If you’re a regular reader of my blog, chances are you may have heard of Help a PR Pro Out (HAPPO). HAPPO was an event I sparked with my friend Valerie Simon as a way to start building momentum for PR job seekers as more positions open up around the country. It wasn’t really about finding people jobs during the four-hour event on Feb. 19—it was more about relationship-building, networking, mentoring and, like I said, momentum.

From my perspective—and all of the 30-plus champions across the country that donated their valuable time—it was a chance for us to give back. To pay it forward. To help those who need it most. Our friends and colleagues.

But, along the way, we got something out of this, too. That’s the way it works when you give. You get a little back.

However, we also learned a few lessons along the way. Today, I wanted to share some of those key learnings, because I think they’re critical to so many digital and community-based activities and campaigns you see online today:

Learn to let go. What’s the quote again? You don’t own your brand—your customers do. That was obvious from the get-go with HAPPO. So much, in fact, that we asked our community to define the visual identity for our brand for us. Even better—we let the community vote on it.

I had (have) a lot invested in HAPPO. Personally, I’m very involved with giving back and mentoring younger pros across the country. And, I put a lot of time into HAPPO the last two weeks (as did Valerie and all our champions). So, when people started coming up with ideas on what we might do, it would have been easy to say, “no, we have that under control” or “I don’t think that’s such a great idea.” Except, you know what? They were great ideas. And, we needed help. Big time. We would have been stupid to turn down those ideas—and the arms and legs. So happy people like PR Cog, Mike Schaffer and Justin Goldsborough stepped up to the plate with new ideas that helped complete this event. In the end, I learned what I have suspected for years: Control is merely an illusion.

Find your champions to help share your story. The very first thing we did when we started HAPPO was to identify PR bloggers from across the country to help us spread the good word. The idea? To have trusted people in key U.S/Canadian markets to serve as “champions” for questions and referrals. People like Danny Brown, Kellye Crane and Richie Escovedo. These people would be the foundation for the success of HAPPO. And boy, were they ever. Gini Dietrich in Chicago posted a few times about the event—posting 20-some-odd jobs on HAPPO Day (she also posted some of the winners from contests in Chicago today). Mike Schaffer organized a DC “HAPPO hour” that drew 30-some PR pros. Doug Haslam partnered with a local PR firm to host a luncheon on HAPPO Day that brought in 20 folks in the Boston area. The Florida crew (Bonnie Upright, John Sternal and Jamie Floer) created their own “home base” (read: blog) where they posted numerous job opportunities. These people were our eyes and ears on the ground. We kept them updated from the “national” level throughout the two weeks via email and asked for their ideas.

Make sure the community has all the facts. This may have been one of the areas where we fell down a bit. And, as one of the organizers of this event, I take full responsibility. On HAPPO Day, there were many reports of people thinking HAPPO would deliver them a job on Feb. 19. Not the case. It never really was the case. HAPPO was much more about fostering connections, making introductions and building momentum–all things we hope will lead to new roles for job seekers. We could have been better prepared. We could have provided champions with key talking points the day before to anticipate this challenge. We could have tried to hammer that message home more effectively in our blog posts leading up to the event. Like I said, this may have been an area where we struggled—just a bit. But, the lessons was simple: Make sure your fans/customers have accurate information. Make sure they’re informed. And make sure you manage their expectations.

Inspiration and passion can go a long ways. I probably spent upwards of 20 hours over the two-week period leading up to HAPPO. Mostly free time I would have otherwise spent with my lovely wife, or blogging. That’s valuable time to me. Really valuable. But, I had no problem giving it up for a cause I believe so strongly in. I have a feeling if you ask the other 30-plus champions across the country why they donated their valuable time, they’d say the same thing. If you can connect with your customer’s passions, you can harness a very powerful force. That’s exactly what we did (and what I hope we can continue to do). For business, there’s a lesson here. Find out what your customers are passionate about. Might not be your product or service, but it’s most likely a topic or concept that relates to your product or service. Tap into that and you’ll find virtually limitless energy. And all sorts of opportunity for your brand.

If you participated in HAPPO, what did you learn?

Last weekend, I took in Crazy Heart with my lovely wife. I loved it. From the music (I’m an old-school country fan, among many other musical choices) to the acting (Bridges and Gyllenhaal were amazing) to the story, it was definitely an Oscar-worthy movie on a few different fronts (as evidenced by the awards it won last night).

