By Kylee Coles At ICON 2024, I attended a session by Suzi Brown, vice president of communications at Disneyland Resort, about navigating brand image. Brown explained that at Disneyland, they have seven teams within this branch of their brand. Those teams are government relations, public relations, internal communications, external communications, public affairs, corporate social responsibility and executive communications. Each team plays a different role in upholding Disneyland’s brand image. For example, the government relations team tracks legislation and works with teams to ensure they are abiding by the laws, the public relations team pitches and crafts stories to attract customers and the media relations team handles crisis communications and high-profile announcements to protect the resort’s image. After learning this, I realized the importance of different roles team members take on.
Brown also shared her story and knowledge about securing her executive position at Disneyland Resort. She explained that she got an internship at Disney right out of college, but unfortunately at the time, they didn’t have any permanent positions available. She went on to work other jobs and 20 years later, her connections at Disney landed her a job. This taught me the importance of building and maintaining connections in the industry. In conclusion, Brown provided me with valuable information about making and maintaining connections, utilizing resources and sharing different routes students can take as communications or public relations professionals. After attending ICON, I am happy I got the opportunity to go. It taught me about the professional world of public relations more than I would have ever learned on my own.
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By Caitlyn Soya At PRSSA ICON, I attended a “Strategic Creativity in the Competitive Entertainment Industry” session. The panelists included Gary Miereanu from GT Marmots/PR, Inc., Mercy Castro from NBCUniversal Universal and Tim O’Day from TO’DAY Group PR.
The session was packed, and getting a seat was competitive, just like the industry. Sitting in the front row, I wanted to make sure I made an impression. They specifically talked about the entertainment industry and how to get your foot in the door. Breaking into the industry can be a challenge in itself. California is known as the hub for all film fans and professionals. With such a large market, it can become oversaturated. This can make it difficult to distinguish yourself within this industry. A few ways to combat this are to observe seasoned professionals who can provide mentorship and advice, advocate for yourself and show your value. Listen and Learn “Be quiet and absorb everything around you,” Castro said. “Listen and shadow the people in the room and see how they strategize.” I never thought that listening could be just as valuable as sharing your opinions. By listening though you’re able to pick up on things you may not have heard otherwise. “Ask where you can add value, or what role can be filled,” O’Day said. By providing value, you’re showing the employer that you’re able to contribute something meaningful. Convey Confidence Something meaningful that I wanted to do was show that I cared about the panelists taking the time to speak to us. I valued all their information, and I wanted to gain as much knowledge as I could. At the end of the session, the panelists were allowed to answer questions from students. I took the opportunity to ask a question that would provide me with a new perspective: “What advice has a mentor given you that you could share with us?” Castro was quick to answer this question, and I now can lead with this in any situation. “Be confident, walk in with confidence, talk with confidence,” Castro said. The entertainment industry is now one I’m even more passionate about entering. Learning tips from people who have a secure career, made me feel like one day I’ll have a secure career in this industry. I will always make sure to be confident. I want to be able to step into a room and not feel imposter syndrome, or feel like my experience is not less than someone else’s. If I can harbor this confidence, I believe it’ll help me land a spot in this competitive industry. By Shannon Russell At ICON, I attended the presentation “Marketing Yourself as a Content Creator” hosted by the Founder and CEO of Intern Queen, Lauren Berger. Berger’s business aims to connect college influencers with businesses to foster innovative collaborations.
