We have been shaking our heads at some of the things we’ve heard and read lately in supposedly professional communications. Perhaps the end of the year is a good time to review some grammar tips. We congratulate the world on having mostly figured out there/their/they’re and it’s/its, but some fairly simple rules still seem to trip people up. Time to remedy that.
Public Relations
This is our public relations blog.
Love Letters to Nelson Mandela: Two Friends Reflect on the Rainbow Nation
In April 2012, I was fortunate enough to travel to Cape Town, South Africa, to attend the Public Relations Global Network’s semi-annual meeting. We marked PRGN’s 20th anniversary by building a house for an impoverished family.
I found South Africa to be a vibrant and exhilarating country, full of hope and possibility. Curious to understand how the country made sense of its troubled past, I soon discovered one universal truth in South Africa: Everywhere I traveled, people of all colors, ages and backgrounds spoke reverentially of Nelson Mandela.
Today, I asked two friends whose lives have been directly touched by Nelson Mandela to reflect on what he meant to them.
5 Steps to Jumpstart a Stalled Account
If your career in public relations spans a long enough period, you will eventually encounter the frustration of a stalled account. For whatever the reason, getting traction on an account is proving difficult. 
The reasons for a stalled account can vary. You may be getting little direction from your client. The client may have no time for you, its agency. Or – let’s say it out loud – the client may be boring or have nothing newsworthy to share.
What do you do when things get stuck on an account? Here are five tips to help get your creative juices flowing and uncover something you can merchandise.
Shoo, Fly! Don’t Bother Me – Hey, Wait a Second!
This week, The New York Times published an article – Swatting at a Swarm of Public Relations Spam – about the number of unwanted emails reporters’ field from PR professionals every day. The premise? Because PR professionals have unlimited access to reporters’ contact information through media databases such as Cision and Vocus, we are flooding their inboxes with emails and story ideas completely irrelevant to their beats.
In this PR professional’s opinion, it was a bit of a low blow for “The Haggler” to claim that everyone in PR sends nothing but un-researched pitches and mindless spam.
4 Steps to Take When Google Maps Gets It Wrong
Search engine optimization. It’s one of the hottest services in public relations right now, and for good reason; every business wants to appear before its competitors in Google Search results.
One basic element that should be part of every SEO program is claiming your company’s location on Google Places for Business. While we’ve done that for our agency and for many of our clients, something strange happened last week that we hadn’t encountered before.
Millennials: An Infographic
Intern Maureen Bell created an infographic for us with some interesting statistics about her millennial cohorts.
The Thrill of Operations
I know what you’re thinking. But really, managing operations for a public relations firm is no small task and requires keeping track of many moving parts. It’s definitely challenging and indeed, it can be thrilling.
Flying the Coop
My name is Blair Kahora Cardinal, and I’m about to fly the coop.
In late December, my husband and I are due with our first Baby Bird Cardinal. Not only are we scrambling to assemble the nursery and read every parenting book on the planet, but I’m also hustling in the office to create smooth account transitions for my clients and colleagues. What I’ve found is that there’s no shortage of things to consider when you’re going to be out for three months.
Teaching a Semi-Old Dog New Tricks
I can’t officially categorize myself as an old dog, but after nearly 14 years in PR, I think I qualify as a semi-old dog.
Upon college graduation, I entered the workforce as an assistant at a boutique, Philadelphia-based PR agency whose client base consisted of large, national consumer accounts. I worked my way up the ranks there for almost 12 years. I had a minor stint in corporate communications at a restaurant franchise, but eventually returned to the boutique agency and stayed until it closed its doors.
Four PR Lessons I’ve Learned Playing Softball
Just last week, I submitted a video and resume, hoping to become one of the next Phillies Ballgirls (shout-out to everyone at Buchanan PR here for taking part in my vid!).
Sure, having a background in softball helps a great deal with my application, but knowledge of public relations is just as important. Being a Phillies Ballgirl is more than simply fielding foul balls; it’s attending charitable events, pursuing public speaking opportunities and always putting your best foot forward to represent the Philadelphia community. This got me thinking. There are many other ways in which softball, baseball and public relations are related. Here are four lessons I’ve learned since starting my internship at Buchanan PR exactly one month ago: