Behind most successful corporations is a strong public relations campaign to make products more marketable to the public.
U student Nathan Jackson placed in the top five in the third annual Public Relations Society of America Golden Spike Awards competition for the Salt Lake chapter, in which students throughout Utah were asked to make the Utah Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization offering services to cancer patients, more recognizable.
Jackson, a junior in communication, along with 40 other college students, wrote a press release and presented a campaign to panelists representing the Utah Cancer Foundation and board members for the competition before answering their detailed questions.
“It was a great opportunity to see what you’re up against,” Jackson said. “The judges give you feedback and help you see where you stand.”
The Nov. 1 competition challenged public relations majors to handle crisis situations for a company quickly.
“(The competition) helps you build portfolios for future employment or (an) internship,” Jackson said. “You learn how to build a campaign from front to back.”
Students competed for the first-place $1,000 cash prize and an opportunity to intern at the Utah Cancer Foundation. Last year, U student Dan Sorensen won first place after writing a campaign plan for Tracy Aviary.
Heather Barnum, a member of the judging panel and senior communication executive at the public relations firm Intrepid, said she believes the competition is a good way to practice managing a budget for a campaign plan.
“Often, PR people have great ideas but (the) budget limits creativity,” Barnum said. “Being able to balance the two makes you a great PR representative.”
Barnum said the students who competed this year were strong applicants.
“This was the better group in comparison to last year’s,” she said. “Their knowledge about public relations was more extensive.”
Barnum encouraged students to participate in next year’s competition and put their education to practice before trying an internship.
Though challenging, Barnum said the competition gives students a glimpse into the future of public relations and allows them to work with future co-workers or associates.
“The competition is (like) an internship in one day,” Jackson said. “(It) puts the students in situations of leadership that internships don’t give you.”
Local public relation firms such as Intrepid, Vanguard Media Group and AlphaGraphics sponsored the competition.