Jessica

The Iron Bowl is without a doubt the biggest football rivalry in the Southeastern Conference.  The game sparks hatred between Auburn University and Alabama University around this time every year.  As the two teams play against one another for the 70^th time, students leaders from Alabama travel to Auburn University for another longstanding tradition:  Better Relations Day.

Better Relations Day was created by former Dean of Students James E. Foy.  The annual meeting between the schools takes place the week of the Iron Bowl and is held at the university hosting the football game.  The idea behind Better Relations Day is to allow the two schools to learn from one another by sharing ideas, plans and ambitions of the two schools.  Better Relations Day was also designed to combat the negative competitive spirit that almost ended the athletic relations between the two schools.

This year the itinerary included a callouts experience in the upper Quad, a breakfast with the leaders from each school, campus tours, counterpart meetings (ie. SGA president from Alabama meets with SGA President from Auburn), a visit to the Athletic Museum, Tiger Walk and a signing of the Better Relations Agreement.

It all sounds like a truly enriching and growing experience, right?

Let’s be honest.  The entire concept only works in sentiment, and I’m not impressed by the idea that we can all superficially get along for the day and “agree” to better relate to one another.  If you have to create a day for better relations, you might want to go back and find out why relations are so bad in the first place.  All of these “bad relations” can’t stem from one football game, can they?  Plus, I doubt that much can be accomplished in a day full of tours and meals that would significantly improve relations between two schools that harbor such deep-seated hatred for one another.

I think that Better Relations Day might better serve our schools if it was a Better Relations Week and occurred more than once a year.  I believe that both schools have much more to offer (or at least they should) than talented football teams.  Maybe the week could be centered around some of our other accomplishments, like Tiger Nights (ha!).  But seriously, if we our aim is to promote better relations, we shouldn’t concern ourselves with such superficial activities.  Let’s get down to the meat of the problem and really talk about why we feel the way we do and what can be done about it. 

More businesses should look into using Myspace as a marketing tool.

For those you who aren’t aware, Myspace.com is a social-networking site created by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson.  The site was created for members who want to friends, families who want to keep in touch, business people and co-workers interested in networking, and classmates and study partners.

I’ve been a myspacer since last year, mainly using it to keep in touch with friends and to search for up and coming musicians.  Every once in a while, I get random friend requests from bands (usually ones that are playing in Auburn in the near future), but earlier this semester, I received a friend request from a local print shop, which I thought was equally as random.

The profile photo was eye-catching, and so I went to check out their profile.  The profile was funny and well-designed.  Looking through the other pictures in the profile, I was able to see the quality and creativeness of the work the print shop team produced (mainly screen-printed clothing and accessories).  Their sense of humor was also showcased in the modeling of their t-shirts.

After looking at the profile, I was sold.  Mammoth Printshop became my Myspace friend.  They sent me a friend request around the time I was looking at designs for the Tiger Nights t-shirt, and if it weren’t for a pesky copyright law, I would have used them for the job.

If any business is looking to target a teen or young adult crowd, it should definitely look into creating a Myspace account.  Once a business creates an account, they could search for keywords in user’s profiles in order to find myspacers that might be interested in their product or service.

And Myspace is only growing in popularity.  In an article written for BusinessWeek online, Steve Rosenbush explained that as of October, the site has recorded 24.2 million individual users, which is up 12 percent from its September numbers.  It’s not simply a lot of people using the site either.  Myspace also recorded an average of 21 million visitors to the site in the months of July, August and September.  Traffic for the site has increased so much in the past month that Myspace replaced eBay as the fourth-busiest site.  This site has almost twice the number of page views as Google.  Think about it folks.  This is huge.

 If a small print shop in Auburn, Alabama can win a customer through this site, why couldn’t anyone else?

Retailers, like Wal-Mart, usually have sales specials on products the day after Thanksgiving debut a few days before.  Last year, Wal-Mart decided to not have as many price-slashing deals as they had in the past.  They thought that their name could bring in the business in on its own.  But if your name is tied to low-cost items, you should probably live up to it.  As a result of their decision not to live up to that name, Wal-Mart saw a decrease in sales during the Christmas season. 

However, Wal-Mart’s information of sales apparently leaked to several Web sites.  According to the article from CNN, Gottadeal.com, posted the list of Wal-Mart’s Black Friday bonanza on blackfriday.gottadeal.com  Gottadeal.com is claiming that “the retailer is apparently hoping to lure holiday shoppers by slashing prices on consumer electronics, DVDs, home products and toys.”  Marshal Cohen from NPD Group, a market research firm, warns that this information does give the competition time to respond while creating a buzz.

