A Day in the Life of a Brand Marketing Professional
When I say I work in brand marketing public relations, I tend to get a lot of questions: “What does that mean?” “You do what?” “What products do you work on?” All are valid questions for those not experienced in this area of the world of public relations.
As an assistant account executive (AAE) at Porter Novelli, I have the opportunity to get my feet wet in multiple disciplines, including: working with industry experts to promote our brand’s latest and greatest products; using primary and secondary research to gauge how our target audience feels about products currently available; pitching morning shows and newspapers; and writing press releases. There is no typical day in public relations — one of the reasons I was attracted to the industry — but I will do my best to outline some daily tasks in brand marketing:
Monitoring
Each morning, a member of our team uses several media monitoring services and good old-fashioned Google alerts to compile a daily monitoring report, featuring news on our brand and its competitors. No matter what level, it’s always important to have a handle on the news that affects your clients and their competitors.
Writing
Sometimes we’ll be asked to write press releases or pitches, and other times we simply need to summarize the main discussion points from a client call.
Pitching
We pitch our “typical suspects,” the reporters, bloggers and editors who frequently cover our brand and products. Our team works hard to develop good relationships with them, as we are in constant contact.
Research
We may be asked to do research on potential event sponsorships, partnerships and a wide variety of other things. While Google is always helpful, after some practice, you’ll learn where to go for different requests from supervisors and clients.
Planning and Strategy Sessions
While the majority of our brainstorming and planning sessions are run by my agency’s research and planning department, we participate as brand experts. We work closely with the clients and know what they are looking for. By combining our knowledge of the client and products with the consumer insights and techniques of our research and planning department, we are able to create unique and engaging public relations programs.
Event Planning
While some clients may have more events than others, there’s always an opportunity to work with vendors, coordinate logistics, and invite influencers and media to attend. These projects are fast-paced with little room for error, but watching the event unfold makes all of the work worth it.
I’m fortunate to work at an agency where there are media relations, social media, digital analytics and research experts running around, sharing their industry knowledge. If we have any questions on behalf of a client, or just to get more information, we can ask people who really know their niche and can share meaningful knowledge.
What kinds of tasks are you responsible for at your job or internship? How do tasks of different public relations specialties compare?
Tessa Kurman is an Assistant Account Executive at Porter Novelli. A graduate of Syracuse University, Kurman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and International Relations. Kurman is a member of the PRSA New Professionals Section and the PRSA New York Chapter.
