Farewell LASC..We did it!

It seems absolutely crazy to me that I have actually completed my Public Relations concentration here at Georgia College. It feels like just yesterday I declared my major, and was sitting in Bob Lee’s Principles of Public Relations class. Although the last few years have flown by I have definitely learned a lot. After countless press releases, newspaper articles, interviews, group projects and lots of events I can say I am much more prepared for the real-word than I could have imagined. Ending my PR classes is definitely a bittersweet feeling, but there are a few things I will definitely take away from this experience.

1. Never trust people…without a written agreement! (I think Ladies Lawn night can agree we learned this the hard way.)
2. You can not procrastinate in Public Relations, and waiting until the last minute is never a good thing. (You can’t do an interview in the middle of the night and deadlines will always sneak up on you.)
3. Never be afraid to talk to people. (What’s the worst that can happen?)
4. People are almost always willing to help you. (So don’t be afraid to ask!)
5. Always introduce yourself to people. (It helps build your network, and it couldn't hurt, right?)
6. Details are important and you can never be over-prepared. (Especially when it comes to event planning!)
7. Don’t sweat the small stuff. (Something will always go wrong the day of event, but not freaking out is imperative. Take a deep breath and figure it out!)
8. Delegation is key! (You can’t always do everything by yourself.)
9. Write everything down or you might forget it! (My planner is my life saver.)
10. LASC is the best J (Never EVER have SC at an event!!!!!)

The Magic of Macy's

My mom has worked for Macy's for the past 30 years. She always talks about all the great things they do, but I never really knew exactly what she was talking about. When I started looking up Macy's Corporate Social Responsibility I was pleasantly surprised on all the information I found.

When I was younger my sisters and I would wake up early at least one Saturday a month to go do events for "Partners in Time." We would do fun things like Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, helping the elders, Susan G. Koman Race, AIDS Walk, feeding the hungry and much more. I got to meet all my mom's work friends, and I had a great time volunteering too. "Partners in Time" is just one of the many things Macy's does to help out the less fortunate. Corporate and store employees are encouraged to spend some time on the weekends doing projects to make a difference.

Macy's is also heavily involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Currently, they are running the Believe campaign. Kids can bring letters to Santa over the holiday season and drop them in special mailboxes inside their local Macy's. For each stamped letter to Santa Macy's received they will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to a million dollars.

Another program they are involved in right now is the "Thanks for Sharing" campaign. Macy's shoppers are encouraged to pay a one-time enrollment fee of $25. For each enrollment, Mac’s will donate $10 to many local and national charities. Once enrolled in the program 10 percent of every purchase until the end of the year is accumulated into a voucher. In February, Macy's will mail the vouchers in the form of a “Thanks for Sharing” card redeemable at any Macy’s or macys.com.

Other than charity evolvement, Macy's also is doing their part to keep their company eco-friendly. Some of their recent accomplishments include:

- Increase our use of renewable power sources (solar, wind, etc.) eight-fol by 2010 (from 2006 levels)

- Reduce the amount of paper we use by at least 20 percent by 2010

- Increase the percentage of recycled (10 percent PCW or higher) and/or third-party certified paper we use by 20-fold by 2010 (from 2006 levels) to at least 50 percent.

As you can see Macy's really does to their part in helping out. They are a huge company, and maintaining good CSR is vital to their survival. Even in these tough times it is still priority for them to continue to share and give.

Crisis Management

Part of being a Public Relations professional is knowing what to do when things go wrong. There are so many different approaches to take when things go sour, some more effective than others. I recently discovered how a company called Vermont Teddy Bear Company handled a crises they encountered.

Vermont Teddy Bear Company decided to release a "Crazy for You" teddy bear around Valentine's Day a few years ago. They did random surveys, polled people and did questioners to see what type of teddy bear people would like to see in their product line. This particular teddy bear looked similar to mental health patients. It had on a straight jacket and was designed to be "crazy" looking. When the mental health rights advocates discovered this bear they were infuriated. The immediately wrote to the company asking them politely to take this bear off the market.

