Final Press Release 2: Image Building

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: Sept. 27, 2010
Burger Planet
311 Greasy Way
Gary, IN 88888
Contact: James E. Muellenbach III, CEO
498-555-0000
burgerplanet@bp.com

Fast Food Leader Introduces Healthy Food Options and a Fitness Guru

Jayne Petersen joins Burger Planet to work with promotion of new menu additions and changes to traditional items

GARY, Ind. –Burger Planet has added healthier food options to its franchises nationwide as a response to diet trends among middle-age women.

Burger Planet’s simple formula includes burgers, fries, and soda. This is what has made the company stand out; the tradition. But customers can now request their burgers without mayonnaise to reduce calories and they can hold the bun for a low-carb option.

Along with the traditional menu changes, new items have been added to promote moderation and healthy eating. In the past year, Burger Planet has added white meat chicken breasts and the option to buy the chicken breast wrapped in lettuce. Fruit packets have also been introduced with five different types of fruit: apples, grapes, peaches, pineapple, or bananas. No other competitors offer fruit. And finally, a line of gourmet salads are also new to the menu.

“Burger Planet is committed to offering healthy choices on its menu. The hiring of Jayne Petersen fits perfectly in the company's overall focus on healthy lifestyles,” James E. Muellenbach III, president of Burger Planet, said.

Jayne Petersen is the president and CEO of Looking Glass, Inc., a multi-million dollar fitness and health enterprise located in Burbank, Calif. Petersen will help promote Burger Planet with the mascot, Corny the Clown. Petersen is known for helping celebrity Opal Whitcomb lose and keep off weight.

"Burger Planet has been a leader in offering healthy menu choices. The company believes in encouraging customers to live healthier, active lifestyles and I have spent my life trying to teach women that lesson,” Petersen said. “Women can have a burger and fries now and then as long as they are active and also try some of Burger Planet's exciting new menu choices, such as the fruit packages.”

Petersen will begin her promotion efforts in May with Corny the Clown and will circulate to different Burger Planet locations and shopping malls across the U.S through July.

Burger planet has served 52 billion customers and counting with 8,921 franchises in every state and 17 countries. It was founded in 1934 by James E. Muellenbach I and is currently run by his grandson, James E. Muellenbach III. The headquarters are in Gary, Ind., and it is the leader of the Quick Service Restaurant Industry.

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Media Contact: Shana Sanders
PR Specialist, Burger Planet
Phone: 555-555-5555
Email: Shanasanders08@gmail.com

Draft Press Release 2: Image Building

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Date: Sept. 27, 2010
Mr. James E. Muellenbach III, CEO
Burger Planet
311 Greasy Way
Gary, IN 88888
Phone: 498-555-0000
Email: burgerplanet@bp.com

Fast Food Leader Introduces Healthy Food Options and a Fitness Guru

Jayne Petersen joins Burger Planet to work with promotion

(Gary, Indiana) –With recent food fads and the growing popularity of diets among middle-age women, Burger Planet has found a way to offer and promote its traditional and famous foods with lower calorie options.

Jayne Petersen is the president and CEO of Looking Glass, Inc., a multi-million dollar fitness and health enterprise located in Burbank, Ca. She has come on to help promote Burger Planet with Corny the Clown. Petersen is known for helping celebrity Opal Whitcomb lose and keep off weight.

“Burger Planet is committed to offering healthy choices on its menu. The hiring of Jayne Petersen fits perfectly in the company's overall focus on healthy lifestyles,” James E. Mulllenbach III, president of Burger Planet, said.

Burger Planet’s simple formula includes burgers, fries, and soda. This is what has made the company stand out; the tradition. But customers can now request their burgers without mayonnaise to reduce calories and they can hold the bun for a low-carb option.

Along with the traditional menu changes, new items have been added to promote moderation and healthy eating. In the past year, Burger Planet has added white meat chicken breasts and the option to buy the chicken breast wrapped in lettuce. Fruit packets have also been introduced with five different types of fruit: apples, grapes, peaches, pineapple, or bananas. No other competitors offer fruit. And finally, a line of gourmet salads have been also been added.

"Burger Planet has been a leader in offering healthy menu choices. The company believes in encouraging customers to live healthier, active lifestyles and I have spent my life trying to teach women that lesson,” Petersen said. “Women can have a burger and fries now and then as long as they are active and also try some of Burger Planet's exciting new menu choices, such as the fruit packages.”

Peterson will begin her promotion efforts in May with Corny the Clown and will circulate to different Burger Planet locations and shopping malls across the U.S through July.

Burger planet has served 52 billion customers and counting with 8,921 franchises in every state and 17 countries. It was founded in 1934 by James E. Muellenbach I and is currently run by his grandson, James E. Muellenbach III. The headquarters lie in Gary, Indiana and it is the leader of the Quick Service Restaurant Industry.

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Shana Sanders
Public Relations Specialist
Burger Planet
555-555-5555
Shanasanders08@gmail.com

Final Press Release: Announcement

For Immediate Release
Date: Sept. 14, 2010
Social Media Club of Cache Valley (SMCCV)
851 N. Main St.
Logan, UT 84321
Contact: Preston Parker
(661) 772-7537

ANNOUNCING SOCIAL MEDIA CLUB OF CACHE VALLEY
Facebook and Twitter are taking over the world; know how to use them correctly.

(LOGAN, Utah)--- The Social Media Club of Cache Valley (SMCCV) has been created with the goal to educate community members on social media.

