MEETINGS
PullMedia: The Next Generation of Interactive Relationship Building
The old days and ways of web sites being passive information portals have given
way to interactive interfaces that proactively build relationships by letting
users customize their web visit. This carefully designed user experience,
PullMedia, has emerged as the new standard among savvy web designers for
attracting surfers and keeping them coming back.
At the September meeting, web guru David Moskovic, digital strategy director for Ascend Marketing, will share the secrets of
turbocharging a site. For an organization, company or clients considering
jumping on the interactive bandwagon, this program could be the first step in
taking web strategy and design to the next level.
A graduate of New School University, Moskovic has spent more than a decade
helping companies, nonprofits and municipalities transform their web sites. He
has worked with companies ranging from Medical Center of Plano to Southwest
Airlines to one of Europe’s largest loyalty program providers, Paris-based Groupe ID. He also has been
honored for creating the award-winning virtual tour for Louis Vuitton’s online Museum of Travel.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22
Place: Petroleum Club, Jacobs/Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St.
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20 before Sept. 18, members $30, nonmembers $35 after Sept. 18 (online add $1)
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Wrestling with Ethical Dilemmas
It’ll be all ethics all morning at the September seminar and luncheon meeting for
attendees prepared to think through — and share — important questions and real situations in the profession that demand an
ethical response.
Author/filmmaker/teacher Alan Hilburg, president and CEO of Hilburg Associates, will lead small-group discussions and
then address the meeting on “Building a Recession-Proof Brand Communications Strategy Through Ethical
Decision Making.” He will cover the five strategies to ensure ethical decision making and will
tell how to build an institutional brand strategy that will be recognized for
its leadership through difficult times.
An award-winning senior adviser in organizational transition communications and
marketing based in northern Virginia, Hilburg lived in the Fort Worth-Dallas
area when he was president of the former Bloom Co. He is one of the world’s leading institutional branding counselors, helping organizations survive
crisis, litigation and the introduction of values-based principles while
maintaining their objectives.
Time & date: workshop starts 8:30 a.m., lunch noon-1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St.
Cost: workshop and lunch, members $95, nonmembers $115, students $55; workshop only,
members $65, nonmembers $85, students $35; lunch only, members $35, nonmembers
$55, students $25
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Everybody’s a Critic
Join FW SPJ for the 2009-2010 programs kickoff: “What the Critics Know: How Arts, Food and Entertainment Criticism Will Survive
in the Modern Media Era” with Ed Bark (unclebarky.com), former arts critic for The Dallas Morning News; Anthony Mariani, arts critic for the Fort Worth Weekly; and Bud Kennedy, star of the Star-Telegram’s Eats Beat.
Time & date: mingling 6 p.m., eats around 6:30, then the program Wednesday, Sept. 23
Place: Joe T. Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant, 2201 N. Commerce St.
Cost: $17 members, $25 nonmembers, $10 students
Menu: Joe T.’s famous family-style enchilada dinner
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STRAIGHT STUFF
The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce’s 2009-2010 Media Directory, with detailed contact information for more than 150
media outlets throughout the Metroplex, will be released immediately after
Labor Day. The directory is available in Excel format or as a PDF download and
costs $30 for Fort Worth Chamber members, $50 for nonmembers. Order at fortworthchamber.com in the Online Store. The directory is published for business owners, PR
professionals and advertisers and includes circulation, demographics, deadlines
and contact data for print and broadcast media, magazines, wire services and
blogs. ...
Straight from Cindy Vallar: “One of the first books I remember reading was Marie McSwigan’s ‘Snow Treasure,’ the story of how Norwegian children ferried bars of gold on their sleds under
the noses of the Nazis to a ship waiting to take it to America for safekeeping.
That book was a favorite of my childhood, and from then on, I preferred reading
those that took place in times past. When I first decided to write a story, it
was set in the past. Back then I had no idea what writing a historical novel
entailed, but luckily I decided to become a librarian and acquired the skills I
needed to allow me to research the stories I now write.” Vallar, a retired librarian and an associate editor at Solander, the magazine
of the Historical Novel Society, will share tricks librarians know and a
variety of resources writers of historical fiction need to know at the Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at the Richardson Public
Library. WGT third-Monday early-bird: Oct. 19,
Melissa O’Neal and Carol Woods. More from writersguildoftexas.org/joomla/. ...
“What should I charge for my work?” Freelancers ask that all the time. The Freelance Alliance will offer some
answers Tuesday, Sept. 15, from noon to 1 p.m. at the North Dallas Chamber of
Commerce, with “Pricing Your Services,” a round-table discussion on strategies, bartering and the recession’s effect on pricing. Registration starts at 11:30 a.m. Bring a brown bag lunch.
There’s no charge for members of IABC, PRSA and the Association for Women in
Communications; guests and nonmembers pay $10. More from
Pat Pape, patpape@yahoo.com, or Kelly Lane, kelly@klanepr.com.
IABC local update: Corporate communications whizzeroo Steve Crescenzo is bringing his popular workshop, Creative Communication: Taking the Next Step,
to Addison on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Crowne Plaza Dallas. He will teach
communicators how to take the “corporate” out of corporate communications and replace it with creative. The seminar
features dozens of fresh, practical, real-life case studies from the best
communicators in the business. IABC members receive a $100 registration
discount. A Flip Video camcorder will be given away. More at
http://crescenzodallas.eventbrite.com/.
IABC local update II: The IABC Dallas 2009 Quill Awards unfold Wednesday, Sept.
30, 6-9 p.m. at the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture in downtown Dallas. Tickets are now on sale.
PRSA local update: Tracy Syler-Jones, TCU vice chancellor of marketing and communication, and Mansfield ISD media
specialist Richie Escovedo will present “Making the News: The Rise of the Crowd” at an Education SIG seminar Tuesday, Sept. 15, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the TCU
Kelly Center. Remember when a PR pro could rely on traditional media to
disseminate information that could reach, and hopefully influence, the masses?
Now a shrinking number of reporters has spawned an emphasis on social
networking and new media tools to remain connected with key audiences. More
from Holly Ellman, hellman@fwcds.org; RSVP to her by Sept. 13. The program is free for PRSA members, $10 for
nonmembers.
PRSA local update II: The UTA PRSSA chapter is hosting a golf tournament Monday,
Sept. 21, at Mansfield National Golf Club. Proceeds will help PRSSA members
attend the national conference this fall. To be a sponsor or to play in the
tournament, contact Holland Sanders at holland.sanders@mavs.uta.edu.
