BlogIt is amazing how fast time flies when you're busy! August just flew by and it is already time for our second Shout Out blog post where we shout through the Megaphone our top hits from the last month and give you a glimpse into just how great our clients truly are. Enjoy!
Road and Track covers Eaton's Electrified Highway event
For Eaton Corporation's Power Quality division, a client working on the forefront of electric vehicles and electric vehicle chargers, Road and Track magazine is a top trade publication. Targeting automotive enthusiasts, Road and Track featured Eaton in an article about Eaton's Electrified Highway event. For this event, Eaton set up a demonstration of their iMiEV car and Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment. The electric vehicle charged on an Eaton charger for 30 minutes to enable its electrified travel from San Francisco to Sacramento.
News & Observer "Pantry Tries to Tempt Tummies"
Largemouth reached out to Sue Stock, the business reporter for the Raleigh daily newspaper, News & Observer, for a story on The Pantry's new fresh coffee and food program. The resulting article "Pantry Tries to Tempt Tummies" featured an interview with CEO Terry Marks and two high resolution pictures that captured the new clean layout of the store, the newly added fresh food and coffee and a friendly hospitality associate. The story was picked up by tier-one trade publications Convenience Store & Petroleum and the National Association of Convenience Stores.
Cary Citizen "Hidden Giant: Lonesource"
When Bradley King, CEO of Lonesource, started his own company, he did it right in his hometown of Cary, N.C. Largemouth searched for a way to tell the story of King's loyalty to his hometown and found the perfect opportunity in the Cary Citizen's Hidden Giant series that highlights large businesses that chose to place their headquarters in Cary. The story, "Hidden Giant: Lonesource," features an interview with King that highlights the Lonesource motto, "Customer first, company second and people always."
ComputerWorld, "Hurricane Earl may test IT teleworkers"
While many are altering their Labor Day plans in preparation for Hurricane Earl, Largemouth took the approaching hurricane as an opportunity to pitch Eaton's 2009 Blackout Tracker Report, a report of last year's reported outages and the affects they had on productivity and monetary loss. The report is a great resource for reporters covering power outage stories. ComputerWorld used the report in their article, "Hurricane Earl may test IT teleworkers," to discuss last year's slow hurricane season. The article featured an interview with Mike DeCamp, marketing communications manager for Eaton, who discussed how the 2010 Blackout Tracker is showing an increase in monthly power outages since 2009.
Eaton's 9395 UPS achieves SMaRT Gold certification
When Eaton's 9395 UPS received SMaRT Gold certification, the first product of its class to do so, Largemouth shouted out with a release and pitched industry reporters on the accomplishment. The story was covered in the July issue of Processor and the August issue of tED magazine as well as on online publications including DatacenterDynamics, Distributed Energy, Data Center Journal, Power Systems Design, Consulting-Specifying Engineer, Thomasnet, Green TMCnet, Electric Light & Power, ZDNet and more.
Hits: 31 | Read more...
Deep in the Florida swamplands there is a gator with a stare so deadly it is guaranteed to freeze anything...and anyone...that dares look him in the eye.
Imagine that swampland is The Swamp, the home field of the Florida Gators football team, the gator is the student section and that deadly stare is the roaring cheers the crowd produces. Now imagine you're the opposing team's kicker hearing the thunderous applause - you're frozen, right?
Our client Kangaroo Express is introducing ICEE products to the Gainesville - Ocala market with its "Freeze The Swamp" campaign. During University of Florida home games, the stadium's LED screens will encourage fans to stand up, cheer and "Freeze The Swamp" during the opposing team's field goal attempt. For every kick the fans are successful at freezing, attendees in one lucky student section will receive a coupon for a free ICEE.
Today is the campaign kick-off party at a Gainesville Kangaroo Express location. Largemouth is working with local broadcast and print media to encourage them to attend or cover the event. Stay tuned for media coverage and get ready to be FROZEN!
You can follow the campaign on Twitter @KrooExpress, hashtag #FreezeSwamp.
