What do I love most about public relations? People work hard to play hard. PR people are a special breed – including us “agency-folk” working with several clients at once. As Sam Fletcher recently pointed out, PR execs are listed as having the seventh most stressful job out there according to this year’s CareerCast survey. That said, we here at Matter have endeavored to find the balance between work and play, with a special emphasis on social good.

Take, for example, our holiday party this year. Before we departed for a long break, we gathered for a celebration of the great year we had. Because we were fortunate enough to have family and friends join us for a night of food, drink and dance, we wanted to make sure we were still productive with our time – as PR professionals often do. In the fast-changing world of PR, we don’t have a minute to spare so we have to make them all count. With that in mind, we collected Toys for Tots donations at the door and delivered all leftovers from our meal to the Salvation Army for lunch the next day.

I feel grateful to work at a company that has such a strong belief in giving back. Too often do we get sucked into the craziness of work, and forget to come up for air. I hope that 2012 will bring even more charitable activities here at Matter, but in the meantime, these were my favorite highlights of 2011:

Care Packages for Marines: My amazing coworkers put together 11 boxes of goodies for my brother and his platoon who were deployed in Afghanistan.

Jeanne Geiger Walk Against Violence: Matter made a financial donation for this cause and participated in a 5k walk around Newburyport to raise awareness of domestic violence.

What do you do to balance out work? Any cool social-good opportunities you think we should look in to?

To celebrate the fall season, we decided to host a pumpkin carving social. You might think an office pumpkin carving contest would be a time to take it a bit easy, kick back and have fun.  But at Matter Communications, the creativity, hard work and “do it well or don’t do it at all” attitude were brought from the PR business to the carving business (at least for 25 minutes or so).

Enjoy this video tribute to the intrepid souls who made Halloween special in our Newburyport, MA office.  They wore lobster fishing clothes, created balloon shapes, and brought new meaning to the phrase, “carving out quality time.”

All the contestants were talented and deserved applause, and the winner, chosen by an impartial judge, was an extraordinary take on a “Halloween Hamburger.” Here’s a video to give you a glimpse into our recent get together, complete with pumpkin beer, cider donuts and candy corn. Lots and lots of candy corn. Happy Halloween!

Words by Andy Meltzer

Since 2004, Matter has participated in the PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York, a gathering of the Who’s Who in photography.  We’re (exhaustedly) getting back into the office following this year’s fantastic event and I wanted to use this space to express some thanks to the many who made our presence at PPE a major success:

-     Our clients: SIGMA, Unified Color, Spider Holster, ILFORD, Gary Fong, Camera Bits, Datacolor, DxO Labs, Lowepro and Acme Made, and, of course, our booth neighbors at Lexar.  All of these brands came out strong at PhotoPlus and trusted Matter to help make their investments in PPE that much more effective.  Additional thanks to our client, Pinhole Press, who sat this one out but helped provide collateral that was incredibly well received!

-     The media: It never ceases to amaze me how Matter staff and members of the photography trade media interact at this and other events – almost as if we were seeing old friends at a reunion.  The photo community is a very tight group, even as it grows on a yearly basis.  We are honored to consider ourselves a part of this network and it is our relationship with the media that help make that a reality.  We staffed about 125 press meetings at this show and we can’t thank those who took time out to meet with our clients enough.

-     The team at Matter – in no particular order: Zachary Heath, Tobi Young, Greg Wind, Chrissy Kinch, Kristin Amico, Colleen McCarthy, Andrew Rodger, Sheena Guide, Tim Bradley and, of course, the Boss, Scott Signore.  At home in PVD, Theresa Freeman and Julie Sellew did serious grunt work and held down the fort.  Thank you for your incredible and diligent work before, during and after this show, for making a naturally chaotic experience run like clockwork, for trudging through rain, snow and cold and still keeping up your enthusiasm for your work and for sacrificing the treads on your shoes to the Javits Center floor.  You guys are the best.

I will let Tim’s sweet video (that’s only fault is that it contains my visage) give you a sense of what it all looked like, but to all who were there and made this year a rousing success for Matter and our partners, my sincere thanks and see you at the next show!

The Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, the highly-respected (and now nationally-known) Newburyport-based organization that developed a ground-breaking program toward ending domestic violence in local communities, is one of the many local charitable entities supported by Matter. We have contributed to this organization in a number of ways over the past few years and just yesterday more than 30 of us (including friends and some family) participated in its Annual Walk Against Violence.

