Kelli

Warrr Eagle!! It was the Iron Bowl this past weekend and it was also my last home game as a student at Auburn, but definitely not my last game ever!  It was incredible, the first quarter was some of the greatest football I have ever seen. Of course Auburn won with a 28-18 victory for the fourth year in a row.  I love my Auburn Tigers.

The Iron Bowl was first played at the Birmingham’s Lakeview Baseball Park on February 22, 1893 with only 450 people in attendance.  The Iron Bowl became dormant from 1907-1948.  Rumors are that it was suspended because violence at the game in 1907.

On December 4, 1948 the game was finally resumed at Birmingham’s Legion Field with Alabama beating the Tigers 55-0 (thumbs down). The following year the Crimson Tide expected to blow the Tigers away again, but instead were defeated 14-13 (thumbs way up!)

In 2001, Alabama was leading Auburn in wins over the past 65 games played. Alabama had won 38 games, Auburn had won 27 games and the 1907 game was called a tie.  Although Auburn is making a comeback with wins in the past 4 consecutive years. 

Not only did the tigers win the game, Brandon Cox passed for two first-half touchdowns and the Tigers sacked Alabama senior quarterback 11 times, with seven being in the first half that created a minus 51-yards.  All of the Auburn fans stared chanting “overrated” at Alabama and by the 4th quarter the fans started shaking their keys telling the Crimson Tide to go home.

WAR DAMN EAGLE FOREVER!

We have been looking at a lot of different areas of a company in my Case Studies and Ethics class and I wanted to apply it to something that is going on in my life. I finally got an internship.  I am going to be interning for Sony BMG’s Provident Music Group in Nashville with the interactive marketing department as well as the publicity and A & R departments. I decided to check out the company’s website and see how it deals with the different things we have talked about this semester.

 First of all, since I will be interning with the company, I checked out its employee relations.  My favorite part of the employee section is in the second sentence that says, “Sony values communication between management and employees.” The five guidelines to effective employee relations all have to do with communication with employees and I like how Sony realizes the value of communication to and from employees no matter their status.  There is an entire section on diversity and equal opportunities and how Sony is committed to respect. The website talks about the Sony MVP award that is given to employees to help motivate them. Employee opinion surveys are also given to find out employee’s opinions and requests.

 Sony also makes it clear that customer satisfaction is very important to the company with a campaign slogan of “Customer Satisfaction is Sony’s Corporate Culture.”  There is an online customer information center, repair and service network, product and service safety section, and more. There is also an entire section on making information more accessible to customers and how to make products easier to use.

Our book in Case Studies talks about PR’s role in community relations and how it should represent the organization in all sorts of volunteer activities. Sony has had social contributions in education, arts/culture, health/welfare, disaster relief, and the environment.  They have employees volunteer in programs that aide these categories all over the world. There are also employee incentives to those that do volunteer.  Sony has also developed foundations such as the Sony Foundation for Education.

 Sony also has an investor relations section that has links to financial information, news releases, the annual report, and information from strategy meetings. There is also a message from management that includes copies of keynote speeches. I think that Sony does a good job at having information readily available for its investors.

We have looked at a lot of websites of different companies and I think overall Sony does a good job in all four aspects.  It does a good job at showing that it cares for its employees, community, customers, and investors. I am excited to be interning for a company that knows the value of these different areas.

I feel like I have learned a lot in college about my major and about life, like things such as time management. There is one thing that I think should be taught during college that I don’t really think is touched upon, stress management. I always feel stressed and anxious about classes and projects and money, etc. I have heard that it only gets worse when you get in the real world with a full-time job. I wish there was a class that I could have taken that could have taught me how to manage stress.

Time Magazine has said that stress is the #1 health problem. Stress can have positive and negative influences but these days the negatives are severely outweighing the positives. Georgia Reproductive Specialists define stress as

“the “wear and tear” our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings.”

