In college, we spent quite a bit of time learning how to format a “press release.” The idea was that reporters and editors would take a well-written release, edit it slightly, and print it. It was important to leave room for editing and slugging and all the manual copy manipulation that might happen.
Just how prepared are recent college grads to enter the job market? A recent study revealed major gaps in what students perceive as their workforce readiness and what hiring managers think. (Chegg: Bridge That Gap: Analyzing the Student Skill Index, Fall 2013.)
Several of us at Metzger Associates offer our expertise as writers, event planners and social media strategists to help out nonprofit organizations through pro bono work. Nonprofits depend mostly on government and corporate funding, and individual donations to cover basic operating costs. Pro bono services contribute to important but peripheral business functions such as public…
When it comes to data security breaches, it’s been a tough stretch for retailers. Michaels, Target and Neiman Marcus- all recent victims of sizable breaches in which the personal and/or credit and debit card information of tens of millions of customers was compromised. So who handled it best from a PR standpoint? Here are the…
“Blackfish,” Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s independent documentary that took the country by storm, premiered in January at the Sundance FilmFestival. Since its debut, the movie has received the sort of exposure that most filmmakers – both independent and mainstream – can only dream about. For those of you who have been living under a rock, the plot…
Still wondering why your Facebook feed went red this week? As two high profile same-sex marriage cases were argued before the Supreme Court, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) capitalized on the momentum of the movement by launching one of the most impressive viral campaigns in recent history, calling marriage equality the “civil rights battle of…
Public relations professionals today are—rightly so—highly focused on the rapidly changing media landscape and how to harness social media for the good of their companies and clients. However, great value remains in good old fashioned media relations—developing a strong pitch to a carefully targeted reporter who then writes a positive story. Metzger began pitching a…
I recapped my first CES trip with my 91-year-old grandfather. I told him all about the new toys coming out this year, starting with the new Audi Connect car that drives and parks itself, using your iPhone as its key. He mentioned that at the 1939 World’s Fair, General Motors introduced a self-driving car. This…
Carefully targeted, personalized visual content is becoming more important within most PR programs and is a great way for even small brands to get attention and visibility. One of our clients, Waxing the City (WTC, a growing chain of waxing salons), is in the early stages of a national branding launch. To gain attention as…
At Metzger Associates, we build our clients’ corporate, product and service brands. Though most people associate personal branding with celebrities, there are many opportunities to build personal brands for ourselves within the professional communities. We can use some of the same strategies to develop our own personal brands as we do for clients. Messaging and…