Like every other high-profile industry, public relations has its phenoms — you know, those hungry, hard-working kids who, through sheer talent and tenacity, manage — like cream — to rise to the top with a little shaking.
In determining the 2005 class of up-and-coming PR thought leaders, PR News drilled down into a staggering number of nominations to choose the winners of its annual “15 To Watch,” those PR professionals 35 years old and younger who are making names for themselves and their clients coast to coast.
All our winners come to the table with accolades from management and co-workers, with solid campaign histories that equal (and sometime surpass) those we’ve seen from more well-seasoned PR players, and with can-do attitudes that leave their rivals wondering “how did he/she pull that off?” Crisis management? Got it. One message, several messengers? Got that, too. Media massaging? Masters of the game - without playing fast and loose with the press.
Take a quick look over your shoulder, because here they come: the 2005 PR News “15 To Watch.”
Marina Rosales Greenwood: Principal & Founder, Activa PR (San Francisco)
It would be one thing to start a PR agency amid the dotcom meltdown, but how about one that strictly targeted the tech space? That's exactly what Rosales Greenwood did in 2001, leaving Fleishman-Hillard’s renowned tech practice UpStart Communications to launch her own tech PR firm despite serious odds. Yet she bucked the traditional agency mold, starting Activa as a virtual agency and also cultivating non-tech markets including financial services and management consulting. Four years later, the agency has grown from a one-person consultancy to a boutique with several senior-level execs serving a burgeoning list of clients including GoCar Rentals Inc. and Valley Consulting Services.
Eye-opening experience?
A great example is long-time client Advantage Performance Group (APG), which provides sales and leadership training to a veritable corporate ‘who’s who.’ From APG, we have learned the best practices and proved methodologies it uses to help businesses strengthen their games. In turn, we are also able to strengthen ours while helping APG extend its visibility. It’s like a one-on-one strategy with a sales and leadership guru.
Best PR advice you’ve gotten?
Be tenacious. When Activa PR launched in 2001 at the height of the dot-com debacle, we had an exclusive focus on technology. So, after the tech wreck we began to focus on two additional areas in which we saw strong growth potential: the management-consulting and the financial-services industries. The strategy paid off. We weathered the downturn, and we’ve kept a steady portfolio of clients comprising technology, management-consulting and financial-services firms.
Worst PR advice you’ve gotten?
When I started Activa PR in my mid-20s, many people advised me to wait until I was older to form my own company. [But] age should never be seen as a disadvantage. My mantra is to hire people smarter than me. I have a brilliant team – all with unique backgrounds.
Most challenging aspect of PR in the current climate?
Proving the value of PR. There is so much potential with sales divisions because sales managers can benefit quickly from the credibility tools that PR can provide them. I’ve found there to be enormous synergy between PR and sales when the two disciplines work together.
How can the PR profession improve its overall image?
We need to ask for a seat at the weekly sales or executive meetings and demonstrate just how powerful the role of PR is for executing business strategies. PR is part of the whole business strategy – business and industry magazines, and newspapers print stories that, in most cases, are the result of a PR pitch, a news release, a phone call.
