the limits and rewards of non-profit PR

fellow PR nerds,

Today concluded the long journey that was the Seton Hall PR 2 campaign. As Kendrick mentioned, we celebrated PR with Seton Hall Alumni and active members alike. Representatives from New Jersey and New York's top PR firms was there, including Coyne PR and MWW. The PR greats that painted the pages of my PR weekly magazines all semester were now a networking opportunity.

My infatuation with PR this week has been a love-hate relationship. It was so refreshing to see PR professionals who have been in the field for decades, but still have a palpable passion for what they do.

Much of my passion in driven by the prospect of shedding light on a worthy cause through non-profit PR. This is both a huge challenge and reward. Our PR 2 professor announced that campaigns have "roped" in over $1.5 million. Wow. That's a whole lot of good assigned to prospective PR professionals.

The biggest challenge of working with a non-profit organization is the limited budget...or lack there of. One would imagine that this was a much more challenging task before social media shook the PR world. Why produce an expensive and controversial VNR when you can draw traction to youtube for free? Why pay for ads in teen magazines when you can create a facebook fan page for your product?

PR has a reputation of crazy spinsters who distort the truth. Those who actually practice PR know that honesty and transparency are two very necessary tools. Non-profit PR has developed into a less controversial, do-gooder field. I believe all PR demands honesty, but i have yet to meet anyone who is vehemently opposed to non-profit PR, unlike those sleazy "corporate" PR types. If it were up to me, I would have my own firm called Pro-Bono where every cause could receive PR for free.

Every good cause deserves a voice.

-k.

ROPE in Sucess Event

I handed in my PR2 campaign along with my unofficial editing partner Kate. We spent countless hours in the library bouncing ideas off of each other. The greatest ideas always started out with "do you know what I mean?"

The ROPE in sucess event was amazing. It was refreshing to see my peers receive awards. It's human nature to be curious - which often poses questions. I couldn't help but think...

-What if I I make it to the Bateman Competition next semester?
-What client will I work with?
-What type of research will I conduct?

Life always seems to produce a lot of questions. The beauty of PR is that after you do all of your research, there is no doubt that your work is on track.

Lauren Atkinson shared some advice: always act as if you are being watched by a potential recruiter. I learned something about networking tonight. John Gramuglia from Coyne urged me to network. I was exhausted and I didn't have my game face on. That is when I realized that there is no such thing as a game face. As long as you are genuine, act like you normally do, and are motivated, then eventually things will take a turn for the better.

I gave out 7 business cards tonight. I loved creating my personal brand. I think the best part about it is that I was able to incorporate my two passions in life - PR and Graphic Design.

I've always prided myself on having spur of the moment ideas, some people call it randomness, I prefer to call it creativity.
-What if you were in charge of re-branding a major coporation?
-What would your first steps be?
As professor Golan always hounded into our heads - RESEARCH.