But, as my wife and I rehashed the movie afterward, I couldn’t help reflect on the lessons I took away from the film. Lessons brands would be wise to heed as well:

* Music can be a powerful, powerful tool. One of my favorite sports writers, Bill Simmons, has an expression: “It’s getting dusty in here.” It’s his way of letting his readers know when he’s teared up in a movie. Well, in the final scene as Bridges reflected back on his mistakes as he discovered what might have been his true love, Gyllenhaal, has married another, well, it got a little dusty in that theater for me. Part of it was the moment, yes. But, part of it was the song, too. It was the title track to the movie, and it’s a damn good track (check out the trailer below–I still get chills watching it). It tugged at your heartstrings and played on your emotions. What does this mean for your brand? How can you use music to play to the emotions of your fans and customers?

* A good story can make or break your brand (or, movie). You know you’ve seen a good movie when the two hours goes by just like that. When you’re so wrapped up in the story and the characters that you lose all track of time. That’s exactly what happened for me in that movie theater last weekend. A good story is critical to building a brand your customers and fans can be passionate about. Give them a story worth retelling–and they will share it. Believe me, I’m going to be retelling the Crazy Heart story for weeks to come.

* It’s never too late. Robert Duvall had the signature line of the movie when he said, “It’s never too late.” He was referring to the fact that it wasn’t too late for Bridges (Bad Blake) to reconnect with his estranged son of 25 years. Just like it wasn’t too late for him to get sober, which Bridges did at the tail end of the movie and seemingly transformed his life. For brands, the message is the same: It’s never too late. To transform your brand. To protect your brand reputation in a crisis (ask Dominos). To experiment with a new approach or tool. Even if you do miss the bus the first time around, you can always go back and repair what has been destroyed or harmed. It’s never too late.

Have you seen Crazy Heart? If yes, what lessons could you draw from this movie for your brand?

Note: Photo credit-Lorey Sebastian

Today, one of my favorite local companies–Caribou Coffee–is rolling out a complete brand makeover.

According to the news release, the company’s new brand look includes “a new logo, color palette and design elements that bring fresh energy and broader context to the existing tag line: Life is short. Stay awake for it (R).”

Luckily, I got a sneak peek at the new brand over the weekend thanks to my friends over at Exponent, Caribou’s PR agency-of-record.

In addition to the release, the media kit also included a four-color brochure based on the new brand, another four-color piece that explains the rationale behind the new logo and look and feel, a custom jump drive (thanks!) full of logos and visuals and one of the new Caribou cups.

The media kit was well done. Full of information (and electronic visuals) a journalist or blogger could use to write a story or post about the new re-brand.

But, here’s my question: Is this really a re-brand or just a new visual identity system?

At the heart of that question is a larger issue for all organizations: Is a brand more than just a logo?

For many companies, the logo or visual identity of the brand is the foundational element for the brand itself. Think about logos and symbols like Target, McDonalds, Starbucks. These logos have become pervasive across not only American culture–but around the world. They each stand for something different–and each conjures up different feelings and emotions for the customer.

But, at the end of the day, the Target “bullseye” is just a logo, isn’t it?

I remember working for an organization earlier in my career that went through a re-branding process. I wasn’t privy to all the behind-the-scenes meetings and decisions at that time, but I got wind of the branding changes along the line. In essence, it was a visual identity change. We were changing the basic “look and feel” of what this brand meant visually to our stakeholders. A new color palette. A new typeface. A new look. And, changes to all our letterhead and marketing communications materials.

Looking back on that situation now, was it really a “re-brand” or merely a shift in art direction?

Doesn’t re-branding constitute a lot more than just a logo change? Think about it. What is a brand, really? According to Wikipedia a brand is a name used to identify and distinguish a specific product, service or business. OK, fair enough. But, to me, a brand represents the collection of all the thoughts, feelings, perceptions and attitudes a customer has toward a product, service or organization. That’s a hell of a lot more than just a logo.

So then, why do we continue to call a simple logo change a “re-brand?”

My advice: Organizations need to do a better job of sharing the stories and experiences that make up their brands. That’s really what’s at the heart of a brand, isn’t it? Yes, the logo and visual identity are key pieces of the brand puzzle–but they’re just one of the elements. What about the story about how your customer service representative went the extra mile to make a client’s day? What about photos from your customers using or experiencing your product or service? What about a phone call from a customer where she talks about how your service completely changed her life? Those are the experiences that define your brand. Those are the shared stories that form the basis for your potential customer’s perceptions and attitudes about your brand. And, quite often, those are the ideas that pop into people’s heads when they’re making purchase decisions, too.

