The Next Generation of PR: A Conversation with PR Student of the Year Sophie Schaked | Bonus Episode

Speaker A: Hey, Brit.

Speaker B: Hey, Jen.

Speaker A: So I want to ask you a question before we dive into today's episode. How did you kind of get your start in pr? Did you have any internships? Or was there anything that was, like, very profound early on, maybe when you were a student, that made you sort of into the PR professional that you are today?

Speaker B: Um, when I was a student, I actually, I started studying journalism, which I feel is a story many publicists will tell you. Um, after seeing Almost Famous, I thought I was going to be a music journalist who got to travel with bands. Um, and I did this great internship at a little place in Weehawken, New Jersey, called the Syndicate. And at first I was kind of writing articles and doing a lot of writing, um, research for them. And there came a day where a couple client emergencies came in, and they were like, what do you know about pr? And I was like, well, I've taken a couple of 101 classes. Like, I'm sure I can help. And it took maybe four. Four hours. And I. I emailed my advisor over the summer, and I was like, when I come back, I. I'd like to switch my minors and my majors. I'm going to shift to pr. And that was it. That was the end. Um, after that, I was just kind of immediately a strategy person, ready to gently bully journalists to cover clients. And the rest is history. What about you? What got you, like, into pr? You know? What, what, what got you here?

Speaker A: Oh, I was the worst. I changed my major, like, five times in college. I was. Was all over the place. I wanted to be a physical therapist, and I did that for a while. Then I wanted to be a psychologist, and I studied that for a while. Then I went to studio art. I'm not good at art, so I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I. Eventually I had to pick something. I'm a junior now at this point in college, and I have to pick something to graduate. So I land on communications just because I was like, well, this is broad enough where I don't really know what I want to do yet, but I. That, you know, I could kind of make this work, I think, in whatever industry or whatever path I move forward on. And, um, I ended up taking same thing. I want to be a writer. Um, I ended up taking journalist courses. And. And it just kind of happened for me. I. I started in the music industry, as you know, and I ended up doing PR there because I did. I did a little bit of everything they. The company. I was their marketing manager. So I Came got to sort of dip into different things. I was doing event planning, I was doing social media and digital and things like that and pr. When I started taking that over, I fell in love with it and then decided to branch out into that on my own. So I. And I like these types of conversations because especially with pr, I feel like there really isn't a linear path. So many people have gotten into this career in such different ways. And a lot of journalists, right, become PR professionals because they're sick of, I mean, journalism is really hard, especially in today's world. So they, they jump ship and come over to our side. And the reason why I'm asking you is because I'm excited about today's guest because she's very young and bright. Um, and we usually have a lot of people who are pretty esteemed in their careers on the show, so this is a little bit of a breath of fresh air. So Sophie Shaked has just been named PR Student of the Year by PR Week. And she's also the latest recipient of the Noemi Pollock Scholarship at USC Attenborough. She has started her own branding and marketing company during the pandemic. Okay, so like six years ago and she's a student now, so you could do the math. Um, she's into like non profit volunteer. She is really cool. And, um, she's going to talk to us a little bit today just about the next generation of pr, you know, where her, somebody of her age and her stature in this industry and in her education sees where our field is headed.

Speaker B: And it's always interesting to kind of see where students or those folks who are right in between graduating and what we're going to call in quotes, the real world. Think about the field. You know, they're just getting out of these classrooms. They're just learning the latest techniques. So I think they always bring an interesting perspective to PR because it's constantly adapting.

Speaker A: It sure is. Um, so let's see what she has to say. I think it's going to be a great episode.

Speaker B: Let's do it.

Speaker A: M. The future of PR is a bright one. And as Brittany and I navigate agency life here at the Polygroup, we've seen a lot of transformation in our field field and have had the pleasure of working with young and new talent. The next generation of PR is smart and ambitious and we're lucky to invite today's guest. Sophie Shakid has been named PR Week's PR Student of the Year, one of the most competitive and prestigious recognitions for emerging communications professionals. She's also a recipient of the Noemi Pollack Scholarship at USC Annenberg, a program consistently ranked among the best in the world. From the. For public relations and communications. Today, we'll, uh, uncover how she's already putting theory into practice, launching her own branding and marketing company during the pandemic, getting involved in purpose driven initiatives and developing a perspective on communications that reflects where this industry is headed. Hi, Sophie. Thanks so much for being a guest today.

