Image management and Britney Spears

Well Britney Spears is back in rehab again. If you lost count, that's the third time this week. I think everyone is beginning to wonder is it all just a big publicity stunt, or has she just gone off the deep end? But, as a public relations student I have to wonder, is there a publicist trying to clean up her mess?

According to my research, Spears has been through two publicists since October. In October she fired her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnick so she could do her own PR. Following her child dropping and no panty debacles the higher-ups decided she needed a capable media relations professional. A "court appointed" publicist if you will. Sonia Muckle from Spears' record label took over. She only lasted until December, but she said that her departure from the label's PR department had nothing to do with cleaning up after the train wreck that is Britney Spears.

Now in the world of up to the minute blogs, posting Spears' crazy antics everywhere and at the same time that they happen, there is yet another appointed PR guru from her label trying to clean up behind her. All of this raises some questions.

Is the rehab really for her own good or is it simply a PR strategy to clean up her tarnished image? Rehab stints have become trendy as of late, but I think the $20,000 stays are more PR stunts than for personal health. It seems stars so self-absorbed that they think they can trick the public into being sympathetic and supporting them. I think though that Spears has gone too far and no amount of rehab or cute photo-ops with her sons can save her career. What do you think?

This link will take you to a Britney Spears blog, and this link will confirm that someone is living a publicist's nightmare! http://britneyspears.celebden.com/

Fashion public relations

I read Vogue cover to cover every month, and that is not an easy thing to do. So, naturally fashion is something very near and dear to my heart.

Since public relations is such a broad field, it helps to focus on other subject matters in college besides PR. This can be a way to use your PR skills in an area that you are really passionate about. For a while I thought that would be fashion public relations for me, but unfortunately it is next to impossible to minor in fashion merchandising at UGA, but that is okay because then I found art history. Now I am focusing my efforts on museum work.

But, if you are interested in fashion PR here is the run down according to fashion-schools.org...
Fashion PR professionals help clothing companies and retail stores build and maintain a favorable public image. Fashion public relations professionals find creative ways to keep the company's brand name in the public eye. Fashion PR is very news driven, writing press releases, holding press conferences, direct mailing, etc.
The Web site says that the market for PR professionals specializing in the fashion field is growing quickly. Qualifications include a 4-year degree in PR and some background in fashion, also an internship or some experience working at a fashion publication is highly recommended.

Hopefully this will help someone wondering about the relationship between public relations and fashion!

If you are interested in working in this field you must click this link http://www.prcouture.com/?page_id=2. PR COUTURE is the online spot for ongoing commentary about the role of PR in the fashion industry.
This website goes through a day in fashion public relations. It's from 1998, but still interesting and helpful. http://www.lookonline.com/prday.html

Public relations is writing.

What comes to mind when someone says public relations? Maybe glitz, glamour, parties and celebrities? When I declared my major in public relations, I thought that I was writing myself a one way ticket to New York City to be just like Samantha Jones from “Sex and the City”, but wearing Carrie’s clothes of course.

Now I had heard my Intro to Public Relations professor say over and over that public relations is all about writing. Yet, somehow I guess I convinced myself that she meant writing celebrity guest lists and gala invitations. When I began my classes I quickly realized that I was very wrong. The writing proved to be overwhelming and incredibly involved.

Public relations teachers seem to love the learning by doing, so guidance can be vague leaving a student second guessing themselves. You will quickly learn to use every resource available to you, but never stop looking for more help! The link below is a really basic site to help guide someone through the beginnings of a PR plan.
http://www.mediatrust.org/online_guides/Writing%20a%20PRcomms%20plan.pdf

A frustrated public relations student will fall in love with their major when they realize that having an ABJ in PR can take you anywhere. You need to find what you are passionate about outside of the PR world and then dig in your heels and try to find every available opportunity. There is a PR world outside of corporate, non-profit and agency work.


I think these sites pretty accurately explain what a public relations major entails. They are not joking when they say you are going to write!
http://www.aboutpublicrelations.net/index.htm
http://www.prssa.org/resources/resources.asp
http://www.uwec.edu/Career/Students/Major/prelations.htm#A2

My last PR assignment (besides this blog)

I am taking my cap stone course this semester. For the public relations students in the Grady College at UGA that is campaigns. My team and I are going to work to build a PR plan for the Home Depot Foundation that focuses on uniting their two initiatives of affordable, responsibly built homes and urban forestry.

Our team met with Kelly Cafferelli a few weeks ago. She is the Executive Director of the Home Depot Foundation. She spoke with us about helping the foundation unite their two initiatives of affordable, responsibly built homes and urban forestry. I am excited to be working for a client with such a recognizable name as Home Depot, and I am really interested in the whole "green" aspect of the campaign. I took an Anthropology course focused on conservation and the green revolution, and that sparked a passion for environmentalism.

Since meeting with Kelly I have started doing some research, exploring the world of public relations that focuses on green organizations. Here is a Web site for a marketing and PR firm that specializes in this: http://www.sustainablemarketing.com/pr. Before our meeting with Kelly I never really thought about PR specializing in environmental causes. However, it is quite a big business so it makes sense. This really is a major that anyone could find their niche in. It is so amazing realizing that I don't have to write crisis plans when someone gets sick off of a bad chicken nugget or something. I can really take whatever I am passionate about and apply my PR skills to that area. I can take my major anywhere! And now I am totally off track.

So I am really excited about my last student made PR campaign, and I think that I will get along with my team really well. The only problem that we might encounter is everyone not pulling their weight, but hopefully by now (we are all seniors and grad students) people have grown out of that habit. I will post towards the end of the semester and give a summary of our campaign. By then I will probably be an expert on responsibly built affordable homes and community forestry, but until then check out The Home Depot Foundation at http://homedepotfoundation.org/