News & Insights

I moderated PRSA Austin's May panel on tech PR, which meant I got a front-row seat to a conversation I found genuinely useful—and I'm not just saying that.

We had four practitioners on stage, each walking through a real campaign with real results. The through-line: the fundamentals haven't changed, but the context keeps shifting, and the communicators winning right now are the ones who've stayed curious and adaptable.

When the problem is education, not awareness

Destin Singleton, APR, presented a campaign for a utility company's time-of-use energy program — a product with an industry-wide enrollment rate of just 2%, largely because complex rate structures require customers to actually understand what they're signing up for. The solution was AI-powered, bilingual conversational outreach at scale via calls and texts. The results: 200,000 touchpoints, 1,150+ enrollments in 75 days, and $400K in staffing cost savings — with more than half of customers never speaking to a human at all. The lesson: match your channel to the communication problem, not just the audience.

Building a brand in cybersecurity

Ashley Houk-Temple, APR, shared her work positioning DXC Technology's cybersecurity practice, placing their Global CISO in outlets including the Wall Street Journal, TechTarget, and CSO. In a crowded space where everyone is claiming expertise, she focused on making the spokesperson the story — through thought leadership, podcasts, and owned content that gave journalists a reason to come back. Coverage compounded over time because the relationship-building came first.

What stuck with me from IBM Think

Evi Sinopidou from IBM shared lessons from managing media at IBM Think, their flagship annual conference. Her framework applies well beyond big events: develop media relationships well before you need them, make every in-person moment count before, during and after, lean on third-party sources to validate your story, and — if you're working with agency partners — be a dot-connector even when you can't be in the room.

Finding your way into a bigger story

My Treble case study focused on Zilliant, a B2B pricing software company navigating a noisy market. The approach: find the story already being told (pricing volatility, tariffs, dynamic pricing backlash), create data to support a point of view, sharpen the message into soundbites, and build on early wins. The result was placement in Fast Company and Axios — not by chasing coverage, but by making Zilliant's perspective useful to journalists working stories they were already writing.

Thanks to our panelists for a candid, practical session, and to Amplify Credit Union for hosting. Watch for details on our next event. Not a member yet? Join us.

Our spring mixer had one small hurdle before it happened: weather. We rescheduled Coffee & Cocktails after severe weather threatened the original date, which turned out to be the right call — the rescheduled evening at Cosmic Coffee and Beer Garden came off without a hitch.

By all accounts, it was exactly what a good mixer should be — low-key, genuinely social, and the kind of night where you end up in conversations you didn't expect.

More events are on the way. Not a member yet? Join us.

Students from Texas State University scored a historic win by capturing first place in the 2026 PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition. This is the first time Texas State University has earned the national title in the competition’s 43-year history. The university had two student teams compete for top honors, marking the first time in two decades that two teams from the same university have competed in the judging finals. 

The Texas State University AdvoCats won first place, and the Texas State University StarCats earned third place after advancing to the final judging round and presenting their campaigns to a panel of judges on May 5. The teams competed against Montclair State University for first-, second- and third-place honors. This year’s competition drew 46 entries representing 35 universities from across the country. The Bateman competition tasks student teams with creating strategic public relations campaigns for a national client, which this year was ACCESS Newswire. 

Congratulations to the Texas State Bobcats for this incredible accomplishment and to their faculty adviser and PRSA Austin president, Debra Price.  

Read PRSA press release here:

https://www.prsa.org/news/2026/05/07/texas-state-university-wins-2026-bateman-case-study-competition

There's a version of the Gen Z conversation that communicators have been having for years. Edelman's Gen Z Lab brought a different one to PRSA Austin last month.

Elizabeth Birdsong and Olivia Tompkins walked a room full of Austin PR professionals through their special report on how Gen Z is evolving — and why treating this generation as a single, predictable audience is a mistake communicators can't afford to keep making.

Their central argument: there are effectively two Gen Zs. Gen Z 1.0 (ages 23–29) came of age during progressive movements and still believes brands and institutions can do good — they're trusting until proven wrong. Gen Z 2.0 (ages 13–22) grew up in a pandemic, content overload, and political chaos — and they're skeptical until proven credible. Same generation on paper. Very different audiences in practice.

A few numbers that landed in the room: 79% of Gen Z trust brands to do the right thing — significantly more than they trust media (56%) or government (19%). That's an opportunity, but also a responsibility. The same research found that 70% will fact-check what brands say, and 65% have boycotted a brand over silence on a societal issue.

