Top 10 Things I Learned as a PR Major

While I feel that I have gained a multitude of knowledge during my time as a PR major at GCSU, if I am forced to narrow it down to a list of 10, I'll do what I must. So here it is:

1.)Probably the most useful: How to write a press release (because it is an art)
2.)How to use AP style (this is necessary for almost everything else on the list)
3.)Team work makes the dream work (love group projects and make new friends from them)
4.)Clients don't always come through on their promises: Have 8 backup plans for everything!
5.)Make connections because they are key in getting internships and jobs
6.)Do a practicum with the Colonnade because it greatly improves your writing skills
7.)How to put together and execute a campaign
8.)Social Networking (Twitter, Facebook,blogging, etc.) is, in fact, useful :)
9.)Save EVERYTHING you've done in order to make a great portfolio
10.) Never, EVER put out carrots at an event without first checking for sliminess

Bonuses
11.)Be careful of where you place fliers. The bathroom stalls are not acceptable locations
12.)I am not a huge fan of the CW
13.)Think gluten free
14.)SPSS is a punk.
15.)I had some of the best classmates EVER

Hershey's CSR

The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 by Milton Hershey. His original intent was to produce sweet chocolate for a coating for his caramel company but by 1895 Hershey was focusing more on the chocolate aspect of his company and ended up working solely with chocolates. He found considerable success becoming the first to mass produce chocolate so that it was inexpensive and no longer a novelty for the wealthy and in 1899 he came up with a successful formula for milk chocolate and became the first man in the world to produce it. Hershey only continued to grow and was continually trying their hand at new products, many of which we still love today. They became an integral part of the WWI army rations production and by the end of 1945, 24,000 “Field Ration D” bars were being manufactured a week. Hershey has made many key acquisitions along the way including the H.B. Reese Candy Company, maker of the original Reese’s cups.

Hershey did its first national advertising campaign in 1968 and believes that the products still speak for themselves better than any ad campaign. They also partnered with the producers of E.T. for product placement of Reese’s Pieces as E.T.’s candy of choice. Sales subsequently soared. Currently, Hershey is a publically traded company, the leading North American manufacturer of quality chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery and chocolate-related grocery products, they make over $5 billion in annual sales.

Not only does Hershey prioritize the value and taste of its products, they are taking many measures to ensure the company is helping the community and keeping the highest standards of business. Hershey has taken many initiatives in order to go above and beyond in the area of corporate social responsibility. They even call it the foundation of their company. The corporate values call for employees to be “open to possibilities” by thinking globally, embracing change, and having the courage to innovate; to “grow together” by building relationships, developing oneself and helping others; to “make a difference” by acting with integrity, driving sustainability and committing to engagement; and to align goals, promote collaboration and embrace accountability under “One Hershey.”

Using these values as a basis for corporate social responsibility, The Hershey Company focuses their efforts in the areas of a sustainable supply chain, environmental stewardship, corporate philanthropy, community relations and employee engagement. Hershey’s is highly involved in the cocoa industry and is a co-founder and member of the World Cocoa Foundation. They support and fund farmer education, as well as basic needs such as teacher training and malaria prevention and are a member of the West Africa Cocoa Livelihoods program.

Hershey’s commitment to environmental stewardship is both local and global. They take great measures to ensure that farmers are educated in the more environmentally friendly way to farm the cocoa. Locally, they strive to conserve resources, reduce emissions and waste as well as recycling anything possible. They focus on finding the best ways to reduce packaging material so there will be less waste (they have reduced 4.5 million pounds to date) and they have their own corporate recycling center and recycle 80 million pounds a year.

As for corporate philanthropy, The Hershey Company is a key partner with both The United Way and The Children’s Miracle Network along with partnering with local, national and international programs to better their respective communities. They give in-kind and financial donations to over 1,400 organizations annually and specifically focus on “Kids and Kids at Risk.”

Hershey’s is deeply committed to helping and bettering the communities in which they find themselves. A few of their outreach programs include the “Hershey’s Tour de Pink,” which is a 225 mile bike tour fundraiser which supports the Young Survivor Coalition, and the Hershey’s Track and Field Games which is a North American youth program that sees about 400,000 kids annually and encourages them to be involved in physical fitness through sports. The Hershey Company’ has supported the program for 32 years. One of the company’s biggest endeavors has been the school Milton Hershey created in 1909 for orphaned boys and the school is still functioning today. The Milton Hershey School operates as a private for children who have limited resources and social needs.

Lastly, the company promotes CSR through its employees. They have implemented a number of affinity groups for almost every race and group. They encourage their employees to volunteer and get involved in the community and remain active through the facilities that the company provides. They are willing to lend financial support in adoption and strive to help employees as much as possible.

A SWOT analysis for The Hershey Company might include the following:
Strengths
• Largest chocolate producer in North America
• Variety and popularity of products
• Sell to over 90 countries, world-wide name recognition
• Strong relationship with suppliers and employees
• Founded over 100 years ago
Weaknesses
• High cost to keep products at correct temperatures
• May rely too heavily on certain products
Opportunities
• Produce new products
• Become more healthy
• Branch into more countries
• Understand and meet stakeholder needs globally
• Achieve greater sustainability for cocoa farms
Threats
• Constant American dieting
• Newer, more innovative products from competitors
• Falling into the background of the candy world
• Increased diabetes reduces market

Just a few more weeks....

