Over the past three weeks, I tracked down and reached out to these individuals and asked them to share their adventures since leaving the green tinted hallways of 1411 4^th Avenue, – or setting up shop as in the cases of Amy, Kate, and Emily.

I hope you find their stories as rewarding as I did!

- Andrew

Sarah Essary

Sarah’s internship with Frause ended soon after the economy took a turn for the worse in 2008. This did not stop her from utilizing the skills she had acquired at Frause to energize her career. Shortly after moving to Sacramento she got a job as a receptionist in a hotel. When that hotel needed someone to manage their in house social media, Sarah stepped in and built the platform. She says her experience in consumer services at Frause and working on accounts such as Starbucks and Rat City Roller Girls, gave her the skills necessary to build a marketing platform from the ground up. After leaving the hotel, Sarah began working at Edelman, where one of her major accounts was Adobe. In January 2012, she took a position with Men’s Warehouse as their social media manager and is currently working on building their social media platform utilizing Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr. During all of this, she began her own blog and was invited to contribute to a variety of online publications, including the nationally acclaimed PR Couture.

How did your internship at Frause prepare you for a successful career?

“Sarah says  her experiences at Frause greatly contributed to her success – she will always have a place in her heart for the company. To college students and young professionals she advises to keep your head up and to always be on the lookout for your next career opportunity, you never know where life is going to take you!”

Ingrid & Sarah

Ingrid Belobradic

After completing her first PR internship at Frause, Ingrid continued to pursue her love of communications with internships at The Workshop LLC and Publicis Consultants USA. After graduating from Seattle University, she moved to San Francisco and joined the team at Edelman, where she worked on a variety of accounts including 24 Hour Fitness, Transamerica, and the Environmental Defense Fund. Currently, Ingrid is an account executive at Waggener Edstrom Seattle for the Microsoft Windows Team, which focuses on commercial business enterprise and desktop virtualization. She says, “I never thought that the technology field would be my thing, but much to my surprise after doing an internship on another Microsoft team I found I absolutely love it!”

Fun fact: while they never interned together at Frause, shortly after moving to California, Ingrid and Sarah met each other and became fast friends.    

What did you learn while at Frause and how has that helped you in your professional development?

“Gosh, I learned so much at Frause! Frause was my first PR internship and I recall it being one of those “sink or swim” experiences. I got experience working across an array of accounts and had a chance to see a lot of different sides of PR – media outreach, events, press release writing, etc. Three main things that have helped in my professional development are multitasking, patience, and e-mail organization. These three things are unique, as they are things you absolutely need to do every day in PR and also skills you can continue to advance on a daily basis.”

Emily Levine

Soon after her tenure with Frause ended, Emily entered the world of corporate communications. As the in-house communications manager at Fresh Fitness and Dance, she developed strategies that expanded membership and brand presence in the community. Recently, she joined the marketing team at PressPlane Inc. – a Seattle-based startup with two main products called Ink’d and Zapd. Emily also took some time to travel to Israel and France!

How did your internship at Frause prepare you for a successful career?

“I learned a lot from my internship with Frause. I was able to experience many aspects of working in an agency, and develop my skills as a PR professional. I think my biggest takeaway was the importance of taking advantage of all learning and practical use opportunities, especially when starting out in a field or at an internship. This is the time when you really can ask questions, seek help, and even make mistakes. Now that I am no longer a student and working full time, I’m wishing I had done more to strengthen my industry skillset when I was a PR newbie.”

Emily

Katie Sells

Katie’s internship at Frause took place two years ago and gave her the foundations to build an amazing career as a student and professional. Katie will begin her senior year at Santa Clara University this fall and plans on graduating with a Communication and Dance double major. Until then, Katie will continue to sharpen her communication skills as an intern in SCU’s marketing and communication’s department and as a writer for the faculty and staff newsletter. She also has a passion for traveling, having recently returned from a trip to Rome; she plans on completing an immersion trip to El Salvador this summer.  

What did an internship at Frause teach you? What lessons did you learn?

