Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Standing Out in a Crowded Market: Matt Kovacs Shares Blaze PR's Unique Approach | Restaurants & Franchises Series

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Standing Out in a Crowded Market: Matt Kovacs Shares Blaze PR's Unique Approach | Restaurants & Franchises Series · The Inspired Stories Podcast

• 0:04
  Welcome to another edition of Inspired Stories, where leaders
• 0:07
  share their experiences so we can learn from their successes,
• 0:10
  how they've overcome adversity, and explore current challenges
• 0:13
  they're facing. Welcome to another edition of
• 0:18
  the Inspired Stories podcast. Where?
• 0:20
  Leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their
• 0:23
  successes and be inspired by how they've overcome adversity.
• 0:26
  My name is Anthony Codispoti, and today's guest is Matt
• 0:29
  Kovacs, president of Blaze PR. They are a boutique agency that
• 0:34
  partners with lifestyle brands who want to cut through the
• 0:36
  noise and take a bigger bite out of the market.
• 0:39
  They work with their clients to reveal the brand's relevant
• 0:41
  story and then work with their media connections and key
• 0:44
  influencers to communicate that message to the right audiences.
• 0:48
  Their commitment to data analytics allows them to make
• 0:50
  quick, informed decisions on behalf of their clients.
• 0:53
  Blaze has a particular strength in the quick service restaurant
• 0:56
  space, which we'll hear more about.
• 0:58
  They've received multiple awards demonstrate their leadership in
• 1:01
  consumer PR, including PR Week, LA Business Journal and Inc Best
• 1:06
  Places to Work. Matt was also named PR Executive
• 1:09
  of the Year at the 2015 PR World Awards.
• 1:13
  And before we get into all that good stuff, today's episode is
• 1:16
  brought to you by my company, Add Back Benefits Agency, where
• 1:20
  we offer very specific and unique employee benefits that
• 1:23
  are both great for your team and fiscally optimized for your
• 1:25
  bottom line. One recent client was able to
• 1:28
  add over $900 per employee per year to their bottom line by
• 1:31
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  qualifies, contact us today at Add Back benefitsagency.com.
• 1:43
  Now back to our guest today, Matt, President of Blaze PR.
• 1:47
  Thanks for making the time to Share your story today.
• 1:50
  Hey thanks for having me this will be fun.
• 1:52
  Yeah. So, Matt, in your own words,
• 1:54
  tell us what makes Blaze PR special.
• 1:55
  Lots of PR companies out there. What are you guys doing
• 1:58
  differently? Yeah, you know, I think what's
• 2:00
  interesting and and we did this exercise with our clients and
• 2:02
  said, you know, hey, you know us, you love us.
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  Tell us why give us that sort of word cloud and, and I think a
• 2:07
  lot of these things really shine through.
• 2:10
  I think, you know, number one, they all said you're obsessed
• 2:12
  with us. You know, you live and breathe
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  our brands. You know, you're, you go to the
• 2:15
  stores, you, you know, make sure that you see, you know, you're,
• 2:17
  you're fixing the shelves with our brands.
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  You go to the restaurants, you go to the, you know, the, the
• 2:22
  applications, the retailers, you want to make sure you know
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  what's going on out there in the real world for us.
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  I think the other thing is that we listen.
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  There's so many agencies that don't listen.
• 2:31
  They just, they, they have their playbook and they do it and they
• 2:34
  keep going and, and it's, it's not a two way communication.
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  We're very much, I think really participatory in this.
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  And we want to make sure that we're educating the brands as
• 2:43
  well. And the last thing is that that
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  these days, especially, it's the data part, it's the analytics.
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  We want to make sure that you know, our, our day-to-day
• 2:51
  contacts that they can take back the phone book size, you know,
• 2:54
  clip book, but also all the numbers to say, look what Blaze
• 2:57
  and us are doing together. They really can help drive
• 3:00
  impressions and numbers and in ways that they understand that,
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  you know, that yes, PR can be that sort of Gray science of, of
• 3:06
  elements, but it's a way that they feel confident that the
• 3:09
  activities are happening because, you know, it's you can
• 3:12
  do a lot of results and if the OR do a lot of activities, but
• 3:15
  if the results aren't happening, there's a different, you know,
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  take from that. And I think we try and
• 3:19
  understand that and really work closely with the brands that
• 3:22
  that really, you know, separates us from others.
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  So I'm glad you mentioned that because that that's a question I
• 3:26
  wanted to ask. You know, PR traditionally is
• 3:29
  this area it's it's kind of hard to measure the, the ROI measure,
• 3:33
  you know, the results. So how do you guys, what's your
• 3:36
  approach to that? You know, I get asked this
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  probably every day, but in a good way because I think that,
• 3:41
  you know, people really appreciate that.
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  And, and I think there's a couple different paths.
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  I think #1 is when we start with brands and even annually with
• 3:48
  clients, we'll look at it and say, let's put some KPIs out
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  there. Let's say what are our goals?
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  What are we trying to achieve? You know, is it a, a sales
• 3:55
  driver? Is it about investment?
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  Is it about, you know, having the, the brand acquired?
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  What are we looking for? And, and we have a number of,
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  you know, case studies and storylines of clients that were
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  acquired in, in the PR program was part of that lift.
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  So I, I think that's a big part of what we look at.
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  You know, we're fortunate these days that we subscribe to a
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  number of the different, you know, services online that can
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  really track traffic as well as clicks and read throughs of, of
• 4:18
  these articles. And I think also you look at it
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  from analytics that can give you some of the aspects of, OK, are
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  we being heard? Is the voice changing?
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  Are we seeing, you know, the tides moving that way?
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  So I think we really try and say, OK, here's how we can
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  measure it. We set our goals, we do the our
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  monthly reports. You have your impressions as
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  coverage comes in. We really share that.
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  We also came up with a, a system, You know, we live in a
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  five star society. You know, the movie was a four,
• 4:43
  it's a three. Everyone heard of that.
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  You look at Yelp or whatever. So we put together in those
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  initial discussions, if you wanted to have the, the most
• 4:51
  perfect placement in the world, that would be a 5.
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  What are those five things you want in there?
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  You know, is it a, a picture? Is it a website, a call to
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  action? Is it your tagline?
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  Whatever those five things are. So we evaluate those as
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  placements come in real time. And, and the goal is that within
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  that vernacular that people understand it, that, oh, if we
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  say, hey, this was a. Three piece of coverage.
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  It was a three. Pretty much, you know, people
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  internally would say, OK, it had, you know, it had most of
• 5:13
  our things we were looking for. The goal obviously is to get
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  more 4 and fives, but it's a way that we look at it and it's part
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  of that discussion of understanding that aspect that
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  they can say that we're starting to have.
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  You know, if we start out, you know, those elements aren't
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  working. So I think that's one level.
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  The second thing we do is when we start a campaign as a media
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  perception on it, as the brands are living in the bubble and
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  they think, you know, they know what the consumer knows and they
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  know, you know what their brands trying to do.
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  We take that time out. We steal from our parent company
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  that does a lot more public affairs aspects and we do these
• 5:43
  focused interviews and we'll put a series of questions together.
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  The brands approve and we go and then we actually flip the script
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  and we interview media and we we compensate them for their time.
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  We respect and honor that. You know, we don't want them to
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  feel like we're just getting, you know, information for free.
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  And we say, OK, here's those questions.
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  Many of them, you know, we'll go on the phone or we'll do a zoom.
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  Some of them like, hey, I'm busy.
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  Just e-mail me and I'll, I'll shoot you back the answers.
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  But it's a way for us to get data on this campaign before we
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  even start it. And so we're able to then garner
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  all the information. We put all the verbatims
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  together, We have an an analysis of what's going on and we
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  present that to the brand. So you're saying, OK, here's you
• 6:19
  may think the media thinks this of you or you're, you know, the
• 6:21
  end, the gatekeepers. But here's what's really out
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  there. And here's some ideas that we
• 6:26
  need to do to get to where you think you are.
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  And I think that's, you know, when you look back to the point
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  of PR, we're not as data heavy as other, you know, advertising
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  or other, you know, disciplines where you can measure and track.
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  But it's a way that we're trying to put some of those benchmarks
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  in place. But.
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  Then we can say, OK, we've we've moved the needle.
