Starting off a new year, new decade and celebrating 19 years in business seems like a lot of excitement. After launching in January 2001, here we are in the blink of an eye it's 2020 and so many campaigns, projects and more to reflect on.
I have seen a lot change in my industry, in media, in storytelling and how we do it using new technologies. To last this long, you must be flexible and constantly adapting to the new way consumers prefer and want to receive messages and engage with brands.
The way story telling is done; the way a company markets to an audience using public relations, social media, video, advertising...it has changed. Don't get me wrong, one thing remains a true constant: a great brand story will take you everywhere. As long as it's consistent.
Right now, in 2020, the most important thing that I think about is how to solve the problems businesses and organizations have in telling and sharing their story in an ever evolving digital landscape and world. And, making sure that the ways we communicate and share those stories is impactful to consumers/customers and the company.
Over the years, we've really become a hybrid of agency and consultancy, helping our clients connect the dots. In fact, we often create the dots of opportunity that, along with a few introductions to media and other partners, lead to major, often rapid, growth.
As I consider where we will be in one year, celebrating our 20th Anniversary, I am more confident now that we will only continue on this path and continue to innovate for our clients beyond the headline.
It Goes Beyond PR
I have always been a big believer that PR is more than pitching a great headline. The best public relations and marketing communications success stories weave themselves into the tapestry of a company to drive growth, awareness, engagement and sales.
To be truly successful today in marketing, communicating and engaging, good PR people understand that they have to go beyond the PR campaign or story. In fact, great journalists/PR pros have always understood that to be successful, an agency must see beyond the PR to the larger picture of the business and a campaign's effect on the business.
When I sit and talk to people about PR and marketing communications, they often seem surprised by our approach of really understanding a business, an industry, PR, media, and new technologies and how they all work together for success.
This has molded the recipe for the secret sauce to our success for clients. One that McDonald's can't compete with. It has been tested and proven time and again in the last 10 years to help our clients take their story further. It's more than PR, it's more than design, it's more than video, It's a particular mixture of media and business knowledge combined with technology that gives our clients a unique edge.
And with that, we enter into 19 years of service and a head nod at the end of 2019 by Expertise.com as one of the 26 Best PR Firms in Chicago. Thanks, guys!