Although I valued the entire presentation, I enjoyed it when Berger discussed how she earned a collaboration with Ford on her “College Ambassador Challenge” campaign idea. This collaboration was a massive success for Ford and Berger, as it won a Shorty Award (which are awards that recognize the most innovative and creative social media campaigns), but it wasn’t easy to pull off. Berger had an idea for a campaign in which Ford would select influential college students and challenge them to market Ford vehicles creatively. By competing with one another, the students would create innovative user-generated content to increase awareness of the Ford brand. Figure It Out But Berger faced a problem: She didn’t work for Ford and had no contacts with the brand. So, how would she put this campaign idea on Ford’s radar? She decided to rely on the motto she inherited from her mother: “Figure it Out!” Berger started connecting with Ford employees on LinkedIn. Through her deep dive on LinkedIn, she found the phone number of a Ford executive. She boldly reached out to him and explained her idea. The executive loved it, so he allowed her to pitch the idea to his team. The team was extremely receptive. All was looking up until Berger heard back from Ford a few days later. They said that even though they liked her idea, they would not be moving forward with it due to budget concerns. Being Bold This piece of the story was very surprising. As a student, I know the value of connections. But, I never realized that sending random LinkedIn requests could result in a conference call with Ford executives. This inspired me to be bold and reach out to people I want to work with, no matter how lofty my aspirations may seem. Although the meeting didn’t initially result in the outcome Berger wanted, she was able to make a valuable connection that she continued to leverage. Berger said the initial rejection devastated her, but she continued to push forward and “Figure it Out!”Over the next few years, Berger maintained her connections at Ford by sending “Happy Holiday” messages and general check-ins to keep her name top-of-mind. By doing this, she was called back by Ford three years later to re-pitch the campaign. It was greenlit and was a huge success. Often, I worry about bothering people and tend not to reach out as much as I should. But, Berger taught me this is not how the professional world works. If I have a dream or a goal, I have to go for it and be dedicated to its success. In the future, I plan to be more forward when connecting with professionals because I now realize the worst they can say is no (and, as proved by Berger’s story, this can always turn into a yes). Overall, by being bold, persistent and figuring it out, Berger made her dreams come true. I now realize that by doing the same, I, or any student, can push the boundaries to support our career. ICON allowed me to learn from Berger and hear her story, inspiring me and hundreds of other students. I encourage students to attend ICON in the future to hear stories like Berger’s and learn from a diverse group of professionals to strengthen their network. By Tanner Poe
While at PRSSA ICON I attended the session Conquering Your Fears- Overcoming Blind Spots as Emerging PR Professionals hosted by Jarno Oostingh, senior director of Social & PR at Nebo — a marketing agency based in Atlanta, Ga. In this session, Oostingh shared what skills employers are looking for in future PR employees. The good news for Kent State PR students; most of the skills Oostingh talked about are taught in the PR courses at Kent.
Hard Skills Writing As PR majors, we all know that writing is a big part of the industry. From press releases, social media bios, fact sheets and more, writing is a central part of being a PR professional. While Oostingh hit on this point, he also mentioned how there is much more writing than just press releases and social media captions in your future career. Oostingh mentioned how important it is to write concise, short emails, Slack or Teams messages, briefs and reports. Oostingh said that when writing these things you have to remember that people don’t have time to read long emails or messages. Using bullet points, highlighting important details and making sure there are no mistakes in your writing are three things that can help you succeed when communicating with your team. Excel Another hard skill Oostingh highlighted was understanding Excel and the importance of knowing its formulas and functions. Filters and pivot tables, graphs, and conditional formatting are the main Excel functions Oostingh recommended to be familiar with. These things can help you sort your data, tell a story with that data and quickly understand what is going well and what is not. Fortunately, Kent PR majors learn all of these skills in Digital Analytics. Social media The last hard skill Oostingh mentioned was having an in-depth understanding of social media. “You have an understanding of something that is really valuable in the economy,” Oostingh said. It is important to remember that your social media is curated for you and it may not relate to the audience you are trying to reach in your organization’s social media efforts, Oostingh said. It is also important to know how to translate current trends to the audience you are speaking to. For instance, if you find a trend that you think will work for your campaign you may have to explain it to your supervisor who is older than you and does not understand social media as well as you do. Another key skill to have when it comes to social media is learning how to capture good content. The ability to put out high-quality content can be impressive to leadership, Oostingh said. It is also important to not only create good content but also listen to your audience and understand what they are talking about. Learning how to conduct thorough social listening can help deliver insights quickly and add value to strategists in your organization. Soft Skills Organization Employers commonly value organizational skills, but what does it actually look like? Oostingh broke down organization into five key points: 1. Project management Learn how to prioritize the right thing when working on multiple projects and understand what project will drive the most impact to your organization. 2. Communication Communicate what you need and what you want to learn from other people. Whether that is extra time on a project or needing to learn a new skill, people will not know what you need until you tell them. 3. Come prepared When you show up to meetings make sure you have read the necessary documents, looked at your client’s website or social media pages and are prepared to answer questions based on what you are sharing at the meeting. 4. Know Thyself” Do you thrive or crash under pressure? Is your best work done in the morning or late in the evening? Knowing how you work best and how you best stay organized can help you crank out amazing work and lean on your strengths when working on projects. 5. “Be consistently reliable” Make sure people know they can count on your work to be great. To do this proofread your work, deliver things on time and don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions. Continued learning The last soft skill Oostingh mentioned that I wanted to share was the need for continued learning. PR as a field is constantly changing with new media outlets, influencers and platforms. It is important to keep learning by asking questions, using free resources and listening to your mentors. Oostingh wrapped up his presentation by reminding the room that as students entering the job market through internships or full-time positions, it is important to remember that we are expected to be learning. Companies don’t expect us to be experts at everything, but they do expect a motivated and eager attitude. So make sure you stay curious, ask questions and are consistently reliable. This was just one of many ICON sessions I attended. By attending these sessions, I feel that I was able to strengthen my personal and professional development as I was surrounded by other passionate PR students. While PR can sometimes feel like a hidden gem, ICON showed me just how many people there are in this industry and what we can learn from them. By Macy Rosen Two years ago when I attended my first ICON in Dallas, I was soaking in all of the information I could get. I heard from amazing speakers from companies like Delta Air Lines, John Deere and Taco Bell.
