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‘Tis the season of emotional swings! We’ve got something for everyone in VE PR’s e-newsletter this Fall.
First, the good news. I’m pleased to announce to you that VE PR has been honored with three competitive communications awards. Our team is proud to be the recipient of these industry awards because our own Washington-based chapter peers from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) judged our work and recognized it as being award worthy. Vying for awards in the Washington, D.C. metro area is highly competitive, so we are among an elite group of recipients, including MedStar Health, the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Marriott International, the American Red Cross, Raytheon Information Solutions, Computer Sciences Corporation, and Booz Allen Hamilton. We want to thank you for supporting VE PR and contributing to our award-winning success! Read below for more information about the awards.
Ah, the presidential election. I challenge anyone who doesn’t agree, it has been a long-run, hard-fought, highly fascinating campaign that’s been precedent-setting. While we are on the cusp of knowing who will lead our country into the next decade, there are many learning opportunities from several media missteps that have taken place during the last few months of the campaign. Please see our full story with interview preparation pointers.
And, last, but certainly not least, you’ll read about the economy and suggestions for weathering the storm by being proactive about networking with friends and colleagues via social media options. If you’re not quite ready to go online to do all of your networking “socially,” then, now may be the time to “fall” back into traditional networking. There are endless opportunities to meet folks in our region, but be sure the events are a good investment of your time and money by knowing if your preferred colleagues attend these events. One place to browse for a vast array of networking events is the Washington Network Group.
For more tips on successful networking, read this helpful Washington Business Journal article or call or e-mail us at 301.581.7298 or laurav@vepublicrelations.com for more advice on how to maximize social or traditional networking opportunities.
- Laura Van Eperen
Industry peers recently honored VE PR with three prestigious awards, selected among dozens of entries from public and private organizations in the highly competitive Washington-area communications community. VE PR received two Silver Inkwell Signature of Excellence awards from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Washington/Baltimore, recognizing its work on an informative brochure about the new parking system in Rockville Town Center, as well as a media relations campaign surrounding the approval and launch of Arlington County’s newest environmentally friendly taxicab service, enviroCAB.
VE PR was also honored for its work with enviroCAB by the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA-NCC), receiving a Certificate of Excellence at the annual Thoth Award Gala in the public affairs category. This highly-competitive industry award, given by the largest PRSA chapter in the United States, allows communication professionals to recognize their peers’ most outstanding, strategic public relations programs and components developed and produced in the Greater Washington area.
Allie Gebhardt, Laura Van Eperen and Jennifer Strohm (lf. to rt.) of VE PR doubled down with other honorees at the Thoth Awards Gala Casino Night on Thursday, Sept. 25 the Hotel Monaco Paris Ballroom. It’s a safe bet that 2008 won’t be the last year VE PR has a presence at the annual awards celebration.
 For the first time, the Washington Business Journal and the Greater Washington Board of Trade have teamed up for the Greater Washington Green Business Awards to recognize those in the DC area who have made successful efforts to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices into their businesses and community work. VE PR nominated “green entrepreneur” Hans Hess for his individual ongoing commitment to creating green businesses in the Washington, D.C. area. Hess, along with other “green” DC powerhouses, were recognized for their environmentally responsible efforts in October at an awards reception.
 VE PR officially welcomed Emily Grant to the team as the firm’s savvy new account coordinator on Oct. 1. After joining the company as a summer assistant account associate, Grant has already shown a knack for working with the media by championing successful results on a national radio outreach project. A recent University of Delaware cum laude graduate with a degree in Communication and a minor in Spanish, Grant has three years of public relations experience, having interned throughout her undergraduate studies with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP, the Washington Redskins and another PR firm in the Washington, D.C. area.
As a past Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) president, Grant has attended several professional conferences, such as the 2008 National PRSSA Conference in Philadelphia and the 2007 New York Women in Communication (NYWIC) Conference in New York City. She received the Harold F. Kierce Award in 2008, which honors an outstanding senior communication/public relations student at the University of Delaware. Grant also enjoys giving back by volunteering with Health Volunteers Overseas, a Washington, D.C., non-profit organization, and has served as the Facilities Chair with the University of Delaware’s Relay for Life.
 Teaming up with the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, FOX 5, and a local architecture firm, VE PR supported DC Architecture Week’s CANstruction Build Out by donating canned goods to create a special structure with FOX 5’s Holly Morris. As DC Architecture Week’s (Sept. 13-20) signature event, the competition challenges teams of architects to design and build creative canned goods structures to raise awareness about hunger. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, CANstruction has generated nearly 200 tons of food for people in need through the Capitol Area Food Bank, including the 50,000 pounds donated this year.
VE PR professionals highly rank this event as a strategic, cross marketing partnership that benefits all organizations involved!
You can view the special structure built during the live morning broadcast here .
VE PR’s Allie Gebhardt (lf.) and Emily Grant met the creative architects, many of whom designed their CANstructions digitally, and toured the whimsical structures at the competition’s 10th Anniversary Birthday Party and awards ceremony on Sept. 17 at The Shops at 2000 Penn.
Among a handful of communications professionals, VE PR’s Allie Gebhardt recently was invited by the Montgomery County Council to join a panel discussion on how to work with the media. Gebhardt joined Montgomery County Council Spokesperson Neil Greenberger and Montgomery County Schools’ Spokesperson Steve Simon to give tips on media relations and teach attendees how to proactively offer positive news story ideas to reporters. More than 20 staff attended the discussion, which was part of a series of professional development seminars for County employees.
The presidential election has taught us many media lessons, including the importance of interview preparation. There are several tried and true media training tips that the VE PR team couldn’t help but remind you of given the recent media missteps exposed during campaign coverage.
- Prepare, Prepare, Prepare.
- Ensure you have at least three key messages to drive home about the subject. Write them down and/or memorize them.
- Practice delivering those key messages in a mock Q&A setting.
- Practice the mock Q&A again.
- If you don’t know the answer to a question, offer information you do know by responding as knowledgeably as possible. Seize the opportunity to weave your response back to what you do know - your key messages! This is especially important if it’s an on-camera interview as “getting back to the reporter” with a response can kill your credibility.
- You’re always “on the record.” Don’t forget, “anything you say, can and will be used against you.”
VE PR regularly provides media training sessions for CEOs, Executive Directors, elected and appointed officials, and other media spokespersons to ensure success with every interview.
The economic storm that continues to ravage the financial markets and leaves many wondering about their jobs, their retirement savings, and what 2009 will bring, is the perfect entrée into a discussion about relationships. Yes, relationships. VE PR recommends that now is the time to invest in social or traditional networking to renew or build new relationships. You should connect with your established financial planner who will give you sound financial advice and meet with your former boss who may need you back on his or her team for a special project in 2009. There is a whole new world out there with online/social media, and traditional networking groups are still going strong simply because you cannot beat the face-to-face, interpersonal communication that continues to make the business world go round.
VE PR is available to help bridge the social divide with innovative new strategies and guidance to maximize social media as a marketing tool and gateway to new contacts or prospects. Or, VE PR can offer suggestions about tapping into the 20-somethings within your organization, because they are surely knowledgeable about the nuances and potential of social media. Go to www.facebook.com or www.linkedin.com and look up our team, and we can help connect you to professionals across many industries.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008; 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. FREE Seminar: How to Write a Business Plan. Instructor: Ken Weiss, Principal, PlanSolvers. This class will cover all sections of the business plan. Rockville Library, 21 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Md. Register here.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008; 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. FREE Seminar: How to Write a Business Plan. This class will cover all sections of the business plan. Rockville Library, 21 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Md. Register here.
“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.” –Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American Author
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