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  We've done this, you know, we were able to attribute those
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  back to the campaign itself. And it's really interesting
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  because many times you know, we'll we'll get a call or we'll
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  get hired. You know, the CEO of someone
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  told us we need APR agency. And then it's like that's where
• 6:53
  they stopped. So we have to really finish that
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  and help them, you know, go through that goal and and the
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  data really helps and they're able to attribute it and give
• 7:00
  that some of the lift, you know, internally that's.
• 7:03
  Really interesting. I hadn't thought about that, but
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  it makes a lot of sense that you want to sort of lay the
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  groundwork for what is the status quo?
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  Where are we now? How do people perceive you?
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  Have they ever heard of you? If they do, what's, what's their
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  impression of you? So we know this is our starting
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  point, and here's where we have to kind of bend the conversation
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  to. In many ways it's also the
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  potential, where could it go? Where does media think it, it
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  should be or could be? And we try and ask holistic
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  questions about, OK, talk about the category itself, you know,
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  because they're the ones getting pitched and, you know, spammed
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  and all those things within the category.
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  So they're hearing and, and understanding different things.
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  So it's a good way to get that information from them before we
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  start becoming part of that issue.
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  Actually, it brings up another good question is, you know, I'm
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  kind of curious, how do you cut through the noise, right?
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  I mean, lots of PR companies out there, lots of people trying to
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  do PR on their own. They subscribe to this list or
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  that, you know, they scraped an e-mail list of bombarding people
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  on LinkedIn. Like, you know, why is, why is,
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  you know, somebody in the press that you want to have cover one
• 8:01
  of your clients? Why?
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  Why are they looking at what you send them?
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  I think there's a couple of things.
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  One is in in many ways we take a an old school approach.
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  We also take, you know, from a East Coast approach, if you
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  will, being maybe a little more aggressive.
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  I think I, I look at it as a it's about relationships.
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  So we really start and I try and, you know, again, train,
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  educate, mentor about understanding the media that
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  you're talking to. So the really, you know, if I'm
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  going to e-mail you and pitch you from plan XI want to know,
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  obviously I need to know what's your beat?
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  What do you cover? What are the last couple
• 8:30
  articles you've written so I can have a better conversation?
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  Say, Anthony, I love what you wrote about, you know, this and
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  this is where I think there's a connection with this brand.
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  You know, I want to make it relevant for you so it doesn't
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  feel like I'm just spamming you that, you know, on Monday you
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  got an e-mail from Blaze that said, hey, we have a new
• 8:44
  restaurant opening up on Tuesday.
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  You got, hey, we have a new, you know, beverage coming and you're
• 8:48
  like, wait, you don't even know what I do And how's it relevant
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  to Columbus? OH, you know, so you have to
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  have all those aspects. That's one layer.
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  We also dig deeper and it's like, I want to know more about
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  you. What's your birthday?
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  What's your anniversary? Do you have any kids?
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  All those things that are relevant as well because it's
• 9:02
  about relationships. You know, there's trade shows we
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  go to, hey, I'm going to meet up with you and catch up.
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  There's ways that I think in many ways, you know, PR can be
• 9:10
  very transactional. I sent you the release, you
• 9:12
  wrote about it. Great.
• 9:13
  Do I ever come back to you? Do I ever talk to you?
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  There's times that, you know, we just want to make that
• 9:17
  connection because that's going to help obviously in the long
• 9:19
  run. On the flip side, you're going
• 9:21
  to come to me and say, hey, I saw that your brand, you know,
• 9:24
  something happened here or they close the location.
• 9:27
  Can you tell me more? I can't say no, you know, hey,
• 9:29
  no, I can't talk to you. I only want to talk to you when
• 9:31
  it's good stuff. Do that.
• 9:33
  Back and forth and that we can have that relationship where,
• 9:36
  you know, you understand where I'm coming from, you know, vice
• 9:38
  versa. So I think that's where we've
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  learned and we've seen that a lot of the yeah, when we come in
• 9:44
  and maybe take over an account that someone else had, they
• 9:47
  don't they never had that relationship with their brands.
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  We try. And really do that.
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  I think the other thing is, yes, the world's much more digital
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  now and zooms and and all that stuff, but.
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  When when we can, I think getting in front of people,
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  spending that time, if it's a lunch, if it's, you know, happy
• 10:01
  hour, coffee, whatever, having that personal connection I think
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  is super important as well. And I think the other thing
• 10:05
  obviously is the results. It can't be, you know, yes, you
• 10:08
  can love us and we can be the nicest people, but if there's no
• 10:10
  results, and I think that's something we take from and
• 10:13
  that's more of that East Coast mentality, it's OK.
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  We. Got you this article.
• 10:17
  And I know they're thinking it, but what's next?
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  And I think that's how we try and drive the teams and
• 10:21
  internally how we do it. Not to the point where it's, you
• 10:23
  know, everyone's, you know, waking up at the gun to their
• 10:25
  head, but it's more about, OK, what can we do?
• 10:27
  How can we keep this momentum going and what are some
• 10:29
  interesting aspects? And obviously, you know, PR can,
• 10:32
  there's so many fun layers to it, especially when we work in
• 10:34
  food and beverage and, and that type of things.
• 10:36
  There's all those different national food holidays.
• 10:39
  There's obviously different elements going on.
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  So you can make things interesting in a way that's
• 10:43
  relevant. And then we always try and dig
• 10:45
  deeper in all the different stories.
• 10:46
  So obviously the the CEO, the executives, their, you know,
• 10:49
  their college, you know, alumni magazines, whatever it is, or
• 10:52
  you can go in so many different paths with PR And I think that's
• 10:55
  where they look at it at least existing brands to that point
• 10:59
  why they want to work with Blaze.
• 11:01
  Tell me about how you got started with Blaze, Matt.
• 11:03
  How long you been there? Yeah, so I've been here 12
• 11:06
  years, you know, I've done, my background has been, you know,
• 11:09
  marketing and PR my whole career.
• 11:11
  And you know, I was brought on back about 12 years now.
• 11:14
  So you know it, it was interesting when I came on board
• 11:17
  the the. Challenge if you.
• 11:18
  Will of, of looking at this was coming to a boutique firm.
• 11:22
  It had been around since 1990. So it had some legs to it and,
• 11:25
  and some notoriety, but it was still very much thought of a
• 11:27
  regional or even hyper local player.
• 11:29
  It did like the law office down the street.
• 11:31
  It did like the one restaurant that would open on the corner,
• 11:34
  bigger brands would come in and say, Hey, we're doing an opening
• 11:36
  in your neighborhood. Can you, you know, do the PR
• 11:38
  around it for that? And my background was much more
• 11:40
  of national brands and, and brands of larger scope to drive
• 11:43
  a bigger story and, and to drive, you know, that larger
• 11:47
  narrative and storytelling. So that was how we looked at and
• 11:49
  approached and so was able to come through and get, you know,
• 11:52
  you know, look at the the clients we didn't really want
• 11:54
  anymore bring in the the more interesting bigger clients.
• 11:58
  Also you look at the team, you know, is it the right team that
• 12:00
  we need? You know, is it people that can
• 12:01
  think in that way? Are they much more focused and
• 12:04
  they've been there in a way that they were only worried about.
• 12:06
  Again, those five reporters I know that are based in, you
• 12:09
  know, Burbank, but I only need to worry about this.
• 12:11
  I don't need to go outside of those, you know, for a while.
• 12:13
  So it was really the bigger thinking and I think also the
• 12:16
  approach of people that are going to think broader and also
• 12:20
  beyond just what, you know, the client asks or even, hey, yes,
• 12:23
  it may be a AQSR chain, but there's business stories,
• 12:27
  there's personal stories, there's growth stories, there's
• 12:29
  ways to think of it in that, that way.
• 12:31
  So that was a big part of it. And, and as we've gone through
• 12:34
  now it's, it's, it's 12 years, you know, I, I think we're
• 12:37
  fortunate in, in having gone through the pandemic, obviously
• 12:40
  is, you know, we win a lot of those best places to work.
• 12:42
  And culturally, I think that's really important when you look
• 12:44
  at where we've come is to really have that aspect where it's
• 12:47
  that, you know, a big credo as there's no drama.
• 12:51
  You know, we have the, as the Steelers would say, the standard
• 12:53
  is the standard. Here's what we can do to.
• 12:55
  You had to throw that out to a Browns fan, didn't you?
• 12:58
  You. Just had to do it.
• 12:59
  I had to, yes, but. I think that's interesting.
