Best Practices In PR Today

What We All Need to Know!!

The 10 best practices
The public relations world has done an amazing job at implementing many successful techniques that bring in revenue and media attention. The list of best practices for the public relations world include: one on one relationships with reporters, reading the newspaper daily, unique pitch letters, phone calls and blogging.

1. Building a one on one relationship with reporters-

-By building your one on one relationships with reporters, you will be establishing the foundation from which you can do your work. You must get to know them. Find out what makes them tick, how they function, what roles they like to play in writing up a story, what angles do they usually come from and what catches their eye the most. Knowing these things will play a key role when you start pitching your letters and stories to them.

2. Reading the newspaper daily

-By reading the newspaper daily a PR person will make sure to keep up with important current events. This happens to be paramount in our line of work, because we deal directly with the public and what impacts them the most. Whatever takes place in the world happens to be our personal business. For example, you can't expect to pitch your story about a local historical home restoration project in Dallas right after a bomb has detenated at the White house and has killed dozen of people...it just won't sell. When you fail to keep up with current happenings you will lose respect and possibly your whole reputation. Who would want to work with someone so oblivious and out of the loop.

3. Unique Pitch Letters

-Pitch letters are timeless. Due to the fact that pitch letters make up a major part of PR relations, many end up being disregarded and thrown away with the masses. In order for this not to happen, and to create good relationships between your company and the media, you must put extra thought into what you put in your pitch letter. Make it catch their eye, so that they can't help but read it. Do something completely bold and different, so that they will not only look at it, but pick it up and take time out of their busy schedules to read it.

4. Phone Calls
-Everyday journalists are inundated with paper work filled with words, emails filled with words, faxes filled with boring black and white words and so on. They get tired of the lack of sincere interest in them and their work, and want to hear someone say what they really mean. By calling directly and talking one on one, you can show journalists what you know about them, and that you take a special interest in their work. Butter them up, and don't be stingy with the compliments...they love it. How often does it occur that we get a random phone call from a stranger saying how much they adore us and our work...it's an awesome ego boost. Also, make sure you have the right information about them. Comment on a story that they have done that was of particular interest and liking to you personally. Be humorous, and down to earth by doing something to show them that they are the center of your attention.


5. Blogging
-Blogging can be used for three things; saving/establishing a company's reputation, establishing constant customer communication and allowing information from your company to be seen by everyone (exposure). Blogging has proved to be enormously successful since around 2001, and has spread like a wild fire. Blogging gives big and small companies the ability to shed their tough skin let the public investigate them further. Blogging gives people who may otherwise be muted, a voice and chance to express their concerns and ideas to others. Relationships that blossom through many blogging sites include: customer to customer, company to customer, employee to employee and company to company. Blogging allows companies to be transparent, which means that they allow the public to see them for who they are, or what they want to be perceived as. Blogging sites give valuable insight into company relations and many times reveal the guts of the company culture, mission and promise to its customers.

Look Look!

Challenge:
Find out how SMU is cultivating and encouraging a new generation of workers.

My Definition of Today’s NEW Entrepreneur:
Today’s entrepreneur does not just step outside of the “box,” they redefine it. Typically people think of entrepreneurs as risk takers who may be lacking a strong foundation, educational or other. They might be viewed as someone who goes it alone, without much competitive information or sources. However, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas is showing America that entrepreneurs are strategic planners who actively combine their academic learning with their connections to serve their passions, and career goals. SMU entrepreneurs redefine invention and seek to create new realities of more economical and creative ways of living, working and exchanging information.

Quick Facts about SMU Entrepreneurs:
Do not desire the typical 9 to 5 corporate people
They want to leap outside their parents' box. Although it would probably be an easy path for many, almost most SMU students to continue in their parents' footsteps, they want to reach further and tap into all of their abilities to shape their own realities for success. For example, students combine traditional business with art and design to more effectively display their talents and skills. Often using the computer, these students make their work, whatever they do, accessible to the world wide, and most importantly, vital sponsors and financial backers.

