The Death of Paul Walker seems to be causing PR problems for universal studieos

 

Paul Walker’s recent death will definitely propose issues for the PR department at Universal Studios. This link is a news article discussing how the Fast and the Furious movies have sparked controversy among viewers who think it teaches children and others to drive wrecklessley as opposed to safely. Although they release PSA’s for safety at the end of each film, that may not be enough anymore. After Walker’s tragic death resulting from a car accident, people may have trouble accepting this movie. Universal Studio’s PR department will have to adress each of its publics and make sure to do so very carefully. I am very interested to see how they will handle it and how people react to this film upon its release. 

New feature story from Comm 4555 class- Title: Depsite Whitewater Success, Changes Ahead for 2014

Columbus, Ga. – Rafting guide, Charlie Cumiskey, knew something wasn’t right when he looked downstream and saw bodies flying through the air. 

But it was too late to to turn around or change the path his raft would take. 

As he and six passengers plummeted into the Chattahoochee River’s most infamous rapid, Cut Bait, Cumiskey realized another raft and its passengers appeared to be stuck in their immediate path. With no way to prolong the inevitable, he double-checked his flotation device, closed his eyes and waited for the crash. 

At the time, just a day after the May 25 opening of the river’s long-awaited 2.5- mile whitewater course, the eventual pileup of 70 rafting passengers and their guides was regarded as a disaster, even though all emerged unhurt from the river. Six months later, Cumiskey and others from Whitewater Express, the company responsible for course operations, look back at the Cut Bait Pileup and see its role in their 2013 success. 

Spectators watching from both the Georgia and Phenix City, Ala. sides of the river on May 26 stood in shock as they watched the pileup. Water came thundering through Cut Bait Rapid with such speed and force, capsizing 10 of 17 rafts that went through it. Cumiskey’s dad had staked out a good vantage point and caught the whole pileup on video and posted it on YouTube. Fueled by news media mentions, the video racked up over 40,000 views its first week. 

“Some people that I work with were really worried about this video because they thought it made the tour guides look like we had no idea what we were doing,” Cumiskey said. “I honestly think that, if anything, it helped us. I think a lot of people underestimated our course. But now we have more experienced kayakers and rafters showing up to see if they can beat Cut Bait.” 

With its first season coming to an end, Whitewater Express has evaluated its progress by comparing initial goals to actual results. It originally projected to have around 7,000 rafters during its first season; however, more than twice that number, close to 17,000 rafters, were exposed to the Columbnus area’s long-awaited tourist attraction. Katie Bishop, marketing and public relations director for Whitewater Express, echoes Cumiskey’s belief that publicity the course received from the Cut Bait Pileup video was a major factor in its success. 

That’s also generated high expectations for 2014. Whitewater Express hopes to have at least 25,000 rafters, and its staff is using slow winter months to prepare for changes to accommodate more thrill-seekers 

The first of these changes has already occurred, Whitewater Express has decided to keep the course open all year for those who are brave enough to face the cold, investing in wet suits and splash gear– suits made from synthetic material that keeps heat in but not all water out. 

The official season opening for 2014 will be in March, although a specific date hasn’t been chosen. Other changes will go into effect then. 

Whitewater Express currently has only one store located in Phenix City. Because of the projected increase in 2014, the company has decided to open a second location on the Georgia side of the river. It’s currently under construction and will be complete for the 2014 opening. Rafts will be able to depart from both locations as well. 

Season passes will be another option that will become available at the start of the second year. There will be two packages to choose from: a classic season pass for the more tame low-water option of rafting earlier in the day and the challenge trip season pass for the high-water version of the course, offered late in the day and featuring faster water and larger rapids. 

The price for an individual classic ticket will still be $32.50, and an individual challenge ticket will remain $48.50. The options for purchasing passs include: but eight trips and get one free, buy 12 trips and get two for free, or buy 24 trips and get four for free. 

