A delightful afternoon in the company of artist Deena Gu Laties happily confirms the fact that the ultimate benefit of social media and online communication lies in real face-to-face human interaction, and hopefully the beginning of a lovely new friendship. I first met Deena via email in response to an invitation to a reception I planned for my client North Star Yacht Club.

A new resident at the riverfront condominium community in North Fort Myers, FL, this exceptionally talented watercolor artist loves the panoramic water views and incredible natural light that inspire her painting.

When we finally got to meet at the event,  I was struck immediately by Deena’s warmth and her ability to draw others into interesting conversation, and following the party I was eager to learn more about her art and her background growing up in Shanghai.  I learned a lot by visiting her website www.deenagu.com and she inspired my idea for a new feature column on North Star Yacht Club’s website: “The Company We Keep.”

But like the new media experts espouse, electronic communications works best as the means to an end — it’s the face-to-face encounter that sparks a real relationship.  So when I decided we had learned enough about each other on line, I asked Deena if she would like a mini-tour of the Fort Myers area and an introduction to the local arts community.  I thought the best way to accomplish that was to bring her over to the Alliance of the Arts. There, she could get to know several hundred area artists and become familiar with the wonderful resources that organization offers.  Publicity director Chelsea Birczak gave us a very informative and friendly tour — Deena was extremely impressed and is planning to become a member.

Next stop, downtown Fort Myers where I filled her in on the recent refurbishments and excitement about the downtown area, Art Walk , the Sidney & Berne Davis Center and the growing arts community.  She was also interested in learning about the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce so I brought her into the downtown banking office of Florida Gulf Bank to meet some of the leaders of the business community. Finally, we enjoyed a delicious outdoor lunch at Delicious Things where we shared conversation about our families and our backgrounds.

Yes, the sun was shining on another beautiful day in Southwest Florida — but the warmth really came from a day filled with so much personal interaction — from Chelsea’s warm welcome, to the Florida Gulf Bank staff taking some time out to greet a new community member, to the interesting and inspiring lunch conversation — the experience was a shining example of the impact new media can have when it leads to the ultimate goal: building relationships.

I hope others have similar experiences they would like to share — find out more about me and my PR firm at PKECreative.com.

(Susan G. Komen Southwest Florida affiliate Race for the Cure PR Team: Marie Mosley, APR, Phyllis Ershowsky, APR/CPRC, Pam Nulman, APR/CPRC)

This past Saturday, the Southwest Florida Susan G. Komen affiliate held their 4th annual Race for the Cure.  It was the culmination of months of planning, the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, teams and committees and an ambitious three-month PR plan that we put in place and implemented through Race Day.

It has been an extraordinary experience. I was honored to accept the position of PR Chair for this year’s race and during the past few months, my PR coordinator Marie Mosley, APR and I have worked to create awareness — not only about the event, but about research, early detection, allocation of funds and the fact that breast cancer knows no boundaries when it comes to age, income, geography and yes, even gender.

From writing and distributing news releases to working closely with our amazingly supportive and engaged Southwest Florida media, it has been extremely rewarding to see it come to fruition with positive results.

But there was nothing more powerful than the survivor stories — warriors young and old who have been down a road no one wants to travel and managed to return with compelling stories to tell about their journeys.

At some point during this experience, the professional became personal. To prepare for media interviews, Marie talked to women who had just been released from the hospital, women awaiting their next surgery within the next day or two, women still bruised and bandaged.  Yet they were ready and eager to tell their stories, openly sharing what up until a few years ago may have been taboo.  Why? Because they know only their experiences will help us understand what we are walking or running for, and why it is so crucial for our daughters, our mothers, our husbands or wives, ourselves.  Their stories brought us to tears — more important, their stories brought 9,500 people out on a Saturday morning, and raised more than $900,000 to help find a cure.

Who could possibly help getting emotionally involved?  Hearing the words of these women, on TV, on line and in the newspaper, told with such honesty and hope, could move even the toughest individuals. And if we’ve moved them not only emotionally, but moved them to action, we have done our job.

By the time the sun rose on Race Day, our PR team was in professional mode, press kits compiled, interviews lined up, news trucks in place, crisis plan in our back pockets. Then the cameras started to roll, and as one breast cancer survivor after another, some with husbands or children in tow, shared their personal stories, suddenly that was all that mattered.

Honorary Race Chair actor James Denton at Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Southwest Florida

At the end of the day, the results were outstanding, and we gained a new perspective that a personal approach to public relations can go a long way — hopefully toward a cure.