Hits: 85 | Read more...
The ways to interact with the media have grown exponentially in the past years. My media contacts get my e-mails, retweets, @ replies, connection on LinkedIn and Facebook fan status. Every time they write a story, I want them to think about my client and how I can help them.
But even though PR professionals and the media have a symbiotic relationship, I never forget that my media contacts have a plethora of options when deciding what news to cover and who to interview for a story. I always appreciate any media attention and a AlexandraMBH: @myfavereporter Thanks for interviewing my client! just doesn't seem to show it enough.
You know what goes a long way? Put a pen to a thank you note! Remember ink? Remember stamps? Interacting online is easy, but imagine if a reporter thinks about you even after they turn off their computer. Writing a thank you note isn't hard, but it is thoughtful. It does make you (and your client!) stand out.
Bringing this to a more granular level, just remembering that reporters have stressful and deadline driven lives is critical to media relations. Say please, thank you and be respectful of their time. They might not send a thank you note, but they will certainly appreciate it.
Hits: 110 | Read more...
It may sound cliché, but here at Largemouth our clients are part of our family and we take pride in the work we do for them. That is why, starting today, we are dedicating the first Thursday of every month to our clients and the coverage we help garner for them. We will shout through the Megaphone our top hits from the past month and give you a glimpse into just how great our clients truly are.
But wait! What about the coverage already obtained? We've decided to spend this month's post highlighting a select few of the greatest hits obtained for our current and most recent clients.
Distributed Energy "Risk and Interruption"
For Eaton Corporation's Power Quality Division, a client in the data center space, Distributed Energy magazine is a top-target trade publication. After working with the author over several months, an article highlighting a customer success story titled "Risk and Interruption" ran in the July/August print issue of Distributed Energy. The story includes the client's targeted messaging, descriptions of its products and on-site photos of the customer facility.
Draft Magazine "Consider the Oyster (with beer): 5 questions for Ryan Tyson"
42nd St. Oyster Bar not only has fresh, high-quality food but also extensive beer and wine menus. In fact, when Prohibition ended in 1933, the restaurant was the first establishment in Raleigh to serve beer in a frosty mug again. Largemouth set up an interview with 42nd St.'s wine and beverage director and the managing editor of DRAFT Magazine, a national consumer publication that focuses on beer and beer culture. An article titled "Consider the oyster (with beer): 5 questions for Ryan Tyson" highlighted 42nd St.'s history and key messages and appeared as a web exclusive in May on DRAFTMag.com. DRAFT also posted the article link to its Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Orlando Business Journal "How would raising commercial trucks' maximum weight impact the distribution industry?"
Largemouth reached out to the Orlando Business Journal on behalf of our client, transportation services provider Southeastern Freight Lines, which has a service center located there. They responded with a request to interview the local service center manager for its "Trends" column. The resulting article, "How would raising commercial trucks' maximum weight impact the distribution industry?" positioned Southeastern as a thought leader among its competitors.
Pipeline and Gas Technology "AMI Technology Enhances Customer Service"
In July, Sensus, a utility infrastructure technology provider, was featured in Pipeline and Gas Technology. The article showcased Sensus customer Energy Services of Pensacola (Florida) and focused on the gas utility's implementation of advanced metering infrastructure and smart metering solutions from Sensus. These technologies are driving the adoption of the "smart grid" for electric utilities and that Sensus is now also bringing to gas and water utilities.
Partnership with Steve Kemble
The trade show and events division of CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company and the only national furniture rental provider, continued its partnership with "America's sassiest lifestyle guru," Steve Kemble. Kemble blogged about the upcoming annual conference for the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) and what to expect from CORT - including the Denim, Diamonds and Disco fundraising event!
Infection Control Today, "Hospitals Leverage Patient Flow Software to Automate Infection Control"
TeleTracking announced their work helping Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio, Texas and the University of Virginia Medical Center leverage patient flow and bed management software for infection control processes, receiving coverage in Infection Control Today and Healthcare Purchasing News.
