Interview with Linhart PR’s Sharon Linhart

Gold Pick Platinum sponsor Linhart Public Relations opened in 1996 as Linhart McClain Finlon and was involved with PRSA Colorado from the firm’s inception. Sharon Linhart, APR, managing partner, Linhart Public Relations, also was a member for a decade before that. She notes how gratifying it has been over the years since she has served as chapter president, numerous Linhart employees have served on the board and as committee chairs and now, how several Linhart employees are extremely active on the Young Professionals committee, helping to shape the future of PR in Colorado. She says, “The Chapter continues to grow not only in size, but in influence and stature, and I’m proud that I and my team have had the opportunity to be a part of that.”

Sharon took the time to offer her insights about Linhart PR, PRSA and what it takes to produce Gold Pick-worthy work.

We know that Linhart has had quite a few award-winning campaigns, how do you decide which one to enter into Gold Picks?

We evaluate campaigns to submit each year against some key screens – relevant research; quantitative objectives; significant, quantitative results that go beyond news coverage; creative, yet flawless execution; compelling story and business challenges; and back-up information for all of the above. If a campaign meets the above criteria, we’re confident it could be a winner.

Out of all of the Gold Pick entries that you submitted this year, which one was your favorite and why?
It’s almost impossible to choose a favorite. We submitted five different entries – for public relations work for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Fogo de Chão, Allonhill and UnitedHealthcare – this year in four different categories, and we’re so pleased to report they’ve all received awards….of course Gold or Silver Pick, that we won’t know until the Gold Pick Awards ceremony. We’re honored and excited to celebrate these successes as a team and together with some of our clients on event night.

If you could give us three tips on how to put together an award-winning Gold Pick entry, what would they be?

I have four tips, actually:

Use awards criteria – relevant research, quantitative objectives, creative execution and significant, quantitative results – to develop all of your PR programs and tactics. The result is happy clients and amazing work with clear ROI, and also lots of award-winning campaigns to choose from and submit each awards season.

Choose the right category for your entry. Is it a campaign, a robust program executed over a long period of time, or is it a tactic that focused on a specialized area and had a specific point-in-time execution?

Ensure your award summary hits a home run. The required summaries are the most important component of your entry. It’s got to be:

• Compelling – Tell an impactful story and illustrate how the program succeeded against the business challenge.
• Cohesive – Link all parts and pieces together.
• Clear – Avoid jargon, follow the Call for Entry guidelines closely and save the supporting detail for the entry binder.

Make sure your entry binder supports your story. Include only relevant information, help the judges navigate through the binder’s contents with eye-catching stickers or “Call-Outs”, and follow the binder guidelines.

Looking back historically at Linhart PR over the past ten years (including the days of Linhart McClain Finlon), can you talk to us about how the agency has evolved? What’s been your recipe for success?

We have grown steadily by staying focused on trying to be the best firm to work for, which has allowed us to attract and retain some of the best and brightest in the industry and gain national recognition. Linhart PR has a work hard/play hard culture and we pride ourselves on doing great work for clients, which has led to long-term relationships with many clients such as Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. We’ve partnered with Red Robin for over a decade. The secret is really quite simple – treat our staff and our clients like they are the most important people in the world because, outside of our families, they are!

Can you give us an example of an award-winning campaign that Linhart did in the past ten years and talk to us about how you would do it differently if you were to execute that campaign again today?

Almost all of the campaigns we execute today incorporate social media elements that allow our clients to engage with loyal brand enthusiasts or connect with niche audiences that have formed communities online. We certainly weren’t tweeting, Facebooking or checking in on Foursquare 10 years ago.

Recently Linhart launched its Dialogue blog and I’ve seen a lot of talk on Twitter about @LinhartPR. Can you talk to us about how this move into social media came about and how this will change your agency?

Social media has become a monumental force in our business, and it is really amazing how quickly it has become a necessary ingredient, if not a priority tactic, for PR plans. We use social media every day to promote our firm and our clients and, of course, we encourage our clients to use it effectively, too. It has changed our agency because we now have Paula Berg, our phenomenal digital media leader on board, and her social media leadership and knowledge is nationally renowned. She is a gift to our firm and our clients, and a blast to work with too. While we were already deeply engaged in social media before Paula joined us, she has helped Linhart PR to up the ante!