When was the last time you remember working an eight-hour workday?

Chelsey Ross

I was always told the professional life was your typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You get up, go to work, go home, and do the same thing the next day. But since graduating from college in May 2014, I have noticed that being “on the clock” in the public relations industry isn’t just a 9-to-5 position. Instead, if you don’t continually keep up with the news, social media and the happenings of your clients, you will quickly fall behind, and it isn’t easy to catch up. With the 24/7-style of the industry, public relations professionals are pushed to the max, rarely receiving much needed R&R that many other professionals can delight in. I began to wonder whether this is a societal normalcy, or is this a pressure we put upon ourselves? What happened to the evenings where we could sit back, relax and put our feet up?

A big reason is simple: increased accessibility. Our smart phone is the No. 1 issue. Now, a phone call is as simple as picking up the cell phone in my pocket, dialing a number and reaching the other person on the line. Email goes straight to an app, making it easier to check it on a smart phone than on a computer. Texts are the easiest. Simply write up a short message and press send. With that type of accessibility, we are able to continue working even after work is over with little-to-no trouble at all.

Working too much, though, is actually detrimental to our health. For example, you can lose a substantial amount of sleep. An adult should get eight to nine hours of sleep at night. The average is six hours. Stress causes a rise in blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease in those who work overtime. Additionally, our eyesight suffers. Did you know that up to 90 percent of people who use a computer complain of eyestrain? These are just the physical issues facing people who work too much. In reality, people who work overtime suffer from a suppressed social life, as well. Overtime means spending less time with family and friends. Instead, we sit on the couch during weekends, replying to emails or stalking social media for new, vital information that can help us, rather than watching TV with the family.

Luckily, many agencies understand the “go, go, go” nature of the industry, and often work with their employees to create a relaxed and understanding environment. For example, Obsidian offers flexibility in the daily schedule, allowing employees to leave the office early and finish their work at another time. If an employee is sick, Obsidian offers the luxury of working from home, so you don’t get behind on client work; the office is no longer a necessity. Obsidian also allots time in the workday for a workout, or sometimes, a much-needed YouTube or Internet surfing break. It is the small things Obsidian offers that makes their employees loyal and willing, and it is the reason they will go above and beyond to do their job at any hour of the day. 

But, next time you pick up your smart phone after work to check your email, think twice. Unless it’s truly urgent, indulge in a bubble bath, attend your favorite workout class, take a walk with your family or watch your favorite movie instead. Your body and your family will be thankful, and you may be surprised; you may feel less stressed and decreased tension, resulting in a happier, better you.

Sugar Bowl Allstate Mayhem Advertising Campaign

Kelli Brignac

During college football season, my husband and I watched the Allstate Sugar Bowl game between Ohio State (excuse me, THE Ohio State) and Alabama. As an LSU fan, you’ll have to forgive me if I really did not care about it. But I digress. The point is, I watched the game because I’m a fan of college football. And as it turned out, the game was absolutely not the best thing happening in that broadcast. The best thing was a commercial featuring “Mayhem” from Allstate.

I’ve been recording live TV for five years, so I don’t watch nearly as many commercials as I used to. But live sports are one of the places where commercials still reach me. I’m familiar with Mayhem, but Allstate took this series of ads just one step further – from familiarity into awesomeness.

The series depicted Mayhem as a burglar who learned via social media that Matt and Shannon (actually a real couple) were going out of town to the Sugar Bowl game. While they were live-tweeting from the Superdome, Mayhem was selling all their stuff online for really cheap prices.

The first couple of times the commercial ran, I thought it was funny. Then, I logged on to the site and realized I could actually buy things. AND I WANTED THEM. I tried to buy a storage bench I needed for my own house, a TV because it was so cheap and, eventually, laundry detergent just so I could say I got SOMETHING from the Mayhem Sale. (I failed.) Even though the game was technically a “good” one, it seemed a lot more people were tweeting about Mayhem than about the score.