Matt Prince, head of public relations at Taco Bell, hosted a session about Taco Bell’s social media, brand strategies and influencer marketing best practices including its Mexican pizza campaign with Doja Cat. Prince was very entertaining and educational, and he also offered mentorship resources and LinkedIn groups. This year, I saw Prince on the ICON agenda again. Although sessions with the same speakers can get repetitive, I knew Prince’s presentation would be worth a second go. Closer to the conference, attendees received an email offering a tour of the Taco Bell HQ. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity. Who doesn’t want to see behind the scenes of Taco Bell? Prince’s speaker session was on Monday and it was titled “Redefining Brand Experience: Social Listening and Innovation.” However, when I arrived in the room with about 80 other students, Prince told us there would be no presentation because he did not feel well. Thankfully, this just meant that he would be having a more open and interactive discussion so he didn’t have to present lecture-style. It ended up being a full Q&A session. The conversations and questions answered by Prince were very insightful. Many topics included the impact of Gen Z on social media, work-life balance and influencer marketing. Prince also shared best practices and insights from Taco Bell’s newest partnership with Omar Apollo. One of the questions a student asked was “How do we battle older generations when it comes to trends and wanting to push forward with them without full support from older employees?” Prince answered this by reminding us that the target audience should help support these kinds of ideas. Prince also said that there may be pushback from older generations' lack of understanding and that it is important to keep everyone educated. Main Takeaways:
It was comforting to hear Prince being so susceptive to Gen Z trends and new ideas. Sometimes it is just about proper education and communication between generations in the workplace. Behind the Scenes at Taco Bell HQ Learning so much from Prince during his session made me even more excited to hear from more the Taco Bell team during the tour. On Wednesday, about 60 students packed into a shuttle and various Ubers to meet in Irvine, California for the Taco Bell HQ tour. After signing in with security, we were greeted by Prince and a few people from his team who walked us around in small groups. Giselle Gallegos, public relations coordinator at Taco Bell and previous PRSSA student, ushered my group. Gallegos showed us around the main floor, which included showcases of the company’s history and memorabilia, a small dining area and conference rooms. Next, she showed us where “the world-famous test kitchen” was; where nutrition experts tested and approved the menu items. Next to this “employees only” door was a sensory panel where there were pods for food and flavor testing. The public relations and marketing floor was next, and we had the pleasure of meeting Bella Garcia, a former PRSSA friend and current colleague of Gallegos. Garcia is a photographer for Taco Bell, and she was in the process of filming menu items for promotional materials. After the tour, we followed Gallegos to a conference room where we were joined by the rest of the students and a panel of Taco Bell superstars: Prince; Ronald Quintero, PR coordinator; Priyanka Jain, global communications coordinator and Katie Snyder, senior account supervisor at Edelman. Prince moderated the panel and welcomed questions from students. They shared insights on successful campaigns such as the $7 Luxe Box and the Drag Brunch tour which engaged the LGBTQ+ community authentically. Students asked various questions ranging from specifics of Taco Bell campaigns to mental health in the workplace. Additionally, the panel emphasized the importance of gathering information early and strategic messaging in crisis management. The panel ended on a fun and light-hearted note, which was on brand with what you would expect from Taco Bell based on their fun brand colors and campaigns: “We’re going to mix it up a little bit. Probably the most important question that we all have is, what is your favorite Taco Bell order?” Prince asked. |
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