Author: WWPR

In this issue:

Message from the President
Upcoming Events
Pro Bono Update
Website Update
Member Spotlight
Event Recap
Articles of Interest
Membership News
Job Board

I am excited to be leading such a wonderful group of woman (and men!) as the Washington Women in Public Relations(WWPR)president this year. Through my experience during the past five years on the board in both the professional development and partnerships roles, I truly believe that WWPR is one of the best organizations for professionals in the communications field.

WWPR is a diverse group of communications and PR professionals representing a variety of industries. Through our professional development and signature events, we hope to continue delivering high value programs and networking opportunities to our members and to encourage growth and learning in our field.

As we are always looking for better ways to increase our membership value and make sure we continue to serve our members, we encourage your suggestions! In the coming months, we plan to survey you, our members and our supporters, so that we can provide the appropriate programming. Additionally, we are planning to increase existing relationships with our neighboring professional communications organizations. Be on the lookout in the next month for the survey and please take the time to share your thoughts with us!

Our plans for this year include:
•    Upcoming opportunities to give back by getting involved with our new pro bono client, Thrive DC
•    The new WWPR website and blog in which we hope to have many guest posts from our members
•    Increased mentoring opportunities including a new shadowing event in the fall
•    The addition of another speed networking event due to the increased demand

As I step into my new role, I want to take a moment to thank our 2010 President, Debbie Friez, for all the hard work she has put into WWPR over the last year. I also would like to encourage everyone to get more involved this year–whether you join a committee, write a blog post, or just come out to one more event than you did last year!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me at
kendra@wwpr.org with any suggestions or questions as we embark on another successful year!

Kendra Kojcsich
2011 WWPR President

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Upcoming Events
For full information about our exciting events and programs, please visit our Events page.

Special Lunch Invitation to Young MC and WWPR Members

When:
March 3, 2011
Noon to 2:00pm

Where:
National Press Club
529 14th St NW
Washington,DC

Young MC and WWPR are pleased to partner and present a lively lunchtime discussion featuring Keith Blackman, principal of Blackman Media Solutions (BMS). Bring your lunch to the National Press Club (NPC) on March 3rd, and learn new strategies for effective media training and improved executive visibility. Keith will examine the important role proper media training plays in the context of the 247 news cycle. Attendees will also have an opportunity to tour NPC’s Broadcast Operations Center.

Please join us for this exclusive member’s only discussion at noon on March 3rd. Seating is limited and on a first come first served basis, so please R.S.V.P. immediately to secure your seat.

Price:  Free for WWPR & Young MC Members
To register: http://conta.cc/dPxZNg

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Call for Speakers & Venue Partners
Each month, WWPR hosts professional development brown bag lunch sessions, most of which are free to members. The popular sessions engage PR professionals with interesting topics, knowledgeable presenters, and diverse venues.

Our luncheons engage participants who want to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in our rapidly changing profession. We are currently looking for speakers on a variety of industry topics. We also need donated space for events. If your organization has space or you would like to suggest a speaker, contact us at professionaldevelopment@wwpr.org.

We promote our venues through pre-event outreach, day-of promotion opportunities, and links as venue partners on the WWPR website.

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Pro Bono Update
We are thrilled to announce that Thrive DC is our new pro bono client for the 2011-2012 term.

Thrive DC, which started in 1979 as the Dinner Program for Homeless Women, is now a comprehensive provider of services for people facing economic crisis and economic instability in the Washington area.

Here’s a sample of the services they provide:
• Two hot meals a day
• Computer lab with Internet access
• Free showers and laundry
• Personal Care supplies
• Peer support groups
• Case management
• Employment training
To learn more about Thrive DC check out the recent announcement.

Visit their website at www.thrivedc.org, “like” them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter @thrivedc to get more information.

To work with the Pro Bono Committee on crafting a strategic communications plan for Thrive DC, contact Pro Bono Chair Deborah Brody at probono@wwpr.org.

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Website Update

We’re thrilled to announce that WWPR launched its new website on January 20, 2011! The site features a dynamic layout designed to complement the new WWPR logo, a new blog, a Twitter feed on our home page, and enhanced functionality for members. We’ve got more exciting updates planned for 2011, so please visit often and let us know what you think! Feedback can be provided via the website form or by emailing website@wwpr.org.

Also, the website committee is actively recruiting new members! Whether you’d like to contribute content, help manage existing content, or provide strategic input on website features and functionality, we’d love your help! We hope you’ll consider contributing to the WWPR blog, and any suggestions for topics or guest bloggers would be great! For more information or to contribute, please contact Website Chair Kate Barrett.

