This week my job has brought me to the State Capitol where I was able to observe the hearing on the bill for state employee compensation.
Having never ever been to the capitol during legislative session, and having never observed any part of the process, it was interesting to see how business is conducted here for each bill.
This particular bill asks for a 5% pay increase for each year for the next two years as well as funding for equity and market increases for state employees.
There was no one opposed to the bill.
I was able to see how public relations plays a big part in this process since all who spoke in favor of the bill represented various agencies and were in effect just giving a public plug for the bill and their agency. The news crew was there, so it not only gave them public exposure for the bill, but for the work they are doing for their agencies. So they were not only publicizing their agencies, but also their own job, i.e. See? Look! I'm doing my job for you!
I can see why this type of promotion is very important for both the agency and the future of the bill. Even if there was no opposition to the bill, if no one came to speak in support, the committee could very well think that this must not be very important to the agencies it was affecting and perhaps next time around they just won't worry about working so hard in their behalf.
Politics in general is one big public relations event after another. There are times I think it's so much a big spectacle with not much action coming from all the fluff. But I can see why it's necessary.
The public needs to feel they have a say and a part in the process. To facilitate that, they need to know what's going on. This means the need for lots and lots of communication and press releases. And since the politicians want them to support their ideas, they need to do a lot of PR to convince them it's a good idea.
So technically the politicians are really making all the big plans and to be successful, they just have to be really good at getting the proper PR spin out to help their public think it was their idea first!
As it happens, my purpose in being here at the capitol is a public relations event in itself. I am displaying and representing the Medical Transcription program along with our colleagues from the horticulture program for the Career and Technical Education (CTE) exhibit this week. And of course, the whole point of being here, sitting answering questions, and schmoozing with the legislators and other visitors is to promote our programs, raise awareness of our school, and demonstrate that the money that the legislators provide CTE, and by extension us, is going to good use.
Hopefully they agree.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Everyone's Dream Job
By now most everyone has heard about Tourism Queensland's promotion for The Best Job in the World.
But for those of you who maybe have not, I will elaborate!
As a tourism promotion for the Barrier Reef Islands, Tourism Queensland decided to launch this promotion to hire an "island caretaker." The job description includes feeding the fish, checking the mail, and cleaning the pool. Applicants are asked to submit a 60-second video clip describing why they are the best choice. Eleven finalists will be flown to the islands for an interview in May, with the final choice to commence work July 1.
The compensation package includes airfare to and from the islands and $150,000 AU (about $100,000 US).
Now of course the final choice will have to do more than clean the pool. They are required to try new things and showcase all of the opportunities and adventures that abound on the islands and then take pictures and video and blog about their experiences.
This is a very economical PR campaign for several reasons: the media attention (free) that this job has generated has already given them the estimated equivalent of $10 million in publicity on a $1.1 million campaign. (MSN news article) The opportunity itself is an opportunity of a lifetime for whomever is chosen and offers them what to an individual would be a phenomenal salary. Yet for the PR campaign, $100,000 is spent on a single magazine ad campaign. No doubt this campaign is being blogged about all over the Internet and will be followed by both the applicants and their friends to see who is chosen creating even more long-term publicity.
When looking at this model, I wonder how I could implement something similar in my own promotion of the events I manage. I have seen people trying to sell businesses do a similar model by offering a paid-to-enter contest. For example, someone trying to sell their B&B might do the traditional route and list with a Realtor and possibly get their asking price. Or they could take a chance, list it as an essay contest with a $100 entry fee, and hope the business is appealing enough to get a lot of entries and perhaps make more. (watch The Spitfire Grill as a fictional example)
I did try something similar on a much smaller level when I first started The Turtle Mountain Birding Festival seven years ago. I did a promotion with some radio stations around the state to give away one weekend package to a couple. Unfortunately, we did not get enough paying participants to actually hold the event that year, so my PR efforts were for naught. But at least I was on the right track!
But for those of you who maybe have not, I will elaborate!
As a tourism promotion for the Barrier Reef Islands, Tourism Queensland decided to launch this promotion to hire an "island caretaker." The job description includes feeding the fish, checking the mail, and cleaning the pool. Applicants are asked to submit a 60-second video clip describing why they are the best choice. Eleven finalists will be flown to the islands for an interview in May, with the final choice to commence work July 1.
The compensation package includes airfare to and from the islands and $150,000 AU (about $100,000 US).
Now of course the final choice will have to do more than clean the pool. They are required to try new things and showcase all of the opportunities and adventures that abound on the islands and then take pictures and video and blog about their experiences.
This is a very economical PR campaign for several reasons: the media attention (free) that this job has generated has already given them the estimated equivalent of $10 million in publicity on a $1.1 million campaign. (MSN news article) The opportunity itself is an opportunity of a lifetime for whomever is chosen and offers them what to an individual would be a phenomenal salary. Yet for the PR campaign, $100,000 is spent on a single magazine ad campaign. No doubt this campaign is being blogged about all over the Internet and will be followed by both the applicants and their friends to see who is chosen creating even more long-term publicity.
