When a Puppet is the Ideal Spokesman: Tower PR leads fun, informative workshop at Explore UT

By Laura Fidelman, senior, public relations

As the children stood in line to film a commercial starring the "spokespuppets" they had just created, public-relations senior and Tower PR member Julia Alaniz sensed some nerves.

"If anyone should be nervous about filming a commercial," she assured them," it should be the puppets."

Alaniz and her peers in Texas Tower PR, the student-run public relations firm at The University of Texas at Austin, were hosting a workshop titled "The Making of a Spokesperson, er . . . Spokespuppet" at this spring's Explore UT.

Now in its 11th year, Explore UT 2010 certainly lived up to its slogan as "The Biggest Open House in Texas." More than 50,000 people flooded campus on Saturday, March 6, for more than 400 interactive and informative programs.

Many of the guests were school children of all ages, whom the event hopes to inspire to go to college.

Texas Tower PR developed its puppet workshop to appeal to young children and give them a basic idea of what public relations is all about. Tower students explained what it took to be a good spokesperson and gave examples of spokespeople the kids would be familiar with, like Frosted Flakes' Tony the Tiger and Borden's Selena Gomez.

The children then had the opportunity to create spokespuppets of their own for Texas Tower PR's client, Theater Action Project, a nonprofit arts program in the Austin area.

"The kids had fun making spokespuppets," Alaniz said. "It's obvious when you have a group of rowdy elementary kids who become quiet and consumed" by their craft.

With their spokespuppets complete, the children had the opportunity to film their own Theatre Action Project commercial using the puppets as actors. These commercials will be added to Texas Tower PR's YouTube page, and a select few will appear on Theatre Action Project's homepage.

"Both sessions were filled with kids who were actively involved in our presentation, and enjoyed making their puppets and creating their videos," said Jordan Langdon, Texas Tower PR's communications officer.

The goal of the workshop was consistent with the goals of Theater Action Project, which provides fun and educational afterschool activities for children grades kindergarten through 12. In the program, kids learn important life lessons, build self-esteem and confidence, and gain tools for artistic expression by creating and performing their own shows.

The workshop was one of the more popular sessions offered by the College of Communications at Explore UT.

As public relations majors, Texas Tower PR members understand the value of good publicity and the hard work it requires. They wrote media alerts, press releases, submitted their event to local calendars, and even live-tweeted from the presentation space.

"I hope that our participation in the event helped the University of Texas at Austin community, and the kids themselves, better understand what public relations is," Langdon said.