Sarah M. RachulDisney Dreamer, Golfer and PR Enthusiast

Portfolio Work

(Materials in chronological order)

Cardinal Health HallOUween Poster I conceived and designed this poster for the OU ImPRessions Cardinal Health account to spread the awareness of prescription drug abuse during the famous Ohio University Halloween block party. The campaign launched on October 20 and continued until October 26. These fliers were distributed to all 42 residence halls, the Campus Care pharmacy, the local CVS pharmacy and also placed in the most heavily trafficked academic buildings on campus. Cardinal Health liked the campaign so much that next year they will be implementing the campaign nationally. The following two pages in my portfolio feature the blog post I wrote for the official ImPRession’s blog discussing this poster and creative process that went into designing it.

Follow Us: @DoseOfRealityOU

Trip Or Treat?

Have a happy, healthy HallOUween

Remember they’re pills, not candy

Ohio University ImPRessionsNOVEMBER 11, 2013 · 9:19 PM

Candy or Pills – Can You Tell the Difference?

ImPRessions Cardinal Health Account Implements HallOUweenCampaignBongs, lines and cans – all common forms of drug distribution that college students are familiar with. But what about smallorange bottles? You know the kind; they may sit in your parents’ medicine cabinet and can easily be picked up at any localpharmacy. Most people don’t realize that legal prescription drugs can be just as dangerous as illegal narcotics. This is theissue that the ImPRessions Cardinal Health account deals with here on campus. We inform the student population on thedangers of abusing prescription drugs.

A few weeks before Halloween, the Cardinal account was having its weeklymeeting when the subject of new poster designs came up. The team started to brainstorm some really great ideas for futurecampaigns. This brainstorm made me think of something called a “pill party”. I had heard of these parties in the media, whereteens raid their parents’, grandparents’ or friends’ medicine cabinets and dump the contents of the containers they find into abowl at the beginning of the party. The attendees then proceed to grab handfuls from the bowl and pop the pills like candy.Obviously this is a perfect example of prescription drug abuse and it inspired my concept for the Cardinal Halloweencampaign.

Once I proposed the idea of comparing the consumption of pills to candy in the spirit of Halloween, the team loved it! We didan eye-popping search of images of pills and candy. This search made us realize that there are so many types of pills that looklike candy and make it easier for teens to casually take them. We hoped that by placing a picture of colorful candy next to apicture of colorful pills, it would help students to realize that prescription pills can easily be mistaken for something much

more innocent.

We emblazoned half the posters with the tag line “Can You Tell the Difference?” and half with “Trip or Treat”. I was sohonored to have the opportunity to design these posters and put an image to my idea. It was such a thrill to see one hangingin the CVS window.

In the end, this spur of the moment campaign was very successful. The posters helped grow awareness of prescription drugabuse during the famous Ohio University Halloween block party during the week of October 20-26. These fliers weredistributed to all 42 residence halls, the Campus Care pharmacy, the local CVS pharmacy and also placed in the most heavilytrafficked academic buildings on campus. Cardinal Health liked the campaign so much that next year we will be consultingwith universities all over Ohio to help them implement a similar campaign.

-Sarah Rachul is a sophomore studying strategic communication with specializations in sports management and visualcommunication. Follow her at @Sarah_PD_Rachul.

Be the first to like this.

Related

ImPRessions’ Cardinal Health Account Wins National PRSSA Best Campaign Award

Annual ImPRessions Awards Banquet Recap

PRSSA National Affiliation: resume building

ImPRessions’ Cardinal Health Account Wins National PRSSA Best Campaign Award

Annual ImPRessions Awards Banquet Recap

PRSSA National Affiliation: resume building

#PRSSANC - PRSSA National Conference 2013

The PRSSA National Conference was one of the best weeks of my life and of my budding PR career. It was amazing meeting my fellow PRSSA members and experiencing their incredible talent first hand. Having the ability to learn from so many intelligent professionals first hand was not only educational but inspiring. I wrote an article about my experiences at the conference for my PRSSA chapter’s newsletter. The article was featured on the front page of the newsletter and can be found in the next few pages of this portfolio. Featured below are some of my favorite tweets and quotes that I saved from the conference.

