Grace Keith Rodriguez is the CEO of Caliber Corporate Advisers, a leading marketing and public relations firm exclusively focused on fintech, financial services, Insurtech, insurance, and real estate. As CEO, Grace directs Caliber's strategic vision, including the firm's development across service offerings. Here, she discusses her transition from President to CEO and the leadership skills that are vital to success in 2024.

Key Takeaways:

- Trust and relationships are essential in PR

- Managing a remote work culture

- Grace's new role as CEO

Episode Timeline:

1:50 Grace's transition from President to CEO

3:20 Lessons Grace has learned in her new position

5:00 Building trust with clients and team members

6:40 Caliber's expertise in fintech and insurtech PR

9:45 Leadership skills for success in 2024

11:00 The importance of staying on top of trends

12:30 Managing a remote work culture

15:00 Remote workers need to interact with everyone on the team

17:00 The Caliber College of Public Relations

20:00 Grace's thought leadership philosophy

This episode’s guest:

• Grace Keith Rodriguez on LinkedIn

• Caliber on LinkedIn

• Caliber’s website

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Michael Stern is the CEO and founder of HeadStart, a PR and communications agency focused on amplifying innovative and impact-driven voices. Before going into PR, Michael was an executive producer in local news and is a three-time founder, having started companies in sports media and betting research. Here, he explains the unique PR needs of startups and why he's not a big fan of guaranteed media.

Key Takeaways:

- Why startups need PR that moves quickly

- The problems with guaranteed media

- How Michael moved from news to PR

Episode Timeline:

1:10 Tod asks Michael for betting advice

2:45 How Michael transitioned from news to PR

4:15 The mental anguish of keeping up with headlines

5:15 Why Michael decided to get into the startup space

6:45 PR agencies for startups must be nimble

7:45 Media training for startups

9:00 The importance of selling emotion

11:45 Why is the PR industry behind the times?

15:00 Headstart is built on speed

17:00 Michael is skeptical of guaranteed media

20:00 Michael's favorite success stories

23:30 The importance of going against the grain

This episode’s guest:

• Michael Stern on LinkedIn

• Headstart on LinkedIn

• Headstart's website

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Nicole Early is the founder of Early PR in Portland, Oregon. She's a strategy-driven publicist, communicator, athlete, writer, and creative content producer focused on health, wellness, sustainability, and progressive political causes. Here, she shares how creative storytelling can help advance progressive causes and effect social change.

Key Takeaways:

- Nicole’s transition from politics to PR

- How creative storytelling helped Nicole direct COVID funding to underserved communities

- The future of social justice PR

Episode Timeline:

1:30 Nicole's transition from politics to PR

3:50 Nicole's work on the Oregon Cares fund

6:15 How Nicole's work helped save a karate studio during COVID

9:00 Working for social justice in Portland

12:45 Oregon Medicaid campaign

15:00 Cutting through the noise of social justice storytelling

17:45 What does the future look like for social justice PR?

This episode’s guest:

• Nicole Early on LinkedIn

• Nicole on Instagram

• Early PR on TikTok

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Jon Morris is the Founder & CEO of EngineBI, Inc. and Chairman of Fiscal Advocate LLC where he helps clients scale with a proprietary, tech-enabled approach for surfacing hidden financial insights that drive critical business decisions. In his spare time, Jon enjoys studying data-driven approaches to developing youth players. Here, he discusses how to improve your agency’s financial health.

Key Takeaways:

- How EngineBI helps agencies make decisions

- How Jon scaled Rise Interactive

- Data-driven approaches to develop youth soccer players

Episode Timeline:

1:30 Jon's dogs

2:30 How Jon scaled Rise Interactive from a $10,000 prize to a company with 500 employees

4:30 How EngineBI helps agencies make decisions

6:45 What do the average agency's financials look like?

8:00 The three numbers agencies should focus on

8:40 The BASE framework

9:20 Keeping things simple is key

10:00 The CPR score

11:30 The importance of gross margin

13:30 The ideal agency managerial alignment

15:30 How do agencies react to Jon's message?

17:00 The importance of storytelling

18:00 Jon's data-driven approach to youth soccer

21:30 Are coaches receptive to Jon's analytics?

