Having A Hard Time Earning Media Coverage? Take a simple stress test!

June 5, 2014/in AM:PM PR, Influence, Tips /by Mike Phillips

hasn’t written any letters

I recall, as a kid, watching expectantly as the postman marched down the hill to dump copious amounts of letters into our mailbox. After rifling through the stack I was consistently disappointed that none were addressed to me. Whenever I expressed my dismay, my Mom retorted this unwelcome refrain: “You have to write letters to receive letters.”

I think back to this every time I hear someone befuddled with unrealistic expectations for media coverage. After more than a decade in this business I’ve come up with my own smarmy refrain: “You have to create news to receive news coverage.”

To those with great hopes of earning media coverage, and to prevent earned-media hopefuls from having their dreams crushed like an 8-year-old without a pen pal, I offer a simple stress test for newsworthiness.

The three-step test:

1. Scrutinize: What are you doing that is actually newsworthy? Be hard on yourself.

* Is your story or product timely?
* Is it related to a current hot topic or trend?
* Is it NEW?
* Will a significant number of readers/viewers be affected by or interested in this news story?

2. Research: Who will be most interested in your story?

* Who is your target audience?
* What media does your target audience consume?
* Who do you want to cover your story? Have they covered it before? Do you know what types of news they are most interested in covering?

3. Reality Check: Are you putting a fresh coat of paint on an old idea in a desperate attempt to fabricate a new story angle?

If you’re perplexed by any of these questions, you have some work to do. Don’t despair. Just shift your efforts, do your homework, come up with a plan and make some news.

Easy, right?

7 Tips for Landing an Out-of-State Job

June 2, 2014/in AM:PM PR, Tips /by ampmpr

by Dustin Nelson

I’ve been no stranger to change this last year. My two biggest changes were graduating from college, and trading a small Montana town for Portland, Oregon.

Anyone who has graduated from college can probably attest to the fact that trying not to fail your last semester of college, while also navigating your first grown-up job search is no small task. Trying to move to another state for said job adds to the overwhelming sensation of tug of war over your impending future.

Luckily, in our modern age, the marvels of the internet allow us to project ourselves into a conference room hundreds or even thousands of miles away via Skype and other video conferencing software. However, there are still several factors to consider when searching for a job or internship out of state. Which is why I now bring you, 7 Tips for Landing an Out-of-State Job.

1.) Be Open Minded

It’s easy to get tunnel vision when thinking about the future, but don’t let it happen. It’s important to be willing to say “yes” to opportunities and career paths you may not have considered. In the modern world of communications, it’s difficult to know exactly what communications and public relations jobs entail. Trust that your job may evolve and that you may be best for something you never considered.

2.) Do Your Homework

This is essential. When communicating from far away, the company you are interested in working for needs to know how badly you want it. Research the company so that when the time comes for an interview you can answer the questions in the context of the specific work that company does. It also doesn’t hurt to take notes on potential interview questions beforehand.

3.) Show Your Personality

From first contact, through the last interview, be yourself. I know it’s a cliche, but seriously, do it. Your credentials will speak for themselves and as long as being yourself is the best, most professional version of yourself you’re going to fare much better than just trying to be what you think they want. Most professional jobs and internships require close contact with co-workers and it’s crucial that they like you as a person, not just for the work you do.

4.) Be Available

When looking for a job from afar, staying in contact is key. Companies have a lot of candidates to screen, many of which they are meeting in person. You cannot run the risk of being invisible. Check back early and often. If they send you an email, respond as quickly as humanly possible. And let’s be honest, in the age of the smart phone, there’s no excuse.

5.) Shine in a Video Interview

It’s likely that as a poor college student you won’t be able to travel for an interview. No problem! Skype to the rescue. However, the video interview presents a new set of challenges. Energy and “vibes” are very real, and they’re much easier to communicate in person. Smile and dress the way you would if the interview was in person, this helps keep you in the right mindset for the interview. Just because you don’t have to wear pants, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. I’m not kidding, put on pants. Preferably nice ones.

