Now in its ninth year, PRWeek selects women who have achieved success within their own organization, inspired colleagues and, through innovative and transformative work, elevated the practice of public relations to new heights. Alexis was chosen from nearly 250 nominations.

The class of 2024 Women of Distinction along with this year’s Women to Watch were honored at a celebratory event in New York City at the end of May and profiled in the March–April print issue. PRWeek is the leading source of news, analysis, features, and jobs for the public relations industry.

CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together aims to empower communities, partners, and health care providers to reduce HIV stigma and promote HIV testing, prevention, and treatment. (Source: cdc.gov). The spring meeting was designed to provide program partners with information, tools and tips to continue their work to fight HIV.

Jasmin led a session exploring how members can utilize digital advertising to help boost program awareness and increase HIV screening, promote prevention strategies for patients at risk, and improve patient care through treatment and viral suppression. Tips included how to maximize budgets, leverage partnerships, experimenting with new formats and scheduling to reach goals. Later in the day, Alexis moderated a panel, “Narrative Change: Destigmatizing Storytelling by Creating Safe and Ethical Spaces”, featuring subject matter experts. 

Both sessions received positive feedback. We thank agency partner Westat for the invitation.

We know a thing or two about gifting PR boxes — just ask our clients, Lexus, Toyota and Sazerac. Over the years, partnering with content creators have become a critical and strategic tactic of most communications campaigns. Social media influencers do just that, they influence their followers to try a product, go to a movie, read a book, use a new service, etc. One great way to generate awareness and create consumer engagement on behalf of your client is sending social media influencers, or content creators, PR boxes. Sending a creatively curated package with the client’s product, or items relevant to the news announcement, provides a great vehicle for creators to produce unboxing videos that takes their followers on an experiential journey.

The goal of sending PR boxes is to get creators to post it on their social media to share with their audiences organically, along with a positive review or feedback. Unless you have a paid contract with an influencer, there’s no guarantee that they will post. However, over the years we’ve learned some of the best approaches to creating PR packages that will make your client happy and enhance your chances for posting. Here they are:

1. Understand your campaign holistically. 
   • A good mailer is based on a strong understanding of the product and your campaign – the audience, business and communications objectives, messaging and KPIs.
   • Ask yourself what the main goal is for the mailer. Is it to increase awareness, drive product trial, and generate sales? The desired ROI should be the driving factor behind the box creation.
   • Consider including a call-to-action (CTA).
2. Tell the brand story.
   • Your mailer should tell a compelling story at first glance. Rather than focusing on just sending products, the receiver should know why the brand’s ethos or product is unique and resonates with them. 
   • Include a beautifully designed booklet or card that narrates the brand story.
   • Use visuals that represent the brand’s identity and aesthetic.
   • Connect the product to a larger theme or current trend to make it more relevant.
3. Be innovative and memorable with the packaging.
   • Anyone can craft a standard box, but first impressions matter. The packaging of your PR mailer can make a significant impact so aim for an innovative and eye-catching option that stands out and makes the recipient excited to open it. 
   • Consider using sustainable and eco-friendly materials, or unique shapes, colors, and textures that reflect the brand’s identity.
   • Include interactive elements, like QR codes that lead to exclusive content or AR experiences.
   • Ensure the packaging is shareable on social media – think about how it will look in an unboxing video.
4. Ensure the package is timely and relevant.
   • Just like pitching news should be timely and relevant, your mailers should be the same. This could mean aligning your mailer with current trends, upcoming seasons, or important events. Timing can significantly impact the relevance and effectiveness of your mailer.
   • Leverage trending topics or cultural moments to make your mailer more relevant. 
5. Provide value beyond the product.
   • Think about what additional value you can provide to the influencer. Is it educational materials, exclusive access to future launches, or unique experiences that go beyond just the physical product? By adding extra value, you create a more meaningful and memorable experience for the recipient.
   • Offer a personalized experience, such as a virtual meeting with the brand’s founder or a behind-the-scenes look at the brand.
   • Add exclusive content, such as early access to a new product line or invitations to special events.
   • Share a guide or tips related to the product and the use cases (e.g., styling tips for fashion items, usage tips for beauty products, cocktail recipes for spirits brands).

To implement these tips effectively, start by brainstorming creative concepts that align with both the brand and the influencers in mind. Develop a detailed plan that covers every aspect of the mailer, from the design and packaging to the messaging and CTA to the budget. Collaborate with designers, writers, and other creative professionals to bring your vision to life.

Upon delivery of the mailers, be sure to track social engagement and feedback for measurement and reporting as well as insights to produce better ones in the future.

By focusing on personalization, storytelling, innovative packaging, clear calls to action, and providing additional value, you’ll create PR boxes that generate enthusiasm from clients and engagement from creators and support from consumers.

From its launch in 2000, PRecise has offered media training services in English and Spanish. With the addition of Wood, PRecise is formally branding its media and presentation training services as a practice branded, “PRecise Presence Training” (PPT). Both trainings are designed to help participants perform in front of audiences and the media with greater skill, engaging techniques and most importantly, reassured confidence. Presentation training focuses on public, and virtual, speaking strategies while media training hones in on tips to control the narrative during press interviews, regardless the circumstance. PPT will include new, proprietary approaches to trainings, that will help recipients tap into their performance abilities unrealized before.