Last Words

By: Tina Wagner, Intern, Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc.

Social media, media relations, branding, issue communications, special events and crisis management are topics I assisted with during my summer internship at Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc. Although I was just interning, the employees at Leonard & Finco welcomed me as one of the team.

My internship dates back to last summer when I interned part-time. Even though I was only part-time, I got a feeling of how the agency worked. This summer, however, I was completely immersed in the world of PR.

Reflecting back on the last two summers, I realized a lot about the changing world of public relations. Experts do not know where the media, public relations, marketing or advertising businesses are headed. With all this uncertainty, I came to realize one thing, while the PR business is always adapting to ever-changing business practices, these four key elements of PR will forever hold true.

Communicate: One of my first experiences with Leonard & Finco. In PR, people are always communicating messages internally or externally. In order for an agency to be successful, employees need to listen, give their input and feedback, problem-solve, establish clarity and demonstrate leadership. At Leonard & Finco, the employees do this on a daily basis and allowed me to participate as well.

Camaraderie: Leonard & Finco shows what it means to have camaraderie. In an agency, not only do the employees need close working relationships, but they need to have a familiarity with the client. I witnessed balancing and maintaining the two can be difficult at times. To keep communication flowing, Leonard & Finco taught me that you need to stay up-to-date with the clients.

Prepare: The fast pace agency life means issues can spur up at a moment’s notice. In turn, employees must research clients and competitors, gather background material and strive to be the best.

Network: Lastly, Leonard & Finco taught me the importance of networking. Building up a network of diverse contacts is helpful for any business. Networking expands your contact list. This proves to be valuable for a business because word-of-mouth travels quickly between businesses. This summer I was able to attend some social functions where I saw how networking works from a professional and a personal perspective.

I want to give Leonard & Finco a big thank you for taking the time to get to know me and teach me about PR. What I learned here can’t be taught from a textbook. I really appreciate everyone’s time.

Can you think of any other key terms for the workplace? Do you feel these terms will change with the changing world of PR?