Ideas
November 15, 2022

7 Questions with… Erin Lyden, Head of PR

GALE

A Business Agency

Q. What brought you to GALE?

I was most attracted to the amazingly talented people. Every person that I met with throughout my interview process brought a fresh perspective and approach. What I love about GALE is that it is a place that never feels stuck. GALE is always looking for a new approach, new positions, and new domains that will optimize the client offerings and the community. I appreciated that GALE recognized the value of PR not as an afterthought but instead, as an element to any program that needs to be considered from the beginning. I was very excited to be able to create a team that was not only new to the company but that approaches the idea of PR differently, integrating an earned POV into everything we do.

Q. What is your perspective on how PR functions within an integrated marketing campaign?

Having previously been at a strictly PR agency for nearly a decade, I was accustomed to receiving a marketing plan and being asked to add PR to it but integration should begin at the very beginning. What many brands do not yet realize is that PR is critical to every sector - the creative, production, SEO, social - nearly every domain could be enhanced further with a PR lens. The industry is continually evolving, and it is important to have a team that not only generates visibility and awareness for our clients but who always has a finger on the pulse and understands how to break through the clutter at every step of the way.

Q. As the media landscape changes, how does that inform how you approach PR strategy?

Now, more than ever, PR needs to be proactive and adaptive. We need to be not only continually on top of industry and cultural trends but anticipating them. If our integrated marketing programs are not culturally relevant, then PR has not done our job. PR is no longer cut and dry -  it is social, it is creative, it is production - every aspect of an integrated marketing agency has earned potential. It's important that we are considering the cultural resonance and impact of a given program at every step of the way.

Q. How do you think the future of the internet including web3 & the metaverse will impact brands’ approach to PR?

We have already seen web3 and the metaverse have an enormous impact on PR and anticipate that being a continuation. In addition to having personas and personalities in real life, brands also need to consider their virtual presence. A brand’s story needs to translate across every touch point, which includes the metaverse/web3. PR can be instrumental in not only helping a brand develop their presence but doing so in a way that pulls through to alternate realities, creating awareness and visibility but most importantly, impact.

Q. What do publicists need to be learning about and exploring right now?

A good publicist is tapped into emerging trends across the board. From web3/the metaverse to sustainability to culture, if a brand’s PR team is not in the know, it's a detriment.

Q. What do you think is the most important factor when measuring how successful a PR campaign is?

Traditionally, PR has been measured by impressions but any publicist knows that these are fluff. Our team is aiming to go beyond reporting impressions to understanding the influence from a more qualified lens - we are constantly trying to optimize how we are measuring and reporting success from lift studies to inventing new metrics (we recently developed a reconsideration rate within our influencer programs) that help give impressions more context. Impressions without context have no significance.

Q. What are you most excited about in the future?

I am excited about the possibilities that come with true integration. An agency can achieve so much more when all domains are synced - from the velocity of programming, to the speed of adaptation, integration is vital to moving a brand forward and I am excited to see GALE continue to focus on this.