FPRA’s PR University one-day workshop “Pump up the Volume” was a big success

Nov. 19, 2012 - PRLog -- The Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) recently hosted another successful PR University entitled “Pump up the Volume.” The professional development program featured local and national experts in event execution, branding law, nonprofit marketing, and traditional and social media to help attendees hone their marketing and PR skills. FPRA State President, Jeff Nall, APR, CPRC, was in attendance and spoke on the benefits of FPRA and having a great team of leaders at the local and state levels.  

John Korff of Korff Enterprises, Inc. of New York City provided interesting insights into event planning and crisis communications in sport and event marketing. A veteran events producer, he provided attendees with examples of how to generate publicity to boost attendance at entertainment events.  

Lydia Black, Executive Director of the Lee County Alliance for the Arts urged nonprofit organizations to market their products and services, as well as to market their positive impact on the community it serves.

Mary Briggs, APR, CPRC, System Director for Media Relations for Lee Memorial Health System shared current statistics on how the public obtains its news. She advised attendees to anticipate reporters’ needs and provided thorough details on how to prepare and submit press releases.    

Chris Cifatte, news anchor at Wink-TV offered tips for contacting and sending news releases to WINK-TV, detailing their news cycles and the kinds of stories they seek to showcase.  

Naples attorneys Edward Livingston and Bryan Loeffler of The Livingston Law Firm spoke on the importance of protecting brand trademarks and copyrights and provided guidelines on ways to protect web content.

The day wrapped up with a focus on social media, as Rafael Sangiovanni, Social Media Strategist for RBB Public Relations of Miami discussed the growing importance of using visuals in social media. He covered how to build a corporate brand using Pinterest, discussed Facebook best practices, and reviewed recent changes on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Sponsors for the event were The News-Press Media Group, PKE Marketing & PR, Simplify PR, Embassy Suites Hotel, and Verizon Wireless. Annual sponsors of FPRA, SW Florida Chapter are LCEC, Shell Point Retirement Community, Flame Productions/Internet, Owen Ames Kimball, Charlotte Behavioral Health Care, and J.J. Taylor Companies, Inc.

Established in 1938, FPRA is the oldest public relations organization in the country. FPRA is dedicated to developing public relations practitioners, who, through ethical and standardized practices, enhance the public relations profession in Florida. Learn more at http://www.fpraswfl.org/.