Operative word is had.
I made a conscious decision to focus on blogging, my social media consulting agency, the annual Lifestyle Bloggers Conference and my continuing education, and leave behind a career that I loved.
Operative word is loved.
As much as I loved the PR industry, enjoyed my staff and clients, I came to loose the passion for the industry that was changing before my very eyes. I have already written about my PR doubts extensively, but very few venting blog posts exist any more. I deleted many of them, as to not burn my bridges, but you can read a few like this one, and this one.
Let's get a few things out of the way, I started my career in PR when you were trained to wear event black and you were at an event to work. WORK. Socializing was limited to interaction with reporters and the client. You were not at an event to chat-up a storm, eat or God forbid, drink.
You were there, I was there, to make sure my client looked good and that all the guests had a great time from the moment they checked-in with either myself or my staff, to the moment they left. Since I started my career well before social media, my biggest concern at the time, was that guests would either call my boss or client with a complaint or issue. But today? Well, with everyone taking a "shot" as soon as they check-in on Foursquare, there's a bigger fear that anything can be, or will be, blasted on social media.
This is more the reason to be on-point when you manage events:
I expect publicists to be professional and an extension of the client they are representing. Distinguishable by their event black or other professional attire.
I expect publicists to be working a room and standing by their client making sure that she, or he, meets every guest in the room.
I expect a publicist to handle their client and extinguish any fires before they happen.
Most importantly, I expect that a publicist is on. All. The. Time.
In other words, I expect a publicist today, to do what I did for the last 15 years: be professional as they do their job.What I experienced today, more so than at any other event, was a group of Diva Publicists. The ready-to-club ladies were more concerned with taking their own selfies than making sure that we, the guests, were treated to the experience we were promised.
From the moment the door of the restaurant was closed in front of my colleague and myself, to the highlighter that was used to "cross" our hand for the "one drink we would receive if we took and tagged an Instagram photo," today's event was nothing short of cheesy and unprofessional.
The lackluster food and mismatched guest list only added to the long list of tonight's disappointment. THIS was the confirmation I needed to lock with a golden seal the long, and successful, PR career I had - and I can't be happier to have left behind an industry before it evolved into tonights comedy of errors.