Aspiring Career Girls

During my time at Digital at Edelman I worked on an incredibly innovative project: Levi’s Shape What’s to Come. A community for all girls seeking advice in many exciting and challenging career paths. With ambassadors from fashion, design, media, film, music and social entrepreneurship, a network has been created to share ideas and experiences. These ambassadors are not celebrities, simply talented human beings like you and me. This makes them both approachable and inspiring. Go and sign up at http://en.shapewhatstocome.com/ to ask them questions and get connected to all those other Levi’s girls who you find interesting and relevant to your career aspirations.

Check out the Traveling journals which take you through a sort of mood board of each fashionista, filmmaker, musician, designer and many more. A great insight into their creative process – worth reading I assure you! The visual is pretty cool too.

At Shape What’s to Come you can build your own profile as it is indeed a social networking platform for us aspiring career girls. Highlight your experiences, your goals, your favourite things to do and connect with those alike. And guess what it’s not UK-centric…it’s international! Excellent point.

Furthermore Shape What’s to Come is always evolving, finding new features for us lot to enjoy. For example, check out this exclusive livecast from the lead singer of the Noisettes http://en.shapewhatstocome.com/live-video/ and download their brand new single at http://en.shapewhatstocome.com/goodies/ - simply awesome. Oh wait, awesome is exactly how I would describe this whole project. 

The Nightmare of finding a graduate job

When leaving university I had always thought I’d have a nice little job lined up.  A dream job that would earn me a mint with great hours, oh and start in September, giving me the whole summer off to go and do the travelling thing. Wrong. Oh how naive I was. How idealistic! In reality I graduated (one box ticked!), but with no job even though I had done all this experience – unpaid internships, working abroad – you name it, I probably did it! Instead I managed to book up all these summer holidays (you can see the priority here) and declare to my parents that I was moving home, but just for a bit. The thought of having to adhere to parent rules was enough to get job applying, and quick! In comes the research, the CV tailoring, the cover letter writing, the interview preparation – wow you already feel like you’re back at uni.

I have to say I was lucky, very lucky. With Edelman it literally happened with the click of a finger. Research 10am, CV and cover letter 12pm, phone call from Edelman HR 6pm, interview set up for the following week. It’s as easy as that. So my piece of advice is to be pro-active. Search for the opportunities and apply speculatively. What have you got to lose?

With the student protests of late, the problem of tuition fee increases and continuing graduate unemployment are becoming more and more explosive. It’s not just the public who have noticed, companies have too. So here I’m going to praise our good office friend, can’t live without the computer, MICROSOFT. Microsoft has taken it upon itself to tackle youth unemployment by creating 100,000 opportunities for young people seeking work – brilliant news! Through a range of work experience placements, training vouchers and IT Apprenticeships, Microsoft aims to get 500,000 people into jobs by 2012. I like those sorts of figures!

To find out more visit the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/britainworks#!/britainworks  and tweet about it at http://twitter.com/britainworks#

Let’s get graduates back into work! 

The World of Digital: Don’t Listen to the Stereotype

I've come to the end of yet another rotation and boy how fast that went. They always say time flies when you're having fun! At the end of each section I am entitled to write a blog post for the Edelman Graduate Website http://www.edelmangraduatescheme.com/2010/11/19/the-world-of-digital-don%E2%80%99t-listen-to-the-stereotype/. Here's what I wrote... 

So I thought I was pretty set after my time at JCPR, but oh how I was proved wrong.  Well I guess that’s the point of the graduate scheme – to explore new departments which you wouldn’t have contemplated on liking, only to find out that you in fact love them. I’ll say it…I’ve been converted to the world of digital. Just in case you’re wondering though, this doesn’t make me a geek. In fact, no one seems to be a geek at Edelman Digital and First and 42^nd, just intelligent, creative and switched on! Don’t listen to the stereotype.

