Soccer City, UGA

Hello world!  Its me again! I know its been since January, but I’ve actually have been keeping a log book of things I’d love to write about if I ever got the time.  I’m getting back in the saddle, this time a senior with a year-long internship under my belt (reason #1 for sketching out).

As this is a blog dedicated to talking about the PR examples I find in my everyday world, I want to talk about one right here on campus.  The UGA soccer team has been putting in some work with regards to advertising this season.  You can see their schedule and other game videos here: http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/w-soccer/geo-w-soccer-body.html

I had hoped to have pictures of these for you all, but I’ll keep working on that.  In the mean time, here are some cool ideas for guerilla marketing.  The soccer team had the message “Soccer Game Today,” followed by the Georgia “G” symbol emblazoned on neon, highlighter yellow t-shirts.  Instead of following the usual protocol and handing these out to the first 500 students to attend the game (or in the case of the equestrian team, merely having the athletes walk around with them on), the promotions department has seen fit to have the bus drivers wear them.

This is genius, and I’ll tell you why.  First of all, who doesn’t love a free t-shirt? Of course the bus drivers are going to wear them! Second of all, everyone notices because we are on a very large campus and need to take a bus to get to class. Third, buses are normally not on time, so everyone is LOOKING FOR THEM.  Not to mention, we have the second largest bus system in the state (just under ATL’s Marta), so they covered a lot of ground with a little bit of effort.

This campaign is similar to one done by ugaMiracle (www.ugamiracle.org) in 2009 when students wore neon “I’m Seth” t-shirts the day after “Ask Seth” fliers were hung everywhere.  They were also fined for chalk violations (word to the wise, it’s apparently the quickest way to get fined $200 if you’re a student organization. 

On another note, the soccer team has also rebranded themselves as “Soccer City, UGA.” There is a huge billboard, t-shirts were given out (to students this time), they have new posters, and they are incorporating more community involvement from both Athens and UGA.

Not only is the new logo cool, but they really are working hard to get their word out.  It seems to be working. Student organizations are tailgating before soccer games (Athletic Training Association, anybody?), there is hardly any space in the stands, and the majorettes have performed at halftime.  The soccer game has become a celebration and the thing to do on a Friday night!

One thing I thought was really cool was they have begun to let the little league team players run out on the field with the varsity girls.  This is something we saw during the World Cup, where each team would stand with children from the country. This is a new step of involvement for the Athens community, which normally has its little leaguers as ball girls and half-time scrimmagers. I thought it was cool, and so did the proud parents taking pictures.

All in all, props to the marketing force behind the UGA soccer team this year. People are noticing and your work is paying off. I will try to take pictures of these things soon and keep you updated.  For now, they still have some games left this season if you want to check them out and let me know what you think!

Movie Madness

Recently I was catching up with some friends over the break (all theatre majors… be forewarned) and we got to discussing movies.

Avatar came up, of course, and the general consensus was it was a racist movie with a horrible plot and underdeveloped characters, but it looked really cool and thus the makings of a billion dollar industry and the downfall of cinema.

I loved it. Although the lines were a bit cheesy at times, it WAS cool. I found myself clutching the seats and getting emotionally involved in the characters. Plus, it was a movie my whole family were excited about and able to go see together.

Nine was another movie this holiday season I wanted to see. In fact, my first day back home my sister and I drove all the way to town to see it only to find out it showed in select theatres until Dec. 25. We were heart-broken.

The trailers never mentioned anything about select theatres and they played up the hype. We bought it hook, line and sinker. In fact, the movie (though advertised in our area) never actually played there. Bummer.

On another note (acknowledging that I still have not seen the movie), there is a lot of hype. After all th film received 5 or 6 Oscar nominations. We know Daniel Day-Lewis and the star-studded female cast (Penelope Cruz and Kate Hudson to name a few) are outstanding, but from the glimpse the trailer gives you;d never know it was such a well-respected film.

