January 2020

    Dear Reader,    Throughout compiling the December 2019 issue of PRestige, two things occurred to me: this was not only the last issue of 2019—it was the last issue of the decade. Even as we began to enter into 2020, it was clear to see the PRSSA chapter at Ohio Northern has continued to operate much the same way as years prior. This isn’t to say Ohio Northern’s PRSSA chapter hasn’t experienced its fair share of changes. Fall semester saw not only the shift of the entire public relations department from the College of Arts & Sciences to that of Business Administration, but the career shift of a longtime PR faculty member Kathie Fleck, as well as a restructuring of the student PR firm TrueNorth. While the department and chapter alike continue to adjust to changes in curriculum and faculty, the robust enthusiasm for the PR field, the colorful expressionism of individual members and a healthy amount of PRocrastination prove that Northern’s chapter is just as paramount as ever. ONU’s PRSSA chapter proves to be yet another manifestation of Northern’s overarching promises of high-impact learning opportunities and career readiness through firm trips, a San Diego National Conference, internships, mentorships, student-led campaigns and a polished example of what Northern’s education means for the future.       

PRestigiously yours,  

  

Adam Koncsol   

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Each semester, Ohio Northern PRSSA offers its members different opportunities to gain real-world experience in the public relations industry. One of the favorite opportunities given to members are industry tours. Northern’s PRSSA takes its members to a new city to explore different agencies, companies and careers in the public relations world.   

Last fall, we traveled to Cleveland and got the chance to visit four different companies and their respective public relations /marketing/communications department. This was a day full of learning, exploring and growing as a Chapter.   The first visit was to the Cleveland Indians in downtown Cleveland. The Cleveland Indians is Cleveland's own major league baseball team who had a successful season but unfortunately did not make it into the postseason. Cleveland did host the All-Star Game this past summer that brought in players and fans from across the country and gave Cleveland great exposure as a tourism destination. We met with Senior Director of Communication Curtis Danberg and the previous chair of the All-Star Games committee. Curtis pulled out all the stops for our group and took us to some of the cooler parts of the stadium, including the baseball field, the home dugout, training rooms and press boxes for some of the famous Cleveland announcers and reporters. We learned about sports communications through Curtis’s point of view and how his job shifted slightly when the All-Star Game came to Cleveland.   Our next stop was to a dear friend of the PRSSA family, Madison Letizia at Thunder::Tech agency. Thunder::Tech is an integrated marketing agency delivering advertising, communications, technology, design, video and branding expertise to middle-market and enterprise clients 

across the globe. Madison is a 2008 alumni of the ONU PR department and is heavily involved in the PRSSA chapter as an alumni as she has spoken at our Social Media Workshop and has participated in the mentoring program since it began. Since leaving Northern, Madison has used her PR skills at Thunder::Tech to become the director of communications for the agency. The visit also had employees from Account Services and Creative to give us a look into how the entire agency operates. We also had a special place in our hearts for this agency as one of our own current PRSSA members, Joe Dunay, interned at Thunder::Tech in the summer!   After lunch, we met with the communications and marketing team at Cleveland Playhouse Square. Here, we learned about the public relations entertainment sector and what communications looks like at a theatrical institution. Nonprofit PR can differ depending on the organization, but it is very different from agency life and sports, which we heard from earlier in the visit. Playhouse Square believes it operates like an agency in some ways as there are different teams who handle different aspects that make the shows run.   We finished the industry tour at another one of our member’s past place of internship work: Marcus Thomas LLC. I was able to intern at this full-service advertising agency as the public relations intern last summer. We toured the agency and got to hear from Erin Orsini, senior public relations manager, about her experience at Marcus Thomas. A big takeaway 

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from the visit was the importance of company culture at a place of work. Marcus Thomas is a dog-friendly office, with casual work wear, summer cookouts and fully stocked fridges for all employees. However, company culture goes beyond these types of amenities. Marcus Thomas has created different groups within the agency to help promote a positive work environment. Examples include: The IDEA team, which encourages diversity and inclusion efforts agency wide; The Green Team, which implements ways for Marcus Thomas to be more eco-friendly and efficient; Lunch and Learns, in which different employees educate others on something they are passionate about that could benefit the whole agency.   Above all, no matter the city, industry tours are always a fun way for our members to get to know each other outside of the classroom and learn more about the real world. Stay tuned to see where we head in the spring!  

