Public Relations Experience​
I'm not one of those students that just focuses on their coursework and that's it. I take advantage of every opportunity I can to refine my public relations skills and become better at what I do. From internships to extracurricular activities to class projects, I am always busy. And I like it that way. All of these experiences contribute to the public relations specialist I am today. Below are some ​​​​​​​​​​examples of the public relations work I have done for internships, PRSSA, and classes.
Internships
GT Universe
I completed this brief, two-week marketing internship from December 2013-January 2014. GT Universe is a small agency that focuses on multicultural marketing. Its main clients are Jewel-Osco in Chicago and Albertson's Southern California. At this internship, I drafted more than 20 pitch emails to vendors requesting support for Jewel-Osco's Fresh Impressions sampling program leading to further program participation. I also provided on-site support at a Jazz at Jewel-Osco sampling event. In addition, I developed an editorial calendar for GT Universe's Facebook and Twitter accounts and drafted content for GT Universe's newly redesigned website. Read more about my experience on the GT Universe tumblr.
FleishmanHillard
During this 14-week internship from May-August 2013, I served as a Health & Wellness intern in the Chicago office. My daily responsibilities varied, but included synthesizing media coverage reports, compiling media lists, drafting internal communications for a Fortune 500 company, researching, and creating media audits. I helped brainstorm for new business proposals and even contributed to a new business win for the agency. I was an integral part of the Health & Wellness team and lent a hand whenever necessary. Below are some samples of the work that I did during my internship.
Internal Communications Briefing (PDF): Distributed to more than 5,000 employees at a Fortune 500 company.
Monthly Monitoring Report (PDF): Monitored news daily using keywords set up through Google Alerts and synthesized monthly coverage reports highlighting key industry trends for various healthcare clients.
Media Audit (PDF): Created media audits during crisis situations to track trends and news.
Blogger Outreach (PDF): Drafted blogger outreach plan, including a potential guest blog post.
Media Backgrounders (PDF): Compiled media backgrounders to include in a briefing book for a two-day press event in New York City.
Bell Pottinger Business and Brand
​At this eight-week summer internship from May-June 2012, I worked on numerous accounts in the corporate communication division of one of London's largest public relations agencies. In this capacity, daily tasks varied from researching for new client proposals to writing award entries for clients to evaluating campaigns by creating media coverage reports. One report I created was more than 1,000 pages long. I used databases such as Gorkana to pitch story ideas to journalists via phone or email. I worked with clients in the healthcare, technology, and security industries.
PRSSA
PRSSA Contiki Vacations Mini-Case Study Competition Brief
In May 2012, I competed with a team of four PRSSA members in the national Contiki Vacations Mini-Case Study Competition. Contiki Vacations is an international travel agency for people ages 18-35 that offers trips around the world, with our campaign focusing on the European vacation package.
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I managed the IU PRSSA Twitter account, where I used TweetDeck to tweet eight times a day for a month about Contiki @ IU. In addition, I helped organize a two-hour campus event where about 30 students could "picture themselves in Europe" with international food and learned about the benefits of choosing Contiki.
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​Above is the final campaign brief the IU PRSSA submitted to PRSSA National. It won first place in the competition.
PRSSA Theatrics Mini-Case Study Competition Brief
In January 2012, I was team contact for a team of six PRSSA members in a national mini-case study competition for Theatrics Mass-Participation TV. Theatrics had a contest trying to find the next mass-participation television star. We promoted the contest with IU students to get them to enter with a specific IU code.
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As team contact I organized all meetings, acted as the intermediary between PRSSA and the client, participated in a conference call with the client, and edited the competition brief.
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Here is the final campaign brief.
Girls Inc. Committee
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From October 2011-May 2012 I served on the Girls Inc. committee for PRSSA. Girls Inc. is a non-profit organization that empowers young girls to be Strong, Smart, and Bold. I worked on a committee with eight other girls and we focused on the research phase of the public relations process for Girls Inc. I conducted a focus group with one of our main publics, non-profit community leaders. Along with the findings from other focus groups, we created a plan for Girls Inc. with specific messages and ideas for each public. We presented our findings to the Girls Inc. executive board. The plan will be executed by the Girls Inc. committee this year.
Classes
Principles of Public Relations
In J321 Principles of Public Relations, I completed a group assignment for a client of our choice. I served as account executive for a team of five. As account executive, I coordinated and lead weekly team meetings, edited the proposal, and coordinated the completion of the final campaign brief.
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As a result of this class, I now know how to apply the public relations process to an actual campaign, identify how campaigns address ethical issues, and distinguish how publics are identified and how to develop specific messages for these publics.
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Here is the final campaign plan for our client, The Pourhouse Cafe.
Public Relations Writing
In J349 Public Relations Writing, I learned that writing for public relations is about more than just press releases. I need to know how to write effective pitch letters, speeches, and blog posts, among many other styles.
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Not only did I gain experience writing in these different styles, I also completed a team project with three other students to combat cyberbullying. My team created a campaign plan and presented this plan in front of a panel of three judges.
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Above is the portfolio I created as a result of the class, including the campaign brief and deliverables for our cyberbulling project.