Some positives include helping compel a person into action and feelings of new awareness and perspective. Negatives include the feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression that can lead to health problems that include headaches, stomach aches, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stoker. Some of which can lead to death. While stress should not be completely alleviated, it should be managed to avoid these negative reactions. The GRS gives 6 ways to help manage stress:

 

1. Become aware of your stressors and your emotional and physical reactions. (Notice your distress and don’t ignore it)

2. Recognize what you can change. (Can you avoid or eliminate certain stress completely?)

3. Reduce the intensity of your emotional reactions to stress. (Try and see stress as something you can cope with rather than something that overpowers you)

4. Learn to moderate your physical reactions to stress. (Learn how to relax)

5. Build your physical reserves. (Exercise and keep your ideal weight, avoid stimulants)

6. Maintain your emotional reserves. (Develop supportive relationships and expect frustrations)

Certain amounts of stress can help a person thrive in different situations, but some stress needs to be managed before it affects your health. I can’t even count how many times I hear fellow classmates talk about how stressed they are, especially with upcoming finals and projects. I think the main thing is to realize the problem or what triggers your stress and try and mange it through the different suggestions. Ignoring the problem will only heighten the negative influence. Job stress is said to be very high and I hope can learn how to manage my stress before I end up in a dangerous situation.

I think that PR can be created anywhere and bad PR is definitely more noticeable than good PR. I have been involved in many different organizations while I have been in college and the one consistent thing between all of them is that when you are a member your reputation can become a certain aspect of public relations for your organization. You know that if you see a fraternity boy doing something stupid or even a worker for a certain company acting inappropriately, it negatively affects the entire image of the organization. In my sorority we are constantly reminded that our individual actions reflect the image of the entire sorority and it is so true. I noticed this weekend that this fact remains true for individuals who may not be members of the organization, but those who are associated with or fans of it.

I went to Athens this past weekend and saw the amazing Auburn vs. Georgia game which we won 31-30 with John Vaughn kicking the winning field goal. I had heard that the Georgia fans were more respectful than some others. (Ahem…LSU and Alabama) Although, I was really disappointed with the way the Auburn fans were treated by Georgia. When we were tailgating we saw a group of GA fans running over tiger stuffed animals and when a girl tried to stop them an older woman grabbed her and put her in a head lock. I know that it is all in good fun, but I son’t think an older woman should be resorting violence. A couple friends of mine and I went the bathroom and while we figured there would be some yelling, we didn’t expect to get badly harassed by a bunch of Georgia guys yelling in our faces and saying that we “sucked.” (Among other things that I won’t repeat.)

All of this made me think very poorly of the University of Georgia as a whole. I know I can’t say that Auburn is completely innocent. I have definitely seen Auburn fans act immaturely, but I like to think that overall our fans are classier than most. I would hate to come from a university like some of the others that are know as having people that are mean and crude all of the time.

It was definitely a sweet victory after we won the game, especially because of the way we had been treated. As fun as it would have been to shout at the Georgia fans, it was even more fun and less disrespectful to yell War Eagle at fellow Auburn fans. I love my Auburn Tigers just as much as the next fan, but I think that by being obnoxious, mean, and sometimes violent can create an entire reputation of the university. I know that I go to school in the south and football is life, but there is a line between being a devoted fan and just being ridiculous.

When I began blogging I really didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know who was blogging and what people were blogging about. Our class project was to go out and blog about something personal and something PR related and also to comment on public relations practitioner’s blog sites. I have to admit finally that blogging is a tool that many use in the world of PR and it is a definite resource for networking, but I was wondering what exactly other people blog about if they aren’t involved in some kind of profession.

I was reading a practitioner’s blog at Micro Persuasion when he referenced a blog called Slave to Target. This blog is by two ladies who are absolutely in love with Target. It is an entire blog about how they are addicted to Target and its products and how they hide their target bags from their husbands. They say they are in no way affiliated with Target, yet have over 100,000 admitted Target addicts. This made me wonder what else people are blogging about.

I went searching for different kinds of blogs and found many “different” ones. There is a White Trash Mom blog that talks about, well actually I wasn’t too sure what they were talking about, but pretty much it was about parenting and cooking if you are so-called white trash. Conversations About Famous People is a blog on entirely; you guessed it, famous people. It is all about what they are up to and what trouble they are getting into, includes pictures. There are tons of blogs completely devoted to fashion do’s and don’ts and even more on food and celebrity gossip.

It makes me wonder how much time these people have on their hands or whether or not these blogs have something to do with their professional life. If you search it you can find a blog for it. Addict sites for anything you need including BloggersBlog.com, which is a blog all about blogging and even includes a blogging addict section.