Doing Things A Better Way:
“Being an entrepreneur is all about finding a better way to do things,” says senior David Hanson, who has started two businesses. Hanson says, “Most parents may see Fortune 500 jobs as safe and entrepreneurial work as risky, but I think risk is putting yourself at the mercy of others. He says, "Being self-employed I know that, as long as I am adding value, there is an infinite supply of income out there.” At the Cox School of Business, he says, he’s learned fundamentals that he’s been able to put immediately into action. “The fact that I can walk into a business and talk about how my software can integrate with existing marketing, sales and accounting practices really sets me apart.”

Hanson is like more than half of SMU's first-year students, who say they want to become successful in a business of their own. That mirrors national statistics, which show that more than half of university graduates will start a business sometime during their careers.

Many SMU graduates do go on to become entrepreneurs, and some, such as Hanson, choose that path even before graduation. But whether or not a student ever starts a business, the entrepreneurial way of thinking has never been more important, says Troy Behrens, executive director of SMU’s Hegi Family Career Development Center.

“With globalization and technology trends, companies are looking for innovators in all lines of work –– people who can find new ways to grow operations, develop products, save time and money, and build alliances,” he says.

Jerry White, director of the top-ranked Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Cox School of Business, agrees that interest in the field continues to grow – so much so that Cox launched its first Master’s of Science in Entrepreneurship this year. “There is risk in starting a business, but there’s also incredible potential reward,” he says. “This program offers the education and encouragement entrepreneurs need.”

As undergraduates, aspiring entrepreneurs can test the waters in CEOs, a student organization founded by seniors Brian Albrecht and Jonathan Sloan during their freshman year that sponsors speakers, meetings and fund-raisers.

“My peers know it’s exhilarating to be your own boss,” says Albrecht, who’s majoring in finance and English. And with its leaders about to graduate, he adds, “CEOs is looking for a few good entrepreneurs.”

Learn more about a Master’s of Science in Entrepreneurship at www.cox.smu.edu/grad/msie.

My Answer to A Big Question:
What makes our generation's entrepreneurs new?
We grew up in the multi-tasking era. Our mom's ran the home, and the business. After work, my mom would drive me from ballet lessos to soccer practice. Arriving at soccer practice with shin guards on my legs, and my hair in a bun put me at an advantage, as well as my seeing my mother juggle runnig the house and the office. She was a role model, which created the way I saw my own possiblities for multi-tasking and utilizing all of my talents. It's the same with entrepreneurs. They have to juggle everything that goes into a project, their jobs aren't straight, they take unexpected turns and because of our generation's childhood's, their parents model's prepared them for entrepreneurship at a very young age.


1. Why SMU Students prepared and others Are are not?
Based on my research I have found that most entrepreneurs must have money to start out, which makes SMU a great launching pad. Also, we challenge each other

One Great Example:
Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship
Facts about this institute:
-Fifth best entrepreneurial program in the nation
-offers education and training for student to compete in a rapidly changing,
Technology-driven world
-SMU students are prepared in ways that other students are not
-offers 18 graduate level courses
-institutes programs include Dallas 100 Entrepreneur Awards and the Southwest
Venture Forum, which highlight the
Innovation and vast business acumen of area entrepreneurs

Cox's Entrepreneurship Program:
The Cox School's entrepreneurship program has offered top-quality education and training for entrepreneurs for more than 30 years. Business Week ranked the SMU Cox #1 in entrepreneurship among the top 25 Executive MBA programs worldwide."
(This information has been pulled straight from the SMU website)

Straight From the Horses Mouth:

“Entrepreneurs cannot be shy. You never know whom you’re going to meet, and you have to seize the opportunity. Also, keep your overhead low; put your product or service first.” — Kacky Pritchard (B.B.A. ’05), co-owner of the Dallas boutique Kacky & Carl (kackyandcarl.com)
“Take calculated risks, especially now when ingenuity is being rewarded inside and outside companies. Play to your strengths, and surround yourself with talented people. Most important, say what you mean and mean what you say; conduct your business with integrity.” — Erin Patton (E.M.B.A.’06), president and CEO of the market intelligence and brand marketing consulting firm TMG (themastermindgroup.com)

“Keep your brain churning; don’t stop thinking up ideas, and write them down. Don’t let peers’ negative impressions deter you from pursuing an idea; you’ll be the salesperson, so if you believe in it 100 percent, you’ll get others to buy it.” — Trey Chappell (B.B.A. ’00), director of the college advising service College X-ing (collegexing.com)


2. How and where have you seen entrepreneurs?

Not only in the business school, I have seen entrepreneurs in the friends and students around me everyday.