The work that takes place daily at the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center is nothing shy of tremendous and it puts in perspective so much that we prioritize in our respective days. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the selfless dedicated staff of the JGCC who work so hard to help others, and I am consistently in awe of their commitment to success. Supporting this organization has been a significant source of pride for me.

However, an equally great source of pride continues to be the wonderful, committed and supportive people who work at Matter every day. In addition to being outstanding PR professionals, we have so many “good” people who understand that the success we experience in work is only one piece of a complex puzzle that makes daily life positive. With regularity, Matter employees sacrifice their personal time and energy for the benefit of others. During yesterday’s walk, I was reminded by a friend of how significant it is to have so many employees, friends and family spend a good portion of a beautiful Sunday in October for this cause. While not necessary, it was another nice reminder of how fortunate I am to work side-by-side with such a wonderful team.

A few weeks ago, one of my college professors asked me to speak to a class about my job at Matter and how I got here.  The class, called “How to Sell Yourself in a Tough Economy,” focuses on branding yourself and getting ready for the interview process that follows graduation. I remember how helpful it was to hear from someone other than a professor about what life was like after college, so I immediately wrote back and said I’d be happy to visit.

…and then reality set in.

Me? Speaking to a class? A little over a year ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do, and now I’m supposed to influence young minds about the job search process and life as a PR professional? Oh. My.

However, after all was said and done, I learned a lot about myself and my job. Specifically:

There is no daily routine to PR. A student asked me to describe what I do on a day-to-day basis, but I couldn’t tell them. PR is such a whirlwind, and that’s why I love it. Sure, I could name some of my daily tasks, but that doesn’t accurately paint the picture of what life in PR is like. Schedule? No thanks. I’ll take craziness over routines any day.

I’ve come so far in a year. Explaining to this class how I got here was hilarious, mostly because I couldn’t remember all of my extracurricular activities I did to build out my resume from when I was interviewing. Instead, I talked about how I have awesome clients and get to work with all aspects of their businesses every day. I work with so many people and on so many different projects that I feel I’ve grown more in a year at Matter than I did in four years at college. In the world of social media, I would have to say that I am currently #WINNING (or #failing for my college career, can’t quite decide).

Working in a PR agency is not for the faint-hearted. I saw the students’ eyes widen as I explained my job description and responsibilities – and I’m not going to lie, I felt that way too when I first started. I realized that not everyone can – or would like to – do what I do, and that’s what makes PR folks a special kind of breed.

I’m lucky to have such an awesome job. Matter has the coolest employees and benefits, and I’ve come to lean on my colleagues more like I would with a family. A majority of what I talked about with the class was our fun after-hours events and the vibe of our new office. Side note to all future presenters out there: If you tell the college students that your office has a company-branded kegorator, they will pay attention to what you have to say.

So take it or leave it, folks. Sometimes it takes a blast from the past (or a simple return to your college campus) to remember where you are, how you got there, and look forward to what’s next.

Now that we’ve turned the calendar into the month of October, we also are kicking off the fall season. It’s somewhat bittersweet to open the fall, as it signals the end to summer here in Newburyport, but on the plus side there isn’t much that beats a walk through the town center as the leaves are changing.

But I digress. The opening of the fall, for me, means the chance to renew a part-time job I’ve held on weekends for the last seven years as an Instant Replay Official for the Merrimack College hockey team. In the course of thinking about the obvious differences between my pursuit of PR and my pursuit of video review, I found a series of similarities that found some common ground (let’s call it a neutral zone):

• The key is in the details – Sometimes the most important guidance a client can gain is when you are able to make a recommendation based on the little things. Maybe you tried to fill a speaking role for the client with a customer that made sense geographically, but what about the customer who came to you six months ago in the same region that has some speaking experience on the circuit? In terms of instant replay, nothing ever happens the same way twice. The key is to remember the games you have worked in the past to dictate which events need to be “marked” as replay material, and which cameras capture it best. This means considering details such as what time was left on the clock when it happened, what number was stamped on the “mark” and other important factors.

• Remember where you’ve been to know where you’re going – In the PR world, a long-term memory can be very important. Remember that journalist you spoke to a year ago? It turns out you may need to pitch them again if your client wants to pursue a vertical market you hadn’t considered initially. In the realm of instant replay, it’s important to know which referee crew you’re working with: if Crew 1 called on you four times last game; then you need to “mark” events much more frequently then Crew 2 who only came to you once.

