There are mixed views on making new year resolutions so I chose to do it differently. Rather than begin my aims for the year at the start of the month I left it until the 12th January.

We’re now far enough into 2013 that eating for chocolate is no longer acceptable, the fairy lights have returned to a dusty loft and optimistic hopes and desires for the years are fading as the miserable January weather brings up back to reality. This means that now is the perfect time to decide what I want to achieve in the next year. I did this last year (although slightly more timely), you can read that here. So how did I do? Well I read more books, I obtained some brilliant placements but I didn’t improve the frisbee, in fact I barely picked one up. Instead I concentrated on other areas of fitness.

So my plan for this year incluldes:

1) I want to read and write more I read more last year than the previous one, but I want to read more in 2013. Instead of watching repeats of the Big Bang Theory I want to turn to books. Additionally I want to write more, my job involves a lot of writing but I want to vary styles. The internet offers us all bountiful opportunities to write so hopefully I can take advantage of this.

2) I want to learn to run I really don’t like running, so it’s a bit bizarre that I popped this on my aims for the year. Last year I had a running low when problems with my asthma meant I struggled to run 5k for Race for Life, later in the year I had a high when I ran the majority of the 10 mile Great South Run. I’ve never had much success with running over the last few years, so I want to be able to build my fitness up to a point where I am able to run 5k with ease.

3) Seriously reflect upon my career I’m currently half way through my placement year and will finish 2013 having already completed a considerable chunk of my final year of university. We may all enjoy our university years but I do feel ready to graduate and take on the big bad world out there. This means that this is a good time to seriously reflect upon my career. Do I have skills I want to develop? Do I have companies I want to aim to work at? I like to plan, so now is a great time to draw up a career plan, I also know from experience very few people’s careers pan out as expected, so not to let my plans get in the way of potential opportunities.

Well those are my evil (and less evil) plans for the year. What are you wanting to achieve in 2013?

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The great thing about Movember is that it’s fun and has a purpose. You don’t need many more ingredients than that to gain popularity, but the Movember movement had many of it’s own challenges. They overcame these problems and in less than 10 years Movember has gone from a bar chat to a huge charity event raising millions to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

Rather than tell you the whole story of the cause, I’d encourage you to watch Adam Garone, co-founder of Movember, discuss his fantastic story, it is available from TED.

And well done to all those growing their own moustaches for this cause (plus a special congratualtions to your girlfriends for dealing with the stubble!)

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It’s that time of the year again! As the leaves began to brown, out came the fairy lights and tinsel, Christmas had arrived.

One of my favourite things about this season is the Christmas advert, while venturing outside in the cold, dark winter will more likely leave you with soggy feet than festive spirit, the Christmas advert brings the magic sparkle of the season right into our front rooms.

Every year our favourite retailers battle it out to produce the biggest, the best, and the most tear-inducing advert possible. So who has produced the best advert for 2012? We’ve seen them on our television screens for the last month, but which ones will stay with us after the mushy brussle sprouts are consumed?

John Lewis

Like much of the British public I love John Lewis adverts. In recent years (go back too far on YouTube and they’re not of the same standard) they’ve got very good at telling a stories about normal life, and yet they add a sparkle and magic to these stories. Last year we learnt about the impatient young boy who was desperate to present his gifts. So this year I was eagerly awaiting the 2012 Christmas ad. This year we got snowmen.

I’ll admit it, there were tears. Yes they were snowmen, but the advert tugged at all the right heartstrings, sentimental, romantic!

M&S

M&S bring us a fun advert this year, showcasing a wide variety of their ranges.

Debenhams

The department store make our festive season just a little bit more fabulous!

Asda

Attributing Christmas success to mum hasn’t been without controversy, many people hit back at Asda’s advert over Twitter.

Morrisons

Mum also seems to be holding fort for Morrisons, maybe it’s a Yorkshire thing?

Waitrose

The upmarket store took an alternative approach to this year’s advert encouraging their customers to support the supermarket’s chosen causes.

