Event Calendar

Upcoming Events

November 2012
Strategic Planning with Bob Frause

Thursday, November 8
Time: 8-9:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. check-in)
Location: Red Lion River Inn, 700 North Division St., Spokane
Tickets: $35 PRSA members; $45 non-members; $10 non-PRSSA students; free for PRSSA students
Register online

Discover best practices for strategic planning and campaign evaluation from Bob Frause, founder and CEO of Frause, a public relations and marketing firm with offices in Seattle and Portland.

Bob’s professional history reflects his personal commitment to developing communication that works. His communication skills were honed at national communication firms like Hill & Knowlton and DDB Advertising. As Frause’s creative director, Bob is equally adept at using both the right and left side of his brain to bring strategically creative ideas to reality. Bob has produced numerous award winning programs for clients but his real skill is an ability to get to the source of an issue or question and find creative communication solutions that produce exceptional results.

Bob is extensively involved the PRSA as a member of the national Board of Directors and Past Chairman of the PRSA College of Fellows and the PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards. He is also the global President of PROI (Public Relations Organisation International).

Past Events

January 2012

Wine Tasting Event
Thursday, January 26
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Location: Caterina Winery, 905 North Washington St. (map)
Cost: Free to PRSA members; non-members: $15

Join us for a networking event to kickoff the New Year and mingle with the media. Enjoy appetizers, sample 10 delicious wines and network with some of Spokane’s finest reporters, writers and editors. This event is a great opporutnity to mingle with and gain valuable insights from Spokane media. View photos from the event on our Facebook page.

Scheduled guests from the media include:

• Greg Bever, Journal of Business
• Nick Geranios, Associated Press of Spokane
• Kristi Gorenson, KXLY Radio
• Robyn Nance, KXLY-TV
• Sean Owsley, KHQ-TV
• Linn Parish, Journal of Business

Thursday, February 23
7:30 – 8:00 a.m. – Breakfast and Networking
8:00 – 9:30 a.m. – Presentation
Location: Red Lion River Inn, 700 North Division Street
Cost: $35 members; $45 non-members; $5 non-PRSSA students; free for PRSSA students

Imagine it. You, in partnership with leadership, jointly own an employee communications plan that perpetuates trust and drives successful organizational performance in all situations. Done. Learn how the four pillars of public relations – research, planning, execution, evaluation – serve as the foundation for evolving the rules of employee engagement. Elizabeth A. Pecsi, APR, PRSA Fellow, is director, executive communications, Technology, Consulting and Integration Solutions, Unisys Corp. Using examples and exercises, she will share how to retain and motivate employees through a company’s life cycle.

The public relations work Elizabeth performs is strategic in focus. It centers on helping leadership describe, “what it would see if…” and gaining leadership’s understanding that communications events over time can result in changing, keeping, or creating individual or organizational behaviors around mutual understanding. There are many days when the “here and now” seems easier to settle for than investing in the future. On those days, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote, “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say,” keeps Elizabeth inspired and focused on overcoming setbacks, obstacles, and celebrating accomplishments of any measure. See her professional profile on LinkedIn.

View the PowerPoint presentation handout from the meeting.

Thank you to everyone who made last month’s SUDS for Scholarships’ event a success! We had an impressive turnout at Steam Plant Grill and are pleased to announce we raised enough money to award a $1,500 scholarship next year! We look forward to awarding this scholarship to a deserving PRSSA student in the near future and will share details on how to apply to our next scholarship soon. Thank you again for the generosity and support to keep talent in our area!

Social Media Bootcamp 4.0

Thursday, May 10
Time: 7:30-11 a.m.
Location: Red Lion River Inn, 700 North Division St., Spokane
Cost: $35 members; $45 non-members; $5 non-PRSSA students; free for PRSSA students
This event sold out!

Our popular half-day workshop returns for a fourth year. Come learn the ins and outs of social media from improving your searchability and selecting channels (including Pinterest) wisely to managing social media during a crisis.