Think about a company like Southwest Airlines. Do people fly Southwest because of their colorful planes or their logo? Or, do they fly Southwest because of the stories they hear about the brand’s over-the-top-fantastic customer service (despite the recent Kevin Smith story)? What about the tales of people singing on the flights? Or, maybe the tweet that read: “Best. Flight. Ever.” Think any of those stories or shared experiences make a difference when someone’s making a decision about what airline to fly?

To be clear, I’m not saying a logo or visual identity system isn’t important. It is. Absolutely. And, I’m not calling out Caribou–I continue to be a huge (I cannot emphasize that strongly enough) fan. I just think your logo should be a piece of your brand–it shouldn’t define it.

The next time your company is thinking about a “re-branding” campaign, start with the heart of the matter first. Your employees. Your stories. The experiences your customers share that make you unique. The complete brand picture.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? I’d love to hear your take in the comments below.

Today’s “rant” comes from Jenny Schmitt, a.k.a., “@Cloudspark” on Twitter. I’ve gotten to know Jenny a bit these last few months and we share a passion for the current health care debate discussion, so I thought what better way for Jenny to share her thoughts than for her to rant here today. Here goes…

One of the more fascinating recent political rows has been the national ‘healthcare reform debate’ which really should have been called the national ‘health insurance debate.’ It has had nothing to do with care and everything to do with dollars.  More fascinating (from the communications side) is how a few political entities dominated the debate and how the majority of mainstream media blindly reiterated their messages.

While the Obama administration and the Congress set in motion a behemoth piece of legislation that would enact the largest entitlement program since FDR’s New Deal, and the largest new healthcare program since the formation of Medicare in 1965, the communications pushed out to the public were tightly controlled and very limited.  We heard the phrases “public option,” “affordable premiums,” and “cover the uninsured” over and over by the media.  However, those messages didn’t match the legislative realities nor the eventual bills presented in the House and the Senate. And this was the beginning of a real disconnect n the debate and on what we were actually debating.

But who was actually controlling and presenting the information on the debate? Who was informing your opinions? And how could anyone rightly know just what was included in 1,000+ pages of legislation.  Even some Senators publicly admitted they didn’t read it or know everything in the bill.  So how were you and I to know?

For the most part we relied on the messages masterly crafted, staged and perfected by elected officials and repeated in most of America’s mainstream media channels.  If you ask the average person today, they might tell you this legislation was a chance to get the uninsured covered, to make healthcare affordable for every American – but the facts present a very different truth.

The final bill debated in the Senate, a radical monolith of healthcare legislation set to cost – at conservative estimates – an additional $222 billion dollar net over the next 10 years according to the Richard Foster, chief actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Senator Harry Reid’s bill, the foundation for the final bill being pushed through in January, included more than $371 billion in new health taxes.  And while the legislation’s main goals, according to the political messages, was to lower our health care premiums, even the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that the legislation would raise premiums faster than market norms. CBO found that premiums in the individual market would rise by 10% to 13% more than if Congress did nothing. Family policies under the status quo were projected to cost $13,100 on average, but under ObamaCare it was projected to jump to $15,200.  That’s real costs to your pocketbook – your taxes, your premiums, your co-pays.  The final bill in the Senate, despite its size and cost, would not even have covered all of America’s uninsured.

With this kind of fiscal reality, how did this compare with the messages coming to you in your daily news? With the CBO study, The Washington Post declared “Senate Health Bill Gets a Boost” and The New York Times chimed in “No Big Cost Rise in U.S. Premiums Is Seen in Study.”  How can a bill that costs billions that we don’t have, and thousands in additional taxes to you, me, and the working family, not be a big cost?  So it wasn’t just the politicians selling us short, those like Finance Chairman Max Baucus who stated on Senate floor that “Healthcare reform is fundamentally about lowering healthcare costs. Lowering costs is what healthcare reform is designed to do, lowering costs; and it will achieve this objective.”  We also had mainstream media, with a few exceptions, sending the message that this piece of ‘reform’ would be good for us all.

Only it wasn’t.

