• Matter Employee Spotlight: Lydia Fakhouri, Vice President

    Matter Employee Spotlight: Lydia Fakhouri, Vice President

    /></p> <p>As Vice President at Matter leading the charge in our Portland, Oregon office, Lydia brings 10+ years of B2B and B2C tech PR experience. Lydia has led every type of campaign – from a strictly byline-driven program for major corporations like Toshiba to interactive marketing campaigns that leverage media relations, social, graphics, video and more.  We recently caught up with Lydia to hear more about her passions, the future of PR, and advice for new PR professionals.</p> <p><b>Name:</b><span style= Lydia Fakhouri

    Title: Vice President

    Years at Matter: 1

    What fuels your passion outside of work?

    It’s a little cheesy, but I suppose it’s the idea that we’re all on this planet for a short amount of time, so you should make it count. I love connecting with others to explore ideas that could change the world – even if they’re far-fetched! – and improve our lives and future generation’s lives. Part of that is knowing how to really soak in a moment, whether that’s opening your door after a long work day to greet your family (furbabies included!), or sitting around a table with friends and a good bottle of wine.


    What is your favorite part of working for a PR agency?

    I love being part of so many journeys. There are millions of incredible companies out there, it’s astounding. And they’re all making a difference in their own way. To be part of that, and specifically, to be part of helping them connect with audiences so they can in turn help MORE companies or people – there’s just no other feeling like it! I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t love the hustle – there’s never a dull moment.


    What do you think PR will look like in 5 years?

    I think it will be even more focused on high-quality content, and influencers will play a much larger direct role in dispersing messages. Of course, there’s a focus on content today, but the mediums that it’s distributed under is siloed. So a brand may have a content strategy for Twitter but it’s inherently different for Snapchat, and that same brand may also rely on press releases – which still provide value, but that’s a topic for another time – but different types of media are interpreting that news in their own way. As an industry, we’re going to figure out how to condense those platforms so that content is consistent across all of these platforms and mediums.


    What is your key piece of advice for those that are new to the business?

    Learn as much as you can about how digital marketing integrates with traditional PR tenants. Your understanding of this will help us ensure that we don’t lose sight of how smart PR can make or break a brand while the world continues to shift its communications patterns. Look for firms that offer digital marketing, or find an in-house role that lets you explore the practice.

    Matter

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  • From Boston to Portland: a PR Brainstorm

    Everyone knows the common saying among creative professionals: “There’s never a dumb idea while brainstorming.”

    Jokes aside, being a member of the Matter Communications team, whether in Portland or Newburyport, we often find ourselves searching for creative ideas among our colleagues, both on and off the account in question, to expand our clients’ reach within their respective industries. Matter has developed such a strong repertoire of clients that teams often overlap when it comes to technologies or media targets.

    Cue the calendar invite for a brainstorm session.

    Sometimes it takes a conversation with a person or group not on the account to be a catalyst in a new, innovative communications tactic. A fresh pair of eyes and/or ears can make a world of difference in a short 20-minute brainstorm session. There is no shortage of smart PR professionals at Matter, which makes for productive, sometimes ground-breaking brainstorming sessions, whether on the couch or over the conference line 3000 miles away.

    If you’re feeling like all of your ideas have been exhausted, it will never hurt to get 4-5 people together just to talk. Since this should be an educational post, I’ve developed a few simple checkpoints the brainstorm leader can use to make a session productive and efficient!

    • Provide a brief explanation of the client’s offering to start the conversation and ignite a firestorm of creative thinking.
    • Ask if any of the brainstormers have a relationship with a publication or editor that can be utilized for an opportunity. Don’t expect an immediate introduction, but learn what can be done to seize the potential opportunity.
    • Has anyone noticed any current events or relevant news stories that can be related to the client’s story or offering?
    • Build upon others’ ideas – don’t just write them down to let them die

    While you should come out of a brainstorm with an entirely new set of provocative, exciting and news-worthy ideas, you may even discover a completely new understanding or appreciation of exactly how cool your clients really are!

    Matter

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