Raleigh Public Relations Society

The Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS) aims to advance the art and science of public relations and to strengthen communication, understanding and cooperation among the diverse individuals, groups, and institutions of the Society.

VP@rprs.org

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Join Us! RPRS Summer Social – “Unconference” – July 24, 2018

Shake up your summer evening routine and join us on the patio at Mulino Italian Kitchen & Bar on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. for our summer social which we’ve themed as an “unconference”!

RPRS Summer Social "Unconference" 2018
Join us Tuesday, July 24, 2018 at Mulino Italian Kitchen & Bar

There’s no rigid agenda here, just the best things you love about going to industry conferences… a few hot tips, some inspiring takeaways, networking with old and new contacts like, and of course, a few product demos…

RSVP Today

The event is free to attend, but drinks are on your own. Sorry, no big spender sponsors for this “unconference”! 😉

Please register for your ticket below. We have space for 40 of our closest friends! Can’t make it after you RSVP? Please email VP@RPRS.org so that we may cancel your ticket and open up space for another guest to attend.

Rain or Shine

Although we plan to enjoy the luxe patio for this event, we’re are having our unconference rain or shine and will move indoors if inclement weather is in the plans for our evening.

Practice Your Public Speaking

Want to get a little extra face time at this event? We’re looking for five speakers to host “lightning talks” – a three-to-five minute speaking opportunity about your hot take on an industry trend or best practice. Since this is an unconference, there’s no fancy AV equipment so you’ll have to do it unaided by an accompanying PowerPoint presentation.

Sound like a good opportunity you want to jump at? Pitch us! Email VP@RPRS.org with your topic and our board will select five speakers by Friday, July 20, so you’ll have the weekend to practice in front of your mirror, your dog, or your non-judgemental BFFs.

The Logistics

There’s plenty of parking on-site, so come on over to Mulino at 309 N. Dawson Street in Downtown Raleigh when your day wraps up. Plan to Uber instead? We can’t blame you – and encourage you to enjoy a glass of wine, craft beer, or one of the inspired seasonal cocktails since you won’t be driving home!

Come when you can, leave when you must. Our unconference is a casual one happening from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. The first lightning talk will begin at 6 p.m. and we’ll have demos of our new online awards platform going all evening, too!

Questions or More Info?

Leave a comment below or email VP@RRPS.org!

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Pop-Up Stores as a Marketing Tool

Pop-up retailing or flash retailing is a trend of opening short term sales spaces. A pop-up store space is a venue that is temporary — the space could be used for a sample one-day sale or a seasonal store specifically targeted to market holidays such as Halloween and Christmas.  Pop-up stores are used for marketing and are a great way to build awareness of a brand or product.

There are many benefits of pop-up stores.  Pop-up stores allow for interactive branding, product testing, market (location) testing, low-cost overhead (no long-term lease), low-risk investment, buzz generation through social media interaction, and most importantly, an experiential experience for past, current and potential customers.

Pop-up stores create an experience and space customers do not currently get online or at a permanent brick and mortar location.  This new experience provided by pop-up stores is due to a different form of interaction with a brand or product.  The difference can come from the location (coliseum, park, office building, etc.) and the ability to touch, feel and try on.

One well-known brand using experiential retail is Lululemon. Lululemon gives customers the ultimate experiential experience through both pop-up stores and brick and mortar locations including weekly in-store yoga classes, social clubs, their store ambassador program and their community events program.  In 2013 Lululemon had a short-term store front lease in Greensboro. It was such a success they opened a full retail store in Greensboro at the Friendly Center. In addition, Ivivva Athletica by Lululemon had a two-day pop-up store in 2016 in Raleigh.  Pop-up stores are a great way to test the waters to see if a full store can sustain itself.  North Carolina currently has six permanent Lululemon locations.

Brands can do many other experiential things within a pop-up store.  There are pop-up stores where a customer can taste food, try on clothes, test visual effects on a computer or video game, try out a new form of communication, customize items and much more.

Could any of your clients benefit from a pop-up store? Pop-up stores need to be considered a valuable marketing tool.  They allow a new form of interaction with customers, help with a new retail model, provide a unique experience for customers and help gain customer loyalty.  The pop-up store retail model will result in increased profitability for retailers, increased customer satisfaction and the evolution of a seamless and integrated ecosystem experience regardless of the channel.

Post by Andrea Epstein, 2018 RPRS Treasurer

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Announcing Our 2018 Professional Development Workshop Featuring Karl Sakas

I am so excited to announce the Raleigh PR Society 2018 professional development seminar designed with team leaders and managers in mind! RPRS President Lindsay Priester and I have been working on this topic for many months alongside our presenter, Karl Sakas. We wanted to ensure this would be a high-impact event for attendees, without asking too much time away from the office and not requiring too much budgetary approval, either.

Without further ado, I give you…

Made to Lead: Actionable Strategies for Rookie and Veteran Team Leaders, Alike

1:30pm – 5:30pm
18 Seaboard

Karl Sakas to speak at RPRS May Lunch and LearnManaging people is tough, but it doesn’t have to be so hard!

