinguishes you from your competition," Fitzpatrick explains, with the ultimate goal being a face-to-face interview with the "initial decision maker."

Although he acknowledges that "there are more opinions than rules for preparing an effective resume," Fitzpatrick gave some general guidelines to reference when preparing a resume:

• "You should balance qualitative and, where possible, quantitative attributes. Wherever possible, make an objective presentation of your 'value' to demonstrate the return on investment you will bring."
• "A well-written, concise resume is an initial indication of your ability to communicate effectively. Use a direct and active style...the resume will be an indication of your writing style, use of grammar, spelling and presentation, all of which may lead the reviewer to draw strong first impressions."
• "The resume should effectively use style, underlines and bolding to facilitate a skim of the document."
• "Use positive language in describing results," trying to show wherever possible why or how these results were important. Be prepared to discuss these accomplishments at length.
• "Selectively highlight your career history but leave no gaps."
• Be prepared to discuss your objective or give your elevator speech.

Although we've all heard stories about resumes landing in the trash before receiving even a cursory glance, do not forget that the resume is ultimately your ticket to the chance to pursue a brighter future. "Your resume is part of your communication strategy, presenting reasons why you should receive consideration as a strong candidate. A sound strategic approach ensures that the key elements, assets and qualifications you bring are reflected in your resume," Fitzpatrick reminds us.

Shifts in Advertising

Many companies are shifting the money they put towards traditional advertising (TV, newspapers, radio) to social media advertising. Many college students have seen this new trend in the media and have experienced it at internships. During my last internship I did extensive research about blogs and blog statistics, and also helped to maintain MySpace pages for some of our clients.

In an article I read today from the New York Times talked a lot about this new trend. It said that even though many companies have been putting money into online advertising for years, social networking websites are letting consumers do the advertising for them.

This changes things in the world of advertising in terms of where consumers are being targeted, but it also has been changing advertising and public relations internally at agencies. Many agencies no longer work based on commission (they make money when their clients do, as a result from the campaigns they design). More and more agencies are charging their clients for all of the hours they spend on a campaign, because social and online campaigns can be so much more labor intensive.

Even though this is information we all know by now, it's important for us to think about this as students. In this hard economic time we need to learn how to diversify ourselves from others. One way we can do this is by becoming experts in online and social media, because that's where the money is going.