by Anna Newton, PRSSA Secretary, Spring 2019
On Feb. 19 several members of Emerson College PRSSA visited Boston-based Shift Communications to learn about the ins and outs of a successful, data-driven PR agency.
PRSSA members spoke with Shift staff members Megan Gaffney (Account Director) and Brittany Joyal (Senior Account Executive). After a tour of the offices, Gaffney and Joyal escorted the Emerson College PRSSA members to a conference room and walked the students through a typical day at an agency. Gaffney and Joyal explained how a Shift Communications staffer would typically make a plan at the beginning of the day, meet with their team to discuss objectives and continually work on differing projects for clients.
Both professionals also emphasized the importance of media relations. They stated, in order to catch the eye of a journalist, never send irrelevant content, format the content in a way that is digestible to each journalist, give journalists 24 hours to respond and never call a journalist. Gaffney and Joyal also highlighted the need to create and sustain positive relationships with the media. Some tips they provided include always putting the journalists’ name in the subject line and sending personal emails when possible.
Joyal, who started her career at Shift as an intern, told members how to impress interviewers when applying to Shift Communications. She stated that an interviewee should express what makes them unique and a good fit for the position. Joyal also said the interviewee should be extremely well-versed on the organization and have completed thorough research, mention the organization’s blog posts and ask questions regarding industry trends.
After the event, members mingled with the Shift professionals and asked questions. Gaffney and Joyal provided the members with their contact information and encouraged them to reach out with any lingering thoughts or questions.