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Q: Would you share some of your former and present clients? One of my current clients is the Auburn Symphony Orchestra. It's a fully professional orchestra consisting of musicians from the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB), Seattle Opera, Northwest Sinfonietta and Northwest Chamber Orchestras. It's a super challenge because it's a phenomenal organization, lead by an incredibly professional board made up of music lovers, with co-founder Stewart Kershaw, music director of the PNB, directing the orchestra. And yet it appears that very few people in the South King County and elsewhere in western Washington know about it. It'll be fun introducing people to this incredible orchestra. Other current clients include the World Gourmet Summit Las Vegas, Brandman PR, and South African-based Showcook.com (www.showcook.com). Q. Did you seek out travel & tourism, franchising and wine industries as the areas on which you wanted to focus or did it just happen? From the beginning I was hooked! Since my first official job with a hotel group in Natal, South Africa many years ago, I have been involved in the travel & tourism industry, one way or another. The wine and franchising came later. However, they are all inter-related, particularly on the wine side as wine tourism grows as a major sector globally. I will say that if one is a public relations/communications professional, one can pretty much work in any industry as it doesn't take long to get up to speed on a subject and, in most cases one has experts or specialists to whom one can turn for the technical information. Q. What about those arenas intrigues you? These industries are vibrant, service-oriented and ever changing. They offer the opportunity to travel, experience new places, meet people from all different cultures and, in most cases, achieve results. They are primarily service industries and one way or another make a difference in people's lives. For me, it has always been important to have work that is meaningful. In the case of the hospitality industry for example, people always need a place to stay, whether on business or vacation; so, in a sense, one is contributing to their well-being. With franchising, whether it's in the travel & tourism industry, real estate or any other product for that matter, it is challenging from a communications perspective. You are working with individuals who operate their own businesses and have their own goals, yet want to take advantage of the synergies of operating under a major brand name. Without excellent internal and external communications, it is difficult to keep franchisees motivated to follow the franchise line, while at the same time making sure that franchisor management understands their franchisees needs as independent operators. I love working with the wine industry because it is not only about life-style; it is also about agriculture, land preservation, open spaces and contribution to local economies. I've seen the mostly positive impact the wine industry can have on local communities and on retaining rural environments for the long term. Very satisfying. Q. There was an incredible need for PR in travel & tourism after 9/11. Can you share some of the challenges and how you approached them? Long Island Wine Country®, for which I was executive director, was a perfect example of the impact of 9/11. This region is at the end of Long Island, 90 miles from New York City. Prior to 2001, a lot of New Yorkers didn't know there was a wine region only a couple of hours drive away. They knew about The Hamptons and the beaches and that was all. After 9/11 there was a real feeling of wanting to stay close to home for get-aways. We were able to address that need by promoting Long Island Wine Country as a special place to visit in their backyard. We pitched NYC based newspapers and magazines, such as the New York Times and Food & Wine, and obtained features in both. We also achieved TV coverage on CNBC and the regional News Channel 12. At the same time we were raising awareness of the great wine that is produced there through major events in NYC and in The Hamptons, along with the associated press coverage. Q. You worked in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the U.S. How does public relations differ from culture to culture? How did you make the transition? I've actually implemented PR campaigns in Asia and South America as well, and am also a member of the International Public Relations Association, for which I served as alternate representative to the United Nations. It's interesting because wherever one is in the world the basics are pretty much the same. However, implementation is very different. In some countries like Bahrain in the Middle East or Argentina, successful PR campaigns have a lot to do with listening and networking with the right people. In Switzerland, for example, the focus is on organization and planning. I had a wonderful example of how different cultures can be from a PR perspective when I organized the official openings of the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza hotels (now Crowne Plazas) in Geneva, Switzerland, and Casablanca, Morocco within weeks of each other. Everything for the Geneva opening was orchestrated down to the last second; in Casablanca, the program schedule was extremely fluid, changing by the moment as the days leading up to the event and on the day itself progressed. In terms of transition, I have found it important to find out as much as possible about the environment in which I am working and, as much as one can, adapt to the way of doing things. Here in the States for example, I've had to learn to write in American English. There's even a difference in the way people work with the media on the west coast than on the east coast, which