Morningstar Communications Luminary Blog

Media lists. Recycling. Future Visioning. Distribution. Media relations. Blogging. Proofing. News releases. Clips. What do all of these have in common? My life the past 10 weeks as an intern at Morningstar Communications.

As an intern at Morningstar Communications we get asked often “What did you learn?” Gaining experience is always at the forefront of everything we get to do as an intern. It is bittersweet to say I only get to answer that question one last time since my internship is ending this week and I head back to my senior year at the University of Iowa. It’s a challenge to answer the question, not because I didn’t learn anything but because I learned so much.

My final answer to the question is integrated marketing.

Before this internship I felt I had a good handle on integrated marketing. And, I think I had an excellent knowledge base from what I was taught. Using a mixture of all forms of marketing will, in turn, provide the best results for communication programs. It’s something I knew all along, but this summer I got to see it in action.

There have been numerous accounts that I’ve worked on this summer that used integrated marketing but there is one project that stands out. A Future Visioning^TM session I was a part of truly encompassed integrated marketing strategies. Future Visioning is the process of working with a client to figure out where they want to be in the next few years and providing the plan to get there. Using as many different marketing tactics helped create a strategically sound communications plan. Social media, tradeshows, white papers and blogs were just some of the different marketing strategies recommended for the client.

For me, I got a chance to see integrated marketing be properly implemented – that’s better than any classroom lecture.

With integrated marketing we unify methods to create the best possible communications map for our clients using traditional and new media. Paying attention to details and the big picture are key to a successful integrated marketing strategy and are things we sometimes overlook. We often get excited with new communication tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn but it is important to remember that combining marketing approaches includes both the tried-and true and new tactics.Whether an intern or a seasoned professional, going back to the basics and remembering the keys to integrated marketing will prove succesfful for your next communications project.

I’m taking with me this valuable knowledge and I hope everyday to ask and answer the question “What did I learn?” I know I will be putting this information to good use in the school year and beyond.

We are all publishers. This is the era of Wordpress and Twitter. If you have something to say, you can find somewhere to say it and probably people to listen. This is empowering and exciting. You don’t have to be a full-time journalist to share news.

With this fundamental shift, the obvious next question is what does this mean for journalism? This is not a new question, but in light of devices such as smartphones and iPads that accelerate the death of newspapers, these thoughts cannot take a backseat. As an industry that works closely with the media, public relations professionals must be on the forefront of this question. While I am no expert, I have noticed and read about a few trends in journalism. By familiarizing ourselves with these trends we will better understand the media’s perspective and purpose.

Niche Journalism: People are tired of multiple outlets telling the same story over and over again. We are interested in more expertise in anything, whether it be topical, regional or ideological. Two of my favorite examples of niche journalism are Wired and Ars Technica. They are both thriving in their respective spaces. This shift will not completely eliminate the big national media, but they will have to spend some time considering how to survive in this world of new media. We will need to think more creatively beyond traditional outlets to smaller, specialized outlets.

Dynamic Journalism: The traditional static news story is a thing of the past. Consumers are interested in real-time journalism. If someone asked me my favorite news outlet, I would say Twitter. It is in real time from real people. The after-the-fact story that used to monopolize the news wire, will not cut it anymore. In the PR world we have to adapt and understand this. We always knew that journalists moved quickly, but they are even under more pressure to deliver as-it-happens news.

Journalism is here to stay, but the vehicle that makes it move forward no longer needs a stone building and large printing presses. As long as we understand what and who powers the vehicle, we can keep up.

 When I first was introduced to social media, it seemed pretty daunting. How would I ever have a thousand friends on Facebook? I nearly closed my Twitter account because I feared that I would never have more than five followers, and my blog remained blank for a few weeks, as I was unsure if anyone was reading. Over time, the content spoke for itself, and my personal social media outlets have grown.

