PRSSA at SIUC

By Veronica Jones

It is safe to say that the majority of people enjoy music, but would they think to use their favorite tunes as a means of marketing or promoting?

Most everyone, PR professionals and consumers included, are familiar with social networking sites, blogs, and web pages. The difference between the consumers and PR specialists is that the public wants to use the internet for their own personal interests, where as professionals are typically using it to benefit their client/organization. Due to this clash in interests, consumers are oftentimes annoyed with the constant barrage of advertisements online and PR people are having to find new channels to get their messages heard.

This is when it becomes increasingly important to tap into your infinite creativity, to find a way to coalesce your business objectives with the public's need for entertainment. For example, President Obama's staff released his official 2012 campaign playlist, composed of well-known, inoffensive songs that are meant to reach out to potential voters and crystallize favorable views. They then effectively utilized social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to share the playlist with as large an audience as possible. Due to their use of technology people were pleased with this subtle combination of entertainment and campaigning, and they were able to provide feedback to Obama's staff by 'liking' the playlist or following it on Twitter.