 

 

  

  

 

Each and every year, Ohio Northern’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter is given the opportunity to travel around the United States for International Conference. This fall, five ONU students were given the chance to travel all the way to sunny San Diego to grow their world-wide connections with hundreds of public relations students and professionals in attendance. Our ONU students spent five days networking with peers and professionals, listening to many wonderful speakers and learning insights into the PR world that will boost their future careers.  I have gone to PRSSA International Conference for the last three years, and each year there is another great set of lessons taught which are priceless for up-and-coming professionals. We are all given the opportunity to soak in a vast amount of knowledge from fighters for the free world, like Laura Ling, and creative engineers of the Generation Z era, like Erika Prime, who continue to pave the way for young professionals. I continue to leave these conferences feeling as if I have left with not only professional lessons, but also life lessons.   1. Don’t give up hope Listening to Laura Ling speak about her time in a North Korean prison was one of the most moving presentations I have witnessed at a conference for PRSA and PRSSA. Ling spoke of the horrific experience of being captured over the North Korean border and sentenced to seven years in a North Korean prison. Ling discussed how she found ways to survive the fear and desolation of her many months in prison. She focused on using her people skills 

from her career to form small meaningful moments with what seemed like cold guards. Ling found small moments of peace and hope in things like warm water for a bath one day or a larger portion of food. Ling spoke on the idea of not giving up hope regardless of what you are trying to do. Whether that is getting the interview for a story or finding the right job straight out of college, never losing sight of what the end goal is and where you are going is what Laura Ling held on to.  2. Creativity is key Erika Prime was one of the most colorful people I have ever witnessed speak. With black and blue hair and a neon green shirt, she stood out in the perfect way. Prime is the perfect example of how to take in the new wave of the social media platforms with memes, quick videos and immediate content. She was full of out-of-the-box ideas to help Taco Bell bring its media out of the dark ages. One of Prime’s projects at Taco Bell was working on the Taco Bell Emoji Engine. This campaign let users tweet any emoji paired with the new taco emoji, which Taco Bell petitioned for, and Taco Bell would tweet a unique gif back. A campaign like the Taco Bell Emoji Engine seems far fetched and insane to begin with, and it was a huge feat to 

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complete. Prime brought in connection with the community through memes, gifs and the creativity of the project and made viral content no one would ever forget. Creativity is incredibly important in public relations careers, and young professionals are always looking to keep companies and clients fresh. Staying open-minded and having fun with ideas is key to staying creative in both the business world and the real world.   3. Stand your ground PR professionals are always regarded as extremely personable people and generally easygoing. Personality traits like these can make it easy for outsiders to try to push young professionals around as they enter into the workforce. Holly Baird spoke on crisis communication and how important standing your ground is when making certain decisions. Baird has handled many different high-profile cases, but she stands her ground when it comes to specifics that she chooses not to defend. Throughout the presentation, Baird focused on how she chooses which cases she takes based on her own morality. She has received backlash for declining certain 

clients, but she has learned to stick to the decisions she makes. Learning to be strong in choices being made is important starting out in the world, and as young professionals we need to stick to the decisions we make in our jobs and daily lives.   Going to International Conference, I continued to learn more and more about both the public relations field and myself as I grow into a young professional. Traveling across the country to a beautiful city to learn more about a profession I love has given me amazing opportunities that are completely priceless. Each year, students grow from the time spent learning on these trips, not only as professional individuals, but as an entire PRSSA chapter. We are so excited to continue this experience in 2020 in Music City itself, Nashville, TN! 

 

 

 

 

 This summer, I had the opportunity to intern at Airstream Inc. Airstream is a company that builds popular travel trailers. These “silver bullet” trailers are only manufactured in Jackson Center, Ohio. I was able to work with the marketing department performing different aspects of research for many of Airstream’s different projects.   During my first big project, I was able to work on Airstream’s new e-commerce website. It first launched the site this past spring with different clothing items, camping gear and even trailer parts to be sold. I went through the website to find potential flaws and issues a potential customer may encounter. I also got to add products to the site, pick out pictures that would be representing specific products and adjust product names so they could sound more cohesive. During Alumapalooza, Airstream’s own weeklong event that invites Airstream trailer owners to Jackson Center for a week of camping, the marketing department arranged a pop-up shop. We showcased many of our products and introduced the most dedicated “silver bullet” customers to Airstream’s new and improved 

