This summer, I was given an amazing opportunity, through PRSSA, to intern in the Public Affairs Office of the Roanoke Valley American Red Cross. I have always wanted to work for a nonprofit, so this was truly the perfect place to intern. I worked directly with Amy Whittaker who is in charge of public affairs for the whole region. While there, I was able to do a variety of things that ranged from event planning to developing a regional communication plan. I also got to create and update a media list for the region, which meant a lot of phone calls and google searches. One of my favorite tasks was to launch and manage their social media. The launch was great because it gave me the opportunity to use my creativity and knowledge about twitter and Facebook. I updated the twitter regularly and posted frequently on their Facebook page. I also was lucky enough to get some interviewing experience, though I still need some practice. I was able to write a press release and an article on the American Red Cross's need for volunteers. I was also able to attend one of their "Learn to Swim" programs and watch how the kids interacted with the instructors. I took some video and pictures and uploaded them to Facebook. Overall, my experience with the American Red Cross was amazing and worth every second I spent there.
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At our last general meeting, we had everyone participate in an activity as an icebreaker, PR lesson and chance to show creativity. We had everyone take a bar of Ivory soap and carve it into some product that they could pitch. This comes from the time that Proctor and Gamble hired Edward Bernays to help them sell Ivory soap. The PRSSA members were split into groups and each have about 20 minutes to carve their soap and come up with a creative pitch. The group that won "Most Creative" was the group that carved the soap into the shape of the ribbon with a pink tie around it. They decided to pitch to us the idea of pairing up Ivory soap with the Susan B. Koman foundation to sell soap and have proceeds go to the foundation. The group that won "Best Pitch" made their bar of soap into a football and put a VT on it. They came up with the idea of branding the soap to match different ACC colleges and have us a target audience and promotion plan. The meeting had such a great turnout and everyone who participated had such creative ideas!
Here's a link to the video of the activity of Facebook!http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150808222735355 |
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