How I Got Here: Cassidy Taylor’s Journey to PR

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Many career paths are unplanned. As specialists in insurance communications, we hear from insurance professionals all the time who found their way to their professions through unplanned or unexpected means. The same can be true of public relations. Whether it’s journalism, marketing or human resources—the PR field is uniquely suited to diverse backgrounds. That is why we are sharing this blog series breaking down how our team members came to find their current PR roles. For any new grads trying to figure out what they want to do, or even established professionals looking to make a change, we hope this series can shed some light on the PR field. 

What did you go to school for?

I graduated from a small Liberal Arts College in Easton, Pa., the former home of Kimball Hughes Public Relations, with a double Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and Film and Media Studies. 

I always knew I wanted to go into a career that involved reading or writing but saw the creative fields evolving in a way that would alter the professional landscape. I knew I had to have a good grasp on modern media to remain competitive and relevant, which led to the addition of my Film and Media Studies degree. Additionally, I played Division One soccer while I was in undergraduate school, so you could also say I went to school for the love of the game.

After graduating, I went back to school to receive my Master of Arts in Communications with a certificate in Public Relations and Advertising. 

What did you envision your job would be?

My initial goal was to work in journalism. The fast paced, investigative environment called to me. After an internship with a small, boutique public relations (PR) agency in college, I fell in love with PR. The idea that I could continue to work in a fast-paced environment, tapping into my creative skills while helping organizations achieve their goals was what inspired me to shift fields.

What was your first job out of college?

Immediately after graduating from college, I worked for a global trade association in the fresh produce industry. This in-house role taught me how to support multiple stakeholders at once. I also fell in love with crisis communications in this role. One of my first projects involved a crisis related to a major food-borne illness outbreak. The intensity of both the pace and content brought a high-pressure thrill to the work that I enjoyed – a thrill similar to what I enjoyed during my years as an athlete. 

How did you end up in your current role?

I initially joined Kimball Hughes Public Relations as an intern my junior year of college. During my time as an intern, I worked closely with both the organization’s principle, Rod Hughes and vice president, Eileen Coyne. Rod and I stayed in close communication after my internship ended, and he became an invaluable mentor to me throughout my early years as a public relations professional. As we stayed in touch, I often looked for opportunities to work with Rod again, and the stars aligned in 2021 when I was looking for my next opportunity and Kimball Hughes Public Relations was seeking a public relations manager. 

What has surprised you most about your career or yourself given your current role?

What has surprised me the most about a career in public relations is the amount of trust required. Public relations professionals, clients, journalists, vendors and others all need to work together with a high-level of trust to ensure brand integrity and accuracy are maintained and high-quality, interesting and helpful content makes it to the appropriate audiences. 

What have you learned from your career journey?

Confidence is key. You can be a proficient writer with all the best media contacts, but if the client, journalist or your colleagues do not have confidence in you or your work, success will only be surface level. I have found this confidence, and trust with all stakeholders, comes from connection. The more clients feel you know them, their business and can explain how you will help them achieve their goals, the more confidence they will have in you. 

What lesson or myth-busting idea would you want to share with someone thinking about a career in public relations?

Public relations is not limited to social media content, attending influencer events and putting together PR boxes for celebrities. There is a lot of PR work in the B2C space that looks like what you see in the movies, but many B2B organizations in highly technical fields, such as insurance, legal or finance, also need PR support that looks very different. Anyone pursuing a career in public relations should seriously consider the industries that interest them. This will help you understand where you best fit within a very diverse communications industry. 

How I Got Here: Mike Madry’s Journey to PR

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Many career paths are unplanned. As specialists in insurance communications, we hear from insurance professionals all the time who found their way to their professions through unplanned or unexpected means. The same can be true of public relations. Whether it’s journalism, marketing or human resources—the PR field is uniquely suited to diverse backgrounds. That is why we are sharing this blog series breaking down how our team members came to find their current PR roles. For any new grads trying to figure out what they want to do, or even established professionals looking to make a change, we hope this series can shed some light on the PR field. 

