CONTENTS JULY 2020
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Tara Thomas 04 Toni Murphy 06 Sasha Stoltz 08 Jennifer Alise 10 Camille Davis 12 Michelle Mackel 14 Anje Collins 16 Cynthia Horner 18 Felicia Fencl 20 Melissamcavoy 22 Raquel Figlo 24 Martie Bowser 26 Marie Driven 28 Maleeka Hollaway 30 Marilyn Reles 32 Sarah Busby 34 Adrienne Allen Promotes 36 Latoya Chambliss 38 Latoya Stegall 40 Brittany Miller 42 Rachel Dares 44
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Founder – Cece Hymes
W.I.B (Where It Begins) is an Independent agency with the aim to always be innovate in each approach taken to projects and making sure excellence is given in a projects execution when it comes to media marketing, branding, networking and management. Founded by the well experienced and ever growing force; D.C native - Cece Hymes, the most important and integral aspect of W.I.B is that branding for both Creatives and Businesses is taken to the next level with each and every project undertaken. We’ve continued to represent a very diverse and well acclaimed roster of emerging talents in the entertainment, and businesses!
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With a determined persistence for continued excellence, our Founder – Cece Hymes, with a college Degree in Business Management, has also worked within radio and with many companies such as: RDE Entertainment, H.I.G.H Entertainment and Caribbean Gospel Records Ltd.,
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“ I love talking about the here and now and people would listen. I would promote events and non-profits and bring people to a party. �
Raquel Figlo 24
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Q. Thanks for Interviewing with us. Tell everyone who you are and where you’re from? A. My name is Raquel Figlo, and I am the owner of Raquel Figlo Public Relations out of Orange County, CA. My passion is creating brand awareness and customer loyalty for my clients. I work with a wide array of clientele from fashion lines and nightclubs, to musicians and comedians. Over the years, I have received many testimonials that praise my professionalism, creativity, and forward-thinking concepts. I feel my upbeat enthusiasm and genuine, caring nature raise the bar in customer satisfaction. I weave together strategic publicity campaigns, influencer outreach, media pitching, and popular social events to fashion a brand’s golden reputation. Q. What made you want to be in Public Relations? A. I knew I wanted to be a publicist ever since I was in high school. I took a career test, and it literally said “public relations” would be the career path for me. All my life, I have always been very curious about the latest trends in fashion, celebrities, and entertainment. I am also very social and outgoing. Even back in high school, if there was a party, I would know about it and know who was going to be there. I was the opposite of shy, to say the least. This was a great fit for me, and I am so happy I made a lifelong career out of it! Q. Can you tell me in your own terms what does a Publicist do? A. The purpose of a Publicist is to create visibility and credibility for your brand. Public relations is earned media, not paid media, and with my established media connections, I am confident in my abilities to get any rand noticed, especially brands in music and entertainment! Advertising has its place, but my goal is to make companies look so good they don’t need it. Q. Tell us about some of the challenges you had growing your business in PR? A. Being a publicist and entrepreneur is a constant hustle that I love. You have to enjoy putting yourself out there, not only for your client, but for yourself, as well. If you don’t promote the small wins as much as the big wins, who is going to know the awesome PR work that
you do? The great thing about social media is, it is free, and it is a platform that allows for and embraces self-promotion. The challenge sometimes comes from within because you don’t always feel confident enough to talk about yourself and promote yourself. That is why I love social media so much; it is a free platform that reaches a lot of people if you network right and use it the right way. This is how I grew my business. Every time I landed a new client or got them a placement, no matter how big or small, my social networks knew about it. Soon enough, businesses started calling me, and I didn’t have to go look for clients. They were coming to me from Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Instagram. Q. What is one thing you love and one thing you dislike about being in PR? A. I love PR because it takes a lot of creativity to pitch your clients to different types of media for maximum exposure. I have to work both the left side and right side of the brain! PR is a challenging industry. It is a challenge to get journalists attention, but I am up for the challenge, and I have a pretty good track record. Q. What is one of your proudest moments being in PR? A. One of my post proudest moments as a publicist was my recent, red carpet event for fashion Icon Sue Wong. I was in charge of publicity and the red carpet. I was hired later on in the process, so I only had one month to get as much media placement and coverage as possible for the event. I succeeded, but not alone. I am happy to say when I need help, I have an amazing network of fellow publicists that I hired to help me put this event off! We had around 40 different media outlets taking photos and covering the event. Fox 11 and Channel 7 News were some of them. When you need help, it is ok to ask for it, as long as you get the job done and the client is happy. I handled the red carpet for 400 guests, and it was one of my proudest moments. Cristine Devine from Fox 11 was honored with an award at the event for Broadcast Icon. I knew her from previous events I have coordinated, and on the red carpet and she said on camera how proud she is of me and how far along I have come. It’s up on my website if you would like to see. https://youtu.be/ SLXVPnasLrU
Q. Tell us about some of your other hobbies? A. I am really into heavy metal and rock ‘n’ roll, which is funny because no one in my professional networking groups believe it. Maybe because I am such a girly girl, who knows, but I love bands like Slayer, Megadeth and Rob Zombie, and I love going to see bands like that live. I also love playing the guitar and piano. Q. What are some things you are working on for 2020? A. I am working with some more holistic clients, herbal companies, and loving it. With everything going on in the world today, I am picking up more clients that have a sense of community or wanting to better change the world in a positive way One of my most interesting clients is Sacred Lotus Yoni Steam; check them out! https://www.sacredlotusyonisteam. com/ I am also excited to share that I am working with some major CBD companies, and if things open up in the near future, I will be coordinating some big launch parties before the end of the year. Q. Tell us one thing you think needs to change in the PR world? A. I feel more companies need to really understand the value PR has and how greatly it can affect their business. When times get tough, PR and marketing budgets are the first to be cut. Being a publicist is hard work, and I feel more credit needs to be given, but I love it and will always be there for my clients who do value me and my work. Q. Where can the fans follow you? A. Instagram @raquelmaiden and my website, raquelfiglo.com
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“ Public Relations provides an individual or business with a positive reputation through earned brand visibility and exposure.”