Hits: 72 | Read more...
To learn how to increase the visibility of a company through a press release I joined a Business Wire webinar last week titled "Search Engine Optimization for your Press Release." The webinar gave very good advice on developing a "keyword strategy" and several tips for optimizing your press release.
First of all, it is important to understand the definition of "optimization," specifically when it comes to online press releases. It is an organic and natural process of getting your content indexed and ranked by search engines without paying for advertisements. You need to make sure that you are effectively communicating; for example, instead of simply saying "shoe" you could be more specific and say "high-heeled women's shoe."
According to Forrester Research, 81 percent of online purchases start with a search. The majority of people will go to search engines such as Google to do research about a specific company, which makes the keyword strategy very important. Some things to think about are what type of hyperlinks you will use and where on your website you are pushing people to go. The hyperlinks should match with the text that is available in the press release and contain "deep links" that will connect the reader to more specific product or personnel pages. By doing this, you will be able to increase the visibility of your online brand in order to increase website traffic.
By developing a keyword strategy, you can drive the targeted traffic to your press release, therefore driving it to your website. To develop a keyword strategy, you need to examine three stages:
Initial Awareness: "First Learn" - Determine the most broad or generic words that people might search for. An example of this is the word "watch" because even if someone is looking for a specific type of watch, they will most likely still use this keyword.
Information Gathering: "Further Learn" - Determine more "brand-specific" words to narrow down the search. For example using "Fossil watch" as your keywords will give the search engine a better idea of what type of information you are looking for.
Purchase Decision: "Most Influenced" - Determine the "purchase-specific" keywords. When someone decides to buy your product they might type in keywords such as "buy fossil watch" which will really make the search more specific. Therefore, it is important that you stay aware of all the possibilities that are related to your industry.
Now that you know what to keep in mind when developing a keyword strategy, it is necessary to figure out what the best keywords would be for your company and more importantly, your press release. One way is to look at what words are working well for your marketing materials because as long as you are consistent with your keywords, you will have a successful strategy of building awareness. There are also several keyword research tools that can show you how many visits you have had to your website and what people are entering in search engines to reach your website naturally. Some of these include WordTracker and Google AdWords Keyword Tool. These research tools let you see what words people are searching for most, your estimated search traffic and advertiser competition. The tools will even give you some suggestions.
The webinar also provided some tips for optimizing your press release:
Keyword phrase length matters - The average length is four words because the searchers are becoming more specific and know what they are looking for.
You need to reach two distinct audiences - These are the search engines and the actual readers. It is important to make sure the content can be found by the search engine, but also that the readers are interested in the story, specifically the headlines and first paragraph.
Add Multimedia - Photos and videos will increase visibility. However, make sure to optimize the captions as well and include the company name.
Avoid special characters in the headline - Google does not recognize characters such as the copyright © symbol so it will not recognize the headline.
Comments 1 | Hits: 134 | Read more...
Largemouth has been featured in PRWeek twice in the past two months for our new client achievements. As you may have seen on our website, we have been named agency of record for The Pantry, the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States, most commonly known for its Kangaroo Express operating banner.
I take great pride in everything our team has accomplished and look forward to continuing to work with such distinguished clients. Here's a look at some of our most recent accomplishments for our clients:
Eaton: Largemouth has been focused on highlighting Eaton customer success stories, recently receiving coverage in the May/June print issue of top-target trade publication, Mission Critical with the story "UPS provides service to troops."
Sensus: Largemouth demonstrated the newly launched iPERL water management system at the American Water Work Association's (AWWA) Ace10 conference in Chicago where we also surveyed attendees on industry concerns.
The Pantry: Largemouth helped with the grand opening of a Dairy Queen in Statesville, N.C. attached to a Kangaroo Express. The event was attended by Statesville mayor, Costi Kutteh, and received coverage in the Charlotte Observer.
Southeastern Freight Lines: Largemouth recently promoted Southeastern Freight Lines' 60th Anniversary through a media outreach campaign.
