The Mavericks of
MarComm
A Quashspeak Series
8 Questions for
Sheri Singer
President and CEO,
Singer Communications
WHAT DROVE YOU TO THIS INDUSTRY?
I first started in broadcast journalism as an on-air
producer in Baltimore and with WFMD
in Frederick, Maryland. One day I found myself covering the crowning of the Maryland
Dairy Queen and sticking a mic in the face of a 16-year-old and I realized I’m
not doing this anymore. A friend of mine connected me to ASAE and I ended up with my
first association job, as the assistant editor for three newsletters and our
72-page color magazine. One day, I suggested we might want to do some public relations
around our annual meeting and I was told to pursue it. It turned out that I was
able to get the press—including CNN and the Atlanta Constitution—to come to our event.
WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT MARKETING / COMMUNICATIONS [MARCOMM] TODAY?
No two days are alike. You have to juggle many balls and you
remain busy all day. I am very passionate about what I do and the best client
is not one that tells you what to do and where to go, but one that is eager and
ready to take that journey with you.
WHAT TRENDS DO YOU SEE?
I see two parallel tracks – the “old” and the “new” kind of
interaction. The “old” is a return to the basics. We’re tweeting now, but what
are we really saying? It all goes back to writing, messaging and building your
brand. Briefly, we had forgotten that, but ironically we’re now remembering to turn back to these
basics. Today, we are also becoming more visual. With video and infographics, for
example, a picture is worth a thousand words.
WHAT BRANDS ARE DOING IT RIGHT?
In the association community, I’d say ALS, with the Ice Bucket Challenge. I wish I would’ve thought of that. Though they didn’t really
start it, through a series of events, they became the beneficiary of the
campaign. On the corporate side, I like Amazon and Google. They do some things
right and others are complete misses. That’s what makes great companies – you own
and learn from your mistakes. You’re not fully living if you don’t take risks.
ONE THING THAT PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?
ONE THING THAT PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?
I’ve been in about 50 plays. I’m trained as an actress and as
a singer and I use those skills when I present.
WHAT ELECTRONIC DEVICES DO YOU PREFER?
I like my iPhone, my computer and my Kindle, but I love
Google Search. I look up everything that I don’t know with hope that one day I
will know everything. I’m still a work in progress.
WHAT MIGHT BE THE PR STORY OF THE YEAR?
It’s a toss up. The mid-term elections shockingly captured the mood of the country. I think there are two messages here. One, is the ‘we’re not going to take it anymore’ thought. [The governor's race in Maryland] so significantly shows how the country feels about Obama and race in general. The issue in Ferguson is unbelievably sad. It demonstrates how far we only think we’ve become when we look at race in this country. But from my own perspective, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is the PR story of the year. It showed how people leveraged social media in a tremendous way, with huge impact, unlike anything we had really seen before.
It’s a toss up. The mid-term elections shockingly captured the mood of the country. I think there are two messages here. One, is the ‘we’re not going to take it anymore’ thought. [The governor's race in Maryland] so significantly shows how the country feels about Obama and race in general. The issue in Ferguson is unbelievably sad. It demonstrates how far we only think we’ve become when we look at race in this country. But from my own perspective, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is the PR story of the year. It showed how people leveraged social media in a tremendous way, with huge impact, unlike anything we had really seen before.
YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY, TO DATE, IN 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS:
Leader, entrepreneur, creative,
deep thinker, dynamic, engaging, fun, beach lover, Pilates enthusiast, good
friend, giver, compassionate.
© 2014. Tom Quash
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