Rough Draft

The Bradford Group in Nashville Tennessee is one of the top 10 marketing agencies that specialize in media relations and publicity for entrepreneurs and middle market companies. This agency creates contagious conversations that build brands, as well as intergrading inbound and outbound marketing, social media and public relations. To better understand the idea of this agency it is vital to grasp what skills are needed in maintaining your writing identity. The way in which a person writes in Public relations, in a professional environment, requires the brevity, clarity and persuasiveness of one’s writing to match the form and tone of the targeted audience. Brooke Berger, Account Executive at The Bradford Group, uses credibility when writing for her specific clients by researching facts about the issue, becoming an expert on the subject, and making sure the style and tone of her writing is clear.

            Creating trustworthiness as a writer requires one to research concrete facts that clarify the message to the readers. Brooke explains that when the facts are in line and the article is complete you have a “golden nugget.” This “golden nugget” refers to the finished piece of writing, which maintains credibility based on the research and precision of facts. In her variety of published work at U.S. News & World Reports she interviewed a variety of clients, ranging from a professor at Dartmouth College, a Washington D.C. Journalist and a U.S. Secretary of Education. She set up her interview questions with Professor Charles Wheelean,, the author of “ The Centrist Manifested”, by researching his background and formulating questions that pertain to his published work. Her tag line, “Professor Charles Wheelean explains how two-party politics is failing the United States, but centrists could change the Senate landscape,” incorporates the facts stated in the interview, said by the author. Formulating these interview questions creates a framework for how the article is articulated and how Brooke managed to concisely maintain credibility throughout the segment. The second article Brooke wrote titled “Don’t Teach to the Test” was created by her interview with Journalist Ron Berler who has written for The New York Times and Chicago Tribune. The excerpt from her article that states “Berler recently spoke to U.S. News about what he sees as problems with standardized testing, the lack of school readiness in the youngest students and the role he says parents should play in their children’s academic success.” Brooke had to formulate questions, conduct an interview, and have concrete facts based on the journalists answers, to maintain credibility in that sentence. For her article that interviewed Former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennet, she states that he explains why a college degree may not be worth the cost. How did she maintain credibility when stating that sentence? William Bennet explains in the interview when asked of Americans should keep sending their kids to college by stating “Sometimes. But they shouldn’t automatically or reflexively send their kids to college. They should pause and think. It’s not like deciding to have breakfast or go to bed, it’s more like, say, to get married. It’s a big decision. [There are] a lot of consequences, a lot of costs, a lot of ups and downs. Investigate with your eyes open.” Brooke formulated her tag line based on these concrete facts from the U.S. Secretary of Education, William Bennett.

            Maintaining concise information throughout an article with concrete facts gives you, as a writer, credibility. Another vital aspect when writing is to become an expert on the subject you are reporting, writing or researching. Brooke explained that depending on her variety of clients the way she writes appeals to not only the audience she is writing for, but knowing exactly what words to avoid, key words to hit on and how much the reader actually pulls from the research and structure of the articles. She explained that if she is tailoring her piece to an investment banker, not only will her research will be different, but what she says and how she says it will be too. Her current position at the Bradford Group focuses on marketing, social media and public relations, which gives her as an Account Executive guidelines to specific clients. On the company website there are a variety of cases that the firm works on, and part of their “three-part brand promise” is to generate measurable results for their clients. For example, one of their accounts is an Antique and Garden business that is branded through the firm, and their motto is to promote and make the brand knowledgeable to the world but to also fit the criteria for what the client wants. Another case is a laser hair removal business, in which the firm is responsible for strengthening customer relationships through social media. They have a variety of accounts, and each of these subjects has a specific tagline, meaning and purpose in the promotion process. Brooke is responsible for managing these accounts and finding out how to brand, market and use media so their name is out in the industry. She needs to be an expert on each of these cases to keep her clients and perform successfully. At her previous work at Key Bridge Communications she would do opinion media, public affairs and PR. At this firm she was responsible for media placement and designs and directed client relationships for pharmaceutical and healthcare clients. In her resume it states that she “excel at building and nurturing strong relationships, ensuring client’s interests are continually addressed. Appreciate for instilling confidence, communicating knowledgeably and delivering on expectations.” Her success was translated into creating 430,000 of revenue for the firm by directing project workflow, from inception to placement. Being an expert on her clients led to not only benefiting her successes in her firms, but that strong and dignified relationship with her clients. Her success as a writer has allowed her to market herself well with clients and have professional success throughout her career.

            Creating that relationship with PR clients is an important aspect of how you write, and whom it is you are writing to. The style and tone of a person’s writing is key to making their point clear. Brooke explained in the interview that she can’t entirely detach her style of writing completely, but the importance of finding your voice while still finishing a type of writing is crucial. Tone is known in many different ways, but in writing it is known as “the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing or situation.” Brooke has written a variety of published worked and according to her resume she has written 5-10 op-ed pieces for newspapers nationwide. The way she sets the tone for each of these papers is tailored to the subject, the audience, the newspaper and expectations of the reader. The tone, in each of her published work at U.S. News & World Reports is entirely different than op-ed pieces in the “Southern Manners Matter” which was published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and later viewed thousands of times on LinkedIn. She mentions that her targeted audience is well known and observed before the completion of her published work. The style of writing is another crucial aspect in the success of her work. Style, in writing is “the literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words — the author's word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text.” In each of her published work, the way she writes, what she says and the points she amplifies on are drastically different with each article. The accounts she manages at The Bradford Group are entirely different writing styles than her work in Washington D.C. or her reporting as a journalist in a traditional newsroom. Persuasiveness, facts to support the article and the targeted audience are vital components to the pieces she writes and the style she uses.

            Conclusion….

            Wrap up each main parapgrah, restate thesis and