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The “art” of PR is like backup
singing…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCPads4i9ug&feature=youtu.be

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ANDREW JOSEPH PR is a full service
communications firm specializing in shelter,
design and lifestyle brands. We create
programs that are customized to support
client business goals and communication
needs as well as to drive bottom-line results.
Our approach goes beyond publicity and
product placement; we start with brand
strategy. We are a dynamic, passionate
boutique agency with large agency
capabilities. Our senior level talent is
intimately involved with each client, and
our excellent credentials and contacts with
key lifestyle, design and shelter
publications, producers, blogs and
influencers, make us a powerful force.

Client List
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ALAN TANKSLEY
ALLY COULTER
THE ANTIQUES DIVA
DAVID DALTON
DE LE CUONA
FROMENTAL
FUSE LIGHTING
GEORGE SMITH
JENNIFER MEHDITASH
JOHN DOUGLAS EASON
JOHN LYLE
LOUIS NAVARETTE
MARK CUTLER DESIGN
MARTIN PATRICK EVAN
NELLA VETRINA
PHILIP GORRIVAN

Pro Bono Work
THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE OF LONG ISLAND
The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island is the 100th
house of over 300 Ronald McDonald House programs
worldwide that provide stability and resources for
families with seriously ill children, giving them a cozy
and safe place to call “home” while they’re away from
their own. Located in New Hyde Park, NY, The Ronald
McDonald House of Long Island offers home-cooked
meals, private bedrooms, playrooms for children, and
more, allowing families to face the weight of illness
together while their child undergoes medical
treatment at the nearby hospitals. RMHLI has touched
the lives of over 18,000 families by providing a safe
reprieve for those most in need.
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Dwell With Dignity
Dwell with Dignity is a non-profit
group of Interior Designers and
volunteers dedicated to creating
soothing, inspiring homes for families
struggling with homelessness and
poverty. We provide and install home
interiors for families that include
furnishings and art, bedding and
kitchen supplies, and food in the
pantry.

The old school definition
•The definition of public relations used by the
Public Relations Institute of America is: “The
deliberate, planned and sustained effort to
establish and maintain mutual
understanding between and organization
(or individual) and it’s (or their) publics.”
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• Relentless self-publicity made Dorothy Draper a household
name – as did such books as “Decorating is Fun” in which she
encouraged American housewives to copy her own daring,
color combinations. She had her name in newspapers from
Sacramento, CA to Sarasota, FL.
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•Public relations is no longer about
getting press release out and faxing it
to the masses. It’s about networking,
connecting the dots and it’s very
individual.
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Public Relations is also the balance between
PERCEPTION & REALITY
• Not everyone is ready to hire a public relations firm.
• PR is a very expensive commodity and you have to be ready for it.
• There are many things you can do on your own to get your name out
there.
• Conferences like The Design Bloggers Conference and events at your
local design centers.
• Blogging and social media are essential promotional platform to elevate
your brand and get your individual story honed and refined.
• Go to Design Camp. Read Amy Flurry’s book: Recipe for Press!
• Build your brand and then explore PR.
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How do you build your brand?
• Networking is essential – there is power in
numbers.
• Fellow designers / manufactures / even
other public relations firms are not to be
seen as competitors but rather a source of
creativity and ideas on how to build your
brand and get to the next level.
• The future is ALL about collaboration.
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When are you ready to hire and collaborate
with a public relations firm?
• Once you have developed your brand and have
some great projects to share you need:
PHOTOGRAPHY - PHOTOGRAPHY –
PHOTOGRAPHY!
• Let social media be your friend not your foe.
• Don’t post your projects on your social media
platforms or your website!
• You can tease the social media realm with tiny
vignettes, that client you only did a living room for
or post what inspires you but DO NOT post full
projects.
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Successful Public Relations is
ALL ABOUT the tension (and dance) between
THE WE & THE I!
• The more a client provides the AJPR team with
ideas, projects, and story angles the more
rewarding the process and outcome.
• It’s not like buying advertising where you spend
money and getting exactly what you want right
down to the placement of your logo.
• THERE WILL BE HOMEWORK.
• Working with a Public Relations professional means
you have to get creative and connect the dots
……... and that leads to the BIG IDEAS?
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What do HGTV, Social Media and Public
Relations have in common?
• HGTV gives a false perception to the end user that
projects can be completed in 36 hours.
• Social Media, with it’s instant gratification of likes
and comments on a post gives the false
impression that getting your project placed in a
print magazine happens overnight.
• PATIENCE IS KEY
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Crockpots VS Microwaves
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It’s better to cook in a crockpot than
heat up in a microwave….
VS

Public Relations firms are not all
the same.
• Big Agency vs. Small Boutique Firms…. everyone aims for the same
results, which means INK or stories on blogs and in newspapers and
magazines.
• Working with a big agency means meeting with the heads of the
firm and getting your account turned over to a junior executive in
their early twenties.
• Working with small boutique agencies (usually) means you are
working with senior level professionals that have deep
understanding of the business and process of public relations.
• Good PR people see themselves as an extension of your
businesses’ internal team.
• How we get paid… More often than not, it’s a monthly retainer.
But Special Projects and short-term arrangements do apply. 90% of
my clients are long term open ended
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Finding the right fit for you..
• Finding the right fit is very personal.
• Different strokes for different folks.
• All very personal and subjective who
the right fit is for you.
• Everyone has different style and a
different set of skills.
• Research the options and the players.
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NOTED DESIGN PUBLICISTS
Los Angles
•Tamar Mashigian Tamar@cDecor.com
•Rich Pedine www.richpedinepr.com
•Sean Yashar www.theculturecreative.com
New York
•Christina Juarez www.cjandco.com
•Jan MacLatchie www.janmacbrands.com
•Elizabeth Blitzer www.blitzerandcompany.com
•Head and Hand PR www.headandhandpr.com
And that’s JUST the tip of the iceberg.
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In Seth Godin’s book: The Icarus Deception,
he challenges readers to find the courage
to treat their work as a form of art.
• Everyone knows that Icarus’s father made him
wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun;
he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom.
The lesson: Play it safe.
• But we tend to forget that Icarus was also warned
not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin
the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more
dangerous than flying too high, because it feels
deceptively safe.
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Painting isn’t worth very much
but ART is!!!
• In Dafen, a suburb of
the coastal city of
Shenzhen in China's
south-eastern
Guangdong province,
thousands of artists
labor constantly to
reproduce famous
paintings for the mass
market. That’s not ART
it’s painting.
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While it may seem counter intuitive to say - my
predominate mantra in running my business is
embracing that I don’t always know what I am doing.
• The fear is that if I get locked into being overly confident “in knowing the
path” the road will change and I have to find my way again.
• SO I embrace my work like an artist would. Creating brushstrokes that
create a masterpiece.
• That’s what good PR is all about - like a Monet painting it takes thousands of
brush strokes to create a good PR campaign to come into focus.
• Dorothy Draper was quoted saying "Never look back, except for an
occasional glance, look ahead and plan for the future. Success is not built
on past laurels, but rather on a continuous activity. Keep busy searching out
new ideas and, experimentally, keep ahead of the times, or at least up with
them.”
• So my final thought: keep growing and evolving as a designer and small
business owner….. and most importantly find your wings and fly!
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