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battery and smart power
solutions company, sent
trucks into some of the ar-
eas hit hardest in New York
City, such as a Battery Park.
The trucks were equipped
with cell phone chargers and
laptops with Internet access
so that people could connect
with loved ones. AT&T and
Verizon, two of the nation’s
major cell phone providers,
waived various fees regard-
ing cell phone bills. AT&T
had not only waived its late
payment fees, but also ex-
tended the late-payment
window. These decisions
show that companies are
aware of their customer’s
circumstances and are sen-
sitive to their needs.
In the aftermath of Hurri-
cane Sandy, it is clear that
some retailers attempted to
capitalize on the tragedy of
others, while other compa-
nies put profit aside to focus
on how best to help those in
When Hurricane Sandy
ravaged the East Coast ear-
lier this fall, many people
were left with nothing and
uncertain as how to move
forward. While the storm
was tearing down homes
and destroying beaches,
many retail brands took ac-
t i o n . T h es e a c t i o ns
prompted different re-
sponses from people across
the country.
For instance, a few cloth-
ing stores used the storm as
an opportunity to offer sales.
Gap sent out a tweet asking
their followers to join them
in their online shopping at
Gap.com. Meanwhile, Urban
Outfitters offered free ship-
ping on all orders. At check-
out, the code customers had
to enter at Urban Outfitters
was “ALL SOGGY,” which
was seen by many as inap-
propriate. American Apparel
went so far as to put an ad-
vertisement on their website
reading, “In case you’re
bored during the storm,”
after which they offered 20%
off to customers who reside
in the nine most affected
states on the East Coast.
Many Americans were
highly offended by these
sales incentives, accusing
the companies of being in-
sensitive and selfish for try-
ing to make a profit off of
the misfortunes of others. In
response to American Ap-
parel’s ads, one man
tweeted, “During the inevita-
ble mea culpa from
@americanapparel, they
should donate all proceeds
this year to disaster relief.
Then go out of biz.”
While clothing brands
were offering sales, other
retail brands were respond-
ing to the natural disaster in
another way. Duracell, a
Procter & Gamble-owned
Retail brands learn valuable lesson in crisis
communication in Hurricane Sandy aftermath
esPResso D E C E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 2
Your Shot of Industry Insight
By Cassie Yettru
inside this issue:
Page 2
Tim Massie sheds
light on reputation
management for
social media
Page 4
An interview with
PR Professor, Arien
Rozelle
Page 5
A list of Do’s and
Don’ts for student
tweeters.
Page 6
Donald Trump’s
Twitter turmoil
Page 7
A look into the Mar-
ist College Dance
Ensemble Capping
Project
PRSSA members rally together for hurricane victims
On Wednesday, Nov. 15, the Marist College PRSSA Chapter conducted a workshop that
educated members about crisis communication while raising approximately $100 for the
American Red Cross to aid victims devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Overall,
the workshop was a great success. The Marist Chapter executive board provided
members with a way to connect a current event to a crucial sector in the public relations
industry. This donation will go directly to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Marist College
Chapter members are proud of their efforts to help victims in need and hope the money
donated improves the lives affected by the hurricane.
P A G E 2
Michael Bernardini
Chapter President
@mrBERNARDINI
Erica Conover
Vice President
(President-Elect)
@vivalaerica
Jackie Mucilli
VP of Chapter
Development
@YackieYacks
Meredith Lowe
Director of PR
@merekaylowe
Julie Moller
Firm Director
@juliemoller1
Deanna Morosoff
National Delegate
@Deanna_Morosoff
Chelsea Conroy
Treasurer
@ccon27
Abbey Scalia
Secretary
@abbeyscalia
Elizabeth Odachowski
Historian
@LizOda27
Jennie Donohue
Faculty Adviser
@jenniedonohue
On Wednesday, October 24,
Timmian Massie, former Chief
Public Affairs Officer at Marist
College and current Director of
Corporate Giving at Watson
Pharamceuticals, spoke to the
Marist PRSSA Chapter about
online reputation management.
