As part of the accreditation in public relations process, candidates must deliver an hour long presentation to a panel of APRs. This is meant to help showcase a candidate's professional experience and knowledge base of the 15 KSAs, which they will eventually be tested on. The above PPT presentation was delivered by Ryan Sheehy, APR in November 2008 and served as a guide for her in-person meeting. She didn't use a computer. Rather, she provided full-color booklets to each panelist in order for them to follow along.

1. Ryan Sheehy, Candidate for APR
Readiness Review Presentation
November 12, 2008

2. Who is Ryan Sheehy?
• A university instructor
– UCF Ad/PR department
• Writing for PR
• PR Case Studies
• An Introduction to PR
• International PR in Ireland
• An adviser/mentor
– Quotes, largest FPRA student
chapter
– Motivational speaker/blogger
• Good PR Comes from Within
• A professional
– Former publicist at SeaWorld
Orlando and Discovery Cove
– Former PR director at Florida
Theatrical Association

3. Who is Ryan Sheehy?
• A community partner
– Florida Public Relations Association Orlando-chapter Board
• Quotes Adviser
– Kappa Delta Chapter Advisory Board at UCF
• Public Relations Adviser
– UCF Nicholson School of Communication Alumni Chapter
• Former Chair, Former Membership Chair
– UCF Alumni Association Public Relations Committee
– UCF Nicholson School of Communication Board of Visitors
– UCF Nicholson School of Communication Strategy Committee

4. Why the APR?
• Established career and proven track record
• Represents my commitment to the profession
• Sets a foundation before my next goal: Ph.D.
– Research agendas:
• International public relations
• Media relations
• Internal communication, employee relations, and
organizational change and leadership

5. Project highlights
• Developing a brand new Ad/PR
Web-based internship program
• Led a highly successful
integrated PR campaign for
The Phantom of the Opera

6. Web-based internship program
• Take an antiquated internship program, modernize it
and make it Web-based.
• Currently conducting informal, primary survey
research to determine:
– Student behavior and needs
– Employer needs and likelihood to use the service
– Nicholson School of Communication faculty/staff needs
and likelihood to use the service

7. Program Objectives
• Simplify our current internship program process
• Create a must-use program for Ad/PR students and
employers seeking our students
• Develop a portal to manage the entire Ad/PR internship
program – from seeking candidates to evaluating
students’ performance in the workplace
• Provide an exclusive service for Ad/PR majors and
Quotes members to access internship opportunities in a
controlled and easily accessible environment

8. Program Objectives
• Streamline communication for students seeking
professional positions in the field
• Provide a fast and reliable outlet to promote internship
opportunities for employers
• Create an employer/candidate matching program,
similar to Monster.com and/or CareerBuilder.com

9. Application for students who will:
• Need to understand UCF Ad/PR program requirements and
expectations
• Create personal profile, identify work areas of interest (PR,
events, creative, account services, etc.)
• Find internship opportunities by category
• Review tips for success as an intern
• Evaluate employer and overall learning experience
• Share success stories, post photos and/or videos to the site

11. Application for employers who will:
• Need to understand the UCF Ad/PR employer expectations
• Update employer profile and contact information
• Create internship job descriptions by category
– This in turn will help pair students
– Serve students/employers looking for immediate hire(s)
• Confirm Intern Pursuit reservation
• Assess student performance at internship and identify growth
areas
• Determine skill-sets to require prior to internship experience
– Should essential courses be required prior to seeking
internship opportunities?
• Incorporate a survey component to assess changes in the
marketplace

12. Application for faculty/staff who will:
• Review/approve employers looking to participate in program
• Gather employer/student forms
• Gather data regarding employer impressions
• Gather data regarding student learning
• Approve success stories for public display
• Organize content for administrators to register students for credit

13. The Opportunity
• Reintroduce The Phantom of the Opera to the
Orlando market.

14. RPIE: Research
Conducted my own informal research to assess the
following:
• Past engagement PR plans
– Coverage, story angles, community partnerships and activities
• Past engagement sales
• PHANTOM engagements and the PR approach in other markets
• Media outlets and reporters likely to cover Orlando engagement
• Community partners that have a similar target demographic
• Local opinion leaders

15. RPIE: Goals
• Position PHANTOM as a must-see event, despite its third
engagement in the market
• Exceed ticket sales goals
• Maximize marketing opportunities
• Enhance the Broadway in Orlando brand
• Contribute to season subscription sales
• Heighten the profile of Florida Theatrical Association
• Showcase the economic impact of PHANTOM

16. RPIE: Target Audiences
• Primary:
– Single ticket buyers
– Subscription ticket buyers
• Intervening audiences:
– Orlando print and broadcast
media
– Local opinion leaders

17. RPIE: Objectives
• Exceed 90 percent of sales for the four-week Orlando engagement
• Leverage community partnerships to elevate the Broadway in
Orlando and PHANTOM brand
• Enhance relationships with the local media
• Focus on the diversity of story angles for one of Broadway’s most
popular shows
• Leverage the PHANTOM brand to appeal to new sponsors who will
support FTA objectives
• Align Broadway in Orlando with the City of Orlando’s downtown
revitalization agenda

18. RPIE: Strategies
• Showcase the grandeur of PHANTOM in all PR tactics
• Leverage pre-existing community partnerships to elevate the
Broadway in Orlando brand
• Since it is the third engagement of PHANTOM, use a variety of pitch
tactics to appeal to a diverse group of media, keeping each outlet’s
own story angle top of mind
• Align the Broadway brand with City of Orlando’s agenda

19. RPIE: Media Relations Tactics
• Pitch major daily with a new angle
• Showcase the scale and scope of the production load-in
• Appeal to a diverse group of theater-goers
• Feature the economic impact
• Connect to mayor’s downtown development agenda

20. RPIE:
Community/Government Tactics
• Present an official tour jacket to
Mayor Buddy Dyer on opening night
• Coordinate performance preview and
cast party at the Westin Grand
Bohemian to host local opinion
leaders
• Arrange a community event at
downtown retailer, Barnes & Noble,
for fans to meet the cast

21. RPIE: Sponsorship Tactics
• Ensure promotional opportunities for title sponsors:
– SunTrust
– OleoMed
– WKMG Local 6
– Westin Grand Bohemian Hotel

22. RPIE – Brand Tactics
• Connect with radio personalities
– On-air appearances/interviews in
conjunction with radio buys
• Connect with TV personalities
– Behind-the-scenes interviews in
conjunction with TV buys and on-air
promotions
• Connect with retail partners
– Bloomingdale’s
– Barnes & Noble
– Local hair salons
– Local restaurants

23. RPIE
• Exceeded all sales goals
• Garnered exceptional coverage
– Orlando Sentinel Calendar cover story
and show review
– Orlando Business Journal cover story
– Advanced feature in Watermark
– Feature stories on WESH, WKMG,
WOFL, Central Florida News
• Implemented a great range of
successful promotions
• Fulfilled sponsorship objectives
• Ensured vast community support

24. Room for improvement
• Research
– Push for a national research program due to limited budget
• Quantitative approach
– Partner with the City of Orlando to gauge public perception
• Qualitative approach
• Evaluation
– Invest in a media monitoring service
– Conduct informal survey research to gauge media/opinion
leader perception post campaign implementation
– More closely monitor ticket sales connected to the timing of
implemented PR tactics
– Measure sponsor/partner campaign effectiveness

25. Questions?