Lonesource: We are soon approaching our 25th newsletter written for Lonesource. Largemouth handles both their external newsletter, published quarterly, and internal newsletter, published once every two months.
Hits: 229 | Read more...
When I tell people I recently graduated from UNC - Chapel Hill, they get a rather apologetic look on their face and ask me what I'm up to now. I position my hand to catch their jaw drop when I tell them that I am (happily) employed.
It's not a kind market for young grads looking for entry-level positions, but jobs are definitely out there. In fact, North Carolina has added over 45,000 jobs since January. The following are some tips for individuals seeking employment, specifically in the PR world...
1. Intern - Internships are a fantastic opportunity to find out how PR works in the real world while also building your resume and portfolio. Aside from the crucial experience an internship offers, they also provide connections that often lead to jobs. If you're really fortunate, your internship will turn into a job.
2. Keep up-to-date - Find a job posting from last week? You're probably too late. Jobs go quickly in this competitive market, so utilize technology to stay current. Set up alerts from popular job sites such as Monster and Google alerts for your desired position. Some companies post on Craig's List and even on social media sites such as Twitter, so check these daily.
3. Stay connected - Your former classmates and internships supervisors have the in on jobs at their company, so reach out to these people on a regular basis. They may let you know about an internship or job opening before it is even posted.
4. Edit, proofread, repeat - Before you hit submit on that application, read it over one more time. Trust me; there is nothing worse than receiving an otherwise strong application that is wrought with typos and misspellings. Not only does it make the reviewer question your seriousness in applying, it also makes them wonder if you would exhibit this kind of behavior on the job.
5. Don't be shy! - Companies want to hire employees that are hard working, intelligent and, most importantly, passionate. If there's a company you've always dreamed of working at, tell them! And don't forget to be specific about why the company impresses you. While you're at it, voice your interest for any current or future opportunities at the company. Not only will they be flattered, your initiative will make you stand out from a sea of applicants.
To stay current on PR happenings and Largemouth news, follow us on Twitter @largemouthpr. And for more information on Largemouth's internship program, click here.
Hits: 120 | Read more...
Some people love flying and others hate it. I am of the latter but do it all the time anyway.
On a recent flight back to Raleigh-Durham International I had the pleasure of sitting next to an instructor of airplane maintenance. As we flew he educated me on many of the mechanical processes of the plane, especially during the take off and landing. This knowledge helped me relax as I learned that the buzzing noise wasn't the plane falling apart. Simply having the instructor on board also gave me a sense of security; if anything bad happened I knew there was someone besides the pilot that would know what to do.
It was only once I landed that I realized this sense of relief must be similar to how companies feel when they are educated on social media and have social media plans created. Anything is scary when it is unknown and (sky)diving into social media is no exception. It is only after you are educated in social media that it begins to seem less intimidating.
You find out that it's not just your 17-year-old nephew on social media and that writing a 140 character tweet wasn't as nerve-wracking as you thought. Then, once you formalize a social media plan to suit your company, you know that everyone involved will know how to interact and respond to questions, concerns or inquiries from the social media communities you're a part of.
Similar to the airplane maintenance instructor relieving me of some of my flying anxieties, public relations professionals can help smooth the nerves of companies entering social media.
You could call this process the social media presentation and plan. I'll call it the maintenance instructor effect.
(Did you know the fear of flying is called aviophobia? What do you propose the fear of social media is called? Let us know on Twitter @largemouthpr!)
Hits: 101 | Read more...
A client recently expressed curiosity into what social media sites like Digg and del.icio.us are all about. Wanting to be thorough, I did some research into how - and if - companies should use the sites as well as how they could potentially fit into a public relations strategy. I felt my conclusions were worth sharing.
The best way to get on social bookmarking sites is to make it easy for people to share your information. Be sure to include the social media icon links with your content (i.e. those icons at the end of an article that ask you to share it). There are ways to attempt to push your content to front page status, however for public relations professionals these are often advised against for most situations. Pronet Advertising has a great introduction to how Digg works on their blog.