Massie emphasized that
examining a person’s social
media life is as crucial a part of
the hiring process as checking
employment history, running a
criminal background check and
seeing credit reports. He
shared stories of Facebook
profile pictures ruining job op-
portunities and tweets that put
employees in potentially com-
promising positions. The two
words he recommended that
all people should consider
when posting online are propri-
ety and privacy. PR students
especially should know if some-
thing is proper, use the appro-
priate form of public discourse
and refrain from discussing
incredibly personal topics
such as your current state of
mind or “drunk tweets.” “Why
are you putting this out there
for the world to read?”
Massie asked about students
who do not follow these
rules.
Instead, young PR profes-
sionals should utilize social
media to build his or her
online brand. Dozens of
Massie’s former students
have gotten jobs through
social media, and Massie
taught members tips so they
could hopefully do the same.
These included using Twitter
to network, by conversing
with people who can become
important contacts and read-
ing and commenting on pub-
lic relations blogs to attract
employers’ attention.
Massie’s three steps to
promote your sk i l l s ,
strengths, and interests are
to define your objective, dis-
cover your current brand, and
define your message. These
can all be accomplished
through social media.
Whether it is establishing
credentials on business web-
sites like LinkedIn or commu-
nicating messages through
sharing links or retweeting,
your digital footprint can help
you take many professional
strides. But one stupid post in
social media can ruin your
reputation. “Your digital foot-
print lasts forever. FOREVER,”
he warned.
Tim Massie gave an in-
sightful, informative presenta-
tion regarding all aspects of
social media, good and bad,
and how they can potentially
make or break a reputation
and career. He continues to
be a great resource to the
Chapter and his professional
insight is invaluable.
Tim Massie sheds light on social media etiquette
By Caroline Ferrari
Marist College named top ten
best colleges on Pinterest
Earlier this semester, Marist
College was acknowledged by
ScholarshipExperts.com as
one of the top ten best col-
leges on Pinterest. The ac-
count includes pinboards on
academics, study abroad op-
portunities and student’s In-
stagram photos and helps
showcase the college’s brand.
ScholarshipExpert.com sums
up Marist’s Pinterest page
perfectly, “The page is well-
balanced, offering something
for everyone.”. As social me-
dia loving PR students, we are
thrilled for this recognition. Source: Marist College Pinterest
P A G E 3
It’s hard to
believe
that we’re
already
halfway
through the current aca-
demic year (with gradua-
tion looming on the hori-
zon). At the start of this
semester, it seemed we
had all of the time in the
world to devote to build-
ing and expanding our
Chapter. Now, it seems
there isn’t enough time in
the day to eat, sleep or
breathe, let alone man-
age eight e-board mem-
bers and 100 general
members. Yet, if this se-
mester has taught me
anything, it’s the joy of
delegation and collabora-
tion. Through the enthusi-
asm of our members and
the hard work of the e-
board (and their willing-
ness to respond to my
obnoxious emails), we’ve
been having a great year.
Although I’m usually
not one for New Year’s
resolutions, I might have
to make an exception for
2013. Moving forward, I
hope to continue our
Chapter’s successes and
discover even more ways
to enhance our members’
education and engage-
ment. While plans remain
in their infancy, it appears
that there’s a PRSSA-
related activity nearly
every week. We’ll begin
implementing our fund-
raising and community
service activities, as well
as hosting a slew of guest
speakers across several
disciplines of the industry.
Others may disagree, but
working harder is certainly
a resolution to look for-
ward to. Over the course
of winter break, we’ll be
collaborating on some
exciting updates that we
can’t wait to share upon
our return to campus in
January.
In the meantime, I
want to thank you for con-
tinuing to remain inter-
ested in everything our
Chapter has been up to. I
speak for the rest of the
executive board in extend-
ing our warmest wishes
for a safe journey back
home (wherever that may
be) and a great holiday
season. We’ll see you in
the new year!
Cheers,
Michael Bernardini
Chapter President
Class of 2013
A Letter from the Chapter President
By Elizabeth Odachowski
O n
Nov. 15,
P R S S A
held a
crisis man-
a g e m e n t
workshop.
This workshop offered a
great opportunity to learn
and better understand how
PR experts handle a crisis.