So, was the campaign just a lucky success, or is it something we can replicate? You’ll need to think through a few things.

1.    Your brand has to be familiar.

Allstate has put a lot of money into its marketing over the last several years. Allstate sponsors field goal nets at several colleges, is the title sponsor of the Sugar Bowl and has been running Mayhem commercials for the last couple of years. It’s also one of the largest insurers in the country. People know Allstate. If Allstate runs an ad without once saying “insurance,” most of the people who see it would still get it. Bottom line, if you’re brand new, don’t try to pull off something like this right away.

2.    Know your consumer.

This type of engaging campaign is not for every brand. If you have a very small audience, it may not be worth your money. And if your audience is children younger than 7, they probably aren’t going to be able to make the decision to engage at all. You have to meet your audience where they are.

3.    Think it through.

One reason I failed to purchase anything from the Mayhem Sale was because their website could not handle the traffic. By the second quarter of the game, it would barely load. And in the third quarter, when I finally clicked buy on the laundry detergent, it timed out, and I lost my purchase. Allstate played it off about as well as they could by having Mayhem tweet about how it wouldn’t be fun if the website worked, but it was still frustrating for a lot of people. All the pieces have to work together if you want the whole campaign to be a success.

4.    You might have to spend.

Allstate spent a ton of money on this. I don’t know exactly how much, but between the Sugar Bowl sponsorship, untold minutes of airtime, the replica of Matt and Shannon’s house (yes, they did), the replicas of all their stuff and the website, it added up. Does that mean you can’t pull off something excellent without breaking the bank? No. But that just sends us back to No. 3 – think it through.

5.    You can’t force viral.

No matter how awesome something actually is, there are no guarantees. Just because you spent a ton of money does not mean you’ll get a million hits on your website. Just because the idea was good doesn’t mean other people will love it. Still, a well-planned campaign should produce results. It’s important to decide what you want those results to be when you plan your campaign.

Getting Started in Public Relations

Brooke Watson

Given that I’ve recently started my internship here at Obsidian, it seems a fitting time to look back on the steps I’ve taken to get me here and reflect on the lessons learned that will hopefully continue to carry me forward in this exciting career.

I initially started college with my major declared in journalism, but like many others, I became a bit lost down the line as to what career path was right for me. Unsurprisingly and unfortunately, this resulted in me changing my major three extra times. Life is funny, though, and my third and final change landed me right back where I began – journalism, with a concentration in public relations. It could not be a better fit for me. Although this major aligns with my natural strengths, I’ve also come to see that the extra time I’ve spent maturing in my academic career helped me hone certain traits that are crucial for the public relations professional.

Be Outgoing.

I’ll admit this used to be a hard one for me. However, in the last year and half, it suddenly became glaringly apparent that in order to be successful in any objective, you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone and chase it. No one ever crossed a finish line without first deciding to tie on their running shoes and step out the door.

Photo Courtesy to Flickr UserJames Robinson

Be Thorough.

Oh, be thorough! The absolute key to this, without a doubt, is asking questions. There is no inquiry so small that it’s irrelevant or unnecessary, especially when you’re just beginning. Do not allow unanswered questions to hover around and bring about failure or disappointment simply because you were afraid to ask. The way an amateur becomes an expert stems from a constant drive to expand his or her own understanding. Do not let a potential moment of embarrassment keep you from excellence.

Be Vulnerable.

Showcasing your talents is important when getting started in any field, but it isn’t everything. Be willing to seek help in your weaker areas, and give yourself room to practice these skills. Others will remember your progress and tenacity as you develop, as it showcases passion and determination. Besides, no one likes a one trick pony.

