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Getting a job in PR/marketing

Posted on by Brian Lee
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I receive requests for information interviews on a regular basis. I enjoy helping students, recent grads, people who moved recently, former reporters and the like. However, “help” is the operative word.

It saddens me to find out that after laying a complete roadmap–where to network, who the players are, how to build experience, etc.–some of the people I meet with don’t follow any of my advice and consequently don’t end up working in PR/marketing.

I thought about this after reading an anecdote about golf in the John O’Hurley interview in Tactics. I can teach you how to golf, but you’re the one who has to actually swing the clubs at the end of the day–the ball isn’t going to move itself, and no one is going to hit it for you.

Sure, it may take you a few more swings than someone else, but eventually, you’ll get the ball in the hole. So don’t just sit there and hope a job falls in your lap–go hit the links!

The selfie bandwagon

Posted on by Taylor Kennedy

Sometimes there’s a product or service that seems outrageous but for some reason, the public falls in love with it. A recent example is the selfie stick.

GIGA SelfieThe stick itself is part of a larger trend of people taking selfies, and Tourism Australia is taking advantage in its new “The GIGA Selfie” campaign.

The oversized selfie service is part of the upcoming campaign that’s trying to attract more Japanese tourists to Australia (the Japanese market is Australia’s sixth largest in terms of tourists). Tourists stand on a specific spot and use an app to set off a distant camera. Afterward they can download a short video that begins as a closeup but expands to reveal the surroundings.

This weekend will be the first opportunity for tourists to take the highly anticipated selfie. Future locations will be announced through social media outlets.

For companies, there’s no shame in jumping on the bandwagon in your marketing campaigns. Not only will the public be aware of the trend, but they may be more willing to use it.