Not only is digital the present, it is the future. With the advancements in technology, internet penetration has significantly increased throughout the world. Never before have we seen such a high percentage of people social networking, video sharing, blogging etc etc. Take the powerful players of Facebook and Twitter as two examples of this progression. If Facebook was a country it would be ranked third behind China and India. That’s proof enough.

So what about the dynamics of the Digital crew? Sitting on a fun pod across from a brilliant line manager, I felt immediately welcome and comfortable. I soon realised I should always keep my Thursday evenings free for a drink or two with the team…they are an incredibly social bunch – now that’s my kind of people!

The work at Digital was not only stimulating and varied, but it was the rotation where I’ve learnt the most. Week one highlights included being introduced to the Levi’s® team concerning their new campaign Shape What’s To Come (http://en.shapewhatstocome.com/). A useful platform for all aspiring career-minded girls to share ideas and experiences. I’ve signed up and so should you! Look out for a livecast with The Noisettes on the 1^st of December which I’ve helped coordinate. I was further able to help with website content, strategy and blogger research – the ideal opportunity to really see who’s writing what and where online.

On the subject of blogs, deciphering the art of blogger outreach is key to modern day PR. It is important to remain transparent at all times and to be personable. I quickly learnt that these two factors are integral to success in outreach when contacting various bloggers and forums for the Save 5p per litre on The Shell V-Power Fuels Promotion. Supporting the Shell Team, we achieved a huge increase in online conversation.

As well as engaging with bloggers, I further gained the opportunity to write myself with a Puma hat on. Check out their website at http://www.puma.com/social to read and converse in fun and exciting topics. Writing your own blog posts is something which can be creative, witty and simply informative. I was inspired by the Digital team so much so that I even created my own blog at http://maryfizzy.blogspot.com/.

Two of the most interesting projects I worked on were creating The Social Media Map for Europe and partaking in training on issues and crisis management. The Social Media Map for Europe was the perfect opportunity to gain an insight into the world of online activity: knowledge which I will be able to translate into future client work from pitches to building strategy. The crisis and issues management project allowed me to witness creativity at its peak and again demonstrate the power of social media in terms of both rumour and truth spreading like fire. It is therefore important to be active, to listen, respond where necessary and engage wherever possible.

So Digital team all that is left to say is a massive thank you…what an awesome and incredibly rewarding five weeks!

For more info, check out:

http://edelmandigital.com

http://www.spookmedia.com/

Social Media Mapping in Europe: Continuing the trend of Facebook (EDELMAN)

Over here in Europe we come across good data all the time about social media use and trends, so we thought it would be interesting topresent the best bits in a map of the region. The first thing to strike us was the growing dominance of Facebook as the most popular social network in thevast majority of countries surveyed.  12 months ago the picture was quite different, but today Russia’s V Kontakte, Poland’s Nasza-klasa and Dutch Hyves are the only remaining local networks to make it on to the map. So why is Facebook so strong? In my view, its versatility is an important factor. People of all ages and backgrounds feel comfortable managing their relationships in Facebook and have a broad range of options available for entertainment and communication, from videos and photos to the humble wall post. It is in a sense fashion for all ages.

In terms of internet penetration, online activity as predicted has increased with the majority of countries reaching over 75% penetration, again contributing to the growing importance of social media. So what are we doing online? Social networking and video watching continue their rapid growth over the past two years, taking the lead with up to 99% of a population social networking (Portugal) and 91% video watching (Ireland). This corresponds well with the progression of broadband. Never before have we been able to access richer content (video, audio and imagery) as quickly or as easily. Reading and writing blogs are still viable with the map clearly indicating their presence in all countries analysed, but it is video and social networking which are increasingly the focus.

Beyond the map itself, thanks to our primary data source comScore we also investigated the top three social networks for each country featured. This enabled us to identify players on the rise such as Twitter, but also those older, established platforms still attracting a significant audience. Despite Facebook’s leadership, country specific sites, for example the German StudiVZ Sites, HI5 in Poland and Spanish Tuenti continue to have large and active memberships. In many cases Facebook beats them by only a slim margin and right across the region, the Windows Live platform continues to be popular. When it comes to video, YouTube and Daily Motion very much lead the way, but lower profile platforms such as Vimeo are certainly popular and well respected for high quality content.