6.) Bring Something New to the Table

In a professional field, most of the candidates for a job have the same qualifications. It’s important to remember that the things that make you different, the skills that may not seem to apply to this job, may actually land you the position. It’s important to find how all of your skills are applicable. For example, I have a background in journalism with a strong focus on writing and editing as well as some event planning experience. When applying for public relations positions, my writing and editing skills were what I sold. These different skills are what set me apart and landed me my job at AM:PM PR.

7.) Have Confidence

This seems like a no-brainer, but there’s a reason the term “fake it till you make it” exists. However, faking will only get you so far. The bottom line is that if you know you’re right for the job, then you are right for the job. If you know it, make sure your future employer knows it.

AM:PM PR Employee to Raise Funds for Bosnian Flood Relief

May 29, 2014/in AM:PM PR, News /by Mike Phillips

Fenbi at Sirens in Port Townsend

Several years ago I performed part-time in a pseudo world music band called The Fenbi International Superstars. Willamette Week reporter Nick Jaina caught a Fenbi show at a punk venue on Alberta called The Know in 2010 and wrote:

“Portland’s Fenbi International Superstars have fomented a welcome frenzy. The six-piece borrows its twin loves for gypsy punk and throaty sing-alongs from the likes of Gogol Bordello and Flogging Molly, and like both those groups FIS realizes that the essential element in that witch’s brew is a palpable sense of fun, though a talented fiddle player doesn’t hurt … Fenbi International Superstars hit their marks exactly, executing accordion flourishes, scissor kicks, and back-of-the-throat odes to drunkenness with a fine balance of exactitude and slop.”

It was during a world music class in college that I first became interested in “gypsy” music. That interest led me to explore the history and people of the Balkans. It was through Bill Carter‘s 5-star memoir “Fools Rush In” that I truly caught the Bosnian bug, and was able to visit the country in 2012 as they commemorated 20-years since the beginning of the 90’s war.

Tonight our band is reuniting for the first time in three years to stumble our way through old songs and to raise money for Bosnian flood relief for a region that has just experienced devastating 100-year floods that have altered and shifted already treacherous land-mine fields and caused devastation across the country, which already experiences 44% unemployment. Here is a recent article about the floods: Click Here

While we can’t promise scissor kicks (or even amplification) we can promise that we’ll have a grand ol’ time at one of our favorite local haunts, the 442 Soccer Bar at 17th and Hawthorne. We’ll perform from 7-8 p.m.

For the Facebook invite: Click on this link

If you are unable to attend, please consider a donation to the Bosnian Red Cross.

UPDATE: We raised over $600 for Bosnian flood relief efforts, and to help one individual who had lost most of his home.

I took a photo of this contemporary dwelling in 2012, check out those bullet and grenade marks!

“I Graduated, Joined PR Circus” – New Intern Dustin Nelson

May 28, 2014/1 Comment/in AM:PM PR, News /by ampmpr

by Dustin Nelson

“I’ve always known that I wanted to be a professional juggler.”

While my lack of hand-eye coordination has kept me from pursuing a literal career in juggling, my passion for juggling multiple projects led me to the metaphorical PR circus that is public relations. It’s often difficult for me to explain to friends and family what exactly a public relations professional does and that’s exactly what I love about it. Working in PR allows me to be many things at once, from a writer (my first passion), to a branding consultant, to a crisis manager.

Hailing from the town of Missoula, Montana I studied journalism at the University of Montana where I took a four-year crash course in balancing my many passions and academic and professional impulses. While I discovered journalism wasn’t exactly the direction I wanted to take professionally, what I learned was that I love people and writing.

After graduating this spring, my passion for food, wine, and PR brought me to Portland.

At heart, I’ve always felt more like a city boy trapped in the country, albeit beautiful country, so my journey to Portland was a smooth transition. While I expected the great food and wine that your fair city delivered to my ever-expanding waistline, what I didn’t expect was how much I would love the people of Portland.

For a big city, Portland has a sense of community that rivals many of the 3,000 population Montana towns I’ve visited.

From the time I pretended to be some random girl’s boyfriend to help rid her of an unwanted drunken suitor at a beer festival, to the staff at Thai Noodle who know our orders like we’re family, building relationships with the folks around here has been easy. I’ve known since I stumbled off the airplane at PDX that I wanted to help tell the stories of this community in whatever forms they take.