Entrants can sign up at any of five SW Florida Ford dealerships:

Coconut Point Ford, Estero

Charlotte County Ford, Port Charlotte

Langford Ford, LaBelle

Sam Galloway Ford, Fort Myers

Tamiami Ford, Naples

Those entering the contest can also pick up an entry form to participate in the Race on Saturday, March 13. Last year, more than 8,100 people participated in the 5k run and walk. The event raised more than $914,000. This helped the Southwest Florida affiliate award grants of $963,000 to 10 local non-profit organizations that provide education, screening, treatment and support in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry & Lee counties.

Ford has served as the local presenting sponsor since the very first Southwest FL Race for the Cure in 2007, providing funding, media support and hosting events.

The Susan G. Komen Southwest Florida Race for the Cure takes place on March 13, 2010 at the Coconut Point Mall in Estero.  For more info visit www.komenswfl.org.

And you can find me at www.pkecreative.com.

Last night was the kick off meeting for the 4th annual

Susan G. Komen Southwest Florida Race for the Cure at Galloway Ford in Fort Myers. It was so  inspiring…

to see every chair filled with team captains eager to get started with their fundraising efforts  – all sharing a common goal to raise funds to fight breast cancer.

One of the main themes of this year’s effort is “The Power of 10″ — imagine if each participant asked 10 friends to donate $10 each.  This simple concept would achieve the fundraising goals for the 2010 Race without being too much of an economic burden on anyone.

Several motivating speakers added their comments — Sam Galloway of title sponsor Galloway Ford introduced his program, “Think Pink, Drive Green” — starting on Feb. 1, every race registrant at one of the five Southwest Florida Ford dealers will be entered to win a brand new Hybrid Ford Fusion.

Executive Director Miriam Ross welcomed everyone, and co-chair Monica Young spoke movingly about survivorship and co-survivorship and  introduced her co-chair Bill Valenti.

Everyone left feeling inspired and informed and ready to achieve fundraising goals for the March 13th Race for the Cure taking place at the Coconut Point Mall in Estero. Individual participants and teams can now register online at: www.komenswfl.org.

Last year, more than 8,100 people participated in Race for the Cure in Southwest Florida which raised more than $914,000 to support the fight against breast cancer. This helped the Southwest Florida affiliate make grants of $963,000 to10 local non-profit organizations that provide education, screening, treatment and support in Lee, Collier, Hendry and Glades counties.

Another exciting announcement was that “Desperate Housewives” leading actor James Denton has been named Honorary Race Chair and is scheduled to attend the event on March 13. Denton has been instrumental in raising money for Komen following the death of his mother from breast cancer.

It was a wonderful evening of community gathering together for a shared vision: a world without breast cancer.

To register or for more information, visit www.komenswfl.org or call 239-498-0016. For more info on the PR Chair for the Southwest Florida Race for the Cure visit www.pkecreative.com

Like me, you have probably attended a host of social media workshops and seminars and as a result, have been motivated to bring those exciting options to the workplace. Yes, this has inspired me to encourage my clients to get on board and to update online communications for my own business. But I view these tools as enhancements to the rich, diverse world of communications and public relations, not replacements — and I value local media even more during these challenging times. Here are five reasons why:
RELATIONSHIPS
Last week while watching our local NBC TV affiliate, I caught my friend/client’s son who is a rising basketball star as the sports reporter focused on a high school tournament.

It may sound trivial, but when I called my client the following day to discuss business, the mere mention that I had seen her son on TV just delighted her. And the fact that we shared a few moments of “proud Mom time” as a prelude to our business conversation goes a long way in cementing our relationship just a little bit more.  It’s good business but not all business — I am excited for her and for her son’s accomplishments.  That’s what relationship building is all about, and it’s important.

REPUTATION

While the standard headshot and three lines of text announcing a new hire or an employee’s promotion are not exactly “breaking news,” when your client does business in a small to medium sized market, it is one way to announce that your firm is growing, that your employees are achieving and that you are holding strong in your industry.

People actually read these items and whether they are looking for someone they know, or perhaps for themselves, they are taking notice and filing away these tiny bits of information. Over the long run, these small steady bits add up to help build a company’s reputation. Hometown newspapers like the Fort Myers News Press and Florida Weekly, and business publications like Gulfshore Business understand the value of local business news, and the value of relationships.

COMMUNITY

If you’re looking for your friend’s race time in the neighborhood 5K or checking for the locale of an upcoming charity gala, one obvious source is your community newspaper.  And after the gala, you might even get a glimpse of yourself in the society pages.