Finally, a post like this wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the ultimate Christmas ad. Holidays are coming…

So who wins the battle of the Christmas adverts? Well, I think that is up to you to decide!

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Life is a funny thing, the smallest thing can teach you the most important lessons. Last weekend I did a Not so small thing and joined 25,000 for the 10 mile Great South Run in Portsmouth. It was a tough journey but it taught me 3 lessons.

1) I can achieve more than I thought possible

I didn’t think I could complete the run, previously I’d never completed a full mile! I was determined to run the first mile, but I got through the first one, then the next and I kept going. I didn’t run all of it, but I managed 80%, far surpassing my expectations. Cheesey maybe, but we’re all capable of more than we realise!

2) Practice makes perfect

It’s hardly a breakthrough but entirely true. My training consisted of a couple of meek jogs and my daily cycle. This practice left my cardio fitness high but my running ability near zero. My friend on the other hand started as a complete beginner, trained hard and was able to run the race in an impressive time.

3) I’m a sprinter

I’m glad I did the 10 mile run but I don’t think Ix’ll do something similar again. I didn’t enjoy the run, I found it boring. I don’t like holding back and keeping a steady pace, my favourite part of the run was the final 200m because I could finally run at my fastest. I like being able to exercise for short periods at full power. Some people love long runs, but it simply isn’t for me!

I enjoyed my experience and have been able to raise money for Children with Cancer, an inspiring national charity. If you would like to support them you can find my link on this post.

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As such I am left asking myself, why on earth have I just signed up to the Great South Run? This isn’t a nice easy jog for a beginner, no this is a 10 mile course, including a final leg running against the coastal wind.If I had any real sense I probably wouldn’t have signed up, but the fact is I do like a challenge, and what is better than a challenge is a chance to help raise money for a good cause. Children with Cancer is the cause I am running for and they are a brilliant charity. If you would like to read more about the work they do then click here

.

If you would like to help me support the cause you can sponsor me and my team at our Virgin Giving page. Any donations to bring us closer to our target are really appreciated.

The run is in 3 weeks time (which is scary!) and I will be sure to update you on my progress.

If you were asked to put the most important and necessary items in your life into a crate, could you do it? I dare say it actually would not be as difficult to do as you may first think. Then what is left over?

Asking yourself what you need compared to what you have can be a good efficiency exercise. It can be developed further to include what you do compared to what you need to do. We have limited time so are we using the time we have effectively? Or are we spending our time performing tasks which add little or no value to our days?

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newspapers (Tehrān) (Photo credit: birdfarm)

The successful PR student is curious, passionate and persuasive. They have a natural instinct for understanding the motivations and interests of their audience and understand how to use these. They also understand what results their client desires and expects and is able to meet  these. The only way that you can achieve this successfully is through staying informed.

When beginning a course in PR you will quickly learn that being informed is very important. In seminars and lectures you will be expected to be aware of current news and affairs and how these relate to PR. This can be a daunting prospect, there is so much news out there, how can you possibly stay informed?

Eight tips for staying informed

1) Social Media

I am a self-confessed Twitter addict, I check it when I wake, when I sleep and multiple times in between. However there are great benefits to using Twitter for staying informed, by following news accounts and PR professionals you can learn so much information. The knowledge I have gained through Twitter has even awarded me a box of chocolates following a class quiz!

Twitter also gives you a great idea of what people are talking about. Following Trending Topics and other hashtags can give you a great idea of what is capturing people’s interest at any time. For example, earlier this year in March #Kony2012 took over Twitter and other social media sites, this is the sort of thing that PR students need to know about.

Blogs are another great source of information, I use Bloglovin’ to keep up-to-date with my favourite blogs, and I have learnt so much from them. Everything from new trends in PR to current issues in the news.

2) News Websites

BBC News is my homepage, and lets me quickly get an idea of the latest news stories. There are many other news sites out there which will give you great up to date information and opinion on news. You can follow news directly from News Agencies such as Reuters, or even from press releases on sites such as PR Newswire if you are keen!

