A group of University of Nevada, Reno students is one of eight finalists who will compete in the American Marketing Association’s (AMA) 29^th Annual International Collegiate Conference March 29 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Over 47 universities, in the U.S. and Canada, entered this competition, and each developed an Integrated Marketing Plan designed to revitalize the tourism industry for the city of New Orleans, post Hurricane Katrina. The winning teams will present their plan during the conference and one overall winner will be selected.

Read and View KOLO-TV’s coverage

UNR’s AMA student chapter is in need of the community’s support. The team of dedicated students, who made this win possible, needs to travel to New Orleans to present their case, at the convention, March 29-31. We are seeking donations to help defray the cost of travel for eight students. We would greatly appreciate donations for the American Marketing Association, which can be deposited at any Wells Fargo Bank: Account number 7962435355.

The student chapter will present their case at the AMA’s luncheon on Friday, March 23, 2007, at Harrah’s convention center 11:30-1:00.

What does it mean to PR professionals’ strategies and tactics when e-zines, blogs, and podcasts are the new media? Does citizen journalism take away credible editorial filters? How do PR pros work best with new media to generate public awareness?

This month’s PRSA luncheon features Eric Schwartzman, managing director of Schwartzman & Associates (www.schwartzmanpr.com), a leading-edge boutique PR firm based in Los Angeles.  He presents the highlights of his exclusive UCLA February class entitled ‘Intro to New Media PR.’ In this PR training course, Eric teaches his attendees about:

• the latest trends in social media and citizen journalism
• yielding control of the message to the market
• monitoring and participating in digital conversations
• drafting and measuring search engine optimized press releases
• growing communities and reaching niche audiences through audio and video podcasts
• using RSS to stay top of mind with key audiences
• autonomously integrating websites into PR campaigns without relying on webmasters

While one hour does not give Eric the time to address what he covers in five sessions at UCLA, he will give us the highlights and answer your questions about how organizations are integrating blogs, podcasts, RSS and the web into marketing and PR campaigns.