Social Media has been the main conversation over the past decade but some traditional methods of branding and advertisement still remain the most important for scaling your business. Public Relations is recently overlooked by growing companies but large companies still incorporate it.
The age of monetizing the big follower count with low engagement or without coverage has come and gone. Realistically, it is really hard to gain a blue check on Instagram or receive major interviews in other outlets without written articles. PR Agencies now have incorporated various new systems of exposure that have begun to bridge the gap.
Legendary Publicist Darrell Smith has positioned his PR Agency, “We Are Throne, Inc.” as one of the companies that combine old and new methods to transcend the future of Public Relations.
We were able to touch base with him and get some insights on what do this year. Here is a bit about him and his creative mind.
In our past conversations and interactions I’ve grown to realize that you hate to name drop but can you let the audience know some of the people and brands you have worked with?
No problem. To name a few, Derrick Jones “ aka “ DJ D-NICE , Ferrari Maserati [Manhattan, Long Island], Don Pooh [Music Producer], Kevin Liles [Co-Founder 300 Ent.], Erik Coleman [former New York Jets DB], Marc Beckman [Co-Founder DMA United – AD Agency], and Kenny Burns [Former VP Roc-A-Fella Records and V-103 Atlanta Radio host – Kenny Burns Show].
What would you say contributed most to your success in your career?
Well, the fact that hard work works. I would also say thinking outside the box, relationships, and referrals. That formula should be your target. You WILL win.
What is a key PR strategy that brands should not go without in 2023?
Integrating forms of visual content pitches is a must. This is one of those line items for adapting to the times. You can then use those pieces to implement Native Advertising campaigns with your placements, which is one of those new cutting edge strategies. This should be next to be added to your other successful methods.
What is the proper way to understand what vision means and how it should be utilized?
Vision is being able to see something that others don’t see and what’s important to become. It should be utilized through day-to-day movements and not letting anything come in between them. We usually use a map to get where we are going. Is there a map of your current career? It all starts with that vision and a roadmap.
What would you say is the biggest mistake(s) brands make in the process of building a brand?
I would like to emphasize on a few major aspects. Not following all the way through 110%. Brands want to be Mcdonald’s but don’t want to spend what it takes to be there. They don’t want to be consistent. This is the killer. They want everything now! Instead of running the race into their vision. Which scales your lifestyle and business.
As we all proceed into this first quarter what is advice on how brands should budget allocation in 2023?
Brands need to be allocating more money to PR-focused Online marketing campaigns. This may seem obvious as we are talking about PR but honestly, most successful brands take this very seriously. If you have a compelling story and distribute that strategically around the internet, this will beat out any other strategy that you have.
We would love to know any of your upcoming collaborations or projects that we should be on the lookout for.
Our main focus is advocating for brands in health, wellness, luxury travel, and uncommon hospitality.
At this moment we are working on doing some coverage for a few of the Mason Rose Luxury Hotel Properties in Europe. It is a very exciting partnership and we look forward to impressing you with what is to come.
In The End
Sometimes we need guidance and a few tools to really get to where we want to go. To take that next step in your life, career, and brand we need to sift through the abundance of information and trust the people that have done it and are still doing it. Mr. Smith is one of those people.
We wish you all the best of luck on your journey throughout the rest of the year and hope you were paying attention. 😉