They have done a great job getting all the actors to appear on talk shows and take advantage of all the hype though. Oprah alone created enough buzz to grab the attention of most, but these publicists have done overtime. Not bad for a musical!

In other, movie-related news, there is a movie festival on campus. Apparently the company provides you with a camera and you and a few colleagues shoot. There is prize money to the winner and a bit of acclaim as well. Good luck to all those involved and I will add more info on it if I find out!

Gosh, now I want to lay in bed and watch wonderful movies all day.

Media in Business

Back to school means back to blogging. I suppose there is only so long I can ignore my responsibilities as a hopeful PR consultant.

One thing is for certain: I will never quit seeing aspects of public relations all around me. This break gave me plenty of examples I may add in later, but for now I want to jump straight in o something I learned on my first day back in class.

Social media CANNOT be ignored in business. I’m finally getting around to taking my management and information systems course this semester and to my surprise on the very first day we talked about PR! I was sure I would hate all the spreadsheets and statistics, but now I realize its merely another way at approaching public relations. MIST is essentially a way of communicating through data. Information systems such as Facebook and YouTube have helped many businesses grow.

An example from class is Lady Antebellum. She is a young country music artist who recently made it big. Here is one of her music videos:

Two of the guys featured in the video, one playing the guitar and the other singing, are from UGA and were former MIST grad students. One was even a TA for the class I’m in apparently. Cool, huh?

What’s even cooler is that my prof opened class with this music video as an example of how social media (or information systems) is used to help businesses (or in this case, an artist). The group used programs such as iTunes, YouTube, and twitter to track fans and publish “webisode Wednesdays” on their Web site.

I’m not going to lie, I was pretty skeptical about this 8am to begin with, but after this introduction, I know I’m going to learn a lot about how media continues to integrate and connect people in a personal and professional ways.

Night Out at PROM

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been to more than my fair share of formal dances, but I went to one last week that possibly tops them all.  The Special Olympics Prom was a night to remember.  Put on my the University of Georgia’s  Special Olympics organization, this event was almost entirely ran by student volunteers. 

I first heard about the concept a few years ago, but had never found the time to go.  After talking with a friend who swore it was the best time of his life, I decided I’d go even if I was a bit skeptical this year.  So at the last-minute I’m scrambling to get tickets and find out how much it costs and I’m surprized to hear it is a completely free event.  The participants are merely encouraged to come and have a good time.  This sounded right up my ally!

I did have some trouble making it over to the venue at the Classic Center because of the Christmas parade downtown, but my date and I finally found parking and were able to come in the back door, just in time for the Cupid Shuffle.  Immediately we were ushered in and directed to a table where nametags were waiting to be filled out, but I couldn’t help but look around at the dimly lit room and see how many people were there having the time of their lives. 

I know for a fact none of the proms I went to had as many people dancing and enjoying themselves, even if they were a bit more decorated.  There was food and punch outside, but we couldn’t wait to jump in the frenzy.  Right away I was introduced to a guy named Nick and he showed off killer moves.  The song changed and we hopped back on the dance floor to make room for a few folks in the middle of a circle and I can promise you everyone around was having fun. 

Rennie Curran even showed up and offered to take pictures with anyone who wanted!  We were so impressed with the size of the event and how well it was done, my date and I both bought T-shirts to remember the night by.  Although the event was promoted some around campus, had I not had a friend directly involved with Special Olympics I might never have known.  There isn’t even a Web site talking about all of their other programs or explaining how to get involved.  The best way to keep track of them is to follow Facebook, although it isn’t updated that regularly: 

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=2210217780

This is a great organization on campus and even though they are a little behind on the social media curve, the work they do is priceless.  The best part about the night was that when you walked in the door, there was no longer any distinction between special needs kids or college students.  Everyone was there to have a good time.