We used this workshop as
a forum to address the cur-
rent crisis the tri-state area
is facing due to Hurricane
Sandy.
Our members were in-
strumental in raising
awareness regarding how
the hurricane has affected
the region and we also
raised money to help those
left in crisis in its after-
math. We also used this
occasion to explore the role
social media plays in how
crises are reported as well
as its impact on the com-
munity. Overall, it was an
important learning experi-
ence, as well as a success-
ful opportunity to raise
money for a most worthy
cause.
At the close of the se-
mester, our mentor pro-
gram met once more for an
internship panel. Members
shared their internship ex-
periences in different
fields, including fashion,
sports, and entertainment,
among others. We also
held our networking holiday
party to conclude a great
semester.
Good luck to all our
members and esPResso
readers on their finals, and
Happy Holidays to all!
Photo Courtesy of Brian Apfel
P A G E 4 V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 2
As public relations stu-
dents, we have heard many
accounts about how to make
it in the competitive world of
agency and in-house PR, but
it is rare that we get to learn
about what it takes to go out
on your own. New visiting
professor Arien Rozelle dis-
cussed her experience as a
PR practitioner-turned-
entrepreneur.
Professor Rozelle gradu-
ated from SUNY Fredonia
having had valuable intern-
ship experiences at Seven-
teen Magazine and music
PR firm Big Hassle Media.
Upon graduation, she was
hired as the marketing coor-
dinator at an international
jewelry manufacturer, but
her true passion was in mu-
sic. So she started her own
music blog – interviewing
bands like Gym Class He-
roes and O.A.R. for feature
stories - as well as smaller
local acts. She used her PR
and marketing experience to
plan events in New York City
to promote the blog and to
immerse herself in the
scene, while working exten-
sively with publicists and
managers to arrange inter-
views with artists and coor-
dinate performances.
Just a few short years
later, Rozelle had compiled
an impressive list of con-
tacts and decided to use her
writing, marketing and PR
skills to start FeelingAnxious
PR and Marketing in 2007.
“I decided to make the leap
younger,” said Rozelle, “I
felt I had a lot less to lose.”
Since then, the company
has had an impressive ros-
ter of independent artists
from the New York City area
and beyond.
It was Rozelle’s gutsy
decision that landed her in
the new book, It’s Your Busi-
ness: 183 Essential Tips
that Will Transform Your
Small Business, written by
MSNBC host JJ Ramberg.
The book features tips from
small business owners and
their advice for others who
hope to do the same. Ro-
zelle’s advice, tip #160, is to
“turn your inexperience into
an asset.”
She explains, “I knew at
the time I didn’t have the
necessary business experi-
ence for invoices or graphic
and web design, but I knew
people who were trained in
those fields and looking for
ways to gain experience or
samples for their profes-
sional portfolios.” By recruit-
ing other recent college
grads that were looking for
additional experience in
their respective fields, Ro-
zelle realized how important
it is to know how to ask for
help. “In order to succeed, I
couldn’t let things I didn’t
know how to do stop me.”
When asked if there was
any other advice that is also
important for aspiring pro-
fessionals, Rozelle advises,
“Be authentic.”
Author JJ Ramberg takes a page from Marist PR professor By Julie Moller
Professor Arien Rozelle smiles with author, JJ Ramberg
at the It’s Your Business book launch.
Source: Arien Rozelle
Blog:
www.maristredfoxes
prssa.blogspot.com
Pinterest:
MaristPRSSA
Email:
Twitter:
@MaristPRSSA
A compilation of Twitter dos and don’ts for PR students
Who knew 140 characters could
make or break you in the public rela-
tions industry? When used correctly,
Twitter can help get you noticed in a
world where everyone seems to be
applying for the jobs and career op-
portunities you want. When used in-
correctly, your tweets can get you
more than just unfollowed – they can
get you fired. Tweet your way to suc-
cess by checking out these #wins and
#fails.
#Win: Show your personality
Make 25 percent of your tweets about
you. By showing your personality on
Twitter, you create bonds with your
followers, which could eventually lead
to connections down the road. What
crosses the line into too personal?
