Following our successful Chicago chapter launch, we were excited to learn more about the local PR community and the pros leading the industry far beyond city limits. We checked in with top PR minds to learn about their work, local favorites and what makes Chicago an exciting place to be in right now.
What categories do your clients fit into?
I am the Head of Marketing for MSL and I lead PR, marketing and comms for select Publicis Groupe creative agencies – so I do PR for Publicis’s premier PR agency as well as many of the advertising agencies. More specifically... MSL is a global public relations and integrated communications agency. As one of the world’s most powerful influence engines for brands, companies and leaders, our mission is to make our clients more influential because influence is the true force of change in the world. Working at the speed of culture, MSL harnesses the power of communications to grow business and build brand reputation by influencing conversations, culture choices and change. We work with clients in all practices, sectors and verticals, with a focus on corporate reputation, healthcare as well as consumer and brand marketing.
What’s unique about the Chicago comms world? What nuances are there marketing your clients locally vs. nationally (or internationally)?
The Chicago PR and communications community is one of a kind – and I mean that. We genuinely care about and get to know each other personally and professionally. We lookout for one another, look for one another and never hesitate to lift each other up. We are natural collaborators, and, true to our midwestern roots, we authentically care and put emphasis on advocacy, especially in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion.
What are your favorite spots to dine, shop, work out, primp, etc.?
As a Chicago native, I love so much about our city – dining, shopping, entertainment. A few of my personal favorites are attending Blackhawks, Bears and Bulls games at the United Center and Soldier Field. Clark Street Ale House is my favorite bar in the city (best beers on tap, a beer garden and dog friendly – how does it get better?!). With the best food in the country (yes, I truly believe this), a few of my favorite restaurants are Aba + Ema, Lyra, Jinsei Motto, Mott Street, Siena Tavern and Piccolo Sogno.
Please share a sneak peek of exciting current / upcoming projects.
As the head of Marketing for MSL and oversight over PR, marketing and communications for some of the creative agencies at Publicis Groupe, I’m always coming up with new ways to build influence and drive impact for both our agencies and our agency clients.
What categories do your clients fit into?
As a boutique agency, our clients span across a range of categories. Just as we represent incredible nonprofits and powerhouse brands, we also tell the stories of inspiring entrepreneurs, authors and thought leaders in a number of different industries, from education to retail and healthcare to B2B services. This diversity in industry for each client has been very valuable to us as we continue to grow. Because none of our clients are competitors, we’re able to work with a wider spectrum of journalists, producers and editors in order to make sure each client gets the best possible earned media coverage.
What’s unique about the Chicago comms world? What nuances are there marketing your clients locally vs. nationally (or internationally)
Even though Chicago is a globally-known city, Chicago media tends to be very locally-focused. When pitching clients locally, we work hard to find and highlight community-based stories. Media really does want to talk to local Chicagoans who are making a difference, whether that be as a business leader or entrepreneur.
While this is certainly a difference compared to other large markets like LA or NYC, for example, we’ve been able to secure some longer-form, impactful stories for clients that really dig deep into their Chicago ties. Building relationships with journalists and other members of the media has been critical as we develop those more in-depth feature and profile pieces, and allow us to center our clients as changemakers in the community.
What are your favorite spots to dine, shop, work out, primp, etc.?
I am absolutely obsessed with Chicago’s restaurant scene so this one is a tough one! I would say Aba, Adalina and Piccolo Sogno are some of my all-time favorite spots, and I love Scratchboard Kitchen as well. I love boutique shopping so you will often find me hitting up the small independently owned shops like Charisma up in Arlington Heights. But I do love a good find on Amazon, too! You can find me working out in my garage and running outdoors when I can, even in the winter. As far as primping, Sephora all the way and I am addicted to my lashes!
Please share a sneak peek of exciting current / upcoming projects.
Just as we currently represent a number of incredible Chicago-based companies and individuals making waves in our city, there are multiple openings, announcements and events coming up that we’re thrilled to be working on. Without giving too much away, I’d say this is looking like a very exciting next year for the Windy City! From hospitality and nightlife openings, to nonprofit galas and one-of-a-kind sporting competitions and events, there’s always something close on the horizon.
Zapwater’s clients are best-in-class travel and lifestyle brands. About 60% of our clients are travel brands, including global and domestic destinations, global airlines, hotels and resorts. Our other valued clients are primarily consumer clients with our fastest area of growth being the beauty and wellness space.
What’s unique about the Chicago comms world? What nuances are there marketing your clients locally vs. nationally (or internationally)?
Chicago has always been an agency town. But when I started Zapwater, I saw a void for a creative boutique agency. My vision was to fill that void while expanding to other office locations in Los Angeles and Miami. Many years ago, I was also told that a Chicago-based agency couldn’t focus (or succeed) in the travel space. That never made sense to me.
The Windy City has always been a transportation hub. Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) offers flights to cities in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Moreover, Chicago joins New York City as one of just two destination in the Americas with nonstop air service to all six inhabited continents. Overseas, the only other cities in this category are London, Dubai and Doha.