Tackling the Media Stigma

A team I have been following for the bast few years finally proved it was up to snuff with the big boys.  The Lindenwood University Lions are going to the NAIA national championships in Rome, Ga. and couldn’t be more pumped about it!  This is the first time they have made it past the semifinals and only the second time they’ve ever been in the playoffs. 

http://www.lindenwoodlions.com/

This Heart of America Conference team is unique for many reasons, but mostly because they come from a University that believes in its students enough to hold no debt.  Just think if the University of Georgia employed the same theory!  They wouldn’t have to charge students extra fees or worry about HOPE paying tuition.  Why is this important to a football team way out in Missouri, and how is it related to public relations?  I’m about to tell you…

For one, there isn’t another story like this one in the NAIA championships.  The other two contenders (Carroll got knocked down by LU in the semis) have gone to the final championship for the past six or seven years.  Lindenwood is new blood in what was a deep rivalry. 

This makes it interesting to watch them compete and succeed, but another cool thing about Lindenwood is the way they integrate media into their sports page and Athletic Association online. 

Not many colleges of this size have twitter:  http://twitter.com/LU_Lions

or multiple Facebook pages:  http://www.facebook.com/#/profile.php?id=1297930321&ref=search&sid=503583863.32239836..1  Add their mascot!

And if you take a second look at their Web site, you’ll see they post YouTube videos weekly of highlights from the game.  You can’t imagine how long I’ve tried to get Grady College to post recaps of its events on YouTube!   Thus, I am extremely proud this little Uni in Missouri was able to see the value of social media and having a presence online.  It sure does make following them from Georgia a lot easier!   

Way to go Lions! Rawr!

Stafford Earns Respect

This post is about someone I’d sworn was just another jock using the system to get through a decent amount of college before jumping into the NFL. 

I have had three classes with John Matthew Stafford, and rarely did he commit to coming for the finals, let alone class.  The first one freshman year was human geography and it was a joke.  He did take the midterm, but I’m pretty sure he only came four or five other times… Always late, you could recognise him from the jock sweats and big, backwards baseball cap that screamed “I’m an athlete, and I’m too good for you.” 

I work at Ramsey, where the football team practices on rainy days, and I heard him once say how he had so many other things to do besides go to a children’s hospital and see sick children with the team.  This is probably true, but have a heart!  How are we supposed to compete with Tebow if our team leader has that kind of view? 

The second class I had with him was in the SLC, nonverbal communication.  He showed up most of the time, and the professor made a point to include UGA football in his examples.  We even recieved extra credit for coming on Halloween in a costume and Matt came as “himself” before donning a scary mask.  This is an improvement… there was actual participation.

SPCM Group Project Fall 08

The third class took a few steps back for me.  Our proffessor insisted on reading out everyone’s name from the roster to do attendance, even though it was a small class.  John Matthew Stafford made a point to say each day, “Its Matthew, I go by Matt,”  and every day she would ignore him.  He also sat in the front row and blatently video chatted with his girlfriend for most of the class. 

The only memorable contribution to our class discussion I ever remember him making was the example of using a bloody polar bear’s corpse strewn across white snow in order to make people care about the shrinking envrionment.  Maybe I’m just bitter because I was lucky enough to have him placed in my group and had to make up for the work he didn’t do, but my stance on our great quarterback was not so hot.  I was unimpressed.

Then he became a Lion.  As he improved the team, I began to respect him a little.  He even came back to the Georgia v. Geaorgia Tech game in 2009 and was on the sidelines to see us win.  Surely he had better things to do.  It was Thanksgiving week and he could have been with family or his new team preparing for the next week’s game, but he came back to Georgia.  Pretty cool thing for someone who went number 1 in the NFL Draft to do.  I noticed, and I looked into it.  Seems our Stafford has gone off and gotten a bit better at presenting himself.

Just look at this epic game against the Browns and see if you don’t have major respect points:   

By the way, this video has been viewed 173,500 times already.