Social bookmarking tools start with a collection of links compiled by individuals. Using different measurement techniques, depending on the site, the links that are deemed important or interesting to many people are moved to the site's homepage, which has the potential to receive more visibility. Like many online networks, these tools are organic in nature so trying to persuade a social community that your content deserves this high status is seen as forced and will be looked at with distaste.
Steve Rubel, SVP, director of insights, Edelman Digital, advises strongly against promoting your own content through these bookmarking tools on his blog Micropersuasion, saying "They're beautiful to look at and admire, but they're very dangerous to touch."
Digg
That being said, many think it is possible to create content that has a higher chance of being "dugg." There are many blog posts that try to explain the secrets to making your content reach the homepage of Digg. Many of these suggestions include making a funny video or writing a "top 10" list. While these may work, you are still at the mercy of Digg users who have the ability to "digg" your content or "bury" it.
While I'm not saying that a placement on Digg's homepage isn't exciting, many blogs say it might not be worth it. Sure, that piece of content will be seen many more times than it might have been had it not been on Digg, but Digg viewers are not loyal return readers. Chris Brogan reports his disappointment when making it to the front page of Digg produced no increase in views or RSS subscribers on his blog.
del.icio.us
Del.icio.us is a slightly different social bookmarking tool that has more potential in the public relations world. Del.icio.us allows you to save bookmarks online, share them with other people and see what other people are bookmarking. Although the site keeps track of the most popular bookmarks, there is little fear of being seen as an outsider on this site because many people use it for many different reasons.
Ogilvy PR's blog noted they use del.icio.us as a way to communicate information between themselves and its clients. The site provides a convenient way to share recent coverage or articles concerning their industry.
Todd Defren advises using del.icio.us for thought leadership in his blog, PR-Squared. He suggests creating a del.icio.us account for every MAJOR news release and sharing links that would allow those interested in the news to gain more context and information. He also gives best practice suggestions including giving an explanation on why each link is shared, tagging the links and allowing viewers to subscribe to an RSS feed.
Ann Handley, chief content officer, Marketing Profs agrees, "It's a way for organizations to further their role as a resource to their audience."
In my case, I have the links I used to research this blog post on my del.icio.us profile, SarahSLHaas.
Depending on how they are used, social bookmarking websites can be a viable part of a public relations plan. As in all social networking however, it is important to stay honest as to who you are and why you are there as well as be as natural as possible. As Brian Solis once said on his blog, "In the long tail, most don't want to hear from a PR person at all. This is PR's opportunity to stop acting like "PR" and become experts on the products/services they represent."
Hits: 109 | Read more...
Facebook is at the forefront of discussion about social media. Clients want pages, fans, wall posts, etc. But how do you distinguish between the noise and real results on your fan page?
I just read an article in PR News about enabling fan engagement on Facebook. That means that your client's fans are not just a growing number, they're interacting with your page. In PR, we know results don't necessarily rest in having a lot of people looking; it's about the right people interacting.
What Facebook features might you be missing out on?
- Facebook Connect - You've probably noticed on various websites that there's a Facebook symbol and the option to "like" articles or blog posts. This is just one example of Facebook Connect, an option where users can interact on third party websites and applications using their Facebook identity. This way, their interaction on other websites is posted to their Facebook profile. This is a great way to encourage your fans to visit your website and drive website content back to Facebook.
- Event Posting - One of our clients is a restaurant that features live music. This is a great opportunity to create an event on your page. Using this feature, not only can you post the event to your page wall, you can invite fans of the page and your personal friends to attend the event.
- Note the importance of notes - Is your news too long to fit into a single post? Whether you have a B2B client who you'd like to post an article about or a B2C client whose new product you'd like to describe, notes are great places for more in-depth information. A brief description of your note will be posted on your wall with a link to the note itself.
- Don't forget to react as well! - Facebook is a great way to get your audience to interact, but don't forget to react to them as well. Let your wall be a place where you answer questions and comment on posts. Your audience members will be excited to directly interact with you.