• 13:02
  And, and we've had that same core group for a while and, and
• 13:04
  clients see that and especially new people when they come on a
• 13:06
  Zoom with us might be three or four of us, but we all know each
• 13:09
  other's strengths and who's going to speak to one part and,
• 13:11
  and who's, you know, going to make fun of the other one or
• 13:13
  whatever it is. But it looks like we're part of
• 13:15
  that work family, if you will. And I think that's where the,
• 13:18
  the cultural part really is interesting.
• 13:21
  And I think as you know, as obviously as we hire new people,
• 13:23
  that's what they're really drawn to is the fact that we have that
• 13:25
  type of relationship and, and we're set up really hybrid now,
• 13:28
  you know, we're in the office a couple times a week and we have,
• 13:31
  you know, much more of the, that work life balance, if you will.
• 13:34
  But I think clients are the same way.
• 13:35
  You know, there's some clients, I have a client Toronto that
• 13:37
  said I might never see you in person again.
• 13:39
  I love doing the, you know, I, I, the flights were always a
• 13:43
  pain in the ass. And this is much more easier
• 13:44
  with the zooms And we can have two or three calls a week like
• 13:47
  this and we can go through the campaigns versus feeling like
• 13:50
  you have to spend that, you know, the, the trudge of, you
• 13:53
  know, going all the way there, working through stuff and then
• 13:55
  you leave and you forget what, you know, some of the stuff.
• 13:57
  So I, I think it's been an interesting approach and I think
• 14:00
  we look at it as, you know, continuing that growth, you
• 14:03
  know, pattern and, and again, we have two offices in Santa Monica
• 14:06
  and Santa Barbara. So beyond the hybrid culture
• 14:08
  building, you have the two office building.
• 14:10
  So we do Santa Barbara has their Fiesta, which is every August is
• 14:14
  their big celebration. So we get all the employees
• 14:17
  together and we do a whole celebration there.
• 14:20
  And then we obviously have our, you know, holiday parties and
• 14:22
  other types of things that we do.
• 14:23
  So it's, it's a fun group and I think, you know, we've put a
• 14:26
  nice, you know, team together. So I want to go back several
• 14:29
  years when you first came into Blaze 'cause it sounds like you
• 14:33
  have a lot of work cut out for you, right?
• 14:36
  Like you kind of retooled the client base.
• 14:38
  And we're going to talk more about some of your clients now
• 14:41
  'cause they're, you know, big either regional or, or, or
• 14:43
  nationwide brands that people would recognize.
• 14:46
  It sounds like you probably had to do some retooling on the
• 14:48
  staff side too. I mean, those, those are two,
• 14:51
  you know, those are the, the two big parts of the business that
• 14:54
  you came in and completely sounds like reinvent it.
• 14:57
  But it it had to have been kind of a, a, a choppy transition
• 15:00
  initially, I would imagine. It's it.
• 15:02
  Yeah. I think you know when you.
• 15:04
  Know. My previous, you know, life,
• 15:06
  the, you know, clients in in the work with the one credo was
• 15:09
  always, you know, life's too short for shitty clients.
• 15:11
  And I came in and one of the first calls I had with a client,
• 15:14
  the guy was swearing like crazy at us.
• 15:16
  Like you guys, you know, F this and you F that.
• 15:18
  And it was and I said, hey, time out.
• 15:20
  I know I'm the new guy, but I don't understand, you know,
• 15:22
  where's this vitriol coming from?
• 15:24
  And what's, you know, what did we do something wrong?
• 15:26
  Is there something in our scope that we're not doing?
• 15:28
  Is there something, you know, expectation wise?
• 15:30
  And he wasn't able to articulate it.
• 15:32
  It was probably just the way he managed people and groups and
• 15:35
  and everything like that. And so I was like, I don't
• 15:38
  think, you know, we stopped the call.
• 15:39
  I said, this isn't the type of call we need to have.
• 15:41
  And then it was that discussion of, you know, hey, I don't
• 15:43
  think. We're the right, you know,
• 15:44
  agency for you then, because we're doing what you asked and
• 15:47
  and you may want something different or more, but it's just
• 15:49
  not the right fit. So there were those sets of
• 15:51
  discussions and those are tough because that's revenue that
• 15:53
  you're turning down, but it also you need to, I need, you know,
• 15:56
  you have to win the. The team has to know that you're
• 16:00
  you're supporting them and and that they don't have that type
• 16:02
  of relationship with a client. And then also, I think the then
• 16:06
  going, you know, you go client by client, you go team member by
• 16:09
  team member to understand what are their goals, what do, what
• 16:11
  do they want to do? What are they trying to achieve?
• 16:14
  And also who's performing? Who is sort?
• 16:15
  Of coasting by, you know, there, there were groups that had been
• 16:17
  the company for, you know, 10-15 years that that was just that
• 16:22
  where we were going just really wasn't for them.
• 16:24
  So it was really working with them to make sure, hey, you
• 16:26
  know, probably not going to work out let's you know, help, you
• 16:28
  know, sort of look for new opportunities for you in that
• 16:31
  regard. So with those types of
• 16:32
  discussions. While you're still trying to you
• 16:34
  know, we. Changed our website, you know,
• 16:35
  you changed all your collateral, your marketing, the way you go
• 16:38
  through that perspective and then I think also the.
• 16:41
  Paradigm shift of having more centralized client relations.
• 16:45
  There are a lot of just sort of disparate, just different groups
• 16:48
  that are talking to clients and you might have one client that
• 16:51
  in the same agency there were three different calls going on.
• 16:53
  With. That again, we're, we're all
• 16:55
  billable hours. So those things didn't make
• 16:56
  sense either. So it's really looking at how
• 16:58
  can we be more efficient because then the clients dime, they want
• 17:01
  us to be as efficient as we can to make sure that we're
• 17:03
  performing. And also we need to have the,
• 17:06
  the investment of time needs to make money.
• 17:07
  So there were those types of things that carried through.
• 17:10
  And I think the as we tighten those things up, the
• 17:13
  presentations and the external, you know, performance to
• 17:16
  prospective clients came. Across I think in a in a better
• 17:19
  way as well. So you saw that sort of happen?
• 17:22
  As one you know, whatever door closed, the windows would open.
• 17:25
  All these things happened at the same time.
• 17:27
  But I, I think it was an important step and you know, we
• 17:29
  still stay in touch. I know my Santa Barbara office
• 17:32
  with the number of the previous employees and previous.
• 17:36
  You know clients. Too, I think they've seen as
• 17:38
  we've grown and. And have been watching the
• 17:41
  outside so it's an interesting approach.
• 17:43
  You. Told me before we started just
• 17:46
  off air the exact words you use, but you're you're kind of a
• 17:49
  collection of PR nerds or PR geeks are are there sort of like
• 17:54
  individual like silos where you know, this guy is really great
• 17:57
  at, you know, influencer marketing this this woman's
• 17:59
  really great at, you know, traditional media contacts or
• 18:03
  are you guys kind of like broken up like that?
• 18:05
  Or are you more generalists? You know, I, I think it's, I'll
• 18:09
  say everyone has that, I'd say a percentage of their time or
• 18:12
  their emphasis. But really across the board, we,
• 18:14
  we've become much more of that team approach.
• 18:17
  So we're all pitching, we're all involved in, in those aspects.
• 18:20
  Yes. Are some people better at, you
• 18:21
  know, the PR stunt ideas? Some people are better at just
• 18:24
  that, you know, drafting that perfect pitch to someone.
• 18:27
  But I think what we've done is by, you know, centralizing that
• 18:29
  it's become much more aligned with the, the brand goals.
• 18:34
  So we can have a variety of clients.
• 18:35
  We have a lithium mining company, we have a number of
• 18:37
  beverages, we have retailers. But again, if you have the PR1O1
• 18:41
  basics and you know, understand that, then we can, you know, tap
• 18:44
  into people's different strengths.
• 18:46
  And I think that's where it's looked at from a team approach.
• 18:48
  And not every team member is on every account.
• 18:51
  Obviously there's different size and scopes, but we look at in
• 18:54
  that regard of, of what's going to be the best for each brand.
• 18:57
  And some people are brought in for different aspects.
• 18:59
  If, if we have an event going on, there's more of an event
• 19:01
  team that that has that experience and, and can do that
• 19:04
  and have those relationships. We look at it in that regard.
