University PRSSA participates in exclusive, global public relations initiative
WAYNESBURG — Waynesburg University’s Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) was chosen to participate in Ketchum’s global initiative, Mindfire!
Ketchum is a full-service public relations agency with more than 130 offices in 70 countries that specialize in brand management, corporate communications and public relations. The company, which was named as one of the world’s top five public relations firms, is globally headquartered in New York City, and represents 19 of the world’s top 50 brands.
Mindfire! is Ketchum’s exclusive, award-winning initiative, driven by the advice of Thomas Edison, “to have a great idea, have a lot of them.” Mindfire! acts as a crowdsourcing platform, allowing both undergraduate and graduate students to work directly with the organization’s prestigious clients, including Polaris, 7-Eleven, Delta, Cottonelle and IKEA.
“Working with Ketchum and its well-known client list is an amazing opportunity for Chapter members to gain real-world public relations experience and exposure in the field,” said Richard Krause, chair of Waynesburg University’s Department of Communication and faculty adviser to Waynesburg’s Chapter of PRSSA. “Being chosen to participate in Mindfire! is a true honor, and I am excited to see where this partnership will lead.”
Each year, 40 of the world’s top colleges and universities are chosen to participate in the Mindfire! initiative. Students at the chosen colleges and universities are provided with challenge prompts via an online profile system. After reading each prompt, students can submit ideas and solutions for review. For each challenge, one winner is chosen and issued a prize.
In return for their ideas, students participating in Mindfire! are provided with points, which lead to incentives, including career counseling, gift cards, job and internship postings, workshops and webinar access. Points are issued for various actions, such as winning a challenge, submitting an idea, and commenting on and promoting others’ ideas.
“Beyond exposure and prizes, Mindfire! positions students to create fresh and original ideas without boundaries or fear,” said Ronald Tolson Jr., manager of Mindfire! “Sometimes what we may deem as a crazy idea, could be the best solution. We tell students that it just takes one unique idea to change the world.”
For more information about Waynesburg University PRSSA and its participation in Ketchum’s Mindfire! iniative, contact Megan Bayles, president of Waynesburg University’s PRSSA Chapter, at bay2547@student.waynesburg.edu.