The session also touched on what Gen Z actually wants from brands — not new platforms or flashy campaigns, but presence in the spaces they already occupy, experiences that feel personal rather than performative, and a sense of community. That last finding — 58% say they want brands to provide it — felt particularly relevant for a room full of people who run communications programs and member organizations for a living.

Thanks to Elizabeth and Olivia for a genuinely useful session. If you'd like to dig into the full report, reach out to info@prsaaustin.org and we'll get it to you.

No panels. No presentations. Just people in a room, guided by a format designed to make conversation feel less like work and more like, well, actually connecting. That was PRSA with Heart, a structured networking mixer that sold out before the night arrived, held on Feb. 24 at Love, Tito's.

Every single attendee who responded to our post-event survey said the event met their expectations. Nearly 90% gave top marks to the structure and flow, and several specifically called out the guided networking as the reason conversations felt natural instead of forced. A few asked us to do more of it, including mentorship-focused formats.

PRSA Austin has always been about more than professional development checkboxes. It's about finding your people. They're the ones who understand the craft and who've navigated the same challenges. PRSA With Heart was a reminder that those connections don't happen by accident. They happen when someone creates the right room.

We're grateful to everyone who came out, and to the board members who helped make the night happen.

If you weren't there this time, we hope you'll join us for what's next. And if you're not yet a member of PRSA Austin, there's no better time to get involved.

Learn more about membership

Read what some of our accredited PRSA Austin members have to say about the process — in their own words. Our APR blog is a great first stop if you're considering accreditation and want an honest look at what the journey actually involves.

Future accreditation posts will appear here on the main blog, so stay tuned.

The Texas State University PRSSA chapter has once again been named a PRSSA Star Chapter — the fourth year in a row it has earned this prestigious honor. Out of more than 300 chapters nationwide, only 44 received this recognition in 2025.

At the heart of this success is our very own board member, Paul Villagran, who serves as Austin PRSA’s Director-at-Large, Membership and as Assistant Professor and PRSSA Faculty Advisor at Texas State University. Paul’s mentorship and guidance have been key in helping the chapter consistently achieve excellence and national distinction.

This year also brought individual honors for Texas State. Emma Vega, immediate past president of the chapter, was one of just 44 students nationwide to receive the PRSSA National Gold Key Award, the highest individual recognition for PRSSA members.

We’re proud to celebrate Paul’s leadership and the continued success of the Texas State PRSSA chapter — a shining example of how Austin PRSA members are shaping the future of the profession.

In today's media landscape, the impact of food influencers is undeniable—a topic that generated significant buzz at our recent PRocktails event, Savoring the Story. While our expert panel featuring Allison Beadle of Wild Hive, Sara Hoing of Giant Noise, and Olivia Levada of Edelman dished out invaluable insights, the conversation left a lingering question: How can PR professionals strategically navigate the complex influencer ecosystem?

The discussion was too important to leave at the table. That's why we're grateful to panelist Allison Beadle for providing a comprehensive white paper to continue the conversation.

When it comes to influencer marketing, success starts with strategy — not stunts. This white paper from Wild Hive, The Ultimate Guide to Food and Nutrition Influencer Marketing, unpacks how to build an authentic, results-driven influencer program that aligns with brand goals and connects with target audiences in meaningful ways.

https://www.wildhive.com/food-marketers-influencer-marketing-guide/

If you are currently experiencing an unexpected job loss or transition, PRSA wants you to know that we're here for you now and as you move into your next career chapter.

To ensure that you have useful resources and information at your disposal, PRSA has collaborated with our Public Affairs and Government Section to develop a Displaced Professionals Portal. It features a one-stop shop to access a variety of tools to help you manage this transition. From hardship plans to enable you to maintain your PRSA dues, access to the PRSA Jobcenter, and articles and webinars to retool your skill set, this portal focuses on your needs.

Review these resources

Learn more about the book, Latinas in Public Relations: Shaping Communications, Communities and Culture, and the stories behind some familiar PR pros’ career paths. 

Fifteen public relations and communication professionals share their lived experiences and advice in this collection of narratives curated to help inspire and encourage others to persist and advance toward their vision of success. 

The project is led by Melissa Vela-Williamson, APR, Fellow PRSA, a former San Antonio Chapter president, and features essays by an Austin chapter member and former Austin Chapter president, Amelia Taurel Folkes, APR.

They joined authors from across the country to share relatable challenges, courageous moments, and actionable advice on how to beat the odds in this competitive industry.

How to download your free copy :

· Click here for the Amazon link. 

· Make sure you are viewing the "Kindle (eBook)" version

· Go to the right-hand side of the screen to the button that says "Buy Now with One-Click"

· Free eBook will download into your Amazon account

 Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/5k7F0ID