Consider the weather!

"TV viewership increases when families are cooped up in their homes during storms," reported the Huffington Post's David Bauder in a recent article. "Nowhere was this more evident than during the January 10-13 storm that dumped snow across a wide swath of the country, including areas of the south that seldom see it."

In fact, according to the article, Nielsen Co. reported "that storm had a bigger effect on television ratings than any other in recent history." So much so that TV viewership exceeded that of last year
at the time by 8 percent. Furthermore, TV networks that adjusted their programming to accommodate the change in viewership saw ratings increase by as much as 60 percent.

These facts have important implications for those of us in the PR industry:

1. This situation really drives home the point of the importance of knowing your audience. Case in point: with more school-age children home during the day, Nickelodeon "cut short its preschool programming block by two hours, replacing it with programming geared toward older children," the article reported. The network realized ratings 43 percent over last year as a result.
2. The situation also reminds us of the importance of considering external factors when writing and sending pitches. Considering something as simple as the weather and the impact of weather on viewership can give a PR pro's pitch an edge in terms of timing and content. It can also help the PR practitioner get more mileage out of a good placement.
   

Twitter Wars: Going from Bad to Worse

One of the most notorious and controversial MTV reality shows, Teen Mom 2, has recently flooded all media platforms including Twitter. Twitter has become a battleground for Teem Mom 2 star Janelle Evans. Evans recently attacked fellow teen moms, Farrah Abraham and Amber Portwood, from the previous Teen Mom season. The act of waging a “Twitter War” begs the question: couldn’t Twitter be used to help these stars gain a better reputation than that portrayed by the show?

Stars such as Evans do not seem to see the potential to resurrect their image through social media. In Evans’ case, posting pictures of herself with her baby or tweeting about the progress of her child could be a better use of her time and image than bashing other cast members. Twitter is not new to Armageddon, providing a stage for battles such as Eminem vs. Nick Cannon and Lindsey Lohan vs. Dr. Phil. It seems many people in the public eye could still use a lesson in using the medium to enhance and not damage their image.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Samantha Wanner.

PR Trends to Look for in 2011

Public Relations and Marketing are both booming industries and will only continue to progress in 2011. Because of advancements in technology, the industries are changing. It is important to stay on top of what is up-and-coming, so here are some of the top PR trends to look for in 2011:

1. Integrated Public Relations is becoming an essential part in the world of marketing. Traditional PR and social media are coming together to capture every facet of corporate communications.
2. Being able to calculate and confirm the Return On Investment (ROI) is a vital part of PR this year. If this can be accomplished proficiently, the client’s approval will be easier to obtain.
3. Survival is in the cards for reporting on news. The Internet and television are still the top two ways to obtain the news, so don’t expect traditional media to die out completely.
4. Video is a must. Preparedness for on-air time is vital this year. With almost everything progressing in video form, this should come as no surprise.
5. WikiLeaks are something to be fearful of. There are many emerging wikis focused on corporate wrongdoings, so cautionary measures should be taken.
6. Tablets (such as iPads) are taking over social media. PR professionals need to make sure that content can be accessed anywhere and at any time as the news progresses rapidly to tablet form.
7. Firms must be able to observe, understand, and benefit from public emotion and explain this method to their clients.
8. YouTube, Hulu, VooDoo, and other similar services will continue to be popular. Young adults place most of their TV attention by picking up their laptops or iPads, so companies need to market appropriately.
9. 2011 will be the year that Internet and television integrate for good. This year, Internet TV will finally launch, so that people can communicate electronically while watching a favorite television program simultaneously.
10. Facebook may become outdated. The more complex and diverse it becomes, the more young adults are turned off by it.

Stay on top of your game by watching for these trends in the world of PR! For more information, click here.


This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kaitlin Tully.

Cryptic Clues about UCLA's Internet Celebration

Did you know that the first Internet message was sent by professor Leonard Kleinrock of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA 40 years ago? Many people think the Internet was created at MIT, but it was the communications team’s job at UCLA to inform you otherwise. In order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Internet and talk about the real-world impact that some of the discoveries and research work from UCLA have, the university proposed a $100,000 budget for advertising and promotion. Instead, they got $9,500 total.

Although the creation of the Internet is obviously impressive, it is also noteworthy that the team at UCLA was able to craft and execute such a creative campaign in two months and with a budget that was slashed by 90 percent.

Below are some of the components of the campaign:

• A countdown clock was posted on the main page of the university’s website with no description of what it was counting down to. When visitors clicked on the clock, cryptic clues would appear hinting at what was going on. When the clock hit zero, the website page began to flicker and appeared to crash to the ground with a balloon featuring the letters “LO” floating upwards, a simulation of the crash that occurred when Dr. Kleinrock attempted to type “LOGIN” in his first Internet message. A link then sent readers to an article about the anniversary.
  
• Cryptic clues about the anniversary were also disseminated on Facebook with a #ucla40 tag that led people to guess what could possibly be going on. Social media was also used to promote videos of Dr. Kleinrock explaining the process of sending the first information over the Internet to UCLA’s 55,000 Facebook fans, 5,500 Twitter followers and 6,500 YouTube subscribers.
  