• 19:06
  And also I think that's was part of that evolution so that there
• 19:10
  was much more of that generalist approach.
• 19:12
  So a client wasn't confused when they would call and like hey, I
• 19:15
  get a hold of of you, but you don't know what I you know this
• 19:18
  other call was about or what's going on with the account.
• 19:20
  By having that team approach and those types of singular focus
• 19:25
  and shared drives and shared info, you were able to have a
• 19:28
  deeper understanding of what the scope was and the expectations.
• 19:31
  It's made it better for everyone.
• 19:33
  So you guys won Inc Best Places to Work awards multiple times.
• 19:38
  You kind of touched on some of the things that you're doing
• 19:41
  that would, you know, sort of contribute to that.
• 19:44
  You know, you mentioned some of the the parties and the social
• 19:46
  activities that you do the, you know, work life balance, work
• 19:48
  from home, you know, showing the employees you've got their back,
• 19:52
  firing a client who was belligerent.
• 19:54
  What are some of the things that we haven't already touched on
• 19:56
  that you guys are doing really well?
• 19:58
  I think the one thing that has really worked well and, and part
• 20:01
  of it is the onboarding, but then that carries through the
• 20:03
  culture is when people come on board and it's something we
• 20:06
  implemented probably probably about eight or nine years ago.
• 20:09
  Now is really the aspect of when someone starts, you know,
• 20:13
  obviously your, you have your first day onboarding and all
• 20:15
  that stuff. But then we do, we have a one
• 20:17
  week check in, two weeks, 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, 90 days,
• 20:21
  120 days. So you're giving the the hand
• 20:24
  holding of of a new employee a new, you know, associate.
• 20:27
  But it's also, it's not about like, hey, let's go through all
• 20:29
  your account work. It's not like a review.
• 20:31
  It's more about that how's. It going, is there anything we
• 20:34
  can do? You know, is this working?
• 20:35
  You know, how are things working?
• 20:36
  What do you need? You know, is your, you know,
• 20:38
  when you're in the office, it's much more of like a hotel now
• 20:40
  where you, whatever desks you get to, you work out of for the
• 20:43
  day. And it's not like you have an
• 20:44
  assigned seat. But it's really getting people
• 20:46
  to understand their place within the, in the company and also
• 20:50
  trying to make sure that they have relationships beyond just,
• 20:52
  you know, their pay to pay supervisor or their account
• 20:55
  teams that they're on. It's more about bringing that to
• 20:58
  life. And I think that's helped in the
• 20:59
  culture overall because you're getting deeper mentoring and
• 21:03
  deeper relationships as you start and it doesn't feel forced
• 21:06
  or it doesn't feel like there's an issue or problem.
• 21:09
  You've built that type of relationship.
• 21:11
  And again, 3-4 months time versus some, you know, times
• 21:14
  that you may only talk to, you know, your supervisor at that
• 21:17
  level, maybe for your review or your biannual review or
• 21:20
  something. But this was really to
• 21:21
  understand what people thought. And I think that's been a big
• 21:23
  factor in in in helping us at the global war.
• 21:26
  Are there particular industries that you guys are stronger in?
• 21:31
  I think you know, we're, we're known on one level in the
• 21:33
  beverage category, we have like about 15 or 20 beverage clients,
• 21:37
  which is great. That was my background.
• 21:39
  So you know, we really understand that not only the
• 21:41
  category, the customer, the retailers, the buyer, like all
• 21:43
  that sort of nuance is there. And I'd say, you know, the
• 21:46
  history and heritage ablaze and we've carried that through is
• 21:49
  really in the hospitality restaurants and really QSR these
• 21:53
  days and fast casual. So those if you look at the two
• 21:55
  buckets, it's going to be the beverage and the QSR.
• 21:58
  Who are some of the beverage clients that you can mention?
• 22:02
  Yeah, I think, you know, it's interesting the and and it goes
• 22:04
  from all the different sort of layers.
• 22:05
  So pickle juice is a a fun client.
• 22:08
  They are the little electrolyte shots that you know, they're
• 22:11
  anti cramping. So yes, obviously from a
• 22:13
  athletic and fitness standpoint is a big part of this ultra
• 22:16
  marathoners etcetera. But as you know, the the climate
• 22:19
  is changing and all the massive heat, you're seeing it much more
• 22:22
  in the construction industry. You're seeing it for obviously
• 22:25
  you know the the elderly as they get cramps in in general, if you
• 22:29
  have a Charlie horse in the middle of the night, it's this,
• 22:32
  you know, really the the formula and it is scientifically proven
• 22:35
  that it really helps the is. It actual pickle juice.
• 22:38
  It's not, see, that's the thing. It's not bronzing through the
• 22:41
  manufacturing and the actual development of it.
• 22:43
  It has that sort of vinegarous sort of taste and flavor.
• 22:46
  And within that, you know, there was always the, you know, the
• 22:50
  the brine is supposed to have these mythical, you know, powers
• 22:54
  from pickle juice, but this actually has the science behind
• 22:56
  it. There's white papers, etcetera.
• 22:57
  So that's something that I think is fun with.
• 23:00
  We also work on electrolyte, which is the hydration beverage
• 23:05
  out of Mexico. It's the number three in the
• 23:07
  space right now. So it the other thing that we
• 23:09
  carry through. Is.
• 23:11
  We work with a number of challenger brands.
• 23:12
  So they're going to be you know, 234 in their category.
• 23:15
  They're going to have to work a little bit harder.
• 23:16
  Their marketing dollars are probably a little less than the
• 23:19
  number ones, but that what we love them is that they we have a
• 23:22
  lot more freedom. We can do stunts we can do, like
• 23:25
  the pickle juice. Every year we do a big April
• 23:26
  Fool's stunt. We have different elements
• 23:28
  around it. This.
• 23:30
  Past year we did the pickle. Juice bath salt line so you'd
• 23:34
  have the you know, the the bath bomb that you can put into your
• 23:38
  bath and we'll be getting the anti cramping all over it.
• 23:40
  So these stunts that are funny media buy it.
• 23:43
  You know, radio stations were calling the interview, the, you
• 23:45
  know, the CEO to talk about it, but it was April Fool's and you
• 23:48
  know. As you get those things, they
• 23:49
  can take that chance and have fun with their brand.
• 23:52
  And, and I think that's a, a good factor for it.
• 23:54
  And, and you look at it from and I know we touched on it before,
• 23:56
  but Covida Sparkling Probiotic was a, a client from inception
• 24:00
  through Pepsi acquired them and. I had come in my background too.
• 24:04
  I was worked on honesty and Coke required them and then we had.
• 24:07
  Tio gazpacho which was. A cold brewed soup and and then
• 24:11
  Campbell soup acquired them. So to those points in the
• 24:14
  beverage category, we have that playbook of taking people
• 24:17
  through, you know that those big spikes of interest, awareness
• 24:20
  and media. And really owning it so that
• 24:22
  they get on front of the, you know, the.
• 24:24
  Acquisition stage you've. Got the real Midas touch it
• 24:26
  sounds like. I think it's like we've talked
• 24:29
  about it's that playbook and it's that hustle that I think
• 24:31
  keeps it going that we really look at it from, you know, the
• 24:34
  you're only as good as your last placement.
• 24:36
  You know, you have to really keep that going.
• 24:37
  And, and it's back to the point of the relationships client side
• 24:40
  and the the media side that you can go back to them and have
• 24:43
  those aspects when you need to tap into them and when you need,
• 24:46
  you know, that coverage to happen.
• 24:47
  What? Are some of the other fun stunts
• 24:49
  that you've done? I love the pickle juice one.
• 24:52
  Yeah, I think another good one we did, and this was I'll date
• 24:55
  myself, but with honesty, and this was a number of years ago,
• 24:58
  was the Honest City campaign. So this was, you know, playing
• 25:02
  off of obviously honesty and honesty.
• 25:05
  We set up these honesty stations in seven markets.
• 25:08
  So it was racks of honesty, unmanned stations.
• 25:12
  About 20 yards away was a hidden camera so you could see.
• 25:14
  And it had a little box that said leave a dollar and you
• 25:16
  could take a a bottle. You wanted to see which city was
• 25:19
  the most on it. And it was at Wall.
• 25:22
  Street, it was at Santa Monica Pier, it was in Chicago and
• 25:24
  Michigan Ave. So you were able to see which
• 25:26
  city, you know, actually left money there.
