On the Client's Side

Over the summer I interned at Breslow Partners, a full service public relations firm located in Rittenhouse Square specializing in restaurants and bars in and around Philadelphia. I was hired by the firm's founder and president, Tina Breslow, to be on her team. Each intern can take on a specific client to work on as their project for the duration of their tenure with the firm.

While interning during the week, I worked at The Yardley Inn Restaurant & Bar on the weekends. Upon my return to the old side job, the manager asked me how school was going. I informed her of my new internship. Her reaction was a mixture of surprise and relief, "I'm looking for new marketing people as a matter of fact," she revealed to me, "take my card with you." Sometimes opportunity shows itself in the strangest of places. I acted quickly and pitched the idea to my boss. Upon explanation to Tina and her daughter, Jennifer a meeting with the Inn was set up.

I was in a unique situation; I knew everything about the restaurant from my three years experience, the good and the bad. I also actively worked there at the time. I was quite literally the middleman on this deal. Three weeks and four meetings later, the deal closed on July 1st. I was shocked and slightly horrified because I had put many eyes on me to help make this newly formed relationship work. Without realizing it, I created an immense amount of pressure for myself. With this deal closing, I tapped into a new drive and got down to work because this was not another homework assignment, this is a real life client and I have become a publicist.

Some say success is half luck, those people couldn't be more right. Success, in my opinion, comes from hard work and experiencing many failures along the way before getting what you want. Success is also having the foresight to spot an opportunity and having the tools on hand to grow that opportunity into something bigger. I have failed many times. I have done some silly things at the infancy of my career as a student. But this is why we go to school and intern, to fail in a safe zone where we can pick ourselves right back up and keep going. It's when we get past graduation where it takes a lot more out of you to pick yourself back up after failing. With the opportunity to be on the strategic planning side of a client, this is the avenue to creating a successful portfolio to launch myself into the career that I want. Without the support of my professors in the Strat. Comm. department for showing me what I need to do to become a successful publicist and the invaluable experience working in PRowl all last year on the Strat. Comm. account, I would not have had the knowledge and tools at my disposal to spot this opportunity let alone follow through on it. So for that I say thank you. 

At Breslow Partners, we are in the third month of the 12-month contract and we are starting to see some results.  We have over hauled their social media, created a fresh newsletter and gained media relations for special events. 

Breslow Partners is hiring interns for the fall and spring semesters.  To apply, send your resume over to Jennifer Mansfield at Jennifer@breslowpartners.com. 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Nathan Wilson.

Apple Vice President of Worldwide Corporate Communications Retires After 20 Years

On Wednesday, Katie Cotton announced that she would be stepping down from her position at Apple to spend more time with her children. During her nearly two decades at Apple, Cotton served as gatekeeper to company co-founder Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook.  She also guided the media narrative around almost everything from the iMac to the iPad.

Cotton made PRWeek's Power List in 2010 alongside the late Steve Jobs.  She was recognized for leading the incredibly successful and mysterious communications culture behind the company.

Her entry in the 2010 Power List stated, "It is certainly tough to assess the communications strategy of a company whose official policy resembles the ancient Sicilian Code of Omerta. Despite its reticence to act ‘normally’ – or perhaps due to it – Apple's products attract credibility, mystique, and reputation beyond any PR strategy."  The profile added, "the strategy annoys competitors and industry observers alike – but it works."

Apple is known for doing business differently from other tech giants, this also goes for their communications strategy. "Apple stubbornly refuses to conform to traditional communications norms, making a feature of its lack of openness that historically contributed to the mystique and air of exclusivity around the brand, as well as some frustration."

Cotton’s career is that of the dreams of every PR pro. She handled communications for one of the most recognizable brands in the world under the direction of Jobs. Cotton helped craft the story of mystery and intrigue for Apple.  She had to handle what most public relations professionals will have to do- deal with the kind of boss like Jobs. No matter if you’re going into the entertainment industry or a PR firm, you will have to handle difficult clients. This is the nature of the business, but to please and report to one of the most notorious people in the high tech industry…I’d rather manage a rock band.

Cotton accomplished her goals by creating an in house PR firm within Apple. Normally companies as big as Apple would hire a firm, not Apple, the leadership was completely created under Cotton’s watch. Cotton was never pictured on Apple’s executive leadership page, but my impression has long been that she was one of the most influential executives at the company. It is difficult to find a photograph of Jobs or Cook at a press event in which she is not at their side. 

This guest blog was written by PRowl staff member Nathan Wilson. 

How To Run A Meeting Like A Pro

Meetings are an unavoidable part of the professional world and college life. Most of the time meetings can be somewhat productive, others drag on with uninspired talk and few conclusions reached.    

The key to having more productive meetings lies in careful planning and some guidelines. This can make or break your meeting.

1. Ban all electronic devices from note taking. Apart from the person keeping minutes, no one should have a screen to hide behind. All too often I see someone in a meeting with his or her phone hidden under the desk checking some e-mail or Instagram post that just couldn’t wait. Warn the group to keep their phones away and provide pen and paper when needed. The less distractions the better the productivity of the meeting. 
2. Plan the meeting with actionable steps in mind. All too often people leave meeting thinking they just wasted an hour of their life or thinking that they could of just handled this group project over e-mail which leads to miscommunication and missed deadlines. Ensure that everyone in the meeting has something to do as a result of the meeting and recount what was done at the end of the meeting. 
3. Keep an eye on the clock. Keep track of how much time is spent on one subject at a time. Having time constraints creates a sense of urgency and purpose to the meeting. Keep moving. Start on time and end on time. 
4. Have a solid to-do list and make it visible for all in the room. Keep the agenda short and if you can’t come up with any solid decisions that need to be made, cancel the meeting.
5. Reoccurring meetings should be short and highly structured to avoid the “business as usual” atmosphere. No meeting should be exactly the same.   
6. Write up the minutes of the meetings and e-mail out action items. Appoint someone to keep track of who’s responsible for doing what and by when. This helps people understand that the end of the meeting signals the start of taking action.

These tips are great for a traditional boardroom meeting. If you’re feeling bold, hold a walking meeting to a park or an open and quiet space. This can be a good way to bring energy to an important discussion.

All and all, keep organized and always have purpose to any meeting you attend or host.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Nathan Wilson