Is PR misjudged by Cannes Lions?

 The main news of this week in PR industry is the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Advertising agencies still dominate the game even in the PR category that exists since a few years now. This year was no exception and the PR industry is once again frustrated by its performance. 

A bunch of reasons was evoked to explain that situation: the bigger budgets of ad agencies, the difference in perspectives of the two industries, etc...

I invite you to read these two pieces:

Cannes Lions judges criticise PR industry for lacking "big ideas" on PRWeek.com

Why PR should walk on from Cannes on the PRmoment blog

Do you think Cannes is judging PR under Advertising criterias? Let's discuss

When It's finally Friday and you can't wait for the end of the day

Note: I absolutely wanted to share this. I tried to put it on Twitter but they no longer accept animated GIF. Sad

OMG! Yves Saint Laurent devient Saint Laurent Paris

Hedi Slimane commet-il une erreur en changeant le nom d'une marque aussi mythique qu'Yves Saint Laurent? Quelle seront les conséquences sur la marque? L'avenir nous le dira bien assez tôt, en attendant, je vous offre quelques réactions lues sur Twitter.

 

 

 

5 tips for excelling at PR internships

By Mandie Emerson

Image via http://billrichards.wordpress.com

 Let’s face it, the job market is beyond competitive for incoming young professionals, and having a competitive edge is crucial. Regardless of the path you choose in PR, internship experience is vital to your success after college.

There is a difference between being an average intern and setting yourself apart from others. This not only helps you grow as a professional, but also represents to employers your future professional abilities. Here are five pieces of advice I have picked up in my four years of interning to help you get the most out of your experience.

Remember that your reputation will follow you.

If you decide to slack off because an internship isn’t the right fit, the chance of another opportunity presenting itself will be significantly decreased. On countless occasions, I’ve made connections between my employers. Developing a negative relationship with one employer could have ruined my chances with the other.

Remain Flexible.

As an intern, you are there to learn and try new things. You may be uncomfortable with some of the tasks, but that’s why you are an intern. If your employer expected you to know everything, he or she would have hired a full-time employee with multiple years of experience. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and learn something new.

Communicate well.

This follows up with asking questions. Give your employer status updates on completed work and ongoing projects. This gives your employer the chance to offer you feedback and make sure expectations on each side are clear.

Receive feedback.

As I mentioned, tasks and expectations have differed significantly with each of my internship experiences, and I’ve grown by receiving feedback. It is among the most constructive ways to learn. If you’re not receiving feedback from your employer, don’t be afraid to ask. This will help you to grow as a professional as well as help you address and conquer your weaknesses.

Build your portfolio.

Most importantly, internships can prove professional abilities. Just writing the name of an internship on your resume does not show future employers what you learned during these experiences. Keep writing samples, communication plans to which you have contributed, and any type of work that represents your skills. A great internship experience can be the foundation to a great career. Each internship will offer something different and taking advantage of these opportunities will give you the competitive edge for which young professionals strive.

Follow Mandie Emerson on Twitter @amandaremerson. A version of this story first appeared on the blog prTini. I reblogged it from PR Daily

PR Spotlight On: Wunmi Bakare, Celebrity Publicist

I work as an Entertainment Publicist but by training I got my BSc in Public Relations with a Business minor from the University of Texas at Austin. I've been in PR for over 5 years now working primarily on consumer and corporate brands like Nestle, McDonald's, Tyson Foods and Dell both in Austin and Chicago. When I made the move back to Nigeria, I knew I wanted two things :

- To be the most sought-out publicist in the entertainment industry
-To define public relations so people in my generation (Gen Y) and the younger ones (The Millenials), recognize the importance of PR.

As an entertainment publicist my job description encompasses a lot; I, primarily, facilitate media coverage for my clients across all 4 forms of media - broadcast, print, radio and online.

I am trained to handle press briefings, organize press conferences, create a crisis management plan, develop re-branding tactics, perform social media engagement, co-ordinate investor relations, facilitate aggressive media pitching, engage in press monitoring and so much more. I work 24/7 literally and have to be accessible to my clients in case a rumor flares that could potentially destroy their brand.

A day in the life of Wunmi entails press monitoring, discussing the agenda items for the day with my team, making follow-up calls to entertainment journalists, scheduling cover photo shoots, campaigning for media coverage for a client, discussing endorsement opportunities and so on.

I'll tell you this, since the first day I fell in love with PR, no two days have ever been the same. In PR, you have to be quick on your feet, a great writer and a good time manager. I live and breathe public relations and enjoy my job so much I brainstorm PR campaigns in the shower. The foundation of my field is fostering good relationships with people in the industry from investors, members of the press, corporate bodies and designers to other publicists who you would consider to be my competitors.

Since I've been back in Lagos (Nigeria), I've handled the following people/events/brands - Tiwa Savage, Lynxxx, Marcy Dolapo Oni, DJ Caise, Beverly Naya, DRB Las Gidi, Toke Makinwa, Lagos Jazz series, Sokolad and Thelma West Diamonds. As you can see my portfolio is vast but it challenges me and I love it! My agency is called WBPR but I'm also affiliated with a South African agency called African Star Communications owned by Farah Fortune.


Wunmi Bakare Biography

With vast experience in consumer relations, investor relations, fashion & entertainment PR, public affairs, crisis management, social media engagement and experiential marketing, Ms. Bakare speaks public relations. As the CEO of WBPR, she works hard to garner publicity for a host of premium brands and people in the Nigerian market.

Her work with international PR firms like GolinHarris and Cohn & Wolfe has helped build global brands like McDonald's, Dell, Tyson Foods, NetSpend and Underwriters Laboratories. Ms. Bakare has also worked at the UT Office of Public Affairs and the Texas State Capitol. She is a proud member of the Public Relations Society of America and WinBiz. She tweets at @Wunmie09

This is the first post of a serie dedicated to all the different branches of the PR industry. There's a bunch of specialties in PR and I want to know more about them and what's the reality behind the title.

What do a CEO and a Duck have in common?

On Quora, someone asked Paul DeJoe, founder of Ecquire and Entrepreneur in Residence at Fairbridge Partners, this question: "What does it feel like to be the CEO of a startup?". I loved his answer:

"You start to respect the Duck. Paddle like hell under the water and be smooth and calm on top where everyone can see you."