• Traditional media was also used as a component to the plan. The UCLA team bought an ad in the school newspaper, pitched an online story in the university magazine, and bought online banner ads in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, which led to approximately 160,000 impressions on the event website.
  
• The eight-hour main event was live streamed on UCLA’s website, Ustream and Facebook accounts. More than 50,000 viewers tuned in and communicators encouraged speakers at the conference to ask their Twitter followers to send in questions to be answered live.
  

What would you have done with $9,500 and the task of promoting the 40th anniversary of the first Internet message? Click here to read the full article by Matt Wilson at Ragan.com.

Volunteering for Events

PRowl Public Relations staff members have encouraged students to volunteer. Volunteering at an organization or an agency is a great way to gain experience in public relations without having an internship. Even if you do have an internship, volunteering is a way to gain additional experience on the side.

Volunteering for events allows you to obtain experience in several hours or in a day or two. For example, I will be volunteering for the judging event for the Philadelphia ADDY Awards this Saturday. From 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., I will help the judging process run smoothly. Not only will I gain insight into how an event such as the ADDY Awards is run, but I will also have the opportunity to meet and socialize with judges and others during the day.

Here are some tips for how to find events to volunteer for.

1. Universities and departments within universities often send out volunteer opportunities to their students. I was made aware of the ADDY Awards opportunity through the School of Communications and Theater here at Temple University. Take advantage of these openings as soon as possible because students rush to volunteer for these events right away.

2. Look on the websites of professional communications organizations in Philadelphia, such as PPRA or PRSA, to find out if these organizations have events planned. Look for a contact associated with the event or even with the organization itself and send him or her an email. Inquire whether or not the organization needs assistance at the event and let the contact know you would love to help!

3. Do you have any friends or contacts that work at city-oriented organizations, such as Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PCVB) or Greater Philadelphia Marketing Tourism Corporation (GPTMC)? Organizations like these are always hosting events. Let your contacts know if they ever need help at an event that you are willing and able to do so! I was given the opportunity to volunteer at a convention for PCVB through a friend who works there.

Do you have any additional suggestions on where to find events to volunteer for? Share them with our readers!

Going Global to Help Your Job Search

As a junior in college, the majority of my friends have spent a semester or summer abroad. Although it has always been my dream to spend my time exploring new parts of the world, I believed that dedicating such a large chunk of time to travel would eventually harm my professional career. Whether it meant having to step down from a leadership position in a student organization or miss out on an internship opportunity, I continued to tell myself that my resume would be stronger because of it. Sure, if I decide to travel to England or Ireland, I could find an internship while abroad. However, with an interest in traveling to France or Italy, and not being fluent in either language, job and internship opportunities seemed scarce.

However, after talking to several friends and professionals about studying abroad, I have finally come to my senses that studying abroad is one of the best ways to build your resume and marketable skills when entering the job force! The article Maximizing Your Study Abroad Experience in the Job Search from Come Recommended did a great job at outlining basic yet necessary skills and experiences learned while abroad that didn't require an internship or a job to learn.

The article mentions these tips:
- Inform employers about how you were able to navigate your way throughout a foreign city with patience and understanding. This shows that you are able to tackle obstacles effectively with a clear mind.

-Discuss how you handled the foreign language barrier and how you were able to work with others from a different culture. This shows that you can handle diversity well in the workplace.

-Talk about how your study abroad experience allowed you to strengthen your independence, flexibility, awareness, problem-solving skills and leadership and explain specifically how this was a direct impact from your time abroad.

As stated in the article, although studying abroad is a fun experience, it can also be incredibly beneficial when it is marketed correctly during an interview. I plan on trying to study abroad this summer and I look forward to all of the invaluable experience and lessons I will learn.

What do you think about studying abroad and how it can help while job searching? Let us know!

How Does Philly Rank in America's Favorites?

According to Travel+Leisure Magazine's "America's Favorite Cities" reader poll, Philadelphia does not seem to be one of America's favorites in many categories. The best rankings for Philly came in the categories of pizza, historical sites/monuments, and museums/galleries. The worst rankings came in the categories of cleanliness, barbeque, and relaxing retreat. A notably negative result from the survey was Philly's ranking as the third rudest city in America, following New York and Los Angeles.

A Philly.com article suggests the reputation of Philly sports fans may have contributed to the city's high ranking on the rudeness scale. The tales of rowdy and highly intoxicated spectators at Philly sporting events, especially those which gained significant media coverage this past year, may have reflected poorly on the demeanor of the city as a whole.

To some, the results of this type of survey come as nothing more than entertainment. To others, such as those in the tourism and hospitality industry, these rankings may be more important. The economic structure and job market in cities such as Philadelphia thrive on tourism, so it is important to keep the visitors coming. From the PR perspective, the city may need to take the low ranking categories into consideration for making improvements and emphasize the high ranking categories to visitors.

The accuracy of this type of survey is questionable, as it is based purely on reader responses. However, the results are interesting and could be beneficial to the city's tourism and hospitality industry. What do you think about the rankings? Would any of them affect your decision about whether or not to visit a city?