What did you go to school for?

I went to school initially for journalism. During my junior year, I changed my major to public relations after deciding there might be more opportunities there compared to a career in broadcast journalism. 

What did you envision your job would be? 

During my freshman year of high school, I had the opportunity to anchor the school news. After a few broadcasts, I realized I wanted to be a news or sports anchor. I loved the writing aspect of it and really enjoyed the production tasks, such as editing and filming, that came with the job as well.

What was your first job out of college? 

My first job out of college was as a public relations coordinator for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the profession. The role exposed me to different aspects of public relations, from writing press releases and coordinating press conferences to scripting and producing video content. The variety of responsibilities challenged me to learn quickly and develop a well-rounded skill set. Looking back, that experience laid the foundation for my career and shaped me into the public relations professional I am today.

How did you end up in your current role?

After working in-house for about seven years, I was ready for a bigger challenge in public relations, and I thought joining an agency would be the best move for my career. Then it was about finding a PR firm that best aligned with my industry experience. Having spent the last five and a half years in health insurance, I thought Kimball Hughes Public Relations would be a good fit given their insurance expertise. I also felt a very strong cultural fit. With that said, it was a no-brainer to join.

What has surprised you most about your career or yourself given your current role?

What surprises me the most about public relations is the different opportunities that are out there. I’ve found there are a ton of companies and c-level executives that believe in the power of PR and throw their support behind thoughtful PR strategies. That creates a variety of opportunities for professionals in our field to stay challenged, engage in a fulfilling career and earn a solid living.

What have you learned from your career journey?

For me, the most rewarding part of public relations is seeing the real-world impact it can have. It gives you the opportunity to bring attention to important issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. With the right strategy and the right media coverage, you can spark meaningful conversations that have the potential to influence perspectives and even drive change.

What lesson or myth-busting idea would you want to share with someone thinking about a career in public relations?

Internships are invaluable for anyone considering a career in public relations. They not only help you determine whether the field is the right fit, but they also provide hands-on experience that sets you apart when applying for full-time roles. I’m convinced I wouldn’t have landed my first PR job with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives without the internship experience I gained in college. 

Honoring America’s 250th with a Little History and a Nod to PR

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Red, white and blue festive bunting, parades, grilled hotdogs and fireworks may sum up the Fourth of July for many Americans most years, but 2026 is special. 

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is an opportune time to reflect with respect on U.S. history and the vision, wisdom and bravery of our Founding Fathers.

But, dare we say, it might also serve as an excuse to look back into history from another perspective—public relations. Afterall, it was more than Paul Revere’s “PR campaign,” communicating “The British are coming. The British are coming,” that brought us to where we are today. 

The Communications That Built America 

While the Museum of Public Relations credits cave drawings from 37000 to 17000 BC as the earliest form of communication, for the purpose of this article and to mark our nation’s 250th, we will explore how PR has evolved since 1776.   

The Age of Print kicked off in 1773 when Samuel Adams shared messages to raise awareness among colonists of British oppression. The pamphlets and propaganda he distributed have credited him with inspiring the Boston Tea Party in opposition of British taxation. 

Not long after, colonist Thomas Paine drafted and distributed a famous pamphlet known as Common Sense to promote support of a revolution against Great Britain. Then, of course came one of America’s most famous communications—The Declaration of Independence penned by Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers detailing what the future government of the United States of America would look like.

According to the museum, Amon Kendall, a cabinet member to President Andrew Jackson, was one of America’s first to hold a professional communications position in the White House around 1829. He is credited with drafting messaging for Jackson and redefining his public image from “a southern born war hero to a polished intellectual.”

In the 19th century, early PR tactics were used to promote the abolition of slavery and the women’s suffrage movement. Later, mass media emerged with inventions like the telegraph, telephone, motion picture camera and long-distance radio. These tools enabled communicators to share messages far and wide unlike ever before.

