Bayview Public Relations

Experience is a funny thing.  To many, it’s just life.  To some, it’s “what they get when they don’t get what they want.” But, to college students, it’s a necessity—we know we must have it in order to be successful some day.

Enter Bayview Public Relations: an emerging Tampa Bay public relations firm.  A company composed of three principal practitioners with a variety of opportunities for a qualified student studying public relations.

From the expected press release-writing, pitch idea-brainstorming, research-conducting and customer-relating, to the more innovative video editing, event planning, social networking and blog writing (wink), my internship with Bayview Public Relations has allowed me to practice traditional public relations techniques and explore, firsthand, the changes the field is undergoing each and every day.

Assisting with the EnviroFocus Technologies groundbreaking allowed me to witness the importance of creating detailed events—with everything planned from the order of speakers to the color-coordinated linens and invitations—targeted toward highly specific audiences.

Communicating with buyer prospects for GuardianLion, has given me a better understanding of the importance of an open dialogue between company and consumer.

Creating focused media and community outreach lists for multiple clients has driven home the point that good old-fashioned research is still a must.

My experience at Bayview Public Relations has allowed me to witness that, contrary to some beliefs, public relations is not at all a dying field, and certainly not one of slick and shady spinsters.  Rather, it is a field that’s being reborn by creative professionals who are finding innovative ways to communicate with their clients’ target markets. Authors can’t publish text books fast enough to keep up with the new frontier this field is traversing.

Kristine Kodytek is an intern at Bayview Public Relations for the Spring 2010 semester.  She is graduating in May from The University of Tampa with a degree in advertising and public relations.

Of 21 top public relations agencies listed in the Tampa Bay Business Journal 2010 Book of Lists, only three have opted to use “Public Relations” or “PR” in their company name. Those words simply conjure bad thoughts for some people – a bit of that is deserved, much of it isn’t.

For one, anybody can slap a ‘PR’ on their business card – there are a fair share of slick-talkers, spinmeisters, yes-men, and schmoozers claiming a share of the industry banner.

Other misperceptions are gleaned from film and TV – at best portraying a very narrow segment of the business, and often misrepresenting it entirely (internal meetings on strategies and objectives aren’t usually compelling entertainment).

A few negative perceptions might be earned – any profession has bad apples. Some agency bull artist pulls out all the stops for a fancy new business pitch, but then half-baked strategies are passed along to less-experienced staff. Or a flurry of substance-less press releases are blasted to carelessly compiled lists of media and constituents. The activity reports might look impressive, but needles aren’t moving.

Despite and because of these things, we ultimately decided that ‘Public Relations’ will be front-and-center in our branding. We’re going to embrace opportunities to address negative perceptions head-on, and help spread the word that public relations is an important and credible profession.

Good public relations not only generates measurable bottom-line value for clients – it benefits all parties because it guides organizations to be helpful, to be honest, and to offer useful information to people. Good PR helps organizations listen and respond, identifying key areas and addressing them. Good PR fosters communication that is clear, candid, and productive – to help move organizations forward, in line with the needs and wants of society.

And society is changing rapidly, so as is our industry – we’ve got new and emerging ways of communicating, a very different news media landscape, plus reset economic standards. As the industry reinvents itself, we hope it collects more positive connotations – we’ll be here doing our small part to help.

This blog is a forum to discuss issues and trends impacting public relations, along with sharing client and agency news and other things we or you may find interesting…