The Vermont Teddy Bear company kindly refused. The "Crazy for You" teddy bear was bringing in so much revenue they did not want to discontinue it. They assured the group that they had done surveys and testing on the bear before it was released and no one seemed to have a problem with it. Despite the Mental Health rights advocates plea to discontinue the bear, the Vermont Teddy Bear company continually and openly refused. After the bear sold out around Valentine's Day, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company agreed to not reproduce the bear any longer. Although some may say this situation was not handled properly, it may have turned out to be the most profitable option for the company.

This is just one example of how to handle a crisis. Some crisis problems I can remember include the Wendy's finger in the Chile, the peanut butter contamination, the Tylenol tampering, Jack in the Box meat problem and the Value Jet to Airtran rebranding transformation. Although these were all different situations most of these companies did a great job recovering from their crisis. We learned the basics of how to react in a crisis.

Always put the public first and be honest because people will always find out the truth. Be the first to make a public statement about the crisis before others do. Be very accessible to accommodate the media. Communicate with them frequently on the state of the situation. It is important to designate a single spokesperson in order to make sure all the messages conveyed to the public are identical. Make sure to monitor ALL news coverage and act immediately if something is falsely interpreted. This was a very educational chapter, and it was fascinating to learn all the different approaches to crisis management. It is always good to investigate these options in case an unexpected crisis comes my way.

The Real World!!!

If you feel like you are ready to graduate and get a job in the real world, this article might change your mind. After reading the article titled, "Job Market Turns Much Worse" I am getting a little apprehensive as graduation approaches. The title of the article pretty much gives away the ending, things out their just aren't good right now. A staggering statistic gives the article a depressing tone right from the beginning,

"Only six in 10 of the graduates had full-time employment six to eight months after graduation. That is the lowest level of full-time employment reported by graduates of the nation’s journalism and mass communication programs in the 23-year modern history of the Annual Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication Graduates."

That's a little scary..60% had jobs? That seems crazy!!!

So what am I going to do about this crashing job market is the big question?

I have been considering this for a while now, especially after doing my summer internship. I have come to the realization that if I am going to find a job in this economy it isn't going to be by filling out an online application. Jobs in today's faltering economy are found by networking. I need to talk to people in the Public Relations world. Let them know that I am qualified and intelligent and ready to take on the world. Random job searching and resume sending is really not going to do much to stimulate my job search.

The job seeking isn't going to be for the weak. I learned that through my internship search. It was hard enough to find an unpaid internship, I can only imagine the possibilities of finding an actual job. I am not someone who gives up easily, and I will not settle for a job bagging groceries or bussing tables. I will network, network, network and search until I find a job in this economy.

I have also been contemplating the idea of grad school. Although this obviously requires a little more school I think it might be the most practical choice at this point in my life. I definitely do not want to end up unemployed in the next few months, and going to more school is not an idea I am totally against. I kinda like college :)

but what can I do?

Today while I was picking up some things in Wal-mart today some of the lights suddenly tuned out. I might not have even noticed until one of the associates mentioned something about energy conservation. At first I was a little surprised that a huge store like Wal-mart would turn off its lights in the middle of the day, but then I thought about what a good idea it was. It was extremely sunny outside, and turning off the lights really didn't make much of a difference at all of the lighting of the store. Wal-mart is really doing their part in not only saving themselves money, but in helping the planet too.

Sometimes the climate crisis our country is in can seem a bit overwhelming. It may seem like there just isn't much we can do as individuals, but I think there are a few small steps we can each take to help out.

1. My dad replaced all our regular light bulbs with CFLs, also known as compact florescent light bulbs. These light bulbs last to much longer, which is extremely convenient in areas like our laundry room and garage. Not only do CFLs last longer, but they use about 75 percent less energy than standard light bulbs.

2. Turn off your computer and night and/or use a laptop. Just turning off your computer can save you about $90 of energy a year. That's a lot of power! Laptops use about a tenth of the wattage it takes an average desktop to function.

