Katie is a Vice President at UPRAISE Marketing + Public Relations, specializing in B2B and B2C tech. She focuses on developing and driving integrated communications plans for some of the most innovative technology brands in the Bay Area and across the globe. Katie enjoys meaningful, long-term relationships with her clients, playing an outsized role in working directly with media and client executives, and helping to shape the direction of the company. She optimizes the UPRAISE team structure by leading, developing and retaining a diverse group of team members, recognizing and leveraging their talents to inspire commitment and a collaborative, high-functioning culture. With a proven track record of implementing strategic media and social media campaigns, Katie engages with key influencers and news media to effectively communicate the missions, progress and impact of the best technology companies in the world.
Her passion for storytelling and experience driving media strategies have earned her recognition from the Public Relations Society of America, which awarded her San Francisco’s “Young PR Pro of the Year” in 2019 and PR Daily, which named her a “Rising Star” in 2022.
A proud University of Oregon alumna, Katie graduated from the School of Journalism and Communication with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Business Administration from the Lundquist College of Business.
Here, Katie shares a few highlights and viewpoints:
Q: What is your biggest win for a client?
My biggest success to date was launching Trifo’s third robotic vacuum, “Lucy,” at CES 2020. Trifo, a consumer home robotics company, was spun out of a larger company, PerceptIn, and as a result, had zero brand recognition. On top of that, the robotic vacuum market is a very crowded space and is just 10 percent of the total vacuum category.
We developed a strategy to combat these challenges, implementing various tactics to garner interest and encourage media to visit the booth at the show—and it worked.
We secured 20 media briefings at the Trifo booth during CES and secured featured articles in top-tier publications such as Forbes, USA Today, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Digital Trends, Gizmodo, Cheddar, Tech Hive, and more.
Q: What is the one piece of advice you give clients most often?
Although we have relationships with media in your space, that doesn’t guarantee they will write a story about you or your product/service. It might ensure that our email gets opened, but if there isn’t a story to tell, they’re not going to cover it. Period.
When it comes to crafting your story, my advice is always to focus on what makes your company unique and—more importantly—why should people care? Providing thoughtful responses to these questions helps your PR team define your messaging and start crafting your story. When you are close to the product, it’s easy to get excited over what it does. But for everyone else, the true value lies in what problem it solves and therefore why the product exists. That’s the story.
While every business has a story to tell, many fail at doing so as they lack clear, captivating and effective messaging. Keeping the company vision at the center of the PR strategy will ensure that your story is clear, defined and consistent across all channels of communication.
Q: What do successful PR teams understand?
It’s important to work with a PR team that understands how to make the most out of your earned media coverage. While getting a bunch of media coverage is certainly exciting, it doesn’t mean anything if your clients, prospects, investors, and other target audiences don’t see it. Successful PR teams will work seamlessly with your internal marketing team to publish articles to your website, social media, and your thought leaders’ LinkedIn pages.
On top of that, they’ll repurpose that content to ensure they’re maximizing your exposure. With PR, it’s not about the TV segment, Forbes article or podcast guest spot—it’s about what you do with that coverage that makes a long-term impact. Effective PR teams will repurpose your media coverage by, for example, transcribing a podcast interview and turning it into a contributed article, blog, speaking abstract, award submission, social posts, etc. There are essentially endless ways to repurpose your content to expand its reach, and successful PR teams will execute accordingly.
Q: What is one of the highlights of your career?
One of the highlights of my career was being named Young PR Pro of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in 2019. The award was not only a significant milestone in the growth of my career but also helped demonstrate to all young professionals that our voices and our ideas are heard and valued.
