Learn how and why men communicate for dating and PR purposes!

Hello blogosphere! The semester is coming to an end and this is my final post on SA&P’s group blog! I thought I would switch it up a little and talk about a book that I am currently reading and how it can help myself, and others relate to men within the PR industry.

I am currently half way through comedian Steve Harvey’s book Act like a lady, think like a man. In Harvey’s book, he offers women tips on what really goes on inside a man’s head. Harvey also offers his view on what mean are really thinking when it comes to dating, sex, having kids, settling down and most importantly: RELATIONSHIPS!

The first thing that came to mind when reading the book was that PR is all about relationships! So I figured maybe this book would help me understand the simple, and sometimes stupid minds of men pertaining to dating as well as the business aspect of PR. I try to read and learn new things to help improve my communication skills as much as possible.

What I have already learned in life, is that men and women think completely different. The best way to get to a man (through advertising, PR or marketing) is through sex … the best way to get to a woman (also through advertising, PR or marketing) is through her emotions. The two different genders function very differently when it comes to communication.

Harvey’s book has given me a lot of knowledge and insight on how to approach men when it comes to dating and has influenced my thought process on how to market to men as well as communication with men in the PR/marketing/communications industry.

I will be able to better communicate with men if I understand how they function and why they function the way they do. Harvey’s book has definitely helped me gain insight to those two questions. Harvey has a whole chapter dedicated to explaining why men love and how. In order to market or communicate clearly to a target audience (for example, the target audience could be men), it makes sense to understand what motivates them, what they do and don’t like and why they function the way they do.

I am only half way through the book right now, but I would definitely recommend anyone needing help in the dating department or PR/communication department to pick a copy up and read it!

If you have read the book and would like to touch on other ways in which it relates to PR, ways in which I have not pointed out, feel free to leave your comments! Thanks for reading and happy end of the semester everyone!

-- Samantha Savory

Now it's time to say goodbye...

Hello everyone,

This will be my last post of the semester, so I wanted to make it interesting. Don't get me wrong, I want these posts to be informative, but I don't want to bore you to tears. So I thought, what better to entertain while informing, than to discuss PR and celebrity news?

What celebrity is better to talk about and perhaps learn from than our favorite Mouseketeer, the infamous Britney Spears? Since the beginning of her career, she has remained fodder for the tabloids. Every day there is something in the news about her erratic behavior, crazy antics, legal issues or her comeback. Is her star on the rise? I’ll let you be the judge.

Lately all we’ve been heard from the Spears camp is how well she is doing. After a much publicized divorce, a bevy of child custody hearings and a “mental breakdown," Spears is said to be back to her old self again. Unfortunately for her, episodes like the one that took place on Thursday, April 9, 2009, don’t do much for her reformed image. Apparently during her concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, fifteen minutes into her set, Spears left the stage for more than a half an hour stating that there was too much smoke in the arena. An announcement was made to the crowd stating that the show would “resume when the smoke on stage was cleared.” The clearing of the smoke took about 30 minutes, after which she was back on stage in all of her lip synching glory. Spears ended the show on an even stranger note by saying, “Drive safe, don’t smoke weed and rock out with your c**ks out! Peace mother f**kers!”


Now I don’t know about you, but this little episode is not a great signal of Ms. Spears’ mental well-being. Her PR practitioners have been working day and night since she broke onto the music scene to build and maintain her image. She has done quite a lot of damage to that image in the past three years or so, but it seemed as though her career was on the mend. Obviously her problems have not gone away. I believe that this stems from the fact that instead of caring for her personal, physical and mental well-being, the people around her (including her PR practitioners) focused only on getting her career back on track.


It’s about the bottom line. How much money would they lose from her failing career? When would it be too late to have a comeback? How soon is too soon to get her back onto the studio? I think that all of these questions were posed and instead of really taking the time to see if she was ready to go back into the spotlight, they put her back on the hamster wheel and hoped for the best. If I were her PR practitioner, I would have raised concerns, citing how her career would greatly benefit from her complete recovery and if my concerns were not heard, I would quit, stating that I did not feel right continuing to represent the Spears camp.


Here are some words of wisdom for all of you burgeoning PR professionals out there. You are not only governed by your paychecks. Your personal morals and convictions should also be your guide, and what is good for your bank account may not always be good for the person you’re representing. PR is a business like any other and the bottom line does matter, but there is a personal line that must be drawn. Would you continue to enable Britney Spears?


