May Program Presentation: How Public Relations Practitioners Can Help Organizations Adapt to COVID-19
Click here for our latest virtual program from this month’s presenter – Julie O’Neil: PRSA COVID 19 Presentation O’Neil.
“To succeed in the world of PR, it takes A PRo!”
April 12 – GFW PRSA April Luncheon
Sponsored by: Lemon Meetings & Events
Learn about the world of becoming an APR when you join the PRSA Greater Fort Worth chapter on Wednesday, April 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
During this month’s luncheon, you’ll learn how to profess what you know with the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), which symbolizes distinction and demonstrates an experienced PR professional’s mastery of strategic communications and their personal and professional commitment to lifelong learning and ethical standards. We will hear the APR journey from some of our newest APRs and pin them recognizing this esteemed professional accomplishment.
Account executives from ROXO, TCU’s student-run advertising agency will also join us to share some of their top-notch campaigns from the past year.
By Carolyn Bobo, APR, Fellow PRSA
The Worthy Awards are back! The annual contest, like those held by other chapters, gives area communications, marketing and public relations professionals an opportunity to honor and celebrate creativity, strategic thinking and professional ability.
Worthy entries will be judged by professionals like you who understand the challenges of time, budget, staff and other factors that go into efforts to support our organizations or clients. Don’t be shy; identify your best efforts and enter them. But be sure to allow plenty of time to think about your work from beginning to end and prepare a strong narrative to showcase your project.
Terminology and tactics have changed over the years, but the fundamentals of our profession remain the foundation for contests: research, planning, execution and measurement. Read the entry form closely and be sure to explain:
Some tips for entrants:
Explain any type of research. A textbook campaign includes qualitative and/or quantitative research, but that isn’t always feasible or necessary. Judges know this, but they expect your entry narrative to show your knowledge of options and professional literacy. The judges want to know that you observed the public or market, and then thought about how to reach it. Use textbook terminology. For example, best practices review, media audit, literature search, anecdotal reports or even a brainstorming session may be described as secondary, informal research.
Explain the strategic purpose of your entry. Was your intent to create name recognition, influence behavior, increase sales, raise funds? Describe any factors about the program or tactic that will help judges understand your decisions. Judges are not likely to be familiar with our market and geographic area, so be sure to include details about population, annual sales, number of employees, consumers, etc., that help them understand the scope of your efforts.
Explain which tactics were chosen and why.
Remember that the judges won’t know that your tactic was spot-on unless you tell them. If your work required extraordinary skills or a budget challenge, be sure to say so. If media relations are part of your entry, be sure to note that we work in the fifth largest media market in the country (Nielsen) and that there is fierce competition for mass media attention.
Describe how the target responded and how you learned about its response. Program evaluation and measurement may be a replication of preliminary research or of other activities. For example, measures can be election results, a sales increase, ROI, donor or donation increase, or the number of participants/responses that exceeded expectations. Include as much measurable and anecdotal response as possible; describe future plans.
If comprehensive research was not needed, say so. For example, “More than 5,000 people in our target public responded to the activity. We expected only 3,000, so we did not repeat our preliminary research to measure interest.”
Or, if the goal was “to generate five media stories,” the result must show five (or more) media reports. If the purpose is “to raise awareness,” the results must show a measurable increase in awareness.
Remember that evaluation results must must must match your stated goal or purpose, i.e., “Why our work mattered.”
Good luck!
(Carolyn has been a member of Fort Worth PRSA since 1999 and was previously a member of contest-hosting chapters in New Mexico and South Carolina.)
Two volunteers are needed to serve as professional advisors for teams participating in the annual PRSSA Bateman Competition. Between November 2013 and March 2014, the volunteer mentors will serve as a sounding board for their designated team to provide guidance on research, strategic planning, execution and preparing the final campaign submission book. Professionals who have experience developing entries for award programs would be particularly helpful. Please contact Mindia Whittier at whittier@uta.edu to volunteer.
The Greater Fort Worth Chapter is hosting a booth at an event for UTA students called Communication Day on October 31st. We need volunteers from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. to staff the booth. Volunteers will talk about PRSA, the benefits of joining, and any other related topics. Also, the university hopes to connect students with internship opportunities. Therefore, the volunteers are welcome to highlight the internship programs at their place of employment. And, all chapter members are welcome to send information about their internship programs (for example, job descriptions, application procedures / guidelines and business cards) for distribution to students. For more information, contact contact Mindia Whittier at whittier@uta.edu.