A Day in the Life of Violet PR Interns

At Violet PR we deliver creative, customized solutions to achieve real results for our clients. Doing that successfully requires a team of hard-working professionals — from interns to our president — who work closely together to create effective communication campaigns that deliver success.
Our new “Day in the Life” series offers a peek into our award-winning boutique public relations agency featuring insight from Violet PR’s team.
First up, we talk to our interns! Violet PR has been lucky to have three talented interns join our team this summer. Kayla Kennedy and Jess Pak are recent graduates of Monmouth University, and Mia DeMeola is a rising senior at Fordham University.

What does a typical day look like as an intern at Violet PR?

Kayla: I come into the office two days a week. I start my day by checking Slack, our workplace communication tool, to see what tasks need to be done. My primary responsibilities at Violet PR are creating media lists through Cision, a media outreach tool, and assisting staff with various PR tasks.
Jess: I also start my work days by checking Slack for any unread messages. Falling behind when you work part-time is super easy, so staying in the loop with my teammates is important. I then work on tasks that I know are ongoing. These assignments range from creating social media posts, writing email pitches, curating media contact lists and researching event opportunities. My supervisor told me on my first day that everyone at Violet PR is a jack of all trades, and I can confirm she was not wrong! Everyone I work with has a diverse skill set and a strong passion for PR.
Mia: My typical day varies from day to day. I draft social media posts for clients, pull together media lists, monitor media coverage and support anyone that needs help or an extra set of hands!

What interested you specifically about this internship opportunity?

Kayla: The ability to have hands-on experience within the public relations field. Learning about PR in the classroom is entirely different from actually experiencing it. I like being in an interactive environment because it’s easier for me to grasp concepts and learn more about the tasks.
Jess: I love the clients and culture of Violet PR. The wide variety of clients from various industries, including economic development, real estate, architecture, social good, and the arts, intrigued me. There is a strong sense of philanthropy in both the clients and people. I have always been ardent about helping others in need.
Mia: Like Jess, I was drawn to VPR because of the company values. It is a goal of mine to always work with a company that I align with because this allows me to feel comfortable, gives my work greater purpose and fosters personal growth.

What are your career goals, and how has this internship prepared you for your career?

Kayla: I want to be a public relations professional and work at a PR firm. This internship has prepared me for my career by allowing me to gain hands-on experience and take a step into the world of public relations. It has helped me gain skills that will be a necessity in my future career.
Jess: My first career goal is to find a full-time position and hopefully be able to start as an account coordinator at a public relations agency. I would like to find a job where I am genuinely passionate about my work while achieving a healthy work-life balance.
Mia: My dream is to work on the business side of the fashion industry, which focuses on sustainability. Though this internship at Violet PR is not within that industry, the work is fast-paced and ever-changing. Working in this environment will prepare me to think quickly, work efficiently, build my skill set and allow me to gain vital real-world experience!

Daily Ad Brief: ‘PR Champions’ with April Mason from Violet PR

Each week on “PR Champions,” Daily Ad Brief’s host talks to PR experts across the country. This week, the host spoke with Violet PR President April Mason. Read more below!

What is one PR strategy you recommend our audience to use in their business?

Violet PR has found success by working with clients that we can stand behind. We search for clients that make a positive impact on the communities around them and work to help them tell their stories. Having this personal interest in the work our clients are doing helps us to feel more motivated, and makes us proud when we see those results rolling in.

How does your PR strategy change from working with a local advertising client to a national advertising client?

Violet PR does public relations— we reach out to journalists on behalf of our clients. Where advertising falls under paid media, our work falls under earned media, meaning we do not pay for any placements our clients get. We work with a wide range of journalists in local markets as well as national markets. Our PR strategy changes greatly when working with local or national media. With local media, we leverage our existing relationships within the state or region to show the impact that our client has in that market. For national media, we work to showcase why the work our client is doing is important and outline the interest their readers would have in the story.

What is the biggest mistake you see people make when pitching the media?

The biggest mistake we see people make while pitching the media is targeting the wrong publications. A big part of public relations is understanding how to reach the audience you are looking for. The best way to do this is to have a specialized media list built from extensive research. You can have the best pitch in the world, but if you send it to the wrong people, the story will never get picked up. Having a specialized media list will always be more powerful than a larger broad list.