With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, a free press rose demanding transparency from leading businesses. John D. Rockefeller worked with Ivy Lee, considered the “founder of modern public relations” to reshape his image into that of respected philanthropist rather than oil tycoon. Lee is also credited with the creation of corporate PR departments. 

World War II ushered in a range of new communications tactics, including Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda campaign for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement in Germany. Meanwhile, an ocean away, the U.S. Office of War Information office was created to leverage media, radio and other communications tools to share news around the war effort within the U.S. and abroad.  

Soon after, PR agencies entered the scene. 

What’s Next for PR? 

The history of PR is fascinating. It goes on to include the rise of crisis communications with the 1982 Tylenol scandal, to welcome the internet and then, of course, social media. 

As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday this weekend, we are now navigating a new world shaped by artificial intelligence. AI is making its mark across society and business ,and PR practitioners have also been caught within its wake. The good news is AI is shining a spotlight on our industry, which has long operated behind the scenes developing strategy, crafting messaging, ghostwriting for others and the like. As you have read here, PR has been integral to many of the historic movements that shaped our country. That role is positioned to become even more important in this new world of AI. For example, AI search, which society is quickly coming to depend on, relies on credible third-party content known as earned media to inform its responses. 

When you enjoy that hot dog, hamburger or potato salad this July 4th, be sure to honor our Founding Fathers for their vision, initiative and honorable actions in building America. 

And for those of us in PR, let’s take a moment to reflect on the value of our profession and the important role we play in shaping its future. Long before 1776, communication initiatives have helped to inform the public, drive progress and shape societies. Today, our goals as PR pros remain much the same, to advance visibility and build credibility, to share compelling stories, raise awareness and build trust on behalf of our clients.  

How I Got Here: Bianca Pell’s Journey to PR

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Many career paths are unplanned. As specialists in insurance communications, we hear from insurance professionals all the time who found their way to their professions through unplanned or unexpected means. The same can be true of public relations. Whether it’s journalism, marketing or human resources—the PR field is uniquely suited to diverse backgrounds. That is why we are sharing this blog series breaking down how our team members came to find their current PR roles. For any new grads trying to figure out what they want to do, or even established professionals looking to make a change, we hope this series can shed some light on the PR field. 

What did you go to school for?

I studied English and Public Relations in college. I initially planned to become an English teacher but soon made the pivot to PR after learning more about the way it employed storytelling. 

What did you envision your job would be? 

In college, I envisioned myself in an in-house PR role. I worked closely with my campus’ Relay for Life organization and wished to work with a nonprofit. During my internship at a PR agency my senior year, I learned a lot about the value of working at an agency early on in my career. The fast-paced client work provides a great crash course in all things connected to media relations, and I knew it would serve as a necessary push out of my comfort zone.

What was your first job out of college? 

My professional journey started with an account coordinator role at a public relations agency. Most of my clients were B2C focused, from wellness to tech and even a few nonprofits. 

How did you end up in your current role?

I was looking for a new agency position and happened to see an opening at Kimball Hughes Public Relations for a PR assistant position. Though I had some experience with B2B PR, I had limited experience in a niche like insurance, but I have learned so much while working here. 

What has surprised you most about your career or yourself given your current role?

The technical aspect has surprised me most. I’ve never been well-versed in more technical topics but working in the insurance space has helped me hone my skill in a way I didn’t anticipate. 

What have you learned from your career journey?

Staying still doesn’t get you anywhere. Sometimes it takes a push to get you where you need to be or better yet, jump in headfirst. 

What lesson or myth-busting idea would you want to share with someone thinking about a career in public relations?

PR is a great field for transferrable skills, but those skills can stagnate if you don’t continue to develop them. In order to write or pitch effectively, you have to consistently keep up to date with industry news and trending topics or risk being left behind. 

How We’ll Spend Our Summer Down Time

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For many of us, the memory of required childhood essays about how we spent our summer vacations remains vivid. While summer essays are no longer required for us, our team opted for a bit of proactive nostalgia by sharing a few of our summer plans before a single beach footprint, cracking of book spines or scheduling of an Airbnb, is attempted. 

