From non-profits in Carrboro to tech companies in Beijing, I thought I’d seen it all. I’ve been fortunate to work with several exciting organizations over the past four years and thought I understood what it meant to be an intern – until I arrived at Largemouth last week.

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I can still remember the day I decided that I wanted to work in public relations.

I had just finished my first semester at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and I felt unsure about which major was right for me. I knew that, whatever profession I chose, I wanted to be excited about going to work every day. After scrolling through the list of offered majors, I found public relations, and you can say the rest is history.

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Reaching the masses on social media seems like an easy thing to do. Facebook has more than 800 million active users, with more than 50 percent of them logging in every day, Twitter claims 300 million.

But, while these vast user populations may represent great opportunity for the consumer-facing side of the business world, their translation into the business-facing community remains a bit unclear.

In judging the value of participation in this forum, BtoB marketers and decision makers often see two sides to the debate:

1. A complete lack of presence could reflect poorly on a company – especially in a BtoB world where staying “ahead of the curve” is everything.

2. With indistinct analytics, lead-generation value and return on investment, how can a budding BtoB company justify the expenses and time commitments associated with maintaining a social presence?

Furthermore, those businesses that go with door #1, often quickly become frustrated with their results, and fall back into door #2, unable to justify the investment.

I personally believe that with social media, you get what you put in. So, I’ll bring this discussion back to the bare bones of PR. Our overarching professional theme – know your audience – doesn’t magically disappear when thrown into the realm of social media...

 

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How often do you think about your personal electricity usage? Perhaps once-a-month when the bill comes in? Well, our client, Sensus Smart Metering, a Raleigh-based utility infrastructure firm, spends a lot of time thinking about the electricity, gas and water usage of commercial and residential users worldwide. Last week, I had the exciting opportunity to witness the installation of a Sensus smart meter in Largemouth’s backyard, and tell the media all about how the Triangle is quickly becoming the “Smart Grid Valley” of the east!

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We take great pride in announcing that a public relations campaign that kept our team hustling all summer was recognized by the leading public relations trade publication, PRWeek, in a profile of the "Salute Our Troops" campaign.

Members of The USO Jeep Tour team pause and pose for a celebration photo at the Salute Our Troops campaign finale. The Jeep tour made stops across 8 states, traveling more than 13,500 miles and visiting more than 75 communities and 300 Kangaroo Express stores, recognizing local military heroes and providing a news peg that averaged more than three stories a day throughout the summer in local market media outlets.

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During the course of my fall semester, I have spent roughly 40 business days as one of Largemouth's interns. As the semester is dwindling down and winter break is quickly approaching, I have had time to reflect about working in a full-service public relations firm for the past 16 weeks. From my time here, I can honestly say having an internship teaches you so much more than you will ever learn in the classroom. The experience I have gained thus far at Largemouth has undoubtedly been the most influential practice for my future in the public relations profession.

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Be honest, when was the last time you took a step back from your hectic workspace and set aside a few moments to reorganize? Probably around six months ago when you caught the spring cleaning bug, right? For your sanity – and those around you during the holidays – here are five things you probably shouldn't put off until next spring.

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I raise my proverbial hat to all PR rock stars that have the golden quill –that keen ability to whip up a perfectly clean press release with precise AP style, concise language and problem solving messaging. But, no matter how strong your inverted pyramid is, it’ll all fall down without a proper cornerstone – and I’m talking about a skillfully crafted quote.

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Did you notice how relaxed all the high profile clientele looked at the Emmys this year? That’s because they were lounging in the greenroom on CORT furniture! We’ve facilitated appearances for our client CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company and the only national provider of furniture rental, on shows like The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice, but even we were star struck by all the big names relaxing on CORT’s upscale Lounge22 Powered by CORT collection.

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The Finale Celebration and check presentation of the Kangaroo Express "Salute Our Troops" campaign was held last week at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., It was a memorable event, and the $2.5 million donation provided a vital measurement in analyzing the success the campaign. But to go beyond quantifiable analytics, to look past the numbers, is to paint a picture that tells a qualitative story - a story of corporate and community unity.

So, as I look back at the "Salute Our Troops" summer, and reflect on what made this campaign the most unique I've ever worked on, I hope you'll not only enjoy the photos from the check presentation, but also recognize an element of consumer engagement that went far beyond wallets and into the hearts and minds of communities around the nation.

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