1.
Problem Statement: Unemployed, bright PR professional needs a way to
demonstrate her skills in a new market. She feels her education has not
guaranteed her an adequate and rewarding career.
Favorite Idea: Research issues locally, creating an information
outlet for her neighborhood or immediate area, thereby
establishing herself within the community and exposing
herself to local issues and becoming an advocate for local
issues.

2.
Interview Questions for Locals:
 Do you need a way to understand local happenings?
 Would you appreciate someone doing the research about local happenings and
publishing it online or hardcopy?
 What would you like to see?
 What do you not want to see in a local periodical?
 Would you be more likely to read something posted online or hardcopy?
 What are the barriers to you reading this type of product?

3.
Interview Findings (1 of 2):
NEWS PEOPLE WANT:
• Calendar of events
• Parties
• Services – Medical, Dental,
Babysitting
• “Inside scoop” on movie production
and needs for extras
• Gossip on local celebs and their
hangouts
• Restaurant Reviews

4.
Interview Findings (2 of 2):
ISSUES TO ADVOCATE:
• ESOL needs
• Traffic-calming
• Animal living conditions
ALSO:
• Matchmaking
• Meet-up Groups Info
• Hairdressers’ Ads
WHAT THEY DON’T WANT:
• Ads from lawyers

5.
Pretotype I: Electronic Blog as News
Outlet
Pros
• Low budget
• Quick to produce or change in case of error
• Interactive
• Immediate feedback
Cons
• Does anyone need another blog?
• Immediate feedback -- some people are
rude and hit “send” before thinking about it
• You may end up policing comments, which
could take up a lot of time
• Liability issues?

6.
Catchy Name. Use general template for speed and ease.
Neighbor-
hood seal
to build
allegiance
DATE
Statement of Purpose,
contact information and
your picture below:
Catchy News Item #1
Calendar of local events

7.
Pretotype II: Hardcopy Newsletter as
News Outlet
Pros
• People do read things in their hands
• Lying on a counter, people will refer to it and
be likely to call phone numbers in front of
them
Cons
• Liability issues?
• Higher budget
• Hard to print and unable to rescind issues
quickly
• Not interactive
• How would you know if you are doing
anything but selling ads?

8.
Catchy Name. Use general template for speed and ease.
Neighbor-
hood seal
to build
allegiance DATE
Statement of Purpose,
contact information and
your picture below:Catchy News Item #1
Calendar of local events
Hyperlinks not
available, so insert
additional clever
graphics with
appropriate fonts
and news items.

9.
Interview Process of building residents
Discussing pros/cons of each approach
More time to actually write up a blog and
newsletter and test these in two markets –
maybe 8 weeks
This is also a good approach for subject to improve
her acumen publishing both on-line and in hard-
copy. There is a lot to learn using Prezi and other
applications, making her more marketable.

10.
Reflection
We only got as far as interviewing people and coming up with ideas of soft-copy vs.
hard-copy. Conversations led to more discussion, and we realized this is a big deal and
more “soul searching” would need to be done by the subject. What is she willing to
invest to find her Dream Job?
I also don’t trust the self-reported statistics from those interviewed. Do people really
read blogs? Would they really care? My instinct on this is that people may intend to
read a blog, but it would need to be really catchy and clever for people to continue.
Past experience (and research) shows that more people will read a hard-copy
newsletter if packaged well and produced in a reliable timeframe.
There is a lot more to do, but I think the subject just needs to begin and learn as she
goes along.