Article originally appeared in the February 20, 2012 edition of the Northern Nevada Business Weekly.

Over the last year, public relations has had the dubious honor of being listed in the top 10 most stressful jobs in the U.S. In one report, it was listed as number two under firefighters, which really got me thinking, “Maybe I’m doing it wrong.” However, it’s almost guaranteed that when someone reads these rankings and sees public relations listed, they either question what they know or they laugh thinking, “how hard is it really to plan a party?”

The perception certainly exists that PR is all about throwing parties and schmoozing. What challenges public relations professionals most about the profession we’ve chosen is that it is constantly evolving.  To identify an excellent PR person look for the following traits to be demonstrated by these workhorses of the marketing world: adaptability, embracing new technology, thinking “big picture” and looking out for the best interests of those they represent.

Imagine working in a profession that no one really knows what you do? In fact, in a survey conducted by the New York chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), 92 percent believed that most people do not understand what public relations is. And no wonder, in a world where international relations is referred to as “PR” in newscasts or the word “spin” is bandied about when referring to politics or a celebrity miss-Tweet, it’s obvious there’s a credibility problem. So in an effort to showcase the why and how of public relations, here are 5 myths often overheard in the industry.

1. PR is about cocktail parties and schmoozing. Now wouldn’t that be the life? When you do see PR people at these events, we often come haggard from a busy day at the office where there are 500 other things going on that need immediate attention. And if they had a hand in the event itself, they’ve spent hours, often weeks, beforehand making sure every detail is taken care of and more importantly anticipated.
2. PR is about controlling the media. Far from it. If it was that easy, newspapers would be filled with fluff pieces like, “Conference Room Receives a Makeover with New Paint,” all with a “world is hunky-dory, no need to worry” outlook. It’s about news and relationships. If there’s news value, the media will be interested. If there’s a relationship, the media will start calling you instead of you stalking them.
3. 3. PR is just like advertising. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Advertising is paid. Public relations is earned. And by earned, it means that feature article in the local paper or in a national magazine took time, sometimes months, to cultivate and place. Ideally, the two disciplines support each other and when strategically aligned add power to a marketing campaign. Public relations and its new shinny sister social marketing can help launch a campaign before the first ad ever hits.
4. PR is just a press release. It’s so much more. Yes a press release serves a role often for Board of Directors, publicity traded companies and for your website. True success lies in strong newsworthy content and storytelling. The ability to tell a story that incorporates key messages and is targeted to the journalist, blogger or customer you are trying to reach. When specifically tailored, it’s a very powerful tool.
5. PR is easy. True, it’s not brain surgery. It would be safer to say PR is simple, not necessarily easy. If it was that easy it wouldn’t be listed as a stressful job. The fact is public relations professionals think beyond the boxes of “the message” to who could be hearing a particular message, how the audience would respond, what’s really going to move the needle and what could happen. Personally, I’m thankful for the clients I’ve worked with that challenge and believe anything is possible. With that attitude, it is.

So if you know someone in this stressful world of public relations, tell them you now have a better understanding of what they do. Maybe even give them a hug or better yet get them some caffeine or buy them a beer…after all they may just need it.

It was the year the snow came…a little later than anticipated. So what’s at tourist based economy to do? Bring in heavy hitters to tell the story.

How about having Olympic Gold Medalist Jonny Moseley and 3^rd ranked in the world freestyle skier Sho Kashima tell the Reno-Tahoe story – that the nation’s leading winter ski resorts are primed and ready for late winter fun. Ensuring the right message got out about what the ski resorts were doing in regards to a “business as usual” attitude and the need for an extra push,  made a one-day blast through satellite radio and TV interviews the perfect solution.

Developed for the Reno-Tahoe Regional Marketing Committee (RMC), a consortium charged to maintain and grow air service and brand the destination to nonstop and direct flight markets, and under the expert guidance of Strauss Radio Strategies, the interviews took place over a five and half hour period in the early morning hours of February 17 – the start of President’s Weekend.

In total, 26 interviews took place including all three networks in the Reno area covering the event as news itself. The following are a list of stations that participated in the interviews including clips received.

