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December 4, 2017 by sherrilynne Leave a Comment

BDC’s cultural transformation

“A cultural transformation is frightening for most people, so the rebranding exercise that we undertook was a way to help our people to understand what we wanted to stand for in the marketplace and how we could act differently, take bolder steps, be out there. The rebrand was a driver of cultural change,” explained Annie Marsolais, BDC’s marcoms vice president in an interview for IABC Ottawa’s The Voice Podcast.

Click here to hear Annie’s recent presentation to IABC Ottawa.

BDC, Canada’s only bank devoted to entrepreneurs, undertook a nine-month rebranding exercise which changed people’s perceptions, both internal and external. Annie’s frank and detailed presentation was one of the best ever and listening to it is a must for anyone involved in culture change communications.

November 14, 2017 by sherrilynne Leave a Comment

Audience engagement strategies for success

“Most people look at engagement as a program. I look at it as a system. Most look at is as tactical. But if we start with the tactics…we often miss the bigger picture,” explained Priya Bates, president of Inner Strength Communications in an interview for IABC Ottawa’s The Voice Podcast. “Communication is operational as opposed to philosophical. I like to make it very clear. Really define what it is we are trying to do?”

Click here to listen to Priya’s excellent presentation to the IABC Canada Eastern Region Board of Directors.

Priya is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) and a Certified Communication Management Professional (CMP). In 2010, she was named an IABC Master Communicator (MC) and in 2016, she became an IABC Fellow. She was the driving force behind the IABC’s global rebrand. She’s also masterminded employee engagement in a couple of the biggest corporate mergers ever undertaken. She really knows her stuff and listeners will learn a lot.

May 15, 2015 by sherrilynne 1 Comment

Hey recent PR graduate! Let’s chat

Every year about this time, young graduates email me about PR internships and job opportunities. These messages often come with a request to meet up so they can ask me a few questions about my own career and get some advice. Here’s the questions I usually get:

How did you get a start in your career?

As a young mother, I was part of a women returners’ group exploring career choices. Our group facilitator had arranged a tour of Ottawa’s Civic Hospital, so that we could see for ourselves the many jobs and career choices in healthcare. I saw female doctors, nurses, technicians, technologists, cooks, cleaners and therapists. But I couldn’t see myself in any of these jobs. Then I asked the woman who was giving us the tour….what’s your job? She explained she worked in the PR department and described some of her duties. Now, this sounded better. I could see myself in a job like that. She told me about Algonquin College‘s PR Diploma Program, and I applied the very next day.

What are some of the highlights of your career?

Getting my first agency job is a definite highlight. I started my career working for a Canadian crown corporation writing internal newsletters and stakeholder magazine articles. It was a very good job, but it was boring. On my first day at Datanews (later changed to The Reputation Managers), a PR agency based in Milton Keynes, UK, I knew I was in the right environment for me. It was fast-paced, varied, demanding and I got to work with some brilliant, creative people.

Another highlight was when working at a boutique agency in Washington DC. I put together a media tour in which our client was interviewed by The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, CBS, The Boston Globe, The San Jose Mercury News, The San Francisco Chronical and the LA Times plus about a dozen tech trade media. I was really proud of that work.

Starting Strive PR, my own agency in the Isle of Man is another highlight. I arrived on that island not knowing a soul and started knocking on doors. Soon I had sizable book of clients and a couple of employees. It was fun. I learned a lot and made a bit of dosh doing it.

I really enjoyed speaking at last year’s IABC World Conference in Toronto and being invited to attend SXSWi as a mentor. Both events provided unique experiences, and I got to meet marketing and communications professionals from around the world.

What were some low points?

Losing clients is never nice. The first time I was in the front line of an agency firing stands out as a low point. I didn’t see it coming. I cried on the train on the way home. I felt humiliated and ashamed. But with time and experience I’ve learned not to take these things personally. Sometimes business relationships turn out well, some times they don’t. It’s never the end of the world.

Do you have any advice for young professionals starting out?

Find a charity or a good cause you believe in and volunteer your time and talents. You’ll meet people, make friends and gain crucial real world experience. Employers love hiring people who are motivated to volunteer and who have passions. This is the x-factor that often makes the difference in a job interview.

If you could go back in time and do something differently, what would it be?

I stayed five years in my first agency job, and I should have left after three . Being a productive, dependable writer meant I didn’t get many chances to try new things. Two years is a long time to feel frustrated and resentful.

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Doing cool work with smart people. That’s where I always want to be.

Will you hire me?

Maybe, but not necessarily. I hire only when my firm has a real need for particular skills or talents to support client work. I hire people who are smart, motivated and productive. I hire team players who work well independently. Is that you?

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March 28, 2015 by sherrilynne Leave a Comment

Reflections on PR agency life

Last week I published a post called Lessons Learned From a PR Life, which included a listing of observations from my work week. People seemed to really like it. And so, seeing as I am continuing the exercise of taking time each day to answer the question, ‘What did I learn today?’, I thought I’d publish my list for this week.

Here’s what I learned from PR agency life over the past five days:

It never hurts to make a new friend.
Talking things through makes difficult things seem simpler.
A hungry man is a crabby man. Feed or avoid.
Friends and family will keep you grounded.
Some days you just have to put aside busy work and focus on writing.
Past behaviour is the most accurate predictor of future behaviour (thanks, Dr Phil!)

A shorter list than last week, but then, I did work from home for two days. But are starting to get why I love agency life? I never stop learning and growing.

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March 21, 2015 by sherrilynne Leave a Comment

Lessons learned from a PR life

Sometimes the work week flies by so quickly that at the end of the week, I’m not sure what I actually accomplished. Sure, I know how many hours I billed and how many new contracts came in. These are the success metrics of PR agency life.

But this week, I’ve been trying to take the time for closer observation. I’ve been taking notes (Google Keep) about lessons I learn (sometimes relearn) each day. Looking at my list at the end of week makes me think, “Wow! What a challenging and successful week!”

Here’s what I learned from PR agency life over the past five days:

To avoid disappointment it pays to be explicit about what you want.
Your time is precious. Don’t give it away to those who don’t appreciate it.
To achieve your goals, sometimes you have to be assertive.
Providing constructive feedback is an investment in future excellence.
Never present new ideas at 5pm on a Friday.
Say no once in a while, and mean it.
Give people the chance to be successful.
Consult everyone you can to make the best decisions.
Sometimes you just have to fake it.
Break big jobs into bite size pieces.
Recognize that not everybody is your friend, and it’s OK.

See what I mean? Wow! Superficially this seemed to be a pretty humdrum, normal work week. But looking a little deeper, I realised I have learned a lot.

What did you learn this week?

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