“Frause helped prepare me for my future career in so many ways because, even though I was fairly young at the time of my internship, they pushed me to try new things, welcomed me into new experiences and held me to a high standard that I professionally continue to hold myself to. Frause’s Amy Graham taught me how to write my first professional e-mail as well as my first press release (I still remember our discussion on exclamation points). Nathan introduced me to many Seattle-area professionals that I, as an intern, was way out of my league in shaking their hands. Erika welcomed me into the office and her constant honesty was appreciated when she told me my voice needed to be friendlier when answering the phone. Everyone at the office contributed so much to the professionalism I have today and, wherever I end up after graduation, I will owe so much of my success to Frause and to the wonderful internship I experienced two short years ago.”

Katie

Casey Colesworthy

A graduate of the University of Oregon, Casey has become an expert in social marketing, analytics management and media relations. Since her internship at Frause, she has joined Maxwell PR in Oregon as an account executive and oversees accounts including Kettle Brand Chips, Peter Rabbit Organics, and Pamela’s Products. She works with her team to garner media coverage and has helped execute strategic consumer engagement campaigns and studying analytics to understand how her clients can better connect with their audiences.

What did your internship at Frause teach you about the field of Public Relations?

“There are many things I learned at Frause, but before I started I had never worked in a PR agency. All of my previous experience had been with non-profit organizations but I knew I wanted to work in an agency, so interning with Frause was the perfect place for me to get my feet wet. Part of what comes with working at an agency is the client relations side of the business, a totally foreign concept to me before I joined the Frause team. Watching intensely, I learned the importance of client relations and what that entails, including not only doing the work that they ask of you, but being proactive in showing enthusiasm for their successes and being available to provide council when needed. Other tips I learned at Frause: how to conduct blogger relations and how to write a business news release and pitch it.”

Casey

Kate Hudson

Kate truly embodies what it means to be successful in the field of communications. During her tenure as a Strategic Communications candidate at Seattle University, she has completed internships at New Century Media in London and GMMB. As a PR intern at Frause, she delivered her projects with the highest quality possible and impressed her co-workers with her passionate work ethic. In March, Kate was hired as an assistant account executive at Frause – her day-to-day tasks range from media list building, pitching and coverage tracking to the first drafts of releases or advisories. I’m told she is planning a road trip with her boyfriend and their dog, Parker, down Highway 101 this summer.

What did an internship at Frause teach you? What lessons did you learn?

“Interning at Frause in the fall of 2011 was a smashing professional opportunity, as it led to my first entry level position in my industry of study. As an intern, I approached every day with the objective to obtain a full-time position with the Frause team post-graduation. The fundamental lesson for an intern at any company is to act like your internship is an extended interview for an actual position. Ultimately, I followed Bob’s advice and asked for the job! Voila!”

Kate

Emily Nauseda

You know that girl in class who you can’t help but wonder “how does she do it?” Well, Emily was just that girl to me. As a Strategic Communications candidate at Seattle University she led the PRSSA as president, completed a PR internship at Frause, and exercised her heart of gold on Amara Parenting and Adoption’s events and communications team. She continues to demonstrate her impeccable communication skills as a recently hired assistant account executive at Frause.

What did an internship at Frause teach you? What lessons did you learn?

“I think the biggest lesson I learned from interning at Frause is that to be successful in this industry, especially in a smaller agency setting, you have to understand how a variety of businesses work, including the one you work for. Here at Frause, we aren’t just communications experts, we are trusted business advisors. By better understanding how our client’s business operates on a daily basis, we can prepare better strategies to reach their audience.”

Emily

Amy Graham

A few words that I would use to describe Amy are: powerhouse, professional, and account juggler. She brings these qualities to her job every day and demonstrates what it takes to turn an internship into a successful career. After completing two consecutive internships at Frause, Amy was hired as an assistant account executive and was quickly promoted to account executive last year. She plans events for Puget Sound-area students as a committee member for PRSA Puget Sound and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professional’s Network.     

What did an internship at Frause teach you? What lessons did you learn?

“I had the unique opportunity to have two consecutive internships at Frause which allowed me to discover what aspects of public relations I enjoyed the most and to better hone my communications skill set. As an intern I learned how to conduct myself in a professional office environment and realized the importance of being on-time and prepared to work hard. My teammates at Frause taught me how to juggle multiple projects and deliver high-quality, consistent work. I’ve learned a tremendous amount in the last three years at Frause and I look forward to continuing to learn and improve as a communications professional for the rest of my life. The beauty of this industry is that the learning never stops!”

Q: How did you first get into communications?

A: I first started college in California, then transferred to a school in Texas and finished my undergrad at Fort Lewis College in Colorado. There, I majored in fine arts and did a minor in marketing. I was fortunate enough to have a marketing professor who let me create my own sort of marketing degree so I decided to take communications classes. I found them fascinating, especially the aspect of communication styles and the emotional responses people develop to products or services.

Q: What brought you to Seattle?

A: After graduating I stayed in Colorado for two years where I skied, rock climbed and was the manager for a coffee house, but I wanted a change. My husband had family up here and he had always loved Seattle. I on the other hand, had never visited before moving so it was a pretty bold decision for me. However, it didn’t take me any time to fall in love with the city. I found a job at a communications company working in the public sector and my husband, who is an avid cyclist, found an awesome job doing what he loves.

Q: Why did you choose to work for Frause?

A: I liked where I was working at the time but I wanted to flex my brainpower and challenge my creative side. I heard about Frause from a friend and researched the company. I loved their values and the creative freedom they encouraged. I knew it would be a perfect fit for me, so I interviewed and now here I am!

Q: What do you think you can bring to the Frause team?

A: I think I bring a different perspective and I love that it is valued here. I also feel that I am pretty personable and like to build relationships, which is great when working with clients. I like to pull in a personal angle in my work.

After learning more about Amanda, I am so excited for all of the different opportunities awaiting her at Frause. I can’t wait to see what she does first!

Becoming curious, I did a little top secret research to find out why, Frause is different. In short, we have a little something called workplace morale. After chatting with President Erika Schmidt, it is not a secret why we feel this way. Erika explained, “what is most important to me is that people own who they are, and we celebrate that. There are different kinds of smart and there are different kinds of creative. We need different people.”

Tuesday evening I joined assistant account executives Kate Hudson and Emily Nauseda as well as fellow intern, Andrew Hoge for happy hour on Capitol Hill. Beth Monaghan, principal at Boston-based PR firm Inkhouse says, “Happy hours are generally a great thing for employee morale and for getting to know your co-workers outside of the office.” I agree, considering after our outing, I was tempted to immediately plan another. I found that it was a great way to connect socially with my co-workers and learn about their personal lives. The things we chatted about were fascinating and I developed a new, personal relationship with all three of them.

In conveying my enthusiasm to the group, Kate and Emily confided that this is not a rare occurrence for the Frause team. They explained to me that Frause values their employees and especially their relationships with one another. Kate went on telling me her favorite outing with Frause was the Christmas party this past December. She told me that everyone dressed up in their tackiest holiday gear in efforts to be the gaudiest.  “The memory of Bob Frause dressed in a plaid kilt and a lady’s Christmas sweater, complete with shoulder pads, is an unsurpassed highlight,” Kate laughed.

Emily continued, recalling the annual Frause golf tournament she took part in last summer. “Before the tournament, the closest I had come to golfing was hitting used golf balls off of my parent’s roof with my grandpa’s nine-iron. Nevertheless, I was excited to spend a sunny summer afternoon with the office.”

Excited, I went into the office the next morning with a mission to continue my research. I asked Amy Graham about her favorite Frause memory. She replied, “Ride the ducks was a great experience because we all got to be tourists for the day and see our city in a different light.” I moved on to Katy Harrison who, without needing much time to think, told me about a time when Bob made homemade pasta in the office kitchen and the whole team gobbled it up for lunch. “I enjoy any activity that involves food,” Katy admitted.

From company picnics, to riding the big white tourist duck – at some point everyone needs a mental break. So plan lunch with a co-worker once a week or share a glass of wine when your work is finished. Doing so will not only reduce stress, but allow you the opportunity to make a new friend. People are much happier when they work with friends rather than strangers – take it from me.

