Don't skip Thanksgiving! I was recently in Wal-Mart and everywhere I looked, it was Christmas. Christmas candy, decorations, clothing etc, etc. It seems this year more than years past, the world of retail wants us to start thinking about all the dough we are going to spend in order to make our Christmas merry.
In my opinion, stores skip Thanksgiving because frankly they make more money on Christmas. Through advertising and getting a jump start on this holiday, people are reluctant to spend more and thus companies make more. PR professionals are working like crazy at this time of year. Planning events, advertising and convincing people to spend money and things they don't need. It will be interesting to see if these tactics work this year. With our economic crisis, people are stuggling just to put food on the table. PR professionals will have to work extra hard and hopefully this season will give our country the economic boost it needs.
Monday, November 24, 2008
JCOM 2300
Blogs seem to be part of the new technological wave of information. They are free, people can put whatever they want on them and anyone with the Internet can access them. It's no wonder that so many companies are now having blogs of their own. For my final project in this class, we are launching an internal campaign for Delta. When doing research for this company, I was surprised to see that they have a very detailed blog. On another end of the spectrum, I was doing research for a paper about the poet Mark Doty and come to find out, he also has a blog. This is a great way for companies and individuals to get their message out to the world.
Friday, November 21, 2008
JCOM 2300
We all have noticed the decrease of prices at the pumps which has been a big relief for Americans. It seems however that the food prices are not budging only rising. And now it is becoming quite evident that certain distributors are tyring to trick consumers giving us smaller packages for the same price. A major peanut butter company has now added a dimple in the bottom of the jar. When sitting on the shelf, it looks the same but in fact is several ounces smaller for the same price. Cereal boxes, candy bars and countless more products are adopting the same concept. I know I will be much more conscience of the ounces rather than the brand or price.
JCOM 2300
Well the big three car companies are not looking good. They are begging the government for a huge loan that most likely they will never be able to pay back. What was ironic to me, was the fact that the three big head honchos showed up in their three private jets. When asked if they would fly home commercially, no one raised their hands. One official said this move was like having a homeless person show up to a soup kitchen in a tuxedo and top hat. My question is, as far as the PR and look for the media goes, what were they thinking?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
JCOM 2300
Today in one of my JCOM classes, we talked about the Internet craze, Second Life. This is a web-site where anything you do in real life, can be done plus some. 40 million people have joined, and every major business and university exists. Thousands of peoples full time jobs relate to Second Life. Now CNN has an i-report center in second life where avatars (the fake people you control) can report.
In the field of PR, this Internet frenzy will be important. Our professor explained that if something happens in second life that makes a business look bad, it is likely that it will affect the real life version of that same business. Thus, a PR campaign must be launched in Second Life to fix the problem. Wow. Technology is getting more and more advanced. It affects PR drastically and must be watched by those working in a field such as PR.
In the field of PR, this Internet frenzy will be important. Our professor explained that if something happens in second life that makes a business look bad, it is likely that it will affect the real life version of that same business. Thus, a PR campaign must be launched in Second Life to fix the problem. Wow. Technology is getting more and more advanced. It affects PR drastically and must be watched by those working in a field such as PR.
Monday, November 10, 2008
JCOM 2300
America officially has its next president. After the most historic presidential race in history, Barack Obama came out on top.
In the article A New Day For America: The Next Great Communicator, Obama's charisma is said to have greatly aided his win. The authors, Jim Cameron and Amy Fond point out six main points that carried Barack to victory.
1. TECHNOLOGY: With TelePrompTers involved in the deliverance of speeches, it is important to not look like you are reading off a screen. Obama does this with eloquence, grace and does not let advanced technology set him back.
2. CONNECTING: Even when speaking to a large crowd, Obama makes eye contact. He unites the masses through his words and even brings tears to his supporters eyes.
3. STORIES: People retain information much better when they have something to connect to. Obama brings in stories which allow his audience a more personal connection to what he is saying.
4. LANGUAGE: His word choice and voice intonation bring the audience in and give variety to his speeches. They are not just mundane.
