Hi!
Along with updating this site I will also be writing for Ryan May's MN PR blog. I am excited for the opportunity to reach a wider audience with his blog.
mnpr.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Reputation and Perception
In the July 9th edition of BusinessWeek there was an article about corporate reputation and how important a company's good name is to stock prices. The most telling example of this was in the case of Wal-Mart versus Target.
As a consumer and a resident of the Twin Cities, home of Target, my perception of Target is that it is innovative, creative and fun. To me, Target is a good corporate citizen and a friend to the environment. On the other hand I see Wal-Mart in a negative light. They do not pay their employees well, they do not provide adequate benefits and they are responsible for killing main street USA. According to this article the difference in their reputations amounts to a 4.9% difference in stock values. That amounts to $9.7 billion dollars of market value. (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042051.htm)
I am sure that some of these perceptions are grounded in truth. Reputations can not be built on just spin and press releases. In order to have a lasting impression there must be some truth. That said, is Wal-Mart really the bad guy? Is Target the perfect company? Much of their reputations are directly related to their PR efforts and the value of their communication.
This article emphasised the reasons that I am embarking on a career change. As PR practitioners you have the unique opportunity add stock value for your clients and to truly effect how they are viewed. I am excited for the opportunity to help make a real positive difference in the reputations of my clients.
As a consumer and a resident of the Twin Cities, home of Target, my perception of Target is that it is innovative, creative and fun. To me, Target is a good corporate citizen and a friend to the environment. On the other hand I see Wal-Mart in a negative light. They do not pay their employees well, they do not provide adequate benefits and they are responsible for killing main street USA. According to this article the difference in their reputations amounts to a 4.9% difference in stock values. That amounts to $9.7 billion dollars of market value. (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042051.htm)
I am sure that some of these perceptions are grounded in truth. Reputations can not be built on just spin and press releases. In order to have a lasting impression there must be some truth. That said, is Wal-Mart really the bad guy? Is Target the perfect company? Much of their reputations are directly related to their PR efforts and the value of their communication.
This article emphasised the reasons that I am embarking on a career change. As PR practitioners you have the unique opportunity add stock value for your clients and to truly effect how they are viewed. I am excited for the opportunity to help make a real positive difference in the reputations of my clients.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
The English language is in trouble
The English language is in trouble. Last night I watched a terrifying movie, Idiocracy. This movie, which takes place in 2505, shows a world in which English has devolved into a combination of hillbilly, Ebonics and valley girl style speech. Anyone who uses "smart" words is deemed "faggy" and ridiculed. Is this a stretch? Lets take a look at some of the new entries into Webster's dictionary:
Ginormous: extremely large, humongous
Crunk: style of Southern rap music featuring repetitive chants and rapid dance rhythms
Flex-cuff: a plastic strip that can be fastened as a restraint around a person's wrists or ankles
Now, I am all for the evolution of language. I understand that it needs to be flexible enough to accommodate innovations and new inventions. But, ginormous is a word???
In a world of Jackass and Jerry Springer we need to be conscious that we are not inventing words rather than using our vocabularies. I don't want to live in a world where using real, meaningful words will make me the subject of ridicule.
Ginormous: extremely large, humongous
Crunk: style of Southern rap music featuring repetitive chants and rapid dance rhythms
Flex-cuff: a plastic strip that can be fastened as a restraint around a person's wrists or ankles
Now, I am all for the evolution of language. I understand that it needs to be flexible enough to accommodate innovations and new inventions. But, ginormous is a word???
In a world of Jackass and Jerry Springer we need to be conscious that we are not inventing words rather than using our vocabularies. I don't want to live in a world where using real, meaningful words will make me the subject of ridicule.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Resume
Catherine A. Wood
4350 Brookside Ct. #307, Edina, MN 55436
(952) 836-7874
Catherine.anne.wood@gmail.com
OBJECTIVE
Talented and motivated sales consultant looking to leverage my experience in relationship building, presenting to clients and writing into a fulfilling, creative, fast paced, public relations position.
