We have a new blogger in our midst and he’s not your average Eastwicker. Dexter, Elaine’s friendly and loveable pup has joined the Eastwick blog team. While he may only be a foot high, he has tons of personality and lots to contribute. Luckily Eastwick (and of course our building mates, Coghead) are puppy friendly; we sometimes have a few pooches running about the office. Distraction you say? Only when Quentin trys to eat your lunch or Bella leaves a present in your cube. Otherwise they are just plain fun.

Agency Life, dexter, dogs that blog, Public Relations, puppies that post

This past weekend, Rachael A-M and I ran in the Santa Cruz Half Marathon. Why, you might ask, would you purposely enter yourself in a 13.1 mile race? In my case, I joined a running team with some friends and in Rachael’s she is doing Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Click here to see how much money she has raised so far…go Rachael go! While the both of us had different reasons for the run, it reminds me of the importance of the work-life balance.

Working in PR, it is easy to fall into the workaholics club; a place where late nights, long coverage reports and loads of caffeine are commonplace. It is surprisingly hard to stop yourself from logging on at night, double checking if client coverage has appeared or seeing who else has blogged. I am learning the importance of relaxing when I get home, checking email only when needed and taking a breather. Which is why half marathons, going out on the weekends, sleeping in and forgetting about your work day is a healthy part of the PR world.

Now if I could only figure out why I can barely walk and Rachael is doing just fine…

Agency Life, half marathon, Public Relations, team in training

So for the first time since I started working at the agency, I got sick. Clearly I was not happy about this, particularly since I tend to think that only a wimp would let the common cold pull them away from their very busy and important workdays. I assumed the PR world would come crashing down while I napped; which is quite self-centered, I know. But that’s the thing about working in an agency, particularly one like Eastwick. Everyone has your back…and on top of that, everyone wants you to do your best and you clearly aren’t your best when you are sneezing every couple of words. I was pleasantly surprised when I sent out an email to my teams saying I was going home and colleagues told me to get better, watch lots of ridiculous soap operas, and relax. I actually had a couple of supervisors tell me to go home! Not that I should have been surprised, have you seen the people that I work with? Blogging aside; they are creative, thoughtful and exceptionally good at what they do. It makes me so happy to know that Eastwick is the type of place that supports its employees to the fullest extent. And while I know this is my first agency, I can’t imagine that all are like this. I am pretty sure I will be sticking around for a while.

Granted I know you are thinking this is a total plug for my fabulous agency…but what can I say, I truly think it IS fabulous.

Agency Life, Public Relations

My colleague Denise set up a game of online tag late last week and I was happy to join. Here are five things you may or may not have wanted (or needed) to know about me:

1. I am fluent in Italian and lived here for a semester

2. I was this slightly confused celebrity for Halloween

3. My college is one of the only undergraduate universities in the country that requires a senior thesis in order to graduate

4. I am a self-professed cellphone-a-holic

5. One of my favorite artists is Raphael, but not to discriminate, I enjoy almost all Renaissance painters, architects and sculptors.

I’m still waiting on responses from Rachel L, Katie, and our illustrious blogmaster, Joel, but have decided to add Rachael A-M and Juan to the mix as well.

Public Relations

I remember my first day at Eastwick very fondly. I met nearly the entire agency all while having tons of information thrown my way. Something that surprised me that day was the language used in the field of PR. During my first meeting (when I was learning about what I would ACTUALLY be doing at the agency), I specifically remember being less worried about the tasks I was assigned but was more concerned about the language used to describe them. My supervisor kept on saying that I would be working on metrics, ed cals and vertical lists. I suddenly got a little scared, I didn’t know there would be climbing or rulers involved…what did I get myself into!? Little did I know this was only the tip of the iceberg.

PR has an exceptionally unique language all its own, often used in an attempt to save time (and billability) by effectively communicating your point faster. To ping for instance means to get in contact with, remind or bother a client or colleague rather than its traditional use as a descriptor for a computer networking tool or a fun table top game. Publications drops to pubs, opportunities to opps and briefing sheets to b-sheets. I will admit that I was quite intimidated at first. 

I think what really pushed me over the edge was when a colleague of mine told me that I was banned from using certain PR terms in his presence. Wanting to impress one of my many superiors; I wrote down the list (with notes why he didn’t like them) and consciously tried to avoid using these words not only at work, but in my everyday life. Now every time I say touch base I flinch a little bit. But what are you supposed to do when someone tells you they die a little bit inside every time you use FYI. Granted this was a little melodramatic, but at the time, I took it very seriously.

Moral of the story: watch who you say FYI to (along with brainstorm, touch base, broadband, and ping) because instead of effective communication, you might end up with a disconnect.

Agency Life, Communication, language, Public Relations

In the field of Public Relations we do a lot of reporting. Flash reports. Coverage reports. Weekly activity reports. All for the sake of our clients.  When was the last time anyone had a report about what a PR agency is like from the inside out?  That’s where I come in. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Marissa and The Root Review will discuss the going-ons at Eastwick Communications, a highly successful technology PR firm in the Silicon Valley.

While there are many different types of PR, (corporate, consumer and celebrity are a few that come to mind) my blog will examine life at an agency that focuses on technology. From staff meetings and client coverage to agency mixers and PR urban legends, I am hoping to give outsiders an idea of what starting a career in the fast-paced field of public relations is really like.

Would love to stay and chat, but unfortunately blogging isn’t billable…So I’m out of here for now!

Agency Life, Entry Level, PR, Public Relations, Silicon Valley, Technology