We saw some contribution by the public – the now infamous Town Halls where real Americans wanted answers or to express their opinions, only to be labeled as radicals or portrayed as a mob fueled by rabble-rousers sorry about the elections.  We endured political counter attacks fueled by the focus on “death panels.” We saw certain news channels questioning the numbers, the necessity of the legislation, only to be labeled and marginalized by political game playing.  And yet those same political game players shut the doors on the American people. We were robbed of the chance to see the bill’s negotiations as Congress moved them behind closed doors – a violation of Obama’s and the Democratic majority’spromises to open up the legislative process to limit undue influence by lobbyists.

At every turn of the hour, at nearly every major newspaper, we were presented with messages driven from the politically powerful with very little question as to the validity, credibility, or actual truth, of what was being written and proposed for law.  We know where the hospitals, physician groups and health insurance companies were – walking the halls of Congress or working with the White House to ensure that their bottom lines were protected.  But where was the media’s responsibility to provide a balanced coverage? Where were the powerful forces for the patient? Where were the voices of reason asking how we were going to pay for this? And how would it help more people get insurance? And how would it keep my premiums from rising so severely?  And most importantly, how would this improve the health of our nation and my own personal health?  Those questions and their answers weren’t deemed important, necessary, or relevant. The pandering to politicians along with the drama of the debate made for better headlines; the divide of the political game play was too salacious of a story, too entertaining without the need to delve deeper and answer more critical questions.

No matter where the health insurance legislation lands, or the debate on health-care coverage takes us, we should all pay more attention to who’s delivering the messages that form our opinions, whose messages are being squelched – and at what cost.

Jenny Schmitt (@cloudspark) is the senior spark at CloudSpark, an award-winning communications strategy company based in Atlanta. A frequent media contributor, Jenny has been quoted in BrandWeek, Nielsen’s Small Business, USA Today among others; she regularly contributes to blogs relating to social media and public relations. She can be reached at jschmitt(at)cloudspark(dot)com.

Yesterday, I presented to 20 or so members of the University of St. Thomas PRSSA chapter. The topic? Tomorrow’s PR pro and the skills that generation will need to succeed. It’s a topic I’ve blogged about before.

I also used a new presentation tool: Prezi (which I posted about yesterday). I’m embedding the presentation below for your viewing pleasure. Keep in mind, I kept it fairly basic and you can’t tell the whole story from the Prezi (that’s very purposeful), so let me summarize the key points:

* Hone your traditional PR skills: storytelling, media relations, time management and communication skills. These are skills you’ll need no matter where you work and what you do in this industry.

* Work on developing the “evolving” skills of tomorrow’s PR pro. In my view, these include search skills, digital strategy, ability to “speak geek” and an understanding of how to effectively communicate with mobile customers and stakeholders.

* Of course, there are a number of time-tested PR skills that aren’t going anywhere. Not now. Not ever. Among them: Strategic planning, writing skills, creativity/ability to brainstorm the “big idea”, and leadership skills.

* How do you develop the “evolving” skills? Work on your social media MBA. Today. For free. My professors: Amber Naslund, Todd Defren, Dave Fleet, Jason Falls, Adam Singer, Sarah Evans, Shel Holtz and Jay Baer. Not remotely possible to list everyone who has influenced me over the last few years, but that’s a good start. And, I encouraged the students I spoke with to do the same.

* What advice did I give the students? I left them with 5 tips in 5 words:

- Read. Not only blogs, but news sites, industry publications, non-fiction and newspapers. Reading not only makes you smarter, it makes you a better writer.

- Ask. One of the lessons I’ve learned from attending industry events: Always ask at least one question. It transforms you from a passive attendee to an active participant. Which leads me to…

- Curiousity. I don’t know too many PR pros who aren’t curious. Not sure how you practice or learn this one–usually more of an innate quality. But, I wanted to convey how important it is to have an insatiable curiousity as a means to learning and expanding your world.

- Relationship. Everything we’re talking about here comes back to relationships. Business, projects, speaking opportunities, friends, learning opportunities and just about everything else positive that happens in your professional life can typically be traced back to personal relationships. Work hard to cultivate and develop these relationships and you will reap the rewards down the line. Such a key skill and concept for younger PR pros.

- Indispensable. Getting that first job is just the beginning. Once you walk in that front door, do everything in your power to be indispensable to your employer. Develop new skill sets. Go above and beyond. Volunteer for new projects. Whatever the case, if you can make yourself indispenable, you will never struggle for a job.