• 25:30
  Santa Monica was the least on it.
• 25:31
  Now, part of the talk about that was there's a lot of tourists
• 25:35
  that you know, and they just took it.
• 25:36
  Wall Street actually was really more high performing than we
• 25:39
  would have thought, but there were a couple in the videos a
• 25:42
  couple times, the police. Put in like 20 bucks like they
• 25:45
  saw people were taking it but maybe didn't understand but.
• 25:48
  Chicago was the most honest, which is like cliche and
• 25:50
  Midwest, yes, that people were there, but but those types of
• 25:54
  things go far. And I think they help brands
• 25:57
  that, you know, you don't always have to work focus on.
• 25:59
  You don't have a new flavor. You don't have a new, you know,
• 26:01
  story to tell. You know, it's the same old,
• 26:03
  same old. So these stunts can help build
• 26:05
  those things. And look, that's where like the
• 26:06
  food holiday things come in. There's ways to really create
• 26:09
  news and you know, when we look at it from that standpoint, or
• 26:12
  if it's data, there's surveys, if there's analytics that we can
• 26:15
  pull in and use as part of our media approach as well.
• 26:18
  That's interesting. Let's talk about the QSR space,
• 26:21
  Quick service restaurants, 'cause you mentioned that's
• 26:23
  another one that you're particularly strong in.
• 26:24
  Tell tell us why you're well suited for that category.
• 26:27
  Yeah. I think again, the the history
• 26:29
  of Blaze was really in that space.
• 26:31
  So a number of the regional players that they worked on at
• 26:34
  that local level, but so we've worked on a number of them on
• 26:37
  that national level. So currently we work with Ono
• 26:39
  Hoyne BBQ, there are 120 plus locations.
• 26:42
  Chronic Tacos is almost about 75 and they're nationwide.
• 26:46
  And then you have Health Nut, which is a funny one because
• 26:49
  they're in about 7 locations, but they got their notoriety
• 26:52
  from the Kardashians show. So their original location was
• 26:55
  by their where the Kardashians are in Calabasas.
• 26:59
  And it's the whole salad shake thing that became this whole
• 27:01
  phenomenon maybe about 5-6 years ago.
• 27:03
  But they've had a lot and now the Kardashians invest in the
• 27:06
  brand. So you have those types of
• 27:08
  elements. And again, we take from that,
• 27:10
  you know, playbook of. The the traditional media, so
• 27:13
  obviously with store openings, with restaurant reviews, people
• 27:16
  understanding what the brand is, we have the influencers.
• 27:20
  Influencers is such a big part of of, you know, restaurants now
• 27:24
  it's getting those foodies to come in, try the food, take all
• 27:26
  those great, you know, food porn videos and stories and you'll
• 27:30
  cut the sandwich in half and show what it looks like and all
• 27:32
  those elements. And then, you know, for
• 27:36
  products, a good example where they had a built in stunt they
• 27:38
  were doing already, but we helped to elevate it.
• 27:40
  They do the the the Taco eating contest.
• 27:43
  So they have Kobayashi that would come from Japan and it
• 27:45
  would be, you know, stage of 10 Taco eating people going up
• 27:49
  against each other. And Kobayashi would eat like
• 27:52
  about 150 tacos in 10 minutes and see St. tacos and it's on.
• 27:56
  One level, it's like the car crash that you can't not look
• 27:59
  away. You, you have to see it.
• 28:00
  There's, you know, slop everywhere.
• 28:01
  They're eating it. It's just a whole aspect, but if
• 28:04
  it's the brand, the brand is that, you know, Southern
• 28:06
  California vibe and just that element around it and and they
• 28:09
  talk a lot about the Taco life in the aspects.
• 28:13
  So that's the ways that we build into that, but.
• 28:15
  Also, I think we understand. Business aspects.
• 28:18
  So Brownie. Tacos is a franchise model, so.
• 28:20
  Making sure we're in all the franchise books, we're at the
• 28:23
  different conferences, we're in the right podcast.
• 28:25
  They're telling a story about being an investor, why you'd
• 28:27
  want to be involved in this brand.
• 28:29
  Ono is a private company, you know, with their locations.
• 28:32
  So we're looking at much more of the development world, the
• 28:34
  business stories, what they're doing in the community, how
• 28:36
  they're, you know, good corporate citizen, how they're
• 28:39
  bringing in, you know, new jobs and new elements.
• 28:41
  They were opening, you know, all throughout the summer of 2020,
• 28:44
  the pandemic's raging and, and Ono's opening location, Fresno
• 28:48
  and Phoenix and all that. Oh.
• 28:49
  And in California even, which was really closed down.
• 28:52
  Yeah, it was. And a lot of that was.
• 28:54
  Again, they're hyper organized, they're operations department
• 28:56
  where they were so far along in a lot of these places they were
• 28:58
  able to open, you know, they were permanent, all those
• 29:00
  things. So you're seeing the ways that
• 29:02
  we can tap into that from APR standpoint, it's really being
• 29:05
  aligned and into that original point I talked about.
• 29:07
  I think it's that we listen, we understand what clients are
• 29:09
  interested in Cron. I guess all the food stuff, the
• 29:12
  porn, all that stuff is great, but they need to get more
• 29:14
  franchises. They need to be in front of
• 29:16
  potential franchisees. And so there's different aspects
• 29:19
  that I think are important and I think just the the respect and
• 29:22
  also the understanding from food media that that we come at it
• 29:25
  from that standpoint of we understand, you know, that
• 29:28
  obviously there's a lot of different restaurants out there.
• 29:30
  There's different trends that go on.
• 29:32
  Not every restaurant reporter, eater, all those guys are going
• 29:36
  to care about our brands, but there's ways we can come to them
• 29:39
  with interesting stories. And to that point, we're
• 29:42
  pitching them on things that are relevant at the right time, at
• 29:44
  the right, you know, storylines that we can be an asset for what
• 29:48
  they're trying to do versus pitching them.
• 29:50
  You know, it's whatever national ice cream month and we're trying
• 29:52
  to tell them about spam, the soubi, you know, we're not
• 29:54
  hitting the right things. And then you look like you're
• 29:56
  just a spammer yourself and you're not, you know, respecting
• 29:59
  that. And we also look for.
• 30:00
  Ways, you know, to invite them to different, you know, private
• 30:03
  events, private tastings, meet the chef, those things I think
• 30:06
  that are relevant for reporters to be able to do that in, in a
• 30:08
  way, even though, you know, the it's the digital world now and
• 30:12
  there's different elements to it.
• 30:13
  But I think we can, you know, tap into that in a way that
• 30:16
  maybe other agencies don't. So would it be accurate to say
• 30:19
  that, you know, depending on what a client's goals are for,
• 30:22
  for example, you know, you're working with Honest Tea.
• 30:24
  Obviously they want to sell more tea, right?
• 30:25
  And they want to get more distribution.
• 30:27
  And so that's part of what you're working on.
• 30:29
  But they've got this end goal of, you know, wanting to be
• 30:31
  acquired. Are you simultaneously, you
• 30:34
  know, trying to get article placements in front of the
• 30:38
  eyeballs of people who might be in a position to acquire them,
• 30:41
  or does that just happen organically on its own?
• 30:43
  I. Think well the.
• 30:44
  Strategy is then to be in the books.
• 30:46
  You know the Wall Street. Journals, the New York Times,
• 30:48
  the Bloomberg's places where those people would be more apt
• 30:51
  to be, you know, reading or interested.
• 30:53
  Also making sure that they have relationships and, and
• 30:56
  shepherding it with the different analysts that are
• 30:58
  looking at the category and they can go deeper and, and
• 31:00
  understand where they fit in that category.
• 31:03
  And that they're being mentioned and, and talked about in those
• 31:05
  circles, 'cause that's not like the general consumer would never
• 31:08
  see those things. You know, you'd have to dig
• 31:10
  deep. And even if you googled the
• 31:11
  brand's name and it would be, you know, at a different place
• 31:13
  than the consumer probably. Look, that's the ways that we
• 31:16
  try and look at it from whatever their goals are.
• 31:18
  And and look, goals change, you know we.
• 31:19
  May work with the brand. They're they're start up,
• 31:21
  they're entrepreneur. They just want to grow, grow,
• 31:23
  grow. But then it does come to a point
• 31:25
  of honor to be acquired or do I need more investment?
