Good News Gal

52 Days Until Reach Out Tour '08!

I was delighted to receive BlogHer's official invitation to The Reach Out Tour '08. BlogHer is taking the show on the road to six different cities down the East Coast and across the South.

The single day events will incorporate elements of the annual conferences such as offer informational sessions, learning labs, interactive conversations with local bloggers, and networking. The Tour will take place over two weeks beginning on October 11th. The six tour cities include Boston, Washington DC, Greensboro, Nashville, Atlanta, and New Orleans.   

The BlogHer community continues to be very successful in in featuring the truly amazing things women are doing online.

I hope to see you in Boston on October 11th!

The Nation's First African American Female Orthopaedic Surgeon to Speak on a Popular News Topic

i have the privilege of working with America's first African American female orthopedic surgeon and author of God Spare Life, Dr. Claudia Lynn Thomas, as her publicist. Today, Dr. Thomas will present at  Howard University Hospital’s quarterly Grand Rounds as the Visiting Scholar. She will share her personal testimony on “How God Intervened in the Life of a Physician.”

During her talk, Dr. Thomas will explore the relatedness of spirituality and medicine and the role that the mind and spirit play in the healing of the body - a topic that has peaked the interest of those in the medical field and also of the press. The Washington Post recently published an interesting article on this very topic - click here here to view.

In my opinion, Dr. Thomas delivers a powerful message. Her remarkable story about the struggle to rise above societal expectations as a woman of color and how she has learned the value of faith has been told (and continues to be told) all around the country. She also lectures on diversity issues, on how to achieve diversity in the workplace, as well as the healing power of faith.

Dr. Thomas' lecture will begin 9:00 am at the Tower Auditorium, Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC.

A book signing will immediately follow her lecture. Claudia Thomas' autobiography, God Spare Life, was published by Windsor Media Enterprises in July 2007. For those of you who know Yvonne - that's her publishing company.

Click here for more details on the event.

   

The Cancellation of the Golden Globe Awards Impacts PR

Organizers of the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards announced on Monday that the televised awards show has been cancelled due to the Writer's Guild of America's strike. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) will instead announce this year's winners during a press conference that NBC News will broadcast.

"We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007's outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television," said the president of Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Jorge Camara.

PR agencies take a big hit as HFPA rolls up the red carpet. Without the show and the brand-sponsored before and after awards parties, PR folks lose out on major product-placement opportunities for their clients.

Public Relations Mania!

Time is running out to register for the Public Relations Mania event presented by the Advertising Council of Rochester. The event will be held on Tuesday, December 4, 2007.

Public relations can be one of the biggest challenges facing nonprofit organizations, so the Ad Council  is gathering the experts to help you make the most of your public relations efforts. Topics will include:

• Creating a Public Relations Plan
• How to Handle a Crisis
  
• Using Online Video to Enhance your PR Efforts- Tapping the YouTube Phenomenon
• Making the Most of Your Media Relations
• Public Relations Consultations

I have been asked to participate as one of the PR experts who will be providing Public Relations Consultations - a chance to review your press materials, give you ideas on how to get coverage for your event, or even help you prepare your pitches!

For more information, click here to be directed to the Ad Council's website.

I hope to see you there!

The Burning Question at BlogHer: Twitter

Twitter gained alot of attention at 2007 Blogher Business Conference. We weren't alone. Looks like this social networking tool created quite a buzz at the Video on the Net conference (VON) as well.

I was first introduced to Twitter during the morning networking session where a group of us (Tom Tenney, Yvonne DiVita, Susan Getgood, and Aura Novembre) presented our burning blog questions. The one question that got the most attention was brought up by Susan Getgood. She brought up a very valid point that the social value of Twitter is evident, but what is the business value in using the tool?

I won't argue that the social value clearly out weighs the benefit of using it for business purposes.

I have to be honest. I don't Twitter and I am not convinced that it is a social network that I will engage in. To me, it appears to be a combination between creating a fan club on MySpace and instant messaging your buds. Just one more thing to do to pass the time and waste time! Perhaps Dave Cote is right in claiming that Twitter is useless in his "Twitter is for Twits" post.

The only business value that I see is if it is used for internal communication purposes within a company. If you use Twitter to promote easy communication between a work group team or department that are not located within the same building or geographical area, it could provide some value in keeping employees connected. The next questions is what NEW value does this tool provide that you can't already get from an exisiting networking / communications medium? As far as making new connections for business, chances are slim unless you break into a group within your target space who are willing to listen. If you connect with groups for social reasons or common interest(s) do you really want to push your business objectives on them?

