Zackery Moore, 23
Birmingham, AL
Media and Brand Strategist, 4 years
Z Kreativ Media
Blog: Making a PRofessional Twitter: @zakmo

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. Any pivotal moments mentors or internships that let you know PR was for you? ZM: I’m a media fanatic that grew-up in Arley, Alabama, a town in  the middle of nowhere.   Never someone that was especially patient (I tried to skip my senior year of high school just to start college early), I sought out a PR internship during my freshman year of college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
I found a mentor and interned at a music/event venue and bar. That would be the first of four internships. Later I interned with my mentor at a custom motorcycle
shop that creates limited-addition motorcycles. Tom Cruise owns one of the bikes and one of the models was featured in a movie with Jet Li and a commercial with Brad Pitt.

I started my freelance career that same year with an innovative theater group called MUSE OF FIRE: Shakespeare at Sloss. The group turned nontraditional spaces into stages; MUSE OF FIRE specifically used a haunted iron furnace for now annual spring and fall showcases of adapted Shakespeare. On more than one occasion news crews’equipment would malfunction on-site. This project solidified my desire to one day own an agency. I’d already decided I wanted to work for myself.

While looking for freelance projects, I worked part-time in a restaurant, focused on finishing my degree and completed internships (some for school credit, some for the experience).

Mopwater: Describe your office setting and a typical workday including your work hours. What do you do all day? ZM: Usually my workday begins at 9. Freelancing gives me a lot of freedom to create my own schedule. Sometimes I work a couple hours a day, sometimes I work from 9 to 9. It depends on my workload. I completed my last-ever internship at a
creative branding agency called Cayenne Creative and still have office space with the group that I use when I want a change of scenery. They’re one of the most amazing groups of creative professionals and taught me so much about branding and the importance of strategy.

Mopwater: Who are some of your and what kind of projects do you take on for these clients? ZM: My past clients include MUSE OF FIRE, Broadway Across America – Birmingham, Nick Sparks for Congress, a short stint with March of Dimes and the National Center for Sports Safety. Presently I’m working with Lemak Sports Medicine & Orthopedics and I take on occasional projects with Cayenne Creative. I’m also looking for new clients and projects to grow my business.
I like to say I’m a creative media strategist; that means I use traditional and new media to help an organization brand itself. Copywriting, media relations, email marketing, writing for the web and branding strategy are the services I offer.

Mopwater: Describe a recent project where you produced results of which you’re really proud. ZM: The results of my last project included increased website traffic for three months in a row and media coverage from local media and mom bloggers. It was a 6- month project. With Lemak Sports Medicine and Orthopedics I’ve led a team in creating a new logo for the brand, a social network about health and wellness, two branded-email designs and I’m working with a designer to create a new
brochure for the practice.

Mopwater: What are your favorite and least favorite PR/marketing/SM tasks and why? ZM: My favorite part of my job is writing. I love copywriting for email and websites/blogs. I also really love to write press releases and pitch news stories.

Mopwater: What’s the worst part of your job? ZM: The worst part of my job is uncertainty. As a freelancer I’m responsible for every part of most projects: traffic, planning, creative direction, execution and deadlines. It leaves little time for business development. That’s why I’m about to start a search for a business development pro.

Mopwater: What  advice would you give someone who is trying to break into your field? ZM: My advice is don’t wait. My college experience has changed me for the better, but I’m not going to let a piece of paper define my talent, creativity and professionalism. Don’t let [graduation] hold you back. I’m still in college (a 5th year senior) but I’ve started my career when some of my friends who recently graduated are still struggling to find a job.

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Melissa Cassera,29

Marlton, NJ

Cassera Communications

Owner : 3 years

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. What made you want to get into the field?

MC: I grew up in the entertainment industry working as a model/actress, but always loved to write and am an avid storyteller. I graduated from Rowan University in 2002 with a BA in Communications and began my career in corporate PR. I didn’t enjoy working in a corporate environment so I switched into sales before ultimately deciding to go back into PR…this time on my own terms. I started my own firm when I was 26 years old working with small business owners, professional speakers, authors and industry experts.

Mopwater: What do you love most about doing PR?

MC: I love landing big placements for small business owners – there’s something exciting about getting in on the ground floor and watching a business grow with your efforts. I also love seeing direct ROI from placements and helping clients leverage placements into sales or into ongoing coverage (like regular columns or correspondent opportunities).

Mopwater: Describe your office and workplace. How many co-workers do you have? Where, how, and how often do you collaborate with them?

MC: I have a home office and do not have employees. Instead I collaborate with other industry experts in marketing, copywriting, advertising, social media, etc and outsource work to them when necessary. We collaborate by phone, email and Skype.

Mopwater:Describe a typical workday including your work hours. What do you do all day?

MC: I usually start work around 7:30am. Every day I start with a plan and just check off tasks as I go. The hours between 9-5pm are spent pitching clients (new pitches, follow ups, coordinating interviews). I also use Profnet and HARO as a leads source and respond to those queries throughout the day. The evening I reserve for writing, social networking and any housekeeping that needs to be done for my business.