3) Broadcast Media

As a future practitioner you need to understand all types of media from new to traditional. I get a lot of my news from the radio. At times I believe I have a middle aged mind in the body of a twenty-something! Radio 4 is my station of preference, and there is a lot to be said to waking up to the morning news. There are also so many great current affairs programmes, and if you do not want to tune your radio, then they are available via iPlayer.

Understanding the types of news and stories that the radio broadcast is also vital in your career as a PR practitioner when you need to get a client coverage.

The TV is also a great resource, I love watching TV News and current issue programmes. If these are not your preference there is a lot to be said for keeping up to date with Soaps and Reality TV. As long as you understand how you can use these types of TV in PR then they are a useful resource.

4) Newspapers

You will frequently be told to read newspapers, but this can be inconvenient. I get a lot of my news from online newspaper sites, but it is very important to understand that this is not the same as reading a printed paper. The Daily Mail is targeting a very different audience online to the one they target in print.

I would recommend making an effort to buy one newspaper a week, this will allow you to get an idea of how articles are written, where they are published within the newspaper and what interests the paper’s audience. Vary the newspaper you buy from local to national, tabloid to broadband.

Free newspapers are brilliant as well, imagine how many people read the Metro or the Evening Standard each day on their commutes.

5) Celebrity News

Understanding the importance of celebrity in marketing communications is important. As a result it is useful to keep up to date with what celebrities are doing, what products they are releasing, or what they are currently promoting. Understanding their personal preferences and beliefs can be beneficial if you have a relevant product you need them to promote in the future.

6) Politics

It may not be fashionable to be interested in politics, but this affects you lives and job roles so it is useful to understand what is happening in the political world. If you are passionate and opinionated it may even be worth getting involved with student politics and your university will have societies to meet most political interests.

7) PR Specific News

You need to be aware of changes in the PR industry. It is a vibrant, innovative industry and as such issues such as measurement, definitions and communications tactics being regularly discussed. You can follow such news on relevant industry blogs (see my Blogroll for suggestions) and also by following websites such as Brand Republic, PR Week and The Drum.

It is also good to keep an eye on current PR campaigns, I cut out information about my favourite ones and collect them in a book. This is useful when needing to understand relevant campaigns.

8 ) Sector News

If you have a good idea of what sector you want to work in you need to understand current issues in that area. For example, if you like fashion you want to know the latest trends. I have an interest in Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals and as such websites like Pharma Times can keep me updated on relevant news issues.

Anyone starting a PR degree, you have chosen well, you are about to start a journey learning about one of the most exciting industries! To get the best out of your experience take opportunities to learn in and outside of the classroom.

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It has been one of the most energising summers in memory. A summer of celebration, achievement and pride. Can we top summer 2012?

What videos sum up the summer for you?

There’s been a few stories worth mention during the last few months, but I simply have been unable to blog about, so here is a quick roundup!

Paralympics

There is an empty space in our lives now that London 2012 has come to an end. The Paralympic closing ceremony saw the finish of an excellent summer of inspiring sport. While we may have missed out on second place, we did fantastically, every one of our athletes is a credit to us.

Olympic Sponsors

The economic boom resulting from the Olympics has failed to materialise, as Sunday Trading Laws are once again enforced, shops will bitterly count their takings, and they’re not likely to be good. Rather than increasing footfall in the streets of our capital, we saw an empty London as tourists and workers avoided the expected chaos.

One group however have done alright for themselves, official merchandise has done very well and sponsors are likely to have benefitted from winning contracts to sell it. Sponsors such as Adidas claim to have made back their investment before the games even began. This is another plus for sponsorship as a marketing campaign, and if anyone fancies sponsoring a university ultimate Frisbee club, I happen to know one…

Parliament

The Palace of Westminster is in desperate need of a refurb. This would leave parliament without a home and one argument is that they should leave London. As a country we woefully lack the second city that most countries enjoy. While cities like Manchester and Birmingham try, they don’t quite match up to the likes of Barcelona or Frankfurt. Would moving parliament to a different city help move the power from our capital and spread it more evenly across the country? Should we be ruling the country from a city a significant journey from large parts of the UK when it could be in the middle? Or would moving our MPs and Lords really make a difference at all?