We chose not to listen, and what’s resulted is a thriving travel practice. Now, Zapwater has clients around the globe and our award-winning work has taken the Zapwater team to every continent except for Antarctica. I’m confident that we’ll get there too.
What are your favorite spots to dine, shop, work out, primp, etc.?
I enjoy using Blind Barber Beard Oil whenever I’m growing out my beard. Additionally, I rarely get my haircut in Chicago. Since I travel internationally so often, I love getting haircuts in little barber shops wherever I am traveling. After all, local barbers are a phenomenal resource to find recommendations for places to eat, visit and beyond. In the past year alone, I have gotten my hair cut in Bahrain, Argentina, Mexico, Slovenia, Curacao, Panama and France.
Some of my favorite restaurants in Chicago are Swift & Sons for business dinners, Publican when friends are in from out of town, El Che Bar and Trivoli Tavern for after work bites and drinks and Sushi Doku for Friday lunches.
For fitness and wellness, I take Pilates with a private instructor and work out with a trainer who comes to me twice a week. In fact, Zapwater offices offer Pilates once a month for employees.
Please share a sneak peek of exciting current / upcoming projects.
Zapwater is opening the first Andaz hotel in Mexico City in the coming months. Andaz Mexico City Condesa is an exceptional new hotel property that’s worth any business or leisure traveler. We also recently opened Hyatt Centric Buckhead in Atlanta and Hotel La Compania in Panama.
What categories do your clients fit into?
Our overarching category is lifestyle brands with a concentration on CPG, interiors/design, cannabis/wellness and fashion.
What’s unique about the Chicago comms world? What nuances are there marketing your clients locally vs. nationally (or internationally)?
Chicago has top talent in the comms world that rivals the Coasts. It’s also a CPG hub for major food/beverage brands – i.e. Conagra, Mondelēz, Kraft and Wrigley, to name a few. The biggest nuance of local vs. national is that telling a local story really needs to connect to the community. How is it special? How is it impacting, benefiting, etc.? Global brands want to come here and tell local stories all the time, but think they can do it by just leveraging the same story in every city.
What are your favorite spots to dine, shop, work out, primp, etc.?
For dining, I love La Josie, Chicago Cut Steakhouse , Little Bad Wolf and Rose Mary. For shopping, Space 519, Crosell & Co., Third Coast Stitches and Sprout Home. For workouts, Peloton app! I go to Studio Debonair for color, cut, blow dry and Branden Melear for make up.
Please share a sneak peek of exciting current / upcoming projects.
We are thrilled to be working with ShopCore Properties on seven of their top shopping malls across the country to help create and support more local partnerships, programming and community art projects in 2023. We are also working with West Elm to help promote their incredible design partnerships. And we will be supporting Chicago beauty entrepreneur, Coco Meers, on her relaunch of Equilibria, a wellness brand bringing free 1:1 health coaching and plant-based routines to all that women do!
What categories do your clients fit into?
Our business mantra, which we continue to learn from and which has served us well, is to remain selective with the clients we work with. We need to feel a connection to truly believe in and be genuine about what the client is selling. We do our best work when aligned with good reason and good purpose. It does make us picky – but what we do takes a lot of brain power, heart and passion; therefore, who we choose to work with is very intentional.
For me as the CEO of C|Louise, this is the most critical piece of the equation as I built this agency knowing it is a seven-days- a-week focus for me, which I love. With this being said, it is important the clients know we checked all the boxes necessary (and then some!) to join forces that will ultimately lead to optimum results, and this can only happen when you are really committed to each client whole-heartedly, which is exactly how my team and I approach every client we take on. It’s personal, and I get that.
But to be more specific, our agency caters to the following categories - hospitality, CPG, beauty, wellness, fitness, motorsports (Formula 1), musicians/bands, spirit brands, authors, athletes/celebrities and more.
What’s unique about the Chicago comms world? What nuances are there marketing your clients locally vs. nationally (or internationally)
To this day, Chicago remains an authentic, energy-packed city with great vibes within the comms community. There is still a neighborly feeling of agency owners wanting to help each other, which is rare in the comms/PR world and speaks volumes about the Chicago community overall.
In terms of nuances for marketing our clients locally vs. nationally (or internationally), you must be an expert in knowing your audience and market. Pitching locally to the media in Chicago versus, let’s say pitching in Mexico, is very different (and a good difference to boot!). In Chicago, NYC, Miami and LA – you better believe that you need to get straight to the point when pitching to local markets ;) However, when pitching our clients based in Mexico, it’s not more-so getting straight to the point, but more about the conversation – from starting with a meaningful greeting, to asking how the editor’s family is, and so forth. It’s more of a friendly conversation versus getting directly to the purpose, as the latter may be off-putting to the media in Mexico, and I’d even stretch it by saying it can be considered off-putting to those abroad in general.
What are your favorite spots to dine, shop, work out, primp, etc.?