Going out and searching different kinds of blogs makes me appreciate the PR practitioners who are blogging. It makes me realize how much they have to say that can benefit me, but it also makes me realize that it is not just professionals who use blogs. Blogs are used as an outlet for, well, absolutely anything people want to talk about.

A lot of people think that sororities are just a bunch of girls that get together and gossip and go to fraternity parties. Before I came to college that is what I thought about it. No one in my family had ever been in a sorority and I didn’t know what they were really all about. After joining a sorority I realized that while there is gossip and frat parties, there is more to it, especially philanthropy and community service.

My sorority’s philanthropy is Service for Sight, which is aide to the visually impaired. We do a lot of things with children such as vision screenings and making coloring books and books on tape for visually impaired kids. We also work with the elderly through what we call the “Golden Anchor” program. Often times children are the focus of visually impaired philanthropies and while they are very important, we also feel as if it is important for the elderly to have assistance as well. We go to local nursing homes and assisted living developments and help elderly people with things that some of us can take for granted such as reading a book or writing a letter.

Our big even to raise money that my sorority does all over the country is Anchor Splash. We try and get different groups throughout universities and the community to form teams and compete in different events to raise money for our foundation that funds Service for Sight.

We had our Anchor Splash at Auburn this past Thursday and it was a huge success. We had 13 teams who competed in a banner contest, most beautiful eyes contest and a big event at the university swimming pool that included a beach ball race, swim relays, and a synchronized swimming contest.

While my team of fraternity boys didn’t win, we had a lot of fun and they looked great swimming and dancing to Def Leopard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” I think that having events that get the whole community involved is a great way to raise money for a good cause. In the end we raised over $3,000. Visual impairment is something that so many people face and it is nice to know that we can raise money to help make people’s lives a little easier.

Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays with costumes, trick-or-treating, pumpkins, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. For those of you who don’t know what Rocky Horror is, it is a cult film that was made in the 70’s starring Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon. Every year on Halloween weekend the AU Players, Auburn University’s theatre group, puts on the live Rocky Horror Picture Show and this is the 4th year I have been involved.

IMDb, online movie database, sums it up nicely saying,

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the ultimate movie experience. A mad mix of classic horror/sci-fi super-charged sensuality and outrageous fantasy. It’s the story of an ordinary couple (Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon) and one unforgettable night at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a mad-scientist from [outerspace]. Brad (Bostwick) and Janet (Sarandon) have arrived on their special night, the night of Dr. Furter’s “beautiful creature”, Rocky, the adonis humanoid created for the release of Frank’s “tension”, was to be born. Action-packed romance…Transylvanian Parties…Gorgeous Gals…Thrills & Chills……16 Great Songs…Including “The Time Warp” DREAM IT IN YOUR LIVING ROOM, BE IT IN THE THEATER! The Rocky Horror Picture Show has made audience participations an institution. Use this movie to practice all the wild spectacle routines and dialogue, so you can join the outrageous Rocky Horror experience at a theater near you!”

The live show is done with actors lip-synching the words while the movie plays on a big screen behind them. The audience receives a bag of stuff upon entering that includes a water gun, rice, toast, toilet paper, confetti, party hats, and more that the audience throws or wears during the show. It is a lot of fun, but you have to enter the show with an open mind. We have some people that love Rocky Horror so much that they come see it every night. We also have a costume contest and some of the winners included a Teletubby and Rainbow Brite. This year was the last year for me to be a part of the show because I am graduating in May, but I will always take a part of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with me.

I know everyone is sick of talking about Hurricane Katrina, but we have been talking about crisis communication in my case studies and ethics class and there has been talk about who is to blame for the chaos after the hurricane and whether or not all parties involved should have been more prepared. I believe that every company or organization should have a crisis communication plan whether it is in preparation for something big or small.

I am sure that the universities that were hit by the hurricane were much better off if they had a plan to begin with. Louisiana State University was fortunately not affected by the hurricane, but they have a detailed crisis communication plan posted on their website. The first sentence states, “Crises can happen anywhere, at any time, and often occur when they are least expected.” I think it is good that LSU realizes that a crisis can come from nowhere and there needs to be a plan.