He went injured into a game to give his team the win.  Wow.  You’ve grown up some Matty, come a long way from “I’ve got other stuff to do…”

Or this down-to-earth interview after the draft: 

I’m sure Matthew Stafford has always been a good person, but it takes publicizing events and showing up when you really aren’t expected to (going for the win & being at the Tech game) to garner respect.  Matthew Stafford has mine now, and I’m glad to see he has come into his own.  When it all comes down to it, I guess I don’t blame him for skating through school…I guess I would have done the same.

Stick Your Neck Out

This is a review of a book on leadership from a PR perspective.  This post and others like it is featured on the Management Book Reviews blog at http://www.teachingpr.org/management_book_reviews/ This blog was a collective effort of my PR Administration class.

“Stick Your Neck Out,” by John Graham:  Book Review

Reviewed by Katie Dean Williams

 

Summary

The focus of Stick Your Neck Out is to identify areas in communities and within organizations that need change.  The book helps outline opportunities to foster this activity and offers a range of perspectives on how to do so over time.  Obviously the first step to identifying an issue worth fighting for would be to do some research surrounding the topic and information already out there.  This is the stage where it is a good idea to be relentless in your search because afterwards you will need to analyze and learn from your research so you can then make a decision about your action plan.  A plan is also a good thing to have when a leader is moving forward and hoping to create a new movement.  The end goal is to create awareness.  In order to make sure you and your team do not get burned out during the process of planning, it is a good idea during this stage to check yourself and make sure this is something you want to be completely committed to.  It’s okay to back out during this stage.  Know your limits and don’t push them too far.

The author recommends having a reason why you are against a certain policy or in favor of change.  Keep tabs on all the information you researched previously.  The book gives several case studies and stories of people who found their problems and made a difference.  Some of these include a girl in middle school who was able to get her community to build a facility for skateboarders instead of fining them for trespassing on parking lots.  Thus, most of the stories illustrate a win-win solution to the problem at hand.  In most cases synergy is used to create a better outcome than could have been achieved by the mere efforts of a few unconnected ideas.  Other avenues include legal action and the importance of personal testimonies to the public.  These are priceless because they are from the heart and people can connect with a cause easier if they have a face to put with a story.  An important thing to remember if you want to lead a cause is not every leader is intelligent; you don’t have to be the smartest person, but you do have to be well prepared.  Be prepared to speak in front of audiences about your issue. 

Another important thing to remember is the team dynamic.  Chances are your project is going to need more help than you can provide without getting overwhelmed.  Make sure your team works well together and has a constant flow of communication to avoid conflicts and miscommunication.  If conflicts do arise within your team, you will need to be prepared with a management plan.  This plan will depend on you and the dynamics of those in your team.  Goals are important as well.  You should have a good idea of what it will take to accomplish each goal and what the next step will be after you succeed.  All in all, the main thing to remember is change is possible if you work steadily and use a strategic plan.

Analysis         

The author of Stick Your Neck Out, John Graham, offers a good approach to leadership because he outlines a lot of the difficulties leaders most often face and gives relevant advice on how to avoid mistakes.  Although his advice is sound, the most valuable part of this book remains the countless case studies crammed into the margins and weaved into the chapters.  These real-life examples serve as a great resource for anyone looking to follow suit and create a successful movement of change within a community and beyond.  Yet, at times the arrangement of material did seem a bit jumbled because there was so much information between his tips for success, practical advice and the case studies.  In addition, a major weakness of this book can be found as stated in the first few chapters.  Graham states the book does not contain any information about fundraising, maintaining social media or developing Web sites. This is a huge chunk of information to leave out because it is extremely valuable and pertinent to the success of most movements in today’s world.  As discussed in class, sites such as Facebook and Twitter have transformed the way businesses approach younger audiences.  Thus, any group looking to promote a new idea and gain active participants would be wise to explore these avenues in addition to maintaining a Web site regularly.  Also, without fundraising events most movements would never gain the awareness or backing they need to move forward with a budget.  This book does a great job of outlining some things leaders can do to find and work on important issues, but it also neglects a few crucial elements a campaign during the twenty-first century shouldn’t be without.