When looking at this model, I wonder how I could implement something similar in my own promotion of the events I manage. I have seen people trying to sell businesses do a similar model by offering a paid-to-enter contest. For example, someone trying to sell their B&B might do the traditional route and list with a Realtor and possibly get their asking price. Or they could take a chance, list it as an essay contest with a $100 entry fee, and hope the business is appealing enough to get a lot of entries and perhaps make more. (watch The Spitfire Grill as a fictional example)
I did try something similar on a much smaller level when I first started The Turtle Mountain Birding Festival seven years ago. I did a promotion with some radio stations around the state to give away one weekend package to a couple. Unfortunately, we did not get enough paying participants to actually hold the event that year, so my PR efforts were for naught. But at least I was on the right track!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Learning from Writing
It occurred to me after reading my post from yesterday with fresh eyes that I am guilty of the very sin I accused others of committing--not realizing how their speech (or writing) would affect their audience.
It is true that you don't know what you think until you write it down and read it out loud. I see now that by pointing out the flaws of my employers' marketing campaigns, I may be damaging my possible future opportunity to help them improve. If they were to somehow come across my blog, they might take offense that I am criticizing them publicly. Causing offense certainly won't build the type of PR needed to promote my own plan!
So, although my previous post is not perfect, I am learning already. If criticizing, do so cautiously, especially if doing so in public. Otherwise the public relationship with the recipient may disintegrate.
It is true that you don't know what you think until you write it down and read it out loud. I see now that by pointing out the flaws of my employers' marketing campaigns, I may be damaging my possible future opportunity to help them improve. If they were to somehow come across my blog, they might take offense that I am criticizing them publicly. Causing offense certainly won't build the type of PR needed to promote my own plan!
So, although my previous post is not perfect, I am learning already. If criticizing, do so cautiously, especially if doing so in public. Otherwise the public relationship with the recipient may disintegrate.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Training to be a Professional Mind Reader
"...the public relations person must know human behavior and combine that knowledge with specific information about people within the institution and people outside whom the institution deals with." -- Chapter 1, Public Relations Writing
By nature I am a perceptive person. My Myers-Briggs type leans heavily in the intuitive as opposed to sensing side. I have always been very (if not overly) sensitive to the actions and emotions, concealed or expressed, of those around me. It never ceases to amaze me when I meet those in highly public positions who seem oblivious to how their speech and actions affect those listening to and watching them.
My goal in this class is to learn how to professionally apply this natural knowledge and hopefully assist the organization for whom I work to market itself better. At this point in time, our institution has a fairly disjointed method of marketing. The campus admissions office is responsible for their own marketing material including the college catalog and all brochures and material sent out to prospective students. Any other entity within the school, i.e. distance education, community education, etc., does their own thing. The webpages don't even match up. Just click online campus to see the difference. I can see a trend toward trying to unite and combine, but because this would ultimately involve rearranging departments and job descriptions, I don't think it will happen until some retire or new administration comes in that is not afraid to shake things up.
Hopefully this class will teach me how to prepare a logical and air-tight proposal for how an effective marketing and public relations department (more likely position) would look and how it could benefit the college not only in presenting a unified and effective front, but monetarily as well. (Let's face it--that's the bottom line. If you can show them how it will save them money, they'll listen.)
So for those of you who have worked at a similarly dysfunctional organization, feel free to share your experiences!
By nature I am a perceptive person. My Myers-Briggs type leans heavily in the intuitive as opposed to sensing side. I have always been very (if not overly) sensitive to the actions and emotions, concealed or expressed, of those around me. It never ceases to amaze me when I meet those in highly public positions who seem oblivious to how their speech and actions affect those listening to and watching them.
My goal in this class is to learn how to professionally apply this natural knowledge and hopefully assist the organization for whom I work to market itself better. At this point in time, our institution has a fairly disjointed method of marketing. The campus admissions office is responsible for their own marketing material including the college catalog and all brochures and material sent out to prospective students. Any other entity within the school, i.e. distance education, community education, etc., does their own thing. The webpages don't even match up. Just click online campus to see the difference. I can see a trend toward trying to unite and combine, but because this would ultimately involve rearranging departments and job descriptions, I don't think it will happen until some retire or new administration comes in that is not afraid to shake things up.
Hopefully this class will teach me how to prepare a logical and air-tight proposal for how an effective marketing and public relations department (more likely position) would look and how it could benefit the college not only in presenting a unified and effective front, but monetarily as well. (Let's face it--that's the bottom line. If you can show them how it will save them money, they'll listen.)
So for those of you who have worked at a similarly dysfunctional organization, feel free to share your experiences!
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