Violet PR Wins Gold Bulldog Award for the Nation’s Best Boutique PR Agency

I am beyond thrilled and honored that Violet PR won “Best Boutique Agency” in the prestigious 2022 Bulldog PR Awards. Bulldog Awards, which rank the most outstanding PR and communications campaigns, are the only national public relations contest judged exclusively by working journalists.
Our application focused on our firm’s client success, new business growth, company culture and community involvement. Here is the section about our client accomplishments, which were many:

Highlights – Violet PR’s Work in 2021

Pittsburgh “Next is Now” – Highlighted the Pittsburgh region’s strengths in robotics, autonomous vehicles and smart-city technologies. Secured 45+ press placements in outlets including Inc., Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and MarketWatch, reaching 1 billion.

Greater Topeka Partnership – Promoted the Choose Topeka talent attraction program, generating visits from the Wall Street Journal and BBC America. In 2021, Choose Topeka was mentioned in more than 100 news stories, reaching an audience of nearly 6 billion.

Pittsburgh International Airport – Managed media relations for the airport’s $1.4 billion-dollar terminal groundbreaking. Cheddar and Architectural Digest did large features on the project, and Forbes gave it the title: Airport of the Future. Secured 150+ media placements.

Invest Buffalo Niagara – Kicked off our campaign with news stories focused on Buffalo as a refuge for climate change with stories in the Wall Street Journal, Bond Buyer and American City & County.

luis vidal + architects – Helped create a North American brand for the internationally renowned architect. Secured interviews with over 20 publications, reaching an audience of 300,000.

Lincoln Equities Group – Managed a building implosion event that made way for New Jersey’s largest warehousing and distribution site, which was attended by a dozen New York and New Jersey outlets. This campaign saw more than 50 pieces of coverage, resulting in 4.41 billion impressions and 6.31 million coverage views.

Newark Symphony Hall – Helped the historic venue generate over 180 news stories, leading to a wave of fundraising, including a first-ever $5 million line item in the New Jersey state budget.

Learn more about work we’ve done for our clients, here.

Also from our application, here are three areas where Violet PR sets itself apart from other agencies:

Results: Whether it’s the New York Times, The TODAY Show, the Wall Street Journal or a niche outlet like Architectural Record or Real Estate Weekly, we get clients covered. Since 2020, we’ve won more than 30 media-relations awards from PR News, Bulldog Reporter, PRSA and more.

Agility: Our small team means we can easily pivot to tie our clients in with the news of the day, whether that’s climate-change legislation, COVID-19 safety protocols, supply-chain disruptions or Ukrainian refugee immigration.

Creativity: When there isn’t a strong news hook, we help clients reach target audiences via bylined articles, blog posts and social media campaigns.
To sum it up, the work we do at Violet PR is guided by four foundational principles, and the most meaningful to me personally is working with clients that are making a positive difference in the world — whether it’s redeveloping a brownfield site, re-envisioning a blighted urban area or helping a nonprofit attract supporters.

I’m excited about the work we are doing in 2022, our growing team of PR superstars and the new clients we have the opportunity to serve!

New Jersey Business Magazine: Violet PR Named ‘Best Boutique Agency’ in the US

Violet PR has received a gold medal award for “Best Boutique Agency” in the US in the 2022 Bulldog PR Awards.

The Bulldog PR Awards, which rank the most outstanding PR and communications campaigns, celebrate excellence in public relations and communication. They are the only national public relations contest judged exclusively by working journalists. The judges evaluate the entries based on creativity, originality, strategy, execution and results.“We are honored to have our agency recognized as a leader in the industry by Bulldog PR Awards,” said April Mason, president and owner of Violet PR. “Most meaningful is the recognition that our PR campaigns truly make a difference for the businesses and communities we work with.”

In addition to the high honor, Violet PR’s campaign to establish its client Pittsburgh International Airport as a leader and innovator among mid-sized airports worldwide won a Silver award in the “Best Government/Public Service Campaign” category. Its campaign to drive national recognition and public and private funds to the historic Newark Symphony Hall won a Silver in the “Best Community Relations Campaign” category.

Violet PR’s winning media relations campaigns helped its clients recover from revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, more significantly, thrive.

he agency’s campaign for Pittsburgh International Airport far surpassed its objectives and the client’s expectations—generating 20 top-tier placements and more than 125 trade stories and securing coverage in top media outlets. The campaign positioned the airport as one of the top mid-sized airports in the world and a model for others due to its visionary leadership, new technologies and infrastructure investments.

