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`Auntie Anne’s pretzel has been rolling in the dough in and out of the kitchen, and now public relations majors at Millersville are in on their secret.
On Wednesday, March 25, members of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) got a taste of Auntie Anne’s 20th Birthday Campaign. Valerie Kinney, Director of Communications for Auntie Anne’s, was invited by the PRSSA to speak on the behalf of reaching their latest milestone.
Kinney spoke about public relations in the real world and raising brand awareness.
The planned agenda coincides with the curriculum for public relations majors at Millersville.
Students enrolled in both courses, Public Relations Issues and Public Relations Campaigns, are in the midst of creating their own, and working with professional clients in the Lancaster community.
Juniors and seniors of PRSSA cordially welcomed Kinney to their weekly meeting.
This has been the second guest speaker to present for the PRSSA this semester.
The PRSSA is a professional organization designed for public relations majors to learn about the many facets within the field, have access to networking and practice their PR skills with events on campus.
The Millersville chapter believes in hosting expert speakers in the field.
The discussion was relatively informal as students were fully engaged in Kinney’s presentation.
The focus was on Auntie Anne’s latest 20th Anniversary, which was turned into a nationwide campaign.
Their vision, to “give back,” was the inspiration behind the anniversary campaign.
Auntie Anne’s selected 20 outstanding families across the country that has contributed to their community doing good deeds.
“The key is that people say we look like a pretzel, but we don’t taste like one,” said Kinney.
Auntie Anne’s has made their good fortune sticking to their family roots, which is reflected on the success of their business and franchises.
Corporate headquarters are located on West Chestnut Street in downtown Lancaster, just miles from campus.
Students began fielding questions for Kinney, including some regarding her role as the director of communications.
“I had an early jump into the real world,” answered Kinney about climbing the corporate ladder after graduating from Elizabethtown College.
She credited her advertising experience and ability to develop relationships the reason for achieving her position.
“In the world of PR you’re always looking for something to celebrate,” said Kinney, who has been with Auntie Anne’s for over five years.
“I think that it was extremely useful to see a local company go worldwide,” said senior Lucas Neider. “It’s an integral part of public relations.”
Not only have public relations majors been given the chance to hear from outside professionals, but their own professors have served them with the same guidance.
Communication and Theatre Chair, Dr. Thomas Boyle, Dr. Jennifer F. Wood, and Dr. Theresa Russel-Loretz, are all professors who have had experience in their profession outside of the classroom.
“Having professors and guest speakers gives us a more direct feeling of what we’re going to do with our degrees,” said Sigafoos. “It gives us a greater context for where our professional careers are heading.”
As questions winded down, Kinney showed students a short film which documented the Auntie Anne’s 20th Birthday Campaign and program, “What a Difference a Family Makes: A New Twist on Giving Back”.
“With public relations there is no guarantees,” said Kinney.
Auntie Anne’s used social networking tools such as Facebook, along with PR Newswire to get their message out there.
Free pretzel days were also included in their campaign as well as an appearance on the CBS Morning Show, which gave Auntie Anne’s a spotlight into the media.
Concluding the presentation, Kinney made apologies for not bringing free pretzels for the PRSSA.
Instead each attendee received a coupon for a free pretzel.