Speaker C: Hi. Thank you so, so much for having me. I'm beyond excited to be here.

Speaker B: First and foremost, Sophie, congratulations on being named PR Student of the Year by PR Week. That's quite the accomplishment. Tell our listeners a little bit more about what this means to you and, you know, to your future in pr.

Speaker C: Yeah, um, um, well, first of all, thank you so much. It's the work that I put into it. No matter what happened, I was proud. So what does this even mean to me? I think, you know, in that moment when they announced my name, it just felt like a culmination of everything that I have been working towards. You know, in, in high school, uh, I was on the, the news station and editor of. Editor in chief of my newspaper and yearbook. So it just felt like since that moment I've been working towards something. And I feel like this was just the beginning. And, uh, I just. The words can't come together of how proud I am to represent usc. It's been my dream school since, you know, forever. As, uh, someone from Florida, it was like, unprecedented that I even wanted to come to California. But I was here and I had the pleasure of meeting Stefan and kind of all the pieces were put into place of my love for the public relations industry. When I joined the center for Public Relations, I learned more about, you know, what PR Week was and what it stood for. And working on this campaign, it just again felt like a giant puzzle that I had to piece together which were the pieces of my life.

Speaker A: How is the transition from Florida to California?

Speaker C: My hair loves it significantly better because the drier heat. But, um, I miss my family a lot. But I love being in LA because it's, you know, in the heart of sports, culture, entertainment. So I don't, you know, I'm going to school and taking my classes, but I still get to immerse myself in what LA has to offer. And I like work production assistant gigs on the weekend and take my friends to red carpet premieres. And to tell that to my friends back home, like, almost puts them to a coma. It just feels like a dream.

Speaker A: Every day I Bet. Well, I'm, I'm glad that you're making good time of your new transition over to la. And one thing that I had mentioned in the introduction is that you're also the recipient of the Noemi Pollock Scholarship at USC Annenberg. So congratulations on that as well. Tell us a little bit about what that recognition has meant to you personally and professionally, because I'm sure there's a lot of different emotions surrounding that. It's a wonderful accomplishment.

Speaker C: Thank you. Thank you. No, yeah, I joined the center for Public Relations. Um, my first year as an undergraduate becoming the center for Public Relations was a graduate only research center. And so me joining, um, I became the first undergrad and taking that step was first ambitious. And still applying to Noemi Polk Scholarship was a second step. And receiving that just kind of reaffirmed why I wanted to be in this industry. And for someone, you know, who's come from Orlando, Florida, who no one really knows, it was a chance on me and it was a chance on my future in this industry. I feel like Stephane and the Paula group were the, were the first people to see and believe in, in my future. And, and for that I am endlessly grateful. And uh, the continued support from Stefan and, and the group has just been kind of my backbone and, and not only just write a scholarship, but a group that I can rely on. And, and Stefan's always there for, you know, advice or a coffee or a lunch for anything. And for me, it's a relationship that I will keep for years because of the foundation it's given me.

Speaker B: USC Annenberg also won the Outstanding Education Program of the Year award. And, um, as we all know, it's widely considered one of the top PR programs in the world. You kind of spoke a little bit about your time there and relationships you've built, but what has been the most valuable lesson you've learned there so far?

Speaker C: Yeah, I mean that award I was, I had to make someone hold my hand as they were announcing that as much as I was nervous for my own award, you know, doing it on behalf of your school is another thing. So, um, that was incredible. But, um, gosh, there's so, so many lessons. But I guess what our professors and my mentors have always taught us is don't just do the PR work that you do in class. Take that and go out and apply it. You know, we are in Los Angeles, which is, you know, we're talking about media and pr. This is the heart and center of it. One of sorry New Yorkers, um, but you know, I just think they, they really tell us as much as we're in classes writing our press releases to share that with other people, whether it's through coffee chats or internships, to apply ourselves, young professionals. So the moment that we're, you know, put out into the workplace, we have a full broad portfolio of what we've done and examples. And I think, you know, having that foundation from the very start, once you graduate is beyond invaluable. And, and, and we're, if we're talking about valuable, I think that's definitely the best. And the support network that our professors have given us to, to make ourselves as a PR professional, personal brand, us, if you will, um, so that we go out and we differentiate ourselves in this crazy competitive landscape, uh, that is job applications.

Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. And I think you kind of pretty much answered my next question, but I'm going to ask it just because a lot of our listeners are new in PR and, or want to go into pr, you know, are in school or thinking about grad school. Are there any other experiences during your time at USC that you feel has prepared you for the real world PR and communications industry outside of what you just said, which is great insight, but is there anything else that you feel you've really taken away from your education that you know, that you can apply when you get your, you know, your first real job in pr?

Speaker C: Oh, gosh, real job. That's so scary. At the center for Public Relations, which has really been, you know, my, my center, uh, no pun intended, uh, of my USC career, we, we do a lot of internal research projects, but companies, uh, externally will come and kind of use our center as a mini agency or a focus group or research group. So I was, uh, asked my freshman year to join kind of the research group for Wasserman Music or, you know, the team. For six months our team and I did a competitive analysis, social media analysis and, and hosted focus groups, entire PR campaign to rebrand Wasserman Music. They had acquired Paradigm Music two years prior and they were a sports agency and they were struggling internally on how to kind of put out to the world that they were there as a music agency, but most importantly aligned with young professionals. Being in those meetings, using the language that they use, and then being at that last, uh, presentation in front of all of their C suite executives was literally transformative. First of all, I realized how important, uh, the industry is to, you know, the business of the industry is to the music industry. But second of all, I realized how important PR research was and how much planning and detail and organization goes into it. I'm, um, in a class right now where we're learning a lot about PR research and how to do it, you know, with intention. And it's stuff that I've already put into practice. And that experience has realigned and reframed my desire and ambition in this industry to really do everything with intention and as much focus that we did. You know, not every project has six months to work on and an incredible team like I had. But I think, you know, working together with a team to do the correct PR research that has 100% shaped my experience. And, you know, when I created my, uh, campaign for PR Week, Outstanding student, I used a lot of that. I looked back at our presentation, our thought process of, you know, because these were grad students, they were so much older than me, and it's a lot of, you know, the language that they use I put into practice today without even thinking of it. So the bottom line is how this, that experience has shaped me is being able to articulate ideas correctly and with the correct data analytics behind it.

Speaker B: You definitely have a unique perspective on PR because you represent the next generation that will be entering this field. What do you think your generation understands about communications that previous generations may have missed?

Speaker C: Yeah, I think it's important to note that Gen Z is not a monolith and that we, you know, we're put into this group, but at the center we do a lot of research on how we're consuming media. But I think we, because we have grown up, you know, sitting in front of the tv, watching every, you know, Disney advertisement and we're, we were there, the boom of social media. We're attuned to the trends. So, so what we understand about communication is that we love kind of the communication that's loud in our face. Think about pop ups, we thrive off of FOMO and the fact that we are not there. Like, think about all the incredible Coachella, uh, sponsorships that are about to pop up. To be able to put that into whether it's on social media or whatnot. I think what we understand is that it's no longer siloed to just TV and advertisements. We're ready to take it to the next level, to be on that forefront of what AI means in, in, um, public relations. We're ready to take that next kind of leap into the future and we're ready to lean into that, you know, unknown. So we understand that, but we also understand a lot about diversity and diversity in audiences and diverse Palettes. We're, we're seeing the rise of the niche community and the niche content creator, you know, the content creator who doesn't, you know, has like 10 million followers, doesn't cut it anymore. Because we want something to feel deeply personal and individualistic. So we really understand on a subconscious level how to cater to everyone's needs because we've been hearing everyone's opinions for so long because of social media, because of, you know, how we've communicated with everyone. So I guess those are my two real big things.