EDUCATION
December 2005 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
B.S., Business Administration: Emphasis in Marketing
EXPERIENCE
4350 Brookside Ct. #307, Edina, MN 55436
(952) 836-7874
Catherine.anne.wood@gmail.com
OBJECTIVE
Talented and motivated sales consultant looking to leverage my experience in relationship building, presenting to clients and writing into a fulfilling, creative, fast paced, public relations position.
EDUCATION
December 2005 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
B.S., Business Administration: Emphasis in Marketing
EXPERIENCE
January 2006 Unum Edina, MN
Employee Benefits Sales Consultant
- Managed a territory of over 100 brokers in a large geographic area including all of South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota and in the twin cities.
- Successfully completed an extensive 8 month sales training program and was awarded “Most Likely to Succeed” as a rookie in 2006.
- Cultivated effective internal and external working relationships to help brokers increase their revenue and increase territory sales.
PR Related Activities
- Produce a monthly “Unum Update” newsletter for distribution to all of my brokers.
- Organized and presented continuing education classes for up to 40 insurance professionals.
- Writing an article for publication in Connections, Unum’s newsletter, on a new corporate inititive.
- Submit article ideas to corporate publications.
Spring 2004 Smashbox Cosmetics Los Angeles, CA
Cooperative Marketing Project
- Studied, with a team, Smashbox’s complete marketing strategy from packaging to distribution channels to improve efficiency and efficacy.
- Made recommendations to the CEO and CCO.
2001-2003 Gamma Phi Beta Los Angeles, CA
Philanthropy Chair
- Organized philanthropic events that drew over $10,000 in donations.
- Managed a team of volunteers who made these events successful.
INTERESTS AND ACTIVITIES
http://mnprjobseeker.blogspot.com/, yoga, reading, writing and good food.
Job Seeker
Talented and motivated sales consultant looking to leverage my experience in relationship building, presenting to clients and writing into a fulfilling, creative, fast paced, public relations position.
That is what the objective line on my resume reads. When I graduated from the University of Southern California in 2005 I had two objectives. 1) to get back to Minnesota and 2) to earn as much money as possible.
I took a job as a Sales Consultant for an employee benefits company--I sell insurance. This job fit both of my criteria and seemed like the best choice upon graduation. I have learned a lot from this position. I have learned to manage my time, to be self motivated and to be able to start a conversation with anyone, anywhere. Unfortunately, this position does not provide me the opportunity to write, to be creative or to use my communications skills to help many different companies tell their stories. It also requires me to spend inordinate amounts of time traveling in South Dakota.
I long for agency life. I want to work with different clients. I want to help companies tell their stories and get their names in front of potential customers and investors.
I am starting this blog for several reasons. I want to get my name out in the Minnesota PR scene. I also want a forum to discuss what is going on in the industry. Most importantly, I want help finding a job in PR in the Cities.
That is what the objective line on my resume reads. When I graduated from the University of Southern California in 2005 I had two objectives. 1) to get back to Minnesota and 2) to earn as much money as possible.
I took a job as a Sales Consultant for an employee benefits company--I sell insurance. This job fit both of my criteria and seemed like the best choice upon graduation. I have learned a lot from this position. I have learned to manage my time, to be self motivated and to be able to start a conversation with anyone, anywhere. Unfortunately, this position does not provide me the opportunity to write, to be creative or to use my communications skills to help many different companies tell their stories. It also requires me to spend inordinate amounts of time traveling in South Dakota.
I long for agency life. I want to work with different clients. I want to help companies tell their stories and get their names in front of potential customers and investors.
I am starting this blog for several reasons. I want to get my name out in the Minnesota PR scene. I also want a forum to discuss what is going on in the industry. Most importantly, I want help finding a job in PR in the Cities.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)