The leak, despite the fact that the information may or may not be true, potentially can help Wal-Mart.  First, consumers have even more time to respond to deals.  If the customers, for example, hear that they can buy an HP laptop for under $400, they will probably decide to make Wal-Mart their first stop for Christmas shopping.  And since Wal-Mart “has everything under one roof,” customers are likely to buy other items, like stocking stuffers while they are there.

On the other hand, competitors also have time to react to Wal-Mart’s specials and make some of their own.  Knowing your competitor’s secrets, especially as big as a competitor as Wal-Mart, is a tremendous advantage to other businesses planning huge sales for the day after Thanksgiving.  If nothing else, Wal-Mart’s competitors now have a gauge by which to base their individual sale specials.

Wal-Mart spokesperson Gail Lavielle responded to the reports:
“We have not released any information about Black Friday,” she said. “As long as something is not officially released by us, we can’t vouch for it.”
I think this comment was a smart move on her part.  Now, if Wal-Mart doesn’t have the sales, customers can’t hold the company responsible, but she didn’t dispel the rumors either, which will make the customers still come to take advantage of Wal-Mart’s specials.

Also, Wal-Mart’s competitors have to wonder whether this is simply a tactic to make them drive their prices even lower and possibly put them out of business. 
In spite of the disaster that could have occurred as result of the leak, Lavielle did an excellent job of saving-face for her company.  

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, an advertising agency out of San Francisco, just released a new “got milk” ad parodying the recent major league baseball steroid scandal.  The commercial is about a baseball player who gets removed from the game “after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.”  Later on in the commercial, the player’s coach pulls a carton of milk from the player’s locker.

According to Jeff Goodby, co-founder of the San Francisco advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the ad was meant to show how drinking milk can naturally give athletes the same benefits as steroids or other drugs.  In spite of the positive message that was intended, some people in the major league baseball industry were offended by the advertisement.

“There is nothing humorous about steroid abuse,” said Tim Brosnan, executive vice president for business for the league. “I would think that the California Milk Processor Board and their advertising agency would know better regarding an issue that threatens America’s youth.”  Not to mention how much of a slap in the face it must be to athlete’s who have recently been punished for steroid use.

Maybe those players deserve a slap in the face, but I think that Goodby and his associates could have used more tact in their advertising decisions.  There are other ways to show the benefits of drinking milk to athletes and potential athletes without parodying a negative occurrence in the world of sports.  The “got milk” website even displays the benefits: 

“Milk isn’t only a calcium source, it’s a nutritional powerhouse with additional performance enhancing properties like protein and vitamin D. That’s why top athletes drink four to five 8-ounce glasses of milk daily.  Research shows that milk supports muscle protein accretion, as well as being an excellent choice for a long lasting muscle-protecting protein. Plus, milk contains whey — the most common form of protein found in bodybuilding supplements.” 

Why not have testimonials from top athletes advocating milk drinking?  I think that would be much more advantageous than bringing down popular sports figures.

Yet, Goodby still stands by his company’s decision.

“It’s just milk,” Goodby said. “Believe me, we know parody is based on a serious topic. So we wanted to make sure that it was goofy enough so that people didn’t get upset.”

Obviously Goodby and his associates were wrong because people are upset.  In my opinion, if the company has to resort to making fun of serious issues to keep the campaign alive, it might be a good time to generate a new campaign idea.

As you may have noted from previous posts, I’m the Tiger Nights Director for the University Program Council this year.

For those of you who haven’t heard, Tiger Nights is a late-night programming event held at the Auburn University campus once a semester.

Viva Las Tiger Nights, this fall’s event, is on October 28 from 7 p.m. until midnight.  The event will feature a Vegas-style casino (minus the actual gambling) with prizes awarded for the top winner every hour.  There will also be a grand prize given away at the end of the night.  Event-goers can also participate in inflatable games, such as bouncy boxing, jousting and a 60-foot obstacle course.  Other attractions include an airbrush tattoo booth, mechanical bull and wax hand creations.  If people are interested in the psychic realm, they can visit the psychic fair, which includes palm readings, aura readings, numerology and tarot card readings.  Some other features of the event include a Southwestern buffet and an impersonator contest for which attendees can dress up as their favorite celebrities.  The top three winners of the contest will receive a cash prize. 

Another huge part of Tiger Nights includes booths from the various international student organizations on campus.  Many of them participate in the event by displaying their cultures to attendees.  The Turkish students will be performing a native dance in front of the main stage.  Other international student groups choose to represent their culture in a more hands-on way.  For instance, the Indian students provide henna tattoos for attendees.  Japanese students make origami to give away.  Chinese students write calligraphy for participants, and the African and Caribbean students make carnival masks.  Some other souvenirs that attendees can take back home with them are caricature portraits and photos from the Drive-Thru wedding chapel photo booth.