KFBK-AM, Sacramento, CA

KOA-AM, Denver, CO

KERO-TV, Bakersfield, CA

KSEE-TV, Fresno, CA

KGO-AM, San Francisco, CA

KGPE-TV, Fresno, CA

FOX News Radio, National

KHQ-TV, Spokane, WA

KTVX-TV, Salt Lake City, UT

KCRA-TV, Sacramento, CA

Eastern Panhandle Talk, North East WV; Northern VA; Washington, DC; West Maryland; and PA

KRON-TV, San Francisco, CA

Marketwatch, National

Fox News Edge, National

KYNO-AM, News/Talk

KMOX-AM, St. Louis, MO

KTXX-FM, Austin, TX

Tan Talk Radio Network, Tampa, FL

KESQ, Palm Springs

One thing is for certain, Reno-Tahoe packs a lot of ski star power and being able to work with these two incredible athletes, one a current Gold Medalist and the other a future Gold Medalist, sure does make one appreciate this region and how everyone bands together for the greater good.

A HUGE thanks to all the ski resorts that help in the search for athletes, in providing footage and talking points to make this event happen: Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley, Northstar, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Heavenly, Mt. Rose and Kirkwood. And finally, thank you to KNPB Public Broadcasting for the incredible talent (Dave Santina and the entire team) and facility to make all of this a reality.

With all this talk around Reno about food trucks, like them or not, it’s all the rage. LA, San Francisco and New York are leading the way in making food fashionable. But what happens when Gap gets a hold of the idea? Kitschy and pure genius at the same time.

The Pico de Gap taco truck asked Celebrity Chef Marcel Vigneron to “bridge the gap between food and fashion.” In a clever and innovative fashion, this public relations outreach and social media integration makes for one unique program. Check out the video and be sure to catch Gap’s 1969 branding and, of course, the denim bar.

Keeping up with social marketing seems as though it’s as much about keeping up with the new changes as it is the names themselves. With words such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Groupon, Yelp and of course Facebook and Twitter, it really comes down to engaging the user and now, providing deals.

If you offer a product or service (and who doesn’t right?), then knowing how to use these tools for your business could make the difference in getting and more importantly retaining customers. In recent weeks, there’s been a lot of action on Foursquare with businesses setting up accounts left and right. Right now Foursquare doesn’t offer an easy way to secure a business page so it really is a free for all. However, once you’ve claimed your business you can really start having fun by adding deals and rewarding those who check in.

Gowalla’s newest update allows check-ins on Foursquare, it’s much larger rival in the GPS-enabled smartphone location service arena. According to a Pew Research Center Study released in December, these platforms draw a small audience with 4% of online adults using “geosocial” sites. Remember when you said, “Face-what?” and now it has more than 500 million users. Right now Foursquare is at 5 million members and Gowalla is at 600,000.  That’s a lot of people sharing their experience with their friends and associates and, more importantly, a business opportunity.

And not to be left out, in recent weeks Yelp added check-in offers for its members joining Facebook places with its new deals.

How important is all of this? Well let’s just say based on how fast Starbucks and Southwest Airlines jumped at the opportunity, I’d say you might want to take a second look. The day after the Facebook Deals announcement, Starbucks starting advertising that it would donate $1 per Facebook Places check-in up to $75,000 to the Conservation International. And just before Thanksgiving, Southwest Airlines launched its charitable check-ins using Facebook Places. Simply check-in at the airport and Southwest Airlines will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation up to $300,000.

The bad news? You might be saying, “Hey, I think I just got a handle on Facebook and Twitter and now this?” And if you’re not on one of these platforms you can guarantee your competitors are  either already on it or looking into it.

The good news? It doesn’t take long to be up and running. You’ll want to work closely you’re your social marketing manager or team to evaluate and determine what’s going to work best for your business…and if it does.

We know that going through this jungle is easier with a little help which is why RKPR offers consultation and training on location-based services as well as all things social. E-mail us to learn more.

Okay, while that might not be completely accurate, it is.  Kristen Power who has been with RKPR for three years is packing up and moving to Kanab, Utah.  As a native Nevadan and Renoite, this is big.  For us, we’re excited that she’s still going to be part of the team working remotely from her beautiful new locale.  