We all know that social media is not only changing the way we communicate with each other, but the manner in which businesses interact with their customers. Services like Facebook and Twitter combined with outlets such as Google Analytics are creating new and innovative ways to analyze what is being said about a company’s brand. So the question is this; “how can we incorporate these tools into our strategic marketing platforms?” First, let me take some time to explain how social media is changing the marketing landscape.

Before the advent of the internet, communication between organizations and consumers was either “one to many” (via publications, billboards, TV ads, etc.) or “one to one” (direct conversation with consumers). Now the internet allows for “many to many” communication in which customers can share information with consumers faster and with more efficiency than ever before. Clay Shirky outlines this fundamental change in a recent TED talk. This is both a curse and a blessing for businesses. On one hand, positive mentions are golden for your reputation, but even just one customer’s negative experience can end up being heard around the globe – instantly.

What is even more fascinating is there is no way to stop the conversation. Therefore, it is imperative that businesses learn how to use social media and become a part of the conversation. My professor pointed out that his children have their own YouTube accounts and see themselves as participants in the conversation, instead of simply observing it. The democratization of communication will only continue to evolve.

With this in mind, businesses should research ways they can participate in and monitor the communication around their products or brand. Over the past three years in my role as a social media coordinator I have had the opportunity to experiment with developing a social media platform for Luly Yang. I can testify that there is no one formula for success, but when you get it right, the rewards are amazing. Another successful effort I’ve had was the honor of observing as a fly on the wall (aka intern) the development of Oscar de la Renta’s social media campaign. I  observed how the company’s  VP of Communications, Erika Bearman, helmed the development of OdlR’s Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, (and now) Pinterest. You can read her story in the Wall Street Journal here.

Creating these platforms for your own purposes will take some time, creativity and strategic thinking. As you begin the process, here are some tips to get you started:

1. Add personality to your platform. Seriously, followers are not interested in a stream facts, statistics and sale announcements. Businesses should establish two-way communication with their followers, offer tidbits about their respective industry and demonstrate that they are interested in hearing feedback about their products.
2. You don’t need to use every social platform. Just because someone suggests you hop of the social marketing bandwagon does not mean you need to do Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, WordPress, Instragram, AND Pinterest. Each service offers a different way of presenting information to a different audience.  Choose the services that are right for your company.
3. Social media isn’t free. When you decide to make social media part of your platform, do not make the mistake of thinking that it’s entirely free. Yes, the service itself might be but the time it takes to plan and manage it is demanding – especially if you want to do it right.

The brutal answer is, because they don’t care.

A few days ago Frause social media guru, Matt Smedley, delivered a presentation to the Seattle chapter of Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS Seattle) on social media dos and don’ts. Today, in our fast-paced, technology driven world, people are concerned with tweeting every small update or uploading as many photos as an album will allow on Facebook. With new social media platforms emerging constantly, (Pinning? I am just getting a grasp on tweeting!), it is difficult to keep up, much less master them all which, is why a lot of people just end up flooding their sites with, well… junk. In doing everything possible to increase their social media fan base, companies almost always forget the most basic thing: quality content.

In his presentation Matt highlighted this emerging problematic trend. He stressed the importance of generating quality content and the ways it can benefit a company. I had the pleasure of speaking with Matt for a little Q&A and in doing so learned a lot. Here is some of his valuable advice:

Q: What is the most important thing to know when implementing or expanding a social media platform for a company?

A: Focus on creating stuff people actually want to see. The point is that there is a lot of junk out there and companies are often the worst offenders.  People are humans first and business people second.  If your content is unoriginal (you didn’t create it yourself), boring or uninspiring, people simply won’t care.

Q: What is your biggest piece of advice to make social media programs better?

A: Try to create something awesome. However, the downside of creating something awesome is it is hard. Being awesome requires time, money, creativity and risk.

Indeed, creative minds are not easy to find, and they also aren’t cheap.  The reality is everyone would have something “awesome” if it was convenient.  In a recent article titled, “Top 5 Social Media Lies,” well-known social media personality, Samantha Collier— stated the cold truth:

“This is one of the biggest misconceptions of them all. Social media is not free. It takes time, and the last I checked, time equals money. Even if you decide to keep your social media marketing in-house, you will always be paying someone to monitor your accounts.”

