Emily Watkins, Account Executive

Tower’s back from winter break and ready to kick things into high gear! To start this semester off, we would like to recognize Emily Watkins as our January Member Spotlight.  Watkins is an account executive for Theatre Action Project and considers herself an expert Scrabble and Words with Friends player.  Here’s what she has to say regarding Tower and her undergraduate experience at UT:

How long have you been with Tower? I joined Tower in the fall of 2010 on the Theatre Action Project account. I have stayed on this account for three semesters and became an account executive last fall. 

Are you currently interning? If so, where? What type of work?  I am interning with Bread and Butter PR this semester. We work with restaurants, wine, chefs and hospitality clients. I am their public relations intern and I basically help them with editing recipes, pitching, research and press releases.

What do you enjoy most about working with Tower? I enjoy the people and the work. I learned how to pitch client ideas and how to maximize my time at the career fair since joining Tower. Without the people in Tower I would be lost trying to find internships and jobs. Also I enjoy working with the non-profits because the employees and volunteers are eager and very appreciative of our work.

Watkins with Theatre Action Project account

What motivates you to work with non-profits? Non-profit almost always have a good cause and great people working for them.  They work long hours for little pay because they are passionate about a cause. Non-profits are great people to work with. 

If you could listen to only one album for the rest of your life what would it be? Adele 21 is the best album ever. I loved Adele before this album, but this one is truly my favorite. She just has such a great voice and writes lyrics I can relate to.

What book do you thing everyone should read? (favorite book) Hands down, Harry Potter series. You haven’t lived until you have read Harry Potter, and seeing the movies doesn’t count. I know I sound like a Potter nerd, but these books hooked me on reading.

What is the best memory you have from Tower? My best memory of Tower was working with Rachel and Ana to promote a benefit concert for Theatre Action Project. Then after all of our hard work, we all went to the concert together. It was amazing to see all of our hard work pay off.

Watkins and Ana Vargas at Cupcake A Doodle Do

What are your post-graduation plans? Graduation is still a ways away, but my goal is to graduate with a job in travel/tourism public relations. I would like to stay in Austin, but I would not mind moving to a different city for a good job.

Tower is very happy to have Watkins as an account executive and look forward to hearing some of her new ideas for TAP.

With that said, if you or anyone you know is interested in joining Tower, applications are now open! You can download the application here. Please submit the application along with a resume and brief essay. Applications are due by 5 p.m. to texastowerpr@gmail.com on Wednesday, January  25, 2012. And as always, you can get  the latest info by becoming a fan on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

Kaitlyn Williams
Social Media Officer

Anthony Larmon

Anthony Larmon has been with Tower just a few short months but he has contributed some great ideas to the Austin Better Business Bureau Account.

Larmon is currently interning at Edelman PR-Hamburg, Germany.  After graduation, he plans to continue interning at Edelman with hopes of turning that internship into a permanent position either here in the United States or overseas.

Larmon says that he really enjoyed getting to know Tower members and he has really learned the importance of teamwork. He encourages members to networks and push their limits professionally.

Ana Vargas

Ana Vargas has been with Tower since fall 2009. This year, Vargas severed as one of the Theatre Action Project Account Executives. While working on the account, she worked with TAP and Sara Hickman to uphold their mission of providing creative arts education for social change.

Vargas is currently a public relations at Giant Noise. She isn’t graduating until May, but she’s leaving Tower to work in Los Angeles with the UTLA Program. She says, “I am planning on interning at a record label or somewhere that could give me really good experience in the music business so that I can get my foot in the door.”

Vargas says that she has gained a lot of hands-on experience from Tower, but she has noticed a significant improvement in her writing skills and gaining confidence in her work as a result.

Vargas leaves Tower with these words of advice: “Never give up on your dreams. It sounds cheesy, but every dream is a goal, which means it is worth going after. Don’t be afraid of challenges and success.”

With that said, we wish everyone the best of luck and hope that you keep in touch and continue to share some of your knowledge, experience and ideas with Tower.

