Alumna Shares PR Tips for 2010
Jackie Clark, a Griffiths member and winner of Greater Kansas City Public Relations Society of America’s 2009 PR Pro of the Year, recently shared her thoughts on the year in review up to this point, both personally and professionally, what Tiger and Toyota can do to help their case, and some tips for those just entering into the profession.
What type of recognition have you received since winning the award, and how has your year been up to this point as PR Pro Winner?
Winning the award was such an honor. Our chapter has recognized so many communicators in previous years who are among my role models. Since that exciting October night, the notes, the comments and the industry coverage has been a delight. My parents loved the event and the recognition, too.
There’s been no time to revel in the glory either. We’ve undertaken a brand audit, a research and messaging project for a public affairs initiative, a major federal legislative objective, and political action strategy development program. That’s just for work. In my “free time” as president of The University of Missouri’s (Mizzou) International Alumni Association, we hosted our annual Geyer legislative awards program at the Missouri Governor’s Mansion and honored Missouri state Rep. Gayle Kingery as well as Chancellor Brady Deaton’s communications and public affairs advisor, Chris Koukola, for their work in support of Mizzou and higher education policy. Membership is up despite the economy and interest in legislative policy is up, too, probably because of the state revenue shortfall.
As we slowly start to ease out of the recession, how do you see PR both in Kansas City and on a national scale, shaping up in 2010?
For its cost-effectiveness among the B-to-C communicators, look for more use of social media. B-to-B communicators, depending on their audiences, are considering social media’s relevance and effectiveness before diving in and using those communications tools. Regardless, every organization needs to develop a social media policy. That’s on my “To Do” list in cooperation with our IT and Legal departments.
With some national PR case studies making headlines this year, what are your thoughts on how Tiger, Toyota, etc. have handled their image being put in the public eye? If they were your client, how would you have handled their situation differently?
My general observation is that I’m glad that I’m not handling either situation. We talk about preparing for crisis communications, and in some cases, plan and practice for such situations. Regardless of the preparation, crisis situations are by their very nature tough to handle and the most stressful work we do. Careers and companies’ futures are in your hands.
Tiger faces a long road and intense scrutiny from the gotcha journalists. In an era of cell phone cameras, YouTube and whatever instant communications tools are next, he will have to steer clear of any situation in which questions might be raised. Toyota needs effective third party spokespersons, especially engineers, to tell the story to consumers and public officials to rebuild trust among consumers. It’s unclear what the company’s Washington, D.C. strategy is other than responding to Congressional demands for its executives to appear before probing committees. In these types of crises, it is best to have previously established strong relationships with federal elected and regulatory officials.
As graduation nears, what tips would you give to those young professionals looking for a job in the profession?
I’ve been involved in a lot of mentoring in recent years, and almost universally, students are not following up on the contacts they have made. Recently, I met about 30 college undergrads and only heard from one. Follow up with mentors; make connections with them and through them; prove that you have the ability to write well. Once you land a job, pitch in with the boss or the team. Get on board. Be a team player. If you are stepping over a senior colleague to get to your personal trainer’s appointment at 5:30 and everyone else is working, you will get noticed…for the wrong reason. Work-life balance is important, but while you do not have a lot of personal obligations, put in the extra effort and time. That’s the way you want to be noticed in the workplace.
Any last words of advice?
This question made me laugh! My favorite is: Work hard; play hard. My advice to communications professionals, regardless of level of experience, is simply: use your vacation time and always remember to schedule and keep your preventive medical/dental appointments. Take care of yourself so that you can enjoy a long and productive life and a wonderful career. When your job starts to negatively affect your health, get busy and find a better situation.