#elle communications

[sophiaisthatgirl]

hazelandpine: These women, their hearts, this land.💛https://instagram.com/p/4Ucxvzp6zl/

[sophiaisthatgirl]

hazelandpine: Hitting the road to explore Uganda and work with some pretty amazing women and projects this week! We could let these long, un-paved roads take us for miles and miles. https://instagram.com/p/4PNYPrJ68h/

[chubbywubbygirl]

I'm really determined this fall. And I hope all this energy doesn't go to waste.

[theprcloset]

SPOTLIGHT: DANIELLE GANO

Name:  Danielle Gano 

Age:  29 

Position/Company:  CEO, Elle Communications

Where did you go to school?  BA from San Diego State University, MBA from National University

What was your major?  BA – Communications with a minor in Art History, MBA - Marketing

First internship?  Museum of Man

First job?  My first job was when I turned 14 years old, but my first PR job was in an agency in San Diego right out of college.

Did you move to pursue your career in PR? I’m a California girl through and through. A couple years ago I opened a second office in Los Angeles and currently split my time between LA and San Diego.

Favorite part of your job?  Landing coverage for clients and seeing it really impact their business – there is no greater feeling in the world!

Least favorite part of your job?  When I decided to start my own agency, I didn’t think through all of the admin, accounting and non-PR related tasks I’d be taking on. If I had it my way, I would be a publicist all day every day, but my company isn’t going to run itself!

Favorite brands (brands you think are launching great PR campaigns)?  My favorite PR campaigns are those that successfully employ a comprehensive approach, with all the moving marketing pieces working in synergy. The Barbie campaign has to be one of my favorites – whoever has that job is (a) brilliant and (b) having the time of their lives.

Biggest accomplishment so far in your career?  Creating a company that does great work for our clients and is a place that people like to come to work every day. 

Biggest lesson learned to date in your career?  Being healthy and happy is the key to doing really great work. For the first few years of my career, I often worked 12+ hour days, ran on a stream of coffee and rarely found time to eat more than once a day. My trips to the gym were often cut short by a call and my weekends were filled with work. When I finally started taking time for things like sleep, friends and daily breaks at the gym – and gave up my massive coffee addiction – I found myself working exponentially more effectively and efficiently. In the world of PR, it’s easy to be pressured to put in long hours and neglect your own needs, but you’ll do your best work if you take care of you first.

Who were/are your mentors?  I had a lot of great mentors very early on in my career, but the people who have inspired me most, shaping our company and my career are clients we have worked with: Shawn Parr of Bulldog Drummond, Lara Matthews of THREAD Show and Dave Brown of Holiday Matinee are three that opened my eyes or connected me to things I may never have found otherwise. I’m forever grateful.

Best work advice?  It’s PR, not the ER.

As a publicist, you can’t live without your… iPhone (cliché, but oh-so true).

In order to succeed in PR, you… have to be quick-witted, charismatic and multi-dimensional. It doesn’t hurt to love the heck out of what you do and who you work with.

If you weren’t a publicist, you’d be… a lobbyist – if it weren’t for a last-minute college major adjustment, I may have found myself back in my home town of Sacramento buzzing around the Capitol halls.

Follow Danielle on Twitter at @ElleComm and learn more about her agency at www.ellecomm.com

[ryanchacon]

Fashion PR Guest Speaker Jamie Madrid of Elle Communications

Jamie Madrid of Elle Communications  was our CSUF IABC guest speaker tonight and spoke about her exciting experiences and lessons learned in fashion PR. Jamie has accomplished so much in her career and is truly an inspiration to any aspiring PR professional. One of Jamie's first internships was with Stella McCartney in London! How many people can say that?!

Jamie's biggest recommendation to our group was to get as many internships as possible. When reviewing resumes for positions at Elle Communications, she says she won't even consider applicants lacking internship experiences! One of the biggest gripes she hears from interns is that they feel they aren't getting a lot of useful experience from mailing letters or making copies. Jamie said it's more about making the best of these experiences by reading some information you're photocopying or seeing who the letters are being sent to so you can learn about the power players in the industry.

Another suggestion is to actively read and stay current with local and global news. "Even if you don't think it's directly relevant to your brand, still keep up with the news," said Jamie. She gave the example of the Japanese earthquake/tsunami disaster and how various brands came up with designs for charity which became a huge fashion trend. 

Jamie also hit upon the balance of work and home life. She said that when she was just starting out, she would work 14 hours a day or more and just got burnt out over time. At that point, she said she had to put things into perspective and told herself that she shouldn't overly stress out about things out of her control because she was doing what wanted and loved to do. She has since been able to have somewhat of a set work schedule. That's, of course, sans a major event requiring extra commitment. It seems that if you're good at what you do and after you "pay your dues," then employers will allow more flexibility for you to separate work and home.

A HUGE thanks Jamie Madrid for taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with us! 

Here are just some of the sites that Jamie recommends aspiring Fashion PR get familiar with: Ad Age, AOL Stylist, CA Apparel News, CSDA.com, ELLE.com, Fashionista.com