 For many theme parks Spring is a dormant time of year when the worst of the weather passes. But all should not be quiet in your marketing and PR departments. Spring is a great time to jumpstart many activities that will pay off in the busy season.
Here are 12 activities you can start now to prepare your park for peak season. 1. Map Out Your “Big Announcements” and stories for the Year Do you have a fantastic summer music lineup you’ll need to promote? How about a new ride opening or attraction? Whatever it is, map it out and put it on your editorial calendar now so you have time to plan for and promote it.  Hiring a PR firm is a big step for any new or growing brand. If you've reached this point, congratulations, you’ve gotten farther than a lot of other brands ever have. Here are seven common myths to avoid when considering hiring a PR firm.
1. The Best PR Firms Are Really Big Choosing a big PR firm that works with big clients can be a bad choice for new and emerging brands for several reasons. Big PR firms are expensive for cost-conscious brands. Unless they have a “small brand” department big PR firms are mainly focused on their big, name-brand clients, because they look good, and they bring in most of the money. Most big PR firms don’t specialize in the nuances of startups. While they may have fancy reports and a fleet of underlings to meet with you regularly, big PR firms don’t usually understand the specific needs of budding entrepreneurship associated with startups. You’re better off looking for PR firms that specialize in, and have results for companies of a similar size and focus to yours.  You’re busy running a startup. You don’t have a communications “team” of 50 people to help you prepare for conversations with the press. You personally don’t have time for an intensive 2 week course on media training. What you DO have is an interview or media opportunity in two days that you’re scared to death about.
Fear not. Here’s what you need to know to get started. 1. Know The Show Familiarize yourself with the show or venue you’re going to be on. Do your homework. If it’s a blog, read previous articles. If it’s a TV show, watch previous episodes. If it’s a podcast, or radio show, listen to a few episodes. If it’s available, read over the list of episode titles and guests over the last few months. Try and get a sense of why the show exists and what it’s about.  No product sells itself without help–not even in the best of times. So how is your business supposed to market itself when, as they say in Hamilton, “the world turned upside down?”
On the marketing and PR front, a lot has changed. Ads from “the before time” featuring large crowds or one-on-one interactions can be downright triggering. Regular marketing and PR cycles have been disrupted, major events have been canceled, and seasonal trends that worked last year just don’t make sense now. On the homefront, Americans face problems that keep people up at night. More people are working from home, if they’re lucky enough to still have a job. Kids are “learning from home,” putting extra strain on parents and caregivers. Unemployment in the United States is at a historic high. Many have lost loved ones. Many are wondering how they’re going to get through this time. So what’s a marketer to do? It doesn’t seem right to try to get people jazzed about your product when the world is so very different than it was mere months ago. Fortunately, there are some simple guidelines to help you keep your company’s brand as stable as possible, despite this most unusual and difficult time.  We live in a golden age of video conferencing on national TV news shows, especially with social distancing protocols. News shows are relying on remote experts now more than ever. This is a great opportunity for your brand to speak to key issues that people care about. But not all video conferencing call-in interviews are created equal. Unless you’re a first responder calling in from a hospital or emergency location, your remote video interview should look as professional as possible. Here are some simple tips to help you look professional and be taken seriously.  To say that PR and the media has changed in the last decade is an understatement. We’ve gone from a 24-hr news cycle to a multi-platform, 24/7, saturated media culture with up-to-the minute headlines that change with the slightest of input.
So what’s a startup to do? Can you still make headlines? What’s changed and what’s still the same? The answers are in the new book; Snow Tires for Startups: How to Get PR Traction. Here are three of the tried and true takeaways from the book that your startup needs to know about PR today.  Knowing when to start PR isn’t always easy, especially for startups. In my years of public relations and marketing experience, very few startups begin their PR efforts too early. Some startups wait to begin public relations until they’ve been selling products for over a year, and some wait until they feel like they have a story worth sharing. With so many outside voices insisting that a startup “must start now” on advertising, social media, SEO, rebranding, choosing an office space, hiring a team, winning awards, and giving cars as signing bonuses, it’s a lot. I get it.
 Do big PR firms work for startups? Should your startup hire a big PR firm? The siren song of larger, global PR firms, with their flashy results are tempting to many, but there are good reasons startups should avoid them, at least until they have tens of thousands of PR dollars to spend monthly on a firm, at which point, they will no longer be a startup.
If you have a startup looking for a PR firm, you can do better than a big firm. Here’s why.  Tis’ the season for pumpkin spice, Autumn leaves, peppermint, and eggnog everything. But there’s more to running successful holiday campaigns than slapping a red and green bow on your products and expecting them to sell. Here are three communications secrets to creating compelling holiday messaging that speaks to your audience, drives more conversions, and creates life-long customers.
