MS&L Intern Challenge Day

Last friday I had the opportunity to attend the MS&L Intern Challenge Day in Atlanta.  This is an event that is put on by MS&L at their office locations in Atlanta, Chicago and New York.  The application process consists of a resume, 2 writing samples, 8 short answer questions, and an essay.  After reviewing the applications, ten lucky applicants are invited into one of these offices were they have a chance to compete for the top three coveted intern positions.  

I was fortunate enough to make it to the top ten where my next assignment was to create a video introduction of myself.  Following the video, the next step was to attend the event....and so my journey began...

When I first stepped off the elevator I was greeted by three people who already knew my name and where I was from.  They immediately took my picture and then escorted me through the maze of the colorful cubicles to a back 'lounge area' that overlooked downtown Atlanta.  The first portion of the morning was spend getting to know each other (including the other candidates and the employees).  Each candidate was asked to bring in an 'introduction item' that would tell something interesting about themselves.  I thought this was a very clever and fun way to get to know the competition.  I brought in the first purse that I ever made (which was created using a deck of cards and clear mailing tape).  I thought this would show something interesting about myself and show off a bit of my creativity. 

After the introduction part, we were escorted to the main conference room where we watched everyone's videos and voted on the best one.  Just like Donald Trump's Apprentice, there were prices for each competition, in this case MS&L gave out itunes gift cards to the winners. 

One of my favorite parts of the day was the headline writing competition.  We were given a brief on a new product that McDonald's is coming out with during the summer and then had about 2 minutes to write a creative headline, choose the best media outlet, and create a tweet.  This was fun for me because a) it challenged me to think fast and creatively on my feet and b) we got to work a product that no one knows about it yet!  

After the headline challenge we had lunch full of pizza, salad and Coke products (of course!).  Lunch was another great opportunity where we got to meet more employees and ask them questions about life at MS&L.  After lunch was the individual interviews where we were given a more formal one-on-one interview.  

The most challenging part of the day was the group challenge.  We were divided into groups and then given a two page creative brief about Porsche (I also learned how to pronounce it properly).  The challenge was we were only given 45 minutes to create a PR campaign that incorporated the objectives and reached the target market given on the brief.  The challenge was the time constraint that we were under because all of the groups had really good and unique ideas, but none of them where complete in terms of details. 

I throughly enjoyed MS&L Intern Challenge Day and I am very honored that I got the chance to compete with other top PR students.  It was a full day that was challenging yet fun.  When asked if I would do it again, most definitely! 

A couple days before spring break I found out that I was selected to attend Intern Challenge Day at MS&L Worldwide in Atlanta. The first challenge was to create a video about yourself to use as your introduction. The only limits for the video were to include your name and major, and it could only be 60-90 sec long. Everything else was up to your own creativity!

Over spring break I went to Disney World and decided that this would be the perfect setting for my video! This video incorporates my creativity, and personality.

I would like to thank everyone who helped with the video and I hope you enjoy!

Keep it Classy Milledgeville

It is not everyday that national breaking news hits a small town, and as a Mass Communication major I have found it to be more of a learning opportunity.  

I have taken away two things from this recent 'crisis' that occurred in my college town and that is 1) reporters will do almost anything to get information and 2) the news will never be 100% unbiased. 

Reporters of all media types flocked to my small college and basically went to great lengths to get information.  When I say great lengths I mean they were almost pathetic looking as they  bought meals for students, followed them around, called them to the point of harassment etc.  Is this really how the information on the major television and newspaper news sources is found?  At what point do reporters give up and move on?  At what point is the story worth less then the bribe?  

I do not hold the answers, but I do know as student wanting to go into a field where I will be working with reporters and news sources, this definitely has opened my eyes to the reality of of the news world and how crisis news stories are handled.   

