The General's West Coast PR maven Diedra Wylie, in an e-mail to reporters and editors of a number of university newspapers, offered a free trip to Vegas this past weekend — with ten Universities reportedly accepting the trip. The program reportedly focused "on car customization culture which is relevant to young adults" and billed as a "great learning opportunity for young journalists." Yes, we'd agree — it's a great opportunity in how to take a free trip and meals from one of the world's largest corporations. And like the tobacco industry, it's important to get in there when they're young and impressionable, despite Wylie's "...hope [the students'] opinion wouldn't be swayed by a free trip." But considering the nature of the event, we'd understand why it's be difficult for young'ins to understand. Here's a way to get through to the journo students. Just explain it's the equivalent of hitting the hay with a local sorostitute — it may seem like a smart idea at the time, but it all changes once the itching and burning begins. Full text of the e-mail after the jump.
—-Original Message—-
From: xxxx@gm.com [mailto:xxx@gm.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 8:43 PM
To:
Subject: URGENT - General Motors College Journalists Event
Importance: High
Dear Advisor,
I'm writing to inform you of General Motors' First College Journalists Event taking place in Las Vegas, NV on September 9-10th. This is the first time we've done this sort of event and it'll be a great learning opportunity for young journalists. The program will focus on car customization culture which is relevant to young adults.
While in Las Vegas the college journalists will have the opportunity to meet with professional journalists and GM executives who'll be in attendance. GM will pay for travel, hotel and meals for students that attend. Travel will be scheduled so students don't miss any school (arrivals and departures will take place during the weekend).
More information on the program is below. Please feel free to forward the information below to students you believe are qualified and would benefit from this opportunity. For questions or more information, please contact me at 805-xxx-xxxx or xxx@gm.com.
Best,
Diedra Wylie
GM Communications Western Region
GM event reaches out to college students [PR Week via Talking Biz News]
Related:
General Motors Death Watch: The Inside Story of GM's New Products; Becoming a Motoring Journalist, UK Style [internal]