Monthly Archives: February 2010

Feb 8 2010

What’s the Secret to Moving Up in the PR Jungle?


“Welcome to the Jungle” – Guns N’ Roses

Let me start off by saying that I do not have the answer to this question. At one point I thought I did, but lately I’m not so sure anymore. I’m hoping some of you can help me out.

Six months into my PR career, I was promoted and given a 20 percent raise following a series of media placements and an overall ‘knack’ for bringing value to clients. No, I wasn’t making a lot of money, but that was significant to me and I was certainly thrilled. First thing I did was I went out to the local mall, bought some new clothes, a $125 pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses (still have them), and couldn’t wait to get on the train the next day and walk around like a Wall Street big shot (even though I worked on Park Ave … but still, not too shabby).

This continued for the next two years. Every six months I was getting promoted and receiving significant increases in my salary. It was like watching Bill Murray’s character in “Groundhog Day,” I was reliving the same story … and it felt good. Real good. But eventually things started to change, slightly, but it was still a change. I don’t know if it was the beginning of the downturn in the economy, or just how things start to get when you move up in the corporate world, but the promotions and raises were not happening nearly as quickly. I began to realize that there was much more to advancing in this world than just getting your clients quoted in the New York Times and getting them opportunities to appear on cable news shows.

There were a series of questions I began to ask myself now that I had accomplished some of the basics in PR, and they all revolved around what it took to move up and maintain that ‘fast track’ status. Those questions include: 

  • Is it bringing in new business?
  • Getting your clients to increase their retainer?
  • Working longer hours than everyone else?
  • Is it consistency?
  • Waiting for someone to leave in order to open up a new opportunity at your agency?
  • Learning social media and adding new value to your personal brand?
  • Waiting for the economy to turnaround?

The short answer is that it’s probably a combination of everything on this list. But to reiterate, I don’t have the answer and I’m hoping some of you can help.

Would you add anything else to this list? Is there a senior-level executive that reads this blog and can help some of us out? Please comment.

Feb 4 2010

Can Demanding Clients Make Stronger Publicists?

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” - Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp.

We’ve all had days when we think no matter what we do for a client that it is never enough. We get a great media opportunity, coverage appears in a top publication, and then we find out from the client that this is nice, but they want more. Is this a good thing or a bad thing for publicists? Personally, I’m starting to believe it to be a good thing. If anything, it shows us that the client wants us to do more because they trust us and know that we CAN make things happen, and not that they want to keep piling up more work on our plate. If we weren’t capable then they wouldn’t give us more responsibility.

How many times have you wished for an ‘easy client’ and someone that constantly praised your work? If you answered ‘all the time’ then I’m sure you’re not alone … I’ve definitely been in your shoes! But I’ve learned that every client is different and you may not necessarily like them all, but again, that’s a good thing. Whether it’s working with a large global brand or a startup company in search of a few media placements, we’ve all experienced that challenging, high-maintence client. They want results no matter what the cost. This can make our lives difficult, stressful, and even make us question our desire to work in this type of environment. But isn’t this exactly the type of client that will push us to the max? To make us think more creatively and come up with new ways to achieve greater success?

I’m not saying that having a challenging client is fun, but we’re certainly learning something from them everyday, and I’m not sure you can put a price tag on that type of experience.

Please take the poll below and lets see what the PR community thinks about this. And a special thanks to my boss, @ayoung0107, for inspiring me to post the @BillGates quote above – I honestly may print it out and frame it on my wall – one of the best statements ever.

Feb 2 2010

New Partnership with PR Breakfast Club; PR at Sunrise Named a Top PR Blog

Next, Worob.com wil takeover the world!

By now you all know that I normally post on Monday’s and Thursday’s, but I wanted to interrupt our schedule to share a few exciting announcements.

I’ve been invited by the PR Breakfast Club (PRBC) to join their family as a contributing blogger (click here for announcement). But wait –  don’t worry – I’ll only be sharing one post on the PRBC at the end of each month. Therefore, you can still look forward to reading my posts twice a week and hearing my take on all things happening in the PR world.

On a serious note, I’m very much humbled by the offer to expand my blogging efforts. This was something I thought about doing on a whim and just one month into things I’ve had more than 600 viewers checkout this site and have been ranked among the Top 20 PR blogs by the PR Fuel blog by eReleases – thank you all! I’m honored that the PRBC has asked me to join a group of such talented professionals and hope that this new endeavor helps grow the PR at Sunrise audience even more!

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming. New blog post will be up on Thursday at 9am ET.

Feb 1 2010

Why Having Mentors is Key to PR Success


Robin Williams mentors Matt Damon in one of the most underappreciated movies of all time, “Good Will Hunting”

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed, and have participated in, lots of conversations on Twitter revolving around what it takes to succeed in PR. Is it the experience you get from internships? Is it the education you receive from attending grad school? Both are important. But speaking from personal experience, nothing has taught me more than what I’ve learned from mentors.

When I left the world of sports journalism in the winter of 2005 and was hired at a mid-size PR agency in NYC, I was as excited as ever. I was also more nervous than I’d ever been. I had never taken a PR class in college, didn’t know anyone in the profession, and was incredibly scared of failure. So what got me through those critical first few months? Having people that I could look up to, ask questions of, and scrutinize the way they handled different situations with clients.

I was one of the lucky ones that first year into my new career, and two people that particularly stood out were Chris Hayes (@C_Hayes) and Joe Vasquez (@PRFlipside). Whether it was learning how to write a pitch or how to respond to client requests, these guys never turned me away when I came knocking on their doors looking for answers. Not only that, they began sending me random e-mails with links to news items that were relevant to publicists. They shared blog sites with me, pointed me in the direction of valuable conferences I might want to attend, and even spoke to me about difficult topics such as salary and how to negotiate. Without these two friends, and the other mentors whose knowledge I continue to tap into to this day, I never would have made it past an entry-level position.

I often speak to senior-level management about what motivates me and why I’d stay at a current job as opposed to looking for new opportunities (not that recruiters are knocking down everyone’s door in this economy!). How many of you would say ‘money’ as the prime motivation for being happy? Not gonna lie, that doesn’t hurt! For me, the primary goal is to work at a place where I’m continuously learning new things and being challenged. If I’m not experiencing different things then I’ll never learn from mistakes, make the type of income I want to make, and I’ll certainly never reach my full potential as a publicist. And learning can come in many different forms: new clients, different account responsibilities, or leading a team initiative. However, no matter how many opportunities I may get to do those types of things, I’m certain that I’ll never do them nearly as well if I don’t have a mentor(s) to see me through.

I’m not trying to say the secret to life is having a mentor, or that this philosophy doesn’t apply to other industries. But I’m a publicist and this has been my experience, which is why I wanted to share it with you.

Thanks to everyone that continues to help me reach greater heights. You know who you are.