3. What makes this a fertile ground?
* The professors actively encourage debate

* Unlike other schools, the professor wants to learn something from us too. They don't just lecture, they want active participation and new ideas flowing from the students all of the time

* Professors don't want us to stay in a box, but rather they want us to use what they give us and do something new with it.


4. Do you see a shift in attitude toward work?
I see a shift in the attitude toward work, from being satisfied with performing one set of skills to wanting to capitalize on all skills. Most SMU students will say that it's not necessarily the skills that they have learned in the classroom that prepares them for the real world of entrepreneurship, but its the experiences and opportunities that SMU gives them to apply their skills in cutting edge ways. For example, the CCPA department is making tremendous headway with connecting students to major companies, and providing them the training opportunities to work with such big companies as: talking with professors in the one on one environment

5. How do you think the new entrepreneur has the ability to start up a new company without a lot of money…how do you think this new entrepreneur is going to change the future?
A successful entrepreneur can start a successful company without a lot of money, but some help in the beginning is absolutely necessary. Not only financial backing is necessary, but emotional support from a mentor, like those on campus, or an avid support is key to their success in this world.

Concluding Idea:
The new entrepreneur is going to change the future, by finding new ways to grow operations, develop products, save time and money, and build alliances. Students are taking old information, and combining it with innovation to revolutionize our world.

Sheryl Crow and global warming

Sheryl Crow spoke at SMU on Monday about global warming and was completely successful in relating her vision to students. Crow, along with the Mayors of Dallas, Austin and Arlington spoke about the need for Dallas, which is the second most polluting city in the U.S., to create a better environment for it's citizens and the world. Today, Crow's speech was powerful, and Dallas citizens are hoping just as influential as her songs. She touched on the impact of global warming and how people, even busy university student can take small steps in helping the problem of global warming like saving energy with different types of light bulbs. Crow's final speech talked about individual conservation efforts from US citizens combining to make a huge impact on our environment, and how voicing environmental concerns could possibly ellicit more government involvement.

Entrepeneur Success Stories!!

Jonathon Soares is an entrepreneur and CEO of Q. Productions. At school he loved that one on one interaction. A lot of door opened for Jonathon at WSCN. He created key products for companies all over the country. He sold 500 jars of sauces during his first day at one of the stores he was promoting at. Jonathon like most successful people, had to sacrifice some things in order for the greater good of his career.

"Being an entrepreneur is a very lonely job, and the only thing motivating them is their dreams." EJovi used to believe that the internet was the only way he could make money. He sees now that there are some companies who are making millions of dollars who are not in the technology business. He did a survey; I do a lot of online reading and uses netlives. Marketing Sherpa is what he uses. Seth Godin is another successful person, who in his opinion is the best marketing writer in the business. Seth Godin.typepad.com. Another site EJovi uses is SEOBOOK. Search engine organizations are very important today in the marketing, advertising and PR business. EJove.net, is his blog site.

Special Speaker Talks Dollars and Sense

Tara’s In-Class Speech:

"Focuses on website, and social media marketing. Basically we have offices that specialize in online media, with offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. We talk about the latest trends in online media. I graduated from Texas Tech University, and I majored in communications, and broadcast journalism.

After college I worked my way up the corporate ladder. I started managing exon-mobile and have been there ever since, and for the past three years I have been handeling the communications side of this company. I manage a team of 6-8 people, which does outreach to the company's bloggers. We focus heavily on crisis management situation, and work largely with American airlines. Most importantly, we focus on blog and podcast implementation. Currently, there are a lot of different avenues of communication in our society.