PR Success Hugh M. Culbertson PRSSA Ohio University Chapter Newsletter Fall, 2013 Edition

#ScrippsPRSSAtoPhiladelphia: taking away more than business cards from 2013’s PRSSA National ConferenceBy Sarah Rachul

Scripps PRSSA members at National Conference from left to right: Jess Carnprobst, Marisa Fiore, Theresa Ianni, Nicole

Spears and Sarah Rachul.

I had been planning to go to PRSSA National Conference since I heard about our chapter’s experience in San Francisco last year. I spent months editing my resume, creating a personal website and agonizing over business card designs. However, when the week of National Conference arrived, I realized that although my “toolbox” was full, I wasn’t sure if I could make everything work together cohesively. So many questions crept into my mind throughout the entirety of the conference. It

was stressful, intimidating and exhilarating. But, was it worth it? Absolutely. When we arrived at PRSSANC, there was hardly enough time to breathe before sessions began. I carefully chose my sessions based on which topics would help me most in my career. Of all the lessons I learned that weekend, two had the greatest impact on my overall experience. Jason Mollica presented the “CEO of You: Creating your personal brand” session about the importance of having a unique and personable professional presence. He stressed that you should always

be open and transparent about your brand. If people don’t think that your brand truly represents you, you will appear deceitful. Mollica closed with a quote: “A personal brand takes years to build and seconds to destroy.” My other favorite session generated pages of notes and so many laughs: Dr. Joe Trahan’s,

“Spice Up Your Presentation Skills.” I can say without a doubt that this man is the best public speaker I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Trahan taught that if you don’t believe in what you’re speaking about, you will fail. That might seem obvious, but it’s surprising how many

PHILADELPHIA, PAGE 5

IN THIS ISSUE:PRSSA National Conference, Page 1

ImPRessions Makeover, Page 2PR in Rural Ohio, Page 2

Mentoring Program, Page 3PRSA Leadership Rally, Page 3

Personal Branding, Page 4PR BootCamp, Page 6

Social Affairs Committee, Page 8

PR Success Fall, 2013

Page 5

PRSSANC, PhiladelphiaPHILADELPHIA, PAGE 1

PRSSA’s ImPRessions: re-branded, restructuredIMPRESSIONS, PAGE 2

QRW� ÀW� WKH� ÀUP·V� JRDOV�� 7KLV�year ImPRessions is serving 12 clients. Two of the most recent client additions were made WR� EHWWHU� DOLJQ� ZLWK� WKH� ÀUP·V�goals. Athens clothing retailer Kismet was picked as an addition to the Express account to make a fashion-powered duo. The Young Adult Prevention Initiative (YAPI) was also recently added and will focus on prescription drug abuse in Lancaster, Ohio. Both of these account additions provide new and exciting opportunities for our members’ involvement. � ´7KH� ÀUP� QHHGV� FOLHQWV�that have structural goals but allow ample room for creativity in strategic planning,” said Mulvey. “The newest client, YAPI, is a great illustration of this idea and why we decided to add them.” This year, members had to submit an essay section in addition to the application because there were a limited number of spots. Interested candidates were selected based on experience, year, interests and whether or not

they had been previously active in the organization. In the past, ImPRessions took in an unlimited amount of members, EXW� QRZ� WKH� ÀUP� LV� PRUH�selective in order to produce increased quality involvement and work. “We have seen ImPRessions come together and become a more united organization – fewer people has meant for more responsibilities for everyone involved,” said Kate McFadden, Human Resources Director. Adding the Board of Directors and minimizing the VL]H�RI� WKH�ÀUP�KDV�SRVLWLRQHG�ImPRessions more closely with similar PRSSA student-UXQ� ÀUPV�� 7KH� IXWXUH� RI�ImPRessions is very bright; the re-branded and restructured transition year is off to a successful start, and Mulvey predicts quality work for quality clients. � ´,Q�ÀYH�\HDUV��,�ZDQW�WR�VHH�D�YHU\�VWDQGDUGL]HG�ÀUP�ZKHUH�everyone is knowledgeable of who to turn to in order to get the help to succeed,” said Mulvey. ´7KH� ÀUP� LV� GHÀQLWHO\� RQ� WKH�way with our new rebranding and restructuring.”