We hope you can join us Thursday, September 23 for a little sendoff and well wishes as Kristen begins a new journey.

If not, don’t fret.  Share your stories, thoughts or well wishes here.  We’re sure Kristen will treasure it.

Each year the chapters of the Public Relations Society of America call for submissions in their annual awards programs, locally called the Silver Spike Awards. It’s an opportunity for PR pros to submit their top work over the past year to be judged by their peers and, hopefully, rewarded for their hard work.

This is my second year of judging entries and my first as the Sierra Nevada chapter’s judging chair. Our chapter has agreed to judge dozens of entries from the Oklahoma City chapter and it’s been a lot of work, from coordinating judging times and securing judges to organizing entries and collecting the completed judging forms. But at the same time I’ve found it to be truly interesting. Often we get so entrenched in our own projects and clients that we don’t see what’s going on elsewhere. And in my case, we don’t necessarily recognize the skills we have until we compare them to others’.

This year’s judging has turned out to be an opportunity to learn about some new tactical tools and ideas for client service and also recognize that what we do for our clients is truly above and beyond.

Last week Facebook upped the ante on location based social networking with Facebook “Places.” “Places” provides an opportunity to for you to share where you are with your Facebook friends.  It’s been less than a week since the launch of this new, fancy tool and after a bit of confusion, like it not working in all cities including LA at launch, friends are starting to share activity. Here’s some tips and thoughts as you do.

1. You will need the Facebook app for iPhone. Sorry Android and Blackberry users, apps are on the way.
2. You can check in on the newsfeed pages, look for the balloon icon in the upper right, or go to the main screen and the look for the new “Places” icon.
3. Depending on how you manage your Facebook friends, for example some use it exclusively for friends and family while others use it as a business outreach tool, it’s important to know that when you share where you are it shares with your entire friend list. They don’t have to be using “Places,” they can just click “Places” from their device and see where you are. This differs from Foursquare in that most users who have set up Foursquare know that they are sharing their location with their friends and, if you’re like me, have been a little more aware of accepting friend requests. Also, Foursquare allows you to just check in without telling anyone or customize who you want to know. “Places” does not.
4. You can also tag friends who are with you. This is interesting and has some privacy ramifications. For instance, what if your friend isn’t as open as you about sharing or they might have told someone they were somewhere else and then pop up with you?  There’s also no verification from those you’re tagging to confirm. That may have changed but I did it twice last week and it just showed up in my friend’s feed. Read more about how privacy concerns are involved with this.

That said, “Places” is fun if you’re already using tools like Foursquare and are in the habit of telling your Facebook friends via status updates that you are at “X.” Plus it’s kinda neat to check in to “Places” and see who might be at the restaurant, concert or event you’re at.

From my perspective, I’m leaning toward primarily using Foursquare and will also add in the mix “Places” for opportunities that are appropriate and when I don’t mind sharing with my entire Facebook friend list. One thing you won’t see me doing is checking in to my house…that’s private.

Note:  RKPR Inc. was contacted by the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT) as a possible stop in a six week program they were pulling together for Ben Martinac, a student from Germany studying Tourism Management. Ben had attended an NCOT international media FAM a year earlier and was on a personal quest to learn as much as possible about his field by studying abroad during the summer. Ben joined the RKPR team the week of Aug. 9. We couldn’t have been more pleased to host Ben and we look forward to hearing about his journey. Best wishes for your continued success!   

Around one year ago when I received the invite to a press FAM to Las Vegas and Reno-Lake Tahoe I had no idea what to expect. I was pretty excited about the trip but was somehow thinking: “what am I going to do in the desert for ten days?” The general image we’ve got in Germany about Nevada is Vegas, and desert. Well, I wasn’t wrong about Vegas. Gambling, nightclubs and a lot of booze, and all that in the middle of the desert. Exactly how I pictured it. After four nights in Vegas we packed our stuff and continued the journey to Reno. After an hour flight, we landed in Reno and what’s that? Another Las Vegas, just the pocket version. At least that’s what I thought at that time. However, I was proven wrong pretty soon.