Logan Thompson

I’m escaping the East Coast heat to visit Colorado for the first time. I can’t wait to see the mountains out west! My other summer plans include attending my brother and sister-in-law’s baby shower, going to my parents’ beach house, searching for a wedding dress and channeling the early-2000s at a Hilary Duff concert. 

Bianca Pell

I’m planning to see Ariana Grande in concert for the first time before joining my family for a much-needed beach vacation afterward. Otherwise, I’ll be taking advantage of the few months of sunshine in Massachusetts by celebrating the 4th of July on a trip with friends. 

Kate Glaviano

Other than a few pre-planned, small excursions this summer, I’m hoping to keep things pretty calm. My family and I are going to see singer-songwriter Tyler Childers in concert in July. I’m also planning to tackle some backyard projects with my mom, to enjoy plenty of park days with friends and to spend some downtime at home in between. 

Liz Rubino

Summer fun starts with our annual family getaway to the beach. It’s always a great time! We also have a trip planned to visit Canada with our good friends. Otherwise, we are looking forward to seeing our friends and enjoying lots of lobster.

Mike Madry

This summer is going to be very wedding-heavy for me. I have three on the books, all of which are taking place in my home state of Pennsylvania. My brother is attending all of them, so it will be awesome to get to spend some time with him.

Cassidy Taylor

Starting July 1, new Mom Cassidy Taylor will be returning to work. She will, of course, also be sharing several firsts with Baby Jackson this year along with her husband, Matt. This includes baby’s first fireworks display celebrating the 250thanniversary of American Independence. 

John Forberger

Next weekend we will be attending the first-ever Major League Pickleball tournament in St. Petersburg. The host facility, opened by a friend, is called St. Pete Athletic, and 60 top pros in North America, including the phenom Anna Leigh Waters, will be there. And yeah, I know the names of pickleball pros as any good South Florida resident should.

Paul Eagle

This July I’ll be headed to Austin, Texas to celebrate my son Austin’s birthday. (Yes, that is his name.) The rest of the summer will consist of smaller get-aways to swim in Lake Tahoe, eat oysters in San Francisco, hike with our dog, Angus, at Scott’s Flat Lake and tackle two new rock biographies, including Sing Backwards and Weep, the Mark Lanegan Story, and Even The Good Girls Will Cry, A 90’s Rock Memoir by Melissa Aug Der Mauer.

Eileen Coyne

Every summer my family vacations with close family friends at the Jersey Shore. With six boys between the two families, it’s always a fun adventure. Though the sandcastle-building days may be behind us, no one seems to age out of jumping from the dock into the bay with the occasional “Watch this, mom!”

Rod Hughes

With the big event being my brother’s beach wedding in late July at the Jersey Shore, the rest of our plans this summer are low-key by comparison. Ron Chernow’s biography of Mark Twain continues to call to me from my bedside table as a must-complete summer project. I’ll need to find one more to maintain parity with Paul Eagle’s summer reading list. The rest of the calendar will be filled with coffee and lunch meetups with friends. From all of us at Kimball Hughes PR, we wish you an enjoyable summer!

Managing a Crowded Hour with the Media

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Theodore Roosevelt described his experience leading his Rough Riders, a volunteer cavalry force, on a charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American war as his crowded hour. He used the phrase to describe an intense, critical and life-altering activity where he risked all to achieve a monumental goal; in this case, taking the hill and securing a strategic advantage for the U.S. military.

While few public relations professionals take on anything beyond proverbial fire (they do call us flacks), if you have been in the communications trenches long enough, you have experienced a comms-version of your own crowded hour. Often, these crowded hours involve the need to convey a crucial organizational message or announcement in the wake of bigger news events.

The question, in these high-stakes media moments, is what to do?

Which Hill to Climb?

There are a range of approaches, and each offers its own risk-reward scenario to consider.