Sarah Busby 34
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Q. Thanks for Interviewing with us. Tell everyone who you are and where you from? A. I’m Sarah Busby, an entrepreneur, author, and media personality. I am founder of B the Buzz PR; a public relations firm that specializes in Public Relations, Branding, Marketing, Event Planning, Publicity, and Social Media Management. We are designed to work with brands in Lifestyle, Beauty, Fashion, Community Relations and Entertainment. I was born and raised in Mobile, Al. I attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and graduated with a BA in Broadcast Journalism. Along with B the Buzz PR, I have a podcast called Bee Real with Sarah that streams on all the major platforms. In my free time, you can find me trying out new restaurants, creating experiences and hosting events. Oh, and I can’t live this life without Chipotle! Q. How would you define a Public Relations? A. Public Relations provides an individual or business with a positive reputation through earned brand visibility and exposure. So, when you’re hiring a public relations firm you need to make sure the firm is: responsible for building your business’s reputation through media placement in earned shared, and owned, media communications. A public relations firm’s goal is increasing your exposure in front of your clients, employees and key stakeholders. Q. What are the main skills needed to be in PR? A. Creative, Great communication skills, Amazing research skills, Time Management Q. Tell us what made you start the company “B The Buzz PR”? A. The simple answer is when I didn’t get a call back from seeking a job in journalism. My degree is in Broadcast Journalism, so my desire was to be an on-air personality. I decided I would create my own company and try something new like PR. I had no idea what I was doing. However, the benefit that had helped me is taking the knowledge of working
in a newsroom nearly 14 hours a day and understanding how the newsroom flow. Five years later we serve clients in Public Relations, Branding, Marketing, Social Media and Event Management. Q. What do you find to be the most challenging in being in PR? A. 1. Being patient. I’ve always been an impatient person but working in public relations you must have patience and a thick skin. For me, I believe in my clients brand as if it was my very own business. I know I have the power to push the brand at every capacity within my means. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re just stuck on read, or the journalist is not interested. In those cases, we have to re navigate our intentions, our angles and focus on timing. 2. Not always in control: As much as we plan, strategize, cross our T’s and dot our I’s we are not in control of the perception or reaction of the audience. It’s also out of control how the media how positions they message. Sometimes we won’t know until after the interview is published. 3. Unrealistic expectations: Clients or prospects have unrealistic expectations when desiring to hire a publicist. Social media has portrayed as the ideal scapegoat to fame. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. You would rather build relationships and character over time than be a one quick wonder. This also includes click- bait. Don’t be a click bait, be a business of substance that want to stay top of mind for a long time. 4. Unpredictability of the media: similar to not having control but different. The media and current events changes by the minute. It’s important to stay alert on news trends and what they’re reporting about. Q. What are some of the things you love about being a Publicist? A. I whole heartedly love seeing clients receive the exposure they’ve been seeking and deserve. It’s one thing to know you have a good brand that needs publicity, but it’s another thing to know
who to obtain the level of success of being recognized for your accomplishments. Q. If you can go anywhere in the world where would you go? A. I’ve always had a fascination with Paris. I studied French in high school and college and fell in love with their culture and food. Q. Are there any new projects you working on? A. At the beginning of quarantine I launched “Buzz on the Go” as a new service offering for COVID-19 support to small business owners. I also transitioned that to be the beginning of my educational series. I now have three E books on public relations and branding. I will be launching three new T-shirt designs for in mid to late August. Q. What advice can you give to others that want to be a PR? A. Start building relationships now. If you can intern under a PR firm or a publicist definitely do that. It wouldn’t even hurt to intern with public relations firm that gave different niches. One firm may be focused on entertainment while another firm may be focused on solely certain small business clients. Q. Where can the audience follow us at? A. They can follow me at @bthebuzzpr @bubblybusby
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