Let me start out by saying, I’m not a fantastic presenter. I think I do OK, but let’s be honest, I’m no Peter Shankman. Hey, love him or hate him the guy can present his tail off (at least the one time I saw him).

But recently my friend Chuck Hemann turned me on to a new presentation tool I’d encourage you to check out immediately. It’s called Prezi.

Why is Prezi so great? Because it’s non-linear–just like most of our thought processes. It forces you to think it terms of concepts and visuals–not bullets and sentences. It plays off your creativity–instead of stifling it. I’ve only been playing with the tool for a little more than a month, but so far I’m a huge fan. May never go back to Powerpoint again (unless I have to).

So, I figured if I’m going to pimp Prezi, I thought I better come up with a few tips for using the tool if you’re exploring it for the first time.

Here are a few ideas:

* Focus on visuals that illustrate your key points. One of the downfalls of many presentations is the speaker’s inability to use his/her deck as a tool to complement their presentation–not dominate it. With Prezi, the more you can focus on interesting visuals that highlight your key points, the better. This leaves you more time to explain these key points instead of reading them. With the zoom functionality, you can use these visuals more than once, too. And, they’re usually much more interesting to look at than bullets or full paragraphs on a screen.

* Use more videos. Prezi makes it extremely easy to embed YouTube videos into your presentation. Take advantage of that. Introduce humor into your presentations via video. Break up the monotony of you talking for an hour straight. In many of my digital/social media talks, I love to use the Will it Blend series. Funny, light but also hard-hitting in the results it provided for Blendtec. Just one example.

* Take advantage of motion. One of Prezi’s key advantages over Powerpoint is the ability to move about the canvas–mostly using the “path” functionality, but also to zoom in and zoom out whenever you’d like. But, the key is developing a solid “path.” One that twists and turns and keeps the audience interested. Be sure to twist your images to maximize movement. Use a healthy amount of zooming to illustrate detail–and provide perspective.

* Don’t get carried away. The best presentations I’ve seen in the last year have been simple. Few bulleted lists. Interesting visuals. Key phrases and titles. That’s it. So, don’t get carried away by the bells and whistles. Stay away from too much drawing and artwork (Prezi gives you the ability to add arrows and create custom artwork). Remember, there’s an old axiom that holds true for many facets of our professional lives: Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS).

* Move quickly. Another major beef I have with most presentations–far too much time is spent on each slide (I’ve been guilty of this plenty of times in the past). Nowadays, I usually plan for 30 seconds a slide (unless it’s a video–see above–or a key message slide). And, I usually also try to build in a series of visuals, which again, breaks up the monotony of me speaking for an hour straight. Focus on the needs and attention span of your audience. How long would you pay attention to a slide that was on screen for five minutes?

To give you a better idea for what a Prezi presentation looks like, check out a few of my favorite public examples below. Have fun exploring–and let me know if you end up using the tool for a future presentation. I’d love to see the finished product!

* Beehive PR is hiring for an Account Director. I’m a former Hiver, so please DM me if you’re interested and I will broker an introduction. You won’t find a better place to work in town than BPR.

* Fast Horse: We have a specific need for someone with 5-8 years agency experience, but are casting a wider net as we attempt to deepen our bench on interactive (strategy, design and development), account planning, social media, sports sponsorship activation, etc. More details can be found here: http://www.fasthorseinc.com/blog/index.php/2010/02/03/were-not-done-hiring/ Resumes can be directed to jorgp@fasthorseinc.com.

* Exponent PR

Specifically, we’re going to be looking for folks with dynamic presentation skills, creatively quick minds and track records in social media in the following areas:

• Agribusiness PR Practitioner with 2+ years experience 

• Consumer Brands PR Practitioners with 5+ years experience, mad creative instincts and experience at an agency 

• Medical/Health Public Affairs Practitioner with 5+ years experience and strong presentation and writing skills

* Preston Kelly: Rock Star Designer Needed. Preston Kelly, the iconic ideas agency, is looking for a design rock star with one to three years experience and a book that looks like you’ve got five. You believe iconic design is the heart and soul of a great brand and great communication, but you’re not afraid to collaborate with art directors, writers, media planners, techno geeks and strategists about big ideas and media neutral approaches.  In other words, you are an idea focused designer who is not so single minded that design is the only solution you can see. You have designed award winning and outstanding identity systems, brand marks, posters, POP, collateral, and have a passion and affinity for designing user friendly and elegant web pages and digital communication.  You are the rare combination of self starter who doesn’t need supervision and master collaborator who seeks to raise your work to the highest levels of multi-level brand building.  You have a healthy ego but don’t always have to wave the baton. You are a strategic thinker, but your craft pushes the edge and gives your consumer credit for taste and intelligence.  Finally, you’d like to join a focused, fast growing, nationally emerging agency who treats each other with respect and a sense of grace and humor.