Porsche


http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/hollywood/britney-spears-walks-off-stage-breaking-down-212639/#blog

Blogs & Television-- The newest combo!

Social media is taking over the world, especially when it comes to TV shows. Shows from Larry King Live on CNN to The Real World on MTV, it seems like every show has a blog that allows viewers to tell others their opinions of their favorite shows. MTV has even gone so far as to post the blog comments at the bottom of the screen while the show is airing. It's insane how social media and the mass media are converging and taking over!

The big NCAA Championship game is airing tonight starring North Carolina's Wayne Ellington and Michigan State's Goran Suton where the New York Times is providing sports fans with a live blog. The NY Times editors are at the game are blogging every two to three minutes updating fans on what is going on in the stadium, providing information and insight that might not be available on national television. The opprotunity of blogs are cheap and easy and they provide people with the information that they want instantly.

Everyone is blogging from sports fans to reality TV show junkies and I don't think blogging is going any where any time soon. Communities stay in touch and keep each other informed through blogging and other social media outlets. Blogging, like any other thing in life, has its negatives and positives but I personally think that the good outweighs the bad. People can educate others on topics ranging from preventions of yeast infections to how to cook a good samon dinner with the right seasoning, and it's all available from the touch of a mouse.

In my opinion, blogs are the most popular form of social media and that's why television stations are incorporating them with their shows. Do you agree? If not, what form of social media do you think is the most popular and why?

-- Samantha Savory

Broaden Your Social Media Vocabulary

Hello everyone. Today I decided to focus a little less on public relations and more on social media. I found this website that basically provides anyone in need with a social media glossary. Now, I don’t know about you, but sometimes the terms used to describe social media and its various forms can be confusing. So I thought that I would bring a little more enlightenment to the most heard and used terms used when discussing social media. This is a list that I compiled of the most used and misunderstood terms when dealing with social media according to OurMedia.org:

1. Creative Commons: This term is used to describe a “not-for-profit” organization and licensing system that offers creators the ability to fine-tune or adjust their copyright. It basically provides people with information on how others may use their works (OurMedia.org).


2. Digital story: This term refers to a short personal nonfiction narrative that is written often for online publishing or publishing to a DVD. They are usually 2-5 minutes long and can include anything, from music to video (OurMedia.org).


3. Mash-up: This term can refer to many definitions, but there are two that are the most widely used. The most commonly used mash-ups are video mash-ups. This is generally what’s done on YouTube. It is when one combines two or more pieces of video to create new content. Music mash-ups are more of the same. They are a combination of two or more songs, usually with the vocals of one song overlaid on top of the melody of another (OurMedia.org).


4. Personal Media: This term refers to user-created media. It is generally used to describe at-home work, such as videos and audio. It can be shared on social networking sites, as well as, various types of social media (OurMedia.org).


5. Prosumer: This term is a combination of the words “consumer” with “producer”. The term was coined by Alvin Toffler in 1980 and it refers to an “amateur” who has the specific skill set of one who is trained as a producer (OurMedia.org).


I have seen and heard these terms quite often the past few semesters and I decided that it would be a pretty good idea to look them up. In the process I thought that it could be beneficial to all of those who read this blog to see these definitions as well. As future PR practitioners, it is not only important to know how to use social media and all of its accompanying technologies, but to also know the language. This is just a small collection of terms and definitions. I encourage all of you to go out and look up the words that you don’t necessarily understand, because it will come in handy when you enter the workforce. How do you feel about learning the new social media “cyber-language”? Do you believe it’s important or do you think we should just pick it up as we go? I’d love to hear from you.

Porsche

http://ourmedia.org/learning-center/glossary

Millennials Are Good People

The characteristics of Millennials, a.k.a. the Net Gen, was the topic of discussion in my advertising class on Thursday. My professor was quick to describe the bad qualities that Millennials (the entire class) are said to have, one of them being how we think we are so special.
(Picture- http://techyness.com/2008/05/)


She described us as being very sheltered and of having egos that were boosted by our parents. We apparently need to be able to access everything from food to information at the blink of an eye. She also said that we are overly confident. In a business setting, we are known to have the “nobody can fire me because I quit” attitude. We are goal-oriented, and we think that we will reach our goals faster by going to college.

The list goes on.


Come on! Give me a break! Millennials are always being put down. We cannot help that our parents want the best for us. Baby boomers laugh at the fact that parents tell their children that they are still winners even if they have lost. The funny thing is that they are the parents.


