The attractiveness of social and promotional education

The public relations and journalism communities are comprised of a rare and unique breed of professionals who are often unafraid of transient client populations and activities dependent on others [press] to determine their wins, losses and longevity in the industry.

By all accounts, the art of selling your voice and brand is not for the faint of heart. Yet communication degrees are some of the most popular career paths for college graduates around the world.

It’s easy to see the appeal of an industry that, if navigated well, places professionals among the elite in almost any industry. Audiences see the results, decorated with lightning bolts, red carpets, pearly whites and cover stories. For a college student choosing between a degree in communications or social media marketing and a more traditional choice, it’s easy to see the inherent appeal of the industry to Gen-Z, whose lives are displayed and managed on social media.

Behind the glossy magazine covers and Instagram posts, you’ll find scars attached to industry professionals that can quickly pile up due to reporter delays, stories needing context, and missed opportunities to secure a win in a very demanding industry. but polished clientele.

For professionals in need of brand communication and representation, it would be easy to assume that Gen-Z would be best equipped to support the current and diverse needs of the accomplished and elite. But on the other hand, engaging with legacy communications professionals provides a decisive and sensible counter to the tailwinds of digital natives who assume that quick and public client wins equate to longevity and career success.

Jessica Meisels, the founder of FingerPrint Communications in Los Angeles, travels coast to coast representing a who’s who of corporate and entertainment clients. As a publicist and communications professional, she’s not afraid of a fight or two to cross the finish line.

This reporter spent nine months tracking down the woman whose steady but engaging and fiercely loyal personality drives her mission. Over the past two decades, Meisels has experienced the pinnacle of the industry, working with the likes of the Kardashians, Airbnb, CIROC, Hard Rock Hotel, Virgin America and Formula 1 racing teams. Like countless entrepreneurs, she has faced professional challenges that have they still make her eat, even after surviving a permanent eight after her company’s ownership structure was restructured.

All hands on deck

In the hands of economic levers adverse to corporate profits, marketing and communications are often first on the professional guillotine. The average communications client stays with their dealership for three years, so it’s fair to conclude that those brave enough to hang up the shingle have an uphill battle. Those communications professionals migrating to corporate chief marketing officer roles have seen their respective tenures drop from an average of 40 months to 25 months.

Sometimes the flood of options creates a forced choice for communication professionals.

Meisels’ early career dates back to the reality television boom of the early 2000s. She bounced from the heart of LA to the valley, supporting a little-known family with a tangled family history. She lived the social life described in Vince Vaughn’s cult classic, Swingersand quickly built a name for herself as one who launched people and brands.

at this time, The Kardashian family it may have been a fluke or a cultural phenomenon predestined by the stars above, but either way, Meisels quickly accelerated his reputation.

“I’m not sure we knew what Kim and the whole family were going through at the time,” she recalled. “We have all worked incredibly hard to capture market share, representing a new land of opportunity. The personal branding work turned into merchandising and more and more.”

The relationship with reality TV’s first family has shifted from a direct glance to a passing glance these days, but the lessons are front and center for the Meisels today.

“The early years gave me an honorary doctorate in the fast and furious nature of communications and brand management. I’m not sure I could have written a better sandbox to learn and play in, but I’m grateful for the people and experiences that have shaped my perspective today,” says Meisels.

Influence matters

The first time this reporter met Meisels was via Zoom after an interview with her client and Hall of Fame songwriter Jermaine Dupri. Next time was to interview the ageless and iconic presenter and alumnus of Saved by the bellMario Lopez.

Lopez was affable and clearly a veteran of field interviews. Meisels peered into the camera he shared with Lopez and took command of the process as a battlefield general. Although I was annoyed at first, I quickly settled into the professional groove of a publicist who knew what she wanted, both for the interview and for managing her celebrity client. The interview soon approached its pre-set deadline, and Maysles pounced to close the discussion with the agility and determination of a seasoned communications veteran.

The experience, from a first-person narrative, was grueling at first, but upon reflection represented a professional who wasn’t in “it” for the glitz, but rather for the bottom line.

“I’m about the big picture with my clients. I have to manage the experience and the opportunities for the present moment and those that we cannot yet foresee,” says Meisels.

Meisels’ approach balances managing the client, the reporter, and the roles each plays in the storytelling triangle. Editorial aside, this is not the typical reporter experience.

Early-career communications professionals can try to leverage a reporter into story corners that are self-serving, promotional, and ultimately of interest to a minority of readers. However, Meisels learned early on that the influence of a client parallels the impact that a respected press relationship can have on future endeavors.

“If you prepare your client to have an informative and engaging discussion with the press and research the desired publication and reporter, you minimize the risk of two relationships going sour.” One with your client and the other with the reporter, who is often the gatekeeper to your success,” Maiselz explains.

Social winds

The tools the communications industry uses continue to evolve with customer expectations that communications firms maintain a one-step-ahead mentality to managing their brand. The task can be daunting, turning classic communications professionals mired in traditional outreach plans (print and digital) into pseudo-social media experts on the best of days.

Maiselz hopes her team at Fingerprint Communications stays on top of the fads and trends in social communications to keep audiences and her clientele on course.

“Communications can be incorporated into the brand industry.” Meisels continues, “Everyone wants to get their value proposition woven into multiple tracks or platforms so that their audiences and buyers connect with them over the long term. It used to be considered a “win” for a client to get an interview or article mentioned in a Tier 1 publication. Now that expectation extends to engagement metrics through a portfolio of social accounts.”

Relationships are personal and professional

Fast forward to Meisels’ work with the Williams Racing F1 team. The explosion of interest in F1 stateside could be considered unpredictable, and it’s a relationship from years ago that is attracting a dream client for her firm.

“A dear friend and former colleague started working with Williams and reached out saying, ‘Let’s collaborate!'” she exclaims.

The delicate balance between the press and those pushing the press can sometimes become brutally transient and transactional. Meisels believes that aspiring communications professionals should spend as much time understanding relationship dynamics as they do marketing outlets, readership, and social media tactics.

“If I think back over the last twenty years of my career, it’s clear that the majority of my clients’ and company’s success has been experienced by linking directly back to relationships, not media ads. That’s why it’s critical to understand the needs of everyone involved in distributing your own brand and content. Reporters need to be treated professionally and clients need to be educated about the triangle of possibilities that can support a valid and rich storytelling experience.”

Care education

Who would blame Meisels if she was purely and purposefully dictating her professional outlook and demands to reporters, clients and her team? She has worked with celebrities across genres and is a who’s who for two decades. However, the past nine months have revealed to this reporter that Maysles may be slightly worried that if she abandons her gritty “in the weeds” approach, she will lose her edge.

Whether she’s working the phones, cultivating a new crop of storyteller relationships, or mothering her two children, it’s clear from Zoom’s digital landscape and personal experiences that she is truly an entrepreneur. A woman entrepreneur who dares to have it all. It’s not about bylines and posts about Meisels. Her firm is her family, which includes her clients and those in the press with whom she works as collaborators to write stories of innovation and inspiration.

The next time you find yourself on a cross-country flight from New York to Los Angeles, check the passenger on your right and left. You might just find yourself sitting next to Maisel. Feel free to interrupt because you could be her future client or inspiration for what happens after the wheels touch.

Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.