Virtually every successful marketing or public relations campaign begins with a brilliant creative idea. This is the maxim that award-winning public relations and marketing professional, Andrea Peterson, lives by. As chief creative officer of Yummy Ideas, Peterson has developed and executed innovative campaigns that have helped her clients differentiate themselves from the competition.
Presently, Peterson is representing Harlem Lanes, working with new artists for major record labels, and collaborating on a host of influential political projects that are sure to capture headlines. Rolling out spoke with Peterson about why every entrepreneur should understand the latest technology, how she executed a successful campaign for a 4-year-old novel and why passion is essential.
What is the most important advice you would give to a first time entrepreneur?
You have to stay current with the technology that’s impacting your industry. I come from traditional public relations. But as the markets changed I realized I needed new skills to provide better services to reach new audiences. Also, a key part of success is how you measure success. You need the right tools to show that you’re delivering on the investments of your clients.
Creative ideas are the lifeblood to any company that hopes to have longevity. So how do you carry that mission out through your marketing and publicity strategies?
Instead of being in the news we try to come up with creative ways to make news for our clients. A good example would be with author Michele A. Fletcher. She wanted to know what we could do to help regenerate interest in a 4 year-old book and awareness for the coming sequel. So we came up with a mini-campaign to see who might be a great person to play the lead role if it was made into a movie. We did research and found that Nicki Minaj expressed interest. From there we created viral campaigns, which helped remind people why they liked the book so much in the first place.
How do you determine if a prospective client is an appropriate fit for your company?
It has to be something that I am passionate about and that is important to my community. I’m always looking to do things that are different and work with people with great ideas. So if I believe in something, I can get great results, since it will come across in my pitch.