• 31:27
  Then you look at how that the architect we can shift and where
• 31:30
  we can put more of our hours to really, you know, those types of
• 31:34
  books, interviews, you know, opportunities.
• 31:36
  So for people listening, maybe they've got a brand, they've got
• 31:39
  a company that, you know, they, they're interested in some PR
• 31:41
  services. They're wondering if maybe Blaze
• 31:44
  might be a good fit for them. What, what would you say?
• 31:46
  What are sort of the, the boxes that need to be checked for them
• 31:49
  to be a good you guys to be a good fit for each other?
• 31:51
  I should say yeah. I think, you know, and, and we
• 31:54
  do, you know, any number of times when we do a prospecting
• 31:56
  call, you know, a is always chemistry, you know, do we, do
• 31:59
  we connect with them? Do we fit?
• 32:00
  Is there a good, you know, response back and forth?
• 32:04
  You know, they may have a lot of questions, which is great, but
• 32:06
  if they're not listening or if they're distracted or, or if
• 32:08
  they're not buying what we're selling, you just know it's not
• 32:11
  going to work. And, and so I think that's one
• 32:12
  factor that we look at also, I think track records, obviously,
• 32:15
  you know, we have a number of case studies and, and all those
• 32:17
  things we share, but also understanding what, you know, if
• 32:20
  this is a serial entrepreneur, if we know we've seen a track
• 32:22
  record, we look at obviously the the players involved in the
• 32:26
  call, if they jump to like 50 different jobs, like are they
• 32:29
  going to really be a good, you know, trusted member on the
• 32:31
  other side? Are they hyper?
• 32:33
  You know that, are they green? You know, are we going to be
• 32:35
  educating them, which can be great because you're investing
• 32:37
  in them as well. So it's that type of element.
• 32:40
  We do, I think also, is it newsworthy?
• 32:42
  Just because you want to have APR agency doesn't mean, you
• 32:45
  know, we can understand what's our struggle going to be?
• 32:46
  What's the, you know, the output?
• 32:48
  What are the things we're going to have to do?
• 32:50
  And what are the things we need from you?
• 32:51
  Because there is a time commit and obviously at least you know,
• 32:54
  on the start up side, we need to become really experts in your
• 32:57
  brand before we start to externally tell the world about
• 32:59
  your brand and and a lot of times your clients can be hey,
• 33:03
  how much time are you? Do I need to give you?
• 33:04
  Like it could be just a couple of hours to start.
• 33:07
  Well, yeah, but we need probably more than that as we get going.
• 33:09
  We. Need we need to make sure you're
• 33:11
  comfortable with we have your voice and if we're telling
• 33:14
  people what's going on that you're not going to be shocked
• 33:16
  because you know, even if it's one mention of something that
• 33:19
  you know, that was you approved it and that you remember that
• 33:22
  you approved it. So that's the factor that we
• 33:24
  look at when we engage. What are some common mistakes
• 33:29
  that people make when it comes to PRI?
• 33:32
  Think the, the one that I think stands out and back to your
• 33:35
  point of the, the Gray science of PRPR is not a direct source
• 33:39
  medium. It's not like, hey, I ran an ad,
• 33:41
  I paid, you know, $1000. I got 10 calls and you know, we
• 33:45
  got, you know, $2000 worth of business.
• 33:46
  So you know, there's my ROI equation.
• 33:49
  PR is much more brand building. It's about that third party
• 33:52
  validation. You know, you can say how great
• 33:54
  you are with an ad, but this is a way for someone else to say,
• 33:57
  hey, this brand was great. And.
• 33:58
  Here's all the reasons why. So you have that attribution
• 34:01
  that happens and. It's also, I think PR can be
• 34:03
  cost effective because you can go with all those different
• 34:06
  categories and different angles to pitch within, you know, a
• 34:08
  media landscape. But it's people thinking that
• 34:11
  it's going to all of a sudden sales are going to start rolling
• 34:13
  in because we got all these articles.
• 34:15
  It's part of the, you know, the marketing matrix, if you will.
• 34:18
  You have your again, your, your advertising, your social media,
• 34:21
  your PR, so there's ways that we work together and in concert
• 34:24
  together. But it's not the end all be all.
• 34:27
  I'm curious there's, there has to have been some campaigns that
• 34:30
  you were really excited about that you pitched the client and
• 34:32
  they turned down. You're like, oh, that would have
• 34:34
  been a home run. You think of any that you're
• 34:37
  like, man, I wish we could have run with that.
• 34:39
  Maybe you know a crazy. Stunt or something?
• 34:42
  I I would say, and, and I can't think of a singular one off
• 34:44
  hand, but I think in many ways there are stunts that we get
• 34:46
  excited about that we can see and we envision and we say, OK,
• 34:50
  you know, these 10 reporters would love to write about it.
• 34:52
  It's topical. It's, you know, it's something
• 34:55
  that can be executable. It may not be a lot of, you
• 34:57
  know, the investment isn't going to be that much.
• 34:59
  There's going to be a way that we'll be able to merchandise it
• 35:02
  for future opportunities because, you know, they can do
• 35:04
  it and then we can take it forward.
• 35:07
  And I think sometimes there's just the reticence of clients
• 35:10
  not wanting to take that step or be the one that raises their
• 35:13
  hand and, you know, puts their neck out on the line.
• 35:16
  And I think a stunt does that where if you're going to say I'm
• 35:18
  doing APR stunt, there's. A lot of factors internally that
• 35:21
  people get nervous about. They may think it's going to be,
• 35:23
  you know, something that's legal or, or whatever, but you, you,
• 35:26
  as you walk them through, it's back to that point of education.
• 35:29
  It's the factor of what you're doing that's not of the norm
• 35:32
  within your day-to-day, you know, PR outreach or even
• 35:35
  marketing outreach. So I, I think as we've done
• 35:36
  that, I think we've we've done a better job selling PR.
• 35:39
  Stunts internally. For brands, because of that, you
• 35:42
  know, reticence in the past that I'm just thinking, oh, I this
• 35:45
  isn't my brand. I can't do that.
• 35:48
  For those people who are listening that maybe are just
• 35:50
  getting started out, they don't have the budget to work with
• 35:53
  somebody like Blaze, what kind of advice can you get there?
• 35:57
  Maybe some low hanging fruit that will help their brand get a
• 36:00
  little momentum in the PR space. Yeah, I think, you know, we look
• 36:03
  at it as, you know, again, could you, you know, Anthony, reach
• 36:07
  out to your local reporter and and pitch them?
• 36:10
  Of course, you know, it's not like that we have this hidden
• 36:12
  wall or these hidden elements. We do have, again, maybe
• 36:16
  databases of someone's Gmail or their home address, etcetera.
• 36:19
  But I think the aspect is you're looking at the relationships.
• 36:22
  But I think there's ways that as you know, getting started, there
• 36:25
  are peoples that could be, you know, single proprietor shops.
• 36:28
  That could be, you know, worthwhile and and also
• 36:30
  understanding the framework of how PR works.
• 36:32
  You know there is the. You know you have your.
• 36:34
  Pitch or your release or whatever that you send out,
• 36:37
  there's not an immediate response.
• 36:38
  You know, a lot of people expect if I e-mail them, the reporter's
• 36:41
  going to get back to me right away.
• 36:43
  No, they have their own job and so much of it back to the point
• 36:45
  of the shrinking media pool. There's a number of reporters we
• 36:48
  know that they work on. You know, they might do the
• 36:50
  weekly restaurant column. They have to cover pets.
• 36:53
  They have to cover retail. Like their minds are so far
• 36:56
  ahead because they're covering so many different aspects, so.
• 36:59
  Yes, they eventually do get through some of the emails and I
• 37:03
  wouldn't even, you know, asking them to get back to everyone.
• 37:06
  But it's also understanding that there are, it is another person
• 37:09
  on the other line you're trying to pitch.
• 37:11
  And so I think there's ways to do it.
• 37:12
  I think social media is a great way for brands to start.
• 37:15
  We have to tell that story in a way that they can control and
• 37:18
  then point people back to. I think it's interesting.
• 37:20
  And then also. You.
• 37:22
  Look at it, it's becoming more I think influential is through
• 37:24
  LinkedIn, making sure that your brand's LinkedIn business page
• 37:28
  has all this information because so many different ways, be it
• 37:31
  media recruitment, you know, new hires, people go there that I
• 37:34
  think it's it's often mislooked. And I think this way that that
• 37:37
  investment can be put into that can help for a broader PR
• 37:41
  strategy. I'll second the LinkedIn, making
• 37:45
  sure that your LinkedIn profile is complete and up to date.