Commit.
Ah, perhaps the most difficult lesson I’ve learned. You don’t change your major three times because commitment is easy! However, it is inarguably the most important skill on this list. Deciding to do something is half the battle of any accomplishment, but it’s easy to be intimidated away from it after your first few mistakes. Naturally, everyone wants to be an expert right from the start, yet unfortunately, life rarely goes that way. The good news is, usually, the biggest road block is in your head. Make up your mind to succeed, and with hard work, you will!

Does Your Brand Need A Blog?

Ali Glemser

Not every brand needs a blog, but if you have the time and resources to maintain one, you should consider starting one today. Blogs are a prime example of content marketing that most any business can leverage. Content marketing is the abstract term for strategically delivering valuable, relevant, useful and consistent content to attract and maintain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

Thinking of that definition, can you start to see how a blog fits in that category? The nice thing is that a blog can develop your brand’s voice, too, and allow you to be conversational with your readers. You can speak to your blog readers like you would to your potential and current customers because hopefully that’s who is reading it. 

Once you’re on board with adding a blog, you should make space on your website and start writing one or two posts per month. In your posts, you can talk not only about your products or services but also about industry trends, company accomplishments and common questions you receive about your brand. Customer feedback, both positive and negative, is great inspiration for blog posts, as well. When addressing points from negative feedback, you can focus on the solutions being implementing to address the issues, as well as educate readers about how to avoid unfavorable situations or what to do if they do find themselves in one.

Photo Courtesy to Flickr User Dave

Now that you’ve got this great stuff going, you have to determine how people are going to find your blog. There’s a lot you can do to help drive your potential audience to the blog, such as send out monthly email blasts with a link back to the blog, post about it on social media and incorporate consistent blog language into your Google AdWords campaign to increase the blog’s search engine optimization. If you feel like you’ve created a post that’s worthy of a bigger audience, you can submit it to local newspapers or trade publications that welcome guest columns. Be sure to research each outlet’s specifications before doing this, so that you deliver the best submission possible.

It’s so important to stay timely and consistent with your blog content. A great way to ensure that you can maintain content for the blog is to create an idea bank for blog posts topics. And, round up some assistance - get your employees involved, if time allows. It can be tough to be the sole author of the blog at all times, and mixing in different voices can also help keep the content fresh and engaging.

Overall, remember to be informative and relatable, and let that brand personality shine through. Starting a blog may seem like a scary adventure, but when you weigh the benefits and greater uses of this avenue, it’s hard to deny the value it can bring to your brand.

Technology Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Sarah Burgess

Texting, answering emails, online shopping or simply watching endless episodes of “Friends” on Netflix; sure, we’ve heard habits like these can be bad for your eyes and attention span, but one of the most recent ailments attributed to these behaviors might surprise you.

So, what is it? Do me a favor – if you’re a millennial and regularly do the things I mentioned above, look at yourself in the mirror. If you’re like me, you may have noticed one or two horizontal lines on your neck. These could be caused by a new phenomenon called tech neck.

Now, don’t think you’re getting off the hook with just a couple lines on your neck! A new study conducted by Surgical Technology International found that tech neck can add up to 50 pounds of pressure on your spine, resulting in poor posture and other side effects.

Flicker credit: U.S. Department
of Education

Think this sounds like a bunch of malarkey? I can personally attest to the dangers of tech neck. After about a year of owning my first cell phone (in the good ol’ days of the Motorola Razr), I started having frequent, unexplained pain in my wrists. After seeing a few doctors and specialists, they concluded that I had developed carpal tunnel syndrome, and the best option to correct it was surgery. Lucky for me, I was extremely squeamish and terrified of getting surgery on my wrists. That’s right, I said “lucky.”

After unwillingly accompanying my father to his chiropractor appointment and discussing why I was wearing braces on my wrists with the doctor, we decided it couldn’t hurt for him to have a look at my spine. Turns out, being so wrapped up in texting all the time had caught up with me. My frequent texting and computer usage caused the upper portion of my spine to straighten in an unnatural manner, which pinched a nerve that shot pain down to my wrists. Crazy, right?

