PR in Practice: Students鈥� Final Projects from Real-world Experience

Students in AAU鈥檚 Relaciones P煤blicas in Practice program presented the culmination of their semester鈥檚 work: PR campaigns they designed with the guidance of real-life mentors working in top PR agencies in the Czech Republic. This was made possible through AAU鈥檚 partnership with (APRA) which was re-affirmed for the third consecutive year. 

鈥淲e are here to celebrate what PR really means: to build mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics,鈥� said AAU鈥檚 Chief Executive Officer, Anna Hud谩kov谩, to the students鈥� surprise as she was reciting a definition they had to memorize at the beginning of the semester.

The students presented on a wide range of topics in teams with a winner decided by a panel of judges at the end, including Marek Hlavica, Secretary and Executive Director of APRA; Martin Frydl of AC&C PR; V谩clav Pavelka of Native PR, Patrik Schober of PRAM Consulting; Marcel Bodn谩r of FleishmanHillard; and Pavlina Rieselova of Ewing. 

The winning team was 鈥淓.on鈥檚 Kid’s Safety Awareness Campaign鈥�, mentored by Marcel Bodn谩r, who presented a pitch to help educate kids and parents about safe electrical use in order to reduce the amount of childhood electrical injuries and reinforce E.on as a responsible electricity supplier. They created a cartoon character called Voltie, nursery rhyme, and stories to convince kids that if they 鈥渙pen the door [aka outlet], he [Voltie] will bite!鈥�

The judges found the E.on team to be well-researched with a measurable outcome, to have a seamless presentation, and to effectively incorporate storytelling within their pitch. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the one project where I will go home and still remember it,鈥� said one judge.

The first team to present was 鈥淎lma Careers: Autism Spectrum Disorder employability awareness鈥� which included Nea Luukkonen, Annette Lichacz, Kayla Godwin, Dinara Balgimbayeva鈥攎entored by Martin Frydl. Their pitch included two phases: to create a working team of individuals with ASD to demonstrate working potential and to have a VR sensory overload simulation in order to foster understanding of how people with ASD may experience an office environment.

The second team was 鈥淎nglo American University 鈥� seeking the next wave of Czech students鈥�, mentored by V谩clav Pavelka with students Monica Sterbet, Jana Matia Echague, Kathryn Grace Donovan, Isabella Farrera, Han Gia Nguyen. Their campaign aimed to create an open house event with a special celebrity guest and AAU alumni that embodies AAU鈥檚 core values as well as an active Tik Tok presence to reach the target high school audience.

The third team 鈥淣HL next gen awareness in the Czech Republic鈥� was mentored by Patrik Schober and included students: Ana Gonz谩lez, Matthew Saks, Daniela Olascoaga, Sasha Subbaraman. Their goal was to launch their campaign in sports bars all over the Czech Republic to cultivate a younger audience interested in watching hockey, using social and traditional media, the NHL website, and high-profile influencers and current Czech players in the NHL. 

The last team 鈥淓CC 鈥� Every Can Counts 鈥� metal recycling awareness鈥� with students Ashlyn Rucker, Emily Dolan, Amelia Bush, Ashlee Vaughan was mentored by Pavlina Rieselova. Their main mission was to increase self-motivation and awareness of the high recyclability of aluminum cans, and they pitched a partnership with the youth Czech Ice Hockey Association and Czech municipalities to create a sense of communal responsibility in a setting with people of varying ages.

鈥淵ou could see in the presentations that the students got into it, and they understood what their clients needed as well as how to foster engagement with their audience and how the public would perceive their pitches. It was difficult to choose a winner!鈥� said Professor Jeff Medeiros who teaches PR in Practice.

El Business Administration: Marketing and Digital Communications major builds students’ understanding of business principles, marketing strategies, and digital communication techniques. AAU believes in holistic education through theoretical learning within the classroom as well as experiential learning, demonstrated by this Public Relations course.

鈥淚 always look for hands-on projects that students can work on in the field, outside of the classroom, and the APRA partnership meets our needs perfectly by giving us access to real life projects, and we meet theirs by providing ambitious and clever students with fresh creative ideas.  Win-Win.鈥� said Professor Medeiros.