So as the weeks continue to fly by, I get closer and closer to being a college graduate. While I will be more than happy to not be writing papers and attending classes all the time, I must say I am not looking forward to being out of college. It actually scares me to think I won't be living in world of my peers with an athletic event or get together always at hand. I will definitely miss this place and the people who fill it. However, life must go on and deciding where it should go has become an ever-increasing problem.

I attended GCSU's PR Day last week, and while I found the speakers very interesting and engaging, I continue to let them teach me what I do not want to do. I don't think I am built to sit in an office all day and the idea of acquiring a job that requires that of me scares me as well. So instead of looking for jobs around here after I graduate I have begum searching in other countries. I am trying to find hands on jobs that I could love which also would allow me to incorporate my fantastic Public Relations education that GCSU has afforded me. I am looking into hospitality jobs which could lead into event planning which is something I really enjoy. All of this would also be a part of a greater adventure which takes me out of my comfort zone here in the great USA and puts me in a place that I do not know which is something that really excites me. But I could really use a good connection, so if any of my faithful readers have any ideas please let me know!

Oooh Jobs

When I first read this article about the economic downturn and loss of jobs for mass communication students, I thought the future for my friends and I was looking fairly dismal. I was happy to see at the end that PR students are doing significantly better in finding jobs after graduation than any of our communication counterparts. I must admit, the whole time I was reading the article, I was thinking to myself, "Well, its a good thing I am trying to find a job outside of the country when I first get out of school."

The past few days I have been researching jobs in Europe varying from teaching English as a second language to working as some sort of communications person at high-end hostels. After I studied abroad two summers ago in Italy, I have been itching to get back to Europe. After reading that gloomy article, this seems like a better idea than I thought. I thought that it was very interesting that PR students are typically more inclined to take jobs outside their direct degree. I, myself, have always been open to jobs that might not fall under the traditional category of public relations. This information is definitely valuable, and I think we have an outstanding education that might give a lot of us an edge over some of our mass comm peer. :)

Blog Action Day 2009

As a part of this year's Blog Action Day I decided that since I am not the most knowledgable person on the issue of climate change I would talk about a company that is. I know that I have written about Patagonia before, but they continue to impress me with their desire for corporate social resposiblity and more specifically their extreme measures to cause little to no harm to the environment. They have many programs installed in order to not only stay green and clean but they are also adamant about spreading the word to encourage others to live a greener life. They are apart of 1% for the Planet, which is a group of companies that gives 1% of all sales to grassroots environmentalist companies. In a recent blog post, they even discuss climate change and how we can affect it this year.

Aside from being a part of this organization, Patagonia also has its own blog, The Cleanest Line, which updates on environmental issues as well. If one is wondering how exactly Patagonia is working to keep their company environmentally sustainable, the company offers a step by step process of how and where their clothing is made. They call this The Footprint Chronicles.

These are the people that are actually working to change the deterioration of our world and environment and have used their position in the best way possible.

t.v. to talk about and music to jam about

Our event, t.v. to talk about and music to jam about, was a promotional event for the CW network in promotion of their new shows 90210 and Melrose Place. Our group decided to host an event on our school's Front Campus that included a free raffle of some of Milledgeville's finest restaurants and stores as well as concerts by Blake Whitworth and The Whales. Whitworth has an acoustic, John Mayer style and The Whales were a hip-hop/rock group. Neither band failed to impress and the night provided attendees with free food and a handful with great prizes. Because GCSU's Fall Break began the next day, there were not as many students in attendance as we had hoped. We also had guests fill out a survey about the CW so we could get a better feel for the shows' audiences and who they should target. I think this was a great learning experience for all teams involved and I look forward to planning more events!

Ethics in PR and life

As we were discussing ethics in class last week, it got me thinking of what exactly I would do when faced with decisions that some/I might consider unethical. This thought process led me to thinking that I don't see myself ever being in that type of situation. As naive as it may sound, I can't picture myself taking a job at a company that would put me in a compromising situation. I have spent a long time trying to figure out what I want to do when I graduate and every time I think about it, I know I do not want to settle. I see too many people taking jobs for money and not really enjoying their lives. They are just getting by. For me, this kind of job would be with a big corporation or someplace that forces me to sit behind a desk or in a cubicle all day. So I am looking for something that I love and can get behind whole-heartedly. OK, yes, this is going to be hard to find, especially out of college. However, if this dream-job that I have not yet discovered does come about, I assume that our ethics will align.

But I know I live in a world where we don't always get what we want and we always have to pay the bills, so I'll discuss what my ethical stances might have to be. I am not the "do-anything-for-money" type so I would not start out taking a job that obviously conflicts with my faith and values. For example, I almost have a hard time promoting the CW shows, 90210 and Melrose Place, because I really do not support the message they are sending out. The shows are filled with sex, drugs and alcohol and 90210's target audience is made up of a lot of teenagers. I just don't think its OK to basically make drinking and sex look normal for a 16 year old. Also, I would not take a position with a tobacco company, because I do not want to be apart of feeding a habit that is life-threatening for the buyer and those around him.

After I have taken a job that appears to be ethically sound, and then find out I will be asked to do something that conflicts with my set of values, that will be the hardest decision. The more involved you get in something, the harder it is to turn away from it. I can only hope that I will be able to stand up for what I know is right, even at the risk of being fired. I don't want to get stepped on and I really think I would have to do what I know is ethically sound. Look out real world, I'm gonna set you straight!