Jeannie and Public Relations

It’s funny how you can be in a PR class for nine weeks and not think of the public relations sensation that checks you into the cafeteria for every meal.

Jeannie is an ONU employee that swipes student ID cards at the front desk of the McIntosh dining hall. She usually works the breakfast and lunch shifts on weekdays, and is widely-known across campus.

She is the friendliest and most enthusiastic person that I have met here at ONU so far and she is known for brightening students’ days just by the way that she greets them as they enter the cafeteria.

In a class where we discuss the capabilities of technology in the PR world, sometimes I believe that we forget about grassroots PR. Although the university may not realize it, Jeannie is a great source of old school, grassroots PR.

Jeannie’s attitude is contagious and it rubs off on prospective students who visit the campus. She makes a positive impact on potential customers as they walk in the door, using face-to-face interaction.

According to Dr. Jennifer Walton, Chair of Communication Studies at ONU, the university has said that they get more positive feedback about Jeannie from campus visitors than about any other aspect of their campus visit. So, Jeannie has a positive ROI too.

While this sort of interaction is obviously impractical for corporations with thousands of customers, it does link to a deeper PR issue that some big corporations struggle with: personalized engagement.

Maybe instead of giving a generalized, vague response to a reported problem, PR teams from corporations can find a way to make their responses more personal or genuine. Although this may take a bit more time and effort, it will be worth it in the long run.

Even though each business may not have a Jeannie, maybe they can try to emulate her PR greatness.