“We bring experts together with novices so we can learn social media together,” Preston Parker, president of the club, said. “We want members to bring laptops and practice at the meetings.”

The club uses hands-on, practical use for social media and works to help others promote themselves and business through sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. There have been up to 80 members at the meetings and the members range from college students to stay-at-home moms to business professionals.

SMCCV meets at 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month at Borders. Every third month, they meet at Café Sabor for special nights called “Tweet-Ups.” Anyone can join the club and more information can be found at smccv.net or facebook.com/smccv.

Parker, along with two other members, launched the Cache Valley chapter in August of 2009 after participating in a Salt Lake City chapter. Four other members joined to create the board. It is a branch of an international organization that is headquartered in San Francisco and has chapters on every continent but Antarctica.

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Media Contact: Shana Sanders
PR Representative
Email: shanasanders08@gmail.com

Draft Press Release 1: Announcement

For Immediate Release
Date: Sept. 14, 2010
Social Media Club of Cache Valley (SMCCV)
851 N. Main St.
Logan, UT 84321
Contact: Preston Parker
(661) 772-7537

ANNOUNCING SOCIAL MEDIA CLUB OF CACHE VALLEY

(LOGAN, Utah)--- The Social Media Club of Cache Valley (SMCCV) has been created with the goal to educate community members on social media. It is a branch of an international organization that is headquartered in San Franciso and has chapters on every continent but Antarctica.

Preston Parker, along with two other members, launched the Cache Valley chapter in August of 2009 after participating in a Salt Lake City chapter. Four other members joined to create the board.

“We bring experts together with novices so we can learn social media together,” Parker said. “We want members to bring laptops and practice at the meetings.”
SMCCV meets at 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month at Borders. Every third month, they meet at Café Sabor for special nights called Tweet-Ups.

Anyone can join the club and information about joining can be found at smccv.net or facebook.com/smccv. There is also a twitter account under the name smcofcv.

Assignment #2: Case Study

In July 2009, Dave Carroll, an upcoming country musician, wrote a song after United Airlines broke his $3,500 Taylor guitar. The video went viral on YouTube and stock in United dropped. I read Carroll’s story on his website, davecarrollmusic, and I can’t believe that United handled this situation they way that they did.

After Carroll realized that his guitar was broken, he attempted to make a claim with United. First of all, the claim system at United seems to be joke. They sent him from one person to another, giving him different phone numbers to try and everyone seemed to ignore his claim. This is where United went completely wrong. There should be one department at each airport that takes the claims and if they can’t handle them immediately, they need to be sent to one direct office. There should be no wild chase for the customer to have to go through. The purpose should be to reconcile with the customer and fix their bad experience so they will want to fly United again. Building relationships is so important. Sending a customer all over will only anger him or her more and create more problems than there originally was.

In an email from a representative in Chicago, Carroll was given reasons for the denial of his claim. The reasons were that he didn’t report it to the United employees when he landed in Omaha, he didn’t report to the Omaha airport within 24 hours, it was an Air Canada issue, Air Canada already denied the claim, and someone from United would need to see the damage to a guitar that was repaired. All of these reasons are contradictory, especially the reporting to Omaha if it clearly was an Air Canada issue. This is horrible public relations. None of the reasons make sense. Normally when baggage is lost or damaged, the airline will compensate the customer in some way, even if they don’t want to. It is all about customer service. Why wasn’t this the case for Carroll? It would have been so much easier for United to compensate Carroll for the $3,500.

I agree with Carroll’s assessment of United Airlines; their system is set up to frustrate customers. Most customers with complaints will give up after the third or fourth disconnected phone call and won’t get to the compensation. Carroll wanted to use satirical lyrics and his story to make others aware of his situation. He turned it into a joke. I think his reaction was reasonable. He is a musician so he used his music as an outlet. It was also a great PR move on his part. Carroll’s name is now out there on and people know who he is. His videos are catchy and memorable. I’m sure he realized that his videos would not only cause a stir among United but would also be a good career move for himself.

I now have a very different view on United Airlines and want to be more of a skeptic when it comes to other airlines. I flew 13 times in the space of five weeks this summer and I watched them throw my bag around but it never really occurred to me that if something was broken, I could make a claim. I always pack very carefully and carry-on all of my breakables. I do think that Carroll should have put more thought into it and carried his guitar on-board, there is no way I would have checked my expensive guitar in. It is common sense and this situation should never have happened. However, United still reacted very unprofessionally and should have compensated Carroll for the damage.

Assignment #1: Letter to Cousin

Dear Cousin,

Lately, I have been thinking about my future and what I want to do once I graduate, and a career in public relations may be where I am headed.

Public relations offers a wide range of opportunities. Professionals work with different media outlets to make the public aware of different products and events. They guide agencies and companies through promotion and do damage control when it is needed. Public relations activities can be spontaneous and diverse. Creativity is an important part of campaigns and specialists also need to know how to effectively do research and know their audiences.

Strong writing skills are required in public relations because the majority of the information passed to the public is in written form. Media kits are a prime example of public relations writing. A media kit may include fact sheets, press releases, brochures, fliers, and speeches that go along with the campaign. All of these documents need to be clear, concise and written in a professional manner. Public relations cannot function properly without writing.

Public relations is a very competitive career and that is why professional writing skills are so important. It is also important to get as much hands on experience as possible. Public relations is a fast paced environment with room to be creative. I am excited to explore a career in public relations.

Sincerely,



Shana Sanders