- Chris Foster, CEO, Omnicom Public Relations Group
- Allyson Park, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, Walmart
- Bradley Akubuiro, Partner & Corporate Communications Lead, Bully Pulpit International
- Dale Bornstein, CEO, M Booth
- Mike Bako, Executive Vice President, D S Simon Media
- Megan Kessler, Founder, Dark Horse Strategies
- Portia Young, Director of Corporate Public Relations, Sargento
- Darryl Sparey, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Hard Numbers
- Anne Green, Principal and CEO, G&S Integrated Marketing Communications Group
- Elizabeth Rosenberger, VP, Client Services, D S Simon Media
>> Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.
TRANSCRIPT:
DOUG, D S SIMON MEDIA: What’s stayed the same in public relations since top PR pros started their careers? This episode of the podcast is part of our 40th anniversary series, and you’ll be hearing from them, but I would like to start it off by saying what hasn’t changed is the importance of fun. Fun means better collaboration between the clients and within your organization. It means better results, and it means a more enjoyable experience. Let’s hear what others had to say.
CHRIS, OMNICOM: Organizations earn credibility through what they do and how they communicate.
ALLYSON, WALMART: It’s still all about people, and relationships, and trust.
BRADLEY, BULLY PULPIT INTERNATIONAL: Conviction still matters. It’s easy to think that with all of the different polarization and stakeholder preferences that we have to kind of tailor ourselves to all of these different areas, but if we stay true to the things that matter to our business, our strategy, people actually have more respect for that than if we change to tailor to them.
DALE, M BOOTH: I’m a big advocate for people, especially people-centered cultures, because in our business, whether it’s today or 40 years ago, cultures that focus on their people are cultures where people thrive. And when people thrive, that’s when we do amazing stuff in our business.
MIKE, D S SIMON MEDIA: One of the things that stayed the same here at D S Simon Media over the last 40 years and over the last decade plus that I’ve been here is telling stories. How do we tell stories to put our brands that we work with in the best light? That’s not changed. That’s something we’re going to continue to do.
MEGAN, DARK HORSE STRATEGIES: The real opportunity for any communications person is to be almost the chief clarity officer for the person that you’re speaking with or the company that you’re speaking with to just, you know, help them understand, like, what is the interesting core of what I’m trying to say?
PORTIA, SARGENTO: You have to be able to write. You have to be a good writer. You have to be accurate, and you have to have speed. So, those things have stayed consistent, and I don’t see them changing.
DARRYL, HARD NUMBERS: The core principles of what is a story like, what makes a story, you know, the core principles of your relationships, the relationships both with your clients and with the journalists that you engage with on their behalf, and the media outlets that they’re employed by, and other stakeholders, you know, are absolutely key.
ANNE, G&S COMMUNICATIONS: Human council and how much of a human interconnected industry it is. At the end of the day, that sort of judgement, person to person, the experience one builds over time remains at the center, and I’m seeing that as much now as ever.
ELIZABETH, D S SIMON MEDIA: Even after ten years in PR, you know, the foundation is still the same: strong relationships, compelling storytelling, and understanding what truly resonates with an audience. People connect with authentic stories. No matter how much technology changes, that’s always going to be the heart of PR.
DOUG, D S SIMON MEDIA: Want to participate or know one of PR’s top pros? Let us know, shoot us an email at PRsTopPros@dssimonmedia.com. Thanks for watching.
