Tareia Williams,28

Current City: Atlanta, GA

Senior Publicist

Company: Turner Sports

@TurnerSportsPR,  @TNicolePR

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. TW: Originally from Kansas City, Missouri I decided to come to Atlanta, Georgia and study Mass Communications with a concentration in public relations at Clark Atlanta University. I always knew that I wanted to be somewhere behind the camera making things happen. I first dipped my toe into the pool of publicity as a PR intern at The Weather Channel. I worked there for a few years and was able to help launch the original series Storm Stories and gather publicity for the new website, weather.com.  After that experience, I ended up at a telecom boutique agency, Calysto Communications where I was able to get my feet wet in the telecom PR industry. A completely different beast than television, my experience at Calysto helped me learn the telecom industry and become interested in the evergreen digital space.  I left there to take a position at Stearns Johnson Communications which allowed me to use my tech experience on mobile clients and consumer clients. Learning new skills and techniques along the way, prepared me for the position that I have today.

Mopwater: Describe a pivotal moment in your career. Did you have a mentor or internship that really solidified your interest in this field or helped you hone in on a specific focus area? TW: I have had a few pivotal moments in my career but the biggest one was pitching the Weather Channel original series Storm Stories. I got my first hit in USA Today. As a student just learning how to pitch and how to work with media, this was big. I was so excited and that is when the bug hit me. I knew I was doing what I wanted to do.

Mentors are very important to me and I’ve been blessed to meet some dynamic women in PR that have helped me along the way.  As I get further along in my career, it is important that I reach back and become a mentor to those individuals that are just starting out in this field or looking to grow.

Mopwater: Describe a typical workday including your work hours. What do you do all day? Describe your office setting and workplace. TW: In this field, we know there is no “typical” workday.  Most days I work from 9-6 with constant check-ins on the blackberry (after 6) but during our signature tent pole events (MLB Postseason on TBS, NBA season, NBA All-Star, Playoffs) my hours vary.  Most of my days, I’m working on pitches and securing interviews for our talent and sports properties, writing releases/advisories, talking to media and trash-talking about last night’s game to my office mates.  The office environment is one of those places where you can freely boast about your team winning, trash talk about your fantasy league or throw ideas around about what would be cool to do next. My work area consists of lots of post-its (for my random, one-off ideas or thoughts) and a flat screen TV to keep up with what’s on our networks.

Mopwater: What are your favorite and least favorite PR tasks and why? TW: Favorite: Explaining the significance of social media of our brands to C-level executives; Least Favorite:  Embracing the fact that my memory is deteriorating, it’s the curse of constantly multi-tasking.

Mopwater: Who are some of your (or your company/organization’s) clients, and what kind of projects do you take on for these clients? If you work in government or a corporate communications office, describe the work you do in your role. TW: I handle PR for Turner Sports’ digital properties which include: NBA Digital, PGA.com, PGATOUR.COM, NASCAR.COM, NCAA Digital. For each of these properties I monitor trends with web traffic, pitch media on new online content (webisodes, etc.) and assist with the monitoring of their social media footprint.

Mopwater: Describe a recent project where you produced results of which you’re really proud. TW: I developed an online live chat series with our studio talent (MLB on TBS, NBA, NASCAR on TNT) so that fans could ask them questions through Facebook and Twitter.  Now the chat series is implemented into our PR activities for each property.

Mopwater: What is your favorite thing about this job and do you think you’ll be in this position in 5 years? TW: I hope so! I love the fast-paced environment and the fact that we are constantly growing within the digital space. From live viewing on mobile apps to acquiring new digital properties, Turner Sports is rapidly growing and I’m so blessed to be apart of it.

Mopwater: What aspect of the industry are you most excited about? TW: I love the fact that PR has evolved. There are still those traditional PR exces that are nervous about change, but if PR executives didn’t adapt to what’s going in our industry, we would be stale. That’s what makes a PR person a PR rockstar – being able to adapt just as quickly as the industry changes.  Pretty soon, there will be a new title for a “PR professional” or “publicist” that will include marketing, branding, advertising, etc.……I’m curious to see what it will be.

Mopwater: If you could work on any dream project of your choosing, what would it be? TW: Hmm a dream project. Honestly, I’m working on one of my dreams right now. But another would be to start an African-American media company that would provide all the media needs (PR, branding, advertising, marketing, sales) for small to large minority companies.

Mopwater: What if anything would you have done differently in your career up to this point and what advice would you give someone who is trying to break into your field? TW: I wouldn’t have done anything differently. I love the way my path has zig-zagged and brought me to where I am now. It’s like playing a game of chess and I didn’t even know I was doing it. Each skill set that I’ve learned or improved has helped me along the way and allowed me to bridge what I’ve learned (tech, digital media) to what I love (sports).

Advice I would give someone entering this field: Get an internship! Get more than one and write, write and write.  Each internship provides you with an opportunity to apply your book knowledge to real-work situations. I learned a lot through my internships and that is where I developed my passion for working in television.  Writing is essential in this field. Taking ideas and crafting them into a release is what we do and being a skilled writer will make this a piece of cake. Also – be personable. Relationships with the media, peers and colleagues can take you a long way.

Indeed.

Happy Thursday Media People! I’m super-excited about today’s Test Drive My Job interview with Deirdre Breakenridge, whom I “met” at the Georgetown Barnes and Noble while searching for some PR and Marketing reading. I was in one of those saw-sharpening moods that I go through periodically, so when I saw Deirdre’s book PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences I thought it would be the perfect remedy. And it was.