In our company, we have someone devoted on communicating about each section of our social media. We have a couple of good bloggers look at the agencies website and start blogging and participating.

My advice to you is to find agency blogs and start commenting on them. Try to connect with these people to see how you can engage new audiences. Try also to reach out to new audiences in your area. This is called, social media networking. Some good website to start with include, 25 komen.org, and Igotshotgun.com
Try to make your cause a viral thing. Techniques even include fashion accessories like the Susan G. Komen pink ribbon.

A dance company's amazing move, that's not in the ballet dictionary

This was on the website of San Jose Ballet...It highlights the collaboration between San Jose Ballet and KERA. Our class was supposed to post PR tactics that have helped a company. Well, this one is in the process, but I think it's a fabulous idea for a ballet company, and takes advantage of a great situation. Read for yourself, this is verbatum, straight from the website, but you can also see my detailed comments about the proposition at the end. There are also links to behind the scenes San Jose videos/segments of the full KERA production!

PBS Video Project
2006-2007 Season
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Ancient ChinaThe Tinderbox
More Information
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Ballet San Jose has embarked on a project with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) called SILICON BALLET. It is a video documentary tracing the history of Ballet San Jose back to its roots, and the role that local leaders of industry played in bringing "high art" to the "high tech" world of Silicon Valley. The documentary will vividly demonstrate that San Jose is a place where world-class creativity thrives both at work and at play.

KTEH Channel 54 (Silicon Valley) and sister station KCAH (Monterey) have already agreed to air the program. It may also be made available to schools on streaming video and to PBS stations around the country.




This documentary is being shot in High Definition and it looks beautiful. We invite you to view a few short segments of the program in a rough first draft. To date, we have recorded over 16 hours of material consisting of a variety of interviews with artistic director Dennis Nahat and our dancers, company class, rehearsals at the Center for the Performing Arts and even material from last season's Gala. To this point nearly everything has been donated: the tape stock, the camera time, the director and even most of the crew hours (videographer, editor, gaffer). This has truly been a labor of love.

Now we need to raise completion money in order to finish SILICON BALLET and provide the finished documentary to PBS. I believe this is one of those rare opportunities to do something very special. This program can both increase ticket sales for our coming season and act as a valuable development tool to help raise corporate and foundation support. It is also a permanent record of our company's history. We are asking for your support.
We hope that you will consider a donation to help get us on the air. You can click on the link below to make your donation by credit card, check or money order.

Please consider giving a generous contribution to help complete this project by clicking here

For a gift of $50 or more, you may receive a Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley Polo Shirt with logo on the breast pocket. For a gift of $100 or more, you will receive the shirt and have your name listed on the website in the credits for the PBS special. Gifts of $1,000 or more will receive the above plus be listed in the credits on the PBS special for broadcast. In order to receive the thank you gifts, please remember to write "DONATION: PBS SPECIAL" on your check, money order or in the "Designation" box in the on-line donation form.
All donations are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Thank you for your support!
Sue W. Bebb - $500.00

Click here to view clips of the work-in-progress video

If you have any questions about this project please contact:
Lee Kopp
Director of Marketing
email Lee
408.288.2820 x 210

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©2007 Ballet San Jose

"Heal" Blog Site-Blog Cancer Support Group

I will be doing a blog for "Heal Magazine." I want the focus of my blog to be cancer suvivor support groups. I will create a site that gives cancer survivors the opportunity to share with one another their stories, trials and tribulations. I will give them information on local Dallas-area support groups, as well as provide them a first hand place to share their feelings, which will actually be the blog site. The blog site will be performing two functions, creating an area where cancer survivors can share with eachother, and also provide them information about getting outside help to heal after surviving cancer. The site will be revolutionary in that the users can take advantage of talking with people, even if they are not ready to go face to face. Cancer survivors can gain insight into their own lives and trials through other people's stories. They can use this blog site to release stress, find comfort, and build relationships that can help sustain them through the rest of their lives.