3. My new personal favorite is cloth grocery bags. Not only does it help the planet, but you can fit so many more groceries in each bag. No more ripped grocery bags from that heavy milk!

4. Walk or Bike..if you can! Sometimes it's just not possible, but sometimes it is. I bike to practice every morning (at West Campus) , and I have grown to love it. It's so much more freeing than riding in car. Biking is a really great thing to get involved with. Try it out!

(If you don't have a bike check out Craig's List, for some sweet deals on used bikes)

5. Write on the back of paper, and use recycled paper! We all know that PR majors are ALWAYS making flyers. There are recycled paper trash cans in both Lanier and Terrell hall. It's a great place to go to find some nice clean paper to make your copies on. No one is going to see the back of those flyers anyway. Save a tree!

I know I can not end this crisis on my own, but I will do my best to conserve and save the planet in my own way. This years Blog Action Day topic really brought this to my attention. I hope to become more aware, and do the small stuff to help our country!

Ladies Lawn Night is a Success!

Ladies Lawn Night has been a huge learning experience. When i heard that the campaign was planning an entire campaign for the CW's two newest shows I will admit I felt a little overwhelmed. I remember picking my group, and knowing we had to get started planning immediately.

After doing research we formulated the plan for our big event "Ladies Lawn Night." The madness of event planning began quickly, and I pleased to say that the event went extremely well.

We directed our event directly at girls, specifically younger girls living in the dorm. We had a fashion show, a jazz band, lots of local boutiques, the school radio station and of course a big screen to show Melrose and 90210. While planning we still had to do some MAJOR publicity to get word out about this big event that we had been working so hard on. We used every possible medium to reach girls on the campus of GCSU. My group was so amazing working on this project. We had no problems with anyone not doing what was asked. I think we all equally wanted this event to be a success!

Now that the actual event is over there are a few BIG things I want to take away.

1. Details, details, details - You can never be over-organized or over-prepared

2. Never trust anyone, and ALWAYS double check EVERYTHING - This makes me sad, but I definitely learned my lesson

3. Sometimes simple is good - enough said.

4. Ask - I feel like so many sponsors helped us out with this event and all we had to do was ask. I was really surprised.

5. Be flexible - Sometimes things don't go exactly how you have it planned, but it's ok to just roll with it.

I could really go on and on, but that is just a short list for now. Doing a campaign from A to Z is definitely not for the weak! Now that the event is over it is time for the infamous CAMPAIGN BOOK! I better fasten my seatbelt... here we go!

What do I say about Ethics...

It does seem like this has been such a hot topic lately. Last week I blogged about astroturfing, but never actually shared my opinions on the issue. I guess I am just beginning to realize that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are just so many grey areas when in comes to the mass media, including Public Relations. I am about to be thrown into this world, and it's up to me to decide what I believe on these issues.

Unlike some of my classmates I do not think I could do a job every day that I was not passionate about, even I was making the big bucks. I want to work for a company that I feel confident in, one in which I am proud when I tell people who I work for. I do not want to have a guilty conscious or cheat people out of anything to make more money. I want to be a part of a company that follows a code of ethics and is honest with its customers. Honesty is very important to me.

However, I do realize that Public Relations (along with many other fields) is not a field that you usually start off with your ideal job. I understand that I may have to start with a job that I am not extremely passionate about, but that can change over time. Life is way to short to hate your job every day. I couldn't handle that, no matter how much money I was making.

Although I do not necessarily feel called to go into the mission field, I do know I want to do a job that helps people. Ideally I would like a job with as much human interaction as possible. I would like to think I made a difference in the world regardless of the amount on my paycheck. I would rather live a modest lifestyle, and have a career I love. I genuinely love to be around people, and I want to treat them the way I would like to be treated.

All of that being said, I am not willing to compromise any of my moral standards for more money or a better job. My family has instilled a core set of values based on what God desires for my life, and I definitely know then difference between right and wrong. I don't plan on doing anything illegal or immoral to make it in the world.