Saxum|PR

Making Memories in Tulsa

June 25th, 2010 by Renzi Stone. Posted in News

I’ve been to a ton of receptions. Political receptions, anniversary receptions and meet and greet receptions, to name a few. I’ve been to more receptions than I can remember.

I’ve been to hundreds of events. Ground-breaking events, ribbon-cutting events and inauguration events. I’ve been to weddings, and I’ve been to banquets. I’ve been to rallies, and I’ve been to meetings. I bet you have, too.

I’d be hard pressed to remember details about any of them. The majority of them have been remarkably unmemorable. So why would Saxum spend our money and our time on an open house reception for our new office in Tulsa?

Our objective for last night’s open house was simple – make it memorable.

When you put creative minds together and throw out the traditional PR playbook to solve problems, good things happen and memories are made. Sustainable solutions mean campaigns that ultimately change public perception.

Good public relations is so much broader than making introductions, securing articles in the local paper and working political connections for board positions. If you say “contribution” and I say “oversized check” or if you say “grand opening” and I say “ribbon cutting” then you’ve hired the wrong firm. The days of hiring agencies only for traditional services is coming to a close. Today’s firms must be creative, serious, transparent, measureable, responsive, resourceful, thoughtful and effective. Or we get fired.

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Social Media in Times of Crisis

February 2nd, 2010 by Lindsay Laird. Posted in Industry Expertise

The earthquake in Haiti may go down as the first international disaster to truly display the power of social media.

In the wake of a massive disaster, people usually want to know two things: 1) What happened? and 2) How can I help? Social media provides a platform to answer both of these questions quickly and easily.

No longer do we have to wait for updates from traditional news outlets, rather, through social media sites, citizens are journalists. Those directly impacted by the earthquake in Haiti were able to search for information and help through social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Flickr and YouTube. Thousands of photos taken directly from the devastation in Haiti were broadcast on social media sites 24 hours a day for several days. According to a Jan. 20 study by Pew Research, 13 percent of Americans – including 24 percent of those younger than 30 – say they have received or shared information about the Haiti earthquake through Twitter, Facebook or another social networking site.

As the lines between traditional and new media are beginning to merge, we see mainstream news organizations utilizing social networking for news and information. Nick Wrenn of CNN International Digital Services said, “We immediately moved someone supervising social media and our iReports to the Haiti desk.”

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