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Member Spotlight

Member Spotlight: Stacy Price, WWPR Professional Development Co-Chair
By Elisa O’Halloran

WWPR member Stacey Price, independent consultant of sdp communications, commutes the highways and bi-ways of the Internet from her home office or the local coffee shop. Price specializes in integrated communications, working for a host of clients, including community development organizations, restaurants and government organizations. Price has first-hand knowledge of working with small businesses.

Price explains: “As a previous small business owner, I enjoy rolling up my sleeves and really getting into the business and determining how I can make a difference through communication.” She has an entrepreneurial attitude moving to DC in July 2009 with only one connection, an apartment she had never seen before and the desire for someone else to pay her salary.

“Since I have been on my own since 2003, I have made connections organically that led me right back on my own, doing much of the same things I was doing pre-move. I guess you cannot escape what you are meant to do,” says Price.

As an entrepreneur, Price knows how important networking is to find a job or potential new clients. “I believe social capital is priceless. It is the people in my network that help me solve problems, find new clients, and fuel my creativity, “says Price. “It is also important to listen and help people.”

In addition to enjoying her work as an independent consultant, Price enjoys music, food and the written word. Price adds, “You will find me eating, at a live show, or writing about one of the two of them.”

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Event Recap
WWPR Annual Meeting and Board Induction
Presentation by the Social Media “Swami”
January 20, 2011

Members did not expect a homework assignment when they signed up for the WWPR Annual Meeting and Board Induction Lunch.

Keynote speaker, Shashi Bellamkonda, otherwise known as the Social Media “Swami” of Network Solutions, gave three action items: Google your name, set up Google Alerts, follow three blogs relevant to your field and begin commenting. In Bellamkonda’s talk, “It’s All About Human Relationships,” he shared tips, web sites, links, and case studies reinforcing the necessity of using social media as a communication vehicle.
In addition to the homework assignment, ideas shared included:
• Be accessible always. If you don’t have a smart phone, get one.
• Blog. Make people think with your entries and don’t be afraid to comment on others.
• Create social media guidelines for your company and train others to be experts.
• And, most importantly, don’t just Tweet Up, Meet Up; face-to-face interactions are still an effective way to maintain relationships.

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Articles of Interest
Social Media Leadership Series – Next Generation PR Pros

5 big mobile trends for 2011-and beyond

Why People Unsubscribe to Your E-mails

3 social media tools you may be missing

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Membership News

New Student Members
-Alexa Vogel, The George Washington University

New Members
-Toni Andrews, Burke & Herbert Bank
-Marisa Harriston, GMYR Public Relations
-Jennifer McLellan, Core Association Services, Inc.
-Rebecca Noel, Van Eperen & Company
-Emily O’Hara, GSX
-Theresa Oland
-Vicki Robb,Vicki Robb Communications
-Mayra Ruiz McPherson, Ruiz McPherson Communications LLC
-Rachel Szala, Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications
-Lizabeth Wagger, NAPS
-Nick Whitmoyer, Whitmoyer LLC

Returning Student Members
-Heather Curry, American College of Radiology

Returning Members
-Kimberly Ash, Plan A Marketing Solutions
-Kate Barrett, New Enterprise Associates
-Colleen Fogarty, American Diabetes Association
-Rosel Halle, Strategic Direction Advisors
-Rachel Henderson, Ogilvy Washington
-Melanie Jordan, PRofessional Solutions, LLC
-Marjorie Lane, The Lane Marketing Group
-Kelly Mack,National Association of Home Builders
-Margie Newman, Pew Center on the States
-Kate Perrin, PRofessional Solutions, LLC
-Karen Saverino, Eightfold Strategy
-Hillarie Turner, Environics Communications

Membership has its benefits! Members do not pay for most WWPR monthly professional development brown bag lunches. To learn more, please contact Leslie Rutledge, membership chair, at membership@wwpr.org.

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Job Board: DC Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
Social Media Specialist, Goodwill Industries. Contact: HR@goodwill.org
Intern, Porter Novelli. Contact: Kendra.kojcsich@porternovelli.com
Administrative Associate, The National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN). Contact: director@thehispanicnurses.org
Media Relations Assistant, International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). Contact:  pressoffice@IAAPA.org.

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On Sunday, February 6 over 111 million people tuned into Fox to watch the Green Bay Packers challenge the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. According to Nielsen, it was a record-setting television event. During the evening I was completely absorbed in the game, as would be expected for a serious Packers fan, along with the halftime show and commercials and it quickly became clear that there was messaging, branding, and PR at work on the screen at every turn.

No matter who you were rooting for, some key take-aways jumped off the screen that could better our PR toolboxes going forward.

