PR Pros: Brenda Christensen of Stellar Public Relations On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro
Professionalism is an elusive quality that many believe they possess but few truly maintain throughout their careers.
Have you seen the show Flack? Ever think of pursuing a real-life career in PR? What does it take to succeed in PR? What are the different forms of Public Relations? Do you have to have a college degree in PR? How can you create a highly lucrative career in PR? In this interview series, called “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” we are talking to successful publicists and Public Relations pros, who can share stories and insights from their experiences.
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Brenda Christensen.
Brenda Christensen is CEO of Stellar Public Relations, a world leader in public relations, investor relations, branding, funding and corporate guidance with direct attributable growth worth over millions of dollars. Ms. Christensen currently serves as an adviser on private boards in North America, and previously served as corporate officer for a publicly held technology company, across multiple continents.
A leading corporate communications and public relations expert, board member and corporate officer of top global technology companies, Brenda has provided strategic corporate guidance and governance, as well as successfully created and managed global messaging campaigns for such prestigious companies as Tinder, Apple, McAfee, Panda Security, NEC, GM and others.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always had an affinity for writing and started a neighborhood newsletter when I was 12 years old. My fascination with publishing continued and I served as editor-in-chief of my high school yearbook — coincidentally the same school that inspired the cult TV classic, “Freaks & Geeks”, which was written and produced by my classmate and famous director, Paul Feig. I used to correct his essays and joke with him. To this day he owes me 10%! After high school, I obtained a journalism degree and became a daily newspaper reporter. I made the jump to PR early on in my career, at 23 years of age working on Fortune 50 accounts such as Domino’s Pizza, Kmart, and General Motors.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
Out of the blue, a client called saying they had signed on a new spokesperson and needed us to arrange a press conference the following week. We were surprised by the short notice, but soon realized why. The new spokesperson was the great Muhammad Ali. We pulled out all the stops to make it happen and it was a great success. It was a pleasure and honor to not only meet, but work with THE GREATEST — an experience I will never forget.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Early one Monday morning, I was supposed to be conducting a groundbreaking and ribbon cutting event for General Motors, but my alarm didn’t go off and I overslept. My boss called me about 30 minutes before the press conference to ask where I was. I panicked and somehow got dressed and got to the location with seconds to spare. That old adage, “Be on time and ready to play” is 80 percent of a successful career. It never happened again — I invested in two alarm clocks.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Certainly AI and security as the primary means of protecting the world from the scourge of ransomware. What began in 2005 as a security career preventing the occasional computer malware has evolved into being on the front lines of cyber warfare. It’s a fascinating and important mission, helping to keep the world safe and secure.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I was never a classically ambitious person, but simply followed my passion and kept getting tapped for leadership roles, beginning at a young age. The first character trait is trust. This is the basis of all successful relationships, especially public relations. Your word is your honor in this profession, and I’ve never wavered from that north star, although others have tried to persuade me to obfuscate or mislead. I tell clients that I’m like a doctor — my credibility is everything and that is the reason that they engaged with me in the first place.
The second is reliability; others need to know that your professionalism is something they can count on. Many in PR are what are referred to as “loose cannons”. While stunts and publicity grandstanding may work in the short term to spike your career, they never win out in the long run.
The third is consistency — in a very uncertain world, a known quantity is an increasingly rare item in the PR field. A successful and consistent track record is proof that you have the chops to execute and deliver results time after time. It is no small feat in a profession that is defined by nebulous and ambiguous metrics.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. For the benefit of our readers, can you help articulate what the different forms of PR are?
I was told a great old-time story by a mentor of mine decades ago, explaining the different types of PR, and I believe that it still applies today.
A circus is coming to town, so it is decided to advertise it by putting up posters all over town. Next, the posters are put on the circus elephant and it’s paraded through town, that’s publicity. All is going great until the elephant rampages through the mayor’s prized rose garden, destroying them. Instead of being angry, the mayor comes out and laughs. That’s PR.
Where should a young person considering a career in PR start their education? Should they get a degree in communications? A degree in journalism? Can you explain what you mean?
I’ve been told by many reporters that my having a journalism degree and newsroom experience sets me apart from other PR practitioners. I know exactly what stories they’re after even before they know it. One example — I pitched the possibility of a ransomware attempt to take down a large pharmaceutical company developing the COVID 19 vaccine. That was placed on CNBC and I’d like to think that my exposing any potential bad actors beforehand prevented a devastating world event.
On the flip side, one needs to have business acumen in order to anticipate and strategize to meet corporate goals. PR does and should work at the highest levels within the C-suite. A great follow up is an MBA or any business experience you can get. As a corporate officer and board advisor, I’ve been fortunate to position companies for exit and, ultimately, 10x or even 100x revenue.
You are known as a master networker. Can you share some tips on great networking?
As a naturally curious person and an avid observer of the human condition, I’m constantly seeking out others and engaging with them to “hear their story”, finding them not only fascinating, but because it’s relationships that make the world a better place. We are all valuable, and one of the most important things you can do is give your time to someone and listen. Listening is a first step to building an amazing network without even realizing that you are net”working”…it’s fun.
Lead generation is one of the most important aspects of any business. Can you share some of the strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?
The old adage that everyone loves a winner and it’s great, to say you’re great but even better if someone else does, still rings true. Influencers who love, trust and have a passion for your products or services will educate and inform their followers, and there are no more qualified leads than that.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Curiosity — if you are naturally curious about the world, this is a great start to building a career in public relations because much of your career with be driven by a passion to educate and inform — which brings us to,
Passion — Enthusiasm is contagious, and when you have sincerity and passion about who or what you’re representing, it makes for an irrepressible position that is also fueled by,
Perseverance entails trying, trying again, and again. No one gets it right the first time (rarely) and PR is a lot like golf… the conditions are never the same and every time you plan and execute a plan, it’s like the first time. Those who have been successful in the field have an immense amount of energy and perseverance that ultimately hones,
Professionalism is an elusive quality that many believe they possess but few truly maintain throughout their careers. In the contentious world of digital and social media, the high road is not taken often, but is the only road that will get you to the destination of,
Trust: The penultimate foundation of any public relations career is credibility, which is founded on trust. Building trust in all the small things that seem unimportant at the time results in a lifetime of great achievements that were built on those little things — showing up on time, being ready to play with enthusiasm and passion.
Because of the role you play, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
In this hopefully now post-COVID Era, I think we’ve all realized how quickly things can pivot and also just how resilient we all are. Inclusion, diversity, and treating each other with love and respect will be the silver lining of our post-COVID world, with public relations there to remind us that the public is EVERYONE and relationships are EVERYTHING.
This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.
PR Pros: Brenda Christensen of Stellar Public Relations On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.