The truth is biased to the eye of the beholder (or reporter).  One day after the 'crisis' our town has been painted with a bad reputation.  This could have happened anywhere, yet the media has taken isolated occurrences to the extreme in terms of describing the 'true Milledgeville.'  GCSU has not escaped from the media reputation storm either.  

Being on the other side of the story and hearing what actually makes the cut to the public is very interesting to me.  It has shown me that the media can curve any story to make it fit into the 'newsworthy' category.  (Milledgeville is not just a 'party school with a Piggly Wiggly that sells beer kegs'). 

As a public relations student this event has taught me to edit and control the amount of information that the news media receives.  Also on a side note the first thing that everyone should do when in a crisis is to remain calm, so you can think through the problem clearly.  The quicker you loss your cool the easier it is to be manipulated and attract more unwanted attention.  

I hope that people will take them to realize that Milledgeville and GCSU have class, history, and culture (more then what is getting credited for in the media).  Also realize that what you hear and read you have to take with a grain of salt in terms of the percentage of truth that you are receiving. 

As a side note through this crisis I have lost respect for a certain news media considering their glaring AP style errors (that I would have gotten counted off for as a student) and lack of research they put into their story.  

Integrated Communication in the Digital Age

Integrated Communications uses several methods of communication to transmit a consistent and affective message. In the digital age of media, Integrated Communications now has a new wave of media to discover and use accordingly. Clients are now faced with the challenge of fitting and molding their messages into the 24/7 spectrum of digital media.

The evolution of wireless internet is a key compound to consider in the digital age of Integrated Communications. What started out as small internet ‘hotspots’ has expanded across cities as ‘wireless internet clouds’ in epic proportion. The revolution of wireless internet has made it possible to access information anywhere on laptops, cell phones, iPods and other portable media devices. People now can access the world by the swipe of a finger in the palm of their hands. To create an effective Integrated Communications campaign in the digital age, agencies should discover and create innovative ways to harness and use this medium of information.

As a result of the 24/7 availability of information, people are now the ‘gatekeepers’ to their own information. With this in mind, it is also important to consider who people are trusting as their source of information. The average person most likely does not choose to receive his/her information from one source. Instead, they might watch it on television, read an article online and then read opinions on the topic through various blogs they follow. To have an affective Integrated Communications campaign, a client should attempt to cover a ‘solid’ amount of digital informational media. Traditional media will only cover a portion the media spectrum that is being used in today’s society. In the digital age, the public is now becoming part of the media because of their ability to contribute to the informational world. People like to know that their opinions can be heard and could possible influence others.

In order to stand out among the clutter of the digital world, clients need to stay one step ahead of the information cycle. They need to have an online presence and reputation in the digital world in order to survive. Reputations can fall in a matter of seconds in the digital age, but this can be prevented or repaired by building supporters and a strong respectful presence in the digital world.

The digital age is a 24/7 world, where seconds matter and old news is counted in minutes. The rate of information is now traveling faster then ever and people become impatient and will turn to other sources when they are forced to wait. The good news for Integrated Communications is that now there is a whole other ballpark to play in. The key to implementing a successful Integrated Communications campaign in the digital age will call for creativity, a fast informational turn-around, and the ability to reach the masses without overpowering the message. With these key skills in mind clients can succeed in conquering and harnesses the masses in the digital age.

PR and The Real World

Sometimes I feel like I am ready to conquer the 'real world' and then there is that moment that knocks me down and makes me realize that I have much to learn before I can spread my wings.  As a college I live in the 'college bubble' which sits happily outside of the 'real world', but like any bubble once its popped there is no going back.  

Last Friday I was able to get a glimpse of the 'real world' by attending PR Real World in Atlanta.  While I was there I was able to network with other public relations students and gain valuable insight from professionals in the industry.  After attending a similar conference in New York, I learned not to look at the title of a conference session, but to look at who is speaking.  One of the most interesting sessions I attended was on 'How to Seal the Deal', which was put on by the HR directors of two amazing public relations agencies, Ketchum and Porter Novelli.  Both directors gave great insight into what to do and what they look for in cover letters, resumes and interviews.  It was one of those surreal moments when you realize that the person on the other side of the email that could change your life forever, is human.  Both ladies where extremely down to earth and helped to uncover several myths and fears that fellow students and I had about the application process.

