On Friday, April 16, philanthropy and field day competitions were combined in the inaugural Bull City Blowout, a fundraising event that benefited SeeSaw Studio. Nine Durham, N.C. creative agencies went head-to-head in a series of fun games to raise money for the local nonprofit, a free afterschool program that fosters design-focused art and entrepreneurship skills for teens. Through event sponsorships, individual and corporate donations, the Bull City Blowout collected nearly $4,000 for SeeSaw Studio.
Click here to see our photo album on Facebook.
Some of these photos are courtesy of Mark Yonjof of Vertis.
To see more of the action, check out these photos from RichdDesign.
Tags: Bull City Blowout | Local NC | Largemouth PR
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Largemouth is competing for bragging rights and a good cause in the first annual Bull City Blowout. The fundraising field day event is being organized by nine Durham creative agencies and will occur this Friday, April 16 from 3-5 p.m. in Durham Central Park. Donations are still being accepted for SeeSaw Studio, a nonprofit art enrichment program for teens. The event is open to the public, so feel free to stop by, enjoy the weather and see some crazy competitions!
Tags: Largemouth PR | Local NC | Bull City Blowout
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Kelly Hubbard and I were fortunate enough to attend the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association's (NCRLA's) first annual Taste of North Carolina at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club in Durham. Largemouth is working with one of Raleigh's landmark restaurants, and since the restaurant's owner was being honored with an award at the event, we wanted to show our support and network with other attendees in the hospitality industry.
According to the NCRLA, North Carolina's hospitality industry is a $17.5 billion industry. In fact, restaurants and hotels combined are one of North Carolina's largest employers, providing jobs to more than 10 percent of the state's workforce.
While Largemouth's primary focus remains B2B, we do work with retail and consumer clients to drive visibility and preference for their goods and services. At the Taste of North Carolina, Kelly and I sampled North Carolina's finest food, beer, wine and hospitality service, and we were not disappointed!
Tags: Local NC
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• Tyler Dukes, Web Producer, News 14 Carolina
• Allan Maurer, Editor, TechJournal South
• Frank Vinluan, Tech/Biotech Writer, Triangle Business Journal
The panel speakers shared best practices on pitching local tech media in light of a shifting media landscape, the poor economy and increasing social media usage.
Advertising Crisis
Vinluan noted that the current print media situation - declining circulation numbers and staff layoffs - is an advertising crisis. Maurer agreed; in fact, he has lost a large amount of advertising over the past year and is expecting to move his publication completely online soon. He said that while digital advertising hasn't really caught on yet, he predicts marketing agencies will be moving seriously into the digital area next year.
What does this mean for the public relations industry? Less ad revenue means fewer resources and fewer opportunities to reach journalists, according to Vinluan. As a one-man-shop, Maurer said he receives about 300-500 e-mails each day, and the majority of them are PR pitches.
Pitching Complex Subjects
Because there are fewer publications and lower staff numbers, pitches and press releases should be clear and concise or the media will ignore them. The panel shared the following tips for pitching tech and biotech news to local media outlets in the Triangle area:
• Target your pitches by researching the publications to find out what they write about. This sounds obvious but, for example, don't send TechJournal South a new product announcement, because the publication does not cover product news.
• Keep leads short. The less information reporters have to sift through, the better.
• Avoid vague words in releases, such as "leading" (unless the company really is the leader), "platform" and "solution." Explain exactly what the product is. Maurer removes these words from releases daily.
• Make sure that information is easy to understand. Maurer wishes writers would make an effort to translate science into understandable English without hyping it up.
• Show impact. Dukes chooses what he covers based on actual real-world impact. He is interested in how the news will affect viewers/readers.
• Be prepared to answer questions. Vinluan often calls media contacts to ask questions and they will immediately try to schedule an interview with the CEO. What he wants is answers first, so that if he does pursue an interview with the CEO he'll have background knowledge and will be prepared to ask more targeted questions in a limited amount of time.
Pitching via Social Media
The panelists agree that pitching through social media can be effective, as long as the interaction is authentic. Get to know local reporters on a personal level and don't send them too many links which could be viewed as spam. Pitching via Twitter is fine; as Maurer said, "If you can sell me a story in 140 characters, I think that's great!"