So what should brands be doing? It would appear at first glance that Facebook is the main platform to master in Europe; but as is so often the case, the devil is in the detail. If you delve beneath the surface there is a wealth of active online communities of a size and scale to rival Facebook. Plus, blogging, microblogging, video and photo sharing all remain popular with distinct variations from country to country. It seems that the virtual Europe is as diverse and varied as the actual one and with a versatile strategy offers plenty of opportunities for companies to connect with their customers.


http://edelmandigital.com/2010/11/22/social-media-mapping-in-europe-continuing-the-trend-of-facebook/

Technology In The After Hours Athletes Armoury (PUMA)

Do you check out who’s checking in? Do you find out on Facebook who is going to be where? Do you become mates on first tweet? Technology is changing the way we communicate and for the after hours athlete, it’s a key part of the armoury. How can tech be used to make the most of a night out?

8am Sunday (oh wait we’re not up that early) sorry, 11am Sunday: Login to Facebook. Accept or reject friend requests from people you met last night – take a look at their profile. Have a scan of the pictures from last night –detag. Check out the late night wall posts and any videos if you've been adventurous enough. But what’s that? An event invitation. Excellent. Another one. You’re just so damn popular.

12pm Sunday: Read through the event. Who’s invited? Where is it? Any hot guys or girls going? Any annoying people invited? How many people are going? Enough for it not to be awkward or too many for it to be far too busy? Moment of thought...attending event, maybe attending, not attending. What to do? Go on attend... we always love a party.

THANK GOD for Facebook events. Finally an application that allows you to know exactly what a night out is going to entail – no hidden surprises. No more dull nights out with people who you quite frankly don’t want to spend the evening with. If you’re popular and have friends, which us Puma lot all do of course, nearly every time you login to Facebook you’ll see a new event invitation (unless you’re one of those addicts who stalk all the time). The Facebook event has become key to the After Hours Athlete’s Armoury. It’s his organiser, his communication tool. His secret to a good night out.

Do you use Facebook events like an After Hours Athlete or do you prefer the element of surprise? Are they a friend or a foe? Tell us your thoughts – go on – let’s get some debate going here. Oooh we love a good debate.  

Public Engagement: I like to talk

With this post I’ve got my Edelman hat on. What can I say; I’ve been inspired so I’ve decided to talk. Let’s have a conversation.

After completing a public engagement bootcamp led by the Edelman UK CEO Robert Phillips, I have come to realise the importance of this global evolution. I understand public engagement as reality, it is good old common sense, therefore a necessity.

Let’s start at the beginning: public engagement and public relations. According to Edelman European CEO David Brain, ‘PR is the ruthless application of common sense’. Already we can see a link: common sense.

With the progression of digital, we have effectively entered into a new society and we must adapt, especially as a PR-er. We have a sphere of interdependence  - the tiers of authority have been shaken and the pyramid has fallen – no one is in control. With the powers of social media for example, the world has become the citizen, from a CEO to a teenager, from a teacher to a shop assistant. We all have a voice, we live in a democracy – we converse and we love it. So how does this fit into the concept of public engagement? It means that we need to listen and engage in order to increase trust (brand loyalty), deepen communities, identify and drive behaviour changes. In PR and client terms, these behaviours will lead to commercial success.

For more info, check out http://edelmaneditions.com/category/public-engagement/

What gets you up the morning? (PUMA)

I hate mornings. When the alarm goes off, you’re all wrapped up in bed, warm and cosy. Sleepy, so sleepy. How do you make that almighty, plying yourself from the covers, can’t move it’s too comfy, get out of bed push? Do you have a mum shouting at you from downstairs? Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend pushing you out of bed (better option)? Or do you have that, yes I’ve got a good day ahead of me, can’t wait feeling? What gets you up in the morning?

