All the Hype about Lucky Nights

Recently, I heard about the newest adult beverage that is hitting night clubs everywhere. If you don’t know what I’m talking, then you haven’t heard of Lucky Nights Vodka. Until last week, I didn’t know who they were either. The name sounded risqué so caught my attention! The name started popping up all over, so I took it to Twitter.

@iStevezie So what is this #Lucky Nights Vodka I’m hearing all about?? Looks like I’m going to have to test it out myself!

After my hash tag was seen by the owner himself, I was not only replied back to, but I also had a bottle shipped my way! Now that I have tasted, I must say Lucky’s is not bad at all! Of course you’re probably thinking, “how does a vodka taste good?”. Well it kind of does. It’s very smooth and it might have something to do with it being 100% organic! Yup, you heard right. This vodka has followed the earthly, hippie theme. I think it a great sales pitch too. Everyone is just gonna love this. I recommend that you try it for yourself!

Lucky Nights is not available here in Texas yet, but don’t worry. I was told they are going to launch very soon! One more thing I forgot to mention, the alcohol content is 80%! Be on the look out for Lucky’s. I see big things coming their way such as movies, television shows, and maybe some PR events that we can check out!

Until next time!

Public Relations COMM 2337

Now that the semester is winding down, I will get to take my new acquired skills and information from this course onto the real world.  I finally feel that I know what PR really is (at least a better understanding of it) than what those reality shows showed me. I now know that PR exists to act as a promoter and relationship mediator between a brand and the public (consumers, fans). A few things that goes into promoting and maintaining the relationships of brands are: Press Releases which provide exposure of the brand in the media, events that promote a brand hands-on, and crisis management which allows for firms to speak on behalf of a brand when they have bad press. I’ve learned that this job is versatile and stressful which are things I do like depending on my mood. Time will tell if I do decide to pursue PR and if I do I will take the knowledge given to me from the professor and the guest speakers. I will be available, I will ask questions, and I will research prior to taking on a task.

The PR Daily articles have also taught me a lot. Even outside of PR, just knowing how to communicate effectively with co-workers and bosses. Other things like how to follow-up on meetings and interviews and the dos and don’ts in the work place will all be beneficial. This course has helped me better understand what path I want to take in PR if I was to pursue it. I could only do entertainment PR. Overall, it was a beneficial class and I am very happy that I was able to network through it.

Field Trip to Edelman INC

Yesterday in PR class we visited the largest PR firm in the country (well at least a section of it)! We visited Edelman’s Austin office in order to learn more about corporate PR and what it’s like to work there. No surprise that the office was located in downtown with great views of the other buildings. When we first got there we met in their board room where the employees introduced themselves. They all seemed like nice and relaxed people which was surprising because you always hear that PR is a stressful profession. I was interested when I heard that they had hired their interns to be full-time employees. It’s great that, that can actually happen! They also explained a little bit about the projects they had done that week. For instance some of them were on the phones with reporters from around the world and some had been traveling to places like Chicago and Los Angeles for business. Aside from being hectic, they all seemed to like their jobs. They even offered us to get in contact with them in case we were looking for a summer internship. The trip gave me a great perspective of the field of PR.

What’s Next For Me?

While currently in school, there are many opportunities that are presenting themselves. Everywhere I turn there are opportunities to network and endless internships available. This keeps me confident that I will have a good path out of college. I am sure I want a career in the media and entertainment, specifically on television. However there has been many other fields within communication that I am interested in such as in advertising, public relations, and in media outside of television.

Something I currently have secure is my summer abroad in France. I will be taking classes, working for the technology department at the school, and will be working in the public relations department at the city hall of Angers (the city I will study in).

A side job that I am taking on is doing social media (specifically blogging) for a media company known as We Blog The World. I was able to become apart of the blog by networking with the founder at SXSW.

For the next far semester I want to secure an internship at a news television station in Austin. I already have an idea of where I will apply to after attending an internship fair.  As someone who wants to work in television, this is where my heart is. I am also excited to be taking Advanced Broadcast Journalism in the fall. Recently, I heard that ABC Family’s “The Lying Game” got picked up for a second season. The show is filmed in Austin and I have worked as an extra on the show before. I enjoy working with them and plan to continue for this second season.

That is what I have planned for the next 6 months. I plan to continue to network with professors, career services, and other professionals I meet. Relocating to a major media city is also a plan I have. Opportunities abroad are also on my mind.

Non-Profit PR VS Corporate PR

The obvious differences between non-profit and corporate PR is the payroll. In non-profit PR there is no money being generated. It is through the donations from people and companies that these firms receive money. This money received is for some sort of cause. Very little money is set aside for distribution to employees. This is why this type of PR is called non-profit. An example of a non-profit PR company is Goodwill. Corporate PR, on the other hand, represents clients for money. An example would be Edelman who represent companies like Best Buy. Both types of PR try to communicate a message and maintain a relationship.

What Do I Think About PR Now?

