This is a good example of PR. Coca Cola is showing that they care about the environment. They show that they want to maintain relationships with their customers because they came up with the bottle themselves instead of going out and getting it from someone else. The news release shows that Coca Cola is proud of their new product and want to continue to make better bottles for the environment. It also shows that they hope to influence other companies to do the same and be eco-friendly as well.

( http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/nr_20090514_plantbottle.html )

I watched one of the men’s classic games (Butler vs. Georgetown) which was Monday, December 7. Throughout the game and halftime there were special stories of cancer victims and cancer survivors. It was very moving and was hosted by Dick Vitale. He shared stories of his personal experiences with friends who’d lost people to cancer and other stories of people who’d been involved with the V Foundation. It was moving and made me appreciate ESPN more. That’s why this was a great move by ESPN in terms of public relations. It showed the viewers that ESPN cares about more than just sports. It shows that they care about what happens to the community which helps to strengthen the relationships ESPN has with its viewers. The fact that ESPN has a Jimmy V Week and holds basketball classics in its name also helps the V Foundation. It helps raise awareness of the group and their message and lets people know they should donate to it.

(  http://www.teamespn.com/TeamESPN/vfoundation.jsp )

This is also a good example of PR on Walmart’s part. This campaign shows that Walmart cares about the environment but that they also still care about the customer. They maintain relationships with their loyal customers by letting them know that all of the environmentally friendly products will still be at affordable prices. By keeping their prices low it shows the customers that Walmart also wants them to be able to participate in helping the environment. This shows how much Walmart cares about the environment and their customers and how they want to help make a positive change for the environment.

( http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/8161.aspx )

This is a great example of PR on Nike and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund’s parts. For Nike it showed that they were involved in human interest groups and cared about the community of women and supported good causes like funds for cancer research. The fact that Nike donated money for every purchase of their product showed that they cared about raising funds and actively participating in philanthropic charities. It was also good for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund because they associated themselves with a large and credible company like Nike. It got their name out there so more people could know who they are and what they support.

( http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikebasketball/2009/02/03/join-the-fight-againt-cancer )

The book also says that it is the  job of the PR practitioner to know and understand the laws that govern the PR practice. Not knowing these laws puts the professionals and his or her client at rist for law suits. I think that it is important for PR practitioners to know the law and I also think that it is their responsibility. It is not fair for them to put their organization at risk just because they don’t want to take the time to learn the laws. I also think that it would help a PR professional gain more clients if they knew the laws because the company would trust them more and they would have more credibility.

It talks about using social media to engage employees. I thought that it was interesting that the presentation said that talking face-to-face is the best way to communicate in a work place. I agreed with this idea because emails and phone calls can get so bothersome and, a lot of times, impersonal. The presentation defines “employee engagement” as, “A heightened emotional connection that influences an employee to exert greater discretionary effort for the benefit of the company.” The presentation says that social media, like Facebook and Twitter, is being used  more by companies to engage employees more because it allows for more trust to be built. One interesting statistic that I saw in the presentation was that customers trust Facebook 3rd most out of any social media. This was more than the news and commercials. This was interesting to me but it also shows how much people rely on social media tools.

I thought that the presentation was interesting, overall. It showed a lot of good points and tools for engaging employees. I think that it did a good job of showing how important it is to a business for employees to feel a sense of community and trust in the workplace.