Everyone has a story to tell, and while some people put it into words, others tell their stories through the things they create, businesses, products, food, and art. A public relations professional gets to be the gatekeeper to such stories, we help businesses communicate their stories to help shape the way people live their lives and interact with their community. It may be a circus in this new world, but to me, the strange is familiar and I can’t wait to learn some new acts.

REPOST: Cool Spaces: AM:PM PR’s Southeast pride (Photos)

May 23, 2014/in AM:PM PR, News /by Mike Phillips

Earlier today our office was featured in The Portland Business Journal for our “Cool Space.” We’ve linked to the original piece and reposted much of the article below and hope y’all find the opportunity to make your way in here someday, either through our Speakeasy events or otherwise.

* * *

Cool Spaces: AM:PM PR’s Southeast pride (Photos)

You can tell a lot about a company from its entryway.

Walking into AM:PM PR’s Southeast Clinton Street offices, for instance, one barely feels as if they’ve entered an interior space. The floor plan revolves around natural light, conveyed by the firm’s (it shares the space with the tech firm 7/APPS) massive north-facing windows.

The firm occupies a neat space in the Cyrk Building, owned by Will Emery and Bonnie Serkin. DECA Architects designed the office while B & G Builders, with a eye on using sustainable materials, built it.

It’s a keenly planned layout that evokes its Southeast Portland environs (many of the materials are recycled or repurposed) as well as AM:PM PR’s sense of fun (an image of firm co-owner Pat McCormick depicts his penchant for wearing socks with sandals).

Click on this link for more glimpses of the AM:PM PR and 7/APPS space.

Keys to Making Your Business Presentations Sparkle

May 9, 2014/in AM:PM PR /by Mike Phillips

Are you tired of giving stale business presentations that bore your audiences to the outer galaxy of Ad Nauseam and back?

Well, we’ve got one hell of an innovative solution to get your company ahead of the pack. After all, you’re a talented, under-appreciated and underpaid genius that just needs to be recognized for your vision and contribution to the work force all these years!

Ahem, sorry. I was just test-driving a new technique I learned at a recent conference. The trick? Tell your audience how boring and uninteresting their present lives are, only to whip them up into a fervor by telling them how they’re part of an innovative solution for a better future!

Alexis and I attended the SOLD OUT Communicators Conference in downtown Portland sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America and the Oregon Columbia Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators of Columbia-Willamette. Scoring tix to this event was like the PR equivalent of getting tickets to the sold out Sasquatch Music Festival – only, instead of throngs of bleary-eyed teens eagerly awaiting their favorite rock bands, this event featured hordes of coffee-crazed communication professionals donning casual business wear and crammed into the main ballroom of the Sentinel Hotel. The focus was on becoming better storytellers to successfully convey messages to your target audiences.

Evita Peron, an amazing orator and interesting case study in Nancy Duarte’s talk.

The conference featured great presenters, but the one who stole the show for us was Nancy Duarte, a successful entrepreneur whose business helps companies with oral presentations. She’s also the author of “Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences.” Her presentation centered around her own empirical research gleaned from famous speeches in recent and distant history, using Steve Jobs, Ghandi, MLK, Evita and, even Jesus to exemplify her points. She says she uses her findings in her work to help companies develop better presentations during oral engagements, and did a fantastic job herself. But why take our word for it?

Check out a TEDx talk she gave on the very subject earlier this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nYFpuc2Umk

Here are some takeaways for an effective presentation, from Nancy’s talk:

The most effective way to communicate ideas is through storytelling.
At the beginning of any presentation/story you need to establish what is – the status quo.
Make the status quo and the normal unappealing. Next, draw them toward a better, brighter future using your idea as a catalyst – what could be.
Compare and contrast the boring/unacceptable present to what could be – and make that gap as big as possible – amplify that gap!
Traverse between what is and what could be several times. The great orators did this, but their use of gaps and time varied for their desired dramatic effect.
Your presentation should support why your audience should want to get to that new great place.
The last turning point is a call to action, but at the very end.