LSU’s plan has 7 parts. The first is an introduction stating the overall goal of the plan and who will activate it if necessary. The second part is anticipating a crisis. This part states how LSU is prepared for worst-case scenarios and how to alert the media and public. The third part is preparing for the crisis which includes steps to follow in advance such as establishing a crisis communication team, key officials having a phone, cell or beeper at all times, list of possible places for a command center, establishing a code word, and consideration of long-term plans for students like having on-campus shelters.

Part 4 is Identifying a crisis whether it is sudden, smoldering, or bizarre. Part 5 is handling the crisis and it highlights the importance of taking immediate action and constant communication. The sixth part are factors to consider which include setting a good policy, doing the right thing, and choosing words and phrases carefully. The seventh and final part of the plan is evaluation which has to do with reviewing media coverage, how to debrief after a crisis, and making sure you test plans to make sure they work and are kept up-to-date.

I think LSU does a good job in having a plan to decide what kind of crisis it is such as smoldering or bizarre. I also think it is good that it has a plan on how to get in touch with news media because it recognizes how much influence the news has in a crisis situation. LSU also has elected the Chancellor of the university as a spokesperson and there is a 24-hour crisis hotline.

I also think LSU has done a good job in following the fundamental guidelines such as anticipating the unexpected and instituting and practicing a crisis communication plan. LSU has seen the damages that occur during a crisis and I think they are as ready as they can be if something ever happens.

So the internship search has been ongoing and I finally heard back from 2 places that have offered me internships. So of course it couldn’t be completely easy because now I have to choose. They are two completely different internships that both have good points and bad points, so I thought if I get all of my thoughts down it may be an easier decision to make.

The first internship is with Professionals in the City which is an event planning company in Washington D.C., but they also plan events in New York City, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia. The company does events for young and older professionals in big cities. It isn’t just parties and happy hours, they do wine tastings and cultural events like Night at the Israeli Embassy. The man who started the company is a Columbia Law School Graduate who moved to D.C. and began his own business. Now the company has over 50,000 members that go to over 400 events a year. My main job as an intern would consist of 2 parts. One would be going to several events a week and setting up and working at events, while also getting to rub elbows with professionals in D.C. The other part would be working from home and all over the city during the day, checking out venues and helping with marketing and promotions. The only draw back is that I would have to pay for a place to live in the city, and it definitely is not cheap. The good think about the internship is that it would be flexible enough to have a part-time job to help fund living expenses.

The other internship would be with the Nashville Film Festival. Duties would include assisting with film entries, web research, administrative assistance, and festival event planning. I don’t know if there is as much opportunity to learn here, but I am from Nashville so I would already have a place to live and a part-time job waiting for me.

I have 2 weeks to decide and then I have to let the places know whether or not I will be interning with them. In the meantime I am hoping something will come up to make the decision easier.

In my Case Studies and Ethics class we have spent the last week talking about crisis communication. Of course a large part of our discussion was spent on Hurricane Katrina. I was searching the web for some current PR news and ran across a story about 2 men who are raising money for the Red Cross by selling an informative crisis communication CD.

It is entitled, “Crisis Communication: Readiness and Response Lessons Learned from Katrina“. It is by Charles Pizzo and Gerard Braud. Pizzo is a top-rated speaker and serves as counsel to v-Fluence Interactive Public Relations. Braud has practiced public relations on four continents and has helped some of the world’s top organizations with media relations. He is an award-winning journalist with television reports that have been seen around the world on CBS, NBC, CNN, and the BBC. Both men are New Orleans natives who safely evacuated along with their families from the storm. Now facing the aftermath, they realized how important effective crisis communication is during a disaster.

The men realized that what happened in New Orleans was the affect of leaders issuing ineffective weak messages. There was also too high of a reliance on technology that proved to be faulty as electricity went out and internet was inaccessible.

The CD they have created includes the recipe for disaster, which explains a failure of leadership and decision-making; effective messages during dangerous situations, the essentials you must have for crisis communication, and what to do when phones and technology fail . There are also accounts of 2 evacuees and their experience and the importance of maintaining contact with employees and how to deal with customer service and corporate social responsibility in the aftermath. The CD also includes local leaders and media speaking out.

It is on a 90-minute CD that includes a flash and PowerPoint presentation. All proceeds go to hurricane relief.