And with that, I present my Top 4 PR Lessons from Super Bowl XLV:

1) Media Training is Key – This applies to all types of people – from sport stars to Fortune 500 execs to nonprofit leaders. You must know your message when speaking to the media. Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers quarterback, was interviewed multiple times right after winning the Super Bowl, a time that could easily be explained as frenetic. During each interview he remained composed in demeanor as well as in his answers. A few times during an interview with Steve Young, a former Super Bowl winning quarterback, Young tried to get Rodgers to bite on the “monkey on my back” line of questioning in an attempt to get him to compare himself to predecessor Brett Favre. Rodgers just won the Super Bowl, he easily could have taken the tone that he is a better player and now had proof, but instead he stayed on the same message he had used in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl – never once disparaging another player or team.

2) Do More with Less – In addition to the game on the field there was the annual Super Bowl commercial competition. My personal favorites this year were the Volkswagen Darth Vader and the Doritos ‘finger licking’ spots. MBA students at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School agree. During the seventh annual Kellogg School Super Bowl Advertising Review, they gave high marks to those two commercials and failing marks to Lipton, Kia, and HomeAway. Did you know that the Doritos spots were written, filmed and produced by amateurs? Doritos not only saved dollars by having amateurs make their spots but more importantly they engaged their fans to produce content in support of the brand. A video contest is genius PR as it launched months before the game, utilized social media, interacted with a key audience, got fans to evangelize the brand, and now has legs after the actual airing, all on top of it being a cheaper production solution. When facing tight budgets, diminishing resources, and a shrinking staff don’t let it cripple you – instead push past the norm and truly think outside the “bag”. There are creative ways to rally your key audience to promote your brand – online contests, individually hosted events, and local spokespeople with TAD-like video presentations.

3) A Strategic Plan is a Touchdown – The Green Bay Packers are a storied franchise with a clean cut quarterback as their leader, now, but they hit a few public bumps four years ago when transitioning to Aaron Rodgers as their captain. As a team they stuck to their outlined plan and went with Rodgers instead of Brett Favre when he openly toyed with the idea of retirement a few years ago. A strategic roadmap is a winning idea for a football team and its players, as it is for any business, association, or organization. Without a business marketing plan or without a campaign strategy it is easy to get derailed and not consistently achieve forward progress. Take the time to develop your strategic plan or consult with a trusted PR professional.

4) Branding is Everywhere – Do only big brands like Nike or Audi need a brand strategy? No – everyone needs a strong brand image and a brand strategy for how to handle the brand and its messages. Every nonprofit, start-up, solo practitioner, and mid-sized company should have a plan for their brand because branding is everywhere. NFL teams are big brands – their logos, players, helmets, jerseys, swag, chants, and even their color schemes are a way to identify them. Fans identify themselves and their loyalty to their team via these brand elements. If the Steelers had half of the team wearing purple and the coach wearing blue it would have caused a disconnect for their brand identity on gameday. Similarly, your organization is a brand – doesn’t matter if you are one person or a team of 100 – your audience needs quick and easy ways to identify you. If you own a small company in the service industry make sure all your employees wear the same branded uniform when interacting with clients. If you are a nonprofit bring services into hospitals make sure your volunteers all have branded gear to identify themselves to patients and hospital workers. This will help in consistent branding so that people remember who you are and what you do.

Post a comment to share any PR, marketing, or branding takeaways from the Super Bowl that you caught. Also, feel free to weigh in on your favorite overall commercial!

I am excited to be leading such a wonderful group of woman (and men!) as the WWPR President this year.  Through my experience during the past five years on the board in both the professional development and partnerships roles, I truly believe that WWPR is one of the best organizations for professionals in our field.

WWPR is a diverse group of communications and marketing professionals representing a host of industries. Through our professional development and signature events, we hope to continue to deliver high value events and networking opportunities to our members, and to encourage growth and learning in our field.

As we are always looking for the best ways to increase our membership value and make sure we are continuing to serve our members, we welcome your suggestions! In the coming months, we plan to survey you, our members and our supporters, so that we can provide the appropriate programming for those within the various fields of communications. Additionally, we are planning to increase existing relationships with our neighboring professional communications organizations.  Be on the lookout in the next month for a survey and please take the time to share your thoughts with us!

A quick snapshot of other areas of focus for this year include:
•    Upcoming opportunities to give back by getting involved with our new pro bono client, Thrive DC.
•    The new WWPR website and blog in which we hope to have many guest posts from our members!
•    Increased mentoring opportunities including a new shadowing event in the fall.
•    The addition of another speed networking event due to the increased demand.

As I step into my new role, I want to take a moment to thank our 2010 President, Debbie Friez for all the hard work she has put into WWPR over the last year.