Of the case studies mentioned, one that stood out in particular was one about a community that came together around the concept of democracy when one young girl decided a space needed to be provided for children to exercise and play.  Her specific goal, even though she was not a skater, was to build a skate park for those teens that had no other place to go.  A park of this type would keep these young people off the streets and out of trouble, she argued.  The girl passed a petition around and was able to garner support by posting flyers and talking to adults who were unaware of the issue.  She took charge of a problem she saw not being addressed in her town and made it happen.  Before too long the land was donated and a contractor was hired for the park that was now seen as a necessity for the growth of their community.  With this and many other case studies outlined in the book, no real strategic business model was outlined.  I do not think this type of leader (a young girl in her community) could really benefit from an MBO-style plan.  The author does, however discuss developing leadership characteristics such as those discussed in class.  A few of them are: establishing and communicating values, building relationships and having measurable and attainable goals.  These leadership characteristics are essential to success because they are steps toward gaining trust and support as a leader in a community like those discussed in the book’s case study example portrayed.

 

Recommendation

As an established leader on campus, I have had the opportunity to attend several leadership retreats and seminars as well as read several books on the subject.  Stick Your Neck Out is one of the more basic readings on leadership, but definitely a good read for anyone looking to find an issue around them and start a campaign to solve a problem or promote change.  I personally have always been a fan of studying the theories behind leadership and management and not focusing so much on the execution style because everyone creates their own set of rules on how things should be done and each group’s experiences dictate what will be most successful.  I would, however, recommend this book to any public relations student because it describes many case studies that have been successful.  The case studies alone make this book a great resource.  As public relations students we must learn to model ourselves after those who have come through the profession before us and learn from what has worked in the past as we add our own creative ideas to the mix.  New problems are discovered everyday, and we must be prepared to face them.  Books on leadership and management help us to better understand the world around us as opinion leaders and we are better able to see the various options available to us as we grow in our profession.

Tiger in the Woods?

Tiger Woods has admitted to cheating on his wife, according to CNN.  This means all the talk about his wife “saving” him from his car accident was most likely false.  If he had only been honest with investigators and the media to begin with, this incident could have been cleared up by now.  In more than one of my classes this week and in passing conversation we have talked about ironic it is that Tiger Wood’s wife came after him with a golf club.  I’m proud of her.  There is nothing wrong with making a man scared to come back in your house after he cheats in my opinion, and I think she did a wonderful job of being creative with what was at hand. 

Not only did he get clipped in his attempt to escape, he also was so scared he ran into a fire hydrant as well!  To make matters worse, Tiger downgraded.  The mistress is a “cocktail waitress,” which might as well mean high-end prostitute.  Celebrity men always seem to have mistresses and I’m sure this isn’t anything new (think Kennedy), but the trick to avoiding media mayhem is being open and honest about it once you are found out.  The worst thing Wood’s publicist did was keep him from talking to the investigators for three whole days, assuming full blame for an incident that clearly had more behind it, and denying anything fishy was going on. 

The lesson to learn from all this is that everyone makes mistakes.  Some of them aren’t pretty, but once they are forced out into the open the best thing to do is fall on the sword and have effective communication about what really happened before the real story (or worse) is found out.

Twitter Madness

Hosts Spring Sing:Voices United for a Cure

I must admit, I was against Twitter.com  I thought the entire concept was a bit over rated.  I didn’t understand how it worked or why I would be forced to utilize this new social medium for my profession.  I was a whole-hearted skeptic.  I joined Twitter.com just to see what the hype was about and to get credit for a class last year and quickly forgot all about it this summer.  At that time, I had only used it as a way in which to bombard all Grady students with information about our student government elections.  I found this medium to be successful for this purpose, but I was far from hooked.

Then I returned to campus this August with a sincere wish to do well in my classes and to learn as much information as I could about my field.  I was not thrilled to learn for both of my Grady classes I would be required to learn the ins and outs of something I’d sworn to hate.  I’d have to tweet on a fairly regular basis about Public Relations and give it a real effort.  Darn.