* The Minnesota State Arts Board is seeking candidates for director of communications and government relations. More information available on www.arts.state.mn.us/about/employment.htm

* Padilla Speer Beardsley: Vice President (Agribusiness), Minneapolis. We’re looking for a strong, experienced leader to help us grow our already successful Minneapolis-based agribusiness practice.  Padilla Speer Beardsley is one of the country’s most respected independent public relations and integrated communications consulting firms, known for delivering strategic, results-oriented programs to a wide range of clients across the country. If you have more than 10 years experience (agency strongly preferred) and are a strategic communicator with a passion for business growth and client service, this is an excellent opportunity, with a great team in place and deep agency resources at your disposal.  Our ideal candidate will have deep background in agriculture, agribusiness or closely related fields and a track record of excellent client service, account management and staff development.  We offer a high-energy, rewarding environment for those with a drive for developing business and building lasting client relationships.

Padilla is a communications and public relations firm with offices in Minneapolis and New York City. We are a multi-specialty agency, with experts in crisis/critical issues management, employee communications, investor relations, market/opinion research, marketing communications, media relations and public affairs, Our clients come from  various industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, technology, consumer products, health care, retail, financial and more. We’re an Equal Opportunity Employer and offer excellent benefits. We strive for excellence. We’re strategic. We deliver results. We have fun. And we’re seeking entrepreneurial individuals who want to grow with us.

Please send cover letter and resume referencing this job to Stephanie Grogg, Padilla Speer Beardsley, resumes@psbpr.com or 1101 West River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55415. For more information about Padilla Speer Beardsley, check out our web site at www.psbpr.com.

* Padilla Speer Beardsley Internships
Padilla Speer Beardsley has openings for full-time public relations interns to work on a variety of projects in our health care, investor relations and manufacturing and technology practices. They are paid, three-to-six-month internships. The work will involve basic public relations skills, including writing, media relations, media list development, organization and tracking clips, research, production coordination and some administrative tasks.

Candidates need six months of experience in public relations, communications or newspaper reporting. Experience may be professional, internships or volunteering. Excellent writing skills, media relations experience and an interest in learning about different technologies and working with financial information are required.

Padilla is a communications and public relations firm with offices in Minneapolis and New York City. Our multi-specialty firm includes experts in crisis/critical issues management, employee communications, investor relations, market/opinion research, marketing communications, media relations and public affairs. We work with clients in various industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, technology, consumer products, health care, retail, financial and more. We help organizations build reputations with the people who matter to their success. Padilla is an Equal Opportunity Employer and employee owned. We strive for excellence. We’re strategic. We deliver results. We have fun. And we’re seeking entrepreneurial individuals who want to grow with us.

Please send cover letter and resume referencing this job to Stephanie Grogg, Padilla Speer Beardsley, resumes@psbpr.com or 1101 West River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55415. For more information about Padilla Speer Beardsley, check out our Web

* Public Affairs Consultant- BCBS Minnesota, Eagan, MN

* Trade Relations Specialist – Prime Therapeutics LLC, Saint Paul, MN

* Director of Media Relations, Cargill, Wayzata, MN

* Public Relations/Communications, The Northwest Systems, Saint Paul, MN

* Top Rank Marketing–Senior Search Marketing Manager

TopRank Online Marketing is hiring an ambitious Senior Search Marketing Manager who can walk the Online Marketing talk, and lead an enthusiastic team to achieve results for the clients we serve.

The ideal candidate for the Senior Search Marketing Manager position should be able to provide strategic direction to the Online Marketing Team in order to execute tactics in a timely manner for multiple clients – with a keen emphasis on quality.

Contact: Human Resources with “Senior Search Marketing Manager” in the Subject line

Online Marketing Account Manager

Are you seeking a rewarding career in Account Management working with a leading Online Marketing Agency? If so, read on.

