In March 2023, nine members of the Illinois State University Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) traveled to Chicago to attend the PReLevated conference.
PReLevated is a two-day conference that invites PRSSA chapters from across the Midwest to learn about the PR industry from professionals in the Windy City. The conference was led by co-hosts DePaul University and Columbia College Chicago.
“With the world healing from the COVID-19 pandemic, students are seizing opportunities to learn and create meaningful connections once again. Nine students were able to represent Illinois State University at PRelevated, and exchange knowledge with fellow PRSSA students for the first time since 2020,” said Maggie Mokrzycki, PRSSA chapter president.
“Students gained new perspectives on DEI & A practices in the workplace from industry professionals. They also discussed the importance of ‘business acumen’ in the PR field by seasoned DePaul PR professors,” added Mokrzycki.
Day one began with Zapwater Communications. The panel consisted of managing director Amanda Recupido, social/influencer Brianna Stein, and account supervisor Mary Kate Marchesi. Their focus on travel marketing reflected on practices used for planning and executing an influencer trip. Most notably, they discussed their success on the Finland tourism project, and its feature run on Netflix.
DePaul University professors Matt Ragas and Ron Culp spoke about business skills for pros. The two professors also shared a mini booklet that highlighted a small portion of their full book, Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators.
The final presentation consisted of Jenny Heinrich, the EVP of influencer marketing at Ketchum. “In 2022, 91.9% of businesses used social media to build brand awareness, generate sales, and interact with current and future customers,” said Heinrich.
Heinrich also discussed the core components of influence including relevance, reach, authority and accessibility.
Graduate student, Gabriela Gomes shared her interest on Heinrich’s panel. “I loved getting some theoretical background and future directions for influencer marketing!”
The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility panel consisted of moderator Christina Steed, a communications expert, consultant and adjunct professor, Brian J. Packer, the director of media relations at GOLIN, Kristen Barnfield, partner at Change for Balance, and Zach Hamilton, an account executive at G&S Business Communication and design assistant with the Drag House in Chicago.
The panel encouraged the audience to find and join community groups whose ideas and goals align with their own interests to learn, grow and advocate. The panel also included topics on how to be an ally in the workplace, empathy inside the workplace, the fatigue that comes with DEI & A advocacy, and how to stay motivated.
Day two involved a keynote speaker, agency tours, and the closing of the conference.
Keynote speaker Jon Harris, SVP and COO of Conagra Brands, spoke about the importance of relationships both inside and outside the workplace. “Having a contact makes a difference,” said Harris.
Harris also shared the five principles of creating and building relationships: always be respectful and know your audience; be available, accessible and trustworthy; be knowledgeable and resourceful; opportunities come from being prepared and lucky; and treat relationships as long-term because good things take time.
With various groups visiting agencies, PRSSA members toured Walker Sands, APCO Worldwide, the Shedd Aquarium, FINN, GOLIN, MSL, and Weber Shandwick.
“I had so much fun learning about Finn Partners and the Shedd Aquarium PR teams. It was my first time learning about PR up close in the working world, and it’s helped me learn what types of business I’d like to work for in the future,” said Meghan Smith, junior PR major.
Senior PR major and ISU PRSSA treasurer Grace Huff shared that her favorite part of the conference was being able to meet other PRSSA members from the Midwest. She emphasized how interesting it was to hear how different groups operate and get inspiration for ISU’s chapter.
Check out the ISU PRSSA TikTok blogs from the conference here.