• Say what you mean and mean what you say – Public relations is a very fast-moving industry and by adding extra words or by not making yourself clear the first time, it adds unnecessary cycles to your day. In the instant replay world, fans want the call to be right, and the subsequent time you take to be minimal. This means you need to speak up when you’re on the phone (over the crowd noise) and be direct (make sure you and the referee understand each other).

And most importantly:

• The ability to multitask – The application in PR is evident every single day: prioritizing a to-do list, attending meetings, pitching media and talking to customers. As a replay official, you need to have a keen eye on the action at all times to pinpoint reviewable situations and always be ready in case a goal is scored.  Oh yeah, and don’t forget to sound the goal horn when the team scores!

Next month will mark my fifth Matter-versary. Five years ago I interviewed in our Providence office, a collection of three rooms and a supply closet in a converted mill building on the East Side. That supply closet later became known as “my office.” It’s with great pride that I reflect on how far we have come in a relatively short amount of time.

In five years, we have….

• Moved our Providence office twice to accommodate our growing team and expanded our Newburyport office space at least five times
• Secured client placement on The TODAY Show more than ten times
• Joined Facebook (and I quit MySpace)
• Grown from 15 to 50 professionals
• Retained 98% of our clients
• Celebrated 9 weddings and welcomed 10 babies into the world (plus, there’s one more on the way)
• Helped our clients attract more than one million fans to their varying social networks
• Watched the Red Sox win 1 World’s Series, the Bruins win 1 Stanley Cup, the Celtics win 1 NBA Championship and the Patriots lose 1 Superbowl
• Consumed 3,568 pints of beer, 1,327 bottles of wine and 7,331 slices of pizza*

My mother has worked for the same company for nearly 20 years. Those are the sort of things you just don’t hear anymore. While I’m not so sure I’ll be posting on Matter Chatter 15 years from now, I can say that I will remain connected to my Matter colleagues many years after my last Matter chapter. This is the sort of place and they are the sort of people you want to stay connected to. Under our roofs you’ll find some of the smartest, savviest professionals in the business, but more importantly you’ll find some the coolest, kindest people you’ll ever meet. So as I look back on the last five years at Matter, while I appreciate the paycheck and the experience, it’s the people I’ve met that I’ll cherish the most.

So think back. Where were you five years ago? What have you accomplished? And when you look back many years from now, what will you remember most clearly from this time? Share in the comments!

*I made this up completely

We constantly relate new encounters to past experiences in order to get an understanding of what to expect and how to act. When I started at Matter, I had to use what I learned in the past to help me grow as a PR professional. A comparison that struck me as mildly hilarious was the relationship between PR and high school. While this may sound like completely different topics to some, I found some interesting correlations:

Classes. What we learn in class constitutes what we talk about in our daily lives and impacts how we relate to the world.  At Matter, we often participate in professional development seminars, brainstorming sessions, team internals and client calls. We learn different ways to utilize programs, creatively present ideas and speak to the media, which helps us help our clients.

Studying. In PR, we have to be well-versed in all top publications of our clients’ industries. At Matter, we study publications so that we can understand what reporters and publications are looking for. This in turn sharpens our approach to these media outlets and increases the chance that our pitch will be chosen.

Lunch time gossip. For PR professionals, social media is synonymous with lunch time chatter. We are constantly sharing interesting articles or bits of news, creating excitement about something new and keeping in touch with people we don’t see during the daily grind. Social media provides that platform for people to connect, as you once did during high school lunch time.

Extracurricular activities. In high school, some chose to play sports, while others were involved in the drama club or school band. Some even chose to do it all! At Matter, we choose to do it all. In this agency, we learn to work with a diverse group of clients and take the time to learn everything we can about the different industries. This enables us to become a valuable resource to both our internal teams and clients.

The popularity contest. In high school, it seems like everyone wants to be part of the “in-crowd” and befriend the popular kids. The same concept applies to our clients.  We work to ensure that they are highlighted in the top publications and are positioned as an important and relevant company within their industry. Who wouldn’t want their client to be seen as the equivalent of the “prom queen?”