  Yonder Mountain String Band will be playing on the main stage.  The band, four men in their twenties, is comprised of a bassist, a guitarist, a mandolin player, and a banjo player.  Since their debut in 1999, the bluegrass band has released six CDs, alternating between studio sessions and live recordings.  Yonder Mountain’s sound has been described as “Colorado’s naked bluegrass,” “alternative bluegrass,” “and Rocky Mountain music.”

 Tiger Nights is always an enjoyable event to attend because of the fall festival type atmosphere.  So if you’re in the area, come out see what we’ve been working on for the past five months.

In the journalism and pubic relations classes I’ve had this semester and in the past, I’ve always been taught to respect other people’s deadlines and schedules.  I know, from a public relations standpoint, that I need to submit a press release to a news organization in ample time for a journalist to make deadline.  In my journalism classes, I learned that when trying to set up an interview with a source, I should meet on the source’s terms, not what best fits my schedule.

Knowing all of this, I was surprised by the manner in which members of the Plainsman (campus newspaper) staff asked for information about Tiger Nights, an upcoming University Program Council event.  Friday afternoon I received a phone call from one of the staff members.  The journalist wanted to know when we could meet on Monday.  I told her that I worked until 2 p.m., but I would be happy to meet with her after I got home.  She then admitted to me that her deadline was at 5 p.m. and that she wouldn’t have enough time to finish the article. (Red flag!)  The journalist then asked if she could interview me while I was at work.  I had to explain to her that it was a job and that I would be working while I was at work.  The meeting time was finally resolved when I told her that I wasn’t opposed to meeting her over the weekend.  We scheduled the interview for Sunday afternoon.

Before I could meet with her, another person from the Plainsman called me to ask questions for her article on Tiger Nights.  (This could also be a problem for the Plainsman.)  She was adamant about talking to me immediately because her deadline was at 5 p.m. later that day.

I know that writing for the Plainsman isn’t quite like journalism in the real world, but I think that the staff should be following more professional guidelines when dealing with sources, etc.

The best way to build a positive relationship between journalists and PR practitioners is through mutual respect.  If you’re seeking valuable information from me, work with my schedule.  If I need a story to be published in the future, I’ll respect your schedule.

I’m sure that both of the articles will be well written.  The questions the girls asked were thorough and detailed.  My only problem is how they went about getting their interviews.  This is not a bash on the Plainsman.  I just think it’s a good example of how to promote better relations between journalists and PR professionals.

 

 

As I’m finalizing plans for my near future, I wonder where I will fit in within the realm of public relations.  No offense to my classmates, but sometimes I don’t feel like we’re at all alike.  I keep hearing about how public relations practitioners are all “type a” personalities, with which I have never identified. 

My friend Elaine is a teacher’s assistant in the engineering department here at Auburn.  During a recent lab that she taught, the students were required to take the Jung Typology test to determine what type of personality they had and what other types of personalities they would work well with (Much of the class revolves around some type of group work).  When Elaine told me about how the results seemed to fit her students, I was immediately interested in taking the test.

After I was finished, I was slightly shocked by the results.  The Jung test categorized me as an “Artist/Performer,” also known as ESFP, which stands for Extroverted Sensing Feeling and Perceiving.  At first, I didn’t see how I could be categorized in the same personality type as Marilyn Monroe, but when I read more about the personality type, I realized how I really did fit the mold of a ESFP.

One aspect that was spot on was about how ESFP’s think and talk in a “spider web” approach.  The results explained how we “jump from thought to thought in mid-sentence, touching here or there in a manner that’s almost incoherent to the listener, but will eventually cover the waterfront by skipping on impulse from one piece of information to another.” 

The personality test made me realize some things about myself that I hadn’t thought about in a while.  I also realized how much I have changed since the last time I took a personality assessment.  I recommend to all of you to occasionally reassess yourself to make sure that the path you chose for your life four years ago still fits the person that you’ve become today.

 

 

 

  

It seems that Ashlee Simpson may have finally redeemed herself in the eyes of the public.

Simpson’s troubles started when she was criticized for her poor performance of “Pieces of Me” at the MTV Music Video Awards in August of 2004.  Her performance was quoted as being “flat” and “off-key.”

Later that year (October), Simpson performed for Saturday Night Live.  For her first set, she sang “Pieces of Me.”  The song went over much better than it had at the music awards, but Simpson’s success was short-lived.  For her second set, she was supposed to debut her new song “Autobiography.”  Instead, she was caught lip-synching the same song from her first set.