• 37:48
  You know, as I'm researching a guest, you know, do I want to
• 37:50
  invite them to come on or maybe you know, they've booked and I
• 37:53
  want to learn a little bit more about them.
• 37:55
  I find often times the, the information on LinkedIn is a lot
• 37:59
  more digestible than their website, you know, website is
• 38:01
  sort of trying to sell something.
• 38:03
  Here's a menu, here's a, you know, and that's great for the
• 38:05
  end consumer, but right. I, I want to understand a little
• 38:08
  bit more about, you know, succinctly describe the, the
• 38:10
  business. And so, yeah, I think people who
• 38:12
  aren't taking advantage of that are, are, are kind of missing
• 38:15
  and that's one of those low hanging fruit that that's
• 38:17
  helpful. Curious, Matt, how do you guys
• 38:20
  promote your own brand? How, how are you prospecting?
• 38:23
  Is it just to the point where it's all word of mouth now or
• 38:25
  are you? I think there's a couple things,
• 38:27
  a word of mouth, yes, always super important.
• 38:30
  I think, you know, obviously from a networking standpoint and
• 38:32
  going to different events and and being engaged that way, you
• 38:34
  know, making sure we're involved.
• 38:36
  I think, you know, we do, you know, in in the a digital age,
• 38:39
  we do the Google ads. We make sure that we're
• 38:41
  promoting our brand that ways for people looking for agencies.
• 38:44
  We do a lot on LinkedIn. So we do a number of LinkedIn
• 38:47
  campaigns. And then I think the last thing
• 38:49
  we do is, you know, obviously promote ourselves.
• 38:51
  So such as doing this, you know, podcast doing a lot of the, the
• 38:56
  general PR, so making sure we're in the roundups and we're, you
• 38:59
  know, being asked on those PR issues that we have a voice as
• 39:02
  well. And I think that's where people
• 39:03
  see that, yes, we're, you know, obviously working on brands, but
• 39:06
  we also do remember to promote ourselves.
• 39:08
  And I think that's a good way to do it.
• 39:10
  And also the best places to work.
• 39:12
  All those things do have APR layer to it.
• 39:14
  And I think those are things that we tap into as well.
• 39:17
  You know, we've had several guests on here that are in the
• 39:20
  franchise space, a lot of them in the quick service restaurant
• 39:23
  space, other other types of franchises.
• 39:26
  Yeah. And right.
• 39:27
  This is a a great vehicle for them to kind of give voice to
• 39:30
  what their brand's doing, what what makes it really good.
• 39:32
  Talk about the franchising opportunity.
• 39:34
  So each of the the three QSRS that you mentioned earlier that
• 39:39
  you guys are servicing now, are they all open to franchising
• 39:42
  opportunities? Chronic is the only one that's
• 39:45
  franchise based, OK, Yeah. The other ones are not, Yeah.
• 39:49
  So all of those have, they're just all corporate owned
• 39:52
  locations. Correct.
• 39:53
  Yep. Yeah.
• 39:54
  And so when you said that they're private, that's what you
• 39:56
  meant by private, Yes. Obviously, they're corporate
• 39:58
  owned, yes, yeah. And then the other thing is
• 40:01
  we've worked on like Mayweather boxing gyms.
• 40:03
  They were franchise based. We have Gold's Gym, which is
• 40:06
  franchise. So outside of the QSR, we have
• 40:08
  that franchise DNA, if you will. And you're, are you doing things
• 40:13
  then to just in general promote the concept or are you
• 40:16
  specifically targeting audiences of people, you know, maybe, you
• 40:20
  know, former CEOs of companies that have now retired and that,
• 40:24
  you know, they want to, they're looking for a franchise to buy.
• 40:26
  Are you, you know, specifically targeting folks like that for
• 40:29
  them? It's back to the point.
• 40:30
  So it's promoting the brand and the concept, but then looking at
• 40:33
  it from like the AARP magazines, like looking for publications,
• 40:38
  media, that would be where people would go to look at
• 40:40
  franchise OPS and those different articles.
• 40:42
  Look, you know, the LA Times will have one, whereas here's,
• 40:45
  you know, if you're interested in doing, you know, getting in
• 40:47
  on a franchise, here's 10 examples.
• 40:49
  We want to make sure, you know, again, the relationship with the
• 40:51
  reporter, the awareness of our brands and knowing what it, you
• 40:54
  know, the who's and what so that they can come to us and say,
• 40:56
  hey, we're doing this roundup. Would chronic want to be
• 40:58
  involved? So there's ways that you have
• 40:59
  that type of relationship that you're building for future
• 41:02
  stories. Matt, you've obviously been in
• 41:04
  the PR space for a number of years.
• 41:06
  You've accumulated a lot of wisdom and and knowledge along
• 41:09
  along the way. I'm curious, what's something
• 41:11
  that you wish you could teach a younger version of yourself that
• 41:14
  would make your path easier Probably.
• 41:17
  Not easier, but I think that the, the obviously the
• 41:21
  institutional knowledge I have now, if I could translate that
• 41:25
  back to, you know, like you said, the younger self, I think
• 41:29
  that discipline and just that knowledge and, and really being
• 41:31
  a student of the game, if you will, that's something I
• 41:34
  probably missed it where it would have been great through
• 41:36
  the years. 'Cause I feel like that's, it's
• 41:38
  that whole 10,000 hours, you know, philosophy.
• 41:40
  And I think you know as you hit that all these things are to
• 41:42
  click into place where you have that type of understanding that
• 41:46
  again, it comes with knowledge and in from experience, but I
• 41:48
  think that would be great to. Share that to my younger self.
• 41:52
  It's just that idea of, hey, you got to put in the reps, Is that
• 41:55
  what you're getting at like? Yeah, the the elements of the
• 42:00
  being on that front end of change and the aspects around it
• 42:04
  and understanding again, having gonethroughthe.com worlds and
• 42:08
  the media changing and shifting being a part of that.
• 42:11
  So I've learned a lot since then, but I think knowing that
• 42:13
  on the front end would have been interesting.
• 42:15
  What's a fun fact that most people don't know about you,
• 42:17
  Matt? I know it's a fun fact, but I
• 42:22
  had six knee surgeries, so I missed a lot of high school, so
• 42:25
  I was sort of the new kid every year.
• 42:27
  So that was a a fun element that having to come to school at the
• 42:30
  beginning every year and almost reintroduce yourself.
• 42:33
  You were the new kid because you were moving or because of the
• 42:35
  knee surgeries. Knee surgeries, these were old
• 42:37
  school surgeries where you would be out of Commission for like
• 42:39
  3-4 months. Yeah, it's all baseball
• 42:41
  injuries. Yeah, so it was dumb, dumb
• 42:43
  stuff, but that's a fun, fun fact you had.
• 42:45
  Six different knee surgeries, all from baseball injuries.
• 42:49
  Yes, yes, were. These from sliding like what?
• 42:51
  What was going on? Oh yeah.
• 42:52
  It was a. Catcher and it was you just sort
• 42:54
  of the wear and tear and then it was yeah, just Acls and you
• 42:57
  know, you just tear it up and then you know, the at the time
• 43:00
  there were just different surgeries you would do.
• 43:02
  So it wasn't just the, it was right before the all the
• 43:04
  arthroscopies. So yeah.
• 43:06
  So I don't know if it's fun, but that's a fact.
• 43:08
  So yeah. You do you have a fun one.
• 43:10
  Maybe we could layer over top of that one?
• 43:13
  No, I think that's. I think we leave that's.
• 43:14
  Right. How?
• 43:16
  About any specific mentors, books, or learning experiences
• 43:20
  that have been particularly helpful to you in in your
• 43:23
  career. Yeah, I think that the 10,000
• 43:26
  hours you know, the Malcolm Gladwell is really is really
• 43:28
  interesting to to reference and go back on and and really speak
• 43:31
  to from. The tipping point.
• 43:33
  My daughter had to study that book in one of her classes this
• 43:37
  year. She's junior in high school and
• 43:39
  so it was interesting to revisit that again, having read it a
• 43:41
  couple times and really talked through it as a family to really
• 43:44
  understand that. So I, I think that's one that
• 43:45
  has been, you know, that sticks by me in, in that regard.