TopRank Online Marketing is has a great opportunity for an experienced Online Marketing Account Manager to join our team of dedicated, client-focused professionals.

The perfect person for this job can effectively develop strategy and move the team to deploy effective tactical execution. They are comfortable providing guidance and consulting to both clients and team players. This person should have excellent communication skills and be capable of handling multiple clients. Contact: Human Resources with “Online Marketing Account Manager” in the Subject line.

Online Marketing Manager

A talented Online Marketing Manager is needed to join and lead an enthusiastic team to achieve results for the clients TopRank Online Marketing serves. The ideal candidate for the Online Marketing Manager position should be able to increase inquiries/sales, site traffic, inbound links and relevant search rankings for multiple clients. Contact: Human Resources with “Online Marketing Manager” in the Subject line

Search Marketing Strategist

TopRank Online Marketing is seeking a search marketing strategist to join our team of dedicated, client-focused professionals. The perfect person for this role is extremely detail-oriented and is an active user in the social media realm. They possess the ability to analyze marketing results in order to develop strategic recommendations that correspond to marketing objectives. This person should have excellent written communication and sales skills and be capable of handling multiple clients as well as experience initiating and maintaining paid search programs for multiple clients. Contact: Human Resources with “Search Marketing Strategist” in the Subject line.

Marketing Writer

TopRank Online Marketing has a great opportunity for a focused and energetic individual to join our team of dedicated, client-focused professionals. The perfect person for this role has significant writing experience, specifically with blogging, direct email promotions, online public relations, social media content development, client success stories, and other types of promotional copy. This person is also extremely detail-oriented and research-focused and should enjoy spending time researching. They must also be able to think strategically in a results-driven environment to benefit our clients. Contact: Human Resources with “Marketing Writer” in the Subject line.

Online Marketing Developer

Working with both TopRank Online Marketing as well as Misukanis & Odden PR, the Online Marketing Developer is a creatively technical and talented individual that will help support our client web development, online lead generation and email marketing efforts. Excellent organization, process, design and development skills are required. HTML, PHP, MySQL and CSS are the languages you speak but you’ll also do quite well in office English. JavaScript and Ajax are also handy. Experience working with WordPress and Movable Type blogging platforms along with a wide variety of plugins and customization features will speak volumes. Contact: Human Resources with “Online Marketing Developer” in the Subject line

Mayo Clinic Public Affairs Interns
Mayo Clinic is looking for three summer interns.  The jobs are posted on Facebook and Twitter as well as mayoclinic.org. If you are aware of anyone who might be interested, please send the link above.

St. Mary’s Duluth Clinic Health System
Special Events/ Marketing & Communications Specialist will be responsible for planning, coordinating, implementing, evaluating, and managing a variety of special events and cause related marketing relationships. Develop key media relationships and assist in the creation, development, and production of various public relations and marketing materials to communicate and enhance the work of the Foundation.

Today’s guest post is courtesy of Tim Otis, supervisor-social media & PR at local integrated advertising agency, Gabriel deGrood Bendt (GdB). Tim’s post highlights one of the many reasons I’ve enjoyed the HAPPO movement over the last week–the personal stories that have emerged. Enjoy.

When I was 7 years old, I ventured off in my house to find the game Pictionary so my family and I could play it. They told me it was somewhere. I searched and searched for what seemed like a lifetime (especially when you’re that young).  After about 2 hours of no returned result, my family told me to stop, but I kept going.

This type of mentality came in handy 15 years later when I graduated from college with a B.A. in Communication. As a recent alum to a very small, private liberal arts college, I knew I was going to have to be persistent — and think smarter — to set myself apart from the big-league school competition. I went the extra mile; I didn’t stop at a resume and cover letter.

I created grassroots tactics and targeted local PR agencies telling them a black ball was going to be rolling their way.  An e-mail definitely worth opening judging by the subject line. I created that black ball too. For two weeks, I researched another PR firm’s top healthcare client and create a PR campaign, which I handed to them in person. That orange neon binder certainly stood out from the stack of resumes the firm received daily.

