Join Us for Tap Into Your Creative Side - Nov. 7

In the PR industry, we are always looking for ways to stand out in a saturated market. This month, YP will be hosting a creative workshop to learn how to do exactly that. Our speakers will offer tips on how to bring out our own personal creativity and teach us the art of hosting a creative brainstorm. Don't miss this unique opportunity, and as an added incentive, YP will be raffling off five free memberships for 2008!

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

The Rogers Group
1875 Century Park East
Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90067
The Rogers Group's Website

Brenda Lynch joined The Rogers Group as a senior vice president, heading up the Consumer Marketing Group, working with Bandai America, Whyville.net, Move, Inc., the Kellogg Company and White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. In addition to her award-winning marketing work, Brenda has provided extensive media coaching and training to several top-tier companies. She currently serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program at Annenberg School for Communications at USC, teaching integrated marketing and crisis communications.

Rose Maciejewski is senior vice president and leader of the Ruder Finn West Technology Practice, where she develops and oversees award- winning communications initiatives that increase the visibility of consumer technology companies. Rose is an expert in creating multi-faceted communications campaigns that resonate with consumers. She currently works with SupportSoft, a tech support service; Autobytel, the first online automotive marketplace; StubHub, the largest online ticket marketplace in the world; and Voce, the premium wireless services provider.

Parking: Enter the Watt Plaza Garage on Century Park East. Please bring your ticket with you for parking validation.

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

RSVP: To RSVP, please email yp_prsala@yahoo.com by Monday, November 5th. If you have any questions, please contact Phyllis Hu at phu@iwgroupinc.com or Bonnie Berkes at berkesb@RuderFinn.com.

Tips for PR Pros: October

How NOT to pitch a blog - A blogger for Online Marketing Blog outlines a few “what you should not do” tips based on the 3-5 pitches he receives per day.

KDPaine's PR Measurement Blog - provides information about how to measure public affairs, media relations, social media, internal communications and blogs.

In Case you Missed It: September Meeting Photos

In Case You Missed It: September Meeting Recap

On September 19, Manning Selvage & Lee hosted a Learn the Secrets of Success at Trade Shows meeting. The speakers included Ellen Davidson from Manning Selvage & Lee, Paula Adams from THQ Inc., Krystal Lynn from Events in Motion and Shauna Stafford, a media training expert. Each speaker drew from her perspective of working trade shows to share their top "secrets" of success for planning for and working trade shows. Below are a few words of wisdom they shared with the group of over 20 young professionals.

DO:

Prepare a comprehensive event binder ahead of time including your client's media appointment schedule, contact information, travel itinerary and trade show maps
Ship a "mobile office" to your hotel with office supplies to use at the trade show
Give yourself a one-day event lead time to make sure your client's booth and press room are ready
Be assertive by approaching and speaking with media about your client's offerings
Check out your client's competition's booth, including their press materials
Put your client's names on the back of your business card when you hand it to media
Bring a "war box" of munchies because you may not have a break to eat a meal
Wear comfortable shoes!

DON'T:

Bad mouth your client or any journalists from the moment you arrive until you depart the airport. Usually, your flight is packed with people on their way to or coming home from the same trade show
Wear the same uniform or branded shirt as your client, if you can help it, so that you can scout out the competition incognito
Forget to always have pen and paper handy

MANAGING YOUR CLIENT’S BOOTH DESIGN:

Understand the client's needs and goals when crafting the booth's design, which can be experiential, informational, consultative or media based
Ask for and track the costs of the booth's entire production, including loading fees
During the first hour of the booth's opening, evaluate booth flow in case minor tweaks need to be made

MEDIA TRAINING 101:

Always have a spokesperson on hand to speak with a journalist promptly
For on-camera appearances, instruct spokesperson to be mentally acute and relaxed so that their body languages suggests that they care about their topic
Instruct spokesperson to never repeat a negative question or comment back to the journalist

Meet Linda Skolnick

Name: Linda Skolnick
Company: AIG Retirement Services
Hometown: Thousand Oaks, CA
College: USC

What is your role at AIG? What are the main facets of your job?

I manage the public relations efforts for AIG Retirement Services, Inc., a member company of American International Group, Inc. that serves more than 5 million customers nationwide with retirement savings services and products. I handle the daily responsibilities of managing press calls, arranging media interviews, authoring press releases and penning executive talking points, but also have the fantastic opportunity to manage national media tours, on-site industry interviews, and, on some occasions, manage international media interviews. AIG Retirement Services has an extremely small PR department (me plus the help of my fabulous part-time intern and the input of my very busy Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications) so I really do participate in all aspects of PR.

What has been your favorite PR moment?

My favorite PR moment was my most recent media tour in New York. I met with a round of editors from some of our top industry publications and it was like meeting up with old friends. It's taken me almost two years to develop such strong relationships with these editors, but the relationships are absolutely invaluable. I've secured our best stories through these personal relationships and this last trip I remember so clearly: One minute I am sitting across from an editor at breakfast, laughing about a family story, and the next I'm securing an interview for my president in next month's issue. This is what PR is all about and at this very moment I realized I was no longer the new kid on the block. I could really call myself a PR professional.

What do you think your next career move will be?

I hope my next career move takes place right here at AIG Retirement Services! I'm working to grow into a managerial position in the corporate communications function, overseeing both external and internal communications. While my passion will always be public relations, I am very committed to our employees and to the community, and would love to be actively involved in employee communications and community relations as well. Managing the corporate communications function would allow me to continue my work in PR and dabble in employee and community related efforts.

What advice can you give to current students? Recent graduates?

My advice to current students is to participate in as many internships as possible! I completed six internships by the time I graduated and, though I was always busy, these positions prepared me very well for the corporate world. And, more importantly, they really let me figure out what my interests were and what I wanted to do after I graduated. Each internship was in a different industry, with different responsibilities. This diversity really let me discover my interests and my passions, not to mention that I interned for AIG my senior year of college and I am here today!

To recent graduates, learn as much as possible about your company, your industry and your competitors. Become an expert in your field of practice -- your boss will be impressed and more likely to put you in front of top management if he/she knows that you are well versed on all topics related to the company. Develop relationships with the reporters and editors at your target media outlets and you'll be much more likely to secure positive media coverage. And don't be afraid of hard work.