PC Profiles: Meet Deb Holliday

---

Monday October 25, 2010 | No Comments

With several new faces added to our public relations team this season, our recent meeting in Pittsburgh presented a great opportunity for our work-at-home crew to unite in person! Not one of us shy, we quickly began sharing stories of our home and history that made the evening hilarious and worthwhile – In the coming weeks, we will introducing you to each member of the team, to give you a peek inside each of the personal and professional worlds of the 11 dynamic ladies (and one gent) at PC!

This week, Senior Account Manager for Abbott Medical Optics, Deb Holliday, shares a bit about her background and role in our “virtual” office! Our interview with her below!

What’s unique about your work-from-home setup?
Recently I moved with my husband to Ocala, Florida – Truly a world away from our home in Erie, Pensylvania.  A few times a year we pack up and move to enjoy the climate, family, and friends near each location! My office can fit in a single bag, which gets loaded up a few times each season for meetings across the US and abroad – or to hop a plane back to sunny Florida.

What has been your favorite project at PC?
I’ve been working on the AMO account since joining Pascale Communications, LLC.  Because I have a heavy clinical background, it’s a good fit for me.  I work with many fantastic doctors and editors, and collaborating with the team at AMO is a pleasure. The best part is getting to see them face to face throughout the year at each of our meetings and visits!

Since you work from home, what do you typically wear to work?
If I start early in the morning, (I’ll admit) it’s usually my jammies. I feel much more in “work mode,” though,  if I dress completely before starting; like I’m going to the office, but a little more causally.  If I’m in Florida, keeping cool, or in Erie, staying cozy, the general rule of thumb is “anything comfortable.”

What’s your biggest pet peeve?
I have so many.  If I had to choose one or two, I would say, crunching and poor grammar. Crunching isn’t so much a worry in this sort of workplace (No cublicals) – But we can’t get by without proper grammar.

Do you watch any TV during the day, and which shows do secretly love to watch?
On a normal day, my TV serves as a computer monitor – which keeps me easily focused!As for what I watch once the day is out, I have a whole list there!  Let’s see… Mad Men, Parenthood, Modern Family, House Hunters, and (of course) American Idol.

by PascaleCom

ShareThis

PC Clients in their own words: Why Pascale Communications, LLC?

---

Friday January 15, 2010 | No Comments

To conclude our fabulous week of anniversary celebration, we share with you the sentiments of our amazing network of dynamic clients, partners, and editors. In just a few minutes, we’ve assembled opinions of the most outstanding individuals we work with – Those who inspire us with their vitality and intelligence.

Thanks to everyone for a great week!

by admin

ShareThis

Steps forward in 2009

---

Wednesday January 13, 2010 | No Comments

The challenges facing companies were increasingly ubiquitous in 2009, as market skepticism prompted constricting budgets nationally and globally. In these trying economic conditions, our team took the opportunity to think creatively on our clients behalf – to best optimize plans, with attention payed to their pocketbooks.

Two of PC’s tireless and enthusiastic account managers, Deb and Allison, describe five projects and ideas that demonstrate the innovative solutions that addressed the client’s needs in 2009 – Our success this year is manifest in our ability to remain adaptable and strategic under confining parameters to help deliver a great final product.

AMO Media Day convenes industry on home turf

With the downturn in the nation’s economy in 2009, PC recommended to AMO that we take Media Day to the publications in order to minimize travel costs for attendees. Media Day 2009 would be held on the east coast, where the majority of publications are located. The attendance in Philadelphia was record-breaking – Participant attendance doubled typical numbers! After this largely PC-organized event, we welcomed the overwhelmingly positive feedback from our media colleagues and contacts! Additionally, AMO’s data and technology updates presented that day were covered extensively in the ophthalmic trade press.

Rapid planning of Clarity media event proves positive results

Clarity was interested in getting back on the publications radars, providing them knowledge of their product, the RetCam, without crossing the lines of their current FDA regulations, which limited what they were able to say as a company. With just three short weeks to plan (generally, we plan over three months), PC was able to organize an event at the annual AAO meeting, attended by all ophthalmic editors and publishers.

