Dream Public Relations

May 6, 2013 — 3 Comments

Public Relations is the fastest growing industry in the world, and it’s no wonder considering how public everyone is making their personal lives via social media. P.R. firms also help companies of all sizes. It doesn’t matter how awesome their advertising campaign is, if the customer has little to no good will or faith in the company and its products and services, it will tank under the weight of that million dollar ad campaign with no revenue to lighten the load.

This is especially important when it comes to the fashion market because we are not considered the most ethical industry. Getting caught employing sweat shops and bribing a country’s customs officials in order to get your garments through without the proper paper work reflects poorly on the company.

To better explain the public relations industry, and to talk a little bit about her company, I have conducted an interview with the founder and CEO of Dream Public Relations, Alexis Morgan.

Brittany B. – How would you define public relations?

Alexis Morgan – Well, public relations is a lot of things. I would say it’s the combination of advertising, journalism, media relations, creative thinking, and client management; it’s just so many different dimensions in one field, and I think that that is what makes the business so lucrative. When you go to a public relations professional, you don’t only have to get press releases. You can get a logo design, a website design, portfolio management, brand consulting, media pitching, placement in the media. Luckily I employ a lot of different people in the business, so my firm also offers financial management. Public relation can be like a one-stop-shop for all your media, advertising, and creative business needs.

BB – Why did you start Dream Public Relations?

AM – I was a senior in college, and that was last may, and had passed I think 12 internships at that time and I felt that I was proficient enough in the industry to get paid for work. People were always asking me “can you do this for me, can you do that for me” and as a student I was like “yeah I’ll do this,” but I felt bad for asking for money because I was a student. But finally, I was fed up with my minimum wage job and said “I want to start an agency where the clients are the hear of the business. […] I want to create an agency where it’s a one-stop-shop for everything you need for your business. When you come to us you have goals in mind. We take those goals and we mold them into what you think your dream could be for you business.”

BB – What is your business model?

AM – I thought that this lucrative, kind of free-lance network model would be the best situation, just because it gets really complicated when you get into tax brackets and healthcare and things like that. Basically I wanted to just 1099 all of my employees, and I though that would be easier and better for the company and the clients. You never really know how much work you’ll get in a given month. […] I wanted to create a middle market type of firm where you could have a small business come to you, you could have a medium business come to you, you could have a large business come to you, and it doesn’t have to be in a specific sector either. It doesn’t have to be just work, or entertainment, or lifestyle, or beauty, or fashion.

BB – What are to requirements for an entry level job at your firm?

AM – Well, my agency works a lot differently than most agencies. It’s kind of more of a network than a typical agency. At a typical agency, you’d need at least two internships to start out with […] but with my agency, I look for potential, and I look for enthusiasm within the industry. So you might not have an internship, but you might have the ambition to perfect your craft.

BB – Would they have to have a degree to get an internship, or just be in school?

AM – No, you don’t need a degree […] just send in your resume and your cover letter. Really demonstrate your passion in your cover letter. […] I read it and converse with the executive director of a specific branch […] and we decide if their passion will transcend their, maybe, lack of experience on their resume.

BB – Have you ever had a client that needed immediate help because of a social media blunder?

AM – Luckily, we haven’t come into those kinds of problems, because usually we run the company’s twitter account so we know what we’re doing, but should that happen, our crisis communication plan would come into effect. So lets say a client was tweeting things from the wrong account; they thought they were in their personal account, but they’re really in their business account. And they’re like “OMG I’m gonna get so f-ing waisted tonight!” […] What we’ll do i go on twitter and the company’s blog and post a statement that basically says ” We’re sorry. This is completely out of the company’s character. We promise dedication to our customers and to make sure this will never happen again. Please accept our sincerest apologies.” We’ll try to make sure their isn’t a lot of back-lash […] and specifically respond to those people who tweeted or emailed back at us.

BB – How do you keep yourself current in the P.R. industry?

AM – Well, I definitely follow all of the P.R. news media, like P.R. Daily, and people in the industry that have a lot of weight, like Renee Edelman. […] I think if you’re updated on news in general, then you’ll be ultimately updated on P.R. news.

BB – What makes a press release news worthy?

AM – You have to have something breaking, you have to have something innovative, you have to have something big in the industry […] I think the most news worthy press releases are ones that happen with current events or things that are being newly invented.

BB – What advice would you give to people trying to get into the industry?

AM – Are they just getting out of college and trying to get into the industry?

BB – Sure.

AM – I would say, if you haven’t already, get into an internship as soon as you can, and try to get as much work as you can. But lets say if  you’ve already done the internship thing, if you’ve already networked, I wold think about where you want to live, and what industry you want to work in. So, maybe you want to live in one of the top ten most populated cities in America (from least to most populated: San Jose,CA; Dallas, TX; San Diego, CA; San Antonio, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Philadelphia, PA; Houston, TX; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; and New York, NY) and you want to work at an entertainment public relations firm. What I would do is, for each of those cities, […] do an extensive Google search for at least 100 entertainment public relations firms. Then I would go to their careers page […] and send them my resume, my portfolio, which everyone should have an online portfolio, and a cover letter.

BB – Is there anything else you think we should know about the P.R. industry?

AM – Just that it’s not all glitz and glamour. It’s a lot of work, and clients are very hard to deal with sometimes, and you have to have a lot of patience. If you follow your dreams, you wont ever feel like you’re working, so make sure that P.R. is the right industry for you.