The Value of PR

I am currently taking a capstone PR course at EMU and, as one of my assignments, was required to interview a PR professional about the value of PR. Becuase the professor wanted us to meet new people, I spoke with a PR professional from a nonprofit cultural organization. We had a great conversation; she described to me some of the more challening positions she's held and how she showed various former employers the value of public relations. She explained a special formula she developed over the years to measure the reach of media coverage for her organization.

Interestingly enough, her formula was different from the method I was taught on my last internship before coming to Eisbrenner, which was still different from what we do here.

Although their individual methods of measurement are different, the truth is that every PR professional I have spoken with is passionate about his/her work and the difference it makes for his/her clients and/or employer. It puts a smile on my face just thinking about how cool it is to have a job where you can make a huge difference in an organization and its employees' success.

All the Small Things

If you've had some basic PR courses, then you have probably seen some examples of press kits. Did you ever wonder who actually printed them out and put them together? If you saw one that was wire-bound, did you think about who bound it (and how he got the little wire teeth together)? Did the fact that someone drove to the office supply store to buy the paper to print the press materials on cross your mind?

If you answered no, don't feel bad. Before I started my internship, I didn't wonder about any of these things either.

In this past week, however, my world of thought has expanded. Believe it or not, press kits don't magically appear after you finish creating all the materials on your computer. No, someone drives to the office supply store and buys just the right type of paper. Someone prints the materials and stuffs the folders. And someone actually binds the kits. (Did you know that there is a wonderful piece of manually-operated technology that squeezes those wire teeth together?)

Working in a real office setting is a great experience, not only becuase you get the chance to draft real press materials, create media lists and attend decision-making meetings, but also because you see how all the small things come together.

The Balancing Act

After what seemed like an incredibly long summer-I can't believe I just typed that- the temperature has finally dropped below sixty, the leaves are starting to turn color and everyone is serving apple cider. One other sign of fall has arrived too- the onslaught of homework.


As I am taking several 400- level classes and doing an internship this semester, I feel a bit overwhelmed. Luckily, I am finding one of the lessons I learned at Eisbrenner PR, prioritizing, very helpful.


Working at a firm means balancing various clients' needs and requests. In just this week alone, I have done work for more than a half dozen clients. When I first started I was not sure how to handle the work load; I didn't know what order to do things in or how long I should spend on different projects. Amazingly, within a short time I started to just know what to do first, second, third... and how long I needed to spend on each assignment.


There are certain things you can't learn in the classroom, like balancing a workload. Fortunately, there are internships. And interestingly enough, many of the things you learn during an internship, like prioritizing, can be used in other areas of your life, like homework.

A Lesson in Coaching

Some of the best advice I ever received was from my 8th grade math teacher. Mr. G. told my class to absorb everything you can from people with experience, whether it be your mom in the kitchen, your coworkers on your first job or your teacher in math class.

One of the best parts about being an intern is that you get to work everyday with seasoned professionals. Each day you have the oppurtunity to draw from the knowledge and skills your coworkers have gained over years of experience.

Today, I attended my first client meeting with our executive vice president and COO, Lauren. It was a message coaching session, which means we helped our client develop a key message map to guide all of its communications, whether it be a conversation at a cocktail party, a press release for the media or a speech at a gala event.

It was amazing to see how Lauren pulled together everyone's ideas. To help the client's representatives explain their organization's culutre, she asked them to describe it as though the organization were a human being. That request spawned so many ideas-- it was like magic. Of course, I took pages of notes, trying to absorb everything I could about how she ran meeting, got everyone thinking and drew it together in the end.