All About The Details

Source: Openclipart.com

The connotation of the word “green” has morphed into something different over the past several years. The color green represents nature, growth and the environment. It has also become a chic term representing sustainability and environmentally friendly practices.

A general desire to reduce your carbon footprint and be environmentally conscious has solidified the presence of eco-friendly event designs. Some areas seeing changes include: reducing overall waster, conserving resources and recycling as much as possible.

Beyond these basic concepts, there are several appealing and eco-conscious tricks you can use to ensure your event isn’t lacking stylish ascetics:

• Opt for natural products, such as bamboo for invitations and printed cotton fabrics, burlap or lace for table coverings.
• Use stylish recyclable and compostable dinnerware, such as VerTerra.
• Use potpourri, seeds or teas as favors, or even charitable contributions.
• Donate leftover food to local homeless shelters or senior care centers.
• ImageGlow Candles: Conventional candles are made with bleach and synthetic chemical fragrances and produce toxic soot when burned. But not Imageglow candles. As the unscented, pure-burning candle melts down revealing the design.
• Glass Dharma Straw: Glass Dharma’s fire-polished glass provides unexpected durability that can be reused.
• Use live plants: You can either disperse them after or take advantage of some local greenhouses rental option.

Here are a couple of blogs dedicated to creating “green” weddings and events. Check out www.greenbrideguide.com and www.bebrilliantlygreen.com. Do you have other ideas you have used for eco-friendly events? Share them below!

Source: Ragan.com

This week’s article worth mentioning is, “What would Jane Austen do? A guide to social media etiquette.” As being a part of the Millennial generation, we are the first to have our childhood publicized to the world. We have have gone through the growing pains of social media by learning lessons the hard way. No one taught us that pictures from five years ago could affect us many years into the future.

I often feel as though Facebook is a cesspool. So much of my news feed consists of people complaining or trying to brag. I know I am not alone when I find myself comparing my life to others I see on Facebook. I often remind myself that the posts in my newsfeed are just the highlight reel of everyone’s lives. It isn’t their actual life, just the things they want you to see.

While technology has changed, human interactions have not and that is why I found this article so interesting! Situations that were happening 200+ years ago still relate to situations we all face today. The article talked about people who over-share and immediately several people came to mind. Those type of posts DRIVE ME NUTS. I don’t need to see 20 pictures of your children every day, ten of your car and another five of your new clothes.

Facebook creates a false sense of feeling like you know someone when you really don’t. I haven’t talked to a majority of my Facebook ‘friends’ for numerous years , but I still feel like I know intimate details about their lives.

Being a PR professional, I have a different sense for how to use social media. I don’t think of social media as a place to share every detail of my daily life. When I think about posting something, I always make sure that it has some sort of value or interest to my friends and that is one reason this tip stuck with me, “Before you post something, ask yourself whether you would talk about the content of your post at a crowded cocktail party.” Good advice to live by!

This past week, I was required to construct my very first inforgraphic for my J 452 course. When we were given this assignment, I was nervous about doing something that I had no previous experience in. As we began to go through the process I became more confident about my abilities to create an interesting infographic. I had seen a ton of infographics throughout the years and felt confident in my skills of being able to construct the proper message delivery.

When trying to settle on a topic, I started thinking about the different aspect of my life and how I could incorporate things I knew something about or was interested in. I knew that by doing this I would be able to deliver a better finished product. While running through possible topics my sister’s employer, Vectors Espresso, came to mind.

When selecting our topic we were given a few requirements: Have a call to action and either teach something or inform people about something. With these requirements in mind, I started making a list of ideas that related to the coffee industry.  Some of the ideas were: how to make latte art, how to get the most caffeine for your money and how to make the best cup of coffee.

I decided that teaching people how to make the best cup of coffee would be the best topic to display through an infographic.

I began the research process by searching the term “how to make the best coffee.” From there I began exploring websites to see what information they provided. I combined the information that I thought would be relevant to this process into a Microsoft Word document. Once I felt I had an adequate amount of research, I started to go through it and organize by steps in the coffee-making process. After doing this, it became evidently clear that my project should be broken into four specific steps that were vital to making a good cup of coffee: Bean choice, roasting, grinding, brewing and equipment choice. Once I had the outline established it was easy to pull information I thought was important enough to be included in the infographic.

