Big Finale!

James Kane

Leading Researcher in the Science of Loyalty

This presentation was absolutely amazing and changed my outlook on public relations, communication, business and human kind in general! He began by presenting in a way that told his story and allowed people to find personal commonalities with him as he presented. The main takeaways I learned from his presentation are listed below:

- People follow those who they feel they can identify with
- As PR professionals we are hired to make someone's life or business safer and easier... This is what they expect from us... what they don't expect from us is to make their life better... but this is what will inspire loyalty.
- We do not judge our experiences by the outcome, we judge them by the process
- Being able to understand people is the goal
- Understanding allows you to make the lives and businesses of your clients not only safer and easier but better

 #uvuPRcrew

#UVUPRSSA

#UVUPRinATL

#PRSSANC

UVU PRSSA

Madelyne Van Hoff

Do the Kind thing!

Sheryl Connelly, Ford Motor Company

General Advice

• Where you spend your money mirrors your values
• Multitasking is a myth
• "The best way to predict the future is to create it"

Daniel Lubetzky, The Kind Company

General Advice

• A mission statement is very important but the product has to lead
• Earned media or 3rd party media is so much more credible than bought media
• keep your creative time separate from your critical time
• Do the kind thing

Kimberly Beaudin, College Football Hall of Fame

General Advice

• Write well
• Give people a reason to talk about your business
• Don't be afraid to fail
• Be confident
• Be patient
• Have a mentor
• Stay strategic without getting stuck in the weeds
• Utilize promotional calendaring tools to coordinate with the events of the world

Night Among the Stars 

 #uvuPRcrew

#UVUPRSSA

#UVUPRinATL

#PRSSANC

UVU PRSSA

Madelyne Van Hoff

Quality & Quantity

The PRSSA National Conference has in fact been world class. Each session has been packed with quality presentations and each day is packed with several sessions! We are having the best time!

I have outlined some of my favorite points made today below! 

Scott Williamson ~ VP of Coca Cola North America

6 Lessons Learned

1. Ignore the data: Don't let data overwhelm the 6th sense that you gain in your work
2. Be simple, be clear, be awesome: have a personal mission statement that you live by. Everything you do and don't say communicates a message. 
3. Shine your own shoes and iron your own shirt: Sweat the small stuff! No job is too small to give your best effort. 
4. Belief Matters: Believe in yourself and believe in the company you work for. Don't put a nickel of your money in the pockets of your competitors. If it's worth doing, it's worth investing in.
5. Question the impossible
6. Hold out for both marshmallows: Don't settle for the first good thing that comes into your life. 

Additional advice:

• Be as modern as you can be and as timeless as you can be
• Be well read
• Write well...convincingly and clearly
• Be engaging and front footed
• Interview well and have a plan beforehand (Interview the interviewer)

Fireside Pannel: 

Cheryl Procter-Rogers, Sam Waltz, Dell Galloway

• Have a point of view and opinion, be a presence in a room
• Invest in the business you are serving
• Build your LinkedIn
• Get a mentor
• Know the who's who in the industries you are interested in
• Get internships
• Read the media
• Use your network
• What you do in your free time is probably what interests you so find engaging work in that industry
• Be authentic
• Model the behavior that you want to see in others
• Learn to engage and speak in public
• Work smarter with your time and balance work and personal

Daniel Dao & Carly Nash, Ignition: Brand engagement agency

Experiential Marketing / Public Relations

Key Points:

• Energy ignites action
• Be beautifully and boldly simple with your ideas
• Understand what you are trying to accomplish by putting on an experience - How do you want to effect consumer?
• Luck is a combination of preparation and opportunity

#uvuPRcrew

#UVUPRSSA

#UVUPRinATL

#PRSSANC

 UVU PRSSA

Madelyne Van Hoff

MLK

Today I had the absolute privilege of visiting the Martin Luther King Memorial. A new appreciation and heartfelt impression will forever be remembered by our group in attendance. The historic anecdote left a mark not otherwise realized if we had not visited the memorial. To be honest, I felt embarrassed for the individuals of that time who fought back with conceit and arrogance. I am heartbroken for the sacrifices that were made by so many especially MLK. He truly had to be a martyr in order for change to occur and my heart goes out to his family who suffered so much adversity and the loss of their father and husband. This experience will stay with me as one of the most memorable highlights of this trip.

