Bringing Business to Business

Ten Years with Blattel Communications: Melinda Hepp

May 8, 2015 at 1:41 pm Leave a comment

How Did You Come to Blattel Communications?

I majored in rhetoric and media studies in college, so communications and media relations were long-time professional interests. I came to Blattel Communications after living in Oregon and working in the wine industry. Surprisingly, I wasn’t interested in continuing my career in wine, even after moving to Northern California’s renowned “Wine Country.” Instead, I decided to look for an agency position where I could work with a number of different companies and industries.

It was a very challenging job market at the time, and, since I was attempting to enter into a field with no prior agency or professional services experience (except for one law firm summer gig), I knew I had to differentiate myself. I thought, why email my resume? It might not stand out in a sea of others. I’m going to hand deliver it – perhaps I’ll be viewed as the persistent, determined and professional person I think I am. The worst case scenario is that Blattel Communications (which had an open position at the time) thinks I don’t know how to follow directions and am overly pushy or finds the whole nontraditional application attempt bizarre. Oh well, what did I have to lose? I saw Ellen Blattel’s picture on the website and I thought she looked nice and approachable, so I gave it a shot.

I drove down to the San Francisco Financial District from the North Bay and parked in what I thought was a two-hour spot on Sansome Street. (You can probably already guess what happened to my car.)

I walked in and was greeted by the office manager at the front desk. I asked for Ellen, and while she wasn’t available, Traci Stuart walked out to inquire as to why I had showed up unannounced. I was able to give her my crisp folder and polished resume, express earnest interest in an interview and put a face to a name. I won’t lie: she had a somewhat puzzled look on her face, but apparently the action sparked conversation in the office and, coupled with some good timing, I was added to the short list of interviewees a few hours later – receiving the call as I was driving home. (Those few hours in between my planned/unplanned drop-in and heading home were spent not taking in the sights, but rather fetching my car from the tow lot.) Despite my San Francisco rookie mistake, I was happy to know that I had made a good impression. Fast forward and not only was I lucky enough to land the job, but, ten years later my origin story is one that Traci and Ellen have told to prospective clients as a testament to my tenacious approach to media relations.

I haven’t looked back, and my interests are far from pigeon-holed in this agency setting because my clients span multiple industries. Architecture, construction, real estate, law, public agency, banking and accounting are all market sectors in which I work. I get a lot of satisfaction out of this diverse client base and creating and executing custom campaigns. And, I get to work with a number of different media outlets, editors and journalists. No pitch is ever the same.

What Makes Blattel Communications Special?

Blattel Communications’ dedication to working with professional services is one of our biggest differentiators. Ellen Blattel founded the agency 25 years ago as the first PR firm in the country focused on legal marketing. And while this served as the foundation, our agency has expanded into complementary business-to-business industries.

Blattel Communications is special for many reasons, including our longevity with clients. It’s truly rewarding to evolve and grow with them. Our clients rely on us an extension of their own marketing and business development departments, and they often tell us that we know them better than they know themselves. We are able to bring an outside perspective, yet we have the insider institutional knowledge of a client’s foundational mission, a dimension core to its strategic messaging.

I’ve worked with some of my clients since I started at Blattel Communications nearly 11 years ago. We put a concerted effort into adding value and making sure they want to continue working with us. Not a lot of agencies can say that most of their clients have been with them 10 or even five years. We can – though we don’t take this for granted.

Personally, Ellen, our CEO, and Traci, our president, have long supported my professional growth at our agency. I’ve gone from a single lady living in the “Big City,” to a married mom of two young children long moved out of the city and into the North Bay Area. I’ve attempted to create my own little business unit in the North Bay – a pursuit Blattel Communications supports – and it has worked out well. I co-founded the Professional Services Marketing Group-North Bay and have become involved in various other regional groups and business development endeavors that have afforded me the opportunity to focus and grow the agency’s client-base in this region.

Where is Blattel Communications Headed?

So much has changed since I began working for the agency. Obviously, advancements in technology have been the catalyst for the biggest changes in pretty much all facets of business, and especially communications. We have evolved with it all, and our clients know this and trust that we keep ourselves ahead of the curve. While the marketplace has changed, our outstanding client service has not.

The online media landscape requires us to act quicker – basically in real time when it comes securing quotation “ink” for breaking news, as well as publicizing client announcements. It will be interesting to see how much more instantaneous we can get. Social media, like Twitter, has become a force in breaking and sharing news.

Additionally, moving from print to online media consumption has resulted in in a greater absorption of content more frequently. Therefore, it is imperative that businesses continue to curate, update and share original content. The opportunities for publishing content have multiplied. Gone are the days of having a few columns per year available in industry trade publications to publish byline articles, or limited opportunities to see press releases published in article form due to print cycle time lapse. Today, the media wants to constantly keep their online news pages fresh, and there is virtually never-ending demand for content. We play a large role in keeping the fresh content stream flowing for our clients – which, as we know they are very busy, takes a tremendous amount of creativity, strategy and manpower.

Visuals, like videos, photos and infographics, are desired to support written content (or as stand-alone communications pieces) for online media, so we are consistently conveying to our clients the importance of considering the visual element of their communications strategies, especially in the AEC and real estate industries.

It is a very exciting time when it comes to communications, and Blattel Communications is at the forefront of this evolution. I feel fortunate to be part of an agency that values its employees. Over the next few weeks you will hear from team members who have been with the agency 15, 20 and 25 years. Both clients and employees value what we do. It makes for a wonderful combination that has proven staying power.

— Melinda Hepp

Entry filed under: AEC, Public Relations.