I recently spent time in Orlando, FL, for a mini-family reunion and was swept away by the magical world of the Disney and Universal theme parks, especially the wizardry at the new Harry Potter exhibit at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Despite the crowds, long lines and unrelenting heat, it was an unforgettable experience — one that many will say cannot be matched on different levels.

With President Obama’s support for the Paycheck Fairness Act, dialogue about equal pay for women and men will be starting up again. Personally, I think the very fact that women and men do NOT get paid equitably for doing the same work would be funny, if the fact of its continued, stubborn existence were not so sad.

Women’s Pay Through the Years
Paying a woman less money than her male counterpart can be traced to the days when men were the primary breadwinners in the family, and women’s work outside the home was considered “extra” income. The prevailing attitude of those times was that women did not necessarily need to work, because they had husbands and fathers who would take care of them.

Research IS measurement. Measurement IS research. The same techniques and tools. The same continuum. Different times, perhaps, but they are co-dependent and co-enablers. Using research in a pre-campaign, formative capacity can put us in a more measurement-friendly place post-campaign. 

Among other things, pre-campaign research can help us set measurable objectives. Probably the most common objective in the hundreds of PR plans I’ve seen: Raise awareness. What’s rare, though, is to see a number attached to this objective. (Pre-campaign awareness can be tested overnight and for as little as a thousand dollars.)

At the PRSA 2010 International Conference, the New Professionals Section will sponsor a panel discussion titled Myth or Reality?: “Agency Experience Preferred.” During this workshop, senior practitioners will discuss what employers are really asking for when they require agency experience. As the New Professionals Section chair-elect and panel moderator, I asked each of our presenters: Why do you think there is a perception in the PR industry that agency experience is best?

Heather R. Huhman, founder and president of Come Recommended, has nearly 10 years’ experience in public relations, and worked at both big and small agencies and in in-house environments.

I just started playing with Foursquare™, the geo-based social networking website (SN) that seems to be generating lots of attention these days. For certain industries, I understand the advantages of having a foursquare strategy. Venues, including restaurants, retailers and hotels, can not only gain publicity through this SN site, but can incorporate it into their overall listening strategies (a critical component of their social networking strategies). But, do we expect foursquare to be as popular as Facebook? Also, how can other industries incorporate a foursquare strategy into their outreach?