Karen’s PR blog

ESPN Battle of the Bands

I chose the ESPN Battle of the Bands campaign for my third PR example because I think it is unique on a couple of levels.  FIrst, not many companies, especially companies like Paramount or Lucasfilm, will start a PR campaign with college marching bands.  So I thought it was good that they chose a creative route, and in the process probably reached a bigger audience.  Second, it is really interesting how this PR campaign became the perfect opportunity for the bands to do some public relations for themselves.  With the help of Facebook, TIger Band got to spread awareness about some of the things they do.

Why Are Gas Prices So High?

I chose to present this article from The State newspaper because it is particularly relevant.  It deals with recent issues and concerns just about everyone, especially those of us who are college students and don’t exactly have lots of extra money laying around to pay for gas.  The article is effective public relations because it is informative.  It explains that the particular pipelines that were shut down because of Hurricane Ike are the ones that supply the Southeast, and that they will need about 10 days to get back to running at a normal schedule.  It also explains how gas stations arrive at their prices (at least in theory).  All of this serves to make the public more informed about the things that can go wrong with oil pipelines and refineries when a hurricane hits.  This is designed to make us more understanding of what the oil industry has to do to fix the problems.  It also serves to decrease panic and runs on gas stations by reassuring customers that gas supplies will soon be back to normal.