For those of you who Twitter, feel free to chime with any insight. I'm interested in hearing what you have to say about this burning question!

Live Blog from BlogHer Business '07: The Press Release Must Die

Session: The Press Release Must Die

Summary: The new social media press release. How it works. Does it work? How social media tools are changing the face of PR.

Panel: Moderator - Erin Kotecki-Vest (EK), a social media press release pioneer from Shift PR - Julie Crabill (JC), and MarketWatch's Bambi Francisco (BF).

(Please note that most of what I am blogging is a summary of the discussion taking place.)

The session begins with an introduction of the panel and an overview of who is in the audience (it looks like an pretty even mix of publicists, bloggers and a few non-bloggers).

First question:

Can you explain the social media press release & what is in it?

JC: Social Media press release empowers a two way conversation allowing for it from the corporation side of things.

The idea is that it gives you contact info (very important) & for "hot" news - hot links to 24 hour contact, headline, core news fact, rss feeds & delicious feeds that the company has created, photo links mp3 files, podcasts, logos, pre approved quotes from analysts, corp execs, links to relevant coverage, & boilerplate. Not a blog post, but becomes more interactive in hopes to promote dialog with customers.  Put it on the wire and/or corporate site. The bus wire, pr web, pr news wire are OK with the social media format.

(a member of the audience points out that.. if you have a good story, at the end of hte day it doesn't matter how you package it as long as you get it out.

What is the difference between an old school press release & the social media press release?
(BF) I've been a journalist for over 15 years and haven't used a press release very often. I look at them for what they are useful for (names, titles, exec names) & not for facts. I never used quotes. As a journalist, I always needs statistics (traffic, comp landscape, links to relevant resource) that help shape the story vs quotes. At the end of day I don't want to sound like other journalist - I try not to take anything from that story - but a different angle companies are now forthright with their information. Info exchange has been created. Buyers (bloggers & journalist) of info are looking for facts, photos, videos, etc. It will be interesting to watch as the broker of info changes in the profession of PR.

JC: The social media press release is making it more interesting - telling a good story, building relationships with customers & bloggers.

(audience members adds that generally journalists like exclusives. How do we manage the fine line between giving "good stuff" and needing to hold back some because the outlet won't cover me if I don't?

JC: It's about working with journalists to find out the story that they want. Here is the press release that is just the fact, give them stats, market trends, what the company is doing different, but have a conversation to share what is new & different.

BF: Spend less time sharing all the info that journalists already have & more time servicing your customer.

I am going to BlogHer

I will be spending the rest of the week in New York City at the BlogHer conference. One topic on the agenda that I am anxious to hear about is how the social media press release is changing PR. I'm curios to see how and if others (PR folks, bloggers and journalists) are embracing it. I am not convinced that it will eventually replace the traditional press release. Is it really all that new and improved, or is going to create more work for publicists like me? I'm eager to hear how it's being used across the different industries and markets. That's what I need to hear about... what type of profile is a good fit for this format.

Check back over the next few days... I'll be posting updates throughout the conference.

Inside View to NYC's Market Week & the Collective

Stylists and experts from the men's fashion industry came together to showcase for the first time what will be considered the hottest trends for Fall 2007. You could feel the energy explode as thousands of people crowded the booths of Calvin Klein, Jack Victor, Joseph Abboud, Nat Nast, Lubiam, Trafalgar, Cole Haan, Jhane Barnes, Donald J. Pliner, to name a few, at Pier 94 in New York City on the opening day of The Collective.

Once again, the show kicked off as a grand success!

Season after season, I find it refreshing (and inspiring) to walk to showroom watch designers present their latest designs featuring "hip" colors, fabrics, textures and silhouettes that men around the world will soon be sporting.

I attend each show with my client, Adrian Jules Custom Clothing, who typically debuts their Collection at the Warwick Hotel with The NY Haberdashery Group.

My role during the show is to notify senior fashion editors of national fashion and luxury lifestyle magazines about the debut  of Adrian Jules' latest custom clothing collections. I also attend all media interviews that Adrian Jules particiates in during the Market Week.

This year, custom clothing is where it is at! People are buzzing about custom clothing and how it will become a popular fashion trend this year. I anticipate that this will be one of the main topics covered during interviews with the fashion media over the next couple of days.

A theme that sticks out in my head and something that I hear over and over again in the world of PR. Image counts and perception is everything!   Something all of us publicists need to remember when prepping any spokesperson for a media interview.

More on that later.

My feet hurt....it's time to go back to the hotel!