In this latest ‘meet the lorries’ blog, we chatted with Boston lorry Maddie Veneziano, who’s recently joined the lorries as an account coordinator after graduating college. Here’s what she had to say about starting a new job remotely, the importance of effective communication (particularly when ordering mimosas), and the next instalment of The Hunger Games. Maddie, we need to know what happens!
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in working in b2b tech PR and marketing?
Get ready to take a deep dive into your clients’ industries! B2b technology can be complex, so it’s important to have a good grasp of what your clients do before you start creating campaigns and content for them. Some ways to learn include reading trade publications, following popular journalists who cover your clients’ industry on Twitter, and creating Google Alerts for relevant keywords.
What skills are essential for your b2b PR role?
There are so many aspects of communications that play a role in the day-to-day job of a b2b PR professional. For example, you must be able to communicate openly with your team – to let them know what you’re working on and to be able to reach out for help if you need it. You also need to be able to communicate with your clients. They expect you to respond promptly, to have a professional yet conversational tone, and to have the answers to their questions! Lastly, you need to think about how to communicate with the audiences of your clients, especially when you’re drafting social media posts and other public-facing materials.
Someone working in b2b PR needs to be able to effectively communicate in all of these ways!
What is your favourite part of working in PR?
I really enjoy helping clients solve problems and achieve their goals. Sometimes we need to get creative to figure out an angle to make a pitch interesting, or how to increase social media engagement. It’s rewarding to be part of a team that can achieve these goals and work together to make our clients happy.
What’s the best part of working at the lorries?
Definitely the people! I was concerned about what it would be like to start a job remotely, but from day one I have felt supported and accepted by the lorries. Having weekly agency-wide calls is a great way to see everyone’s faces (over Zoom, of course) and still feel connected.
How would you describe your day job to a child?
I get people to pay attention to the cool things my clients do!
What’s your guilty pleasure?
I love YA novels and movies like The Twilight Series and The Hunger Games. In eighth grade, my friends and I actually “wrote” a fourth book to The Hunger Games – we passed along a binder each week and wrote it by hand! I have no idea where that binder is, but I would be so embarrassed to read it today.
What’s something not many people know about you?
I really enjoy event planning. In college, I planned over 30 events for students to attend – all for free. It taught me a lot of skills that I think transfer to PR, like having strong organizational skills and knowing how to adapt when things don’t go as planned. It also gave me the chance to meet some cool performers – such as winners of competition shows like The Voice, American Idol, and America’s Got Talent – and the chance to travel to programming conventions. If you ever need an extra hand with an event, I’m your gal!
Most embarrassing moment?
There are unfortunately so many! One that recently happened was when I was out to brunch in Boston with a friend. I went to order, and I totally blanked on the word “mimosa.” I kept calling it, “the breakfast drink,” and my friend and the server thought I meant coffee. It was probably a good 30 seconds until I could finally find the word I was looking for.
If you’d like to find out more about the lorries and the openings we currently have available, click here, or drop us an email at hello@rlyl.com.
