{"id":2265,"date":"2012-04-05T13:12:01","date_gmt":"2012-04-05T17:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.prssa.org\/?p=2265"},"modified":"2018-08-22T11:26:39","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T15:26:39","slug":"creating-award-winning-public-relations-campaigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/05\/creating-award-winning-public-relations-campaigns\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Award-Winning Public Relations Campaigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was recently named PRWeek<\/em>\u2019s Student of the Year<\/a>, earning $5,000 and an internship with Hill & Knowlton Strategies<\/a>. My winning submission was a public relations campaign created to help Ford reach millennials across the country.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Keri Cook receives PRWeek\u2019s Student of the Year Award.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most public relations students will plan a campaign before they graduate, whether it\u2019s for a competition, a class or even an internship. So, as you tackle the challenge of planning from scratch, let me share with you a few insights I\u2019ve picked up along the way:<\/p>\n

1. Root your plan in research.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This may be the least glamorous part of your campaign, but it\u2019s the most crucial. No matter how innovative your campaign, it\u2019s useless if it doesn\u2019t meet the actual needs of the defined demographic. Make the most of secondary and<\/em> primary research. Submerse yourself in your client\u2019s company, competitors and industry. Get to know your target market in an in-depth way.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u2019t oversimplify your target market.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

When thinking about your target market, don\u2019t rely on stereotypes. If you conduct substantial research, you\u2019ll already have a deep understanding of your target\u2019s perceptions, wants and needs. Now get specific! The target market I received for my campaign was \u201cmillennials,\u201d which encompassed adults ages 18 to 29. I broke this down into four different life stages millennials represent and catered my communications directly to each subset.<\/p>\n

3. Be strategic.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Once you begin developing your campaign, conduct regular strategy checks for each component. Ask questions like \u201cDoes this message reinforce my overall creative theme?\u201d and \u201cAre these tactics designed to achieve the objectives I\u2019ve established?\u201d Taking a strategic approach will save you from constantly being distracted by \u201cfun\u201d ideas that may not truly contribute to a solid, coherent campaign.<\/p>\n

4. Include practical details that show you have the follow-through to make it happen.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Many student campaigns are fictitious, and most of us aren\u2019t operating with the resources we\u2019d need to actualize our ideas. But plan your campaign as if you are. Show that you have invested the time and thought needed to see your ideas through to completion, from planning your budget to your media schedule to your campaign evaluation. Your original ideas may get you noticed, but if you want an impressively concrete plan, you must do the legwork needed to turn your concepts into reality.<\/p>\n

What lessons have you learned in your own campaign planning efforts? What advice would you give to students planning their first campaign?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keri Cook<\/a> is vice president for Liberty University\u2019s PRSSA Chapter. You can follow her on Twitter <\/em>@cook_keri<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was recently named PRWeek\u2019s Student of the Year, earning $5,000 and an internship with Hill & Knowlton Strategies. My winning submission was a public relations campaign created to help Ford reach millennials across the country. Most public relations students will plan a campaign before they graduate, whether it\u2019s for a competition, a class or even an internship. So, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2894,1],"tags":[1334,1336,1338,1339,1345,1337,927,1343,15,277,1335,1340,1342,1344,1333,1341],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2265"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9182,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265\/revisions\/9182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}