Tweets about sex, arguments, politics
and religion (unless you want politics
or religion to be a part of your per-
sonal brand.)
#Fail: Oversharing
Follow this rule when it comes to
tweets: if you don’t want your man-
ager (or mother) to know about it,
don’t post it.
#Win: Demonstrate skills
Are you a budding movie critic? A fu-
ture fashion blogger? Use Twitter to
link to your personal page or blogs.
This allows followers to get to know
you and what you do a little bit better.
#Fail: Ranting
“Keep your tweets 80 percent posi-
tive,” says Jeff Lipschultz, cofounder
of recruiting firm A-List Solutions,
located in Texas. While everyone is
entitled to their bad days, employers
are not going to want to hire habitual
complainers.
#Win: Focus your interests
Don’t post tweets about everything re-
lated to your interests. Build up your
credibility by focusing on your passions
and what you feel you are most quali-
fied to write about and weigh in on.
#Fail: Random tweets
These tweets (about what you ate this
morning) can cost you valuable follow-
ers. Before posting, ask yourself, “do
my followers care about this?” Add
value to bland tweets through photos,
facts or by using humor.
#Win: Twitter is a dialogue
Work on starting conversations with
followers. When you need their help (for
possible promotions and retweets) they
will be much more inclined to lend a
hand knowing you don’t just aim to post
things about yourself.
Source: Self Magazine
P A G E 5 V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 2
By: Casey Galasso
@nycprgirls: Exploring public relations, fashion & entertainment, two 20-something PR girls
document their experiences in the city they call home.
@PRJobsNYC: Free resource site for those seeking PR jobs in New York City. Hundreds
of up-to-the-minute NYC PR job listings. Resume, cover letter and interview tips.
@Edelman_Careers: Interested in a position at Edelman, the world’s leading independent
PR firm? The recruitment team can help, sharing opps, guidance and answering questions.
@PRNews: The public relations professional's resource for ideas, strategies and tools
to maximize communications and social media efforts.
@devriespr: DeVries PR is an award-winning team of consumer PR experts based in NYC.
The agency tweets about industry news, people and trends.
@PRSSANational: The official Twitter account of this national organization can connect you to
past and present members from all over the country, as well as provide updates on
current PRSSA activities and offerings.
@socialPRgirl: This humorous account offers PR jokes and puns, and comments on many of the
everyday struggles we face as budding PR pros.
P A G E 6
Donald Trump’s hostility
towards President Obama is
nothing new. He has relent-
lessly questioned the presi-
dent’s citizenship, therefore,
his eligibility as president.
What’s new is Trump’s out-
right distain for Obama ex-
pressed through his election
night Twitter tirade. Trump
posted more than ten egotis-
tical, aggressive tweets chal-
lenging President Obama’s
re-election—labeling the
election results as “a total
sham and a travesty.” He did
not stop at simple self-
expression, but encouraged
the following of the public
calling for a “revolution in
this country” stating “the
world is laughing at us.”
Trump’s belligerent, rash
tweets caught on like wild
fire, a consequence of the
immediacy of social media.
His Twitter followers were
bombarded with his anti-
Obama rant, gaining the
negative attention of NBC’s
anchor Brain Williams, who
exposed Trump’s tweets on
Nightly News. Williams com-
mented on the Twitter ram-
page on-air stating Trump
had “driven well past the
last exit of relevance and
veered into something closer
to irresponsible”. In typical
Trump-like fashion he went
to Twitter to attack the
Nightly News anchor writing,
“Wouldn’t you love to have
my ratings?”
After coming to his
senses, or perhaps by the
urging of his public relations
team, Trump deleted some
of his election night tweets,
namely the one calling for a
revolution and inaccurately
concluding that Obama had
lost the popular vote. Delet-
ing the offensive tweets was
the first step in protecting
Trump’s reputation in this
crisis situation, but he and
his PR team did not go far
enough to publicly apologize.
