Meet Peggy O'Neil, Professional Communicator

Professional Mission Statement

• Optimize business communication channels to develop and create promotional communication solutions for retailers to leverage corporate marketing strategies and experience growth in their retail business.
  
• Implement effective measurements for each marketing campaign enabling Marketing Managers to make more informed decisions on future activities and build on their successes.
  
• Help retailers build collaborative relationships by sharing in the exchange of ideas and marketing best practices.
  
  As a professional communicator, I utilize my experience of retail and corporate operations to design and deliver effective business communications online. Depending on the audience and campaign strategy, I may employ several communication tools to deliver key messages (announcements, terms & conditions, FAQs, reminder notes, surveys, summaries, online links, etc).
  
  My PCM 300 experiences enabled me to understand the form and function of different writing applications including advertising, hard news, feature stories, business proposals and blog writing.
  
  The Process-Orientated-Writing practices, the grammar guides, and my personal editing inventory checklist are tools I utilize to improve my speed and confidence in all types of writing.
  
  Thanks PCM 300 colleagues for sharing your writing assignments and helping me improve my writing. It wasn’t easy!

Feature Story

This is a feature story developed from the hard news article below. Again, some facts are not real.

Publication: Chi Town Daily News

City Prepares for St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations
By Peggy O’Neil

City officials expect a crowd of 400,000 spectators flowing onto the streets of downtown Chicago for the St. Patrick’s Day festivities on Saturday, March 14 for Irish food, fun, and shenanigans. The Greater Chicago Convention and Visitors Bureau reports hotels within a 30 mile radius of downtown cheerfully anticipate and plan for 100% capacity during this holiday weekend.

Kicking off the annual celebration, the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade at noon will feature 35 marching bands, 22 bagpipe bands and 23 Irish dance troupes said the parade organizer and Shamrock Club President, Michael O’Brien. Planning begins ten months in advance of parade day and O’Brien has been instrumental in attracting cultural talent across state and international lines. Talent groups are evaluated each year, and only those that maintain a superior score are invited back the following year.

During the interview O’Brien mentioned several cultural events taking place on Saturday “including the Chieftains Concert at the Symphony Center, Irish Film Festival at the Beverly Arts Center, and an Irish Catholic Mass at St. Cajetan Church on 112th and Artesian.” Many galleries, cultural centers and retailers feature Irish cultural events and spirited entertainment in the days up to and following parade day.

The parade sponsors, Chicago Journeyman Plumbers Local Union #110, dye the Chicago River emerald green on parade day. For forty years, the “greening” of the river from Michigan Avenue on the west and Columbus Drive on the east has been a highlight for many visitors.

The Greater Chicago Convention and Visitor Bureau President Barbara Evens added, “Every year, curious visitors from as far as Ireland come to see the mysterious green water as it flows down the Chicago River.”

As the story goes, a Plumbers Union business manager had a light bulb moment when he observed a plumber adding green dye to the water to track waste leakage in the river. Since 1957, the Plumbers Union has continued the tradition and kept the formula a secret. At dawn on Saturday, spectators will crowd the Michigan Avenue or Columbus Avenue bridges to witness the “greening” tradition that takes place from small boats in the river.

According to the Chicagoland Restaurant and Tavern Association, the wearing-of-the-green is the dress code at local Irish Pubs and Taverns. In anticipation of the annual celebration, the Association decorates the streets with banners on buildings and signs on street poles; all contributing to the Irish charm and party atmosphere.

Irish music, lively conversation, and Irish brew are the center of the St. Patrick’s Day feast and celebration. Bowls of Irish stew, corned beef sandwiches and boxty potato cakes are the flavors of the day at more than 100 restaurants and bars in the Chicago area. Pub crawlers refer to the map of recommended Irish pubs serving true Irish food and fun at www.klplog.com. Authentic Irish pubs that made the list required a combination of real Irish people (not just Americans), live Irish music, Irish food and pints of either Guiness, Harp, Stout, Power’s or Tullamore Dew.

This weekend, soak in the local Irish heritage and culture with a friend. All eyes, not just Irish eyes, will be smiling.

word count: 522

Hard News Story

Note: This is a mock article submitted for a communications assignment. Some facts are not real.

Publication: Chi Town Daily News

City Prepares for St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations
By Peggy O’Neil

City officials expect a crowd of 400,000 spectators flowing onto the streets of downtown Chicago for the St. Patrick’s Day festivities on Saturday, March 14 for Irish food, fun, and shenanigans.

Kicking off the annual celebration, the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade at noon will feature 35 marching bands, 22 bagpipe bands and 23 Irish dance troupes, said the parade organizer and Shamrock Club President, Michael O’Brien.

During the interview O’Brien mentioned several cultural events that will take place on Saturday “including the Chieftains Concert at the Symphony Center, Irish Film Festival at the Beverly Arts Center, and an Irish Catholic Mass at St. Cajetan Church on 112th and Artesian.”