The majority of the speakers at PR Real World, did not know what they wanted to do after graduation and were not ready to jump into the real world either.  This made me feel ten times better about my approaching graduation date.  I also realized that the real world of public relations a) no two days are every alike and b) is extremely competitive.  A few speakers I found hard to talk to because they were light years ahead of me in terms of experience and appeared almost intimidating.  

Overall though I thought the experience was beneficial in terms of finding out how to take the next step and what I need to do to improve and make myself marketable to this competitive and fast-paced industry.  

*I also learned that Nine West makes more then one brown, light plaid, suit :)

The Heart of the Matter!

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America.  The month of February is American Heart Month and all month long organizations attempt spread the word about how to prevent this horrible disease.   

This semester I am doing an internship at Putnam General Hospital and last Friday I was able to assist with the women's Go Red Campaign for the Ladies of the Landing at Reynolds Plantation.  For the event we gave out promotional items with the hospital's logo on them.  One of the items was a prescription bottle that we filled with M&M's and I created a label that mimicked a prescription from 'Dr Sweet Heart.'  The labels also included a heart fact.  I also assisted the with the table decorations and door prizes.  

Dr. Lipman was the speaker at the event.  His lecture was very informative on how to prevent heart disease and stroke by changing certain aspects of your lifestyle.  Not only was I able to help put this event together, but it also was an educational opportunity in terms of learning how to eat and live a healthier lifestyle, which is something that is hard to do in a 'college lifestyle.'  

I was glad to be a part of this event because heart disease runs in my family.  My grandfather passed away from a heart attack at the age of 34 in the parking lot of the grocery store.  It is important for people to know how to change their lifestyle in terms of food and exercise to help prevent these situations from happening.  For more information on heart disease and how you can take steps to prevent it go to americanheart.org

You are what you tweet!!

Social media is the new horizon of news, and networking. It is fastly becoming the 'it' way to find out what is happening in the world. Part of me enjoys the fact that I can follow people and find out what the population thinks and says about current topics, but about 20% is still scared to commit 'too much' of myself to the social media world.

This week our assignment for PR Campaigns was the 'Twitter Challenge' where we had to tweet a total of 35 times in a week and find 25 new PR professionals or businesses to follow. After doing this challenge I can easily see why people are addicted to tweeting. Twitter is the one place where people can go and interact with others without the time delay of email or the clutterness of facebook and myspace. For those that are on the go it provides the perfect balance of news highlights and updates on friends. You could say that it is like Facebook- Lite.

Twitter is what you make of it. I think people are attracked to it because they can control what the see and hear by who they follow. It is completely personal and I would venture to say that no two twitter feeds are alike.

My twitter feed consists of classmates, pr professionals, pr agencies and organizations, news networks, sports teams and a couple of celebs.  Over the course of this challenge I have come to realize the value of of follow pr professionals and agencies.  The majority of them tweet interesting and valuable tips or articles about my field of study.  I have found that they also post job openings and internships!  

Before this challenge I would tweet whenever I remembered to or whenever the thought crossed my mind and then I would spend a hour or two seeing what I had missed since I last updated. Now that am following more people in the public relation field I am starting to understand the value of twitter in terms of networking.

Twitter is a valuable resource that has now become a part of my daily 'email check' time. I think that this challenge would have been eaiser for me if I had internet access on my phone. My days are so busy that I rarely get a chance to sit at a computer during the course of day. For my next phone I think I will consider paying the extra money to have access to the internet and to be connected with the world all the time and not just when I have a chance.

 Follow me @mariannamiller on twitter!!