Breathing New Life into the Press Release: Using the Search to Power up Public Relations

Business Wire, Sept 29, 2006

IABC/Chicago Arms Business Communicators with Critical Information on New PR Approach

CHICAGO -- The Chicago chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC/Chicago) today announced its October 4 suburban networking and professional development luncheon will focus on the critical importance of evolving the traditional press release to reach today's web-savvy audiences.

Carol Jouzaitis, senior vice president, director of public relations for Slack Barshinger will lead a compelling discussion about how PR practitioners are breathing new life into the press release by digitally optimizing articles to target customers, investors, opinion leaders and other key audiences via search engines and content aggregators. According to Jouzaitis, whether you call the result a press release, search release, marketing release or something else, this new PR approach involves different rules and new thinking.

Jouzaitis has 25 years of experience developing and executing high-impact public relations programs. Before overseeing the PR department at Slack Barshinger, she ran corporate communications for Orbitz and served as vice president of media relations at Kemper Lesnik Communications. Jouzaitis is a former White House correspondent and reporter for USA Today and the Chicago Tribune.

Nadine Sudnick, president of IABC/Chicago explained that chapter demographics show a large majority of IABC/Chicago members -- and most professional business communicators in general -- oversee PR activity for their organization in some capacity. "It's crucial that we are on top of these new ways of thinking, particularly as the media continues to become more search-focused and aggregation-reliant," she said.

IABC/Chicago Luncheon

Carol Jouzaitis will present "How to Use the Search to Power up Your Public Relations" at IABC/Chicago's first suburban networking and professional development luncheon of the year. The event, which is open to all professional communicators, will be held on Wednesday, October 4 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at Maggiano's Little Italy in Schaumburg. To pre-register online, go to http://www.iabcchicago.com/events/index.htm.

About IABC and IABC/Chicago

The International Association of Business Communicators (www.iabc.com), established in 1970, is a global network of 13,500 professionals in 67 countries, dedicated to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication in marketing, employee communications, advertising, technology, public relations, investor relations and events. It has the distinction of being the only association to support an integrated approach to organizational communication. With nearly 500 members, IABC/Chicago is the oldest chapter in the world and one of the largest chapters in the US. For more information about IABC/Chicago, go to www.iabcchicago.com.