Hits: 145 | Read more...
We're cheering into the megaphone at the Largemouth office
as we celebrate five years as a premier public relations agency in the
mid-Atlantic region. The cliché holds true that time flies when you're having
fun working for fantastic clients and with truly talented people.
The five years since Largemouth's inception in 2005 have been packed with securing results for a myriad of admired institutions such as Eaton Corporation, CORT, Dollar Tree and Southeastern Freight Lines. We've also had exciting growth from our home in Research Triangle Park to Charlotte and Pittsburgh. While our primary focus is in the B2B sector, we've made a big splash in the B2C sector recently. I'm excited for the growth and challenges we'll see in the next five years.
But for now, I'd like to take a moment to show my personal appreciation for the people that have made the past five years a success - The Largemouth team and our awesome clients.
To celebrate, we had the whole team at our headquarters. We enjoyed a limo ride to dinner at 42nd Street Oyster Bar in Raleigh. Tonight, we are headed to a private box at a Durham Bulls game.
Hits: 80 | Read more...
I follow my favorite stores on Twitter for alerts about
sales and find out nightly restaurant drink specials through Facebook. Truly,
social media is at the forefront of B2C PR. But don’t forget that social media
has an increasingly important role in B2B as well. What should you and your B2B
client know about social media?
- Everyone is doing it. Someone once
decided that social media is irrelevant to B2B communications. Ignore
them! Have you checked out the people you might know on Facebook recently?
My tab includes my parents, their pastor and my best friend’s grandmother.
Everyone is using social media! Your task is to find people who are active
and important in your client’s industry. Once you find them, use social
media as another platform to establish yourself as a thought leader and
interact with key decision makers.
- Research is critical to success. Although social media is a great communication channel, your client might need some convincing. For example, pharmaceutical companies are weary that utilizing social media will result in public adverse event reports and consequentially, lawsuits. You will have to show your pharma client how Johnson & Johnson has a Facebook page and Novartis tweeted from the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.
- Roll out the numbers too. According to a recent article in PR News, the biggest obstacle to implementing B2B social media is lack of executive buy-in. Use facts and figures to show them the difference social media is making. We send out monthly social media reports to a few of our clients that detail their increased number of followers on Twitter and fans on Facebook. Tweeting from Hootsuite allows us to also show clients the number of people clicking through to their website from Twitter.
- Master the style. Social media is
not your ideal platform for posting in-depth case studies and detailed
press releases. The content must be fresh, concise and, as always,
relevant! At Largemouth, we tweet about new blog posts and
industry-related news. The point is to draw people towards your website
using social media. If you can do this, you’ll have a (Facebook) fan for
life.
Hits: 113 | Read more...
To learn how to take full advantage of our snazzy Flip Video HD camcorder, Kelly, Alex, Clarisse and I attended a Business Wire "Meet the Media" lunch yesterday that discussed how to add video to maximize reach, exposure and pick up. The three speakers on the panel were (left to right):
Valerie Aguirre, multimedia producer, CBC New Media Group, WRAL.com
Scott Sharpe, director of multimedia and photography, News & Observer
Rachel Toole, sales and marketing manager, MEDIAmobz
The speakers offered tips on producing and distributing video that effectively garners desired results.
Producing Quality Video
The first step to having an effective video is producing one with quality, but quality doesn't have to mean professional. A quality film is certainly feasible with a Flip cam, sans film crew and expensive equipment. The criteria for quality video have evolved and thanks to sites like YouTube raw footage is now more widely accepted. Nonetheless, quality sound is always vital. Sharpe referred to bad sound as being a "video killer." You can achieve quality sound with a Flip cam by filming in close proximity or incorporating voice-overs.
Adding utility or humor to a video is the next step to increasing its reach. If the video can help or show someone how to do something or simply entertain them by making them laugh or smile, they are more likely to send the video to their friends and share with their online networks. As technologies progress, new waves of utility are coming into video, including programs that allow you to put clickable links right into videos. Aguirre gave the example of WRAL's interactive grocery list tracker, which enables users to compare prices for everyday purchases among local grocery stores. Toole's company can also incorporate lead generation and registration tools into videos. They helped Business Wire, for example, create a video invitation for a social media conference where a viewer could plug in his or her name and e-mail address to RSVP immediately after viewing the video.