website. The event was successful and we were able to watch the site engagement grow rapidly during this time.   Another project I worked on was starting a foundation for the company. I researched many large companies such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks and John Deere to see what kinds of foundations, if any, they had set in place. I researched what the companies’ mission statements looked like and where their main focus lied within their foundation. This research was then presented to the CEO and president of the company to help base Airstream’s foundation for the future. This was a really special project for me to be a part of because it was shared with the president of the company. He liked my research and wanted to use it, which made me feel like what I was doing was important and really did benefit the company.   Another small project I worked on included blogging why people should buy an Airstream travel trailer over any other trailer. I looked at many reviews, previous Airstream blogs and our finance records in order to create a set of reasons emphasizing the quality of the trailer and the community aspect Airstream provides their customers. I also worked in the archives for a week, helping find old documents, photos and newspaper articles to be used for certain projects. I found a photo during the moon landing when Airstream provided a trailer for the three astronauts to be quarantined in after returning to Earth. The photo I found was used in an article written for the website, which was really cool to see. Other research I performed was 

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looking into different membership clubs that other travel trailer companies, camping stores and campsites offer to customers. I took that information, compiled it and came up with what kinds of things Airstream could offer if they chose to create a special club for their customers.   Overall, I had a great experience working with the marketing team at Airstream. I was able to learn more about marketing than what I knew beforehand. My experiences at Airstream have helped me in my work for our on campus public relations firm, TrueNorth PR. I have a better background knowledge of marketing which I am able to apply to my work for clients. 

 

As the PRSSA Chapter of ONU, we participated in a campaign and competition through Rowan University benefiting those living with the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF). "This competition allows PRSSA members to enhance their public relations skills while making a difference in their respective communities. Participating Chapters must create a campaign and host an event in November focused on bringing awareness to cystic fibrosis while fundraising for the cause. The top four Chapters will receive a cash prize at the PRSSA National Conference in the fall of the following school year."  CF is a life-limiting, genetic disease that primarily affects the lungs and the digestive system and requires daily adherence to numerous medications and treatments. Currently, there is no cure and there are only treatments for the symptoms of this devastating disease.   For the ONU chapter, this campaign is near and dear to our hearts; as two of our PRSSA members and first-year students, identical twins, Alyson and Andrea Hoffman, are living with CF. Alyson and Andrea are very proactive in dealing with their disease. For example, they remain physically active and have so far completed four half marathons. They are not afraid to share their story and have advocated both on the state and federal levels for cystic fibrosis and children with medical handicaps.    Our campaign's slogan, "Can't Fumble...Just Yards From a Cure" represents the advancement of research, the community behind cystic fibrosis and the incredible strides that are being taken to find a cure. Throughout the 

campaign, we facilitated multiple opportunities to bring awareness of CF to our campus and broader community, as well as fundraising for the Central Ohio Chapter of the CF Foundation. For the fundraising portion, we partnered with the ONU football team to support our efforts.   The campaign consisted of Alyson and Andrea sharing their story in the Dicke Forum on Nov. 11, 2019. The girls spoke for about an hour total with a Q&A session included at the end of the presentation. The educational aspect of the campaign reached many different organizations on campus as well as a variety of different majors. President DiBiasio and Dr. Thompson-Bradshaw were also in attendance to learn more about Hoffmans lives. At the Senior Day football game, the campaign set up a table to inform many of those in attendance at the game about CF, with audiences from both Ohio Northern and those visiting campus from Heidelberg. Portions of the 50/50 raffle were given from the football team to the cause as well. With the campaigns’ combined efforts at the game, we were able to donate $165 to the Central Ohio Chapter of The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  

  Alyson and Andrea are very grateful for the opportunity to inform the ONU campus and surrounding community about cystic fibrosis and the impact it has on their lives. The campaign members and Chapter are very happy to have their activism as a part of the team. Through this opportunity of bringing awareness, the team hopes to be able to inform their peers majoring in science, pharmacy and other majors on campus that may encounter those with CF in their future profession. With everyone's help and awareness on Ohio Northern’s campus, the campaign members hope to be a part of finding a cure and making CF no longer stand for cystic fibrosis but rather cure found. 

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Mentoring is an important aspect of a young student’s college career. It is what helps guide a student as they navigate not only college, but the student’s respective major. Public relations is one area in which mentoring can make a considerable difference. It connects students with those professionals that work directly in the industry, allowing students to have a solid idea of what the public relations world is like and gain an understanding of how and the opportunity to network with professionals. While this type of mentoring is important and vital to a students and young professionals alike, it is also important for students to mentor and help each other.  

