Public Relations Student Society of America Networking Dinner

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Every year the Hofstra University chapter of Public Relation Student Society of America hosts an annual networking dinner event for students. Professionals from all different areas of PR are invited to come and network with Hofstra University’s communication students.

This year hosted 16 professionals that gave students different views of the employment opportunities they can explore in public relations. There were in-house communications specialists from Girl Scouts of America to large PR agencies such as Hunter and CooperKatz & Company.

The dinner was organized somewhat similar to a “speed-dating” event. Since there were so many professionals and students in attendance the students were given 15 minutes to network at their first table and eat. Then students were asked to transition to the next table every ten minutes. This way, students could meet as many professionals as possible.

The dinner provides a laid back environment for students to start making professional connections. This year Jamaican cuisine was served, a variation from the typical Italian food. Since the event was such a success pizza was also served to accommodate the large amount of students and professionals that attended.

In past years the networking event has had around 40 people in attendance. This year there were over 120 tickets sold. This was a massive improvement from past years. The event is typically held in the Hofstra University student center plaza rooms, but was moved to a larger venue Hof USA on the North side of campus.

To ease tension the students are given an informational session on how to network the day of the event. Speaker Judy Blume hosted this event and gave students various tips on how to dress and act at the professional event. Judy Blume is an adjunct public relations professor at Hofstra and has many years experience working in the industry.

This years networking dinner was themed “Find Your Match” focusing on puzzle décor. Puzzle pieces decorated the walls and tables of the venue. There was also an “Instagram” corner to give students a fun option to take photos at the event. Since PR has so much emphasis on social media this allowed students a fun option at the networking dinner.

Students are encouraged to participate in this event as many acquire internship and job opportunities from this event. Many of the PR professionals in attendance are actually Hofstra graduate students. Overall this years networking dinner turned out to be an enormous success and the Hofstra PRSSA chapter hopes to continue this success in years to come.

Listen  to a podcast on the special events committee for this event here.

Marriage Equality in the U.S.

Chart

The Morkie

Designer breeds of dogs are very popular in today’s society but the Morkie is one I hadn’t heard of until I got one. The Morkie is a cross between a Yorkshire terrier and a Maltese dog.

This breed is usually 4 to 12 pounds and can come in a variety of different colors including brown, black, tan and white. They have an average lifespan of 10 to 13 years.

This dog is the perfect choice for a first time dog owner as there are many benefits of choosing a Morkie. One of the benefits is the temperament as they have a very playful, happy, and fun attitude. The breed has the appearance of a Yorkshire terrier but the mix of Maltese calms down the usual often barking and yipping of the Yorkie.

The Morkie is hypoallergenic which means if you have bad allergies this is not something to worry about. The dog has hair similar to people instead of fur. So not only do they not shed but they will also not give people allergies.

This dog has a huge apatite and I can concur, as my dog Maya never stops eating. They love to play ball and cuddle up to people when they sleep.

The downfall to getting a Morkie is that they can be very stubborn. Many people find problems trying to train this animal due to their stubbornness however this can be overcome with a calm trainer.

Although it is a small dog it requires a lot of exercise. This animal has tons of energy and if not regularly walked and exercised it will become bored and bark at anything that passes. Not to mention that they can destroy your property if they do not get the proper exercise.

https://vimeo.com/111377942

Evolution of Smooth

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Eos Podcast

Barefoot Wine: Genius Corporate Responsibility

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Barefoot Wine has an extremely successful corporate responsibility program and other brands can learn from this creative branding.

Corporate responsibility has become vital part of a company’s PR department. Brands have been partnering up with charities and non-profit organizations for years to make the world a better place, or to make themselves look better. Whether it is Target for the Arts or Lady Gaga for gay rights. Corporate responsibility used to be an option for companies, but today it is a necessity.

Barefoot Wine is an example of corporate responsibility that partners logically to acquire the brand over 9,000 media placements. Such outlets include The Washington Post Self, USA Today, and E! News.

One of Barefoot’s biggest movements has been the beach clean up efforts. The company aims to make beaches all around the world “barefoot friendly.” Since the program started in 2007 the company has cleaned up more than 115 beaches. They have worked with over 10,000 volunteers and cleaned up trash to keep the beaches clean.

The company partnered with the Surfrider Foundation, which for the past thirty years has strived to keep the coastal environments of our country clean. Beach environments are threatened by trash and dirty water.

This partnership and cause is perfect for Barefoot Wine. The company knows their message and sticks to it. This is important in branding because many companies partner with the wrong charity or spokesperson and makes it seem inauthentic.

In my personal opinion, an example of poor branding is Mila Kunis for Jim Bean liquor. The brand does not have a streamlined message and spending large amounts of money to partner with someone who clearly has no connection to your product is just ignorant and inauthentic.

Another cause that Barefoot Wine partners with is the LGBTQ community. Many companies have jumped to this cause in recent years as issues of marriage equality have come more into question. Barefoot has been with the LGBTQ community before it was “cool.” In 1988 Barefoot made their first donation to the community and have stuck to it.

These are great examples of how to have successful corporate responsibilities. Not only does the company partner with a cause but also a community. They have a streamlines message that makes sense for the brand. It is also very clear that when they commit to a cause they stick to it as they’ve been helping the LGBTQ community since 1988. All brands should take note of this successful branding.

Day at the High Line

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Not All Publicity is Good Publicity

In a market over saturated with brand names, some companies like Urban Outfitters will do just about anything to stand out among the rest. Urban Outfitters has had a slew of poor image problems acquiring them huge amounts of publicity.