So is it worth it? The answer is a definite yes. As Matt advised, “It’s all a balance. If you are willing to do the work, you can have high goals for what you hope to gain in your company from your social media platforms, but if you’re not, you need to take a step back and adjust your expectations.”

So in the end, be sure to invest in the right people to execute your social media efforts. If you invest in your social media platforms, you will be pleased with the outcome. Pulling from the wise and influential Coach Dugan in, A League of Their Own, “If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it. Being hard is what makes it great.” So, don’t be everyone. Push yourself to be different, bold and innovative. Utilize your skills and improve your company, as well as yourself.

We started the day listening to Keynote speaker Dave Marriott, share his crisis communications work on behalf of Amanda Knox and her family. Next, there was a panel made up of three different Seattle-area PR professionals: Scott Battishill from Curator PR, Megan Behrhaum from REI and Lesley Rogers from Seattle Public Schools. The panel moderator asked them various questions from “How do you start networking,” to, “How do you bring your resume experience to an interview?” The three panelists offered their best advice, while sharing their own personal experiences in the industry.

Following lunch we were invited to participate in roundtable sessions, having the opportunity to choose five from the ten offered. One of the tables I selected was titled, “Small Agency vs. Large Agency.” Scott Battishill from Curator PR led the discussion and talked about how he started his career in a large agency and now is the CEO of a small firm. He talked about his experiences in both agency settings and he used an interesting analogy to compare both. He explained that big agencies are like big news stations; there are positives to working at one but the small details aren’t noticed as much. When he was in college he chose to intern at a small news station in Yakima instead of a broadcast internship he was offered in Seattle. He was able to report, shoot video and edit material–tasks he wouldn’t have been allowed to do at a large station in Seattle. I have never worked in a big agency, but Scott reminded me of all the opportunities I have here at Frause that I may not have fully appreciated without Scott’s reminder of small versus large agency advantage.  I realized at a larger agency, I might not have had the flexibility to do some of the creative, innovative tasks I get to spearhead at Frause.

Finally after the roundtables, came our final speaker, Bob Frause! Bob gave his famous “How to get a job” speech. His speech was the perfect closing to the event. He provided valuable advice – as I witnessed many of the students furiously writing down every word he said. Attendees must have also found Bob’s speech entertaining based on the sporadic bursts of laughter I heard throughout the room. Overall, the event was a huge success. I learned so many new things and felt extremely proud to be representing the Frause team at such an exceptional event.

One of the main reasons why I thoroughly enjoy the communications industry is that it is comprised of every type of industry based on the clients we advise. For an agency to grow, it must be able to relate to a variety of businesses, consumers and employees. For corporate clients, agencies must interface with designers and other types of artists and contractors when planning events, campaigns and initiatives. And for government clients, agencies must help find ways to connect with what are often diverse constituencies in order to successfully instigate change.  At the heart of these activities are the communication professionals who craft messages, research problems, and advise leaders on the decisions that help an organization carry out its goals through communications.

But let’s dig deeper. How exactly do communications professionals go about interacting with different types of people every day? According to Wikipedia, the celebrated sociologist and author of The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Erving Goffman,(thank you for the suggestion, Nathan) believed:      

“…that when an individual comes in contact with other people, that individual will attempt to control or guide the impression that others might make of him or her by changing or fixing his or her setting, appearance and manner. At the same time, the person the individual is interacting with is trying to form and obtain information about the individual..”

While Goffman first published The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life in 1959, his theories on these types of interactions are significant when you consider the importance of everyday happenings in a communications firm, like making sure your client likes you!

Public Relations practitioners must be able to communicate with government officials, real estate investors, reporters, news anchors, consumers, and a million other industry-relevant professionals. These actions are not insincere, because they are motivated by a desire to better relate to the individuals we work with and ultimately to deliver the best results and strongest communication strategies.

So it’s not just a matter of chewing the fat with our clients or colleagues, it is continuously working towards better understanding the mindset, mannerisms, and psychology of the individuals we interact with. This will help us grow as communication professionals, open us up to different ways of thinking, and ultimately help us appreciate the diversity in our society.

Consider a quote by Maya Angelou, a continuous source of inspiration for me: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”