Seldom do I come across game-changers, but this book was definitely one of them. Without going into too much detail (go pick up the book, you won’t regret it) PR 2.0 gave me a ton of great tips that I am already implementing for my clients. For instance, Deirdre writes about how important online newsrooms are for SEO. I’ve improved two online newsrooms just using her suggestions, and I do believe it’s eventually going to make a difference in our search engine rankings.

In PR 2.0, Deirdre also breaks social media, blogging, social media press releases, etc. all the way down and helps you figure out ways to get measurable, affordable results for either yourself or your clients. It’s a must-read, so check out her blog for info about PR 2.0 and her other titles. Let’s get on with the interview…

Deirdre Breakenridge, 42

New Jersey

President and Director of Communications for PFS Marketwyse for the past 10 years

Author of PR 2.0 New Media, New Tools, New Audiences and co-author of Putting the Public Back into Public Relations

Blog and Twitter

Mopwater: What are your typical work hours? DB: I pretty much work all day and night. A normal day could easily be up to 12 hours. I guess this is typical when you own your own marketing/PR agency. You just never stop. I help my employees with their work during the day and then I do my own work (strategy, writing, new business proposals and reports) at night.

Mopwater: Describe a typical work day. DB: I get into the office around 8:00 a.m. (that’s after commuting for about an hour and a half). I like to get some “think” work done and prepare for the day before the staff arrives. Usually, mornings are filled with internal staff meetings that include team production meetings, communications meetings and creative brainstorming. I also devote morning hours to operational responsibilities, so that I can work with the accounting office on financial matters or with the project management department. I tend to schedule most of my client meetings in the afternoons whether they are by telephone or in person. I leave the office by 5 p.m. to beat the traffic, but will finish the work day/night at home. It’s no surprise that I’ll still be emailing clients or members of my team long after the normal work day ends, especially if those clients are across the country or in another part of the world.

Mopwater: Describe your office. DB: I spend four days a week in the office with the staff. We are about 20 minutes outside of New York City, in Northern New Jersey, which is a fairly busy area. I spend every Friday working from home. It’s my favorite day of the week because I feel I can get so much accomplished without interruption. Being in an office is great so that you can interact and brainstorm with colleagues, but there are times that it’s difficult to concentrate. I have an open door policy, so my office door is literally always open. I do feel that you have to be disciplined working at home because there are distractions there too whether it’s the refrigerator or the fact that laundry always needs to get done. But, if you can get into a good routine then you will find the time out of the office is much more productive, not to mention the fact that you want to go back on Monday to see everyone.

Mopwater: What types of clients does your company work with and what services do you provide? DB: We have a variety of clients in different industries including technology, healthcare, financial, HR, and food manufacturing. Our company is made up of three divisions; Communications/PR, Creative Marketing and Video/Multimedia. Many of the services we provide from PR and advertising to FLASH development and streaming video, help companies to bridge the gap from traditional marketing to new media and Web 2.0. Our clients’ campaigns are customized so that they can interact with the most important influencers, at the right time, to gain maximum exposure and engage in new and innovative ways to build brand loyalty.

I really enjoyed the strategy, planning and launch behind GettingHired.com, a website that helps people with disabilities find jobs. GettingHired is also a social networking platform, so that people with disabilities can interact with peers, service providers and advocacy groups. It’s one of my favorite projects, not only because it’s such a necessary service for the 23 million people who have disabilities, but also because the campaign has traditional elements of advertising, direct mail and PR and bridges over to Web 2.0. We used several successful strategies to interact with new influencers and Web communities (blogging, social networking and social media releases, to name a few).

Mopwater: What are your favorite things about working at PFS? DB: My favorite things about working at PFS are the people/culture as well as the diverse client base. The culture at PFS is very hands on and proactive. PFS employees take tremendous pride in their work and have been complimented by clients for achieving aggressive deadlines and staying under budget. I also love the diverse client base because you never feel that you are “stuck” in one industry. It keeps your mind fresh. Each employee has the opportunity to learn about a variety of companies and their communication challenges in the market.

Mopwater: How do you best collaborate with your team (standard board room meetings, conference calls, BaseCamp or other project management tool, etc.)? DB: We have 15 employees in total and I work with all employees in their separate client teams. We collaborate best when we are together in our creative department which is a big open room with comfy chairs surrounded by our computer technology. The atmosphere gets the creative juices flowing when we’re brainstorming. That’s not to say that we don’t have meetings in the conference room. We have our standard production meetings and client meetings in the boardroom setting, and also do a lot of telephone conference calls/Web Ex meetings there for our clients.

Mopwater: What do you wish was different at your job? DB: I wish I could find the right PR person/Director of Communications to run my communications department and to work with me on strategy/planning for clients. This would allow me to give more focus to my Presidential responsibilities (operations and finance), new business, speaking engagements, interviews, etc.

Mopwater: Do you see yourself in this job in 5 years? If not, where do you see yourself? DB: Yes, because I own PFS Marketwyse, I do see myself there in five years. However, my role will be more strategy and consultation to clients and less operational. I will also continue with my writing career, and, hopefully, in five years, be on my 8th or 9th book. I have my 4th book, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations” being published in March 2009. And, I’m in the process of pursuing book #5 with my publisher Financial Times Press.

I think as a communications professional you need to be an excellent communicator (both oral and written), have a lot of energy, be a total “people-person” and enjoy working in teams. As a business owner and President of a company, you need a tough skin, be able to handle stressful situations, and learn the art of negotiations.