Blog Highlights

I wanted to draw attention to some of the great insights students are posting as we navigate through the textbook about strategic communications.

Social Media in the News
Alyssa's blog discusses an interesting story in the news this week. She explains: "This week Provost Eric Darr of Harrisburg University in Pennsylvania has declared a black out of all social media sites on campus." This inspired Alyssa to analyze her own use of social media.

Do you think we use social media too much? Is it only for entertainment, or are there "legitimate" (i.e. educational, professional) uses for it? This class is about using social media to inspire change in the world -- how can that be bad? ;)

Values in Advertising
Laura took the idea of understanding audience values and found an interesting advertisement showcasing values (of a sort). Check out her blog (the 9/13 entry) for the video and her insightful discussion of it.

Know Your Audience
Emily discussed an interesting advertising campaign implemented by Hummer in association with McDonald's. Do we all agree that the Happy Meal toys were an example of misunderstanding the audience?

Refresh

The class is now hard at work on their ideas for the big class projects for Safe Harbor. It's looking like they'll be developing a video for the website, a social media marketing plan, and helping to expand and promote a charity fashion show -- but more ideas may come about soon.

We are also finalizing ideas for a Pepsi Refresh Grant. Hannah's blog and Kim's blog discuss the Pepsi Refresh Project and some of the contenders for this month's prize. The class is determined to win $25,000 for Safe Harbor. Wouldn't that be amazing?! We'll be sure to tell EVERYONE we know when it's time to vote for our project. Stay tuned for more details.

Visit from Safe Harbor Staff

This week, Julie and Samantha from Safe Harbor will be attending class to tell us more about the organization and some projects we may be able to help them achieve. Most of the class is now following Safe Harbor on Twitter and Facebook, and we're reading their new Fall 2010 newsletter now. It should be inspiring and educational to hear in person how we can help this great organization.