PR FIRMS HOLIDAY MIXER 12-11-2002

Eye On PR

MAYO enters a third year with a popular feature on its website:
"Eye On PR" Everything from tricks of the trade to getting
on the radar of industry analysts to making your company newsworthy.

Nationally recognized and award-winning writer George McQuade
reports on the PR industry. We also featured guest writers.

If you'd like to share your media experience please let us know, or
feel free to comment about ours.

Industry-Wide Holiday Mixer Brings Mixed Reviews For 2003

By George S. Mc Quade III

George McQuade Caricature and the real McCoy
by L.A. Caricature Artist Ted Jewell

The economy, spending, and a war with Iraq tops list of concerns of PR Pros in 2003, according to a random survey at a holiday mixer of about 130 PR Pros held at Wednesday, December 11, 2002, at NBC, Burbank. Members of the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society(EPPS), Hispanic Public Relations Association (HSPA), National Black Public Relations Society (NBPRS), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA-LA) and Young Professionals PRSA/Los Angeles (YP) all brought an unwrapped toy for United In Harmony, a nonprofit that benefits about 200 homeless children.

All of the PR Industry's Presidents Men & Women joined by KNBC-TV's Colleen Williams (C)

"The problems of being in the PR industry is everyone gets into their own little pocket"

"I think it's (the mixer of various PR organizations) great, because one of the problems of being in the PR industry is that everyone gets into their own little pocket," said PRSA-LA President-elect Greg Waskul, Waskul Worldwide Communications, Los Angeles. "Whether you're with an entertainment, PR firm, or an agency or corporate client you tend to hunker down, especially when times are tough and people work longer hours. It 's nice to see people get together and have a chance to meet some people that they don't normally get a chance to meet in the field."

Waskul believes one of the biggest challenge in 2003 is with the economy sliding with no recovery in sight, will be servicing clients, which are looking for quality and outstanding work, and to do more with less. "It will be a challenge for every PR professional to try to accomplish more with less resources, because at a certain point you reach a point of no return of being able to do that. You can buy all of the computers in the world, but people do the work in this business. It's a business of ideas," explained Waskul.

Scott Pansky, EPPS Pres., and PRSA-LA Board
Members Stephen Chavez & Dan Orsborn.

"The question is how soon will the economy begin to turn,"said Dan Orsborn, president, The Orsborn Company and PRSA-LA board member. Orsborn, who was formally with Porter-Novelli, Los Angeles also said: " I know from the big agency perspective were were all waiting, hoping and holding on to the idea that things were going to turnaround in the fourth quarter, and they really haven't so hopefully by first quarter next year things will start to get better. And if we go to war, it won't be as bad as the Persian Gulf War, where things literally stopped, because we're stockpiling oil and were more prepared. I think it will still have an effect on the economy."

Scott Pansky, EPPS President

"The publicists in corporate America want to work with the entertainment industry"

"This mixer event of all the PR organizations is a good thing, and I want to get credit to Rita Tateel, of Celebrity Source, who put it all together," Said EPPS President Scott Pansky, general manager/Partner, Allison & Partners. "She is on the PRSA-LA board, had the vision of bringing all of these organizations together. It also mirrors EPPS vision to have more strategic alliances in the community, we all need to know each other .The publicists in corporate America want to work with the entertainment industry, and this provides us a good opportunity to know our corporate partners. Events like these allows us to share trends and ideas of what's happing in the community.

Allison and Partners started four days before Sept. 5, 2001. "We brought in a lot of business, but there were a lot of struggles in the economy, let alone acts of war. The key with a potential war. We have to be strategic, and think about what our client's needs are, and to accommodate that under a new structure," explained Pansky.

HSPA President Brenda Mendoza, who also had her Tarot cards read for year 2003 provided by Renee Mandel-Sher, Tea & Tarot

"It's going to be difficult to pitch media if we go to war," says HSPA President Mendoza

"If we go to war with Iraq it is going to impact spending, the economy, and it will impact how we handle our media relations," said HSPA President Brenda C. Mendoza. "It is going to be difficult to pitch to the media, because there is not going to be a lot of air time or space in the paper, so it will be a challenge."


Outgoing President Peter Hidalgo with National President Joann Killeen.	Above (KNBC-TV hosts holiday PR party mixer

"I believe economy is picking up,"says Los Angeles PR Pro Mary Graybill

"I believe the economy for the public relations industry is picking up, because I've beengetting calls to participate in various public relations ventures,"said Mary Graybill, Graybill Communications, and former PRSA-LA board member. "Some of them (ventures) have been a little screwy, but that's baseline. In the past when that happened it was a sign of a better economy."

"Many people in our industry have felt some stress this year," says Event Chair Tateel

"This is very exciting that we have five different public relations organizations coming together in a common purpose," said Event Chair Rita Tateel, president Celebrity Source and board member, PRSA-LA. "Tonight our common purpose is to help support the very worthy cause of United In Harmony, which helps homeless children. They provide a wonderful holiday party Complete with gifts for homeless children, who would normally not have a gifts over the holidays.

Rita Tateel, Celebrity Source holds door prize

United in Harmony also provide a summer camp for these kids. This is a wonderful opportunity for a lot of public relations professionals to help support that organization. We are a unique industry and I think many people in our industry have felt some stress this year over many different areas and this is a great opportunity for them to come together and support one another as an industry as a whole.

NBPRS President Pat Tobin (R)

"You're supposed to make love not war," says NBPRS President Tobin

"These mixers are a wonderful thing and we should do this every year," said NBPRS President Pat Tobin, Tobin & Associates. "I see in 2003 challenges of getting more jobs for people, and meaningful executive positions for people of color in the field of public relations. There'sstill a little problem when it comes to diversity.

People are talking 'inclusive,' but I don't see V.P.'s, top account executives, or higher level positions for people of color when I go to other major PR firms. I would like to see that change hopefully in my lifetime.War always impacts everybody economically, it's a bad thing, because you're supposed to make love not war," said Tobin.

"You asked the tough questions, but if we go to war I think that we're all going to have to look for different avenues and creative outlets for our work. The focus of our work is going to be challenge in many ways, because we may have a client that wants to get branding message out there. The reality is that the public's attention will be perhaps be somewhere else, so we're going to have great challenges ahead both creatively, intellectually and financially. As an industry as a whole if we can support one another by providing programs, seminars and sessions that will help everybody deal with whatever issues they may encounter it be helpful. That's why joining together as an industry as a whole in a social event like this is beneficial for a cause."

"Bridging the gap between these organizations is key," says PRSA's Chavez.

It is fabulous to get this many groups together in our industry, because for so many years these organizations have been operating separately and not sharing resources, not sharing the network and the membership," said PRSA-LA Board member Stephen C. Chavez, vice president Valencia, Perez & Echeveste PR.

The former president of HSPA says the challenges in 2003 include: "Bridging the gap between these organizations and finding ways to partner with each other on events and causes, which would broaden our reach on a national level. Each PR organization is very strong at the local level, at a national level they need an umbrella organization like PRSA or something like it needs to be put on the table in order to continue grow and do outreach to the various ethnics segments of our community."

The event was sponsored by Celebrity source, Durazo Communications, Golin/Harris, Kaiser Permanente, BWR/Olgilvy PR, Valencia Perez & Echeveste Public Relations and Weber Shandwick. Door prizes (including 10 memberships to this website) were provided by MAYO Communications, Arclight Cinemas, Allison & Partners, BBS Communications, HPRA, Laemmle Theatres, and NBPRS/Tobin & Associates.