  • Ride the Wave. If the situation is pliable, you may be able to tie the organization news or announcement to the bigger issue or news wave dominating the media. This could come in the form of expert commentary as well as market or trend analysis. For instance, if the dominant story is about a major cybersecurity incident and you’re announcing a new SaaS or tech tool, lean on the product or service’s security features to reassure your target audience this new product or service is meeting the moment by providing improved security.
  • Try New Channels. If there is a market-moving event, the likelihood business or trade media will focus on your announcement is slim. The good news is the media market has fractured enough that there are ample opportunities to still get your message out. Social media (especially LinkedIn) can be a godsend and is a major tool feeding AI searches today. Specialty outlets like Substack and Medium can provide access to laser-focused audiences regardless of the news cycle. There are also countless podcasts that have gained credibility and wider audiences. And never count out trade newsletters, which sometimes speak more directly to audiences. 
  • Lengthen Your Runway. Try splitting your announcement into a range of different angles or news hooks. This can include client-testimonials, regional statistics or vignettes, contributed articles to trade media, pithy video content for the organization’s owned social channels (i.e., YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, etc.) as well as both your email and LinkedIn newsletters. (*If you aren’t self-publishing a LinkedIn newsletter you’re missing a tremendous audience as a B2B brand regardless of the news cycle.)
  • Hold the Announcement. Reading the room is a critical communications tactic. There are moments such as the 9/11 attacks, the March 2008 run on Bear Stearns and the February 2026 initiation of major combat operations in Iran that can distract from all other news events. There are also regional or more focused events, such as school shootings or VIP arrests or deaths that can dominate broader news cycles. In these instances, it’s not worth the risk of your news being missed entirely or only reaching a fraction of your target audiences while the focus is on other events or news. Delay the press release, LinkedIn or other social media posts.

Good public relations professionals, and certainly those who have been through a crowded hour or two, will formulate an informed opinion and advise senior leadership accordingly. 

Experienced leaders should heed the experienced advice provided from their comms teams.  Those who ignore that advice risk wasting their efforts during the media’s crowded hour and damaging their reputations with the media in the process. 

Why Smart Companies Want Journalists on Their PR Teams

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When I was a working journalist, I sometimes hung up on public relations people who called my office. I regret doing so because now I’m on the other end of the line.

While my response back then showed a lack of maturity as well as patience, my reasoning was on somewhat solid ground. Well intentioned, no doubt, those I hung up on would lead the call with some version of the following: “I’m calling on behalf of XYZ company, and I’m just following up to see if you received the press release I sent you by fax.”

In addition to dating myself, the above illustrates how the PR person never considered the perspective of his audience: me, a working journalist.

On any given day, we would receive about one dozen press releases along with two or three menus from local lunch spots promoting that day’s specials. The 1990s were wild; loaded with possibilities and dining options. Still, we had a small team and responding on receipt to each release was never going to happen. Also, there’s nothing remotely engaging about the above phone pitch. Would you search breathlessly to find their press release? I didn’t.

Eventually someone would skim the resulting stack of streaky press releases. If the headline or lede didn’t grab and hold us immediately, it was tossed into the recycle bin. Most were drenched in florid verbiage celebrating the wonder of monumental pronouncements that were of zero interest to our readers.

The Perspective Problem

As a former journalist who never studied PR, I had to reverse engineer my approach to the practice when I entered public relations. That meant identifying the interests of the audience, finding a compelling story or idea that matched that interest, and then dialing in the client’s value proposition. Over the course of two decades I have refined the approach, gut checking myself with current working journalists to make sure what my colleagues and I do remains effective. And when change is needed, we adjust.

That journalism-first perspective has served me, and my clients, well. 

It’s not that native public relations professionals, those who train for the job from the start, aren’t effective. On the contrary, the really good ones, and there are many—including among our team—bring skill and intellect that, well applied, are powerful force multipliers. And when you can teach these PR pros to think like journalists, well, the effect can be positively stunning. 