Mandla made things worse when he raised his hand and said that he just could not see himself working 40 hours a week for another man to gain all of the wealth. His statement was a little cocky, but very logical. Millennials want to be reflections of their exemplars: the baby boomer parents. We want to own our own businesses and make millions of dollars, too.

My professor should have mentioned the good qualities of Millennials. We are the collaborating generation. Instead of watching television all day like the baby boomers did, Millennials are growing up interacting. Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Habbo are some of the social media Web site giants that Millennials use as communications marketplaces.

I admit, we like to get our research fast. If we want to know how many people in China buy Chinese Barbie dolls every year, we can type it up on Google and get some kind of information about the subject.

Baby boomers and Generation Xers should point out the healthy brain-stimulating habits that Millennials have instead of making us seem like lazy rebels.

What are some other things that you have heard about Millennials?

-Armegan

President Obama's PR—is it working in his favor?

I’m sure all of you have seen President Barack Obama every where from cable television to the internet. Whether it was an appearance on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, an appearance on ESPN, to his weekly addresses to the nation, President Obama is continuing his phenomenal PR (even after the campaign) in order to help keep the nation informed on our financial crisis(s) as well as putting in a significant effort in maintaining his positive ratings among Americans. Everyone knows his number one priority is promoting and selling the stimulus bill … what other way to do so then to go to cable shows that millions of the average American watches and tell them about it? Spectators say that president Obama’s aggressive PR campaign seems to be aimed at making the president more human, as he communicates straightforwardly to the American public about the pros and cons of our rugged economy and the stimulus package.

Along with the President being on his “PR grind,” his wife, Michelle Obama has easily been seen on several magazine covers and has appeared on several talk shows to help promote the positive image of her family, particularly her husband and his decisions with the economy. The Obama’s are flooding the mass media every which way you look with positive images and messages to the public in hopes that the nation will support them and help them make the “change” in our nation and the world that President Obama originally campaigned on.

But is the bold decision to be in the nations faces so often a good idea, or is he overexposing himself and wearing the nation down? It seems like the far right conservative blogs and commentators think he’s not doing such a hot job, but let’s be honest; will Republicans and all the Fox News junkies ever be happy with President Obama and his decisions? Most likely NOT! I think President Obama is genius for some how managing all of our countries trying issues (everything from the drug war in Mexico, to America’s current recession to fighting the war on terror). I would love to hear your thoughts on our president and how he’s done thus far….
-- Samantha Savory

You Can't Control Everything

I was having a conversation with my friend the other day about the Rihanna/Chris Brown situation. In particular we were discussing how all of the sponsorships that Chris Brown had, have been taken off the air. Brown had numerous commercials and was the spokesperson for brands like Double Mint Gum; but after his most recent run in with the law and the impending trial he is facing, his spots were quickly removed from the air and he no longer does press for this company or any of the others he represented. This brought me to the topic for this blog, spokespersons. According to “Strategic Planning for Public Relations” by Ronald D. Smith, there are three categories of rhetoric. One of those categories is Ethos. Ethos is persuasion based on the character of the person delivering the message. It’s also based upon how the audience perceives the speaker and it can be divided into three C’s:

1. Credibility- the power to inspire belief.
2. Charisma- having a magnetic appeal (also thought of as charm or “swagger”).
3. Control- the spokesperson’s command over the audience.

Now, as we all know Chris Brown at one point in time had all of these qualities, making him an excellent spokesperson. Unfortunately for him, when the news broke about his alleged altercation with Rihanna, he lost at least two of these things. His charisma seems to have stayed in tact. He hasn’t made any real public appearances since the incident, but once someone has charisma, it’s pretty hard to lose. His control however has suffered. Many are unwilling to acknowledge him because of recent events and therefore he lacks any command over an audience. Lastly, and most importantly in this case, his credibility has taken a huge hit. Once a clean faced, young man with a bright future and loads of talent, Brown is now thought of in a far more negative light. He has lost that credibility that made him such a noteworthy performer and celebrity spokesperson and once credibility is lost it is nearly impossible to get it back.

So this brings me to my main point. When you are an established PR professional and you are given the task to choose a spokesperson, remember, that even though they may seem ideal for your company, they are human beings and ultimately their actions are out of your control. The best you can do is choose someone who fits your company’s image the best and be prepared to do any kind of damage control that comes around if it doesn’t work out. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Talk to you later.

--Porsche