Speaker A: I think that's great insight and I want to, I want to pick your brain a little bit more about. You just mentioned AI specifically. Obviously that's a huge topic right now across all industries, but really it's very profound in PR and communications and journalism. You know, we're still seeing movement with social media. How do you see the, you know, new digital platforms and all of these kind of new things and evolving tactics within the communications realm? How do you see it shaping the future of public relations, especially for younger generations that are coming up through the times and you know, are being born into a world where we have something like AI, where, or, or social media, like my time not to age myself. But you know, the, the social media didn't hit until I was in high school or, and, and that was like the birth of it. So it really wasn't until I was in college that it really became a full throttle thing. And then when I came into the workforce did companies start utilizing social media in their marketing strategies. So with generations and younger people that are born into it, how do you see, how do, uh, how do you see that shaping the future of our industry?

Speaker C: Well, well, let me first say, you know, the people who think AI will take over our jobs are absolutely crazy. I love the creative mind and I hope and I, and I know that will never die out and that can never be taken over by AI. So let's talk about it. AI. Gosh, um, Annenberg, they really encourage us to use it hand in hand in our work and of course, to cite it correctly and learning what that even meant. But also I kind of use AI as my intern. I'm an intern right now, so I treat it like my intern. I treat it like my research kind of body to bounce ideas off of. It's, I'm a creative person, so I like to, uh, to collaborate and, and I can't talk to a wall with AI. I can just, even if it's just like, yep, that's great, keep going or dive Deeper. I like that. So I, that's how I use AI. I use it in gathering research, refining my sources, but never to, to write a full essay. I feel like, you know, what's the fun in that? I'm here to learn. But also I think it's extremely beneficial, you know, uh, uh, programs like Brand Watch, which I use, which is a social listening platform to track, uh, social media sentiment and putting that into decks and conversations and to further create our PR campaigns that are more persuasive and Meltwater, which is a Microsoft's, uh, we're beta testing for them. I think there's incredible, you know, AI softwares. We're using, you know, an AI software right now. It's going to be so ingrained in our future and I think with Gen Z, it's using it as a crutch and I want us to not use that. I want us to use it as our buddy, as our best friend, not as someone that we can constantly, you know, rely on for every little thing to kind of see us swim when we need it, but push us further. So that's how I see AI. I think it'll completely change, you know, how research is done. Um, you know, Grammarly. Even if we don't think it's AI, it is AI, uh, um, using that, you know, do I use a comma here or do that? I think that's pretty neat. But the future, gosh, I'm unsure, but I'm beyond excited to see how it is. I love doing everything manually, but I know this new generation is, you know, Gen Alpha, who is AI is going to be their entire life. It's going to be very interesting to see now social media, we are tune, we are in it. I feel like social posts, everyone's a content creator. We got that. But it's hard to break through that Someone, you know, like Duolingo, come on. It's the common case study. Someone who broke the mold for their brand. And I feel like, you know, brands and comment sections and gifs and what does this mean if a brand is in a discord chat with you? You know, what is that? You know, corporate, uh, courage when, when talking to your consumers. Um, but I think social media is a great way to bridge new audiences together. Going back to discord and Reddit, I think that's where the future of social media lies into these niche communities and these brands kind of creating these moderated channels for fans to communicate with each other with that also live stream. You know, when I talked about fomo, it's this kind of breaks down that barrier. You don't have to be, you know, the fear you're there, right? Coachella's this weekend. Five zillion people are going to live stream and I won't feel FOMO because I'll be right there with them. So I think that's something that we also understand kind of the new emerging platforms. Vertical shorts are also an emerging platform that I'm excited to see the serialized content because we like things quick, fast and digestible, which is completely different than Gen Alpha, who can sit down for 40 minutes for a 40 minute YouTube episode, which I don't even think I can do that. Um, so it's interesting how that's changed so how AI social media and digital platforms are shaping the future of public relations. So I think it's public relations professionals. We can't shy away of where everybody's going to. And I think to really lean in and, and listen and kind of be those, those monitors to puncture the holes when we need to into the current zeitgeist.