What former journalists bring to PR sets them apart from the traditional training provided in college for PR pros. Former journalists will:

  • Stress test a story or pitch concept before it ever lands in a journalist’s inbox
  • Constructively, but insistently, push back on leadership who want to promote a story with no news value
  • Not confuse a feel-good company newsletter concept for an actual newsworthy story
  • Always remember trade journalists receive 100-or-more press releases per day while mainstream news outlet reporters get as many as 300 per day, and act accordingly
  • Never forget to consider working journalists are time starved and have zero interest in doing anyone a favor
  • Filter announcements and messaging for credibility, legal exposure, source strength and headline worthiness because that was the job as they pursued enterprise stories from their newsroom days

A Nose for News

Experienced journalists-turned-PR-pros know what today’s journalists need. They know most journalists are skeptics, so they will redouble their efforts to make any press release or announcement bullet-proof and factually accurate. Quotes in a release have to say something meaningful and memorable. They push their clients to stay engaged with media rather than just reaching out with promotional announcements because credibility, availability and consistency matter to journalists looking for reliable sources. And they should have the courage to respect their clients enough to push back when an idea or story concept will fail to serve the reputation of the executive or organization well because their experience and training validate that perspective. 

In short, former journalists working at PR agencies are ideal sounding boards because they’ve had to assess countless pitches to determine real news value, and that’s a skill that never leaves the soul of a journalist. 

This skill, applied to the advocacy they undertake for clients in their PR roles, can be the difference between securing one-off or infrequent coverage and becoming a trusted, reliable and quotable source media will return to regularly.

If Your PR Is Like a Light Switch, You’re Always in the Dark

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  • Public relations doesn’t work.
  • We reach out to journalists, but they don’t cover our news.
  • The media get it wrong or they refuse to tell our side of the story.

Across a decades-long career in communications, I’ve heard a few variations on the above responses from executives when discussing public relations. The longer I do what I do, the more emphatic I’ve become in my response to these statements: It’s because you’re doing it wrong. 

That’s not a condemnation or criticism; it’s simply reality.

PR has been around for a long time, and while times have changed, the fundamentals of good storytelling have not. This means the more frustrating-but-nuanced response to the above statements is this: PR works if you consistently work at it.

PR Is Not a Light Switch

Most business leaders never trained for internal or external communications, so, respectfully, their understanding of its particulars is limited.

Where I see the disconnect for many organizational leaders is in the application of PR. Countless times businesses and non-profits determine the ideal time for PR is when they have something to say about themselves; a new CEO, a speaking opportunity they want to promote, a new product or service or simply because they want to drum up new business. And that’s the disconnect; they want to talk about something that offers little or no impactful benefit to the audiences of those media. 

The most effective PR incorporates consistent outreach and rarely talks about the organization trying to get coverage. This seems counter intuitive, right? The goal is to promote the organization and its reputation. You want to drive sales or fundraising. So why would you not talk about the organization? The answer is simple: Self-promotion won’t drive clicks on media platforms, which means it doesn’t benefit their organization or the readers/listeners/viewers/followers they reach.

PR Works if You Work It

The best PR strategy is an always-on PR strategy. By continuously engaging media with what they need (not what you want), organizations can enjoy larger benefits than those that treat PR like a light switch, only turning it on to promote themselves. 

So, what does an always-on PR strategy look like?

It offers a steady cadence of genuine thought leadership, from organizational leaders and other subject matter experts, on trends and issues of import to the industry or industries where the organization operates. Shrinking newsrooms need content, and if you can provide well-written, authoritative content or insightful nonpromotional interviews then you have an opportunity to become a valuable media source. 

An always-on PR strategy also includes real- or near-real-time monitoring to gauge and react to trends or issues, as well as reputational threats to the organization. Doing so allows you to engage on an issue or communications concern before it is missed or becomes a problem. This approach also helps to better assess where the organization stands with the media, and the public, in terms of perception, reputation and sentiment. An always-on approach allows organizations to also benchmark their share of voice in the media against their competitors. This last piece will help inform leadership on the most-discussed narratives and trends, and the perceived experts in these discussions with the media. 