In 2003, the company released a game termed “Ghettopoly.” The game outraged the African American community as it focused on racist stereotypes. The racism was degrading and offensive causing controversy to surround the company.

This was just the beginning of the company’s scandal. In 2008, the founder of Urban Outfitters donated thousands of dollars to homophobic campaigns. The company also removed shirts from the shelves that read, “I support Same Sex Marriage” within weeks of the campaign donations. People are entitled to their beliefs, but publicly promoting hate can never help a company’s image.

In 2010 Urban Outfitters released a t-shirt with the words “Eat Less” displayed on the front. The company was blatantly promoting eating disorders. Promoting such a controversial subject created large amounts of backlash.

This September 2014, the company released a “vintage Kent State sweatshirt.” The shirt was a faded red color with what looked like blood spatter and bullet holes. With the shooting at Kent State this sweatshirt is extremely offensive. This was extremely inappropriate of the company to gain attention over such a somber event. This is one of the company’s lowest moments. They claimed that it was supposed to be “sun faded” but the look of the sweatshirt, mixed with the Kent State emblem, made it clear what the sweatshirt was alluding to.

The company image can best be described as ignorant. They may call the scandals a “joke” or “honest mistake” but nevertheless the company has still made such awful lapses in judgment. To release racist games and offensive t-shirts is just insensitive and there is no excuse.

The company has still been able to keep business, but it seems it is only a matter of time before people realize they have gone too far. What insensitive t-shirt will they release next?

Urban Outfitters is the perfect example of how not all-good press is good press. Yes, the company most likely made headlines in top outlets, but this is nothing to be proud of. The company is now faced with poor public image, something that will be difficult to shake. Let the awful image of this company be a lesson to others thinking of performing stunts just to acquire publicity.

Image Bender

The brand Apple certainly caught people’s attention this past week when the new iPhone 6 started bending from normal use. The iPhone isn’t the only thing bending as Apple’s image seems to be changing with this as well.

The larger iPhone 6 was released September 19, 2014 after much hype just as all the previous iPhones. This iPhone however was followed with some controversy. Days after the release reports surfaced that the phone was bending in people’s pockets.

The brand is so obsessed with perfection and design now is faced with embarrassment. This could be a huge hit to the brands image as the products are held to such high standards and suffer from what seems like such a silly mistake.

The embarrassment has also led to a number of other brands such as Samsung taking advantage of the situation and releasing their own ads against the new iPhone such as the one below.

Apple is known for acting above the “typical” brand apologies and statements. Usually Apple ignores claims such as the iPhone bending or stalls making any statements until later. However the brand seems to be bending as well.

On September 25, 2014 Apple released the following statement.

“Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use.

With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus.” (Business Insider)

Apple made this statement before this mini crisis could become overwhelming. Perhaps this is a taste of a new “friendlier” Apple. The brand that has dominated the mobile phone market previously did not often engage in making such statements towards rumors floating around the Internet.

This could be due to Tim Cook changing Apple’s communication policy, which previously did not deal with many rumors such as this one.

Maybe the company will use this new communication strategy to finally join the booming social media world. Social media is a so far untouched realm for Apple, which is strange seeing as how it is such a staple for almost every other company out there.

Could this be a new start for Apple? Apple has been so successful in the past will this new communication strategy help or hinder the company? Only time will tell for Apple.

The Power of Social Media

Brand presence on social media is always a big concern for PR professionals but what happens when online reputation goes terribly wrong? The Union Street Guest House in Hudson, New York recently found out. The hotel was experiencing negative online reviews and decided to create a “no negative review” policy. The policy read as follows.

“If you have booked the inn for a wedding or other type of event … and given us a deposit of any kind … there will be a $500 fine that will be deducted from your deposit for every negative review … placed on any internet site by anyone in your party.” (New York Post)

The response was outrage. Thousands of angry customers took to social media such as Yelp.com to leave negative reviews and one star ratings for the hotel. There were a few people who shared the emails received from the Union Street Guest House alerting them that they would be fined for their negative review if not removed immediately. You can see the awful reviews here although Yelp.com removed many of them, which is an unethical issue of its own.

The worst part of this entire fiasco is how the hotel handled the situation. After getting over 3,000 bad reviews in rebellion of the policy, the owner Chris Wagoner released a statement stating that “it was originally intended as a joke and never something I told employees to enforce.” Wagoner continued to admit, “however, since it was listed on our website it did represent an official policy. I now realize this joke was made in poor taste and not at all funny. This is no longer a policy of Union Street Guest House and we have taken it off of our website.”

There are two lessons to be taken from this PR disaster. The first is that you can’t control social media. You can’t choose what people post about your brand online. Even deleting negative comments on a site can be unethical and give your brand an even worse image.

The second lesson from this story is to admit your mistakes. Although many people think PR is about “putting a spin” on a story this is not necessarily true. In an age of social media and fast news cycles brands must be transparent because lying will only make the problem worse. Honesty is key and saying a policy, which they attempted to enforce, is just joke is an awful response. The timing of this statement also took far too long. In the quick news cycles this apology statement should have been made faster.

This situation will surely ruin the Union Street Hotel’s image and will be very hard for this company to recover. Especially with the hotel’s already poor image this hotel is now even less desirable.

About Us

PR student keeps you up to date on current Public Relations news and tips that students should know about. Every week we feature posts that can teach you what’s going on outside the classroom in the ever changing fast-paced PR world. Your one spot stop for everything a PR needs to know. Learn all about PR success stories and PR gone wrong here at The PR Student.