One of our major projcect for my Public Relations class, Spring of 2013, was to develop a communications plan for a local business. At the time I worked for Caribou Coffee as an Assistant Store Manager and with the approval of my professor and the corporate offices; I used the prospect of expanding the catering offerings of Caribou Coffee as my project. This project was to give the students a small glimps of what a public relations manager might develop for their company, it in no way reflects the whole scope of what a PR campaign would include. 

 

I learned many things from this project. The first of which is that developing a PR campaign requires creativity! The goal is to excite the community/audience without the use of traditional advertising and marketing. I had to find ways to broadcast Caribou Catering to the community that were low-cost or free, not only to help save the company money but also because Caribou Coffee does not offer any local marketing money to their stores. Second, I learned that the local Chamber of Commerce is a great resource for businesses! They have a wide audience and collection of data for the community. Any business that wants to expand awareness about itself in the community needs to utilize the chamber. Lastly, I learned that a great PR communications plan needs to be flexible and have the ability to change. If you are putting on an event in the community and its raining; you must have a backup plan/site. If you are going to local businesses to give out samples; you have to be ready to accept some decline. This does not mean failure; this means taking a step back, looking at the lessions to be learned, and moving on.