The “Icons and Influences” event brought Kent State students together with live speakers, networking opportunities and friendship bracelets. The Kent Public Relations Student Society of America and the Kent American Advertising Federation hosted the event in Franklin Hall on Sept. 18, focusing on teaching students how to connect with audiences.
Marcus Collins, professor and author of “For the Culture,” and Hannah Wing, assistant professor of communications at Wichita State University, spoke to students about their findings and working with celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Students learned how to connect with audiences to ignite movements and cultural trends.
The event was open to all students with the goal of them walking away with useful insights regarding careers in public relations. Vice President of Professional Regulation for PRSSA, senior Tanner Poe, also spoke at the event, asking questions of the speakers and leading the discussion.
“I hope the students took away something practical from what either Taylor Swift or Beyoncé do in their brands to create engagement,” Poe said.
Kara Planey, a freshman majoring in public relations, expressed her ideas for attending the “Icons and Influence” event.
“My biggest takeaway was the relationship that influencers and celebrities have with their fans and the importance of maintaining that connection throughout their career,” Planey said.
Planey also spoke about how PRSSA has helped her network through their events and how it has brought her useful connections for the future.
“I went to the last PRSSA meeting and many of the speakers offered LinkedIn and strong advice,” she said.
Students walked away from “Symbols and Influences” with knowledge and connections that will hopefully give them success in the future.
“Students can take the technique or tactic used by famous people and bring it down to whatever they’re doing,” Poe said after the event.
She added that PRSSA is always looking for a way to attract and engage with students. Their role is to promote public relations and leadership skills of students, while also exposing students to employment opportunities.
“We’re always looking for relatable topics and ideas that resonate with students,” Poe said. “The main project was to introduce students to public relations, especially the music field.” We have noticed that there has been a lot of interest that students want to get into.”
The music and celebrity topic was a real hit with the students. Planey shared her favorite insights from speakers at the event.
“When Dr. Marcus mentioned Beyoncé fans trying to name her fans and took over, I thought it was really interesting to see how you could have a plan, but it can change because of the audience itself,” she said.
There will be many more similar public relations events to come, Poe said.
“Our next meeting is on October 8th at 6pm in Franklin Hall,” she said. “We’re going to have the president of the Cleveland Film Commission, Bill Garvey, come in and talk about filming Superman over the summer.”
The “Signs and Influences” event brought together many Kent State students to reflect and gain knowledge about public relations.
“The speakers were absolutely fantastic; they provided a lot of useful insights about pop culture,” Planey said. “I would attend another event.”
Savannah Carroll is a journalist. Contact her at [email protected]
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