Hook ‘em,
Kaitlyn Williams
Social Media Officer

With that said, here’s some basic tips for filming …

Get action shots. It’s easy to get a lot of footage of people standing, but action is what people want to see.  Make sure that you have lots of action shots. If you are not sure, make sure each video clip has at least a subject, verb and an adjective.  Doing so will keep your audience engaged.

Get several angles. A rule of thumb is to get as many angles as possible. You’d be surprised at how different things look from the typical straight-ahead angle. Don’t be afraid to get up close to your subject, get in a chair or even sit on the floor to get a good angle.  Your client won’t expect you to be a world-famous photographer, but it doesn’t hurt to give them a variety.

Keep your video short. People tend to get hours of footage for a two-minute video. It doesn’t hurt to have extra footage, but remember you will have to look through all of that footage when you get ready to edit. Make sure you get the most important footage first and then move on to creative elements.

Use a tripod. I know, people hate packing around the tripod, but it makes all the difference in your footage. Using a tripod solves almost all of your shaky camera problems. Most people think they can hold a steady hand, but don’t take that chance unless you have to.  Tripods make video pans and zooms easier for viewers to see. When filming any person or event, remember to always count to 10 before moving the camera on to something else.

Lighting is everything. Lighting maybe the most important thing when recording video. Many cameras automatically adjust the lighting for you, but just in case, position yourself to where the light (either the sun, lamp, window etc) is behind you. Some editing programs allow you to adjust light, however it’s always better to get the best lighting possible before hand.

Keep it simple.  Avoid fancy shooting techniques, or excess movement in your shots. Your clients won’t expect a masterpiece from you, so avoid fancy video effects also. It is important to think of your audience when filming. Using fancy digital effects will either annoy them or distract them from the purpose of your video.

Now that we’ve reviewed some filming tips, take a look at this video on the basic editing techniques using iMovie. iMovie is really easy to use and perfect for beginners.  Although iMovie is only available for a MAC, there are other editing programs that work similarly.

I hope these tips and tutorials help. Once again, no one is expecting you to be a world-famous photographer, but it never hurts to know the basics.

Kaitlyn Williams
Social Media Officer

Pre-Commerce by Bob Pearson

This week, Tower was pleased to have Bob Pearson and Dika Myers from WCG, an integrated communications company at our meeting. WCG provides marketing, public relations and interactive services to global companies. Their goal: to pinpoint specific media and getting their customers talking about their clients’ companies or products. Pearson, the chief technology and media officer gave Tower a few tips on integrative marketing, public relations and social media.

WCG has a rather unique approach to understanding their clients’ target audience, as well as their behaviors. The formula?…

Awareness
Assessment
Action
Assessment
Ambassador

Awareness is the very beginning of any company-customer relationship.  Regardless of the platform you use, it is necessary to get people talking about the company or product. Next is the assessment. Once you’ve gotten the potential customer’s attention, find a way to get them thinking about how your company can help them accomplish a want or need. If all goes well, wait for them to take action, either by inquiring or purchasing the product or service. Now it’s time for them to assess the product or service. At this stage, it is up to the customer to determine whether they are satisfied and if they would recommend the product/service to others. Lastly, be sure to develop a relationship with your customer. This increases brand loyalty and it’s great to have them spreading a good word about your company. Pearson says ambassadors the most important people.

Bob Pearson, Chief Technology & Media Officer, WCG

In addition to describing WCG’s approach, Pearson also gave Tower some great advice on market leaders…

Leaders are students of online evolution.  Pearson says it is important for marketing and public relation students to stay informed and educated with new and evolving technology. The four drivers of news flow are: mainstream media, blogs, Twitter and Facebook. With that said, those in PR should maintain a social presence for their clients and themselves. Since these drivers are available on various platforms, it is also important to understand which device or outlet is reaching the target audience at the right time. So what’s next? Find what works and use it to your company’s advantage. For example, if you see your client’s brand or product is a hot topic on Twitter, create a marketing strategy that uses Twitter as a means to connect with the audience.

And…

Innovators think and win.  Pearson says that vision is incremental and continual. Meaning, innovators continuously seek as much information as possible on various subjects, either by reading or networking. Innovators are always one step ahead, they have the ability to foresee problems in the market and use attained information to their advantage. Innovators are also flexible in the sense that they listen and understand their client’s needs and are willing to adjust their strategies to accommodate them.