Bishop said her company’s main goal for next year is to get more people from Columbus and surrounding areas to try the course. For each person who participated during the first season, a zip code was recorded to see where customers were coming from. Only 3 percent were from Columbus. 

“That’s like low-hanging fruit for us,” she said. “We know that, for the most part, the awareness is there, but people aren’t cominh out to raft. “Our job over the next couple of weeks is figuring out why and how to reach those people.” 

She plans to use guerrilla marketing to persuade people to try the course. This will be a major part of her job during the off-season. 

“We want to give them a reason to come out,” Bishop said, “Not just to do it, but we want them to think that to be part of this community, we should all go rafting.”

PR Daily article about Gap responding to defaced advertisement

Gap, the clothing corporation, has shown great reactive techniques to something that could have garnered terrible media attention for their business. Instead of ignoring the advertisement, they quickly addressed it and re-posted the original. 

Changes for Chattahoochee River whitewater rafting 2014 Season- Example media pitch for COMM 4555 (media writing)

Dear Mr. Sutley,

The Chattahoochee River whitewater rafting course has proven to be quite a hit among the people in our community and those from out of town as well. With its first year coming to an end after a short five months, many will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new season.  Because this has become such a popular attraction within our community, an article on what Whitewater Express plans to do differently next year may be an interesting approach in the local entertainment section of your paper.

Whitewater Express is the only commercial outfilter that is currently in charge of operating the river, and plans to remain that way for the next few years. The first year was a learning experience for Whitewater Express, and they are currently planning changes to accommodate their market.

The first year was a huge success for Whitewater Express because they received more than two times the amount of rafters than they originally anticipated. Next year, they hope multiply their staff by two and continue to increase rafter participation.

Deciding to keep the course open is one change that has already gone into effect. Whitewater Express has purchased splash gear and wet suits for those who choose to go down the river during the colder months. As far as ticket prices go, they have chosen to keep them as they are. However, one of the amajor changes that will be introduced next year is the option to purchase season passes for the course.

If you are interested in speaking with a Whitewater Express employee, Katie Bishop, their marketing and public relations director, will be able to answer any questions that you may have. Pictures from the course or of the Whitewater Express store can also be provided as well.

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

 

Best,

Ansley Alexander

Great article for beginning Media Writers

This is a great article a current teacher shared with our class on how to tailor a media pitch for certain journalists. This article addresses all of the important factors to composing a great pitch. It’s important to compose it in a way that will be effective for the particular audience you are trying to persuade. A different professor gave us a great example in class of one of his friends who works in the journalism field. She told him that a friend of hers called and asked if she should just send out a press release if she wants to get publicity for her business. The journalist basically said that this wouldn’t be beneficial because honestly, who cares? She spent time around the business, learning different aspects and characteristics of it as she observed. She found a great way to address the story, in a way that would fit the journalists paper and even went as far as to include a possible outlet for it to appear in as well. The journalist loved it, commenting on how she didn’t think of that herself. 

It’s important to keep your pitches short and to the point. Journalists don’t have time or the interest to read lengthy and wordy pitches, they get plenty of them throughout the day. It’s best to come up with a catchy title, a great opening sentence, and include all important information up front. This is a great article for those entering the media writing field. Be sure to check it out. 

Are Amazon’s drone delivery plans just pie in the sky?

Crazy new advancement made by Amazon! I can’t wait to see how their PR Department chooses to address this situation. We talked about this today in my PR class, and we discussed all the publics and possible parties that may have problems with this innovation. The U.S. Postal Service, UPS, FedEx and other ground transportation entities may have problems with drone deliveries. Not to mention Ebay and other online stores. These establishments will have to come up with something better or even adapt to this as well. Considering Amazon will have the rights to drone deliveries, Ebay and other companies will have to pay them to use it as well. Possible problems to address are hackers, securitiy, weather precautions, cost, delivery efficiency and many more. I can’t wait to see how this all unfolds!