Christmas, birthdays and other special occasions always wake us up with a smile. No matter what age, we are up early opening stockings and being English, probably having some sort of alcohol concoction at the same time. Birthdays are exactly the same as is graduation and trips out – anything which is not routine. Ah so maybe routine is key…

How many times has your alarm gone off for school, uni lectures or work and you’ve contemplated skiving the day? But you haven’t. Instead you’ve gotten out of bed, zombied into the shower and shoveled down breakfast, running out the door afraid you’re going to be late. What makes you not skive the day then? Because you’re motivated; motivated by work, motivated by play. The world will always go round.

We say live life to the full – you only live once after all. What does that mean for you then? Progressing at school, uni and work perhaps. A sky dive, a bungee jump, traveling around the world – the list is endless and that is why life is so exciting, and that is why you get up in the morning – you never know what is round the corner…

http://en.shapewhatstocome.com/dashboard/

http://en.shapewhatstocome.com/dashboard/

An unforgettable evening...

So as part of my role at Edelman (http://www.edelmangraduatescheme.com) I write blog posts for Puma http://www.puma.com/social 
Take a look below for some examples... 

Whether you’re at school, university or work, evenings are everything…freedom! Especially the Friday and Saturday nights – the lie in the next day normally guarantees a good night out. That Friday night feeling and Saturday Night Fever are probably two of our favourite past times. The two evenings that make you get up and jump to ‘I gotta feeling…ooo ooo, that tonight’s gonna be a good night’ – ok, well it makes us sing and dance anyway! 

So what is the key to an unforgettable evening? A great house party? A trip to the pub with friends? A dinner party with strangers? A club? Oh the choices! I wonder if you could ever do all four in one night…wow that would be one hell of a night. Epic. Think we’d probably miss out of some good bits though of each shindig, so let’s starts with the house party. Cheap, no curfew (unless you have non-partygoer parents – would be awesome if they did hangout though!), music of your choice, people of your choice. Casual. Awesome. A bit of hassle though if you’re hosting. Try the pub outing then. Simple, convenient, relaxed – the perfect opportunity to chat over a good beer or glass of wine. But where’s the opportunity to dance? We may as well get in a bit of exercise too! Music, shots and just having a good old laugh at each others’ moves and grooves on the dance floor. To really get into the Saturday night fever mode, why not imitate John Travolta’s style… mmmmnn maybe not. Let’s not get too carried away here, we are cool kids after all. Finally the dinner party then. Key ingredients: good company, food and wine. You can’t really go wrong here – seriously we’ve done the leg work, they always seem to be successful and you’re guaranteed several free dinners after! Just make sure you mix the right people, that’s all we can say.

Tell us about your perfect evening then – all of the above or something completely different? It’s about time we try something new so open to suggestions no matter how crazy and wild they are!

PUMA: A Top 25 brand on Facebook!

Ah the wonderful Facebook! The necessity in everyone’s life. The beacon of all knowledge. The temptation which never fades. Facebook. Well guess what, not only do we love Facebook, but Facebook loves us. 2.7 million fans, yes that’s right guys, we’re popular and why shouldn’t we be?! So thank you, thank you for supporting us fans!

So why are we so popular? Is it our wit? Is it our charm? Is it our beauty? Well it must be all three as you fans seem to encompass all these things. We’re social and fun, and we love it.

What’s going on on our Facebook page then? Photo sharing, regular news updates, YouTube vids, events and many more features to get your hands on (probably your eyes too!). Go ahead, go on, upload some pics – we love it when you do! We’ve got a great gallery going on up there thanks to you! Get involved in the discussion boards, comment on our news stories – get your opinion heard!

Recent highlights include our Cobra-PUMA golfer Lexi Thompson and PUMA Golfer Rickie Fowler making the Top 40 under 40 Influential Golfers according to Sports Illustrated, and our Happy hunting video: watch how our models are hunted for their coats – PUMA style.