Tips for creating a successful infographic:

1. Over research: Research as much as possible. Google terms that are close to your original search but that are slightly different. Don’t be afraid to go down that rabbit hole. You never know when you will find great information that you never even thought to look for.
2. Organize your research into a broad outline.
3. Try to pull out the most important information that viewers need to know. Infographics aren’t the place to jam in a ton of information. You want to only include the highlights.
4. Don’t clutter your infographic with too much information or images.
5. Try to provide a logical flow that is easy for the eyes/brain to follow naturally.

Have any of you had experience in creating infographics? Share your tips for success!

Source: Flickr

New York Times recent article, “A Big Bet on Gluten-Free” addressed the trending topic of gluten-free products. I am fatally allergic to peanuts and know what it is like to grow up with a food allergy that dictates your life, so I relate to others that have similar food allergies.

While the popularity of gluten-free products has risen over that past several years, I have always seen it trend that was bound to fade away. I saw it as a bandwagon approach similar to the organic craze. I see the words ‘gluten-free’ everywhere. Even food products that have always been gluten-free are advertising their product as such.  The article stated that, “The portion of households reporting purchases of gluten-free food products to Nielsen hit 11 percent last year, rising from 5 percent in 2010.”

I don’t think that the rise in gluten-free products is because more people are becoming gluten intolerant. I think that it is because of the marketing strategy behind it. “There are truly people out there who need gluten-free foods for health reasons, but they are not the majority of consumers who are driving this market,” said Virginia Morris, vice president for consumer strategy and insights at Daymon Worldwide, a private brand and consumer interactions company.

I find it interesting to think about the marketing efforts behind the topic. Companies began to label their products as gluten-free and started advertising the so-called health benefits of going gluten-free. This in turn led people to endorse the new diet structure or excluding gluten products from their diet. Since consumers fed into this marketing strategy, it led to even more companies creating gluten-free versions of their products to compete in that market.

It will be interesting to see how this trend continues to evolve over the next several years. Have any of you experienced a gluten-free diet or food trend? If so, share your experiences with us!

Source: JOY CHO/PINTEREST

I am a big fan of anything Pinterest, so when I came across a recent article, “Target Taps Top Pinterest Influencers for Design Collaboration,” it caught my attention. The article was about Target‘s recent announcement about a new partnership with a few of Pinterest’s top pinners, where they will be designing an exclusive party-planning collection.

I thought that this plan was absolutely genius. Target has taken an outlet that already has a customer base and elevated it to benefit them and their customers. For most of us, Pinterst is just a hobby or something we do for fun.  This line will allow everyday pinners to transform their passions into reality. No other retail chain is using methods like this to bring their customers new and innovative products.

From a marketing perspective, this plan is gold. For instance, the first collection to premier is by Joy Cho who has over 13.6 million Pinterest followers, while Target has less than 150,000 followers. Target is tapping into an already existing market. They are collaborating with pinners who already have a large audience and will be able to easily share their products with millions of people.

This type of collaboration opens up a whole new stream of possibilities not only for Target, but for designers, Pinterst and Pinterest users. I think this will offer at-home designers the chance to have their ideas and designs showcased in one of the largest retail chains in America. I can definitely see other companies joining this movement in the near future. 

What are your thoughts on this? A good move for Target? Will other retailers follow? Where do you think it will lead to in the future? Comment below with your thoughts!

SELL YOUR AUDIENCE ON ATTENDING

Even if it is the 100^th year of the event you are planning you still worry about if people will attend. As the planner of the event, you are responsible for marketing your event to the right audience. You want to motivate people to attend your event.

MARKETING TOOLS: 

Example of promotional materials used for Cascadia Wildland’s 11th Annual Wonderland Auction
Source: Cascadia Wildlands

There are many tools available to you. Some options include: direct mail, newsletters, press releases, posters, word of mouth, paid advertising, etc. Don’t just rely on previous successful methods. Times change and so do dissemination methods. Your best tool is to give your audience a good reason to attend.