For more:

Nancy Duarte demonstrating the what is/what could be technique.

Join the circus as our PR intern!

April 22, 2014/in AM:PM PR, PR Jobs /by ampmpr

~ AM:PM PR holding auditions for summer intern ~

The ideal performer has:

★ An understanding of the fundamentals of public relations

★ Strong writing and communications skills

★ Familiarity with all the top social networks and review sites

★ Ability to multi-task, manage under pressure

★ The ability to think creatively

★ A desire to learn, work hard and take constructive criticism

★ The ability to self-manage and work independently or as part of a team

This is a paid internship and your responsibilities may include:

✓ Media relations – drafting press releases and conducting outreach

✓ Drafting blog posts and updating WordPress sites

✓ Social networking engagement

✓ Website analytics

✓ Attending staff and client meetings

✓ Administrative tasks

✓ Jumping through flaming hoops, juggling, clowning around

If you would like to be considered for the internship position at AM:PM PR, please email your resume to Alexis Dane by May 6, 2014.

New Data Demonstrates Teens Not Abandoning Facebook

March 21, 2014/in AM:PM PR /by Mike Phillips

The following article, found at www.convinceandconvert.com was too grand not to share with the AM:PM PR audience. It shows that despite the preponderance of teen ire directed at the platform, “teens not abandoning Facebook.” Facebook hasn’t lost favor with our most emotionally maligned members of society. In fact, teen usage is up. For more read below or visit: www.convinceandconvert.com.

* * * *

There have been innumerable posts and articles about how Facebook is no longer “cool,” or as important to teens as it once was.

Frustratingly, however, much of the speculation I’ve seen regarding this has been based either upon anecdotal evidence, or upon research that isn’t projectable to the population of teen Facebook users.

So, I decided to take a look at some hard facts. According to our most recent public data release (The Infinite Dial 2014), Facebook is currently used by nearly 80% of Americans 12-17 and 18-24. In fact, articles that trumpet Facebook’s lack of growth with these demographics are missing the point—Facebook is nearing its practical limit with young Americans.

Now, it may or may not be true that Facebook is no longer “cool” with teens (a question Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t appear to be the least concerned about, by the way). I would submit that this is the wrong question. Think about the other services and mobile apps that teens and young adults use—how do you think they are logging in to them? Facebook’s “helpful” management of our identities for services like Instagram ensures that for millions of people, Facebook is the plumbing for the Internet. And while there may indeed be teens quitting the service, every minute someone new turns 13 and signs up for an account.

A Facebook account is the new driver’s license. Getting one isn’t cool—it’s what you can do with it that is.

Those who believe teens are leaving Facebook in droves should also consider this stat—the average number of Facebook friends per demographic:

So, to be clear, when we say that teens are abandoning Facebook, we are saying that they are willing to leave behind a network that averages 500-600 people, with no easy way to replicate it elsewhere. Cool? No. Plumbing? Yes.

Finally, it may in fact be a valid observation that teens are using the service less. But here is what I can show you—we asked Americans 12+ who have a profile on Facebook how many times in the last 24 hours they checked their Facebook page (either via desktop or mobile.) Here’s what they told us.

What this graph tells us is that teens on Facebook check their accounts an average of eight times per day. Is this a lot? Well, I can tell you that when we asked this question in 2012, the average for teens was six times per day. Teens lead the pack in terms of frequency of usage, and that frequency is increasing, not decreasing. What else do Teens do eight times per day besides eat?

I will note that the rise of mobile Facebook access and the concomitant use of a smartphone’s notification system to take the place of an actual Facebook page visit may have cut down on the actual time spent with the service—but there is no credible data extant to suggest that, yet. And again, let me stipulate that Facebook might in fact be “less cool” than it used to be.

But for millions of teens across America and in many parts of the world, Facebook is the single most formidable brand in the world—and that’s unlikely to change in the short term.

* * * * *

This article was written by Tom Webster and originally appeared at convinceandconvert.com.