I encourage everyone to get more involved this year, whether you join a committee, write a blog post or just come out to one more event than you did last year! Please don’t hesitate to contact me at Kendra@wwpr.org with any suggestions or questions as we embark on another successful year!

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) announced the selection of Thrive DC as its new pro bono client for 2011-2012.  The formal announcement came during WWPR’s Annual Meeting and Board Induction luncheon on January 20, 2011.

From its beginnings in 1979 as the Dinner Program for Homeless Women, Thrive DC has been responding to homelessness in Washington, DC. Thrive DC provides hot meals twice a day, free showers and laundry; mail, telephone and email access; personal care and medical supplies; emergency clothing; case management and other support services to men and women dealing with homelessness.

“As part of its mission, WWPR provides public relations and communications consulting services at no charge to local nonprofits, like Thrive DC, that serve women and children in the Washington, DC metropolitan area,” said Kendra Kojcsich, WWPR’s president. “We access our members’ expertise in public relations and marketing to assist our pro bono client to achieve its communications goals.”

Starting last September, WWPR conducted an extensive search and application process. More than 30 area nonprofits seeking pro bono communications counsel applied. WWPR’s Pro Bono Committee reviewed and scored the applications based on a several criteria including readiness to work with outside consultants and scope of work. Ultimately, WWPR narrowed the field of applicants to select Thrive DC.

“We are thrilled to work with WWPR over the next two years on our communications strategy,” said Alicia Horton, Thrive DC’s executive director. “After our recent re-branding, our organization is focused on implementing social media, public relations and marketing strategies so that we may continue meeting the needs of our homeless and low-income neighbors.”

About Washington Women in Public Relations
Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) is the first and only D.C. based professional organization advancing women in the communications industry. WWPR is committed to delivering outstanding professional development, networking, marketplace positioning, and leadership opportunities to area communicators. Visit us at wwpr.org,“Like” us on Facebook.com/WashingtonWomeninPR, and follow us on Twitter @WWPR.

About Thrive DC
Thrive DC is an independent 501 (c ) (3) nonprofit organization serving the District of Columbia. Founded in 1979, Thrive DC, previously known as Dinner Program for Homeless Women (DPHW), serves anyone in need, providing a comprehensive range of crisis and individual case management services to men and women of all ages, backgrounds, races and ethnicities. For more information, please visit www.thrivedc.org.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR), a resource for communications professionals in the DC area, announced its 2011 board during its annual meeting at the National Association of Broadcasters building. The slate is as follows:

• President: Kendra Kojcsich, Porter Novelli
• Vice President: Tina McCormack Beaty, C.Fox Communications
• Past President: Debbie Friez, BurrellesLuce
• Treasurer: Sherri Core, Core Association Services, Inc.
• Secretary: Donna Savarese, Innovative Solutions Group
• Marketing and Communications Co-Chairs: Pheniece Jones, SpeakerBox Communications, and Melinda Semadeni, American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries
• Executive Communicators Chair: Kim Ash, Plan A Marketing Solutions
• Woman of the Year Co-Chairs: Emily Hughes, National Environmental Strategies, and Laura Cilmi, Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates
• Professional Development Co-Chairs: Stacey Price, sdp communications, and Elisse LaMay Tolle, American Association for Justice
• Membership Chair: Leslie Rutledge, MyMediaInfo
• Pro Bono Chair: Deborah Brody, Deborah Brody Marketing Communications
• Emerging Leaders Co-Chairs: Margie Newman, Pew Center on the States, and Courtney Greenwald, Porter Novelli
• Sponsorships and Partnerships Chair: Lisa Newman, Independent Media Consultant
• Web Site Chair: Kate Barrett, New Enterprise Associates

Out-going president Debbie Friez was honored for her many years of service to WWPR. Kendra Kojcsich, 2011 incoming president, has more than five years of WWPR involvement serving on the board as professional development co-chair and partnership chair.

“Today, PR professionals and communicators across the D.C. area convened to welcome the new board and I am in great company as I embark on leading this energized group of professionals,” said Kojcsich. “The board looks forward to serving the WWPR membership and providing high-quality programs, as well as volunteer and networking opportunities.”

WWPR also announced the selection of Thrive DC as its new pro bono client for 2011-2013. Thrive DC provides meals, personal care and medical supplies, case management and other support services to men and women dealing with homelessness.

ABOUT WASHINGTON WOMEN IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) is the first and only D.C. based professional organization advancing women in the communications industry. WWPR is committed to delivering outstanding professional development, networking, marketplace positioning, and leadership opportunities to area communicators. Visit us at wwpr.org, “Like” us on Facebook.com/WashingtonWomeninPR, and follow us on Twitter @WWPR.