By Gini Dietrich
A million years ago, Mary Anne Keane and I worked together.
OK. Maybe not a million years ago. Probably closer to 10 years ago.
And we became fast friends. Not only did we gain a mutual respect for one another, we loved working together.
Which is why I’m excited to tell you she joins our team as earned media director.
Woo hoo!
As our earned media director, her job is to coach and mentor the team, build a team to be reckoned with, and get serious results for clients.
So you can get to know her a bit more, I asked her a few questions.
Meet Mary Anne Keane
- You and I worked together a gazillion years ago and had a blast! What has changed in the world of PR since then?
Wow! I’m not sure there is enough space to cover all the changes. The biggest change? Social media!The evolution of social media has brought about a new dimension to PR that has been both challenging and fun. The challenging part was (and sometimes is) getting clients to adapt to this powerful means of communicating their brands. The fun part is all the creative ways you can market clients using social media. I’ve done everything from a $10,000 Facebook sweepstakes to a celebrity Q & A on Reddit. - Recently you worked for a make-up brush company. What are the top three things you loved about doing PR for them?
1: Makeup artists and enthusiasts are SO passionate about makeup and the beauty industry at large. Their passion was infectious and often inspired ideas on ways to create a buzz around our products and brand. 2: The company developed the highest quality beauty brushes and were sought after by celebrity makeup artists (MUAs) around the world, in addition to the MUAs at Dancing With the Stars and the contestants on FaceOff. 3: Being able to leverage those relationships for PR purposes was a blast. - You are a cancer survivor. What has that taught you about love, life, and work?
My mom passed away six years ago from breast cancer and for years I had a very difficult time accepting she was gone. It wasn’t until I had cancer that I strongly felt her presence. It gave me an incredible sense of peace knowing those who love you, and who you love, will always be with you.It also taught me to work to live, rather than living to work. I really love what I do! But there were times I would get caught up in a project, eating dinner at my desk and before I knew it, it was 2 a.m!Now, I make sure there is plenty of time to enjoy the small things in life – watching my children step off the school bus, going for walks at lunch and taking time to just be. - What’s do you want to accomplish in your first 90 days?
Some BIG media hits! Is there anything else? - What excites you most about this crazy community here?
I immediately was drawn to the people. Everyone is really down-to-earth and they all love to laugh. And yet the level of experience and talent among the group is off the charts! I am thrilled to be a part of it.
Where to Find Mary Anne
True to the nature of everyone here, Mary Anne can be found all over the web.
She’s on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.
I hope you’ll join me in giving her a big Spin Sucks welcome (which means Howie Goldfarb will write his fiction comment and everyone will wonder if it’s true).