Summer is a lot of things to a lot of people. For me, it’s a time to connect, reflect, and plan with colleagues, family, and friends. That includes the team here at Hawkins International: we all just went to Fire Island for a much-deserved beach day! Meanwhile, most of our clients are busy in their own ways, whether with family and friends or keeping tabs on the industry at the famed Virtuoso Travel Week in Vegas.
Though we wish summer could go on forever, it won’t. And so we’re always sure to build in time to meet with clients coming through New York and to take advantage of face time to connect and plan for the seasons ahead. That’s one reason we love being headquartered in NYC: everyone comes through here eventually.
That noted, I’m excited to report that our newly opened LA office has also been buzzing and connecting and planning.
We have landed some wonderful new West Coast clients and there is an incredible assemblage of media that we’ve been reaching out to and seeing regularly since Lucy Zepp opened our modern co-working office in January. It is in a great location, just across from The Grove / Farmer’s Market, so please let her know when you’ll be in LA. She has hired a talented new team member, Natalie Wayt, who arrived with experience earned on both sides of the Pacific. And Lucy will be adding even more talent by year’s end.
There have been other wonderful transitions and hires at Hawkins International. Two of our spectacular directors were recently promoted to Vice President. Catherine Colford and Jamie Goldstein have each grown into true leaders in the office and proven themselves invaluable with clients, media, and their colleagues alike.
Catherine expertly heads our innovative Media Intelligence team, which keeps all of us – and our clients – very cutting edge. With so many changes in ownership, mastheads, and platforms, it takes a small army to stay up on the latest across the mediascape, and Catherine keeps her team focused and up front on trends and opportunities. I’m so proud of what she brings to the way we craft and position the narrative. Media come to us and we go to them in a very dynamic, transparent, and reciprocal relationship.
Jamie has been working alongside me since joining us as an intern in 2012. She was a superstar in the making then and now she is showing all of us how it’s done as a client relations star. Always one-step ahead of the game and on top of her accounts and media relationships, Jamie is a source of inspiration in the office and mentor to her team who invariably discovers the positive in everyone.
We are also pleased to announce that we have hired Danielle Hale Scott as a Vice President, who comes to us with a strong focus on beauty and wellness. So many of our clients – and the media – are looking to our counsel on all things programmatic and experiential in the expanding wellness world. With experience at storytelling for beauty, aesthetics, pharma, health, and lifestyles brands, Danielle adds even more credibility to our guidance. Our travel niche isn’t going anywhere; we’re just expanding on the expertise we’re already known for. We would love any of our clients to meet with Danielle when they’re here in NYC. She has a fresh take on the travel world, so please let us know when you would like to set up time to talk or Zoom with her.
Our digital division is staying very current on the Influencer and digital front. That world is changing all the time, so we are grateful to have Maja Derviskadic and her team keeping us up on every angle: paid vs. earned, influencer vs. blogger…and on and on. Though there are many distinctions and strategies to consider, we feel confident in how we have integrated our “traditional” PR with some cool ROI-driving digital (sometimes paid) campaigns.
Stay tuned for creative activations we are planning to get our community of clients involved. We have a hospitality roundtable planned with experts, an innovative showcase with media and travel professionals, and some training sessions and webinars as well. We want to share our intel with our clients and make it work best for you. There is a lot of joy and gratification in seeing strategies and PR plans drive awareness and business! Our ethos at Hawkins International is to be of service – and knowing we are servicing the best in the business, we take that challenge to an extreme!
Oh – and me? I’m heading to Mongolia on a family adventure with our tour operator client, Nomadic Expeditions. We have been working with them for 12 years, so it’s an opportunity I wouldn’t miss! Have a great summer and see you on the other side of autumn!
Cheers,