Tags: social media | Media Relations
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1. What's a typical week like?
A typical week in our office is standard hours Monday through Friday, although we occasionally check e-mail evenings and weekends to monitor media coverage and keep projects moving. We always have a steady flow of work, because each month we have specific deliverables for our clients - press releases, newsletters, articles, media pitching, etc. My colleagues will agree that we start each day with long to-do lists, and rarely do we get to all of the items that day. Something usually pops up and we're forced to shift gears while staying mindful of deadlines. You need to be very flexible to be in PR, but the challenging and educational environment makes it enjoyable.
2. Tell me about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of.
My "baby" right now is an internal newsletter for a client. For three years I managed the company's external newsletter, and their happiness with the results coupled with significant growth in the company led them to request an internal newsletter. Currently, in addition to creating an external newsletter each quarter, I work with an internal advisory board made up of employees at the client's company to create eight issues a year for the internal newsletter. We cover company developments and human-interest stories.
3. How important is writing in your career?
I knew going into PR that writing was a huge part of it, which is why I minored in journalism. I use my AP stylebook almost daily when writing press releases, newsletters, company overviews - all the things you learn in your classes. Research and interview skills are also important for the preparation stage of writing.
4. What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in public relations?
1. As with any job, don't be afraid to ask questions. You gain a lot of knowledge with a college degree, but nothing beats learning through doing. Your co-workers and boss are key resources as you gain experience, so don't be afraid to ask for clarification on projects or even discuss their personal experiences in PR.
2. Proofreading is vital. When you're finished writing a material, proofread it yourself AND have a colleague proofread it as well. That second set of eyes is absolutely necessary.
3. Learn as much as you can about your clients' industries. From the agency side, we work on multiple clients simultaneously, so we're constantly in learning mode. To research a client, check out their Web site, any social media outlets in which they participate, competitors, and media coverage of the client, competitors and the industry. The more you know, the more comfortable you are writing for them and speaking to the media on their behalf.
5. What do you do to keep current in the public relations industry?
I visit PR blogs such as PR-Squared, receive HARO e-mails and follow industry leaders and publications on Twitter (@skydiver, @prweekstaff and @badpitch to name a few). I am also an active member of the Raleigh Public Relations Society. While I'm throwing out resources, @heatherhuhman is a good person to follow on Twitter if you're looking for PR internships or jobs.
6. How does technology affect your daily work?
Since most of our clients are technology companies, technology is a big part of my daily work. Regarding PR technology, we use software programs for media list building, distributions, coverage tracking and new business campaigns. For one of our larger clients, we upload all PR activities and media coverage to a special section of the company's internal Web site so the managers and executives have direct visibility of our activities. We also create monthly activity reports for our clients. As Largemouth expands its presence on the social media front, all employees are pitching in to update our blog, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
7. When your organization is hiring for an entry-level public relations position, what makes a candidate stand out?
Excellent question. First, the candidate's resume needs to be PR-focused. The main things we look for are a degree in PR or a related field and experience through internships, volunteer work or jobs. Also, a well-written cover letter is helpful because it gives us an idea of the candidate's writing style as well as his or her personality. We want a hard-worker who is ready to dive in.
8. What has surprised you the most about working in public relations?
How much public relations is similar to sales. PR professionals should be outstanding at summarizing information and catering it toward the audience. Whether you're "selling" ideas and projects to your client or "selling" your clients' products and services by pitching stories to the media, PR is sales, and you must believe in what you do and do it with complete confidence.
Tags: public relations
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Kim Green, executive producer at WNCN NBC17 in Raleigh and @NBC17EP on Twitter was kind enough to hold a tour for PR professionals in the area, and I jumped at the opportunity. The only other TV news studio tour I've done was when I was in Girl Scouts in middle school, and all I remember is how much makeup the anchors were wearing. As an adult in public relations, I took much more away from this tour!
The assignment desk is to the left, and you can barely see Ginny Skalski, who helps run MyNC. Below is a shot of the newsroom (l) and production control room (r).
And no tour is complete without a stop by the studio, where the makeup-wearing anchors reside. Since they were filming the 6 p.m. news, I didn't take pictures of them, but I was able to meet them during commercial breaks.
Thanks for the tour, and keep up the good work, NBC17!
Tags: Media Relations | Local NC
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