This year, Ohio Northern University’s PRSSA chapter created an internal mentorship program, titled the Polar Perspective. The program was created by ONU PRSSA secretary Abby Brock and the purpose is to connect new members of the organization with older, veteran members. Our chapter of PRSSA is and continues to be a very closeknit group of students. While most members are public relations majors, there are students in the organization that are not, and it is important to make sure that all feel welcome and included. 

The Polar Perspective program allows new members to be integrated into the chapter when they are paired with a veteran member. The guidelines of the program include the PRSSA secretary matching the members, the expectation that the mentor will reach out to their mentee quickly, and that the mentor does their best to make their mentee feel comfortable and included within our chapter. This allows new members to quickly become acquainted with other members and to have someone to go to and ask questions, advice or even to grab a coffee with. Some examples of what mentors are expected to do include: getting to know their mentee, helping with any communications or public relations classes and encouraging involvement within the chapter. This last example of mentoring is one of the biggest aspects of the program. Our chapter participates in many activities where all members are invited to come be involved, such as firm trips. Firm trips are a way for our students to network with professionals and to experience firsthand what work is like in different areas of the industry. However, I know from personal experience how nerve racking it can be to participate in a firm trip when you do not know anyone in the organization. Many times, these trips take place out of state or in areas that require some travel to get to. When a freshman comes into the chapter not knowing anyone, it can be a challenge to entice them to go on a firm trip. The mentoring program takes this feeling away by allowing new members to have a connection with a veteran member and not feel like an outsider or as if they do not know anyone, helping them to feel more comfortable when events like firm trips take place. 

On top of this, Ohio Northern has its very own public relations firm, TrueNorth PR. The firm is completely student run and it would not be possible for the firm to take on any clients without the participation of as many members as possible. The connections made in the mentoring program become important to help the firm continue to run. Take Alyson and Andrea Hoffman for example. The twins are freshmen at Northern and it did not take long before both of them joined PRSSA fall semester of 2019. They were matched with their mentors within the first few weeks of joining and these connections were what made their work within TrueNorth PR so successful. The campaign that Alyson and Andrea participated in was a success not only in that the cause was near and dear to their hearts, but because their mentors also worked on the campaign with them, and the connection that they had transferred over into their work. The girls easily transitioned from being freshmen members in our chapter to where it seemed like they had been a part of our chapter forever. This is exactly what the mentoring program is supposed to do, create an environment in which everyone knows each other and can come together to not only work, but also become close and know each other intimately. Look back at your own time in PRSSA and think about all the friendships and connections you made. We are trying to continue that tradition of friendship, dedication and amazing work that our chapter and school have become known for. The Polar Perspective mentoring program is just one way to continue that tradition. 

 

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  I graduated in 2015 from Ohio Northern University (ONU) with my degree in public relations and marketing. My favorite memory from my college years would definitely have to be (oddly enough) finals week of my senior year. A large chunk of the PR senior class was studying for finals in the PAC lab. We were all in the same room for hours on end, until 4 a.m. and we had a blast just goofing around and reflecting on our four years at ONU. I’ll never forget how much fun we had just spending time studying and hanging out. I miss the PAC lab.   After graduating from ONU, I found myself in a number of different positions that really allowed me to explore some really different aspects of digital marketing, PR and social media. I had opportunities to work and learn from website designers and developers, media planners and buyers, and a broad spectrum of individuals who taught me so much. The more I reflected on my career path, the more I realized I’d inadvertently become a subject matter expert in social media, and I really enjoyed getting to work within the platforms. As a result, I started consulting on the side to get more experience outside of my full-time job. 

  After about three years of consulting, I had built up my experience and skill set to a point where I was confident I could do it on my own. In January of 2018, I launched Epiphany Marketing and went to working full-time for myself. As I worked with my core clients and expanded my network, I found myself in touch with a number of large clients and winning pitches that I never expected to be invited to so quickly.    I quickly grew my client base to the point that I was able to hire a few freelancers to help with the work. It was incredibly exciting. My favorite project to date 

would have to be the work I was able to do with Procter & Gamble. It was fascinating to learn the processes and nuances that come with working for an organization like P&G. I definitely learned so much from that experience and I’m grateful for their trust in me to do the work that I did.   I love working with social media because you truly have to use both sides of your brain to make it work well. You have to be creative and analytical all at the same time. The space is constantly changing and you’re always on your toes watching for the next big thing that could make an impact for your clients. There’s always something new to learn and something new to try. I really love getting to brainstorm creative ways to grab my client’s audience’s attention and testing the waters in new ways.   

 

 

 

 

 

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