About Tom Webster (Twitter)
Tom Webster is Vice President of Strategy for Edison Research, a custom market research company best known as the sole providers of exit polling data during US elections for all the major news networks. He has nearly 20 years of experience researching consumer usage of technology, new media and social networking, and is the principal author of a number of widely-cited studies. Webster also has a deep background in research in both media and entertainment research, and has conducted the largest-ever segmentation study of music and lifestyle preference in UK history. He writes about these topics and more at BrandSavant.com.

Google Phishing – No, This Isn’t A Post About Jam Bands

March 20, 2014/in AM:PM PR /by Mike Phillips

The other day I received a seemingly innocuous email from one of our clients that turned out to be a bizarre Google Phishing scam via Google Drive. It was from someone I’d been expecting a Word document from. Check out the email below:

Normally I wouldn’t think twice about a professional email from a trusted client using a reliable company like Google to share a file. However, check out how sophisticated these phishing phreaks are getting. In the above image that hyperlink to Google Drive appears very authentic, does it not?

Anyway, my curiosity got the best of me and after clicking on that link I was taken to the phollowing phishy page, which looked a little phunny.

In addition to lacking the design acumen that I expect from my friends at Google (this page had weird fonts, broken sentences with varying rules for punctuation, a bizarre box), the webpage also had a very unusual URL. No longer was I on a trusted Google website (despite the graphic imagery) – but it was some bizarre URL for some business I had never heard of. That is what set off all of my alarm bells, and that is what kept me from giving away my personal information to this scam artist.

Friends, you must remain vigilant these days. No matter how much you trust the sender of an email, always look for the tell-tale signs of an internet scam. Below I have shared some simple questions to ask yourself to help keep you safe from, in the immortal words of George W. Bush, “evildoers.” Feel free to share some of your own!

1. Who sent the email? If the email appears to be from a business that you have no relationship with and is asking for your personal information, it’s probably a scam. (i.e., Login to Paypal, when you don’t have a Paypal account)

2. Does the visual appearance seem a bit off? If the design elements of the message appear to be more juvenile than you’d expect from trusted sources, something phishy might be going on.

3. Is a wealthy individual, or the heir to a large fortune, asking you for help? If the user professes to be a Vanderbilt, or of royal heritage (think: Nigerian Prince) – it’s certainly a scam. People with real money won’t send out e-blasts to us commoners when seeking help with a loan. They will, however, panhandle via Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but that is a different story for another day…

4. Does the email appear to be written by a five-year old? You don’t have to have a master’s degree in English Literature to catch most of their mistakes. Check out punctuation, simple spelling errors, inaccurate sentence case, uneven capitalization and even broken sentences that just read weird.

Finally, as a last resort, if you really want to keep yourself safe – just send me your email addresses and passwords and I will encrypt them safely within the proverbial Fort Knox of the electronic Cloud, free of charge. Trust me, I’m writing something on a website!

UPDATE.

Just as I went to post this blog, I learned of yet another, even trickier Google Drive Scam. Read this from Gizmodo.

Fifty Licks (or 100, please?)

March 13, 2014/in AM:PM PR, Be my neighbor /by Alexis Dane

It’s been a while since the AM:PM PR crew has updated the masses with a note on what’s happening in our ‘hood. We’re hoping to rectify that. Enter: Fifty Licks. As one would imagine by its name – it’s an ice cream shop that we’re lucky enough to be just across the street from. They also serve up superb Cuban coffee and inventive and splendid sorbet cocktails.

What started as a cart operation is now a full brick and mortar ice cream shop, complete with gleaming white tile, an adorable striped awning out front and tables to make it easy to enjoy the sun and a frozen treat at the same time.

Some standouts include the lusciously creamy Coconut Lemon Saffron sorbet and a Clyde Common New Orleans classic brunch cocktail-influenced ice cream, the Brandy Milk Punch. Its 5% alcohol content and just right sweetness level left us drooling for more (Literally. Mike was embarrassed). Who knew you could get more than a sugar buzz from an ice cream cone? We didn’t, but we’re pretty happy such a thing exists. They also have daily happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., so we’ll be test driving those sorbet cocktails soon!

With spring on its way, you may want to think about checking this place out, and swinging by our office for a high-five while you’re at it.