Posts tagged Seattle

I attended a PRSA Puget Sound focus group last Thursday intended to unearth ways to increase Chapter participation among public relations professionals with zero to five years of experience. I have been a hardcore PRSSA/PRSA fan for four years now, but I agree that this is an experience level that our local Chapter needs to better address.

Hopefully we’ll see concrete additions to programming and communications as a result of what seemed like an enlightening meeting. A handful of board members including the programming director and Chapter President attended, which to me shows dedication to this topic and promise of change. Unfortunately, the only employers represented among the early career professionals were Edelman (the host) and Weber Shandwick, with special guest Brian Seitz from Microsoft, whom Karianne Stinson recruited because he’s passionate about the focus group topic. At least my opinion was heard, right?

Here are some of the highlights of what we discussed in regard to programming for early career professionals:

- Programming topics are more of a draw than prestigious speakers or exclusive venues.
- In terms of topics, we want to see more that appeal specifically to our career level, such as how to get your boss to trust you during a public relations crisis as opposed to how to create a crisis communications plan yourself. We see a programming gap between what’s useful for students and what’s useful for professionals who are years and years into their careers.
- Preference for in-person programming over webinars, even if it means a less famous speaker
- Events that simulate tweetups or Cold Pavement in that they are interactive and networking focused and have a low cost or registration barrier
- Events starting at 7 p.m. or later, but not late evening unless it’s Thursday. We like events with “happy hour” in the name, and everyone in the focus group raised our hands when asked “How many of you go to happy hour?”

Here are the highlights of our event publicity improvement suggestions:

- Overall, we think the Chapter could greatly improve its online presence, including the Chapter site and its social media use.
- Revitalize the blog, cultivate relationships with Twitter advocates/ambassadors who will spread the word about Chapter events, and encourage event Twitter hashtags for live tweeting.
- Best case scenario would be something like a Chapter phone app integrated with the Chapter website.
- Create a point-person for event publicity at each Seattle agency because people are much more likely to attend an event that they find out about from a coworker.

Is there anything you would add to these lists? Do you think these desires are specific to the Seattle area or to early career public relations professionals nationwide?

Snapshot from the 2010 Puget Sound PRSA Holiday Gala that I think represents the Chapter's age demographics.

Image courtesy of Kathleen Baxter