This is just the beginning! You can learn more ways to engage with your customers and understand the marketplace by getting a copy his book Pre- Commerce: How Companies and Customers Are Transforming Business Together.

Once again, thank you Bob Pearson and Dika Myers for attending our meeting. We appreciate  all of your wonder insight!

Hook ‘em,

Kaitlyn Williams
Social Media Officer

Better Business Bureau Account Executive Jordan Pratt

November is here, and Tower is happy to recignize Jordan Pratt as our member spotlight! Pratt is a senior public relations major who serves as an account executive for the Better Business Bureau. In addition to writing PSAs and school, Pratt likes spending time with her friends and running. Here’s what she has to say:

How long have you been with Tower?  I joined Tower during the spring semester of 2010, and have since been a part of the Austin Better Business Bureau account and currently serve as an account executive!

Are you currently interning? If so, where? What type of work? Last May, I took a public relations internship with a sports and fitness company called Hyper Wear. Upon completing my internship in August, I was hired part-time to continue to do marketing and PR projects for them, such as planning workshops, handling social media and developing new marketing materials.

What do you enjoy most about working with Tower?My favorite part about Tower is working with a great team of people to complete projects that provide real, beneficial experience that will help me later on in my career. Plus, knowing that we’re completing work for a nonprofit makes putting in the time and effort to complete each task that much more rewarding.

Pratt and friends

If you could listen to only one album for the rest of your life what would it be?  If I could only listen to one  it would have to be Mumford & Sons‘ Sigh No More CD, the songs are so original and listening to them never gets old.

What are your post-graduation plans? After I graduate next May, I plan to work full-time with Hyperwear and hopefully take some time to travel around Europe in the summer!

Stayed tuned for Pratt’s latest projects with Austin Better Business Bureau!

Kaitlyn Williams
Social Media Officer

Dress By Candlelight

You see a red carpet leading to the entrance, women in blue dresses serving Grey Goose cocktails and wine, a turnout of more than 300 guests and a high-end fashion show.

You would have been fooled by the elegance of the event, but the truth is all the fine drinks, food, entertainment, fashion, and fun was for a nonprofit organization.

The annual Dress by Candlelight event for Candlelight Ranch, a nonprofit outdoors camp for children with special needs, was a success. Generous donations were given through participation in the silent and live auctions as well as through direct donations.

Candlelight Ranch Account

Held at SAKS Fifth Avenue, a fashion show styled to showcase fall fashions entertained guests, while shopping was encouraged with 10% of all purchases benefiting the camp.

The excitement and joy of the event was a reflection of those hosting the event, those who run Candlelight Ranch. Both guests and SAKS staff alike were quick to remark what a joy it is to support the camp.

Food vendors also enjoyed great exposure sharing some delicious dishes: salmon & pimento macaroni and cheese (Jack Allen’s Kitchen), seafood in cracker waffle cones (Quality Seafood Market) and flavorful salsa (Tacodeli), just to name a few dishes. To make a perfect finish, mini cheesecakes, cupcakes and apple-pie bars were served for dessert.

Model at Dress by Candlelight

The guests ranged from friends of the camp to local socialites. For one evening, everyone donned their best and focused on the importance of making sure children can experience the outdoor sensations at Candlelight Ranch.

While this may seem to be an extreme fundraiser for a nonprofit, the success proved that opposites do attract. What made the event successful and possible was the mutual respect both SAKS and Candlelight Ranch had toward one another.

The fall event will be held again next year. Mark your calendar, and be assured it will be one night you won’t want to miss.

Meg Weiss
Candlelight Ranch
Account Associate

So kudos to you for joining! But do you know how to use your Texas Tower PR membership to help get you there from here?

The answer came to me while workshopping the “Corporate vs. Agency: Finding Your Place” session at the PRSSA 2011 National Conference in Orlando this last weekend. What first seemed to me a simple PowerPoint class outlining two broadly different areas of PR ended up being an insightful thought exercise with relevance for our firm.