I have learned a lot about Public Relations from this course. I thought I had an idea of what PR was all about through its depiction on television. It turns out there is way more to it as far as tasks PR professionals have to do. My opinion before this class was that PR was all about fun and games even if you do have to be busy most times. I now know that it can be very stressful, time-consuming, and diverse in regards to the type of work one does. I few things I didn’t know was that it is PR professionals that actually write a story for a journalist about their product. Also, that your job title does not really guarantee you to one set of tasks and that it is a team effort. Some days you might be on the phones contacting journalists, others you might be giving samples of a product at a convention. I do think PR can be tedious and stressful. I do not think the job’s pay compensates for the amount of work and stress you have to endure. However, I am still kind of interested in the field because of the people you meet, the opportunities to work on cool projects, and the traveling on the job! As far as Social Media, I am always okay with it. They are tools you need to use in almost every field. I enjoy using Twitter and Facebook.

A Theme I Would Like to Learn More About

I, already, do have a background in video and blogging and I don’t think I am very interested in pod casting. I know I could use more practice in my video skills and in blogging since it is important that you keep practicing and perfecting your skills. Aside from both of those skills individually, I would like to learn more about “vlogging” (or video blogging). It is a skill that I have started to see through You Tube. It is just like traditional blogging in which you present news and information, but in this case you are using video to broadcast your information. I have seen many successful vlogs online that have many viewers and interesting topics. My problem with vlogging is that I am not 100 percent comfortable with it. I could use some skills that will make comfortable while I feel I am talking to myself! I think this theme can be useful in PR when working on your own blog because you are unlimited in the amount of creativeness you use. Clients value creativeness and the public does too from what I have observed online.

PR AT SXSW

I attended my first SXSW this year and I don’t think I could have picked a better year to attend! I felt this year’s festival had the most buzz opposed to the past. I’m sure they will keep on getting better year after year. I also felt I had a lot of knowledge going into the festival because of the Public Relations course I am taking. While I was involved in a lot of the festivities, I couldn’t help, but reference back to all of the information I had learned so far in PR. SXSW is all about launching products, promoting brands, and of course showcasing music. SXSW is one of PR’s biggest events. It was all about building and maintaining relationships with the public who come from all over the country and even the world. There were so many companies getting involved. A few experiences I would like to note are the Foursquare party, the Bravo party, the Skype party, and the trade show. As far as all of the parties I listed, they were events to connect with their users/viewers and gain new ones. These events offered free drinks, food and some kind of entertainment. They gave out free “swag” that would better allow you to remember them. The trade show was definitely about informing the public on new products and companies. They also offered “swag” and free samples of their products. I think these events are very important for PR because they “treat” the public allowing them to gain a popular liking. I know I love it when I get taken care of!

Social Media Tools

I’m always up-to-date when it comes to new social media networks. Currently the new fad of social media would have to be the photo filter application known as Instagram. With its expansion to Androids and recent publicity after being bought by Facebook, Instagram is more popular than ever. If you aren’t familiar with Instagram it’s probably because it’s only exclusively for iPhones and Androids. Instagram is like Twitter without the words, but with pictures. It’s a fast, beautiful, and fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures. The cool thing about it is that there are many filters to choose from to enhance your pictures. The filters go beyond black and whites, giving you creative, artistic photos. Just like any other social network, with Instagram you can follow people, comment on, and ‘like’ pictures. This is how Instagram can be a useful tool in PR. With Instagram, PR professionals can better relate and connect with a heavily visual society. PR firms with accounts will able to upload and enhance photo of their client’s products, events, or whatever, there are no limits. The picture will make the public aware of products and events, allowing them to be in “the know”. The public will be able to engage in conversation through comments and ‘likes’. This is important for the firms and the clients. It gets the message out there almost effortlessly! With feedback from the public, the firm will be able to see how successful their  launch or project is going. With all benefits and nothing to lose, PR firms should look to Instagram as a social media tool!

One Place I Would Like Work

I’m sure that I am looking at career in broadcast media and entertainment. Ideally, I would love to work at a major network television station. I want to work on-camera, reporting or anchoring. Kinda similar to PR, right? Well, for total PR sake, I’m going to pick a firm that I would best see myself at. Because I like the best of the best, I would have to pick Edelman New York! They rank number one on a list of the best PR firms in the nation. They focus on topics like brand marketing and crisis management. Being such a huge company and being located in New York, I think I would be able to be happy at Edelman. I will be able to work with huge corporations and major celebrities. I’m actually thinking that would be great at crisis management. I would love to help a celebrity like Kim Kardashian or Justin Bieber fix up their image after a crazy scandal or embarrassing incident. I could come up with a great strategic plan to put them back on the map like giving them wise words or setting-up apperances. When it come to my dream job in Public Relations, I hope Edelman is ready for me! If I can give any career tips to students it would be to network like you’re a social animal! It is the best way to meet people while getting your foot through the door.