I know I'm not the only one guilty of driving on autopilot. It is not rare for me to get into my car and drive my usual route to work without thinking about where I'm going. It's only when something unusual happens – like a car suddenly changes lanes, a great song comes on the radio, or someone in the car asks where I'm going – that I'm stirred out of auto pilot and back into focus.

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I spent the week spreading the great news that our client, United Healthcare, has created more than 1,000 new jobs in North Carolina by its UnitedHealthcare and Optum business platforms. There truly is nothing better than working with media outlets across the state to share good news about a valued client and wonderful job opportunities in my own background.

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Much of a public relation firm’s value is derived from the strength of its relationships with the media. A client’s latest news could make for the most compelling, dramatic, unbelievable story of the year, but if pitched to the wrong person, might never see the light of day.

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I recently attended a press conference announcing the collaboration between UnitedHealthcare and Cornerstone Health Care in High Point, N.C. Helping to manage this press event reminded me how important it is for is public relations professionals to be able to successfully strategize and execute events like this.

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Despite a wealth of changes we've seen in the media landscape over the past few years, there is no denying the perpetuating relationship of the PR practitioner and the reporter. There are certain stereotypes that portray this correlation as one-sided, the PR professional always trying to push an agenda or story angle. The reality is, PR practitioners are not the only ones reliant on this inevitable relationship. Media outlets find value in reliable, honest relationships with PR professionals to source story ideas, connect with experts and more.

This is why I recently jumped on the opportunity for a tour of WRAL-TV studios—one of the leading broadcast television stations in the Triangle.

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The Largemouth team attended the Kangaroo Express Salute the Guard Ceremony last week, hosted by the North Carolina National Guard and the Soldiers and Airmen Assistance Fund (SAAF-NC). During the ceremony, Kangaroo Express presented a $221,000 check to SAAF-NC—the single largest donation received by SAAF-NC since its inception in 2004!

 

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Just because I'm not fluent in Spanish, doesn't mean my clients can't reach out to the Spanish media. Sure, I can speak Dora the Explorer with the best of 'em, but when it comes to media relations, better Spanish-speaking skills are necessary.

While preparing the media relations plan for a recent anti-counterfeiting conference in Madrid, Spain, my client and I decided to partner with a Madrid-based PR agency and utilize their media contacts and language skills for outreach to the local media.

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It’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement of the Kangaroo Express “Salute Our Troops” campaign. But why wouldn’t you want to?

Organizations from across the country are combining their resources, passion and expertise to support our Armed Forces and their families, and the result is inspiring and humbling. We have embraced the “do well while doing good” philosophy of our client, The Pantry, as we promote this incredible campaign.

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As one of Largemouth’s newest summer interns, I was asked a very important question when meeting to discuss goals for her internship, “What exactly do you want to do when you graduate?”

Though I recognized this was a perfectly legitimate question for a student coming into the final year of an undergraduate career, I wasn’t able to respond truthfully. Like many of my peers, I was unsure what specific professional path I would like to take following graduation, but I do know that establishing my personal brand would be one of my top priorities – confident that once I fully understood my areas of expertise, and accrued diverse work experience, my career aspirations would become clear.

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I recently had the opportunity to attend a Business Wire hosted “Meet the Media” luncheon featuring an impressive panel of three local journalists: News Director of NewsRadio 680 WPTF, The North Carolina News Network and StateGovernmentRadio.com, Rick Martinez; Co-Founder of WRAL Tech Wire and a previous editor and reporter at The News & Observer, Rick Smith; and the Assistant Business Editor of The News & Observer, David Bracken.

During the luncheon, the esteemed panel of guest speakers shared a recipient’s view on media pitching, a truly invaluable skill every practitioner in our industry aims to perfect.  

Here's what they had to say...

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I wasn't around when public relations relied on compiling and mailing press kits, faxing releases or banking on relationships with one or two local newsroom buddies, and I'm glad.  Why? Because there has never been a better time to be in PR than right now.

The game has changed.  PR pros are currently in a transformative stage, evolving, but not just to survive as the fittest among communication experts, but also to rule the tangled infrastructure of emerging media channels and technological trends.  We are evolving to take full advantage of the resources that have been put in front of us, and as a result of society's changing needs, PR skill sets are growing into something a lot bigger than any press release or fact-sheet could ever describe. Yet, we will always remain behind the scenes, speaking through the talking heads and illuminated screens that you rely on.

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Growing up in north Raleigh, near Durant Road, I would pass Eaton Corporation's Capital Boulevard manufacturing plant a handful of times a week and I always assumed it was some sort of food distributer -"Eat-on," I don't know exactly why I made the assumption, I was imaginative and more concerned with the soccer fields down the street, and ice cream.

Fast-forward more than a decade - while applying for internships, I did my research, noticed that Largemouth worked with Eaton, recognized the logo, and visited their website, finally. Much to my surprise, I didn't see any information about restaurant delivery, and for as much as I knew about power quality and distribution products, the site might as well have been in German -I'm far from fluent.

The point is, for the beginning PR professional, working on behalf of a highly-technological company whose products you hardly understand can be intimidating, especially while pitching -when you really need to be an expert. But, if you do your research, clearly define a purpose, and engage as much as possible with people who are relevant to that purpose, you will provide a valuable service, project professionalism, and open up valuable relationships for future collaboration. So, from my personal experience, here are a few words of advice:

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So, the Facebook announcement was pretty awesome, as promised. Beyond the group chat capabilities, new chat design – and yes, even beyond the Skype video calling integration – if we look at this announcement with a public relations lens, there are a few awesome tips to take away from the work of the Mark Zuckerberg team to see how a company press conference can overshadow something like the White House’s first-ever presidential “Twitter Town Hall.”

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Conventional PR wisdom will tell you that you can’t force something to “go viral.” Sure, you can make every effort to produce content that is hilarious, meaningful, catchy, valuable, or just so very cool that people want to share it with their friends. But no matter how real it gets in the Whole Foods parking lot, or how many dance parties take place in Apple stores, you truly cannot control what catches on and what doesn’t.

But sometimes a client offers a deal so amazing it takes on a life of its own, as was the case with the deal Kangaroo Express offered its guests: Pay $6.99 for a reusable cup, refill it with fountain or frozen beverages as many times as you like at any of the 1,600+ locations throughout the Southeast – all summer long.

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I've just about completed my first month as a full-time account coordinator here at Largemouth's RTP home, and although I was in and out of the agency as an intern for a semester, that experience provided only a taste of what full-service communications really means.

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For most N.C. natives, like me, summer's humid 90-degree days are often an unwelcomed familiarity. This summer, however, has gotten off to a dramatically different start. Instead of relaxing pool side like many college students, I am interning at the corporate office of Raleigh's fast-paced, high-energy PR agency Largemouth Communications. Read More

Thanks to social media, new marketing technologies emerge as often as status updates.  But, as the boundaries between physical and technological communication blur, it is vital to monitor and predict trends, as well as recognize society's needs, when planning the next cutting-edge marketing campaign.

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Even the best of seasons have to end at some point - and with Gary Williams' unexpected retirement news I'm sure Maryland basketball fans will concur. The buzzer may have sounded for this year's Battle for Bean Street, but luckily we've got a highlight reel compiled by our friends at Skiver Advertising that will leave us basking in the glory of the battle until we're back in action next year.

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Spring has official sprung in North Carolina, and at Largemouth Communications we've already begun to launch exciting new campaigns for this summer. Before taking that giant leap, we thought we'd take a moment to look back at just a few of the "greatest hits" this Raleigh public relations agency has obtained in recent months. Read More