News & Opinion

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting the female members of the Bob Gold & Associates team. For the week 3 Q&A, we’re featuring Amy Prenner. Consumer and Entertainment Strategist Amy Prenner shares the secret to her success amid the last 12 months and how to keep clients relevant during Covid-19.   The pandemic literally turned every industry upside down. As a PR professional, how did you pivot your efforts? I remember everyone literally in shock and wasn’t sure how to be effective without being together. We were all more concerned about toilet paper and water than the pandemic that would spread throughout the world.   As businesses and clients shifted from their offices to their homes and cell phones, we all began to quickly adapt in a way that has made our business streamlined and even more effective.   Thankfully there are many tools from FaceTime to Zoom to WebEx to Skype that ensure facetime with clients and staff and have helped to keep communications fluid and consistent. Because we aren’t in our cars driving to and from work and events, there have been other benefits, no traffic, no money on gas and no commuting. We have all become much more efficient and effective working from home while tending to our clients that need our expertise.   How do the clients feel as a result of these changes? They love that when we secure TV interviews they can just Zoom or Skype in and don’t have to leave their living room. Securing media relations for Covid-19 related clients has been something that benefits our clients but also helps the media with their coverage. We also notice that we have been able to spend even more one-on-one time with our clients because we are in a more relaxed environment where we can offer media strategies and suggestions that they can absorb and practice so that they are successful in their respective campaigns.   What advice would you give to someone who is looking at a career in PR? Many years ago I used to tell people to go to a newsstand and see where you gravitate. You can do the same thing with a news aggregator like Apple News. If you see what you like whether its fashion, celebrity, home and design, food, politics, etc, you will be able to see where your interests lie. Be open to everything and anything. Read as much as you can. Learn the basics of social media and make sure its something you actually enjoy. If you love what you do in any career you will be a success and its easier to work in an industry you have passion for.   Be sure to read our Women’s History Month Q&A with VP, Beth Braen, from Week 1, Director of Marketing, Roxanne Leone from Week 2 and Associate Account Executive Anabela Savulescu from Week 3.