Mopwater: What are your favorite and least favorite PR tasks? Do you love to pitch? Do you dread writing releases?

MC: My favorite task is pitching. I love crafting pitches tailored to each individual outlet and really envisioning how my client will fit in their program/publication. My least favorite is writing press releases, because I rarely use them. 95% of my media placements are from a well-crafted pitch. Read the full story

I’m dedicating today’s post to the job seekers among us. It’s difficult for me to ignore the fact that so many people are out of work right now, so instead of offering you best practices for the job you might not have, today I’m all about helping you get the PR job you’ve been dreaming of.

I know you’re conducting an active search by scouring job boards, newspaper classifieds and even talking to recruiters. But here are a few things you can do to improve your chances of getting noticed by people who are looking for someone like you.

1. Head to the Top. Talk to people who know people—preferably people who know lots of people. Befriend the heads of your local (and national) professional organizations. Request a sit-down with leaders in your field. I know what some of you are thinking. “Why would the leaders want to talk to me?” You’d be surprised at what people are willing to do when you ask them. Find someone who knows your target and request an introduction. If you don’t know someone who knows the person you’re trying to reach, use Google or LinkedIn to connect the dots. Make a phone call or send an e-mail introducing yourself. Detail your experience and your goals. Ask for what you want. They may not have a job to hand you, but chances are, they’ll know someone who will. And be patient. Once you begin talking to the right people, and they begin mentioning your situation to their people, something will eventually open up.

2. Go On Informational Interviews. I love informational interviews and make a practice of doing these a few times a year, even when I have a job. For PR people, especially, it’s a great idea to get in front of people who practice different types of PR if you’re thinking of changing your focus. Informational interviews are great because there’s absolutely no pressure on you or the interviewee. Your host doesn’t feel pressured to “give you something” and you’re not competing for an open spot at their company. However if something should open up for you, that’s great,too.

When I was finishing up at Howard University, I spoke to an English professor about my writing goals. She mentioned that her sister was an editor at the Washington Post and I should set up an informational interview. Well, the sister turned out to be Marie Arana, the Washington Post Book World Editor-in-Chief at the time (in short, a really big deal). Marie connected me to several other Post editors who agreed to do informational interviews with me as well. They gave me invaluable advice about journalism and writing that I have repeatedly used and actually passed on to several people who have come to me for advice. But all this came about through a simple request: Sit down with me and tell me about what you do. No strings. No pressure. Read the full story

I have a love/hate relationship with Thursday. On the one hand, I hate Thursday because it means the week is almost over and since I’m a workaholic, I only have two more days to squeeze in everything I wanted to get done before the official business week ends.

On the other hand, Thursday is Test Drive My Job Day on Mopwater PR + Media Notes. I get to take your jobs out for a spin to see how they fit.  I love this!

Today, I’m featuring two TDMJs  because, well, I just want to. First up: Matthew Fenton, Founder and President of Three Deuce Branding.

Matthew Fenton
38 years old
Founder and President: Three Deuce Branding

Cincinnati, Ohio

Web: Three Deuce Branding
Blog: That Branding Thing
1 employee (me)
12 years in this role

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR and marketing. What aspects of the industry are you currently most excited about?

MF: I entered the University of Cincinnati as a quantitative analysis major.  While the problem-solving aspect was fascinating, I didn’t want to grow up to be an actuary.  I was very interested in psychology, motivation and human behavior, so marketing was a natural choice.

Through UC’s strong co-op program, I was able to spend a full year in market research, in both supplier and client jobs, prior to graduation.  That background allowed me to get into brand management, my ultimate goal, immediately upon graduation.

I joined Van Melle USA (now Perfetti Van Melle) in 1992, when the company had just two brands – Mentos and AirHeads.  The Mentos “Freshmaker” campaign had just launched and the buzz was beginning.  I managed marketing for AirHeads for 5 years, during which time we took the brand from partial to full US distribution, tripled total sales, and earned the top sales spot in the non-chocolate category.  In addition, it was a great environment in which to learn truly consumer-centric branding, which was not widely practiced at the time.

In 1997, I made the decision to found my branding consultancy.  The mission of Three Deuce Branding is the same now as it was then: “To help good people build great brands.”  Every day is a new opportunity to make branding clear and actionable for those who practice it.

What I like best about branding is that, when properly practiced, it makes the world a better place.  You simply can’t build a long-term consumer relationship without serving.  Lately, I’m most excited about the ability of consumers to connect and to have their voices heard; brands have always belonged to consumers, but now that fact is becoming impossible to ignore.  I’m also excited about the opportunities for brands to live their stories and values in a manner that involves consumers and employees alike.

Mopwater: Describe a typical work day including your typical work hours.

MF: No such thing as a typical work day!  A given day might find me doing public speaking, leading an inventing session, building a positioning statement or strategic plan, interviewing clients and their customers, writing my column and blog, reading relevant books and newsletters, and staying in touch with the talented people with whom I’m fortunate to work.

I tend to work unusual hours – I may work as early as 6 a.m. or as late as 3 a.m.  I usually break up the work day with non-work activities, as I find I’m more productive and creative that way. Read the full story