PR & Advertising – The Wind and the Sun

Posted on October 17, 2008 by Art Clifford

UMassOnline_Inside the Virtual Classroom_UMass Amherst student At the end of August, the Boston Sunday Globe ran its annual career development supplement and the UMass advertising presence was substantial. As usual, we had excellent advertisement placement by several sister campuses in the publication. These display advertisements serve their respective campuses well, and they create a broader type of image advertising for all of UMass distance learning (thanks guys).

Along with the great advertisements, however, in this issue UMass dominated the front page of the Globe supplement with an 8×10” photo of a GI in Afghanistan studying his text for my PR course. Somewhat ironic perhaps but this is one GI who won’t forget the effect of an idea picked up by a newspaper. UMass Amherst Journalism Certificate student Matt Johnson found his online course was a “nice break from the war.”

Matt created his own blog called, “Behind the Wire” and he put his communication skills to good use when I asked if he would send a photo of him in the field. He sent a high-resolution image that created a wonderful picture – and ideal for public relations purposes.

A large front page, above-the-fold photo is pretty good you say, but what about a message? Ahh, with the help of UMassOnline, our PR folks identified some students willing to talk to the Globe and the story stood on its own merit. It was a slam-dunk. And it was due to several creative minds working miles away from each other. (Actually, I’ve never met Jen Brady, but I can attest to the fact that she is one smart marketing specialist.)

Could we do it again? Perhaps not in exactly the same way, but we have an idea scheduled for January 2009. Start the new year right, yes?

So, when my distance learning class discusses the effects of advertising and public relations, I can use the Boston Globe’s career supplement (and January’s placement) and ask them which items they feel more influenced by.