Allow me to share.

Mickey G. Nall, APR, Fellow PRSA, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

Traditionally, nonprofit work builds that all-important first experience that competitive recruiters and firms look for. Nonprofits are usually understaffed, sometimes underskilled in PR talent, and very often lacking the budget to retain big-firm services, according to Mickey Nall, APR, Fellow PRSA, managing director for the Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide office in Atlanta.

Nall and Kathy Barbour, APR, Mayo Clinic communications manager, co-moderated the session, sharing their respective experiences in agency and corporate PR.

Agency Life

If you eat, sleep and breathe PR, agency life is it. Your whole raison d’être is working closely with advertising and marketing for many projects and clients in a team-oriented, fast-paced environment.

But Mad Men this is not.

The unsexy reality often involves around-the-clock responsiveness, thanks to social media, and restraint in the face of difficult clients or even colleagues. That’s why you have to love and believe in the brands and products that you’re selling, Nall insists.

So why would anyone want to work in an agency?

Aside from thriving under pressure, agency life offers variety of work, giving you the chance to discover your niche as a young professional. It also offers opportunities for fast advancement and an environment in which you work with like-minded people who all understand what you do for a living.

Corporate PR

Kathy Barbour, APR Mayo Clinic

Working in corporate, or “in-house,” public relations means being integrated as a department within one client’s business; no need to bill your own hours for revenue.

Though your working schedule is more predictable, the demands of job completion are no less important than in agency PR. And no less interesting—one point that Barbour stressed is that no day is ever the same.

Having only one client, essentially being the client, means that you have a deep understanding of your business, competitors and the industry, according to Barbour. You have an opportunity to be a subject matter expert, specializing in what could potentially be your passion.

The similarities

Whatever your preference, Nall and Barbour emphasize skills and habits common to both areas of PR. In short form,

• Be a good strategic planner; it is the best value you can bring to your client’s brand,
• Understand ethics, honesty and transparency because no business can survive without them,
• Know how to budget, do math, and read a balance sheet,
• Know AP style,
• Know your customer and client,
• Present accurately,
• Think like a social journalist: don’t just blog; reach the influencers,
• Issues and crisis management is a key competency, not just a field of practice,
• Continuous improvement and growth is a must; don’t become irrelevant.

In essence, be proactive, possess an unwavering attention to detail, and keep pushing the limits of your comfort zone.

Priming yourself

The Tower experience is a combination of both agency and corporate PR in the sense that we are our own firm but deal with one client per team. Much of what we do now will prepare you for either side after graduation.

However, not all of our accounts yield the same depth and breadth of experience that agency internships value. What if your client doesn’t ask for services, provides no feedback, or simply doesn’t know what to do?

Be proactive. Find out what relationships they are trying to build, grow or mend. Don’t be afraid to provide the strategy. Use the internet to research trends and tactics. Engage professionals and other PR students for advice through social media groups, such as PRSSA, u30pro and PRStudChat on Twitter or Facebook. The worst thing you can do is to not have a specific answer when your client wants to know what you are working on, says Barbour.

Get in where you fit in

My take is that agency life is well suited for the early part of your professional career because the variety of clients gives you the chance to explore diverse fields and find your passion.

Aside from learning how to manage your time effectively and how to write well fast, you become an asset, a promotable asset, to an agency by being able to think big, that is, being able to plan and implement a communications strategy from beginning to end. And what better way to do that than through your nonprofit in need of solid PR work?

But no matter where you end up, both Nall and Barbour assert that you should pick a PR field that you’re passionate about, a sentiment echoed by National Conference headliner and CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien. Because in the end, the best PR, the best storytelling, is “about passion, authenticity, plus emotion, plus energy.”

All PRSSA 2011 National Conference blog posts can be found here.

Daviz Pham
Better Business Bureau
Account Associate

Texas Exes Account Executive Israel Perez

October is here, and our member spotlight is on Israel Perez, also known as Izzy. Perez is a senior multimedia journalism major, who serves as an account executive on Tower’s Texas Exes account. He has lots of experience in the journalism field, including working for The Daily Texan, but also has a passion for working with non-profits.

