Public Relations Student Society of America at Texas State University

Aaron Jezisek 

On October 14, 2011, I went to Orlando, Florida. In Orlando, I attended the PRSSA National Conference. I learned a ton of information and made new connections. PRSSA National Conference was truly inspiring from the speakers, learning the steps to get where I want to go in life and narrowing down the fields of PR I want to pursue.

We started the first morning’s general session with a role call where we met many different PRSSA chapters from all over the U.S. and one girl from Argentina. The keynote speaker that followed roll call was Craig Dezern. It was amazing that the Vice President of Global Public Relations of Disney Destinations was kicking off conference. He was the first of many to say how important internships are and experience is a must.

During the afternoons there were many sessions for us to choose from. This was great because you could choose your area of interest that you might want to learn more about. The different sessions provided great opportunities to meet peers that have similar interest of PR from other schools. Networking was definitely at its finest in Orlando!

Session 1

Breaking Into the Business of Sports was the first session I attended. This session, the speakers offered very valuable information. The most important information I gained from this session was when they talked about having internships and building your resumes. They said to help and volunteer with events in your town to gain experience and build some bridges. When applying for internships or jobs, think about the win-win for both parties, tailor your resume to each of the jobs you are applying for, you can relate all of your experiences to PR and research the company you are applying for/person who will be interviewing you. The tips I gained from this session, I have already put to use!

Session 2

Sports: Scoring with the Fans. Joel Glass, Orlando Magic’s vice president of communications, and Darrell Fry, sports media director at Disney Destinations Marketing were the guest speakers. Joel Glass was an amazing speaker and was very motivating. He told us of how he got to where he is now and sometimes it can come down to who you know. Internships that he obtained, he was always there first in the morning and the last to leave. He said the job is about maximizing the positive and minimizing the negative. The most important tips I learned not always what you say it, is how you do it, too. This meant that you might say you are passionate, but sometimes you must actually show it as well. Darrell Fry shared how getting fan engagement is great way to bring attention to events. Darrell told us of how a new attractions opened up and Disney had an Orlando Magic player to be there with their character. This brought news attention gaining the attraction more press.

Session 3

International Communications: So little time, so many languages. Rick Bubenhofer is the director of public relations at Brown Forman. Two of Brown Forman’s major products are Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort. This session is where I finally discovered what I want to do and really became excited for my future. If you want to travel, get a job at an international company. My dream job was finally able to be determined after this session. A job in Global PR. He taught us valuable information about the global PR world, like it is important to cater to the country you are conducting business with. In some countries, journalists do not get paid as much, so they conform and compensate with product a lot of times. The quote that really struck me the most was, “We are limited only by our imaginations.”

Session 4

Entertainment: Creating the Limelight. Joanne Freed of Hunter Public Relations and Gary McCormick of HGTV at Scripps and past chair PRSA. The session on entertainment was particularly interesting learning that celebrity is actually “$ellebrity.” The first major tool to entertainment PR is talent negotiation. Talent negotiation is matching the right talent with a product or program to provide a brand with content and credibility. An athlete with Gatorade is a good example – a sports player with sports drink. Once you have obtained the right talent for your product you can have them represent them in multiple ways. Brand integration is another way that you can get a product into the entertainment industry. This is when it’s written in script, but it cost money for this tactic. Branded trade out is just for product. The example would be a celebrity endorsing a product and getting paid in product alone. The most motivating thing I took away was to fill your resume with internships.

PRSA General Session

We next went to the PRSA General Session during PRSA’s conference, where we were given the opportunity to network with the professionals at their conference. Soledad O’Brian, special investigations correspondent at CNN: Host In America and Chairman and CEO of X Prize Foundation, Peter Diamandis, were the speakers there.

Session 5

Corporate vs. Agency: Finding you place. Kathy Barbour, APR communications manager at Mayo Clinic and Mickey G. Nail, APR managing director for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide were the guest speakers. The session on corporate vs. agency didn’t really help me decide which I would prefer. I’m now only more interested in both. Luckily the tips shared by both Kathy and Mickey were to intern for agencies and corporate and then figure out which one you prefer. Another tip they stressed was to learn AP style! What I picked up most from this session was agency has more room for growth and faster promotions. Mickey also expressed top agencies will not even look at resumes without three or more internships.

The next morning before the second PRSA General session, we had coffee and networked with PRSA professionals before listening to Chris Brogan speak on social media and related technology. I have to say, he had more passion and intensity than any other speaker I heard at conference. His session not only taught me valuable tips, but also how to be a better public speaker. The first tip was to cultivate visibility, this meaning to make you or what you are trying to get across seen. Earn leverage from community by helping and being sincere. Everything you do is your stage when you are creating your image. He put it into perspective using the example of Jay-Z bringing Kanye West into the light with “Watch the Throne.” He expressed if they aren’t charging you, you are the product. His example was Facebook - we are the product, not the consumer, because it is free.

National Conference was amazing. I have gained many connections, friends, insights, knowledge and now know which steps I need to take for the career I want to pursue.