In practical terms, this usually ends up looking like a monthly editorial calendar of issues, trends, company announcements and rapid response strategies to emerging topics within the media itself. This calendar covers content and expert participation both with the media as well as the organization’s owned channels, such as newsletters, social media and email blasts that speak to both internal and external audiences. Various monitoring and analysis tools provide the metrics and feedback needed to measure success.

Always-on, Always Helpful

Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.” In modern times, that reputation can be damaged in the time it takes to bang-out a 280-or-less-character social media post. Employing an always-on PR strategy helps to mitigate risk to the reputation of the organization it serves. It also ensures that same organization has a voice media are willing to hear, if only because of the consistent familiarity of that voice.

Public Relations, What Were You Like in the 90s?

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By now, you’ve likely seen the “What were you like in the 90s” question posted on Instagram, with the song, Iris, by the Goo Goo Dolls playing in the background. Maybe it’s a former boyband member flashing back to a slideshow of himself in a synchronized dance routine or posing on the cover of Teen Beat magazine. Or maybe a movie star, when they were lesser known and less wrinkled. In the same vein, we thought it might be fun to reflect on public relations. After all, things have changed quite a bit since Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky dominated a budding 24-hour news cycle.

Here is a brief list of some common PR tools and tactics that have since gone the way of the be-kind-rewind video store.

  • The fax machine: If you look carefully, you can still find these relics in some doctor and dentist offices, but in the 1990s, the fax machine was an office staple. It was often delegated to a room of its own due to the screeching, buzzing and beeping noises emitted when transmitting or receiving the thermal rolled paper via fax. At the time, PR pros would distribute press releases via fax machine as it was one of the fastest ways to   a newsroom. Also, often found on the fax machine, was the menu for the pizza place down the street. These days, good PR pros have learned to rely less heavily on the press release to gain media coverage, but when distributing a press release, we lean into email and wire distributions. Of course, the best agencies will steer clear of the so-called spray and pray approach.
  • The Bacon’s Book: The thick green Bacon’s Media Directory was the PR pro’s bible back in the day. This heavy tome listed contact information for daily and weekly newspapers and news services providing PR pros with valuable phone numbers and eventually emails to reach reporters. These days, those searches are conducted on software systems that help PR pros identify a reporter covering a certain beat, circulation and readership information for their publication, reporter’s preferences and more. While these platforms are not perfect, they have eased and sped up the process for PR pros and reduced the “heavy lift” required.
  • The beeper: Leading up to the dawn of cell phones, many business professionals relied on this device to get in touch with an executive or subject matter expert. The beeper was a small device users clipped onto their belts, allowing them to receive phone numbers or a numeric message. The PR pro attempting to reach the SME would make contact with the beeper via a landline and the executive receiving the text would need to find a landline to call back the number displayed. Today’s PR pros are attached to their cell phones where they text and call for immediate access to the SME or colleague. Whether it’s receiving news of a crisis in a timely manner or quickly reaching an executive before a reporter’s tight deadline, these devices have been a game changer.
  • The clippings’ service: While many of us continue to refer to an online list of the month’s client media placements as a clip report, earlier iterations of these reports were much different. In the old days, clippings services would actually clip – with scissors – mentions of a client’s name in a physical newspaper or magazine and mail or deliver the collection of clips to the PR agency or client. The goal was to build a fat clip book with a “thud” factor when dropped in front of a client. Today, PR pros gain access to news stories featuring their client through online vendors that provide clickable access to client stories and in some cases, those of their competitors.
  • The wine and dine: In the 1990’s PR professionals could be equated with salesman, setting meetings at a fine restaurant where they hoped to woo a reporter with a high-end meal and a fancy cocktail. This trend has come and gone over the years in line with peaks and valleys in the economy, but since COVID, the wine and dine trend has nearly disappeared. With many reporters, subject matter experts and PR professionals working remotely or located in geographically diverse locations, it has become increasingly difficult to find the time for an in-person meal. At the same time, on-screen meetings have provided a new and important medium where all parties can “see” each other with some frequency to build stronger relationships without having to physically travel.