ADVERTISING TOOLS:
There are hundreds of outlets where you can spend your advertising money. Some options include, radio newsprint, magazines, television, social media, websites, direct mail, etc. When deciding which medium you want to use, consider which ones your intended audience uses.

While going through the marketing planning process I like to go through a pre-planned process where I hit certain areas. Some of these include:

1. Determine your target audience
2. Gather examples of ideas and printed pieces that you have liked in the past
3. Settle on a relevant theme
4. Divide key components to your marketing campaign: teasers, promotional gifts, invitations, posters, brochures, press releases, advertising, etc.
5. Set up a timeline for when each piece should be disseminated

Once all the craziness of the event has settled, it is important to take some time and analyze the success of each marketing effort.  These methods can be as simple as asking your guests how they heard about the event or using online tracking methods to measure what outlets attendees learned about the event. Use this data when trying to plan your marketing efforts for future events.

Source: GoldieBlox video

I think this image says it all. This past week  I read, “Why Toy Startup Goldie Historic $4 Million Super Bowl Ad Win Matter” It left me feeling compelled to write a post addressing this topic. I went to watch the Super Bowl commercial they were referring to and was left with a happy feeling of pride. It made me think about my personal experience of growing up female and how that affected my life. 

My entire life I was raised by a single mother and I saw my dad every other weekend. Growing up I was exposed to a mother who supported herself and provided for her children’s every need. She never relied on a man for financial support. We were always expected to do things for ourselves.

My dad didn’t have any boys, so on our weekends together he would take us to do all of things he like to do. This included camping, hiking, softball, water sports, etc. My sister and I both played three sports all though our childhood. We liked doing those types of activities.

When I was younger it never occurred to me that those weren’t “girl” activities. I did notice that my interests allowed me to relate to boys better, but it never occurred to me that being a female held me back in life or was anything less than a man.  That was until I started going to a new church after moving to Eugene. Men didn’t seem like they could be my friend because I was a female. I was also treated differently than the men who were serving with me.

For the first time I became conscious of the fact that I was looked at differently because I was a female. Before then I had never felt that I was any different from a man. I have been treated like I couldn’t do something before because I was a woman, but that always made me want to prove I could do it that much more.

This article really struck a chord with me. It made me think about experiences I have had and that even though in my home life I never felt that men were superior, the rest of the world sees it differently. After reading this article, it became clear to me that even though we aren’t aware of it, women are confined to specific gender roles and are often portrayed as a sex object or home-maker.

Executive Direct advocacy group Women in Media and News Jennifer Pozner stated, “The GoldieBlox ad that parodied ‘Girls’ went viral because it filled a need so many parents have for advertising toys in ways that encourage girls to think,” she said. “Toy ads typically teach girls that they should be shoppers, or sexy girlfriends, or caretakers (of pets, or babies, or dolls). And when it comes to girls’ toys themselves, they’re either hyper-sexual dolls like Bratz, or toy brooms and irons.”

“The colors, language, and tone of kids commercials are gender segregated and regressive: girls are sold pastels and pink, with sing-song dialog and fairy tale packaging, while commercials targeting boys feature dark blues, purples and blacks, with violent imagery and words like ‘Fight! Battle! Win! War!’ It’s that pervasive form of cultural conditioning that the GoldieBlox ad responded to.”

The reason that this Super Bowl ad was so powerful was because this topic isn’t widely talked about and is a persistent theme throughout our culture. We place gender identification on all sorts of items. We associate pink with women and blue with men. Society often portrays that all women like to do is shop, cook and clean. There is so much more to a woman than her ability to take care of a man or a house.

While finishing this blog I am left wondering how I would want this situation to be handled towards my daughter. I wouldn’t want her to be placed in the confinements of what her life should be like based on her gender. This is a theme in our culture that should be acknowledge as wrong and corrective actions should be taken moving forward. No body should feel limited in life because of which sex they were born as.