Now, I know it’s virtually impossible to avoid the devices that cause tech neck, but there are a few tips that can help prevent discomfort, bad posture and those unsightly lines.

• Keep your ears parallel with your shoulders.
• Stop resting your chin on your hands.
• Prop up your computer with a couple of books so your screen is eye-level.
• If you use a laptop, get a laptop stand, wireless keyboard and mouse so you’re not forced to look down so much.

Have any other tips to help prevent tech neck? Let us know in the comments below!

Vision

Lauren Hannaford

I rarely set New Year’s resolutions because I hardly ever follow them, and midway through the year, when I suddenly remember what it was I was supposed to be working towards, I find myself disappointed that I couldn’t even remember that I set one. So, going into 2015, I was feeling pretty content with not having one. No pressure, I thought. But, I heard someone speak a couple of weeks ago and was completely caught of guard with a very profound and powerful statement that resonated with me. It was so simple and clear. “If you don’t have a clear vision, no strategy will save you.”

New York Times bestselling author, speaker and consultant Michael Hyatt at January’s Lipscomb & Pitts Breakfast Club meeting made this point in his presentation, and a light bulb immediately switched on in my mind. In fact, here’s an entire blog post by Hyatt on this topic.

Now, it’s not like I haven’t heard this point before, and we often talk about what the “bigger picture” looks like for clients. But, in the complicated world of public relations, I think there are several layers of vision and strategy. You’ve got an overall vision for a client, a vision for a campaign, a vision for one story idea and a vision for one blog post. What I think is important to remember is that it’s necessary to always come back to your primary vision because it dictates where you go from there, and it leads you to your strategy.

On the other hand, having foggy vision can lead you to the wrong strategy. It can also cause you to completely miss out on something that may have been important to your client. So, it’s essential to be sure that you share the same vision with your client. Opinions may differ on the strategy, but a united vision is the only path to a successful outcome.

So, instead of setting a New Year’s resolution this year, I’m focusing on having a clear vision for my personal life, my professional life and for each of my client accounts. While things may not go perfectly throughout the year, my hope for 2015 is that my clear vision leads to successfully executed strategies.

Power of the Pen

Daniel Wade

Power of the Pen

What can you do to distinguish yourself, to set yourself apart? What is your goal, how badly do you want it and what will it take to get there? These are questions that driven individuals ponder on some level all the time but should also have application to what we do everyday. You don’t have to be creating a startup business in your basement or dissecting a corporate merger to think about these things. You can have a similar value proposition as the next guy or gal, yet your unique tactic or slant can make the difference.

Let’s get out of the clouds and into something practical that you can wrap your hands around. It’s a small yet powerful example that has made an impression on me in the last year. When was the last time you received a handwritten note? It doesn’t matter the occasion – a thank you for a gift; an appreciation for a visit or going the extra mile somehow; an out-of-the-blue acknowledgement for something you worked hard on - or, even better than these, just because. What made that special and different? From my perspective, those same sentiments may have been communicated in other ways, but they took on a new level of meaning when I held the paper and read the words.

Can I let you in on a little secret? This blog post is as much for me as anyone who happens upon this space. I’m on the laptop all day, so why can’t I just send an email? They know I love them – does it really matter if I write it out? You’re just being sappy and dramatic. My handwriting is chicken-scratch anyway. Handwritten notes are for grandparents. Here comes the big one. I just don’t have time to sit down and write out handwritten notes. They’re busy; they’ll understand.

So, here’s my small exhortation to take those big questions/thoughts from earlier and choose a simple, practical way to apply them. Be intentional. Don’t use it as a sneaky sales tactic. Be genuine. I was talking to a reporter a month or two ago, and he brought up a client by name – “Got a handwritten note from [so and so]; boy, you sure don’t see those much anymore.” I’ve had a boss who excelled at this characteristic, as well as a father who modeled this as well.

I don’t know about you, but it’s high time I picked up the pen and paper.