people forget. Trahan stressed the importance of being a storyteller, a title every PR professional should be familiar with. Speeches shouldn’t be memorized, and you should clearly and succinctly be able to explain your message to any audience. Although each day at the conference was jam-packed, we were left with free evenings in Philadelphia. The options for entertainment were endless, and with more than 1,000 attendees, so were opportunities to make new friends. I visited the Rocky steps at midnight to see one of the most gorgeous city views I could have imagined, and I ate an amazing meal at a tiny restaurant I walked into on a

whim. Yes, waking up early after staying out late with new friends can lead to tired mornings, but it’s nothing a hot FXS�RI�FRIIHH�FDQ·W�À[�� It’s essential to remember that the conference does not end when you go home. That handful of business cards I collected sat dauntingly on my desk for a few days until I realized that looking at them wouldn’t do me any good. I made it a priority to send almost all of my professional contacts an email within three days of the conference ending. All in all, I wouldn’t trade my experience at the PRSSA National Conference for the world. I’m already counting down until next year’s conference – about 280 days, in case you were wondering.

Scripps Innovation Challenge

The goal of the Scripps Innovation Challenge is to encourage students of any major to compete to solve innovation problems that are posed by professionals and media

organizations. This helps students to play a role in helping the media industry to both

increase audience and revenue. The contest is managed by the Scripps College of Communication and funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation. As a member of the promotional team, I have worked to design the official student flyer and the table tent used to promote the competition in local restaurants and university dining hall. These are both featured above.

2013 Bateman Competition - yOUr Payment Solution The Bateman competition is a national public relations competition holed by the Public Relations Society of America every year. The goal of the competition is to teach students how to develop and launch a grassroots campaign with a short implementation window and a short window for implementation. The client for 2013 was Popmoney, an app that allows customers to transfer money via texting. As the Director of Operations, I was responsible for planning and executing each of our events and keeping track of the campaign’s finances. The above images are taken from the final campaign summary and detail the two largest events as well as the final team finances. On the following page is my PR Success article detailing the work that went into the campaign.

Personal Branding One of my PR passions is branding. Whether it is for personal use or a major corporation, I have always been fascinated by the work put into creating a brand. When I created my personal brand, I knew that Disney would be playing a role. This article explains a few of the reasons Disney is incorporated into my personal brand, as well as the PR lessons that can be learned from Disney Princesses. This article was published in the Scripps PRSSA award winning newsletter: PR Success.

Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions - National Sales Meeting One of the biggest deliverables of my summer internship with Cardinal Health was my part in planning the National Sales Meeting. I was one of three key staff that handled all programming and logistics for the 120 person meeting in Las Vegas. In addition to presenting on my LinkedIn plan for the company, I also planned a team building event that lasted the length of the meeting. Above are the materials from this event. “The Clock is Ticking” is a murder mystery game in which there were ten suspects, a plot line, planted witnesses and rules that each team had to play by. I solely created, designed and implemented this game within a 24-hour period upon hearing the meeting was missing a team building event.

#PRSSANC - PRSSA National Conference 2014 After my amazing experience at the 2013 National Conference I chose to make the trip to Washington D.C. to attend the event for the second year in a row. Being in the presence of so many dedicated PR students and talented PR professionals is always an amazing experience and I feel it helps me to grow in my role by learning from others. As a lover of social media, I live tweeted this event using the hashtag: #PRSSANC. Below are some of my favorite tweets from the 2014 PRSSA National Conference.

Resolve to Be Involved - ImPRessions Blog Post This blog post was posted on ImPRession’s popular blog as the Ohio University spring semester began. This blog was intended for reader’s to consider the tradition of New Year’s resolutions and apply them to their professional life. Every resolution proposed I have applied to my professional life with successful results. This post received a lot of positive feedback and was distributed via all ImPRession’s social media channels.

Photography Samples While photography is currently just a hobby, I feel that it is a valuable skill for PR professionals. Whether they are called upon to take pictures themselves, or oversee the photography for a print ad campaign, they should understand the basics of a photo shoot and photo editing. I specialize in sports photography but have additionally been branching out to portrait and commercial photography.