OKLAHOMA CITY – Saxum, a multi-dimensional creative, public relations and marketing firm, recently announced the promotion of Houda Elyazgi to senior account executive, Lisa Janssen to media relations supervisor, Rachel Leonard to account executive and Anthony Triana to media relations specialist.
Elyazgi is responsible for managing accounts, conducting research, writing, developing campaign strategies and planning special events for clients as a senior account executive. She also coordinates Saxum’s Step Up program, which provides a $50,000 pro bono service grant to one Oklahoma nonprofit each year. Elyazgi graduated with distinctions from The University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s in journalism and mass communications with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in Arabic.
As media relations supervisor, Janssen oversees writing, communications and media outreach for Saxum accounts, focusing on strategic media placements that reach clients’ objectives. She also oversees the firm’s social media presence and conducts trainings for clients in traditional and social media. Janssen brings a multimedia and journalism background to Saxum, after graduating summa cum laude from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and a minor in Spanish.
Leonard serves as an account executive at Saxum, focusing on account support and management, with a particular emphasis on Saxum’s health care clients. She also has experience using social media communications tools to effectively reach target audiences and garner media coverage for clients. Leonard graduated with academic distinction from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations
Triana leads the Saxum Intelligence Department, focusing on conducting research, writing and gathering information of interest to Saxum’s clients. As a media relations specialist, he also supports Saxum’s media efforts through strategic expert positioning of Saxum clients. Triana graduated from The University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s in journalism and mass communication with an emphasis in public relations and a bachelor’s of business administration in finance.
About Saxum
Saxum provides integrated strategies in public relations and marketing for clients at the local, regional and national level. Saxum also provides creative services through its wholly-owned subsidiary Maxus Creative. With offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and a presence in Austin and Dallas, Saxum is ranked 13th of 135 independent public relations firms based on annual revenue growth by O’Dwyer’s PR Services Report and is a member of IPREX, one of the world’s largest international public relations networks. For more information, visit www.saxumpr.com.
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Saxum, a multi-dimensional creative, public relations and marketing firm, announced today it has selected Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma (BBBSOK) as the recipient of the firm’s $50,000 pro bono service grant for 2010-2011.
“Saxum is pleased to add Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma to our client roster,” said Saxum CEO Renzi Stone. “We look forward to a year-long partnership with this dynamic statewide organization, based in Tulsa. They have an important story to tell that we are excited to help share in the communities they serve.”
BBBSOK has offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Bartlesville, Claremore, Stillwater, Ada/Shawnee and Norman.
Step Up is a grant program that will provide BBBSOK with access to a suite of integrated public relations, marketing and creative services at Saxum that will include a combination of strategic counsel, media relations assistance and select creative services.
“We are so thrilled to have been chosen for the Saxum Step Up grant,” said Sharla Hall Owens, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma CEO. “We know that with Saxum’s expertise and guidance, the next year will be full of new opportunities to raise awareness for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma and, ultimately, positively impact the lives of thousands of children in Oklahoma.”
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Thinking back to my days as a student at Gaylord College, I remember an encounter with an executive of a Fortune 500 company.
He asked me what I like most about public relations. I quickly answered, “Working with nonprofits.” He looked at me, puzzled, and said, “Why? There’s no money in nonprofits!” My interest in helping nonprofits with public relations has nothing to do with monetary reward, but with the reward of helping a cause larger than myself.
Many nonprofits do operate on a limited marketing budget, so working in the industry often requires inexpensive, creative solutions to meet objectives. Here are some recommendations on inexpensive ways to market your nonprofit without blowing your budget.
- Establish a social media presence. Social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and You Tube are free to join and can increase your nonprofit’s visibility in the community. These sites can also improve your search engine optimization.
- Develop corporate and community partnerships that make sense. The Made in Oklahoma Coalition (client), a group of Oklahoma food manufacturers who work to promote local Oklahoma products, has established a successful partnership with local food banks. A portion of proceeds from the sale of MIO paper towels and cookbooks benefit the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Food 4 Kids program.
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Saxum Public Relations, an integrated public relations, strategic marketing and creative firm, today announced it is opening an office in Tulsa and has hired Christopher Payne, APR, to serve as vice president and general manager of the Tulsa office.
“As a Tulsa native, I am excited to announce that we will be opening an office in my hometown,” said Saxum President and CEO Renzi Stone. “We already have an existing client base in the area, and we see tremendous potential for growth.”
Payne comes to Saxum with more than 20 years of public relations and strategic communications experience. He previously served as senior manager of corporate communications for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc., a global corporation and one of Saxum’s newest clients. Payne worked at the company for nearly 17 years, having started as a manager of corporate communications for the Thrifty Car Rental brand. Prior to joining Thrifty, he spent four years working for public relations and political consulting agencies in the Dallas area, leading a number of regional and national accounts.
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The Economist reported last week the public relations business had fared well in 2009. Most encouraging is the projection for revenues to double by 2013.
For months, I have been espousing to anyone who will listen that the PR strategist will lead every marketing discipline in the future – at the corporate, NGO and small business level. It is my belief that media relations, social media, strategic communications, crisis and creative services has a natural home, and that traditional advertising is irreconcilable with the new marketing mix.
Further proof is the latest StevensGouldPincus By the Numbers Management Survey Report, which showed agency revenue up in 2009. Most impressive is the growth by agencies with more than $25M in revenue with 54.1 percent increase in net revenues. Nearly all firms projected a stronger 2010, with Rick Gould opining that “the PR agency historically rebounds after a recession. All indications are that this rebound will occur in 2010.”
We shall see.
In an effort to continue to provide quality service to our clients, Saxum|PR recently conducted an annual review of our media relations accomplishments.
In 2008, Saxum successfully placed our clients in national, regional and statewide media outlets for a total of over 2,000 articles, interviews, web features and videos. The majority of the media coverage garnered by Saxum came from print publications, with television outlets still a strong resource. Saxum is expanding its outreach to online news sites and is increasing its social networking capabilities for clients in an effort to appeal to the changing technological environment.
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