Nine to Know: Insights and Inspiration ??

01: Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

A message from our CEO, Lauren Parker

I recently grabbed coffee with a friend of mine who made a major career pivot a few years back. She’s chronicled her journey of “learning the ropes” and navigating new processes and relationships. When we met most recently, she shared that her boss—whom she adores and has great respect for—told her (unprompted) that he firmly believes she will be able to take over his role a few years down the road. Just in telling me this, I could see the optimism grow from within her; she lit up and could hardly contain the fact that this person she looked up to thought so highly of her and her potential.?

My takeaway? Tell the people around you what you see in them; you may unlock more than they could for themselves.

02: When It Comes to Pitching, the Numbers Don’t Lie?

Both data and general journalists are always looking for unique, impactful stories to tell. If your brand has an insightful story and a data set to back it up, consider how your data can be incorporated into a media pitch. For tips and best practices, check out this blog post from Muck Rack. ??

Crunch the Numbers

03: Google Gives Advertising Tools a Facelift ??

At this month’s Google Marketing Live event, the tech giant unveiled how its AI-powered search tools may affect the way advertisers show up on the search engine—from new brand profiles to integration of sponsored content within Google’s AI Overview. This piece from MarTech breaks down all the changes and what they mean for advertisers and marketers.

The Search Is Over

04: CEOs Make Great Influencers

What’s the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word “influencer”? What about “thought leader”? For brands looking to build visibility, that image may be one and the same: the brand’s CEO. Read more from Fast Company about the difference between influencers and thought leaders, as well as the role CEOs play in drawing eyes to their brand.

Online and On Camera

05: Adapting to Today’s Media Landscape

The media landscape has faced dramatic cuts and changes in the last six months, requiring PR professionals to adapt their own media strategies. Stay nimble by considering opportunities with freelance journalists or outlets you haven’t pitched previously. For more tips on navigating today’s media landscape, check out this article from PR Daily. ??

Time to Pivot

06: Insights From Brand Backlash

From Bumble’s recent billboards that fell flat with female audiences to Apple’s recent ad “Crush!” that drew criticism from creatives, major brands have shown that no company is immune to missing the mark. It’s more important than ever for marketers to have a keen understanding of their audiences, as shown in this breakdown from Swipe Insight.

Bounce Back

07: Not One, Not Two, But THREE New S9ers! ??

This month, we welcomed three outstanding new team members. Gillian Janicki joined us as a senior account executive and Jesse Burke and Nigel Becker joined us as account associates. Read more about each of their unique backgrounds in our recent blog posts!

Meet the Team

08: Rethinking Social Media Authenticity

Defining authenticity on social media is no simple task. Especially for those targeting Gen Z audiences, who tend to have a more acute sense of how social media works as a business, it’s worth defining what authenticity looks like for your brand. Get the full story from Sprout Social.

Be Real

09: Marketing Agencies Pioneer AI Tools?

For over a year now, marketing agencies have been thinking about how they can make generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, their own. This piece from Marketing Brew provides three examples of agencies that have adopted customized AI tools in their everyday work and explores the guardrails they’ve put in place.?

Agencies ?? AI

Sliding Up

We’re thrilled to announce that Sarah Morton has been promoted to Chief of Staff! From onboarding new S9ers to managing day-to-day operations, Sarah is an indispensable member of our team. We’re so grateful for all of her hard work and dedication!

Level Up

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