has to be learnt. Q: Your work in the wine industry appears to be more regional than company-specific so you weren't promoting a particular brand. How does that change your approach? One of my key priorities was to develop a brand for the industry as a whole. I had the good fortune to become the first executive director of the previously volunteer Long Island Wine Council. My role was to create a professional body for the group, develop and implement a strategic marketing and communications plan, and serve as a liaison with other industry and governmental organizations. We developed and trademarked the Long Island Wine Country brand for the tourism side of the business and heavily marketed it to the appropriate media and other target audiences. We also worked with other community organizations on both the travel & tourism and business side to help them capitalize on our brand name. On the wine side, we had to overcome the perception that wines from Long Island couldn't possibly be good as most people's concept of Long Island is of Levittown or Hicksville (two New York 'bedroom communities'). At the Washington Wine Commission, working with Edelman PR, we created and launched the industry's first branding campaign, including a tag line “Washington State - The Perfect Climate for Wine” and a logo, which served to integrate the variety of programs undertaken by the Commission. The challenges here were the perception that it rains all the time in Washington so we couldn't possibly grow great wines and the confusion with Washington D.C. - “oh, we didn't know they grew grapes along the Potomac River.” What's interesting about working with organizations like these, the same principles as for franchising communications apply. It is essential to understand that these people have independent businesses, with their own objectives and it is your role to bring them together for a common goal. Q: Your list of credits makes it seem as if you sprang forth into leadership positions without passing “Go” but I'm sure you've paid your dues. How did you start? Did you have a conscious plan on how you wanted your career to go or did it just evolve? According to my mother, I've been doing public relations since I was old enough to talk! It's in my bones. Actually, that's not as silly as it sounds. There really are people who have a natural ability to be top notch PR people. They have the instinct, are good writers, and have a willingness to do whatever it takes (that's legal!) to get the job done, from directing a project to sealing envelopes. They understand their role as middle-people between an organization and its outside audiences, whether that be shareholders, media, strategic partners or whomever. They're naturally service-oriented and in most cases don't have a big ego (pride, yes; ego, no). That is not to say one can't learn to be good at PR, it's just a lot harder. For reasons I cannot remember, I decided at 15 that PR was the profession for me. As a result, everything I did from then on was with that in mind. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree, followed by a diploma in Public Relations. At university, I won an award for raising the most funds for charity - the highest amount anyone had ever raised. Finding ways to raise the money, from organizing and promoting a major rock concert to sponsored walks, made me realize what a creative and fulfilling profession PR could be. My first position in PR was with a printing equipment and processing company, while I finished my degree. I started as a photolithography sales representative and was then promoted to PRO (as it was called then) and I haven't looked back since. I have been actively involved in PR associations from the beginning, as networking with one's peers and people with more experience than oneself is the way to learn and to get leads. On the other hand, once one has some years under one's belt, it is good to give back and share what one's learnt with newcomers to the profession. It's also been great teaching the basics to people who aren't in PR but can't afford to have a PR person or firm of their own. At Holiday Inn, I developed and ran PR and presentation skills workshops for general managers and sales managers of the hotels in Europe, Middle East and Africa. In New York, I organized basic workshops for the Non Governmental Organizations at the United Nations. Q: How do you approach new clients? Any secrets to clinching the deal? I may hear about a company or organization that needs some help and will prepare a proposal as to what I think I can do for them, based on research of what they are currently doing and the challenges they are facing. Occasionally, I'll do searches for Requests for Proposals and respond according to their requirements. Q: What words of advice can you give our job seekers, regardless of experience? If you're at the beginning of a career in public relations, corporate communications, marketing communications (call it what you will!), my suggestion would be that you start by seeking work at an agency before going in-house. An agency usually provides a practitioner with a wide range of experience and also helps them understand how an agency is managed. The latter is really important as it is likely that later on you'll need to choose and manage one. If you're using a job site like workinpr.com, ensure that you carefully read the job description and requirements, and follow the instructions on how to apply. Always be clear up-front which job you are applying for and keep your cover letter short and sweet, highlighting items from your experience or personality which match what the employer is looking for. Sounds basic but a lot of good people are overlooked because they don't think their application through.
Jane Baxter Lynn
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