When you’re persistent, you tend to think outside of the box. Your ambition gets the best of your mind at any time of day—usually leading to someone else’s critique of you being “spacy.” Nah- you’re just thinking really hard, and that will have considerable payoff. You might not see the end result shaping up anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean you should stop the search.  Most people, in their frustration of not finding a job, tend to think, “There are no jobs out there.”  This is wrong and an exaggeration.  The book, “What Color is Your Parachute” definitely reiterates this point.

Consider your level of persistence when seeking out a PR job. Have you in one way, shape or form demonstrated your level of PR expertise by pitching the firm your abilities over the phone? Sounds like you’d be a shoe-in for that media relations position. Did you launch a status updates campaign on Facebook, having your most trusted PR colleagues and friends say you’re great on their Facebook profiles, knowing that HR director is “friends” with them as well?  That may be a bit crazy, but it’s always a good idea to try new things to differentiate yourself.  Does it show you’re persistent? Hell yeah.

If you’re still searching and searching for that PR job with no luck, use a little more persistence and smart thinking. I did happen to find that Pictionary game back when I was 7. I used a chair.

Tim Otis is the Supervisor of Social Media & PR for Gabriel deGrood Bendt (GdB) in downtown Minneapolis. Besides building company brands through the use of social media channels and traditional media relations practice, Tim enjoys helping young PR job seekers develop themselves professionally in the Twin Cities—based on his own experience in doing things right and doing things very wrong.

Today, I just wanted to take a few moments to thank the Help a PR Pro Out Day champions and the PR community and provide three tips for job seekers who are considering video submissions for this Friday’s event:

What tips for video submissions would you add?

Today’s Rant is from Gregg Litman, producer at local broadcast outlet, WCCO. I’ve come to know Gregg recently more through Twitter and our shared affinity for the Purple (Vikings). Gregg’s one of those media folks who has embraced digital tools as a way to do his job more effectively–and efficiently. Today, I wanted to give Gregg this space to share his thoughts about how social media is impacting his world.

If you’ve invested hundreds of dollars on a flat screen, you probably have some interest in the future of television, so you can imagine how much I care, after investing my entire career in the industry. For years, that future has looked bleak, with audiences shrinking and revenues falling – but a recent trend gives me reason for hope. And it looks like Social Media may actually be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Where did the viewers go?

Every year, viewers get more choices, and the TV audience gets smaller. Viewers who used to choose between a few local broadcasters are now segmented between hundreds of cable and satellite channels, rental movies, on-demand video, online video, video games, and other entertainment options – not to mention people who skip the commercials by time-shifting with DVR’s.

In some ways, those DVR viewers are the most troubling, because they watch the programs, but not the commercials. And I have to admit that I’m one of them. It saves time. I can start watching a 7:00 Timberwolves game around 8:15, catch up to the live action just in time for the final minutes, and all I miss is a bunch of commercials. Worse yet, I start watching our 10:00 newscast around 10:10, and after skipping the commercials, I’m still done by the time the show ends at 10:35. Which raises the question, if I’m not even watching the commercials on my own station’s newscast, how can TV survive? How can we maintain audiences, and retain revenues?

The answer may be found on Twitter

The LA Times reports that ratings for this year’s Grammys, Golden Globes and Super Bowl were all way up, and suggests Twitter traffic might be responsible. I not only buy the theory, I believe it applies to non-event TV, as well.

I’ve personally changed my viewing habits. Strange as it sounds, tweeting during a live TV show is fun. I’ve found myself skipping the DVR in order to watch and tweet about the #Vikings and #Gophers. It’s a way to interact with friends – “be part of a party” as the Times story indicates. And it looks like tweeting means value-added viewing for other users, too – I’ve noticed plenty of people doing it for shows like #Lost and #Idol.

Why is this important? Because you have to watch the show (and its commercials) in real time in order to do it. At minimum, it’s a way to revive ratings, and possibly the first wave of interactive TV. At best, it’ll become a way for broadcasters to identify and connect with their most engaged and involved viewers.

The future

Will this just be a fad, with a limited number of early adopters, or will tweeting and television go hand-in-hand into the future? Will broadcasters find a way to identify and target these highly engaged viewers, or even host their conversations, the way Mullen hosted #brandbowl during the Super Bowl? I’d love to hear your thoughts. No matter what, though, all of these possibilities have me feeling a lot better about the future.

Gregg Litman is the senior producer of news and sports at WCCO-TV, where he writes and produces more than 200 newscasts per year, field-produce reporter packages, create special reports, and manages sports department. You can find him at @grlitman.