Many of her fans were outraged, and her critics laid into her even deeper than they had before.  One fan wrote, “You have cheated your fans and people who actually thought that you had a lick of talent. You should quit the music business because you are now and always will be a complete and utter joke.” I remember people being upset about it last year in the UPC office.  One person on council even implored us all to sign a petition to get Simpson’s record label to drop her.  Simpson faced further embarrassment when she was booed at her Orange Bowl performance.  

Even though she apologized, Simpson didn’t help matters by blaming her band for the mix-up.  As we’ve been learning in our case studies class, it’s always better to accept responsibility than to shift the blame to someone else.  I think she would have retained at least a bit of credibility if she would have simply owned up to her mistakes.

Almost exactly a year later, Simpson returned to the set of Saturday Night Live, which alone is a fairly admirable feat.  Even better for Simpson, she performed her new song “Catch Me When I Fall” without incident.  She even commented that she wrote the song after her last appearance on Saturday Night Live.

I think going back to the set of SNL helped her credibility, and even though I don’t care for her music, I respect her for making things right with her fans.  Simpson is making positive steps in rebuilding her reputation. 

I was reading a post on the Cincom Simplicity blog posted by Tom Nies the other day. In his post, Nies comments on the differences between being a manager and being a leader.

According to his post, a manager is more inclined to “assert that factors such as a winning culture, efficient work processes, customer focus, planning, organization, structure, control and communication, along with marketing, research and development, and any number of other ancillary attributes are the “sine quo non” (without which there is none) for success.” In other words, managers get things done. Management, in fact, can be defined as “getting things done with people.”

Leaders, on the other hand, are more focused on inspiring people to get things done. Nies says that leaders base their focus on the belief that “it is the leaders who understand why certain opportunities exist and decide what needs to be done to optimally capitalize on these situations, and appoint or attract those who will help the leader to bring these possibilities to fruition.”

After reading the post, I began thinking of the different management or leaderships styles of the people around me. I immediately thought of the University Program Council. As director of Tiger Nights, I would consider myself to be more of a leader than a manager. I prefer to make sure that everyone on my committee is in a position where they feel most comfortable and where they can therefore perform at the best of their ability. I noticed that most of the other directors on council behave in the same way in relation to other people on their committees.

Then there is a special group of people on council: the executive council, which is comprised of a president, vice president and treasurer. When I watched the behaviors of these people, I noticed that they behaved more like managers than leaders, especially the vice president. She focuses on keeping us focused during council meetings, making sure everyone is where they are supposed to be at events (attendance), and other things that help to give organization and structure to an otherwise disorderly group of people.

The first reaction when pointing out the differences in two styles is to want to compare which one is better. Who really are more important, managers or leaders? I agree with Nies when he says that both roles are equally vital to any organization. I think that he puts it quite nicely when he says, “Just as a healthy left and a right leg are needed for a person to run forward, so too is it necessary to have both good leaders and good managers working harmoniously together to have a healthy and professional organization.”

This year in UPC I feel that we finally have found the perfect mix of managers and leaders. Each of our events this year has either been packed out or sold out, and I’m looking forward to even bigger things in store for our organization in the near future.

One of the roles of a public relations practitioner can be to advocate change or to make the public aware of a social issue. As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. So I figured I would let you know of some organization’s efforts to increase breast cancer awareness and to further research to find new treatments and a cure for the disease.

As I’ve mentioned before, I work at Panera Bread here in Auburn, and this month, the corporation is participating in Breast Cancer Awareness month by selling a “pink ribbon bagel.” A portion ($.25) of the sales of the cranberry walnut bagel, which is shaped like a ribbon, will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. According to the organization’s website, “the Komen Foundation is fighting to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by funding research grants and supporting education, screening and treatment projects in communities around the world.” This way, you can eat your most important meal of the day and donate to an important cause all in one visit.

If you’re not able to give monetarily, you could always volunteer your time. The Susan G. Komen Foundation holds the Race for the Cure. You can even volunteer at a Komen Foundation affiliate in your area to coordinate volunteers for the Race for the Cure. Relay for Life is a similar race that is held on Auburn University’s campus. One other way you can give your time is by writing your congressman a letter asking him/her to support funding of breast cancer research.

If nothing else, remember to wear a pink ribbon to remind everyone around you about the importance of regular breast exams, the need for further breast cancer research, and the memory of those who did not win their battles with breast cancer. You never know when breast cancer could affect you.

My friend was 25 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. There was no history of the disease in her family. There were no signs. The only way she discovered that she had the disease was through a routine blood test she had while she was pregnant. At this point it was too late. If she attacked the cancer, she was also going to be attacking the baby. By the time she gave birth to her child, the cancer had worsened and spread to other areas of her body.

No matter what age you are, be sure to get or give yourself a breast exam regularly. It could save your life.