Lessons Learned from 40 Years of Agency PR

I write this as I have only hours left of my 40-year career in public relations, a profession that was the perfect match for my personality, passion, and life-long quest for learning new things. I’m moving on from Maccabee and the PR profession to travel with my husband and family, staying healthy, reading good books, and playing with my grandchild. Sounds heavenly to me.

As I look back on my career, it was destiny! I’ve loved the news business since my high school journalism days. I even tried to convince a friend at the time that the business pages in the newspaper were an exciting read! And when I moved to the Twin Cities those many years ago, I yearned for an agency PR career. How did I know that was my future? I don’t have a clue. In hindsight, and humbly, the agency PR profession was the perfect fit.

Over the years I’ve learned a few things that may be enlightening and I want to pass the lessons on to you.  At minimum, this Maccabee blog has given me a chance to reminisce a bit. I hope you enjoy.

Agency PR is a Terrific Profession for Procrastinators

From a pacing standpoint, think about this. Back in the day, we regularly mailed news releases to the media. Then we moved up to faxing them. We also couriered documents across town at either 15 minute, one hour or 3-hour increments. If you need immediacy, you picked up the phone. Multiple times a day.

Even though the timing in these scenarios seem relaxed by today’s standards, the profession is not that different today. PR professionals deal with multiple projects and deadlines each day. It’s that juggling and prioritizing of the workload that’s exciting. It’s what makes the profession fun. It’s a profession that works well for procrastinators, like me, as there’s always the next deadline that must be met.

Pro tip: Set up meetings even before you start on a project. Deadlines are good!

Proof, re-proof, and proof again. And consider ‘phone a friend’

Did you know there is a difference between the words ‘isle’ and ‘aisle’? Or how about that there is, in fact, an ‘e’ in the middle of the word Minneapolis?

These are two spelling lessons I learned that were, in actuality, proofing lessons. The first, unfortunately made it to my client uncorrected. Trust me, you will never forget that overlooked misspelling when a client points it out to you. The missing ‘e’ typo was in a brochure that I noticed when it was actually on the printing press. At the press check, I was just to check the colors of the brochure, when, looking at the brochure upside down, I noticed the missing ‘e.’ I still to this day don’t know how the print operators saved me and corrected it while the brochure was on the press.

Pro tip: Both of these typos could have been fixed beforehand if I slowed down and employed some best practices when it comes to proofing:

• Read the copy out loud. Better yet, read it to a friend or colleague, while they look at the copy.
• Read the copy from right to left.
• Compare all edited documents with the final to ensure changes were made accurately.
• Use spellcheckers…but don’t rely on them 100% of the time.

Don’t Become a Dinosaur

Any idea what a VNR is? How about a media kit? (And not the ones that publication advertising departments produce.) Or Bacon’s?

All of these were vital tools of the trade when I started in this business. It’s been years since I’ve developed a VNR, a media kit, or used Bacon’s. And guaranteed, for those of you who are starting out in this field, there will be tools and tactics you are using now that will be obsolete at some point in your career. The point is….as a PR professional you must always be open to learning. To understanding where people are and what media they consume so that you can advocate for the best method to reach them. Don’t stay stuck in the past and become a dinosaur.

Pro tip definitions: Video news releases (VNRs) were pre-produced news stories PR professionals developed for broadcast use. Media kits were oftentimes high-design folders that held multiple backgrounding documents for media use. And Bacon’s was a printed reference guide the size of a telephone book (what’s that?) that provided media contacts from around the world.

Stay Curious

If you would have told me that I would become knowledgeable about corrugated boxes, the chicken industry, consumer office products, and lymphedema (to name a just a few subjects I’ve needed to learn in this profession), I’m sure as a newly graduated PR dreamer I wouldn’t have believed you. At the start of my profession, I knew how to write (sort of) at the time. Wasn’t that enough?

PR professionals have an incredible opportunity to learn so much about all facets of business, industry, consumer products, non-profits and more. And it’s amazing to me how information learned about one industry has application in another. It’s almost like there are interconnections in life. That there is a web with threads us together. My recommendation to new PR professionals, well, all PR professionals (remember the dinosaur warning), read a lot. Not only as enjoyment, education or to expand your horizons, but to learn how to put words together from good writers.

Pro tip: Be a sponge. Absorb everything and anything by reading, listening, viewing and experiencing.

And finally,

Give Thanks

Whether you are working in the corporate, agency, governmental or non-profit setting, there are a multitude of things we PR professionals can be thankful for. Interesting projects and subject matters. Challenges that stretch us. Colleagues who delight us and who we can learn from. Clients who value us. The PR profession is valuable. And I feel honored to have been a part of it for all these years.

Thank you to those who hired me. Thank you to my colleagues who made me a better professional. Thank you to my clients who trusted me. And thank you to my family who supported me throughout my career. It’s been a ride.