(c) Can Stock Photo

Everyone in the event-planning industry knows that planning an event is complicated and sometimes difficult.  Creating a thorough timeline for your event will help to achieve many things including:

Tasks: Determine the tasks that need to be complete to make sure your event is successful
Order: Determine the order that you need to get your tasks complete
Deadline: Determine the time frame that each task needs to be completed
Delegate: Determine if and to whom you can delegate tasks to

One simple way to begin managing your tasks is to break your timeline into three parts:
1. Pre-Event
2. Day of the event
3. Post-event

I pulled this sample timeline from here:

From here you can then add the sub-categories under each part, like event theme, entertainment, marketing and promotion, ticket sales, etc. This will allow you to determine what needs to be accomplished during each phase. Once you have determined all of your tasks, you should give them each a deadline and delegate. It is pertinent that you plan every aspect of your event down to the smallest detail. Establishing a timeline will help to keep everything in order and give you direction. Event planning is a hectic industry and having a plan will set you up for success.

Source: Jordan Johnson

Since I am responsible for managing my employer’s social media presence, a recent article sparked my interest. ‘5 brands making the most of PR-specific Twitter accounts’ highlighted five companies doing a great job at managing a public relations-specific Twitter account including Delta, Johnson & Johnson, Starbucks, UPS and Wal-mart.

Going into the article, I wanted to see how these companies made use of a PR-specific Twitter account and what their successful methods were. The company I work for, IDX LLC is a small local Eugene, Ore. company. The companies featured in this article are some of the largest in our country. Even though our scopes aren’t quite the same, I thought that the article highlighted a few valuable methods:

Delta was using their account as a place to share news. News regarding Delta, industry related information and engaging reporters by regularly retweeting their tweets.

Johnson & Johnson identified who was running their account right from their bio section. This is a great way to humanize the profile and allow followers to feel connected to the company.

Starbucks placed contact information for news related issues right in their bio section. This gives journalists and others an easy way to contact the right team. They also included a variety of pictures in most of their tweets. By doing this, they increase the level of interest for their posts. People love visuals.

UPS did a great job at including a variety of posts and engaging other Twitter followers in the process.

Wal-mart included all their Twitter handles right in their bio section. This gives their followers a quick way to follow their other profiles in a fast and easy way.  

All of these accounts had one thing in common: You didn’t get the sense that they were running a PR campaign on their followers. Social media users don’t want to feel like companies are trying to pull one over on them. Instead they used this platform as a place for people interested in their company to receive valuable news. It felt like more of a resource. The goal of any company is to make their audiences feel like they are a valuable resource.

Source: Forsyth Country

For as long as I can remember, I have made lists. Lists about everything! One of the main reasons I went into public relations/event planning is because of my organization skills and a passion for logistics.

There is just something about writing a task down and then crossing it off that feels rewarding. This brings me to this week’s blog topic: Checklists and Scheduling.

For every event you plan you will need a checklist. It is a good idea to compile a master checklist that you can customize to the specific event you are developing. If you have a master list already prepared, it allows you to jump into planning and delegating tasks a lot faster.

Here are a few reasons I like lists:

1. Provides a way to keep your thoughts and ideas organized
2. Helps you remember everything
3. Organize tasks in a time sequence
4. Helps to get stuff done and be more efficient
5. Ease stress

It can be helpful to have several lists separated by category. Some categories include:

• Budget
• Decorations
• Publicity plan
• Timeline
• Staffing
• Event evaluation
• Registration, invitations, programs

I like to think of my lists in a time progressive manner. I start with my immediate needs. What needs to be done right away or what needs to be done before completing other things? When compiling your lists, ask yourself many questions. It is also important to remember other aspects of your event when planning. When thinking of a venue, consider aspects such as transportation needs, will you need audio/visuals and will your entertainment work? You will find that you will start to develop sub-categories customized to your specific event.

If you are in the public relations/event planning industry and you don’t think that list are for you, think again. This industry requires constant multitasking and organization skills. Lists are a great way to keep on top of everything and keep your sanity in the process.

Find an example of a thorough checklist and timeline breakdown, here.