How long have you been with Tower? I have been with Tower since January. I had not heard of Tower until my junior year, when a Tower account executive came to speak to my communications class. I thought the timing was perfect because I had recently become interested in public relations and had very little experience in it as a multimedia journalism major.

Are you currently interning? I am currently interning for Texas Co-op Power magazine and love it! I heard about the internship from our current Information Officer Rachel Frey, who held the internship before me. I started interning there in May and plan on staying until this coming May. I am in charge of the magazine’s annual teen video contest. I also fact-check lots of stories for the magazine and write the “Happenings” section.

What do you enjoy most about working with Tower? I enjoy working with other students most at Tower. I feel everyone at Tower is passionate about public relations and driven to succeed. Everyone brings something different to the table, so we all learn from each other. Being in Tower makes me even more excited about PR.

Texas Exes

What motivates you to work with non-profits? Non-profits are great, and I think they are crucial to our society. They do so much good. They provide help to those in need, educate the public about critical social issues, and fund good causes. Helping a good cause and getting paid for it would be a dream job for me.

If you could listen to only one album for the rest of your life what would it be?  I also work for 91.7 KVRX Austin, the campus radio station, so picking just one album to listen to forever and forever is not possible for me. I can live with listening to Pandora radio forever though.

What book do you think everyone should read?  Since I have been a student here at the University of Texas, I have not had a whole lot of time to read for fun. I know, it is pretty sad. However, I would recommend everyone read The New York Times and The Daily Texan. And I have pre-ordered Steve Jobs official biography. I cannot wait to read it.

Perez at KVRX

What is the best memory you have from Tower?  The best memory I have of  Tower has to be the videos our account filmed for Texas Exes last spring. They were a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Check them out here: 10 Things Every Longhorn Should Know.

What are your post-graduation plans? My post-graduation plan is to find a job (fingers crossed) here in Austin. I would settle for Houston, my hometown, though. I would love to work for a non-profit, or be a tech blogger that works for home. That would be awesome.

Any thing interesting you think people should know about you? I think that about covers it. I hope people follow me on Twitter: @israelnperez and visit my blog too: techollegy.tumblr.com.

Tower is very happy to have Perez as an account executive. We know he will bring new, exciting ideas to the Texas Exes account. Be sure to stay connected with us on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest with Texas Exes!

Kaitlyn Williams
Social Media Officer

Segovia working at Ketner Group

It’s great to be back on the Tower blog! Last year I contributed to the blog as Social Media Officer, along with Kaitlyn Williams and now I’m back as an alumna guest blogger. I can’t think of a better topic to share with you than my post-grad journey, thus far.

After graduation, I completed my final internship of the semester and was ready to tackle the job hunt head on. Unfortunately the process became a lot longer than I initially had intended. The dream agency jobs’ application processes were long and defeating. I was constantly filling out online applications and hoping an HR person would even notice my résumé amongst a sea of other qualified applicants, only to receive an automated e-mail that my application would remain on file.  The interviews I landed weren’t exactly what I wanted and I faced the difficulty of having to decline a couple of offers because they were not in my career path.

During my job search, I met with Ketner Group, who was looking for an intern at the time. They were exactly what I was looking for in a job – agency. They were great people and they actually did PR work. I knew continuing to build my experience during the job process would be beneficial so I was glad to take the internship.

Ketner Group

KG is a small boutique agency, which was alot different from the large agencies I used to intern for. Most of their clients are in the hi-tech industry – also very different from the clients I was used to working with. During my first couple of weeks I was given responsibilities that I never had the opportunity to work on at my other internships. For example, during my first week, I helped in promoting an event for a new client, Booqoos. It was their first community event, Puppalooza and they wanted to make sure it was a success, with hopes of making it an annual event. I helped brainstorm ideas to get the press interested in attending the event; we used traditional PR tactics and personalized each press kit by including goodies associated with the event and a brief press release that I distributed to several local media outlets.