So I did, I gave it a go and found that it is useful and can be entertaining and truly has potential.  I have even found myself explaining the pros of Twitter.com to several skeptics.  The hash tag function allows you to track conversations in real time about any topic and its extremely easy to search conversations or people to follow trends.  You follow people you want to learn from or who might disperse the kind of information you’d be interested in.  If these people had a newsletter, you’d want it.  It’s also good to keep in contact with people you meet in an informal way so you have something to bring up in conversation.  Twitter serves as an easy way to learn more about my friends interests with out me searching them out.  The information is there.  It finds me.

This is a remarkable concept and I must admit I’m now sold completely.  The final straw that did it was Ashton Kutcher himself.  He is infamous for having the most Twitter.com followers (more people than some countries combined) and I thought to myself, “why not?” so I jumped on board the tweeting train and followed him too.  One of his first tweets I received was about Ahmir, an up and coming R&B group that does A capella.  He described it as a cool new cover and gave the link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b_oVBQKs3w

I fell in love, started crying and immediately sent it to Team Burns at UGA and a few others who I knew to be avid music and A capella enthusiasts.  I also left a message on their youtube.com video positioning myself as a PR director of Team Burns at UGA and described our annual Spring Sing: Voices United for a Cure.  One thing led to another, and let me tell you, one week after Ashton Kutcher (of all people) tweeted Ahmir’s Miley Cover, they are on board and Co-Hosting our 2nd annual Spring Sing in April 2010.  I could not be more thrilled!  Had I not stumbled across a tweet and been interested in the link, I might have never pursued Ahmir’s manager to inquire about interest for our organization and its event. 

Although I will be the first to admit I do not understand all of Twitter.com, I am learning fast and this is a huge hurdle for me.  I do not like change in general, but I can definitely see the benefits of being in a connected social network of sharing ideas.

What do You think?

The Red & Black this week cancelled anonymous commenting on their web articles, and then they did away with them all together.  They are, however, encouraging students to write e-mails to the Editor.  Will this be as effective in generating dialogue?  I’m skeptical, but at least they were able to walk us through the planning process of this decision and tell us why they chose to alter their options. 

http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2009/10/05/Opinions/Our-Take-3792495.shtml

On another (similar note):

Chic-fil-a does a lot.  They have such a strong focus on giving back to communities and a focus on core values, they are hard to ignore.  Yesterday I was in a meeting for ugaMiracle and the guy sitting next to me said offhandedly, “Chic-fil-a has the best PR of any organization.”  This was in response to the announcement that Chic-fil-a at Beechwood would be holding Miracle percentage nights  after each of our team member meetings this year.  What makes them so special?  I think it’s because they do good things for awesome causes, and then they publicise it! 

http://chickfila.com/#ourcommitment

There are plenty of companies out there that give back, but Chic-fil-a in particular makes service a focus of their organization at every level and then promotes it so people will know how involved and committed they really are.  They don’t just stick up a bulletin board, they smile and carry your tray for you and take an interest in students and just generally exude great public relations practices.  Have you ever heard of a store opening?  Talk about making a big deal out of events!  People have been known to sleep overnight and take more than one flight just to make these fun-filled events. 

What we can learn from Chic-fil-a’s success is to make ethical decisions, and then stick to them in every aspect of your organization.  Reinforce them.  Promote your efforts and those of your employees to live up to those standards.  Make it personal for your patrons.  They will appreciate it and care more about you as a result.

To tie all this together, it is important to remember communication and building relationships is what PR is about.  As practitioners we will be faced with tough decisions and will need to consult the ethics of our clients in order to decide what avenues to persue.  Thus, it is imperative we understand what our clients stand for as a whole and who they are trying to reach.  The avenues of communication are just as important when thinking about all of this as well.  There should be an easy means of contact and plenty of feedback that is taken seriously. 

I think this is something the Red & Black is still working on, and something Chic-fil-a is close to perfecting and it will be interesting to following the progress of both!