Applicability is another key step to consider. Be sure the story fits with the audience you are targeting. Consumers today expect videos to come from a human perspective and can always recognize a promotional video. Internet videos should also be brief. Few viewers have the time or attention span to watch a long video from start to finish.
Maximize Distribution
The final step to having people watch your video is proper distribution. Even if you follow all of the steps above, the best quality video fails to meet its purpose if it is never found. Video sharing sites, such as YouTube and Vimeo, are great places to host your video. The more places you post the more chances people will have to see it.
You can also post your video on your blog and Facebook account but it is also important to always include a link back to your website. What's the point in sharing your wonderful content if you're not driving your captivated audience to learn even more about you or your company? In YouTube, a link to the website can be included as the first part of the description. In social media platforms where you cannot post the video itself, such as Twitter, link to a video with an easy link to your website.
Video can also be included in your traditional public relations pitches. Whether included in a social media press release or pitched as an item itself, video can help visualize public relations stories. When pitching the media, it is important to keep in mind what they would get out of the video. Trade magazines may be more inclined to post informational product videos while general news stations may be more interested in video that fits your product into a news story. Although each publication is different, one recommendation is to send the video as a link to a FTP site where it can be downloaded. From here the reporter can then repurpose the video and edit useful clips if necessary.
Video has the potential to grab the attention of customers and allow your client's story to reach more people than otherwise possible. How are you using video? We'd love to hear from you on Twitter at @largemouthpr.
Hits: 704 | Read more...
Sitting at my graduation from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I saw hundreds of talented 20-somethings ready to tackle the real world. As a graduate of the public relations sequence, I know I saw things through a different lens, but I was still reminded that despite all the news stories (written by journalists, by the way), about how the news industry is failing, we still need journalists. In fact, with limited resources, we need better journalists now than ever before.
But are students shying away from journalism because of what they read in newspapers? Take, for example, the disheartening situation at North Carolina State University's newspaper, The Technician. The 90-year-old student newspaper was on the verge of shutting down in March because of a struggle to find new editors. But without The Technician, how would students keep up with campus elections, Wolfpack sports news and campus events?
However, had The Technician closed its doors, it would certainly be following a national trend of newspaper closings and restructurings. A solid example of this is the Seattle Post Intelligencer, the largest newspaper to go entirely online. Hearst put the Seattle P-I up for sale in January, but no one was interested. On March 17, the newspaper rolled off the press for the last time. The editorial staff was reduced to 20 news gatherers and Web producers.
Glenn Ericksen, a P-I copy editor for nearly 25 years, said that he believes the Web "lowers the standard of literacy all around. Who needs copy editors on the Web?"
The state of journalism is changing, that's undeniable. The public still wants news, but they want it to be fast, concise and oftentimes, free. This gives up-and-coming journalists a bigger challenge and a greater opportunity than ever before.
My feature writing professor, a former journalist, warned the members of our class that if we pursued journalism, we would be tasked with the responsibilities of a writer, photographer and editor. However, the internet and social media outlets also offer journalists new ways to disseminate news and interact with the public. Today's journalists have the opportunity to help decide the fate of the news industry for years to come.
Journalists are also necessary to uphold the public's right to know: Without journalists as watchdogs to hold our government and corporate leaders accountable, American democracy suffers.
So, to aspiring journalists: Do not change your college major and run away. Rise to the challenge. The world still needs your passion...
Hits: 155 | Read more...
I recently started working as an intern at Largemouth Communications. Everyone here has been so friendly, welcoming and helpful! I am very excited to start learning new information every day and get first hand experience of working in the public relations field.
