http://kimleslie.prblogs.org The Beginning of my Journey to Becoming a PR Practitioner! Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:00:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The White House, a place that should be a pinnacle of good PR, could have responded better after Michaele and Tareq Salahi crashed Obama’s first state dinner party. No one noticed the couple was out of place as they went through security and posed for pictures with the president.   The ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/12/05/is-this-pr-post-5-state-dinner-crash/   In early 2005, Eastern Health discovered errors in its hormone receptor tests for breast cancer patients. Patients who had been tested from 1997 through 2005 were affected by the errors. At least 27 patients died due to the errors out of the 386 who received inaccurate tests.                  Immediately, the company’s ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/12/05/is-this-pr-post-4-eastern-health-scandal/ Following Jennifer Hudson’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress in Dreamgirls in 2007, she described American Idol as her “stepping stone.” Simon Cowell was outraged by her comment and explained that many other American Idol successes purposely turn against the TV show which opened every door to their current achievements. ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/12/05/is-this-pr-post-3-bk-jennifer-hudson/ In 2002, Southwest Airlines came under fire for its policy of charging overweight/obese passengers for an extra seat. Since then, other airlines such as United have begun charging as well.   Southwest’s defense of its policy, called “Customer of Size,” was met with both opposition and appreciation from the media and ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/12/04/is-this-pr-post-2-southwest-airlines-policy-for-overweight-passengers/ The PR practitioner’s role in actively advocating and implementing successful internal/employee communication now extends to social media. The importance of this role is evidenced by social media mishaps which turned into full-blown crises. In other, but fewer cases, mistakes were corrected because organizations listened to and engaged conversations on social ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/11/24/pr-means-engaging-especially-internally/ PR practitioners should have an active role in employee/internal communication within organizations. Employees should be viewed by organizations as their most important stakeholder group because employees determine whether an organization will be successful or not. Practitioners should encourage organizations to view employees this way and communicate with employees in a ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/11/24/pr-practitioners-create-engaged-employees/ The Brita Products Company exercises CSR in many areas, including its eco-conscious partnership with Nalgene to reduce bottled water waste. The partnership, called Filter For Good, urges consumers to fill reusable Nalgene water bottles with water filtered through Brita filters. The companies ask consumers to make a pledge to use ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/11/14/britas-filter-for-good-campaign-csr/ Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, has become an increasingly popular topic for PR professionals and PR firms. Despite CSR’s rising popularity, PR practitioners must proceed with caution when implementing CSR. PR firms and practitioners must ensure that their own companies and values meet the ethical standards of CSR. If PR ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/11/14/the-role-of-pr-practitioners-in-csr/ Ethical PR begins with transparency, trust, and honesty. The widespread use of social media has raised new questions about PR ethics, specifically disclosure. Some PR practitioners have engaged in astroturfing, or using social media (such as blogs) to create grassroots support for their client, product, etc. Countless examples include the ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/11/09/transparency-trust-and-honesty-the-keys-to-ethical-pr-chapter-15/ As evidenced by endless lists of examples of PR faux pas due to inattention to cross-cultural communication, it is essential for PR practitioners to know how to communicate successfully with other cultures. One example of differences in cultural attributes (Guth & Marsh) is the Pepsodent PR Campaign in South Asia. ... http://kimleslie.prblogs.org/2009/11/09/researchknowledgesuccessful-cross-cultural-pr-campaigns-chapter-14/