A crisis with Crisco

Last night was an interesting evening for me. I was just hanging out with sisters, decided to put Halo 3 away for a change, to watch some quality TV (yes such a thing exists...check out How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory on CBS if you don't believe).

So while the TV was going, we decided it would be a good idea to get some snacks. My sister suggested she would make chocolate chip cookies. Add this to the fact of there being chocolate milk in the house, a great combination was in the making.

However, there was a catch. We had a curious case of Crisco shortening in the fridge. What I mean is we had no idea how long it had been in the fridge and whether it was still good or not. So we decided to check.

My sister hopped on my laptop and searched the Crisco site. It was easy to find the information. But to understand it was a whole other issue. A crisis with Crisco awaited us. Maybe those chocolate cookies weren't going to make it into my stomach tonight.

Now for the PR person, graphic designer, or combination of both who made the website, full marks. It features a nice combination of colours making it look great. But when we came to the Crisco FAQs and needed to know if our shortening was good or not we had more difficulty.

Basically, what you have to do is look at your manufacturing code or the date the shortening was made and find this number on your shortening. So we did that. The following numbers were presented to us: 3 094 201 5361.

Just an aside. In PR, for those of you who don't know, math is not our specialty. Many of us would agree that we cringe when we see a slew of numbers together. It is foreign to us. Well these numbers to me and my sister made us completely lost, more than ever math related problem I have ever come encounter with during my years in PR ever could.

The instructions according to the site would give us the following explanation: the first number is the year it was made...so the first number 3 would be 2003 (go figure)...the next 3 numbers, 094, represent the day of the year the product was made...so the 94st day of 2003 (I'm pretty sure but have no clue).

The second set, 201, are plant codes and have nothing to do with anything (then why are they on the container), and the last four numbers, 5361, is the date the shortening was manufactured in the so commonly used and wonderful...military time.

Needless to say it took a while to decipher the numbers. Were the numbers even deciphered in the first place? I'm not even sure....the cookies tasted good though.

The Crisco crisis gives us a perfect PR example of why your message needs to be clear to your audience at all times. Not just because you could make spoiled cookies. It has more to do with providing your publics with information that is clear, concise, correct, and complete - the Four C's of PR, the pillars of a strong message in PR.

In this case, will most people cooking be able to figure when in fact their shortening expires? Yes? No? Maybe? If you think the answer is not a definitive yes and you have to think about it, make sure it contains the Four C's, and then work on creating a clearer message for the audience you wish to reach.

It isn't worth taking a chance risking it and getting sick over it. Hopefully, I learned my lesson...

Having fun in PR outside the classroom

So far much of what you have read about PR in this blog has been related to what I have learned from an educational standpoint in the field. However, there is another side to PR that I have kept from you. The lighter side of PR, outside the classroom.

Yes in PR it is possible to have fun. With so much time spent in the classroom, attending professional development sessions, and just beginning your day thinking about the various issues facing the world, in which PR plays a role, it would seem difficult to make time for a party. There are exceptions to every rule however, with last week's welcome to the program party being one of them.

The welcome to the program party is the annual networking event the PR program at my college has for first-year and second-year PR students, teachers and invited members of CPRS. It is a semi-formal (PR does lend itself to good taste, so dress appropriately) affair, meant to gather everyone involved in the program in an effort to make life as difficult as possible for the incoming first years.

Yes I am just kidding about embarrassing first years. Although their initiation to the program is a necessary component of their education, that is a process which will occur in due time. What the true goal of the party is to welcome them to the family of PR which our the program prides itself on.

So what is a good way to get to know your new family you ask? Drinks for starters is a must. Throw in a couple games, business cards, conversation and now you have the essential building blocks of fun PR outside the classroom.

The night was a great time. The room was full of energy. The energy of budding PR practitioners all gathered together, is definitely something I enjoy being a part of. The first years seemed very excited for their new career choice, something which they are only a few weeks into. As second years in the program, we are happy to have them join us and hope to help them in anyway possible as they start their career in PR.

With my second welcome to the program party in the books, it was refreshing to see so many new faces filled with such a genuine enthusiasm for the program. This is something I hope will only continue through their daily studies in the program...as well as during the parties. Because we could all have a little fun in PR outside the classroom...at least once in a while, don't you think?