Along the same lines your local radio station, rather than a satellite channel, will offer commentary on Friday night’s happy hour at the local downtown watering hole. Just fluff?  Not at all — these are the things that bind a small community together.

BUSINESS

When local media reports on people and organizations you know, whom you can relate to, whom you see on a daily basis, this can affect the way you go about your business.  Depending on the positive or negative reporting, you might make the decision to seek out or to avoid that business as a potential client or vendor. You might admire the good charitable work a business is doing in the community, or you might develop a loyalty to a particular organization because local news has kept you apprised of their achievements. If you are a non-profit, you might discover through local news that a particular business might be the perfect fit for a sponsorship for your upcoming event.

A local feature story could serve as the entry to conversation with someone you’ve been meaning to communicate with but didn’t know how to start. All in all, good local media can lead the way to good local business.

ROOTS

We live in a transitional society where friends, neighbors and co-workers move fluidly either to new jobs or new communities. Social media helps us keep up to date with those long distance relationships, whereas local media can provide much-needed stability.

Watching or reading about the annual tomato festival, seeing your affiliate TV anchors MC’ing at local events and reading your banker’s weekly financial column establish a sense of place where local people are doing local things. It’s great when community reporters show up to cover grand openings, charity functions and other events — they live here too and have also made their community a priority.

So while I certainly would not discount the vastly significant and growing importance of social media to marketing and public relations for business, I still hold local media in the highest regard. Valuing and nurturing those relationships make local business stronger in the long run. If you want to continue a discussion on local media, social media, marketing or public relations, please contact me.

After donning hard hats Friday afternoon to set up the open house for Pfeifer Realty Group and Hahn Construction, the elves started a protest to keep the Sanibel and Captiva Luminary Festival “rain-free.” Despite their best elfish efforts, the rain persisted. Fortunately, their efforts were rewarded with a successful open house event despite the downpour.

While Santa keeps a low profile on the island, the elves – Palmer, Shelly, Bailey, Junonia, Perry and Winkle – are busy keeping island residents on the lookout for their antics. After setting up Santa’s “Southern Workshop” on the grounds of Pfeifer Realty Group’s offices, they put their computer savvy and social networking skills to work making the case for keeping the “Southern Workshop” open after reports of too much beach time and too little toy production.

Using their computer to track toy production and shipping, the elves have also launched their own website, and are seen regularly posting to their new Facebook fan page.  The sites are a public relations effort by the elves to keep the toy-making facility in Sanibel after Mrs. Claus threatened to close the site after reports of too much fishing by Santa and too little toy production. “Sanibel is our home now, and we can’t imagine a better place to work than this paradise,” said Shelly, a dedicated elf who celebrated 500 years with the organization.

For more information on the daily antics of the Sanibel Elves, visit their website at www.SanibelElves.com or join their Facebook fan page, “Sanibel Elves.”

Have a fun holiday season!

Working with my friend and client Barb Garfold of Lahaina Island Accommodations (www.beachtime.us) has helped me focus on the “art of public relations.”  With the debut of a permanent display of works by renowned fine art photographer Alan S. Maltz (www.alanmaltz.com) she is incorporating 5 important ways that public relations can help her business.First, the vacation home rental company now has an alliance with a well-known artist.  Maltz’s work is featured at the Carter Center and Presidential Library in Atlanta, American Airlines Arena and Carnival Cruise Lines in Miami, and other high profile locations.  Residents and visitors to Fort Myers Beach now have an opportunity to see his works at Lahaina Island Accommodations.

Second, they are adding a natural tie in with the artist’s work and Florida’s natural beauty — visitors can experience nature as well as appreciate the artwork whose imagery captures the beauty, tranquility and diversity of Southwest Florida.

Third, Lahaina is using many levels of communication tactics to get the word out: from traditional news releases to online distribution, social media and blogging — they are creating a “buzz” about the new exhibit, Alan’s new book and the upcoming event launching the new collection.

Fourth, a special reception will bring existing owners, colleagues and friends together on December 3 to view the artwork and be among the first to see Alan’s fourth book, Visions of Beauty — Fort Myers, Sanibel & Beyond.  The artist will even be available to sign the books!

Fifth, and probably most important, Barb, Paul and the team at Lahaina Island Accommodations are creating and reinforcing their community relationships through the beauty of art.  They are creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere that people want to be a part of — yes, this is the “art” of public relations.

For more about Lahaina Island Accommodations and the great work they are doing, you can check my portfolio at www.pkecreative.com.