Being a PR Pro In Bulgaria

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Petya N. Georgieva is a PR specialist and a blogger who lives and works in Bulgaria. We asked her to blog for us today because we are going to begin exploring the similarities and differences of the communication industry in different countries. Thanks, Petya, for being the first from Bulgaria!

As I am the first Bulgarian PR pro to guest blog at Spin Sucks, I am not entirely sure what you would like to know about the PR industry in my home country of Bulgaria.

I may start with the fact that the profession is a young one and has been getting more popular during the past 10 years.

I may also say that the bigger part of society has the wrong perception on what is is that we do. This is because Bulgarian singers and fashion models pretend they work in the field because they organize parties and cocktails.

I may add that some of the clients that I have worked with have no idea how our industry functions, what its essence is, and how to evaluate success. Hence, I was very often asked the PR pros’ most hated questions, such as: ‘Can you tell the journalist to publish the article about us on the first pages?’. Continue Reading »

How Do You Pronounce Ghoti?

By Gini Dietrich | Email | Print | 8 Comments

One of my favorite sessions during Counselors Academy this past weekend (as it is every year) was Darryl Salerno’s English As a First Language. I am an English major, and take great pride in my grammar and spelling skills, but this session always does me in. As my friend Roger Friedensen says, “This is a great way to keep your ego in check.”

Counselors Academy Nuggets of Wisdom

By Gini Dietrich | Email | Print | 6 Comments

I’m just back from Counselors Academy in Asheville, which is part of PRSA. The annual spring conference brings together agency leaders from the U.S. and Canada and, this year, there were about 120 of us.

Between riding the Blue Ridge Parkway, hitting mecca at Mast General (see photo), playing Sorry on a Saturday night with seven other PR pros, Club 461, dueling pianos, a 60s party, and crashing prom, we actually did quite a bit of work. The sessions that were of most interest were on social media, client engagement, business growth in a new economy, and creating a vision for your business.

Following are some nuggets of wisdom I found during my trip:

Great PR move in rough spending times

By Arment Dietrich | Email | Print | No Comments

We keep hearing about big corporations receiving money for bailouts, bonuses, and obviously as an average working American Joe, who knows where the money is or where it is going. On a brighter light, there is at least one large company, Disney, trying to do well for moviegoers and the environment.

The AIG Mess

By Arment Dietrich | Email | Print | 1 Comment

In today’s Washington Post, current AIG CEO Edward M. Libby has written an opinion column with an eloquent explanation about the very-much-in-the-news bonuses given to those AIG executives. Be clear, he is not calling them performance bonuses, but rather, retention bonuses. Continue Reading »

Back at you!

By Arment Dietrich | Email | Print | No Comments

So what happens when a public relations professional misleads a journalist by pitching a false news hook or a story saturated in spin? Well as of late, all over the Internet, journalist are complaining about the amount of unrelated pitches they receive (rightfully so), the level of newsworthy stories, and if their source (a pr professional) is credible to write the story.

Walking a Fine Line

By Arment Dietrich | Email | Print | No Comments

US Airways’ unfortunate incident last week has the marketing world talking, predicting and weighing in with opinions on how to use or not use the event in future communications with the public.

In response to: “New Year’s Resolutions Journalists Wish PR Practitioners Would Make.”

By Arment Dietrich | Email | Print | No Comments

As I read through your wish list of resolutions you would like public relations professionals to commit to — while I completely agree with and understand your frustration — I am hopeful you have ever encountered a successful relationship with a public relations practitioner. I agree with every one of your resolutions, especially those regarding knowing who you are talking to and what beat the journalist covers before you pick up the phone. On the public relations side of things, nothing would be more embarrassing than a journalist explaining to me I am not contacting the correct beat reporter.

Lovie Smith—A Class Act

By Arment Dietrich | Email | Print | No Comments

Are you a Lovie Smith fan? I am.

Maybe not for the reasons one might think, considering he is an NFL coach of a very popular team in one of the largest cities in the good ole’ US of A. Sure, there is that important fact that he coached the Bears to a Super Bowl, and he won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award and there are some pretty decent stats attached to his tenure thus far with the Bears. But no, that’s not what impresses me.