By: Rachel Ornstein
Without a doubt, I came back to UD with so much new knowledge and insight into the PR Industry after International Conference, more than I ever thought I would. The conference provided us the opportunity to hear from industry professionals from different paths and concentrations. Here are some of the things I learned from some of the sessions that I attended:
Be The G.O.A.T. of PR: Kaye Sweetser, a professor of PR at San Diego State University, taught us the “4 C’s” to excel in the PR industry: Clarity, Creativity, Critique, and Collaboration. Clarity emphasizes organization, and that we need to be clear in what our call to action is, and always be direct in what we want to communicate. We are always going to need to be creative and willing to look at things differently in order to stand out. Critique involves crowdsourcing your work, and getting another pair of eyes on it, to make sure that it is your best work. Finally, while collaboration isn’t always easy, it is important to view it positively and understand the strength of working as a team.
Celebrity Focused PR: Breaking news – working with celebrities is not always as fun as it may seem! Rose Tateel, president of the Celebrity Source, talked about the psychology of celebrities, and what factors play a role in situations where celebrities are not so fun to work with. She explained that celebrities are the most insecure people and how this can affect their behavior. She suggested what you can do when you work with celebrities at an event to make them feel more secure, and shared tips for how to make celebrities agree to attend events, even when they may not truly want to!
The Gen Z Era – Intricacies of Social Media: Erika Prime, the director of Digital and Social Strategy at Taco Bell, talked about what the social media strategy for a big-name brand is like when targeting this new generation. She said that Taco Bell has to restrategize every year, and by specifying the generalizations of Gen Z, they have to think creatively and differently. She described case studies such as the Bell Hotel and the fight for a taco emoji to show the importance of “social listening,” and observing what your audience is saying.
The 9 to 5s of PR: Agency vs. Corporate: Co-run by Hannah Rifle, an account executive at VOX, and John Soriano, the Vice President at Fleishman-Hillard, this session broke down the differences between agency and corporate PR. In a nutshell, corporate allows for the ability to learn a little bit of everything. Being in-house, you are the “jack of all trades,” so you do different types of tasks for one client. Agency, on the other hand, allows for things to be fresh, and the ability to jump around industries by having diverse clients to work with. There are pros and cons to each type of PR, and they are different for everyone!
PRSSAIC was a great experience, and it was amazing to hear tips from industry professionals!
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