As a member of Waynesburg University PRSSA, we are privileged with opportunities to see professionals at conferences speak their minds and give advice regarding public relations. On Tuesday, we were given the chance to see Vice President of Communications for the Pittsburgh Penguins Tom McMillan speak about PR Efforts for Pittsburgh’s New Consol Energy Center at Point Park University. The event was hosted by the PRSA Pittsburgh. McMillan was very enthusiastic about his speech which ended up not being a speech after all. Instead he turned to the crowd, especially college students, for questions; he wanted to know what we were wondering and thinking. This is an incredible advantage for college students to be able to ask high-level professionals that for their advice and concerns.
When asked about how social media affects his job, McMillan said that social media is “everything.” It has to do with your job more than people realize. He explained that there are jobs for the Penguins that strictly to deal with the social media aspect, and these jobs did not exist five years ago. It has been challenging for the Penguins, but they have used it to their advantage. For example, the Penguins text message program has also been a success. “We are our own media outlet,” McMillan said. “We break out on our own social media”.
This relates to nearly every class you have in the Department of Communication at Waynesburg. It is increasingly important to keep up with technology and be aware of the news at all times. The Penguins are constantly posting on facebook and trying to keep their audience focused on them and not another media outlet. “It’s a changing world,” McMillan explained. “You have your own way to tell your own story.” You learn early in your COM classes at Waynesburg the history of the media and how everything evolved. Relating to PR, in the past organizations had to send their information through media outlets. They wrote a press release and faxed it to the media but not anymore. Now, as the Penguins demonstrate, you are your own media outlet. The mass media comes to you for their news.
Another topic McMillan discussed was the source of publicity and the importance of producing good ideas even when you are successful. It doesn’t matter if you are successful or not, you always need to come up with ideas. Sometimes the smallest idea turns into the biggest success or vice versa. “Some of the biggest publicity is not hard news,” McMillan said. He told stories of the staff pushing a bus after getting stuck in snow in Buffalo, N.Y. and the managers handing out donuts and coffee to students waiting for Student Rush tickets. The Student Rush program was implemented in 1996 to simply fill seats in the arena. Today, it is one of the biggest promotions the Penguins are known for. McMillan commented, “You experiment with things and see what happens.”
He encouraged being unique because people pickup on things that are different. This is also a major concept I’ve learned in my classes at Waynesburg. Uniqueness is something that everyone is attracted to.
With younger demographics than most NHL teams, and now a new arena to take advantage of, the Pittsburgh Penguins organization is always trying to be innovative. McMillan was inspiring in how he handled himself and his explanations of the team, organization, and the new arena. We, as students of Waynesburg, are extremely fortunate to have these tools within our grasp. The classes we take help us understand and utilize our knowledge of the media world and everything around it. McMillan is a great example of the opportunities we are able to encounter as being part of the Waynesburg University PRSSA. I can only hope that there are more to come before I graduate.
Marsha Opacic
Senior Communication (Public Relations/Sport Information and Sport Broadcasting) Major
Waynesburg University PRSSA, Member
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