• No One Cares About Your Icon: Why Social Media Is More Than Just the Icon of the Moment, with Michael Pranikoff, Global Director of Emerging Media, PR Newswire DC
• Listen, Engage, Respond: Crisis Communications and Social Media, with Chris Syme, Principal, CKSyme.org
• Traditional Media meets Social Media: Tips and Tricks for Pitching via Social Media, featuring a media panel including Nicole Hensley of KXLY, Chelsey Brooks of KREM, Jeff Hite of KHQ, Pia Hallenberg of The Spokesman-Review, and Scott Leadingham from the Society of Professional Journalists

Presentation Materials

View Chris Syme’s PowerPoint presentation (PDF version) and handouts (PDF).

Session Details

No One Cares About Your Icon: Why Social Media Is More Than Just the Icon of the Moment.
Social media today moves fast and furious with companies and organizations grasping at the next new thing. We have to ask ourselves are we really reaching and engaging our audience or are we just looking for short term gains? Social media itself can be powerful for all kinds of brands: B2C, B2B, or B2E – E for Everyone, but in order for these new techniques and networks to work, they have to fit in and be part of an overall communications strategy that includes targeting, traditional media, and emerging media techniques like search and visualizing your message. In this discussion with PR Newswire Global Director of Emerging Media, Michael Pranikoff, you will hear him talk about failures and success stories and how you should have a discerning eye when you get glamoured by the next shiny new icon.

To learn more about Michael Pranikoff, check out his about.me page.

Listen, Engage, Respond: Crisis Communications and Social Media
When crisis strikes, will you be prepared? We have developed a signature crisis communications curriculum designed to help you develop a comprehensive online crisis and reputation plan. The strategy is based on establishing an effective online monitoring program first (Listen), and adds a customized social/online media strategy designed to build a corps of invested ambassadors for your brand (Engage). The curriculum includes the development of a complete response strategy (Respond) that takes over when a crisis emerges. The strategy allows you to be in control of your own message, and enlist the help of an engaged fan base to help mitigate the length and severity of your crisis. Crisis social media strategy involves incorporating content that fosters advocacy along with an emphasis on acquisition.

To learn more about Chris Syme, check out her bio.
Check out Chris’ new eBook, “Listen, Engage, Respond: Crisis communications in real-time.”

Thursday, June 28
Time: 8-9:30 a.m. (check-in/networking: 7:30 a.m.)
Location: Spokane Club, 1002 W. Riverside, Spokane
Cost: $35 members; $45 non-members; $5 non-PRSSA students; free for PRSSA students
Parking: Metered street parking, as well as a Diamond parking lot on Main (approx. 1 block away).

Are your communications timely and transparent? Do your clients and customers know the facts about your company’s financial health? Are you telling customers your plans for innovation? How are your company’s leaders regarded? If these questions are important to your business, you might be interested in the topic of our June meeting: Cultivating Credibility – Managing Trust to Make or Break Your Business.

The Edelman Trust Barometer asks thousands of participants a broad range of questions around the world every year to answer questions like these benefiting companies like yours.

Will Ludlam, executive vice president and general manager of Edelman’s Seattle office, will speak on the crucial connections between trust and developing your brand, sustaining business growth, and whether or not you continue to thrive.

Now in its 12th year, the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer study delves into trust in four key institutions including government, business, media, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as looking at communications channels and sources.

During the session, you’ll:

• Learn about the vital elements of trust
• Gain insight into not only why trust matters, but how it matters
• Learn how societal attributes influence and impact trust and credibility
• Discover why listening to feedback is as important as producing high quality products

About Will Ludlam, General Manager, Edelman

Will Ludlam is executive vice president and general manager of the Seattle office of Edelman,Inc., the world’s largest public relations firm, where he leads a team of more than 100 professionals who are an important part of the cross-office, cross-practice Edelman team serving clients like Microsoft, Starbucks, AMD and Best Buy. Ludlam brings more than 20 years of consumer marketing, technology, crisis and healthcare experience to the firm. Most recently, Ludlam served as general manager of Hill & Knowlton’s Seattle office, where he worked on blue chip companies like ExxonMobil, Frontier Communications, TreeTop, KeyBank and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

About the Edelman Trust Barometer
The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm’s 12th annual trust and credibility survey. The survey was produced by research firm StrategyOne and consisted of 20-minute online interviews conducted from October 10 – November 30, 2011. The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer online survey sampled 25,000 individuals across 25 countries.

