Scripps PRSSA was happy to welcome five OHIO students for a panel about the diverse paths in the communications industry. Each of them has a passion for the industry they represent and shared about the PR skills they learned while completing internships.
All of our panelists immersed themselves in the industries they were passionate about-this allowed them to expand their PR skills while enjoying what they worked on!
The five panelist included:
- Kate Ansel – Social Media Director for ThePost
- Blake Milore – PR Chief of Thread Magazine
- Same Tornow – General Manager for ACRN Media
- Natalie Butko – Vice President of Digital Marketing for Student Alumni Board (SAB)
- Ally Cambell – PR Director for ACRN Media
Here are some takeaways:
- “Influencers and social media are affecting the way consumers look at brands, and brands are becoming more diverse and inclusive.” – Blake Milore on trends in the fashion industry.
- “The research for vacations begins over a year in advance-people are looking at multiple resources to get to unique destinations.” – Natalie Butko on trends she noticed while working for Princess Cruises.
- “Students, faculty, staff, and the Athens community are some of the audience that ThePost tries to reach and get news to.” – Kate Ansel on knowing the audience.
- “One of the biggest challenges we face is apologizing for when we’ve made a mistake. You have to own up to it and try to be as accurate as possible going forward.” – Kate Ansel on challenges in social media news.
- “You can learn a lot about your brand’s values from how you react in a crisis situation.” – Sam Tornow on crisis communication.
- “Sometimes we try something in the PR department and it just doesn’t work-we have to learn from it going forward and adapt.” – Ally Campbell on making mistakes.
No matter the role you choose in the communications world, there is a job to match your passion. Get creative, get inspired and pursue that! Look to those that came before you for help, because Bobcats help Bobcats. These students have been successful in their fields and illustrate that everyone has their individual path to success.
Cade Fleming is a junior Journalism-Strategic Communication major and current Scripps PRSSA VP of PR. Keep up with him on Twitter @cade_fleming