5. REPETITION: Repeating things over and over will make people remember what has been said. Obama constantly repeated his points of importance which made the American people know exactly what he stands for.
6. HE'S REAL: With his charming smile and friendly personality, Obama seems like someone you could sit down with and have a cup of hot coco. No faking here. Americans feel like they can trust and relate to this person.
As PR majors, we could all take a hefty page out of Obama's book. His communication skills may not be the only reason he won, but they certainly did help.
In the article A New Day For America: The Next Great Communicator, Obama's charisma is said to have greatly aided his win. The authors, Jim Cameron and Amy Fond point out six main points that carried Barack to victory.
1. TECHNOLOGY: With TelePrompTers involved in the deliverance of speeches, it is important to not look like you are reading off a screen. Obama does this with eloquence, grace and does not let advanced technology set him back.
2. CONNECTING: Even when speaking to a large crowd, Obama makes eye contact. He unites the masses through his words and even brings tears to his supporters eyes.
3. STORIES: People retain information much better when they have something to connect to. Obama brings in stories which allow his audience a more personal connection to what he is saying.
4. LANGUAGE: His word choice and voice intonation bring the audience in and give variety to his speeches. They are not just mundane.
5. REPETITION: Repeating things over and over will make people remember what has been said. Obama constantly repeated his points of importance which made the American people know exactly what he stands for.
6. HE'S REAL: With his charming smile and friendly personality, Obama seems like someone you could sit down with and have a cup of hot coco. No faking here. Americans feel like they can trust and relate to this person.
As PR majors, we could all take a hefty page out of Obama's book. His communication skills may not be the only reason he won, but they certainly did help.
Monday, November 3, 2008
JCOM 2300
In the world of PR, it is so very important to watch what you say and to tell the truth. The article Talk Like You're in a Fishbowl, from the PR News Blog, gives a great example of this.
A player from the Jets talked to an ex-player from the Lions. While the player from the Jets denies he gave any vital team information to his pal on the Lions, he made the mistake of denying in front of the media that a conversation ever took place. With some further interrogating, those interviewing him finally got the truth; the conversation really happened. His whole story looked very suspicious now that he was a proven liar.
The moral of the story, is to talk like you're in a fishbowl. If he would have just been upfront from the beginning, the whole thing could have been avoided rather than winding up on in a major newspaper.
A player from the Jets talked to an ex-player from the Lions. While the player from the Jets denies he gave any vital team information to his pal on the Lions, he made the mistake of denying in front of the media that a conversation ever took place. With some further interrogating, those interviewing him finally got the truth; the conversation really happened. His whole story looked very suspicious now that he was a proven liar.
The moral of the story, is to talk like you're in a fishbowl. If he would have just been upfront from the beginning, the whole thing could have been avoided rather than winding up on in a major newspaper.
JCOM 2300
PR news online, has some great articles about today's PR and media. The article How To...Respond to Media's Facts and Opinions talks about what we as receivers of the Media can do to better respond to messages being projected.
With the election being so close, we are seeing a mass output of media messages concerning the candidates. It seems to me, the media is very pro Obama. On the popular TV show, Saturday Night Live, we see McCain and Palin being portrayed as stupid and clueless. Also, several celebrities have publicly endorsed Obama. Oprah Winfrey, Hallie Berry just to name a few.
All of these messages can be very persuasive. Before Americans go to the polls, they need to be sure they know the issues and facts about each candidate. Voters need to make an informed decision and not let the media make decisions for them.
With the election being so close, we are seeing a mass output of media messages concerning the candidates. It seems to me, the media is very pro Obama. On the popular TV show, Saturday Night Live, we see McCain and Palin being portrayed as stupid and clueless. Also, several celebrities have publicly endorsed Obama. Oprah Winfrey, Hallie Berry just to name a few.
All of these messages can be very persuasive. Before Americans go to the polls, they need to be sure they know the issues and facts about each candidate. Voters need to make an informed decision and not let the media make decisions for them.
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