To read the full article on PUMA reaching Top 25 brands on Facebook click on the link below:

http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/10/25/the-25-largest-brand-facebook-pages-with-most-likes/

I’m sure you’ve got our Facebook page bookmarked *cough cough*, but just in case:

http://www.facebook.com/Puma

What makes a great bar game?

We all love bars, we all love games. What better combo than a bar-game. The type of game that you look forward to that Friday afternoon on the countdown to freedom…well for two days at least! What is the key to a memorable bar game then? No alcohol? Definitely not. Drinking til you can’t stand? God no. Innovation, creativity, laughter and conversation? Hell yes! 

I think the first bar game which springs to mind is the fresher favourite: Ring of Fire. A pack of cards, a set of flexible rules and a group of friends – simple as. I think we could be a little more creative than this though. 

My personal favourite (yes I have made one up myself) is the Monaco game, named after the place it was created in. It became a household name in the whole of my university…ok, maybe not the entire university, but definitely amongst the cool kids! It gets the brain going asking challenging questions, deserves some competitive spirit and can be as fun or as creative as you make it. The ideal ice-breaker.

Key ingredients: paper, pens, small box and a sense of humour! Each player is given 5mins to think of 5 questions/challenges/scenarios. These bits of paper are then scrunched up and put into the box which becomes the lucky, or not so lucky, dip!  Within the first round you can learn a player’s deepest secret, biggest ambition, hidden talent and cheeky creative side!

As we’re in the competitive mood then, I challenge you to create the ultimate bar game. 3-2-1 GO!

JCPR: Now that's what I call Consumer PR

As I write this blog I am approaching my last few days at JCPR so it feels rather fitting to explain to all you new prospective grads what JC is all about and why you’ll enjoy your rotation as much as I have!
Monday the 6th of September began with one rather nervous grad and around 60-70 very confident, competitive and loud JCPR-ers. However, I immediately felt welcome with a great line manager and a lively pod! And I hadn’t even been introduced to the Xbox team!
JCPR boasts a variety of huge and exciting clients, most of which I have been lucky enough to work on. This includes  Xbox, Starbucks, Unilever Dig, Shell, Sporting Bet, Manchester City FC and Johnson&Johnson. With big clients come creative and ambitious teams which JC seems to have in abundance. If you want groundbreaking campaigns which test the safety nets and media contacts which other PR firms would dream of, JCPR is second to none.
As a grad, my role at JC really varies, as does how the different teams function. My first week was definitely one of the most exciting with the Xbox Halo: Reach launch (www.bungie.net). Cue photo call sell ins, celeb invites and working at the VIP launch in the Green Room. Jameela Jamil informing me that I look like Joss Stone wasn’t quite what I was after though!
The second week saw the senior bods at Unilever (www.unilever.co.uk) descend to our offices for a ‘PR 101′ session concerning the ongoing evolution of the world of PR in terms of public engagement and social media – understanding and engaging a community is becoming increasingly imperative whether in the form of twitter or facebook, or forums and bloggers. Gaining the opportunity to listen to Edelman’s David Brain and Jackie Cooper was both inspiring and incredibly informative.
From the suits and boots of Unilever came the sporting action of the JCPR Away Day. All the team were shuffled onto a coach buzzing with excitement as if we were all on a school trip, off to the surprise exotic destination of… Roehampton! Here I was soon to realise just how fun and competitive JCPR are!
So from sports to coffee. Starbucks (www.starbucks.co.uk) gave me my first media meeting with an Editor at Fabulous magazine at a bespoke coffee tasting with a Starbucks coffee ambassador. A great insight into how to really gauge what a journalist is working on/looking for and how your client can match those characteristics. An opportunity to further build a rapport with the journalist and achieve fantastic coverage.
My friends often ask me, what do you actually do Mary and what is PR? To be honest a day in JCPR sums it up – in a nutshell it’s all about creativity and communication, whether with your team, journalists, online communities, clients or even celebrities! 
So all that is left to say is a massive thank you to the JCPR group for making my time here incredibly informative, beneficial and great fun! Roll on Gleedelman!
Find out more at www.jcpr.com