VerveCast

We’re pretty darn excited about our latest award win—a national Clarion award for public relations from the Association for Women in Communications. We won the award for the Pfister Narrator program at The Pfister Hotel, which I blogged about a few months back.

In essence, the program works like this. We put out a call for entries, local writers apply for the position and a selection committee picks from a pool of applicants the candidate they feel is most worthy of the job. The chosen ‘narrator’ then spends a specified amount of time in the hotel’s lobby and other public spaces, interviewing visitors and guests and sharing their stories on the Pfister’s blog. The blog and stories are subsequently promoted through The Pfister’s social media outlets, like Twitter and Facebook.

The program has been very well-received. In fact, The Pfister’s website and blog traffic has essentially doubled since its creation. It has been beneficial to the hotel in terms of that online presence, as well as in relation to in-person communications with the hotel’s guests. The narrator serves as an ambassador for the hotel and guests who interact with her feel special, forming a unique bond with the hotel. It’s a win-win for The Pfister and its guests.

Thanks to The Pfister for partnering with us to create this unique program!

Oh, by the way, the search is on from now until Sept. 1 to find the next Pfister Narrator. Go here to apply, and tell your friends!

The McDonald’s Corporation is helping thousands of people find the fast track to a new career. On April 19th, the company held one day interviews across the country to super size its staff with an additional 50,000 new hires.

The company says this hiring blitz is also a way to help shift stereotypes that working in fast food is a dead-end job. McDonald’s wants to redefine the term ‘McJob’, a word published in the Oxford English Dictionary as “an unstimulated, low-paid job with few prospects.” These new positions are a combination of full and part-time work, ranging from cashiers to restaurant managers, and with an average pay of $8.30 an hour.

The company is confident a crew job can put you on the track to corporate success, pointing out many of its executives started with the company working in restaurants. Jan Field, current President of McDonald’s USA, started with the company as a cashier back in 1978. Field isn’t alone in her corporate climb, McDonald’s boasts 50 percent of its corporate employees began their careers as crew members.

While I applaud the fact that thousands of people are being hired, what I admire even more is all of the publicity the company was able to bag for this event. The company says it traditionally beefs up its staff in preparation for the summer months. A spokeswoman says last year, McDonald’s hired 50,000 new employees during the month of April. Looks like the Golden Arches were able to turn an annual occurrence in a golden public relations event.

Last Thursday, Cory made the trek down to a place that I have called home for the past five years – UW-Whitewater. He spoke to a Public Relations Tactics II class taught by Ann Knabe about how he started in the marketing business and how Z2 came to be. He reiterated how important it is to never let anything stop you from achieving your dreams and how going through turmoil and hardship is sometimes a blessing in disguise.

Through some amazing photographs, including ones he took of Aaron Rodgers, C. Thomas Howell and a little girl named Emily, he showed students what inspires him to go to work every day. What he didn’t know, but had hoped for, was that he was inspiring UW-Whitewater students with every click of the mouse.

After Cory’s presentation, I hung around the classroom for a bit and was thrilled by what I was hearing from the students.

“He was so cool!”

“Definitely one of the best speakers that I’ve ever heard.”

“I really want to intern there.”

“He was so funny!”

And one girl, “I’m so jealous he got to meet Aaron Rodgers.” (So am I!)

These students may have walked out of the classroom feeling inspired, but the biggest change that Cory made in those students was having one student by the name of Brendan, change his minor in public relations to a major in public relations that very same day. I also left the classroom inspired and that feeling of “I am definitely in the right industry” and all fluttery-in-the-stomach about public relations and marketing, came back to me. Not to mention the fact that I am extremely grateful to be interning at such an amazing place as Z2.

What Makes a Good News Story? While everyone thinks they have a special story to tell, the media doesn’t always agree. Here are few things the news outlets consider when selecting the stories they will be covering for the day.

Timing
Timing is everything and if it’s happening “now” the story is likely to be covered. Viewers and readers want the latest information, so anything dated is quickly discarded. That’s why police shootings, fires and car chases make the headlines.

Significance
How many people does the story affect? The media is interested in higher numbers. A flu outbreak that impacts hundreds is likely to be covered over a flu outbreak that hits a dozen people.

Proximity
The media wants to cover stories that impact people where they live. It has more value if it stays closer to home. People here are more likely to read a story about higher gas prices in Wisconsin versus high gas prices in Georgia.

Prominence
If you’re a familiar name your actions are more newsworthy. If a business man falls on the ice and breaks his arm, few will notice. If a state senator does it, it’s news.

These stories appeal to emotion. They are covered to create an emotion, action, or simply to tell an interesting tale. They can be quirky, but need to be memorable. If it’s a unique story, it’s also more likely to be covered.

When pitching a story to the media it’s important to consider what angle you are going for. The more work you do to make your story appealing to the media, the more likely it is to be covered.