#uvuPRcrew

#UVUPRSSA

#UVUPRinATL

#PRSSANC

 UVU PRSSA

Madelyne Van Hoff

Chick-fil-A & Coca Cola!

Today was so amazing! I had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of Chick-fil-A and Coca Cola!

At Chick-fil-A we met with Laura Reichert who works on a marketing team that is over sponsorships & event marketing. She was so fun to chat with and explained how Chick-fil-A has always had the outlook that they are "growing a small family business." This is so evident in their inviting and personable approach to their customers and clients. Their culture spans from the top of the company all the way to each store location and each employee.

Another person that we had the opportunity to meet with is L.J. Yankosky who is the Director of sponsorships & events. He had some "golden nuggets" that he shared with us that I will never forget. L.J. explained that the Chick-fil-A culture is relational... It's all about sharing your story. 

The Chick-fil-A story started small as a tight family business. The founder, Truit Cathy believed that "They needed to get better before getting bigger." They have grown slow but done things right the first time. They believe that "you have to be meaningful to stand out and stick around." 

I left with the impression that although Chick-fil-A is a "for profit" business their culture is driven by the intention to enrich the lives of the people that come in contact with their brand. 

At Coca Cola we toured through the archives where we looked back in history of all the innovations that Coca Cola has gone through. There was some amazing art pieces by renowned artists like Any Warhol and Remington. It was amazing! I even got to hold an Olympic torch. 

We met with a few different individuals in different PR positions. They all had unique perspectives!

Kent Landers: Media Relations Group Director

Golden Nugget: "Know your business story"

Judith Snyder: Media Relations, Celebrity Relations 

Judith was such an inspiration to me and explained one of her frustrations about her industry and position. She said that advertisers will bring her content or commercials and ask her to make them big and viral and famous. But thats not her job as a PR professionals. She said, "why don't you just tell me what you want to accomplish and I will find other media outlets to reach the goal audience." For example, Kim K is a better media outlet than TV for millennials and much more valuable.

Golden Nugget: "Start in a PR agency"

Meagan Priselac: Coca Cola Journey content writer and twitter manager

Golden Nugget: "Make a presence" "Make a point to always ask a question or say something in a meeting" 

Our first full day in Atlanta was so fun! Follow along on my #Atlanta journey on my socials!

#uvuPRcrew

#UVUPRSSA

#UVUPRinATL

#PRSSANC

 UVU PRSSA

Madelyne Van Hoff

Atlanta!

We arrived in Atlanta today and are staying at the Marriott Marquis where the National PRSSA Conference is being held. The hotel has amazing architecture and has had many movies filmed here including many scenes from the Hunger Games movies. Tomorrow our UVU PRSSA chapter will be visiting Chick-fil-A and Coca Cola.

I will be documenting our trip and the conference each day on my socials and through this blog.

 UVU PRSSA

Madelyne Van Hoff

Seasoned Perspective

 

A common theme that has been running through my mind lately is the idea of seasoned perspective. I'm not sure why, maybe because I feel extremely occupied and unavailable at all times. I candidly believe there are seasons in life where you must put certain ideals on the back burner for a time.... There are seasons in life where you must lower certain expectations of self in order to get through times of severe over stimulation. It is the only way to accomplish all of the tedious demands of these hard-pressed times. When you are doing everything at once it is okay to have bouts of mediocrity in order to keep your head above water. Life has it's ebbs and flows and these seasons will come and go. We can't always do what we want or live perfectly in line with our convictions. In these times we can choose to have a seasoned perspective in order to cushion from feelings of defeat.

The PRSSA National Conference is coming up!

 UVU PRSSA

Madelyne Van Hoff