My goodness! Where to begin... and which city? ;) For Chicago specifically, my favorite spots to dine depend on what I am in the mood for, but my forever go-to is Doc B’s. And then there’s Mordecai (best spirits list in the city), Tanta for Peruvian, Ina Mae Tavern for good ol’ fun and Chef Jup’s NOLA inspired eats, and really any restaurant that I can get my hands on Los Magos Sotol– a newer spirit that is readily becoming available in Chicago and across the country. And finally, you can find me at FoxTrot for a latte and breakfast tacos at least 3x weekly. FoxTrot is my love language.
For shopping, I am one of Ganni’s (Danish brand) biggest fans. They have concessions at Bloomingdales, so I frequent there for new pieces. They recently dropped a collaboration with Barbour which was super rad. If you go, ask for Heather! :) For fresh flowers, I am loyal to Steve’s Flower Market. For candles and other special gifts for those I love, I rely on Asrai Garden. If looking for an interesting art piece, I love female artist Raspy Rivera.
I work out with wellness coach Jodie Baudek at Essence of Life. I can’t function without my pilates reformer sessions and breathing/meditation exercises with Jodie. Each time I leave Jodie, I leave with more mental clarity and I am a big believer that mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness. You get both with Jodie. She is a true gem in the fitness/wellness industry. When I am traveling for work, I rely on my Peloton app. Ashton Kutcher recently did a running series with notable celebrities, musicians, etc. for his nonprofit Thorn, and I really enjoy listening & running to those. They’ve been a big source of inspiration and motivation for me as of late.
For my hair, you can find me with Kathy Debski and Athina Lotito at Alex Brown Space. I’ve been traveling a ton for work so I had to try someone else out of state. Needless to say, I made an appointment with these two talented women as soon as I landed back in Chicago. They are the best at hair, period. For skin, I grew up watching my mother and grandmothers focus on skincare regimens, so as a result, it’s something I budget for monthly and won’t nudge on that. I see Rachel at Vitahl Medical Associates for facials and other skin focused services. Lastly, Lume Wellness is my haven whether it’s an infrared sauna session or an IV– I love Lume!
Please share a sneak peek of exciting current / upcoming projects.
Just the thought of answering this question excites me. Anyone who knows me well knows I get excited at just about anything that comes to our clients and all they have going on. I genuinely care so deeply about each client and their success (afterall, it’s our success!). Our client St. Lucia will soon be releasing new music and celebrating 10-years since they released their first album ‘When The Night,’ so there will definitely be exciting things in the works for that, which I can’t wait to help spearhead. Our client and former F1 driver, Esteban Gutierrez, recently launched his F1 merch website, EDASI, in the United States, which has a lot of exciting changes underway for the U.S. market as the F1 season kicks off, so I am looking forward to implementing those changes alongside his internal team.
I think what excites me the most is building partnerships and events around our client roster. For example, building events that have different clients collaborate encourages everyone to come together, make magic happen, and genuinely create something meaningful for all involved (where they all win!). Pursuing projects such as this is truly an indescribable feeling and yet just another reminder that I am exactly where I need to be. We are taking this very same approach with our clients St. Lucia, EDASI, and Los Magos. The clients couldn’t be from more different career paths, but the parallels of their goals and journeys are what brings them together. I live for making that magic happen.
Lastly, we’ll continue our aggressive expansion to several new geographic U.S. territories and also continue our global expansion to Latin America and beyond... You’ll have to stay tuned ;)
What are some of the key functions in your role at Neiman Marcus Group?
As communicators, our CCO, Tiffin Jernstedt, is a huge advocate of our team not operating in siloes, but rather being a multi-skilled communicator who can serve in all areas of corporate communications, ebbing and flowing with business needs. While my key role is managing our corporate social media platforms, I support our team in internal, external and executive communications per business needs. I think it’s exciting work to be able to play a part in managing and influencing the corporate reputation and perception of Neiman Marcus Group through the content we share, internally and externally.
Is there anything unique about the corporate comms world in Chicago?
I moved to Chicago from Toledo, Ohio in 2020 (pandemic mover!), so I am still relatively new to the city and getting my “lay of the land.” However, as a 100% remote worker, I am always eager to connect with other PR/comms folks in the city to learn more about them and talk shop about Chicago and the comms space. So far, everyone has been so welcoming and are happy to connect!
What are your favorite spots to dine, shop, work out, primp, etc.?
Of course, it’d be remiss of me to not say Neiman Marcus is one of my favorite places to shop. Even aside from being an employee, there’s something magical and ethereal about being in the store and shopping the assortment. In addition, I enjoy stopping in SVRN, a store in West Loop. Their space is incredible, and I love their assortment. As far as food, I am by no means a foodie, however, I love going to The Dearborn for their fish & chips and visiting Time Out Market for their wide range of food selections.
Please share a sneak peek of exciting current / upcoming projects.
Our Corporate Communications team recently announced our new annual platform, NMG Awards, to recognize and amplify breakthrough luminaries in fashion globally. With the launch of NMG Awards, we also announced the revitalization of The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion, which will be awarded to Brunello Cucinelli as our 2023 recipient. Previous recipients of the award have been Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar de la Renta and Salvatore Ferragamo, among others.