Admittedly, in the 90s, I was on the other side of the fence – studying journalism in college and then starting out as a young reporter. However, from this perspective, I did gain valuable insight into the public relations world – insight into more than their beepers, beer, and Bacon’s Books. That insight has certainly helped shape my career in PR.

When looking for the right PR partner, understanding the tools at their disposal is important, but it’s also critical to ensure any PR partner:

  • Thinks like a journalist and possesses a journalism ethos
  • Prioritizes responsiveness
  • Comes to the table with ideas, rather than asking what’s next?

To learn more about how Kimball Hughes PR can work for you or to simply reminisce with us about PR in the 90s, drop us a line.

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: Finding New Audiences Without Sacrificing Established Ones

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In August of 2000, the season one finale of “Survivor” became one of the decade’s most-watched television events with over 50 million viewers. 

In today’s streaming era, live viewership of that caliber is a rare achievement, especially around a reality TV event. While ratings for “Survivor” have never again reached the first season’s finale, the show is currently airing its 50th season, proving lasting power lies in its ability to evolve with the times. 

With 26 years under its belt, “Survivor” has viewers, and even contestants, who are younger than the show itself. Over the course of 50 seasons, the show has had to find ways to not only keep its audiences watching but to also draw in new, younger viewers with noticeably different appetites. 

For the producers of “Survivor”, and really any business, finding and connecting with new audiences, as well as evolving audience preferences is imperative to organization growth and long-term viability. 

Strategies for Surviving New Audience Outreach

When it comes to reaching new audiences, company leadership are best served by involving their communications teams from the jump. PR pros and comms professionals can help to guide the process ensuring any new messaging conveys a refresh, not a wholesale replacement of everything that made your product or service appealing in the first place. Consider the following tips when conducting outreach to new audiences: 

  • Stay consistent with your mission: For the first 32 seasons, “Survivor” would film in a new location, from the Australian Outback to the Amazon rainforest. But beginning in season 33, the show found a permanent filming location on the beaches of Fiji. While the logistical decision may have removed a unique aspect of the show, the competition continued to fight the harsh conditions viewers tuned in to watch. Similarly, an organization cannot forego its core value proposition in a quest to reach new audiences. Without aligning new messaging to core values, companies can run the risk of muddying their brand on their way to reach a new demographic. 
  • Understand your audience needs: “Survivor’s” New Era, targeting millennial and Gen Z viewers, has been focused on a faster play style, greater diversity among contestants and flashy twists to catch audiences by surprise. When considering expanding your audience, a good marketing and communication team will know to conduct research, social monitoring and analyses of competitor strategies to identify how and where new audiences are most likely to receive information and engage with the organization. From there, the communications team can dive deeper into a target audience’s needs to ensure new messaging will resonate.
  • Respect your existing audience: While many surface-level aspects of the game of “Survivor” have been updated over the past 26 years, core game mechanics have mostly remained. Still, certain twists like season 41 and 42’s Hourglass twist, were negatively received due to what some audience members felt compromised the game’s integrity. When companies are considering refreshing messaging around a product or with the goal of reaching new audiences, it’s important that messaging does not upset existing audience expectations. Communications pros can help organizations develop strategic messaging that acknowledges the brand’s past while connecting with its future. 

Over the course of 700 episodes, “Survivor” has consistently worked to keep the show fresh for its original audience and entice new and younger viewers. The show’s attempts to stay fresh may not always work, but it is that forward momentum that has gotten it to its landmark 50th season. 

With the right communications support to navigate different audiences and their evolving preferences, your company’s messaging will continue to resonate and fuel growth. Careful and thoughtful communication is key to ensure a brand is not left behind like a contestant with their torch snuffed out at tribal council.