Cabinet Reshuffle

I declared the cabinet reshuffle my favourite day ever. My only defence for such a statement is that it was a slow week. It was however very interesting and does give one plenty to speculate upon. I was particularly interested in the demotion of health secretary Andrew Lansley, replaced by former culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt. Unfortunately I dare say he hasn’t been given an enviable job, handed the chart of an unpopular NHS reform. What he does next could be quite telling, turning his back on the reforms will send out a strong message that they were a wrong decision in the first place, but is it wise to support a decision with such condemnation?

It was also interesting to see my local MP, Anna Soubry, awarded a role in the Department for Health. While this is a positive promotion for her, although she’s already causing a storm with outspoken comments on the ‘right to die’, it is unlikely to win her much favour in her local constituency. Some say Anna’s 0.7% victory over the labour candidate is simply a result of tactical voting, and some may say its time she was moved to a less marginal constituency!

If you think this story will change the actions of our coalition government, think again, it is simply one of the first political stories since the parliament recess. After a summer of cheering on our sporting heroes we needed a dose of something to return us to our cynical routes.

Royal Privacy

You can’t get away from our young royals at the moment. They’re everywhere, spectating at the Olympics, going on royal tours, appearing naked in our publications…one could say we’ve seen too much of the trio. Both Harry and Kate were embarrassed by naked photographs and it leads us to ask, how much privacy do the royal family deserve? Should we allow them to lead anonymous lives, would they even want us to let them lead anonymous lives? Or should we snap them every time there’s a possibility of a nipple on show? I’d like to think there is a happy medium. One argument is that Kate signed away her right to privacy the moment she popped that ring on her finger, and that this is the downside to having exotic holidays with a personal hairdresser. Apply that same argument to her brother-in-law and the flaws are hard to avoid. Harry lost his right to privacy the moment he had the misfortune to be born to his parents. Doesn’t quite seem fair! There may be perks to being related to Queen Elizabeth, but that shouldn’t mean you run the risk of seeing your private parts on a magazine cover!

GCSE Results

If GCSE results are to be believed our children are getting increasingly clever every year, until this year, but even this year’s lot have outperformed those from 2006 when I collected my results. This is brilliant news, it means that we are breeding a fantastically clever bunch of students. Somehow though, it doesn’t quite ring true. Call me a sceptic, but I do wonder if today’s students are actually no more brainy than those from past years. The real victims in this story are the teachers (and yes, I am the daughter of one of these teachers), this story will simply lead to them being hounded for having failed. Maybe it’s time to create a fair form of assessment, and maybe that concept is but a dream.

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Unfortunately I did not manage to watch as much of the Olympics as I would have liked, but not at one point did I feel I missed out on an important achievement. I felt delight as Mo Farrah got his double gold, I felt the pain as Rebecca Adlington missed out on the medal she wanted and I shared the wonder as Usain Bolt showed the world just how amazing he was. I may not have watched it, but I definitely did not miss out. As one Olympics played out on our screens, another could be seen developing on our mobile phones, tablets and computers.

My Olympic view

I was able to have my own Olympic experience as I went to watch the Women’s Hockey on the first Sunday of the Games. We were actively encouraged to participate in the social discussion through the use of hashtags on Twitter.

Reading through the Sunday Times this morning, there was a report on Olympic sponsors using social media during the Games. This should come as little surprise to any of us, basic marketing comms theory teaches us that sponsorship requires a communication campaign to support it and make it truly effective. Common sense probably tells us those texts are unnecessary! Having paid millions to affiliate their names with the five rings, it would make little sense to try and disguise this association for many of the companies.

Social media has also been bad, we’ve seen Tom Daley through Twitter. However this is something we have grown to expect. Social media has been known to give people too much freedom to target people. It also lets people hear the criticism they don’t want to hear and we don’t necessary know how to take that.

It seems quite sad that the Olympics has already been and gone, but I loved it this year. I loved being able to keep track by Twitter, how about you?

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