Last week, Ketchum CEO, Rob Flaherty, along with Ketchum colleagues, Leslie Schrader, Sharon Jones, Tim Weinheimer, Diane Johnson, and Brian Keenan, hosted more than 45 students from Howard University’s School of Communications. Chartered in 1867 shortly after the end of the U.S. Civil War, Howard University (HU) is one of the nation’s most prestigious historically black universities.
Students from the HU Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America were treated to a panel presentation led by Rob Flaherty. He kicked off the event by introducing the students to the Ketchum brand and by sharing how our creativity and diversity helps keep Ketchum at the forefront of public relations in a constantly evolving industry. Following Rob’s lead, Ketchum colleagues informed and advised the students on the following five topics:
Connecting Brands in Public Relations and Global Interdependence
- The world is connected: Issues intersect so brands’ needs continue to transcend practices and geographies to best serve their corporate and consumer audiences
- As brand counselors, it is essential that we work collaboratively and strategically with the global practices to identify opportunities and to mitigate risk
Developing Your Personal Brand and Landing the Perfect Ketchum Internship
- Put your resume to work: Network, network, and then network some more!
- Properly prepare for your interview: Research the company and its clients, rehearse an elevator speech
- Be early, but not too early!
- Learn the art of the perfect handshake!
- Listen and ask thoughtful, prepared questions
- Send follow-up thank you email/note
Engaging in the Digital Space
- Personalization is key to successful online communications to ensure and deliver the most highly relevant content and experience
- Think mobile first: Be sure to have a solid grasp on how to write strategies and messaging for the portable on-the-go customer
Communicating in the Multicultural Marketplace
- Diversity is essential – but “diverse” doesn’t always mean different!
- Know your audience and tailor your messages appropriately, while being wary of avoiding stereotypes
- Language is key; but translating messages into Spanish (or any other language) doesn’t make your message culturally relevant
- You need to discern when differences matter and, more importantly, when they do not
Participating in Mindfire
- Ketchum’s award winning creative platform, Mindfire, succeeds through the dedicated participation of a diverse student community
- HU student participation ensures the opinions and viewpoints of this cohort are shared with clients and the agency throughout the year
- Students benefit through exposure to client challenges, prizes, career coaching, and exclusive content and notification of jobs and internships
Ketchum thanks the Howard University students for participating in an engaging and energetic dialogue about the PR industry and the importance of diversity in the work that we do, the clients we serve, and our daily interactions as PR professionals. We look forward to maintaining this relationship and to seeing them as new members of the Ketchum family with diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds.