Trump’s actions needed to
be addressed through a se-
ries of crisis communication
strategies. The day following
the election, Trump and his
Donald Trump’s tweets cause a stir on Election Night PR team should have recog-
nized the tweets as an error
in judgment, and designated
a crisis communication
spokesperson to apologize
for the offensive rant, as well
as answer the questions of
the public and media. An
immediate apology to Presi-
dent Obama, Brian Williams,
and the public would have
illustrated Trump as a sin-
cere man of character, aid-
ing to repair his public im-
age.
In addition, Trump should
have updated his Twitter
account to further express
his regrets to the public.
Through effective, instant
use of crisis communication
strategies, Trump could have
saved his public reputation.
Simply deleting a tweet does
not cut it. Trump can now
add to his list of credentials,
“conducted a hissy fit via
Twitter.”
By Amanda Fiore
@realDonaldTrump was
lampooned for his anti-Obama
remarks in the Twittersphere on
Election Night.
Upon hearing the term
“the big screen,” various
images of grandeur, red car-
pets and flashing lights be-
gin to formulate in one’s
mind. The big time. But en-
tertainment is also enjoyed
on “the small screen”, most
commonly known as televi-
sion.
Loveable sitcom charac-
ters, frivolous game shows,
reality TV and mini series
have captured the attention
and adoration of audiences
around the world. However,
as the world of PR continues
to develop, so does the de-
sire for connectivity to all
things showbiz. As of late, a
new type of screen is quickly
becoming a huge phenome-
non – though it is relatively
small in size. Ladies and
gentlemen, boys and girls,
the star of this year’s show
… The Smaller Small Screen!
What exactly is the
smaller small screen? Well
by that, industry profession-
als mean things like smart
phones, Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube. All of these
media outlets are now pro-
viding us with more connec-
tions than ever to the world
of entertainment. Social
media sources have com-
pletely altered the way the
“big screens” and “small
screens” broadcast their
contents and they are blow-
ing the doors of the enter-
tainment PR industry wide
open.
A 2011 Social Commerce
Study concluded that be-
cause of these smaller
“small screens”, the appe-
tite for entertainment is
stronger than ever. But of
course, this smaller “small
screen” is more than just for
the showing and viewing of
our favorite movies and tele-
vision shows. The PR market
is about circulating informa-
tion and representing clien-
tele.
This new docking for en-
tertainment is also to help
drive celebrity brand en-
dorsements so that the stars
we love can keep making
movies and TV shows that
we love. The new possibili-
ties that are now under our
belts are invigorating for PR
professionals and the future
of the smaller “small
screen” is “poised for further
growth.”
Overall, it is a very excit-
ing time in the entertain-
ment industry. Tom Tardio,
CEO of Rogers & Cowan
commented: “While the sto-
rytellers used to be the pro-
ducers and the people who
wrote scripts, now the story-
tellers have become you and
me.” It’s safe to say that we
won’t be pulling the curtain
on this screen anytime soon.
Entertainment adjusts for the “smaller small screen” By Amanda Hickey
P A G E 7 V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 2
Ask any senior about the
dreaded Capstone project
and you will most likely re-
ceive exasperated sighs,
shaking of heads and
maybe even a slight shud-
der. In all honesty, I was
absolutely dreading my
“Capping” class next se-
mester until I got the
chance to participate in
several of my friends’ pro-
jects. I realized that if you
have a passion for your
project and enjoy doing it,
it’s really not work at all.
Communication majors
Alyssa Pallotti and Gina
Sirico can certainly attest to
this fact.
For their capstone pro-
ject, they focused on their
passion for dance and the
Marist College Dance En-
semble (MCDE). They called
their project the MCDE Be-
hind the Curtain Campaign
and utilized everything they
learned about PR to pro-
duce a campaign that docu-
mented the ensemble’s
road to the fall semester
showcase.
Pallotti and Sirico used a
myriad of social media plat-
forms to share their con-
tent. Twitter and Facebook
were used to promote their
work, a Pinterest was cre-
ated to show the creative
aspect of the campaign and
WordPress was used to
document their writing
pieces. They found that
Facebook in particular
worked best for sharing
their campaign with others.
“Out of our 4,000 views on
our site,” Pallotti explains,
“2,157 views were linked
from Facebook. As soon as
we published our page, we
had over 100 likes.”
