Buyer Beware!

Yesterday, Class 2 CreComm presented the Buyer Beware projects in Ad class. Let me just say, I am glad to be done!

Personally, I felt my group was lacking on the entertainment side of things during presentation, but after all, it was a more serious topic. Kudos to all the other groups for your awesome presentations and interesting topics!

My group chose to research the pandemic preparedness plans of the 5 major post-secondary institutions in Manitoba. Since H1N1 is a reality we face, we thought this was a topical issue, and we hope to get covered by local news.

The main idea behind our project was to find out what kind of plan they had in place to deal with H1N1 in their institution. We found that 4 of the 5 had a plan in place, but we also discovered that a larger crisis communication plan exists in most institutions and other organizations to deal with potential crisis situations.

We consulted with two public relations professionals, Melanie Lee Lockhart, and Therese Mickelson, both of whom provided us with a wealth of knowlege on the issue, that we were unaware of until our interview. To check it out, click below.


I'm glad to have researched this issue, as it is very important to know about how organizations go about protecting their staff/customers/students. I've learned that it is a never-ending process, where the communications people in charge are always adding and editing the plan, even carrying it around on jump drive attached to a lanyard around their neck! Now that's what I call preparedness!

I hope that everyone learned a lot from our research, as we have learned a lot from you! H1N1 updates are constantly in the news. Yesterday before our presentation, I read in the Winnipeg Free Press that according to a St. Boniface doctor who conducted research, the average age for H1N1 victims is 15-55, and it is more common in women than men.