Can’t live with them, can’t live without them

While interning at Frause, I have dabbled in media pitching and observed the delicate dance that takes place between journalists and PR professionals. The relationship is a bit of an oxymoron, where both require the other to function, yet the road to success is imbedded with bumps and potholes of frustration.

Ragan’s PR Daily has also noticed the symbiotic rapport between the media and public relations, recently posting “33 things the media wish PR people knew.” This list of thirty-three insights is a great starting point (especially for learning interns), but the thirty-five comments at the bottom of the article are just as astute as the article’s content. After reading the article and its comments, I have picked several themes worth repeating.

The first piece of advice the article gives is, “not everything your organization does is newsworthy.” While this is not a shocking reality check to most PR professionals, it can be difficult for clients to understand and thus support such an idea. To overcome this, I have noticed scenarios where Frause is able to identify what is or is not newsworthy on a client’s behalf and then recommend an appropriate course of action, thus balancing the client’s and the media’s interests.

Several of the article’s ideas can be summarized as finding alternative methods to sharing your content with the media. The press release is highlighted as a great starting outreach tool, yet it must be combined with something more engaging. This could be a compelling email subject line, using a journalist’s social network to initiate a dialogue or using multimedia messaging like photos and videos.

Close to half of the thirty-three points center on how to mediate the conflict that rises between PR professionals’ goals for coverage and what is of interest to the media. This is likely to be frustrating for both, but as communications professionals, we have the skills to navigate obstacles as, “corporate messaging goals and good journalism are often at odds” or “that spin is downright annoying” or “the media are the filter, not the enemy.”

From my experiences as Frause’s intern, I look forward to the day where I communicate for a living! If the relationship between the media and PR professionals is a delicate dance, as I learn and gain professional experience, I look forward to the day where I have learned the waltz, foxtrot and tango of media pitching. On the other hand, right now I am managing to boogie along with the funky chicken.

Frause Gaudy Christmas!

At Frause we like to make a splash and we made no exception for this year’s “gaudy” themed office Christmas party! We assembled at the Oasis by Herban Feast in Sodo, donning our most glitzy and tacky holiday attire. We sparkled in red, silver and gold, leaving trails of glitter and tinsel in our wake. A personal favorite was Santa with a pillow for a belly and our very own Bob Frause dressed in drag wearing a green plaid kilt and lady’s holiday sweater with shoulder pads.

The bar was serving up a delicious pomegranate martini along with some red and white wines and beer selections. As we sat down to dinner, it was clear the Frause Christmas Committee had decked the venue halls just as thoroughly as the rest of our team decked ourselves out in ornate and showy gear. The tables were beautifully adorned and the room decorations were extravagant with several light-up reindeer and a blow-up snowman and Santa.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals as we feasted on several options. I had the citrus miso glazed salmon with orange and fennel salad, while people around me savored the herb crusted beef tenderloin, finished with a port demi-glace, and the butternut squash ravioli with brown butter lemon thyme cream sauce and crispy sage. Dessert came with two options: pumpkin cheese cake or chocolate lava cake. YUM! Bob and Sue surprised everyone with little stockings filled with Nordstrom and Amazon gift cards. In turn, the team presented Bob and Sue with our very heavy gift of the Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.

Awards for best costumes were also presented! Just to name a few, Brook and Pete took best contemporary couple and Matt and John took best unintentional couple, both dressed as Cousin Eddie from the movie Christmas Vacation.

With dinner over and a few drinks in, we migrated to karaoke – not to be outdone by Krista’s caroling Santa hat. Bob’s cash incentives got the singing going, but soon we were rocking out to hits from the 80s and 90s, the occasional Christmas carol, to a few impressive rap performances.

Frause boogied into the night getting wrapped up in the season’s festivities and merrymaking, so much so that some of the Frausies headed to Hooverville for a nightcap. The Frause gaudy Christmas party was a merry Christmas for all and for all a goodnight!

One lifetime just isn't enough

This past Tuesday the Frause team and our colleagues at Fundraising Partners Northwest headed down to the Lake Union Café to celebrate Bob at the Puget Sound Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Holiday Gala. It was a happy event full of photos, conversations and smiles. The silent auction featured items like a signed Seahawks football by Leon Washington, a basket of Washington wine and an at home spa kit. Between the silent auction and the live dessert auction, a significant amount of money was raised for the Puget Sound Chapter’s Horace & Susie Revels Cayton and Sally Heet Memorial scholarships. During the dessert auction, the Frause tables snagged the raspberry chocolate torte and gluten-free gingerbread men. Sweets for a worthy cause! Following the dessert auction, the awards ceremony began. R. Danner Graves, APR, Fellow PRSA, of Graves Group was honored with the Hugh Smith Community Service Award; along with Neil Neroutsos, APR of Snohomish County PUD for the President's Award for Volunteerism; and Dave Marriott, APR of Gogerty Marriott, Inc. as the PR Professional of the Year. Finally, (drum roll please!), Bob Frause was introduced by Suzanne Hartman, APR, the 2012 Chapter President-Elect, to receive the Jay Rockey Lifetime Achievement Award! Bob was handed the trophy by the award’s namesake – Jay Rockey.

Jay Rockey shared a humorous and anecdotal speech with the audience about the award that is now in its tenth year. He praised Bob and spoke of how much he values PRSA calling the Puget Sound Chapter the best in the nation. He also joked he was pleased to see the podium on the ground level after almost falling on the stage steps last year. As Bob accepted the award, he took a moment to thank his family, his team at Frause and the many professionals who have guided him throughout his career. The audience was full of warm smiles, in addition to the wet eyes of Bob’s wife, Sue.

The awards ceremony wrapped up with a mini video roast of Bob that also doubled as a tribute from all of us at Frause. The award was no doubt the highlight of Bob’s night, but we think our video and symbolic gift of Heifer International chickens added to the evening's thrill!