Businesses or organizations thinking of breaking into the world of social media may be discouraged by power bloggers with fancy websites or Twitter users with thousands of followers. It is easy to look at these examples and give up before you even get started. Don’t let this be the reason your organization remains unseen in the social media world. Numbers are only one descriptor; connections are the golden ticket.

The online network you are building should include people who want to engage with your organization. This may not be the largest network, but it will be strong and active.

Consider what your organization provides for your audience. How is your organization valuable? How do you serve your audience? If you can provide for your audience, there will be a return on the time you spent setting up and maintaining your online presence.

Start by listening to the online community. Search for relative topics on Twitter, find similar fan pages on Facebook and look for groups on Flickr. Follow the pages for a little bit, and think about ways your organization could fit into this conversation, and join in the conversation and begin to understand the culture before starting your own pages. At Morningstar Communications, we recommend beginning with a soft launch. Start small, and experiment with all the ways you can use your new online tools. This gives you time to build your content and followers before making a big announcement to those who matter most.

After a soft launch, build your engagement by letting your community know about your new online presence. Advertise at your place of business, post a link on your website or add a few links to your email signature. All of these will help to grow your network. Of course, always remember to engage your audience and serve them. The connections you make online will pay off, and before long you will stop worrying about the numbers.

It’s now week five of my internship with Morningstar Communication and time has flown by. As I stop to think about everything I have been doing, I have realized the importance of internships and how I will use what I have learned this summer in my career after I graduate next spring.

Employers look for graduates who have had practical skills training in addition to what is learned in class. The skills I am learning this summer as an intern are preparing me for my first job. The experience I am getting at Morningstar Communications will greatly impact my job search. Going into an employer with examples of news releases I have written, media lists I have built and clients I have worked with will give me an advantage over the other applicants. Knowing the fundamentals and the daily operations of a public relations agency will increase the likelihood of getting a job after I graduate and that’s the goal in all economic times.

A prime example of the experiences and opportunities I have had at Morningstar Communication is the work I have done with Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas. YEK is one of the many accounts that I get to work on at Morningstar Communications. Just the other week, I was given the opportunity to write a news release for YEK. With the help of the account team, I wrote and distributed the news release from the media list I built. It was a team effort and we were covered in the Wichita Business Journal  and the Kansas City Star. 

Knowing the process of a news release, learning how to build media lists and talk with media is an important part to a career in public relations. The opportunities that I have received at Morningstar Communications will open up opportunities for me in the future. Education and experience outside of the classroom are very important and will jump-start any career.

As this is my last blog post as an intern at Morningstar Communications, I want to focus on something I learned. Believe me, there was a lot to learn but I’ll only highlight one thing that I’ll take away from this experience. That’s the idea of “future marketing.”

I recently attended my first Future Visioning session at Morningstar Communications with our Senior Vice President, Sheri Johnson. While transcribing and trying to type as fast as my fingers could go, I remember one question in particular resounded with me: “How do we see ourselves in the future?”

As the main purpose of the session became clear, I thought about how easy it is to get caught up in the idea of where we want to be in the future, and thus to forget about where we are now. John Jantsch wrote an article on the Duct Tape Marketing blog stating five questions that can help keep one grounded in the process of reaching the ideal future state including the basic question “Why are we doing this?”

However, I think it goes beyond those five questions.

To effectively reach the future you envision for your company, it is essential to have a clear perspective of what it will take to get you there. Create a timeline or make a list of goals that will keep you on track. You should always consider your current state as a stepping-stone to the future state. And keeping track of the other stepping-stones along the way is vital.

It all boils down to the idea of “future marketing” (a term I came up with on my own), which means completing daily and routine marketing tasks with an end goal in mind. It may be hard to balance the two sometimes, but if you remember to focus and keep on trucking you should be able to accomplish your ideal future state.

As a recent college graduate, I’m off to do some “future marketing” for myself. Good luck!

My name is Melissa and I am an intern at Morningstar Communications. I will be a senior at the University of Iowa in the fall and I am looking forward to taking what I have learned in the classroom and applying it to the experiences I will get at Morningstar Communications.