The next morning we were taken out to the Truckee River for Whitewater Rafting by members of the NCOT. I was soon amazed by the variety of nature along the river. No sounds of car engines, no honking, no noise whatsoever. Just the whooshing of the river. From that moment on I knew I was at the right spot. And as this wasn’t enough, Lake Tahoe just blew my mind the following day. What a beautiful place, surrounded by snowcapped mountains and that’s in July. Sweet! An all American evening at the Reno Rodeo, a visit in Virginia City and a ride on the V&T steam train through the mountains was the cherry on my sundae.

So the trip was over far too soon but the good memories stayed. So come December, I am thinking about where to spend my summer. As I am studying Tourism Management and I wanted to gain some experience in the Tourism Industry, I remembered this awesome place Lake Tahoe. Wouldn’t it be great to spend the summer there and learn something job related while I’m over there? So I took my chances and wrote an email to Chris (Chrystal) and Bethany (Drysdale) at the NCOT asking whether they could use an intern during the summer. And what did I know, they actually did. So they and Angela (Froelich) organized this whole itinerary for me for six weeks during the summer. I’d be working with the NCOT for a few days, then two days with the Carson City Convention & Visitor Bureau, a week with RKPR, followed by Nevada Magazine, Reno-Sparks Convention Center and Virginia City. So there I am, it’s January and I know I’ll have the greatest summer ever. I couldn’t wait for August to come. Eight months later I was finally sitting in the plane heading to Reno.

Until now it has been one of the best experiences of my life. I worked with the NCOT, Carson City Convention & Visitor Bureau and RKPR. I’m getting to know all these interesting people, learn a lot about how tourism on a state scale is working but also how it’s done at shop floor. I have the chance to experience the whole chain of the industry at first hand and learn from professionals while staying in one of the nicest areas I’ve ever been to.

So far, while working for the NCOT and RKPR, I’ve learnt a lot about public relations – fun things such as pitching and writing press releases, but also a little less fun things such as clip reports. At least now I know that even the dullest things matter as much as everything else. A big surprise to me was that social media are used as widely for PR and marketing purposes. Back home in Germany it has just started to become a PR/Marketing tool. I was quite impressed since it is really easy to manage and it is more or less cost free. Furthermore, you can reach such a wide population with just a few clicks.

Working with RKPR has been a lot of fun. They have a great team that’s been very helpful and supporting. I was given a lot of opportunities to write press releases and social media posts and was supported with a lot of guidance and constructive criticism what allowed me to improve myself and broaden my knowledge about the field and the Reno-Tahoe Territory. Also apart from work they have been great, too and took me out so that I get to know the city better and don’t spend my evenings bored in my motel room.

I had a terrific time at the Carson City Convention and Visitor Bureau as well. It has been a totally different experience than office work. I was working at the front desk and at first I observed how visitors are being assisted and given information about the area but later I also took care of handling visitor inquiries. I have gotten to know so many different people from all over the states and the world – even a couple from my home town stopped by at the bureau. What a small world…

I am very excited about the next couple of weeks and what’s waiting for me at the other companies/agencies. Next week I’m with the Nevada Magazine and so far I’ve only heard great things about them.  If I’ll only be able to pick up half of what I’ve picked up so far it’s going to be another amazing three weeks.

When you live and breathe a client’s work every day in the office leading up to an event sometimes it’s hard to head to the actual event after hours. Fortunately we work with some really great events and attending their events is an opportunity to relax, catch up with friends and in rare instances witness a community step up to a challenge.

This July Artown, Reno’s 31-day arts festival, asked the community to “Give $3, Keep Artown Free.” It’s the first time the nonprofit organization actually asked for donations at its free events. Through several amazing partnerships we marketed the program city-wide and hoped to cover our costs and bring in a few thousand dollars for the festival.

I headed to Wingfield Park and several of Artown’s free events to take photos during the Give $3 donation call and was so impressed with the generous nature of Artown attendees. Kids were stuffing bills in collection boxes, the elderly were dropping in spare change and some families gave much more than $3. 

In the end Artown raised more than $32,000, much more than what was anticipated.

Check out this photo gallery of some of the wonderful “Give $3” moments Artown captured in 2010.