• 43:50
  Matt, in the competitive job market, recruiting and retaining
• 43:53
  employees can be really challenging.
• 43:54
  You guys have obviously done a really good job of retaining
• 43:57
  folks, you know, with the, the awards of, you know, Ink's best
• 44:01
  places to work. I'm curious, you know, what is
• 44:03
  the strategy that you use to actually find those good folks?
• 44:06
  Is it, you know, hey, it's got to be a referral from somebody
• 44:09
  that's already here? Is it, you know, we're, we're
• 44:11
  still using the same, you know, the, the, the job boards and
• 44:14
  whatever else that everybody else is using.
• 44:15
  What? What have you found that has
• 44:16
  worked well for you? I think there's a couple of
• 44:19
  things. I think, you know, and also I
• 44:20
  think it's everything because I think these days, you know,
• 44:22
  trying to recruit, retain and just the flips through the
• 44:26
  pandemic of just, you know, the who's, who's on the winning
• 44:28
  side, Is it the employee, the employers, etcetera.
• 44:31
  So I think, you know, we start with that you're growing from
• 44:35
  within. So with interns that we're able
• 44:36
  to hire and bring on board that way.
• 44:38
  I think the other thing is I went to USC so really have
• 44:42
  strong alumni, you know, connections at the Annenberg PR
• 44:44
  School. So really using that as a
• 44:46
  pipeline is important and we have a number of Trojans that
• 44:49
  come through. I think the other thing is the
• 44:52
  that's your point, that word of mouth, but also in the PR
• 44:55
  circles within LA, you know, there are a number of agencies,
• 44:58
  there's a lot of the entertainment agencies as cliche
• 45:00
  as that is being in LA. But you know, again, we're a
• 45:02
  different animal in LA, but we really don't touch the.
• 45:04
  Entertainment science. So again, having the lifestyle
• 45:06
  and the CPG and all that stuff. So it's as people look at it
• 45:09
  from that regard as well. So I think we try and market it
• 45:12
  to your point, the best place to work being the LA Business
• 45:15
  Journal, you know, all those things that we can have.
• 45:17
  A different lens versus the other agencies Wikipedia
• 45:20
  against. Matt, I had just one more
• 45:22
  question for you, but before I do I, I want to just do two
• 45:25
  things. But first of all, if you're
• 45:27
  listening today and you like today's content, please hit the
• 45:29
  subscribe like or share button on your favorite podcast app.
• 45:33
  Matt, I also want to tell people how to get in touch with you.
• 45:36
  They're listening. They they like your story, they
• 45:38
  want to connect with you, maybe about working together, maybe
• 45:40
  about something else. What's the best way for them to
• 45:42
  reach out? I think always you know,
• 45:44
  obviously the website and and the easiest is just
• 45:46
  info@blazepr.com and then LinkedIn I think is always a
• 45:50
  great one as well. Great.
• 45:51
  We'll include those links in the show notes.
• 45:54
  So last question for you, Matt, I'm kind of curious, how do you
• 45:57
  see your industry evolving in the next five years?
• 45:59
  What do you think the big changes are that are coming?
• 46:01
  I. Think the big one, and it's
• 46:03
  starting is all through AII think we're seeing so much of
• 46:06
  the AI and it's interesting because there's some agencies
• 46:09
  that I've met and I've been to different events that they don't
• 46:11
  know about it, touch it, think it's going to happen.
• 46:14
  And then I I'm probably in the middle.
• 46:15
  But then there's the the, the doom and gloom people.
• 46:17
  They're like, you know, we're going to be out of jobs any day
• 46:20
  now. Because AI can write the
• 46:21
  release, they can. Once they figure out how to send
• 46:23
  it to the media, that becomes AI and all this.
• 46:25
  But I think AI is a big part of it.
• 46:27
  You're already seeing it within. You.
• 46:28
  Know in in look some of the people that apply for jobs they
• 46:32
  might do like an AI cover letter.
• 46:34
  You can tell like they're using a lot of descriptive words.
• 46:36
  We're seeing some press releases.
• 46:38
  So I, I think AI is a big part of, of where PR is going.
• 46:41
  And I think, but what we talked about is there's still the human
• 46:44
  element, but again, reporters didn't see through that there.
• 46:47
  There's ways that you still need to have the news and understand
• 46:50
  what a journalist's role is. So I think that's where the AI
• 46:54
  is not there yet. We'll get there probably, but I
• 46:56
  think AI is the biggest thing that's.
• 46:59
  You know, I, I know in my own work, I use some different AI
• 47:03
  tools to assist me in writing something.
• 47:06
  It's like, hey, I've got this. I want to put it in a little bit
• 47:09
  of a different voice or, you know, I just, I need a different
• 47:12
  way to say the same thing. But what I found that it's not
• 47:16
  great at is being funny or creative.
• 47:21
  You know, it's like, Hey, let me feed you.
• 47:23
  And I've tried this like, hey, let me feed you an ad campaign,
• 47:27
  you know, that that another brand did.
• 47:29
  I think it was really clever. And we want to borrow from that,
• 47:32
  you know, can you can you come up with a similar idea for us?
• 47:35
  And it's it's similar, right? You're like, oh, like it that
• 47:41
  that technology. It's sort of understood what I
• 47:42
  was saying, but it's not good. Like it's, it's not something
• 47:47
  that I I would go forward with and it's not something that if I
• 47:51
  happen to be a marketing or APR company that I would feel good
• 47:54
  about pitching to a client because it's very sophomoric
• 47:58
  isn't even the right word. It doesn't even reach that
• 48:00
  level. In my opinion.
• 48:02
  I'm curious from your experience, is it is that what
• 48:04
  you see too A. 100% yeah, I think on the PR side and look,
• 48:08
  we've all tested it. We've said, hey, here's brand X
• 48:11
  right in this voice, here's A their tagline and, you know,
• 48:15
  have fun with the release and and they can craft it.
• 48:17
  They can give you the format. They understand that part.
• 48:20
  It doesn't get the context and there's just the IT it feels
• 48:24
  like it's just off a little bit. Your point.
• 48:26
  I can't, you can't, you know, it doesn't get the humor.
• 48:28
  Like pranic tacos are an example Taco life.
• 48:31
  They don't understand what that means.
• 48:33
  And they they're trying to make a.
• 48:34
  Bit like, you know, those types of things that are connected
• 48:36
  somehow and I think in many ways it can be good as a starter.
• 48:40
  Hey, you know, draft me this and then you can go in and pick
• 48:42
  through it versus starting with a blank page.
• 48:45
  But no, there's not the confidence that it's going to be
• 48:47
  the end all be all. But again, as it's learning and
• 48:49
  changing all the time, I'm sure it'll.
• 48:51
  Eventually get there, but I, I think it is interesting to see
• 48:54
  how it is and but I I think back to my original thing, it's
• 48:57
  amazing how many people. Have this zero awareness of what
• 49:00
  what, How do you use it? Where to go, How to?
• 49:02
  How do you even, you know, use it as a tool?
• 49:04
  It's surprising to me to hear you say that some of your peers
• 49:07
  in the PR space are just not even aware of it, like haven't
• 49:10
  touched it, dabbled with it. You know, that's, that's real
• 49:13
  surprising. Yeah.
• 49:15
  And and I'm fine with that. Let them stay away from it.
• 49:17
  I'll, I'll keep doing it. Yeah.
• 49:18
  Right, You'll, you'll marry the two worlds 'cause I think you're
• 49:22
  right. I think there's always going to
• 49:24
  be the human element. You know, even as the AI gets
• 49:26
  better, even as, as it's able to write better releases, there's
• 49:30
  still going to be that relationship part of it.
• 49:33
  And, and, and, and the overall strategy that I, I, I question
• 49:37
  whether it, it'll ever be able to handle those.
• 49:39
  Is that pickle juice? It was a little pickle juice.
• 49:42
  You're right. Yeah, we had the.
• 49:44
  The heat is starting to come so there's some cramping today, so
• 49:47
  I'm making sure I have I I'm fully pickled up.
• 49:51
  Great. Well, hey Matt, I want to be the
• 49:53
  first one to thank you so much for sharing your story today.
• 49:55
  I really appreciate it. Thank you, this was fun.
• 49:58
  Great to meet you. Folks, that's a wrap on another
• 50:01
  episode of the Inspired Stories podcast.
• 50:03
  Thanks for learning with us today.