The Raleigh PR Society is pleased to host agency consultant Karl Sakas from Sakas & Company, for a half-day workshop designed for c-suite and executive-level professionals who manage teams both small and large. Karl helps PR, marketing, and creative agencies take control of their business. In this hands-on workshop, he will more narrowly focus on the challenges faced by professionals charged with overseeing the efforts, development, and retention of company talent.

Attendees will learn concrete tips to make your work easier when you lead marketing and creative teams. In addition to hearing from Karl in a small group setting (only 25 seats will be made available for this workshop), attendees will walk away with the first draft of a personalized plan to tackle management challenges within their own organization in the second half of 2018.

Priced at only $99 per seat, this four-hour workshop is an incredible value for those seeking renewed energy to lead a happier, more productive workforce, but will also leave attendees poised to develop leadership techniques that make top talent easier to retain.

Join us Thursday, May 24, 2018, from 1:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. at 18 Seaboard for this half-day leadership seminar. Refreshments throughout the seminar, a closing cocktail, and a copy of Karl Sakas’ 2016 book, Made to Lead: A Pocket Guide to Managing Marketing & Creative Teams, are included in the registration fee. Registration opens on Monday, March 19, 2018, at 8 a.m. and closes on Friday, May 18, 2018, at 5 p.m.

REGISTRATION: $99
(Includes Course Materials, Refreshments, & Post-Event Happy Hour Beverage)

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I hope you can make the time in your busy schedule to join us for what promises to be valuable time away from the office and your team. I look forward to seeing you there!

Lisa Jeffries
Founder & Principal – Raleighwood Media Group + Raleighwood Event Group
RPRS Vice President

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The State of RPRS: Updates and Plans

Hi, RPRS members and friends! Lindsay Priester here, RPRS president for 2018. As we’ve long left the holidays behind and March is quickly approaching, I wanted to take a minute to tell you where things stand with RPRS and what lies ahead.

Our board of directors recently transitioned and while we’ve got many of the same faces, there are a few changes!

Kelly Propst, our fearless leader for the past few years, has moved to an at-large role, while I’ve taken over as president. I’ve got some giant shoes to fill, but I’m thrilled to get this opportunity (while also conveniently having the experience and expertise of Kelly nearby). A huge thanks to Kelly for her unwavering dedication and leadership to this group over the years.

Stephanie Llorente, one of our long-term board members, has moved off the board and earned some much-deserved rest. She served as an officer for almost a decade and we’re so grateful for her time, commitment and willingness to jump in and help with everything over the years. Lucky for us, she’s still a very active RPRS member, so we get to see her often!

Lisa Jeffries, former banquet chair, has taken on the role of vice president and is booking dynamic and engaging speakers left and right. For those of you who know Lisa (which is probably most of you), you know she knows everyone in the biz, so this is the perfect role for her.  We’re very excited to share that the banquet chair vacancy left by Lisa is being filled by Allison Thiebaud, a new member to the board. She’s already brought energy and enthusiasm to planning the perfect banquet for our 2018 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards.

The rest of the crew is the same awesome group of PR/comms rockstars from last year – Jessica Pope (secretary), Andrea Epstein (treasurer), Olivia Easly (membership), Lindsay Poe (publicity), Hope Torruella (social media), David Dean (awards) and Christa Leupen (member-at-large). This group is one that is incredibly talented, engaged and committed to making RPRS the best it can possibly be.

The board met in January for a planning session. We spent hours discussing what’s worked in the past, what we can do better, and what we can provide to make sure our members get as much value as possible from their participation with RPRS. The planning session was a huge success and we’ve got big plans for this year!

One of those plans involves continuing to improve our Sir Walter Raleigh Awards program. Last year, David and Lisa worked tirelessly to update our awards program. For the first time in RPRS history, we were able to accept credit card payments (about time, we know!) and all submissions were digital. David is now taking the lessons learned from last year and putting into place additional systems and processes to enhance the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards. Stay tuned for more details!

We’ve already got some big events on the calendar, too. In March we’ll be hosting our breakfast networking social. It’s entirely FREE and includes breakfast (and coffee aka PR pro rocket fuel) and is one of our favorite events of the year. You can register here.

In April our luncheon will focus on everything you need to know about the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards. We’ll have previous winners give you their tips and tricks, as well as some lessons our awards chair, David, has learned from managing the process.

There are other fun things in the works as well: a half-day workshop for PR pros, co-working days and more. We can’t wait to give you more details!

Mostly, though, we want to hear from you! If you have an idea for a lunch speaker or social, an improvement or change you’d like to see in our Sir Walter Raleigh Awards, or just want to grab a coffee and say “hi,” please reach out to us! All of our contact information is available here and we’d love to talk!

Cheers to an exciting year for RPRS!

Lindsay Priester, 2018 RPRS President