Speaker B: We have talked a bit about, you know, the future, but pivoting here to some other things you've worked on during the pandemic, you started your own branding and marketing company, which is amazing. What did launching a business at such a young age teach you about communications and leadership and, you know, kind of what you wanted to do?

Speaker C: I started this kind of as a passion project when Covid happened. I went to summer camp for, you know, since I was seven years old and it's in, you know, Maryland. And the only way I could communicate with my friends is through FaceTime or text. But I wanted something to show that we were all there together. So I created this magazine on this small website called Canva, which we all know is like a, uh, giant corporation right now. And I'm so excited. But I was one of the first early adopters into, you know, what is everyone up to right now? And then I realized, wait, this doesn't seem like work. This seems really fun. So I just continued to start playing with it and then I asked my mom if any of her friends needed help with graphics. Then I started going on our Facebook and pitching myself to people, creating, you know, media decks, taking those PowerPoints and putting them into Canva and making them graphically, visually and, you know, looking better, graphically, better. There we go. But starting that business, first of all, doing something, taking that leap was incredible. But it taught me how to communicate and again, personal brand myself. How do you trust, you know, a 15 year old with your social media deck. So what I had to do was I started creating a portfolio, mock projects, so that I could show them. Showing them that, you know, you can trust the younger generation, and I'm willing to work with you. So I still do it a little bit today, and it's. It's called Linus Designs because it's my, you know, amazing mane of hair. And I created my own logo, but for communications, I created an email, and I learned how to email professionally, how to talk on calls professionally, and again, have that, you know, personal branding for myself and leadership. I guess it comes back to pitching yourself of trusting yourself when you're. When you're a solo group. It's a little hard, but when I started bouncing ideas off of my mom and my friends and, you know, the people that I were working with, it was significantly better. So that kind of created my foundation of, okay, if I can do this for other people, you know, what if we scale this? Then I found out what PR was. I go, oh, okay, this is exactly what I want to do, because I don't only have to graphically design it. I can then come up with the ideas because I found myself, you know, reading these people's, you know, pitches for their decks, and I'm like, well, what if we do this? Well, what if we do that? And now I get to do that every day and still use a little bit of my canva, too.

Speaker A: It's incredibly impressive. And in addition to that, I believe that you're also very involved in nonprofit work. Can you talk to us a little bit about that as well?

Speaker C: My passion for the music industry comes from being taken to concerts, you know, Billy Joel and. And some of the greats at a very young age and realizing kind of the power of music. And although I'm not really in the music industry program here, I try to align myself the best. So I, um, helped produce a concert called a benefit concert for Altadena. A concert for Altadena. And I was asked to be put on this for the sponsorship side because I had an intrigue, a passion for creating sponsorships. But most importantly, I saw the devastation of the fires, and I couldn't just sit there. I'm not connected to the Altadena community. I'm not connected to the Palisades community. But I couldn't just do nothing. I had to do something. So when this opportunity presented itself, I immediately jumped on it. So for, you know, for half a year, we worked on this incredible benefit concert for the community of Altadena because There was a little bit of frustration after fire aid of where's the money going? So we were at the Pasadena Civic Center. Um, we had an incredible lineup with dolls and friends, and, you know, we helped raise over half a million dollars. And then we found out, uh, a few weeks ago that an anonymous donor matched that. So we raised $1 million for the Altadena community, which was.

Speaker A: Oh, my God, that's incredible. Congrats. Incredible. Thank you.

Speaker C: It was. And I guess, you know, working on that kind of reframed my purpose in pr, that it doesn't just have to be for these giant brands. You can help. And seeing it on such a small scale, watching these people come in, sharing their stories with me, it felt. Oh, my gosh, I think I cried so many times that night. But it's real and it's impactful, and the PR that we put into practice can absolutely change lives. And through the power of music and bringing people together, especially, um, so doing that nonprofit work, I want to do more. I want to do more. And because I've seen. I've seen the impact, and if I can do that right now, I want to continue doing that. So, um, it was January 7th. We had Dawes and Alec Black and Lord Heron and Brad Paisley. It was just phenomenal. It was phenomenal. And I was a small part of a larger, you know, group, but I loved every moment of it.