Violet PR’s winning community relations campaign for Newark Symphony Hall communicated the venue’s history, legacy, and important role in Newark, New Jersey’s resurgence. The campaign secured over 180 news stories and ultimately convinced N.J. Governor Murphy to add a $5 million line item for the venue in its fiscal year 2022 budget.

Read the full article here.

PR News: Media Relations’ Dirty Secret: ‘Spray and Pray’ Pitching ‘Experts’ Works, but for How Long?

christina forrest, violet pr account director

Violet PR Account Director Christina Forrest spoke with PR News, offering insight into best practices for media relations. Check out her insight in the article below!

PR trades, including PRNEWS, expound on authenticity’s virtues. Yet authenticity is a two-way street and includes journalists. So, here’s a confession: sometimes a media relations tactic routinely hated and long derided in surveys actually works.

It’s called spray and pray pitching and sometimes spammy pitching. A sub-category of it has a media relations person sending a large, automated list of journalists a pitch touting an expert source. Sometimes the pitch is repeated. For weeks and months. Same ‘expert;’ usually the same pitcher.

Perfect World

“The best situation, of course, is when a pitcher who’s worked previously with a journalist crafts a personal pitch,” says Christina Forrest, a director at Violet PR. “Our highest chance of getting coverage,” she says, “is building and maintaining great relationships with journalists.” Accordingly, she believes “bulk outreach” or blind pitching, which ignores recent time spent with a journalist, “runs the risk of damaging that relationship.”

Read the full article here.

Three Benefits of Attending an Out-Of-State Networking Event By Yourself

Plus a few tips on how to make a solo trip easier

Last month, I had the privilege of attending Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Exchange hosted in Cleveland—my first out-of-state networking event.

Going on a business trip alone was out of my comfort zone. It would be my first time visiting Ohio, and navigating the traveling was a bit disconcerting. I’m also a self-described introvert, so heading into a networking event made me nervous. However, aside from really enjoying myself after the conference, I realized there are significant career benefits of attending the exchange solo.

1. Meeting New People

Young professionals from all over the U.S. gathered in Cleveland for the exchange. I was the only New Jerseyan out of nearly 50 attendees and was able to have conversations with people from states I had never visited. It was wonderful to connect with like-minded individuals from drastically different backgrounds from my own. Initially, I was a little uncomfortable, but the nerves subsided once I introduced myself. The more I did it, the easier it got.

2. Exploring Different Industries

Working in public relations set me apart from the other attendees since I was the only one working at an agency. I loved discussing how the work we do at Violet PR intersects with economic development. Additionally, I learned about the various industries the other attendees work in, such as architecture, engineering, construction, and commercial real estate. I was able to bring that new knowledge back with me to share with the Violet PR team.

3. Strengthening Communication Skills

As a self-described introvert, social skills are a muscle I’m constantly strengthening. Attending the Young Leaders Exchange in Cleveland alone helped me with my communication skills and was a huge step in my personal and professional development. Would it have been fun to have one of my colleagues join me in Cleveland? Sure! But I feel more confident knowing I can have enriching experiences and foster professional relationships on my own.

My trip was successful partly because of my preparation in advance. Here are a few tips that helped ease my nerves before the conference and helped my visit go as smoothly as possible:

3 Tips to Make Your Out-of-State Conference a Success

urban land institute's young leaders exchangeRESEARCH LOGISTICS IN ADVANCE

Unless you’re already familiar with the event’s location, it’s helpful to research the area for information on the climate, transportation options, popular tourist attractions, and distance between landmarks. You want to spend your time at the conference making connections, not worrying about logistics.

CONNECT WITH A FEW ATTENDEES ON LINKEDIN BEFORE THE CONFERENCE

Connect with a few attendees in your field on LinkedIn before the conference. The conference attendee list is often available to confirmed registrants ahead of the event. Once there, you’ll already have some familiarity when introducing yourself.

SET ASIDE TIME FOR PERSONAL ACTIVITIES

Finally, try to set aside time for personal activities. Event organizers work hard to fill the itinerary with tours and other things to do related to your industry, but there may be something you want to check out that’s not included on the agenda. During my trip to Cleveland, I scheduled time to visit Lake Erie, which was on my bucket list. Plus, scheduling some downtime to decompress from all the socializing is helpful.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and attend work events alone. The benefits will last throughout your career.