Let’s see what’s the good word in PR, marketing and journalism today.
Public Relations
I’ve been trying to pick one story each post under each heading, but I just couldn’t decide between two today, so I’m telling you about both.
Like every month of the year, many organizations and causes claim a month to get the word out about what they want you to know.
March is . . .
Asset Management Awareness Month
National Caffeine Awareness Month
National Celery Month
National Cheerleading Safety Month
National Craft Month
National Credit Education Month
National Flour Month
National Frozen Food Month
National Noodle Month
National Nutrition Month
National Peanut Month
National Sauce Month
National Trisomy Awareness Month
National Umbrella Month
National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
National Music in Our Schools Month
National Professional Social Work Month
(links and list provided by http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/march-monthly-observations/)
But the two PR campaigns that caught my eye this morning were for National Kidney Month and National Women’s History Month.
National Kidney Month
This morning, the American Urology Association (AUA), issued a press release to draw attention that this is the month we’re supposed to remember to care for our kidneys.
The press release came with an infographic that is easy to understand and read. The horizontal layout that is different from a lot of infographics that use a vertical layout. 
The infographic was the first thing that caught my attention about this press release, but once I read the whole release, I was more interested in the content of the release itself.
Under the topic of “Kidney Stones”, Christine Frey of the AUA and author of the press release, writes
“One in 10 Americans will develop a kidney stone at some point in their lifetime and are the reason for more than 1 million emergency department visits per year. In fact, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Matt Mitrione was pulled from a highly anticipated fight last month due to kidney stones, which he needed surgically removed. Other famous names associated with kidney stones include Billy Joel, Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Joel, Roger Moore, William Shatner and Gene Simmons.” – via PR Newswire
The information is serious, but I couldn’t help but to chuckle just a little. Is is just me, or do you wonder if all these famous people (and Billy Joel twice as much) wouldn’t really want it known that they suffered from kidney stones. I know they’re famous and their lives are an open book, but still.
So out of curiosity, I googled “famous people who had kidney stones”. And you know what? I found what was most likely Frey’s source.
Frey lists her source as the Urology Care Foundation at the end of the press release, but I could not locate the information on their site, so I believe Nguyen’s article is the source.
Dr. Mike Nguyen, a urologist and an Associate Professor of Clinical Urology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC in Los Angeles, CA, also writes for a non-commercial organization of doctors known as “Kidney Stoners“. The organization is designed to help kidney disease patients understand their medical needs. One of those articles by Nguyen is called “13 Famous Kidney Stoners.”
Frey lists her source as the Urology Care Foundation at the end of the press release, but I could not locate the information on their site, so I believe Nguyen’s article is the source.
It’s okay, we all make mistakes, and I don’t want to focus on that. Rather, I just thought that this was not only an important health press release, but it had a good infographic and it made me smile a little this morning.
Whenever a press release can do that, it’s got to be good, right?
National Women’s History Month
The other public relations campaign for a cause that caught my eye this morning was Ann Taylor‘s contribution to National Women’s History Month.
Within the press release, the women’s clothing company presented a new video honoring women of the past, present and future. The video is available to view on the company’s website, as well as YouTube, PRNewswire, and well . . . here.
A lot of company’s are doing these public relations/marketing campaigns. Some really can’t pull it off because the marketing and branding is too much in your face that it drowns out the message. I viewed a couple like that this week and passed them over because of it.
But, this video is one of the successful combination campaigns that makes more out of the message than the brand. The video itself was tasteful, emotional and powerful.
The press release was written in the same way. There were definite marketing messages, but the main body of the release was more about celebrating women. Especially the part about an organization founded by the Ann Taylor company.
“The This is Ann video coincides with the launch of the HERlead Fellowship application period (formerly known as the ANNpower Vital Voices Initiative). For the past six years, Ann Taylor and its sister brands have collaborated with Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-governmental organization, to continue the HERlead Fellowship, which uses mentorship and leadership training to inspire the next generation of female leaders. This is Ann calls for those watching to apply or nominate a rising high school junior or senior with the passion to create positive change in her community. The application process is open through March 18th. -Ann Taylor via PR Newswire
If you or someone you know is interested in applying for the mentorship/leadership program, visit http://herlead.vitalvoices.org/
Marketing
Technically not a marketing story at all, but I read between the lines on this one.
Screenshot via Home Depot website
Home Depot has announced that they are simplifying the job application process for new Spring hires (PR Newswire).
The press release says
“Behind the Apron” Series
The company also is highlighting the personal stories of current Home Depot associates to give job seekers a glimpse of the fun and interesting people that make up the company’s rich culture. Behind the Apron is a series of video and photo essays available on The Home Depot’s digital content site, Built from Scratch, as well as the Careers site and #HomeDepotHiring hashtag. Here, job seekers also can view the number of job openings in major local markets, interview tips and more.
From the “Jobs in Bloom” tagline to the “Behind the Apron” series, Home Depot is marketing themselves as a company that has jobs, wants to hire, and is willing to go to great lengths to praise their employees.
I wish the Home Depot much success in this marketing and branding campaign.
Journalism
I hate to say it, but I searched and I searched, and I searched some more. But, I was having a hard time finding a good news journalism story this morning. There was a lot of usual political stuff, some cautionary tales and some critical stories.
I’m going to keep searching today, and hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to give you two.
Until then, if you have a good news story about journalism, feel free to leave a comment.
See you next time on PRdoctorit’s RoundUp.
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