This episode’s guest:

• Jon Morris on LinkedIn

• Jon@EngineBI.net

• EngineBI.net

• Fiscaladvocate.com

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Kate Gardiner is the CEO and founder of Grey Horse, a full-service communications agency often behind the scenes of global crises. An industry veteran, Kate started her career in journalism and audience engagement, triaging social media for global-facing campaigns, including award-winning coverage of the BP Oil Spill, the Arab Spring, and Hurricane Sandy. She also supported over a dozen women at the heart of the #MeToo movement. Here, she discusses the holistic approach to helping people through a public crisis.

Key Takeaways:

- Interpersonal help in a crisis

- The mental health effects of a crisis

- Helping people involved in a local crisis

Episode Timeline:

1:30 Kate's horse, Copenhagen

3:20 How Grey Horse goes beyond "damage control" to help people affected by a media event

5:00 The holistic approach to dealing with a crisis

6:15 Local adventures can be the most impactful

9:00 Kate's job would make a great TV show

11:15 The mental health ramifications of a crisis

13:55 Kate's work in the #MeToo movement

15:00 Financial victimization of sexual assault victims

17:30 How clients react to hiring Grey Horse

21:30 Standing up for women and their rights

23:30 How Kate transitioned from journalism to PR

This episode’s guest:

• Kate Gardiner on LinkedIn

• GreyHorse.com

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Duyen 'Jen' Truong is the Senior Vice President of Public Relations Operations at Sage Communications. A 20-plus-year PR professional with extensive public sector, commercial, and non-profit experience, Jen has led campaigns with global and national brands and government agencies such as the USDA, the Defense Department, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Here, she discusses how, as a Vietnamese refugee, she learned firsthand about the power of government and has brought that belief into her work as a PR professional.

Key Takeaways:

- How Jen fled Vietnam and came to America

- Challenges of working with government clients

- How Jen and Sage helped create MilitaryChildcare.com

Episode Timeline:

1:30 How Jen has witnessed the transformative power of government

4:15 Jen's arrival in America

4:40 Tod's mother's work for Vietnamese resettlement

6:45 The biggest challenges PR professionals face working with government agencies

8:00 Creating incentive packages for influencers and celebrities

9:45 Why government agencies can't take public positions on policy

11:30 The advantages of working with government clients

13:00 What PR pros should know about working with the government

15:15 PR can bring the government third-party credibility

16:00 How administration changes affect PR messaging

18:00 Sage Communications work with MilitaryChildcare.com

20:30 The erosion of trust in government

This episode’s guest:

• Duyen 'Jen' Truong

• Sage Communications’ Website

• Sage Communications on LinkedIn

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Josef Schinwald is the CEO of Guest Experts On Air, a leading Podcast PR Booking Service. Working with renowned authors and speakers, he has developed a nuanced understanding of the podcasting industry, particularly in curating content that stands out in an increasingly saturated market. Here, he shares his five rules for creating a successful podcast and how he books his clients on high-end shows.

Key Takeaways:

- 5 rules to creating a successful podcast

- How to be a great podcast guest

- How to get booked on high-end shows

Episode Timeline:

2:00 What separates Guest Experts on Air from other booking agencies?

3:30 What has Josef learned from his experience in front of the camera?

5:30 What type of clients is Josef looking to book?

6:45 The importance of having something to say

8:00 Josef's favorite success stories

11:00 Making podcasts part of your sales funnel

12:15 How often should people promote themselves?

14:30 Podcasts are great for niche audiences

17:15 Podcasters must post often

17:45 Josef's 5 rules for creating a successful podcast

21:50 The importance of humility

22:40 Josef's free gift: "The Fast-Track Formula to Get on High-end Podcasts"

This episode’s guest:

• Josef Schinwald

• Download "The Fast-Track Formula to Get on High-end Podcast Bookings"

• Guest Experts on Air

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My guest today is Brandy Whalen, the co-founder of Kitcaster, a podcast booking agency, where she is also the resident story craft guru. Here, she shares how she helps her clients craft their stories to share on podcasts and how to build authority and credibility through the medium.

Key Takeaways:

- How to craft your story

- The importance of prep work

- How to get booked on podcasts

Episode Timeline:

1:05 Is that a corgi in the Kitcaster logo?

3:00 How Kitcaster gets people booked onto podcasts

4:20 Is guest rehash a problem?

7:30 Common mistakes that people make when appearing on podcasts.

10:30 How Brandy develops a client's story

13:30 The nuts and bolts of a story craft session

17:20 The importance of customer stories

19:40 Podcast hosts absolutely must do prep work.

21:20 Building authority and credibility on podcasts

22:45 Tod needs some help with his personal brand.

This episode’s guest:

• Brandy Whalen

• Kitcaster's website resources page

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