 Whether you run a startup, a mid-size consumer product company, or another kind of successfully growing brand, you know how competitive the holiday season gets. Here are three tips to making your brand stand out during the holiday season.
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About the AuthorJennifer is a storyteller who connects big ideas with audiences. She specializes in public relations, brand development, and creative services for startups, theme parks, musicians, authors, nonprofits, and more. From audience awareness to brand development, and positive social change, Jennifer works with clients she believes in and that she believes she can help. 
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Get Jennifer's Upcoming BookSnow Tires for Startups: How to Get PR Traction, is a practical guide for startups and growing brands who want to get the most out of their PR. Learn to think like a storyteller and weave your brand into a larger narrative that puts you in the history books. Snow Tires for Startups will help you navigate the world for PR and get the positive attention you need to move your brand forward.
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“Is my startup ready for PR?" The answer has a lot to do with what your startup is already doing. Find out if you're ready now, if you should wait, or if you should have started PR months ago with this simple quiz.
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3 Ways Big PR Firms Slow Down StartupsDo big global PR firms work for startups? The siren song of larger, global PR firms are tempting to many, but there are good reasons many startups should avoid them. You can do better than a big firm. Here’s why.
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Jacobson Communication specializes in public relations, brand development, and creative services for startups, theme parks, musicians, authors, nonprofits, and more. From audience awareness to brand development, and positive social change, you'll be surprised what better communications can do for your brand.
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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Acknowledgement to the southern Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish Indigenous Peoples whose land I live and work on.
The Duwamish People
This land also includes the traditional land and waterways of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People of past and present. It is with honor and gratitude to the land itself, the plants, animals, and the Duwamish Tribe that I practice my work.
The Puyallup Tribe
This land is also on and adjacent to the traditional homelands and waterways of the Puyallup Tribe. The Puyallup people have lived on and stewarded these lands since the beginning of time and continue to do so today. I recognize that this land acknowledgement is one small step toward true allyship, and I commit to uplifting the voices, experiences, and histories of the Indigenous people of this land and beyond.
To learn more about the Puyallup Tribal Language program, visit:
https://www.puyalluptriballanguage.org
The Awaswas People
I would not be the person I am today without growing up in what is now called the Bay Area. For the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, current and future generations of Indigenous Peoples across the Bay Area. I acknowledge and honor the eight tribes known as the Awaswas People, who were the original people and caretakers of much of what is now known as the South Bay Area. The Awaswas had, since the dawn of time, worked with and cultivated the area so it had a variety and abundance of animals and plants. Their ways and practices maintained balance and biodiversity that the area has not known since colonization. The Spanish displaced, enacted violence against, enslaved, and forced the Awaswas People and other Indigenous Peoples of the Bay Area into the mission system, taking the Awaswas people to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista. Some Indigenous peoples of the area were able to escape to the south and into what is now Mexico. Some of those who escaped had to deny their identity and say they were Mexican in order to survive. Much of this history is still being discovered. Today, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, composed of the descendants of Indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish the Spanish Colonization of the Central Coast is working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.
To learn more about the Amah Mutsun Land Trust, click here.
The Duwamish People
This land also includes the traditional land and waterways of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People of past and present. It is with honor and gratitude to the land itself, the plants, animals, and the Duwamish Tribe that I practice my work.
The Puyallup Tribe
This land is also on and adjacent to the traditional homelands and waterways of the Puyallup Tribe. The Puyallup people have lived on and stewarded these lands since the beginning of time and continue to do so today. I recognize that this land acknowledgement is one small step toward true allyship, and I commit to uplifting the voices, experiences, and histories of the Indigenous people of this land and beyond.
To learn more about the Puyallup Tribal Language program, visit:
https://www.puyalluptriballanguage.org
The Awaswas People
I would not be the person I am today without growing up in what is now called the Bay Area. For the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, current and future generations of Indigenous Peoples across the Bay Area. I acknowledge and honor the eight tribes known as the Awaswas People, who were the original people and caretakers of much of what is now known as the South Bay Area. The Awaswas had, since the dawn of time, worked with and cultivated the area so it had a variety and abundance of animals and plants. Their ways and practices maintained balance and biodiversity that the area has not known since colonization. The Spanish displaced, enacted violence against, enslaved, and forced the Awaswas People and other Indigenous Peoples of the Bay Area into the mission system, taking the Awaswas people to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista. Some Indigenous peoples of the area were able to escape to the south and into what is now Mexico. Some of those who escaped had to deny their identity and say they were Mexican in order to survive. Much of this history is still being discovered. Today, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, composed of the descendants of Indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish the Spanish Colonization of the Central Coast is working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.
To learn more about the Amah Mutsun Land Trust, click here.