Power Digital Marketing’s Sara Brooks: ‘You must continue to evolve’
For this PR pro, the changes in 2020 included having her PR firm acquired and having a brand-new baby—all while facing the disruption of the COVID-19 crisis.
The COVID-19 crisis has been particularly tough on working parents, though the whirlwind can also be a sweet memory for those facing happy changes. That was the case for Sara Brooks, chief brand officer for Power Digital Marketing, after her PR firm she founded was acquired.
Sara Brooks
She shares what she has learned from her journey over the past few months and her key messages for clients and colleagues in our latest in our “Day in the Life” series:
1. What’s the first thing you do every day when you wake up?
Brooks: Get my kids up (1 and 3 years old) and fed!
2. Who is the most important person you talk to every day?
Brooks: Tie between my husband and my dad.
3. When do you plan to go back into the office? Do you want to go back?
Brooks: We don’t have a set date yet and are just continuing to monitor the situation. Our team has adapted really well to this new virtual world so until we feel we can offer a 100% safe environment, we are staying WFH.
4. What’s a new tool you have discovered that you just can’t live without?
Brooks: SEM Rush. It has made our pitching that much smarter and more targeted.
5. What was your favorite work memory from the past year?
Brooks: When Covet PR (the PR firm I founded and ran for six years) was acquired by Power Digital—in the midst of a world pandemic and months after having a new baby. It was a whirlwind to say the least.
6. What has been the biggest “lesson learned” from 2020?
Brooks: Innovate or die. This has never been truer than it is today.
7. What’s your No.1 message to clients, co-workers or employees for 2021?
Brooks: The events of the last year have taught all of us that in order to survive and ideally thrive, you have to continue to evolve. If you are comfortable, it is time to get uncomfortable.
8. What makes you hopeful about the future of PR?
Brooks: Prior to COVID-19, the way in which we “did” PR, more or less, looked the same. Pitching, events, mailers, desksides and press releases. When the pandemic hit, we were all tossed a major curveball and quickly knew we had to figure out a new way of engaging with the media and representing our clients to drive value. In a matter of weeks, we figured that out. PR is an industry that relies on ingenuity and I am confident we are going to see a lot more of it in the coming years.
