Through my years in the PR industry, I’ve discovered that public relations is a murky concept for the masses. With not entirely accurate portrayals of PR pros swirling about popular culture (hello, Samantha Jones), it can be hard to explain to people what it is I do and what Piper & Gold does.
I’ve done some soul searching on this, and am pretty happy with what I found. It seems to make sense to the folks who ask “…no, but what do you DO…?”
At my core, I’m a storyteller.
P&G is a diverse group of storytellers. We pour our hearts into the clients we serve. We become a part of their team. We laugh with them and we cry with them. We take on their stories as our own, and we wouldn’t change it for the world.
The late, beloved novelist Terry Pratchett said, “People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact it’s the other way around…”
This couldn’t ring truer at our agency. We’re shaped every day by our clients’ stories, and in turn, hope to help shape others through careful retelling of those stories.
When I asked a couple of my P&G colleagues what their most memorable client story was, their eyes lit with enthusiasm as they quickly re-lived those connections.
From David, who bravely faced his banking fears and conquered housing challenges after being pushed from his residence, to Kimmer whose training got her a new job, allowing her to take care of her kids, and required her to “wear shades, her future is that bright,” to the resilient Stedman family, who weathered two stays at the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Michigan with sick children -- so many of these stories have made an imprint, both personally and professionally.
At the core of every Tweet, every press release, impact report, communications strategy or crisis plan is a story. We take our #Truth as stewards and tellers of those stories with honor and great responsibility.