I hope this not only lets you walk down memory lane, but also sheds some light on how you have taken your learned knowledge and applied it to your PR career. The tools we learn throughout our lives shape how we perform at our jobs. This lifetime attitude of learning is what makes us the best we can be.

Do you ever get to that point where you’ve worked on a project for so long, eyes glazed over, gone through edits and re-edits, and you just need a fresh perspective? I’ve been told many times by managers to just put it away and get back to it later.  In a fast-paced, overloaded world, it’s a hard pill to swallow to understand that sometimes you need to disconnect in order to reconnect.

This is something that applies to work and personal life alike. Let’s face it; working in the PR industry is not a walk in the park. It’s fast paced, demanding, and can definitely be stressful. Not to forget about the exciting, fun, and rewarding aspects, of course.

 Here’s a fun fact for everyone: CNBC named Public Relations Executives the 2^nd “Most Stressful Jobs in America” in 2011 just behind commercial airline pilots.

My point being, we as PR professionals sometimes need to pull away in order to come back and see the big picture. For this exact reason, Matter values the well being (and sanity) of their employees, and has created a sanctuary in the newly-expanded Newburyport office. The recently-renovated kitchen serves as place for Matter employees to gather together for breakfast, lunch, or even a Friday afternoon beverage.

Our new office addition only reinforces the need to, and benefits of, stepping back from the crazy day-to-day that is PR. Take that extra couple of minutes to drink some coffee and read the paper. Sit with some co-workers to talk about trends they’re seeing, or concepts they find interesting. Find a little lunch group that meets for a half hour at lunch (or breakfast, for you early risers). Make sure to laugh every day.

 The point is: TAKE THE BREAK. If no one has ever told you to do this, consider this my gift to you. Take a break, regroup and then go back to being the PR rockstar you are.

I’m a PR newbie.

Well, let me qualify that: I’ve been in the industry just over 4 months now, and it’s amazing how much one can learn about PR in such a short amount of time.

That being said, I walked through the doors of Matter as a clean slate, willing and eager to learn the ropes armed with the skills and experience I had packed along for the ride.

PR lingo? That I had to learn as I went along, as no phrasebook had been tucked into my new hire packet. Vets, you’ll probably get a kick out of the terms I found to be foreign. Future newbies of Matter Communications, allow me to spell out a few things:

OPP: [op] Noun

1. Short for “opportunity” — not just any opportunity, but a coverage opportunity, or strategic outlet that’s been deemed a prime target to convey your client’s key messages.

EOD: [ee-oh-dee] Noun

1. Acronym for “end of day” — a common deadline.

• “I need this by EOD.”

*Note* I believe it was Nick Porter who got to field my awkwardly formal email in response to a deadline he sent me:

Hi Nick,

What does EOD mean?

Thank you,

Talia

PUB: [puhb] Noun

1. Short for “publication” — this could refer to a magazine, newspaper, broadcast media outlet, or blog.

2. A fine malt beverage establishment…at (you guessed it!) EOD, of course.

*Note* Have you seen the new kitchen kegerator?

Hashtag: [hash-tag] Noun

1. The “#” prefix symbol on Twitter — the community-driven tool used for adding additional context and metadata to your tweets. It helps those with shared interests find information on Twitter.

• #PRisforlovers (No? Ok, I’m still learning.)

2. Also known as “the pound sign” on your touchtone key pad

UV: [yoo-vee] Noun

1. Acronym for “unique visitors,” or the number of individual web users to visit a site.

• Put on those shades…as of today, Examiner.com has a UV number of 7 million. That’s hot.

FU: [ef-yoo] Verb

1) An acronym for “follow up” — a means of being thorough, checking in, or being the squeaky wheel to get results.

• “FU with the executive and make sure we have the right contact information.”

*Note* Best if used in combination with other words, as was not done on my first encounter with the term:

One-line email from a Matter colleague: “FU.”

Me: “GASP!#$….Why are they so hostile?!?

PR: [pee-ahr] Noun

1. Acronym for “public relations” — doing anything and everything communications-based to help your clients with whatever they need, whenever they need it.

• May include: anything (that will get them positive results that matter…by EOD)

My colleague Rachel Schlacter & I share the above definition. What is your personal definition of PR?

*Note* My friends and family have a very hard time understanding what I do. Explaining it? #Forgetaboutit.  I guess my colleague Matt Mendo (#2) has had similar experiences.