Hard work does pay off.  After being at KG for a couple of months, I was offered a part-time position, which really came at an opportune time. As I continue to search for something permanent, I can be a little picky of offers– rather than feeling rushed for a job and just settling for anything. A note about agency life: agency business fluctuates constantly and when new business arrives, new hires are brought in. But clients also leave, which means new hires can’t be brought to the team immediately. Even though I continue to search for a full-time job, I’m also working extremely hard at KG so when they have the opportunity to take on a full-time employee, I’ll be at the top of their mind.

One thing I’ve learned in my post-grad journey is that the right job is out there — there are a lot of factors that contribute to a great job, it’s not only the business you do, it’s also about the company’s culture. I love the people I work with and I love the work we do. If I would’ve settled for anything, I might have ended up somewhere I might not have liked. My final advice is to never stop searching and never settle – the right job is out there for everyone but you have to look hard for it. Also, it never gets old, but remember to network, that’s how most applications get answered, because candidates actually know whom they are talking to and it sets them apart from the other applicants.

I’m sure all of us have taken different journeys after graduation, but no matter where we are, I hope everyone is doing what they love! I am always glad to help out my fellow Tower members, feel free to reach out to me if you ever need anything.

Dianne Segovia
UT & Tower Alumna

Here are some of her tips:

Do Your Homework.  It is important to know who you are pitching to. Reporters are busy people and get tons of emails from PR people just like you. So how do you set yourself apart? Get to know the reporter!   Look for their biography online, find what beats they cover and discover what their interest are.  Since Facebook and Twitter have changed the way we network, you should find the reporter on Twitter, see what they are tweeting, who they’re retweeting and what type of stories they are working on. Another place to look is on editorial calendars. Generally, media outlets have calendars that give an overview of what their next issue will be about. From there, you can see what stories reporters are working on and then find an angle that is relevant to your client, their brand or product.

Create Your Pitch.  After doing your homework, decide how you want to pitch your client or event. This is a good time to look back at what reporters are talking about. If a reporter is interested in politics, and your client/product is relevant: go for it. Tell the reporter in a few sentences why your client is important and why people should care. Seeds says one thing to remember is your subject line. The subject line is the first thing a reporter sees, so put something short, catchy and relevant. This may seem tedious, but it could be the difference between someone looking at your pitch and being completely ignored.

The Pitch.  Your pitch should be short and to the point. Give the reporter reason to want to contact you for more information. Bring your own style into the pitch. This may mean mentioning one of their previous stories or tweets.  The first paragraph should be roughly 2-3 sentences describing why this client/event should be covered. Be sure to give a brief history or description of your client and some of their goals and accomplishments. Reporters are always on deadline, so create the story for them! If you find a rather vague topic on an editorial calendar, tell the reporter you have a unique and focused story for them to cover.

If you are pitching to a television station, the assignments desk is good place to start. Send the news desk a short email about your event. Since most newsrooms have editorial meetings in the morning, it is a good idea to pitch them your story in the morning so they can get your client on the list of potential stories. Seeds says be sure to think of good visuals for the story and have a client/event representative handy.

Follow Up.  Once you have sent your pitch, don’t rush to follow-up. Depending on the deadline, give it a few days.  Don’t be afraid to make a phone call either. If you have built a relationship with the reporter, a phone call may suffice. However, some reporters hate phone calls, so once again, it depends on how well you know the reporter and what they prefer.  When following up, pitch your client or story like it’s the first time. Don’t assume the reporter has read your first pitch. Chances are he/she hasn’t.

Things to Take Away:  Don’t be afraid of reporters! They are just trying to do their job. Remember to do your homework, be creative and use discretion. Always be respectful and professional because what you say or do is a reflection of your client and your brand. It is always a good idea to stay up-to-date on your client’s industry. That way, you’re always informed and constantly exposed to new ways to promote your client.

“Be persistent, but not annoying,” Seeds says. “Pitching is an art that takes a lot of practice.”

Tower is always looking for new and exciting ways to pitch our clients’ brands, in addition to our own.  We appreciate UT PRSSA for finding unique topics and wonderful guest speakers. A special thanks to Catherine Seeds for all her advice and insight into the wonder world of public relations.

Stay connected with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Hook ‘em,
Kaitlyn Williams
Social Media Officer