As tradition goes, the Chicago River will be dyed emerald green on parade day. For forty years, the “greening” of the river from Michigan Avenue on the west and Columbus Drive on the east has been a highlight for many visitors. The Greater Chicago Convention and Visitor Bureau President Barbara Evens added, “Every year, curious visitors from as far as Ireland come to see the mysterious green water as it flows down the Chicago River.”

According to the Chicagoland Restaurant and Tavern Association, the wearing-of-the-green is the dress code at local Irish Pubs and Taverns. In anticipation of the annual celebration, the Association decorates the streets with banners on buildings and signs on street poles; all contributing to the Irish charm and party atmosphere.

Irish music, lively conversation, and Irish brew: both Guiness and Stout, are the center of the St. Patrick’s Day feast and celebration. Bowls of Irish stew, corned beef sandwiches and boxty potato cakes are the flavors of the day at more than 100 restaurants and bars in the Chicago area.

This weekend, soak in the local Irish heritage and culture with a friend. All eyes, not just Irish eyes, will be smiling.

Applying Knowledge

Typically I am asked by others at work to proof their business letters. Before I took this course, I didn't really think about how I would apply my learnings from school into real life. Today, I received a letter to revise and couldn't wait to carve into it. I used my new found knowledge about conjuctions, subordinates and commas to edit the copy. Usually I dread this type of assignment but now that I am familiar with the grammar rules, I feel more confident about my edits. Here my efforts:

Before my edits:
Subject: Exclusive FL Touring Offer - Reminder (Promo #270)

Dear U.S. Dealer:

The Exclusive FL Touring Promotion as of January 31 has expired. To ensure that all of the customers that came into your dealership to take a demo ride or purchase a motorcycle get their free gift, please make sure to send in the gift cards to H-D Program Headquarters immediately!!! We will still accept the gift cards through February 18.

IMPORTANT ACTION ITEM:
If the customer purchased an FL Touring motorcycle and you sent in their gift card for the $150 Shell Gas Card, please make sure you promptly enter their information into the SWR.
In order to validate the purchase we match the persons name with the SWR file. If the individuals name is not in the SWR, a Shell Gas Card will not be mailed. If you have any questions about the FL Touring Promotion, please contact Program Headquarters at (800) 842-0347.

Sincerely,
XXX



After my edits:
February 12, 2009

To: U.S. Dealer

Subject: Exclusive FL Touring Offer - Demo Ride/Purchase (Promo #270)


REMINDER

Postmark Deadline
The Exclusive FL Touring (Demo Ride/Purchase) Promotion has expired. To ensure that all of your customers that took a demo ride and/or purchased a motorcycle receive their free gift, please mail the gift cards to H-D Program Headquarters in the pre-addressed envelope or send directly to: Program Headquarters (Promo #270) / PO Box 514066 / Milwaukee, WI 53203.

We will only accept gift cards through February 19, 2009.

SWR Deadline
If your customer purchased an FL Touring motorcycle and you sent in the gift card for the Shell Gas Card, please promptly submit the SWR. In order to validate the motorcycle purchase, we match the customer that received the gift card with the SWR registration. If your customer’s name is not in the SWR system by February 19, 2009, a Shell Gas Card will not be mailed to them.

If you have any questions about the FL Touring Promotion, please contact Program Headquarters at (800) 842-0347.

Sincerely,
XXX

What Kick-Starts Me?

One of my greatest strengths is to map out current business processes and to identify all the inputs and outputs of each process step. Typically, I achieve this with post-it notes, which allows me to move steps around as I probe process owners and team members on how they get things done. In building a process map I often ask, "And then what happens?", followed by "What happens next?"


Once, using Visio software, I mapped out how to create a sales training booklet and then stood back to look at the masterpiece, err . . . catastrophe. It was so obvious to see where all the inefficiencies were.


All of this sounds mundane, I know. With the doom and gloom of the economy, we have to survive on-the-job with less staff, dwindling budgets and higher expectations. We could all throw up our hands and continue to move exactly on the same path. Instead, get off the path and be open to examining why you do what you do and the value you (or the process) offers.

My ultimate goal in taking this class is to strengthen my writing skills in order to evolutionize marketing communications for our retail sales organization. I look forward to exploring ways to deliver business news more efficiently and tailored to different audiences. When I achieve this goal, I will make a positive impact on retail sales and be the most reliable source for marketing news and information.

Introduction

I am Peggy O'Neil and am very excited about my recent career move into the field of Marketing. Recognizing that writing is a critical factor for success, I want to develop the skill to create clear marketing communications that motivate our Sales Force.

I want to:

• enjoy the exercise of writing and complete a writing assignment in less than 4 hours.
• use smart and creative tools that will enable me to write copy quickly and confidently.
• understand my style of writing and enhance the quality.
• create a professional communication tool that integrates all corporate marketing communication messages into one newsflash for the Sales Team.
• develop a tool that will enable subject-matter experts to submit their key marketing messages into the newsflash.
  
  I truly welcome your suggestions and your encouragement is empowering.