March Meeting: Breaking News - Effectively Using Emerging Media

Last month we learned that consumers use a mix of traditional and emerging media to get their news. This month we will get a crash course on new media and how public relations professionals can utilize these outlets – including blogs, podcasts and social networking sites – to communicate their messages. We have invited three new media experts to share their tips on how to effectively integrate these media targets into PR campaigns.

March 21, 2007
6:00-6:30 P.M. - Networking
6:30-7:30 P.M. - Program

MWW Group
660 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 1400
Los Angeles, CA 90017

As Account Lead for the Interpublic Emerging Media Lab - focusing specifically on the mobile marketing space - Michael Ball works with partner agencies to help clients build their brands and strategic position in new media. His experience includes interactive projects for Acura / Honda, Girl Scouts, Lexus, PNC Bank, Amgen, Anheuser-Busch, Benjamin Moore, FedEx, Dell, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Accenture and Nestle. An active writer and speaker, Michael has published two career books for recent college graduates, and serves as a media expert on entry level jobs for sources including the Washington Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, CareerJournal.com and the Globe and Mail in Canada.

As Supervisor, New Media and Marketing, at JMPR, Public Relations, Mike Hudson, oversees the new media activity for JMPR’s internal account teams and internationally recognized accounts. Prior to joining JMPR, Hudson served as an editor at Edmunds.com, where he was News Editor of Inside Line, Edmunds’ auto enthusiast online magazine. Here Hudson designed the Web site’s new filtration system and live publishing capabilities.

Jennifer Dekel is an Assistant Account Executive at Schwartzman & Associates, a Los Angeles-based agency specializing in integrating blogs, podcasts and other new media platforms into conventional PR campaigns for corporate entertainment, media and technology clients. Dekel is responsible for news media research and agency account support and has worked on supporting clients including Associated Production Music, Ecast, GenCon, Hidden City Games and Rearden Companies. She is also the assistant producer of the award-winning PRSA podcast, “On the Record...Online.”

Parking:
Public parking lot on right side of Figueroa Street, right after you pass 8th Street (located behind Bank of America and across street from Ann Taylor). Cost is $5 (CASH ONLY) after 4 p.m. for parking.

Building Access:
All meeting attendees will need to enter the building at the 7th street entrance and use the intercom to the right of the doors to request access to building. They can tell the security attendant they are here for the YP meeting at MWW Group in Suite 1400. Once inside, take the elevators to the Sky Lobby (button in elevator is marked “SL”), where they will check in and present photo ID to the security guard who then give them access to our floor.

Cost (pay by cash or checks at the door):
$10 YP Members; $15 for Non- members; $5 for PRSSA Members

RSVP:
To RSVP, please reply to this email by Monday, March 19th. If you have any questions, please contact Bonnie Berkes at bberkes@jmprpublicrelations.com or Phyllis Hu at phu@iwgroupinc.com.

We Hope to See You There!

Phyllis Hu (IW Group) & Bonnie Berkes (JMPR, Public Relations)
Program Co-Chairs, PRSA-LA's Young Professionals

email: yp_prsala@yahoo.com
web: http://www.prsa-la.org

Tips for PR Pros: March

Blog Readership Report

A new study released by AdAge and Vizu Answers investigates blog readers’ usage patterns and selection processes. Key findings: blog readers are loyal, like to be entertained and trust recommendations.

Study: 72 percent of PR pros don’t monitor the blogosphere

Preliminary results from a Kent State University/BurellesLuce survey show that 72 percent of PR professionals do not have a formal system for monitoring the blogosphere.

Blogging for dollars raises questions of online ethics

Payments by advertisers to bloggers for writing about their goods, critics say, blur the line between opinion and product placement.

Leverage User-Generated Content to Boost Brands

Some of the best brand advocates can be found online and their influence can be tapped via social networking sites.

Facebook Extends Lead as Fave Young Adult Site

A quarterly survey from Youth Trends explores consumer usage of online media.

Social Networking’s Next Phase

The New York Times takes a look at who is entering the social networking game.

Where Old and New Media Collide

Two worlds collided at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival this week. The event aims to bring together new technologies and their practitioners to spur innovation.

Need a Mentor?

PRSA-LA’s Young Professionals is excited to launch its annual Mentorship Program. This free program connects students and those just beginning a career in public relations with professionals of all experience levels who want to share what they've learned about the industry.

Mentors and mentees are matched according to their interests and experience within the public relations industry. YP looks to connect mentees with PR practitioners who are eager to provide professional development tips and tools by bringing tangible skills and expertise to the relationship.

Plus, mentoring allows both parties the opportunity to become more self-aware, learn, grow, expand perspectives and build a larger network of industry contacts.

All mentorship applications are due by Saturday, March 31, 2007. Mentors and mentees will be notified by email of their match ups no later than Monday, April 30, 2007.

For questions/applications/information contact:

Kristen Rockwell
Collegiate Outreach Chair
krockwell@mww.com

In Case You Missed It: February Meeting Recap

Media Myths & Realities: A Comprehensive Media-Usage Survey

The first official YP meeting of the year took place on February 21st at Ketchum and explored an important question PR professionals have been asking recently: is traditional media dead? Media experts Jerry Swerling, USC Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Public Relations Studies, and Sean Fitzgerald, partner and managing director of Ketchum’s California offices, discussed the realities of consumer media usage today using a study USC Annenberg School for Communication and Ketchum released in December. The study found that traditional media is not dead, debunked other communications myths, discussed how consumers are using media to fit their needs and provided tips for PR practitioners to better reach their target audiences. Here are the ten key learnings of the study:

1. All Media is Local and Personal
Consumers rely heavily on their local newspapers and TV news because they widely believe these sources are credible.

2. The Human Channel is Critical - Especially Word of Mouth
Advice from family and friends is used by nearly half (43.7%) of consumers and they rank this group's credibility high. This is the reason social networking websites are popular.

Practical Tip: Since word-of-mouth influence ranks high among consumers, PR campaigns should consider avenues for developing programs that influence – whether through grass-roots marketing, free product samples and coupons, or other approaches.

3. Consumers Use a Multi Channel Approach
Traditional media continues to be used by a majority of consumers as they are also trying emerging new media.

4. Media Use is Generational
Not surprisingly, younger consumers are more well rounded when it comes to media use. However, older consumers still regularly rely on traditional media.

Practical Tip: Practitioners must be mindful of the media interests of the age groups they are communicating to since their interests vary. Specific “age group specialists” may become an industry trend.

5. Corporate Communicators Rely Too Heavily On Their Company Websites
Consumers report low usage of company's websites for information, ranging from 7 to 22 percent, depending on what type of information they seek.

6. Corporate Communicators Should Use All Media When Spreading Their Message
Consumers are looking more toward a mix of traditional media and in some cases news Web sites to get information. Young adults seek instant news.

7. Timing Matters – Corporate Communicators Must Place Consumers’ Needs Ahead of Company Schedules
Consumers reported that "back to school" time was the number one time they seek out information.

8. Celebrities Should Be Used Strategically and Cautiously
Celebrity endorsement doesn’t rank very high among consumers (13.8%) as a direct influence and has low credibility.

9. Influencers Devour All Media All The Time
Influencers are society’s informational editors and “multi-media-minders."

10. Influencers Adopt New Media Earliest
Compared to other consumer groups, influencers are more influenced by new media and tend to be early adopters to these new communications channels.

Your Responses to the Topic
What key learning do you most agree with? Are you incorporating this insight into your communication plans?