The partners had their
own personal strengths
when it came to their cam-
paign. Pallotti excelled in
the written aspects of the
project while Sirico contrib-
uted best visually. It was
certainly a team effort to
produce content three to
four times a week on their
social media platforms. “To
us, it wasn’t homework,”
explained Pallotti “it was
entertaining for us to see
all the behind the scenes
work and rewarding to pub-
lish our interpretation of it.”
The showcase was cer-
tainly a success with over
1,000 tickets sold for both
shows--a feat that has never
been accomplished during
the fall semester due to the
off campus venue of the
showcase. While the cam-
paign isn’t the sole reason
for the show’s success, it’s
evident that the girls’ savvy
communication skills defi-
nitely helped promote the
amazing show.
By Meredith Lowe
Senior Capping students utilize PR skills and social media
talent to showcase the Marist College Dance Ensemble
Dancers practice their routines for the showcase
during rehearsal week.
Source:MCDE Behind The Curtain WordPress
Start planning ideas for your project now; It’s the hardest part of getting started.
Take your skill set and apply it to something you’re passionate about.
Do something no one has done before or put a spin on a past idea to make it uniquely yours.
Think of what you’d like to see from the Marist community, and turn it into your project
to benefit not only others but yourself as well.
T I P S F O R F U T U R E C O M M C A P P I N G S E N I O R S
P A G E 8
As technology evolves,
all facets of human life are
affected. We see the ef-
fects of new media not
only take control of our
personal lives, but in the
political realm as well. This
held especially true for
both the Democratic and
Republican candidates
during this presidential
race. Barack Obama and
Mitt Romney’s campaign
staff needed to learn not
only how to use the new
media outlets effectively,
but to use them better
than their opponent. This
is not always an easy task
for them to do, especially
because many senior staff
members on these cam-
paigns are from an older
generation than those of
the social media era.
Nonetheless, new media
has held a presence in
recent campaigns, taking
a broad stand in the 2008
presidential race and con-
tinuing to be an important
part of the political spec-
trum today. New media
has given a voice to the
regular citizen and has
allowed anyone to become
a journalist on whatever
topic they desire. We have
seen major improvements
in media since the last
election. It is assumed
that new media is not only
here to stay, but will be-
come vital in future elec-
tions if not already crucial
in the current one. This is
not a trend that can be
ignored, but must be em-
braced and accepted to be
a successful candidate
and person in the profes-
sional atmosphere today.
In the current election,
Barack Obama’s use of
new media pulled him for-
ward in the polls, similarly
to in 2008, above oppo-
nent Mitt Romney. This is
p r o b a b l y b e c a u s e
Obama’s campaign team
had ventured down this
new media routine before
and had been successful.
Romney was new to this
kind of campaigning and it
was obvious, especially
when taking a look on
each of their YouTube
channels, with 61% views
over Romney’s 39%. Ac-
cording to the Unruly 2012
Election Tracker, Obama
Media takes on a new form in 2012 presidential election
By Erica Jordan
Obamas tweet “Four More
Years” received the most
retweets of all time.
Source: @BarackObama
T W I T T E R TA K E S O N T H E
P R E S I D E N T I A L E L E C T I O N
Tweets averaged 9, 965 tweets per second throughout election results
coverage
The total of election-related tweets reached 31 million
on November 6th, 2012
Barack Obama’s post-victory tweet, “Four more years” garnered over
510,000 retweets
Source: Mashable.com and Business2Community.com
had 57% of Facebook and
Twitter shares while Rom-
ney only had 43% . This can
reflect two things; more
Obama supporters are
online or of the younger
generation or Romney is
not posting as much con-
tent as his opponent. The
same went for the amount
of likes on their Facebook
pages and amount of re-
tweets on their Twitter ac-
counts; Obama was in the
lead.
It seems that Obama
had more success in his
online media due to the
fact that he interacted
more frequently with his
supporters on these sites.
Obama re-tweets twice as
much as Romney does, so
perhaps this is why he finds
more success and loyalty
online. It seems to be that
the more active a candi-
date is online, the more
success they find.