Speaker B: You have a super impressive list of accolades and accomplishments and kind of focusing and taking in all of that. For students who are listening and you want to enter the PR field, what advice would you give them?

Speaker C: Oh, gosh, I wouldn't be lying if I had to look myself in the mirror and give my own. My own advice, um, because I'm also entering the industry. But I guess my biggest piece of advice is do not be afraid to go out there and brand yourself and.

Speaker A: And.

Speaker C: And be the change that you want to see in the world. I'm, um, beyond interested by the fan journey and how brands can intercept that fan journey, you know, before, during, or after an event or a campaign happens. And so it's been my mission to kind of uncover what exactly this means. So I've now branded myself as the live events fan girl. And not siloed in that, because there's so many different things, but finding your niche, finding what you add to this industry, kind of reframes and redirects your entire narrative. So find the thing that's motivating you, your why. And I know that's why every. Everybody has told me that but once it clicked for me, I understood, you know, that's why what I want to do. Because, you know, at the concert for Altadena and at you know, these, you know, conventions and events that I produce, I get to peek from behind the curtain and I get to see real lives being changed. And that's my why, you know, if we as PR professionals can just take for five minutes someone's mind off of whatever they're doing or their hardships in their life and just smile, I think that's what we can, you know, that's all we can do as PR professionals. Create real change for 1 to 1 million people. I think that's, that's my why. So young professionals just like me who are navigating the industry. Find your center, find your core, and then you can go out and make real change. Because, you know, I think that's incredibly important.

Speaker B: That's really thoughtful.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I completely agree with that. And I, uh, think it was very beautifully said. In addition to that, for our listeners, just to kind of end here, is there anything, any habits or mindsets? And I like to ask a lot of our guests this question because everybody has a different answer. Is there anything, any habit that you do daily or, or any type of way of thinking that has helped you succeed so early in your careers? You've really made so many incredible achievements. So is there anything that people can learn from, that you do in your, in your daily life, in your everyday world that, that some people can sort of take away from this conversation?

Speaker C: Yeah, at, ah, my heart, I'm a journalist. So every morning before scrolling on TikTok, because I think that's a form of media training. I read the news. I, uh, subscribed, you know, axios, the Time, New York, L.A. both times the Post. And you know, at USC, we have free subscriptions PR week. And I just read, I get the updates every morning and I make myself aware of what's going on in the world. And then I can. I test myself during the day, which doesn't really, you know, always happen, but I try to put at least one of those news headlines into conversation. I am a firm believer. And you learn by teaching. You know, like, I have to be this someone who tells someone about a subject. I'm like, oh, okay, right, that does make sense. Um, so I like to put that into conversation and continuously putting those topics into conversation. And then I scroll on TikTok and I see what the people, what everyone is talking about. What's the new trend? What's the new Fad. And I think scrolling on social media is important to our work because we need to be within those trends. So that's what I do. I try to educate myself every morning and then put those into conversation. Sometimes, uh, it work, sometimes it doesn't work. But, you know, I get to go to class every day. So we always open up a forum of what's going on in the PR industry, what's going on in the sports industry, depending on what class I'm taking. And I try. I try to chip in, I try to add to the conversation. So that's my habit. I try. I hope I never break that habit because it really keeps me informed and keeps me going m. I love that.

Speaker A: And this whole. This whole conversation has really been insightful. I think what you've really nailed is that what stands out the most about this next generation isn't really waiting for permission. You're building, you're experimenting. And, uh, many students like you are are leading with purpose in a way that's really pushing the industry forward. So, Sophie, congratulations again on being named PR Week's PR Student of the Year. It's obviously incredibly well deserved, and we can't wait to see everything you do next. Thank you.

Speaker C: You know what? Thank you to the Paul Group, thank you to Stefan. Uh, you guys are absolutely fantastic.

Speaker B: No, thank you, Sophie.

Speaker A: Yes, thank you. And this has been a pleasure. And to our listeners, whether you're just starting out or you've been in this industry for years, there's something really meaningful to take away from this conversation. So stay curious, stay adaptable, and don't be afraid to create your own opportunities. So keep listening to our show for more insights and advice, and we will see you all next time.