Tales of a PR Enthusiast

Follow Heather as she takes on the PR world headfirst and read about her PR fab adventures along the way.

The thing I love most about public relations is its diversity. Being able to work on a variety of projects in public relations is not only exciting, but it allows you to use your utmost creativity. Whether you are writing a news release one day or pitching to the editor of the New York Times the next, public relations lets you expand your horizons while using your creativity to enhance an organization’s brand and reputation. For me, it is the ultimate dream job.

Not only are the projects in public relations diverse, but the public relations field itself is extremely diverse. Through internships and other experiences, I have learned that public relations is not just non-profit, corporate and agency work, but it can include media relations, sports PR, entertainment PR, public affairs, even event planning and much, much more. For my last quarter of college, I decided I wanted to venture out and learn more about some of the different aspects of public relations, like event planning.

This past quarter I was hired on at the Central Ohio Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) to assist in event planning and public relations efforts. Even though I had event planning experience from previous Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) campaigns and events, I had never worked a job or internship that involved event planning. I really didn’t know what to expect going into work my first day at the CCFA.



After getting settled in and meeting my fellow CCFA associates, I learned that the Central Ohio CCFA Chapter holds an annual Take Steps walking event and an annual CCFA Golf Outing, both held within a month of each other. It was my duty to assist in any way possible with these two events. I thought to myself, “OK, so what the heck do I do? I have no clue what I’m doing.” Lucky for me, I ended up having a wonderful boss, Kelly, who helped me along the way.

As a team, Kelly and I worked together for the next month to prepare and plan for the Take Steps event in early May. Within that month I learned how to actually speak professionally on the phone with other professionals. Hence the slight sarcasm in that last sentence, but before working with the CCFA I realized I had never really learned how to communicate with professionals over the phone. To prepare for Take Steps I was speaking with CCFA members on a daily basis, as well as potential sponsors and donators for the event. By speaking with so many different professionals each day, I learned that confidence is a key factor. You must be confident and knowledgeable in what you are speaking about. For example, I sounded like an idiot the very first phone call I made to a CCFA member to recruit them for a Take Steps walking team. I hadn’t asked Kelly enough questions about the event and I didn’t do enough research, so when the member started asking me for more details I started stuttering and burst into a hot sweat. After that experience I made sure I researched and asked as many questions as possible about Take Steps so I was educated enough and, in turn, I gained more confidence when speaking to CCFA members or professionals about the event. By being knowledgeable and confident, I helped almost triple the registered teams for this year’s Central Ohio CCFA Take Steps and I helped get food, drinks and other donations for the event. Who knew that being knowledgeable and confident would actually help you?

Being able to incorporate my public relations skills into the Take Steps event was very exciting. I wrote a news release for the event, which generated media coverage on a local television station. Being able to gain positive media coverage because of something you did or wrote is one of the most professionally rewarding things, in my opinion. The feeling you get when watching video footage of an event you worked on, or reading a newspaper article on a campaign you participated in, is extremely exciting and gives a sense of achievement. Also, the fact that it is beneficial for the client or organization you are working with is a definite positive on all sides of the spectrum.

For the upcoming CCFA Golf Outing later this month, I was able to look back at all of my past internships where I spent day after day updating or creating media lists, and I updated a seven year old media list the CCFA had buried in their files. I knew those media list skills would come in handy one day. With the new media list, I sent out a pitch to all of the updated media contacts with a news release I had written. Yeah I had sent out a few pitches here and there, or did a few phone pitches, but this time was different. It was my very first media pitch project beginning from the ground up and I felt a sense of accomplishment, even though I was really nervous about the outcome. You never know how the editors or news directors are going to react when they hear or read a media pitch. I was just hoping I would actually receive responses, whether they were good or bad. For the most part, everyone responded positively, even if they were not interested in covering the event. I am still receiving responses so we will see how much media coverage the golf outing receives.

Going outside of the standard corporate, non-profit or agency public relations field has been wonderful experience. I have always had an interest in event planning, but I never knew that public relations could interconnect with event planning. Through working with the CCFA and building my event planning skills, I have also built my public relations skills as well. I’ve learned that you must be knowledgeable and confident when speaking over the phone, which you would think is a given but a lot of people don’t realize how important those two things really are in the work force. I also learned the importance of having full responsibility for an event’s media coverage. Not only did I gain event planning experience, but I was reassured my passion for public relations and all the different aspects it provides.