Monday, July 9
Time: 5-7 p.m.
Location: Ripples patio at the Red Lion River Inn, 700 North Division, Spokane
View the Facebook event
View the Tweetvite event

Mix and mingle with your fellow PRSA members as well as individuals from the recently formed Spokane Social Media Club. There will be a special menu available for you to sample from while you enjoy the outdoor weather on the patio. Spokane PRSA chapter members will receive one complimentary drink for free.

Ann Wylie Writing Workshop

Thursday, September 27
9 a.m.-noon | Workshop (check-in begins at 8 a.m.)
Red Lion Hotel at the Park, 303 W. North River Drive, Spokane

PRSA Members: $40 | Non-Members: $45
PRSSA Student: $5 | Non-PRSSA Student: $10

Greater Spokane PRSA invites you to attend a half-day workshop with internationally award-winning communicator Ann Wylie. Learn how to “Think Like a Reader” by writing more persuasive, engaging, accessible copy and “Cut Through the Clutter” to reach all of your readers. Ann Wylie will teach you how to create world-class communications. Don’t miss out of this one-of-a-kind workshop!

Read the official press release.

SESSION DETAILS
Think Like a Reader
The secret to writing to persuade is to position your messages in your audience’s best interests. (Most communicators position their messages in their organization’s best interests.)

In this session, you’ll learn a four-step process for making your message — and your organization — more relevant, valuable and rewarding to your audience. Specifically, you’ll learn:

• The formula people use to determine which messages to pay attention to
• Two rewards you can use to boost audience interest in your message
• The No. 1 question to answer on your reader’s behalf
• A two-minute perspective shift that focuses your message on the value to the audience
• A simple translation process that pushes audience benefits to the top of your message
• A three-letter word to use to make your message more relevant to your audience

Cut Through The Clutter
Is your copy easy to read? According to communication experts, that’s one of the two key questions people ask to determine whether to read a piece — or toss it.

Fortunately, academics have tested and quantified what makes copy easy to read. Unfortunately, that research virtually never makes it out of the ivory tower and into the hands of writers who could actually apply it.

But you’ll leave this session with “the numbers” you need to measurably improve your copy’s readability. Specifically, you’ll learn:

• How long is too long: For your paragraphs? Your sentences? Your words?
• Three ways to shorten your copy — and which is the most effective way
• How to cut your copy before you’ve even written the first word
• How to avoid causing your reader to skip your paragraphs
• A tool you can use (you probably already have it, but you might not know it) to quantifiably improve your copy’s readability
• A seven-step system for making your copy clearer and more concise

ABOUT ANN WYLIE

Ann Wylie runs a company called Wylie Communications Inc. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out.

Ann is the author of more than a dozen learning tools that help people improve their communication skills, including RevUpReadership.com, a toolbox for writers. Her manual Planning Powerful Publications, published by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), has been called “the bible” of publication planning.

Before starting her firm, Ann was editor of Hallmark Cards’ employee magazine, CROWN. Under her leadership, CROWN was named the best publication of its kind in the nation by Women in Communications (WIC) and best of its kind in the world by IABC.

Ann also served as editor of a regional executive magazine and as a PR professional in a boutique public relations firm.

Her work has earned more than 60 communication awards, including a WIC Clarion and two IABC Gold Quills — the Pulitzer Prizes of business communications.

Now Ann handles special writing and editing projects for Saint Luke’s, Reader’s Digest, The Mayo Clinic and dozens of other major clients. She helps such organizations as FedEx, Sprint and Northern Trust launch or improve their websites and publications.

Thank you to our event sponsors!
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