Further, our innovative approach, using a more descriptive and educational discussion around the product rather than a process of comparison, was welcomed by participants, who reported some events as too strongly promotional. Our wide-ranging experience and intuition allowed us to achieve phenomenal results, eliciting positive feedback and followup interest to-date.

When virtual doesn’t work – Keep it personal.

PC is a virtual agency—currently, all employees are located on the East coast, in Pennsylvania, New York and Florida. With that said, many of our clients are based in California. While many clients respond well to phone conferences and virtual communication, others respond better to intermittent in-person contact. PC flew to California to meet in-person with a client in 2009, both to launch their PR Plan, and to present their 2010 plan after a successful relationship had bloomed that year.

Throughout 2010, we will be meeting many clients in person when possible, to provide the same personality and security that a traditional business structure suggests, while truly exercising the possibilities of our virtual workplace.

Byline Writing / Pitching – Changed way we do this, KOL submitted, etc

At the beginning of 2009, many editors were faced with the task of cutting articles, unable to outsource articles to writers, and were tied to strict editorial calendars. As a result, PC worked with the publications—we changed our pitching style, assisted in the submission of more MD bylines (coordinated by our team to ensure timely placement) and, in general, increased coverage across the board for clients. Editors began turning to PC for quick turnarounds on articles, with sometimes even less than a week to get from start to finish—and we’ve done it, and will continue to provide the same outstanding services. That’s the PC way!

Be Proactive, Efficient, and Honest

To assuage and economic angst, from both clients and editors, we’ve streamlined our workflow in 2009 – by increasing the transparency around our daily tasks, allowing the client to most efficiently spend his dollar.

In rough times, prospective clients are examining every cent under a high-powered microscope, determining where to best put their dollars. Generally, it’s not easily convinced to put it into PR. Not only has PC been able to prove their worth through their services, but we’ve also altered the way we work with our clients—by providing measureable proof of activity through monthly detailed project reports, regular updates on progress, and cutting through the fat to get to the meat of what is important to each client.

by admin

ShareThis

Deb Holliday recently helped to plan a “Media Day” for one of our clients; her take on why this event is so important is below!

---

Wednesday August 19, 2009 | No Comments

This year marked the fifth anniversary of Abbott Medical Optics, Inc.’s Media Day. While each one has been extremely successful and worthwhile for all those involved, this one will go down in the books as a standout for both Abbott and for the publication representatives in attendance.

What is Media Day? Media Day provides the opportunity for the company to present an overview of key clinical data, the latest product information and insight on key industry issues to the media given by a panel of leading clinicians and executives…all in one place. It also gives the media, the AMO marketing teams, and PC the chance to build relationships in more intimate setting than is possible at the large ophthalmology and optometric congresses.

Following each year’s event, Pascale has sent out a survey to each member of the media who attended, soliciting their feedback and suggestions. Every year we hear that our Media Day is the best in the industry. Always wanting to build on that success, we strive to incorporate the publication’s wish list in planning the next Media Day. The resounding request after the 2008 event was that we hold this year’s somewhere on the east coast. In previous years, it has been held in the California headquarters of AMO and in Aspen, CO.

With the economy being what it is in 2009, we recommended to our team at AMO that this would be a great year to have the event in the majority of the Publications’ backyards. Almost all of the trade publications are based in Philadelphia, Cleveland, New York, and New Jersey. AMO wholeheartedly agreed; this year it was held in Philadelphia and we had an amazing turnout; over 40 media representatives were in attendance.

AMO relied on us to do the early-stage event planning, such as choosing the hotel and restaurants. We researched the possibilities, including asking our media friends in Philly to suggest some venues. PC always plays a key role in all planning and management of the event, and, of course, garners great press from the event every year.

Georgette and I were both onsite and could not be more pleased to report that AMO Media Day went very well and the feedback has been phenomenal! The publications teams truly appreciated AMO’s willingness to “take the show on the road.” Most importantly, we have been able to confirm a slew of articles in progress, based on the product information and new data presented.

by admin

ShareThis