I moved to North Carolina in 2007 from Belgium when I decided to come to the United States to attend a university. Although it was a huge culture shock at first, living in North Carolina has been great. I have met people from all over the country who have been very accepting and understanding of my different culture.
One big difference that I noticed after moving here was how friendly people are. The waiters at restaurants or sales people at the clothing stores in Belgium do not give the customers a warm welcome or ask if they need help. This is not considered rude by the Belgians because that is the culture! This is one of the many differences I experienced that at first might have been shocking, but is now one of the reasons why I love North Carolina.
I am a rising senior at Elon University with a major in strategic communications and a minor in business administration. Over the last three years, I have taken several classes that have prepared me to join the world of public relations.
This is my first internship so I am quite nervous but excited at the same time. Largemouth offers me a great opportunity to really apply what I have learned throughout my college career.
My first few days have been great so far and I look forward to working here for the rest of the summer!
Hits: 90 | Read more...
I recently joined Largemouth Communications as a project coordinator and could not be more excited about the opportunities this position has presented. Although I have only been here a few weeks, the amount of information I am learning on a daily basis can only be described as a young public relations professional's dream. (And no, no one is making me say this.)
I gradated from Pennsylvania State University in December of last year with a B.A. in Public Relations and a B.S. in Commercial and Community Recreation Management. I moved to North Carolina a few months after and have been blown away with all that Raleigh area has to offer - and I know I have only scratched the surface!
During my college career I had the great opportunity to complete three internships, the most recent developing and marketing The Green Careers Initiative at The Center for Sustainability at Penn State University. I also held multiple leadership positions in Circle K, a collegiate and community service organization sponsored by Kiwanis International, and volunteered over 150 hours each school year.
Since moving to North Carolina, I have joined the Young Professionals of Raleigh Kiwanis and have enjoyed exploring an exciting new area!
Hits: 102 | Read more...
I was positioned in the rented convertible doing live Twitter feeds to Eaton's site while the photographer was hanging out of the car getting action shots of the drive. I braved the wind as well and took some cool photos from my iPhone for the Twitter feeds. Interesting project to work on - to say the least!
Reporters from Motor Trend, Wired, CNET, Edmunds.com, Car and Driver, Road & Track and Autoweek test drove five iMiEVs during the 86-mile road trip. Eaton displayed prototypes of its EV charging equipment, including a level 3 charger, in Vacaville, Calif. - the location of the "Electrified Highway" charging stop. The charger is part of Eaton's range of products and services that will provide critical
infrastructure for EV corridors in California and across North America. The location and capability of the charger in Vacaville link the population centers of San Francisco and Sacramento for electric vehicle drivers. The quick charger can recharge the iMiEV to 80 percent of battery capacity in just 25 minutes.
This event helped to demonstrate how Eaton is making the charging infrastructure for commercial and residential applications a reality.
See more photos on Largemouth's Facebook page!
Hits: 204 | Read more...
This fall I had the opportunity to travel to New York and support our client CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company and the only national provider of furniture rental, as they participated in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice. After a long wait, we are excited to share that the episode has aired!Brett Michaels, Cyndi Lauper and Holly Robinson Peete, team Tenacity, were tasked with staging an apartment for lease by corporate executives. They turned to CORT for rental furniture and accessories to complete the "New York zen" themed environment they were creating in their apartment. Lauper and Peete shopped in CORT's Manhattan showroom, and CORT's signature red delivery trucks and team were featured in the episode.
Largemouth supported the 2009 launch of CORT's national home staging program, connecting stagers with relocation management companies, real estate asset management companies, banks and corporations that own homes purchased on behalf of relocating employees. This outreach resulted in numerous placements including the Chicago Tribune, REALTOR magazine and now, Celebrity Apprentice.
And, what's the value of PR? According to NBC, the value of the placement on "The Celebrity Apprentice" is worth more than $250,000 when compared to the cost of advertising or paid product placement.
Check out the episode and photo gallery of team Tenacity's apartment!
Hits: 160 | Read more...
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.
Hits: 200 | Read more...
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!
Hits: 147 | Read more...