Goals and Expectations

For all you future interns reading the Luminary Blog, here are a few things I discovered while looking for an internship. Internships are a great way to get real work experience in the public relations industry and they are essential resume builders. To start my search for an internship I did the usual, update my resume, write a cover letter, but I also set goals and expectations for an internship.  Here are a couple of my goals:

  • Being challenged on a daily basis
  • Exit my internship ready to enter the public relations industry

I wanted the challenge of research, team work, and working on projects for real clients; I wanted to do things that would matter. I also wanted to gain real work experience, so when I entered the work force I would be ready. In addition to goals, I set the expectations for an internship:

    • Learn from and work with experienced professionals
    • Gain materials to add to my portfolio

I knew that I wanted an internship where I would do more than make coffee. I wanted to be trained by the best in the industry. I also expected an internship that allowed me to write news releases, media alerts, do research and be a true member of the team. Setting goals and expectations is just as important as writing a resume and cover letter. It would be difficult to know what internship best suited what you were looking for without a list of goals and expectations. I was very lucky to discover Morningstar Communications. What they offer for an internship program is exactly what I was looking for.  

The Morningstar Communications experience

 What a start it has been here at Morningstar Communications. There are multiple aspects about Morningstar Communications that have met my goals and expectations for an internship. One of the qualities of Morningstar Communications that I really enjoy is the opportunity to work closely with all levels of professionals. The professionals here are eager to help you but they also challenge you to excel on your own. It is great knowing that I will be challenged with a project and know that there is a team of professionals that are willing to help if I get stuck. This is a great group to learn from and work alongside. Another aspect of the internship program that I enjoy is that they understand that interns are students or young professionals, and we need this internship to build our resumes and gain experience. They do a intern checklist, this is a tool that helps interns evaluate if their workload contains the necessary items for a good portfolio.  The staff here makes sure interns are building a portfolio and gaining real world experience. My goals and expectations were an important part of choosing an internship because after coming up with a list, I knew I was choosing the right internship.  In the end, I chose Morningstar Communications for an internship because they are excellent at what they do and they truly care about helping the intern get the best experience possible. I knew that walking through the door, both my goals and expectations would be met by the end of my time here. I am looking forward to a great summer.

Now that it’s finally spring, we’re all dreaming of barbecues, baseball games and picnics in the sun. With spring fever in the air, what can we do to help ourselves stay on task? Bring some zest back into the office with these ideas:

1.    Get everyone involved with social media. Social media makes office communication more social and friendly. Start a group on Facebook, share photos on Flickr or, my personal favorite, have a scavenger hunt on Twitter. Social media scavenger hunts involve offering some kind of prize or incentive for the completion of certain tasks, or simply following and re-tweeting. Between game tweets, posts about upcoming meetings or other company updates keep followers on their toes. Tasks can be as simple or as ridiculous as you want to make them; for example “First person to show up in Eric’s office with mismatching socks wins Royals tickets for this weekend.” Prizes can be big or small. The incentive should match the task, however; people will not want to spend an entire day watching tweets for a pat on the back.

2.    Explore new ways of showing client or customer appreciation. In economic downtimes, businesses try to do something that will set them apart. Work on making a personal connection with clients or customers. Meet them in-person, take them out for coffee, or drop by a goody basket thanking them for their business. Show appreciation and clients will definitely take note

3.    Try crowdsourcing. Business Exchange  defines this growing trend as “the practice of using large, distributed and minimally directed groups to accomplish tasks.” This works well within companies because it brings a variety of different ideas that may not have been discovered. Also, it gives those unemployed a way to get involved in a project similar to one they might be doing if they were employed. LG provides a good example of crowdsourcing. The company crowdsourced a new cell phone design on CrowdSpring for $20,000. It worked well for them; it could work for you too.

These ideas can work for a company or an individual. As long as you keep overall business goals in mind, why not try something new to help bring out the spice in your everyday work? It’s “thyme” to add something to the mix and you can start with these spicy ideas.