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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Name and News Organization: Kate Michael, KStreetKate.net and The District Dish
Beat: DC topics (People, places, events, charities, businesses)
Job Title: New Media Personality
Length of Time in this Role: 3 years
Web Site and/or Blog: K Street Kate/ The District Dish
Twitter Handle: @kstreetkate

Mopwater: What kind of stories/people/companies are you most interested in covering, and in what context?  KM: Both the online magazine and talk show feature the best of DC, lifestyle stories that highlight the real District of Columbia and its eclectic neighborhoods.

Mopwater: What’s the best pitch you’ve gotten recently and why?  KM: A unique and interesting business (trapeze school) moved into the area and featured lessons with the instructor who taught “Carrie” on the trapeze episode of Sex and the City.  We booked him immediately to tell people about the trapeze school on The District Dish!

Mopwater: What’s the worst pitch you’ve gotten recently and why? KM: The sister of a local woman asked me to do a feature on her because she was “so nice” and “people should know about her”… I’m not sure why.

Mopwater: What’s the easiest way to get ignored by you when pitching?  KM: Forget to take out the name of the other publication you were pitching when you were cutting and pasting your pitch.

Mopwater: What’s your preferred method of contact? Phone, email, your web site, your twitter account, your Facebook? KM: Email and twitter, equally.  My actual e-mail is listed on my facebook page, so why use a facebook message?? Read the full story

Name: Spring Harris, 28

Current City: Los Angeles, CA

Looking For: PR Agency Work

Our Notes: We could go on all day. She takes initiative, and is not afraid of a challenge. She’s an engaging writer with a vibrant voice. Plus, she speaks and writes French! Que c’est beau!

On the Web: University Sponsored Site, Coming Soon

EduStats: University of Southern California
Candidate, M.A. Strategic Public Relations
Graduation Date: May 2010

Skills: Strategic Planning, Social Media, Crisis Communications, Media Relations, Writing, Editing, and  All Things French

Mopwater: What made you want to get into this industry?

SH: Honestly, I fell into this industry. I graduated in 2004 with a double major in International Relations and French and I planned to go to law school, but while writing my personal statement, I couldn’t think of a single reason why I wanted to go. Needless to say, it was time to rethink my plans! I decided to take some time away from finding a career and competed as a professional high jumper for about a year before I entered the workforce. My first jobs were less than appealing, but I realized that I enjoyed writing, and when I got the chance to work as a business development/marketing coordinator I jumped on it. To sharpen my skills, I took a few marketing and public relations courses at a local community college and immediately started applying the lessons to my job. However, in the PR course as a final project I designed a campaign for the LA Sparks to increase game attendance and I loved every second of creating it! I decided right then and there that I wanted a career in PR. I applied to USC Annenberg’s M.A. in Strategic Public Relations program and since August 2008, my life has been consumed by PR and I couldn’t be happier! Read the full story

Rebekah Lovell of Renown Promotions in Atlanta

Rebekah Lovell, 24 Woodstock, GA (Atlanta)

PR Strategist to Small Business

Owner of Renown Promotions,  going on 2 years

Renown Blog

Twitter: @Renown

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. What made you want to get into the field?
RL: Back in high school I was elected to the Public Relations seat on our Student Council and something clicked. Since then, I’ve always gravitated towards managing people, business, and events and loved the idea of creating value for businesses and organizations by doing so. I started in college as a Dance Pedagogy major, then Journalism, and then quickly changed to PR upon learning what it was really all about. I was the nerd who sat on the front row and actually read the textbooks and started a blog upon my professor’s suggestion. After a stellar experience at my internship, I took a job in Marketing with a top Atlanta Real Estate Firm. I couldn’t wait to strike out on my own once I saw the depth of small businesses in our area needing counsel and direction. I like to be behind the scenes, and position people and causes for success. It seems PR is a natural extension of my personality and gifts and I’m very passionate about what I do. I enjoy the fast-paced climate of PR and always learning what’s next.

Mopwater: What aspects of the industry are you most excited about?

RL: Strategy and Campaigns, Writing, Social Media, Causes and Events. I like to help businesses get from A to B, and help them look back at how far they’ve come.

Mopwater: Describe your office and workplace. How many co-workers do you have? Where, how, and how often do you collaborate with them?
RL: I work from my home office and communicate with the world outside non-stop via phone, email, and social media. I work hand-in-hand with a couple of other PR companies and freelancers to accomplish everything on my plate.

Mopwater: Describe a typical workday including your work hours. What do you do all day?
RL: My days are always different-but that’s half the fun! I start early and end late, and even work weekends most of the time to catch up. I may have a few office days a week, but I travel a lot to meet clients, attend events, and network.

Mopwater: What are your favorite and least favorite PR tasks? Do you love to pitch? Do you dread writing releases?
RL: Reverse of your example answers-I love to write and don’t enjoy pitching! I have a knack for the written word and really enjoy getting a client’s message across so that a certain media’s listeners, viewers, or readers can relate to and identify with the idea or story behind the feature. Read the full story