Traditional public relations (PR) is still one of the most effective and cost-efficient strategies that brands use to build their businesses and get people to pay attention to them. It might not be the newest and most exciting thing to chase after, but it is a tried-and-true alternative that has stood the test of time.
Megan Bennett, CEO of Light Years Ahead is utilizing the strength of Media Relations in order to drive massive brand growth for Businesses.
Using Media Relations to drive Brand Growth
Megan went to Skidmore College at a liberal arts school in upstate New York. She then moved to Los Angeles and got her second “after college” job at the current firm, Light Years Ahead – representing some major consumer lifestyle and beauty products, which is her passion! She worked with the founder directly who mentored her for over 8 years, then she decided to move back to Kansas City and continue the job from there.
Megan Bennett has been part of the Light Years Ahead team for over 18 years. She is CEO and President of the Company now. Her expertise focuses on managing clients and exceeding their expectations on a daily basis. She has spearheaded and implemented countless successful PR campaigns on behalf of numerous brands and is proud of the positive, lasting relationships she cultivates with the media on an ongoing basis.
Result Driven PR Services for Businesses
Light Years Ahead, Headquartered in Kansas City, New York has been around since 1996 but Megan and her business partner took over in 2019. It was established to provide boutique public relations services to brands seeking national awareness with the media. Their focus has always been consumer products, goods and services.
They provide a grass roots approach to public relations and target the top media that can make an impact on the client’s brand. They focus on this media and doggedly reach out until the brand is covered and leave no stones unturned.
There are numerous PR firms working right now but what differentiates Light Years Ahead from them is that all employees in the Company are Women who manage all accounts and there is no account manager like big firms. This way, They are all in the know on what their clients are doing and how to make things better. It also is a good way not to burn out the media.
Under Challenges
Businesses can face a number of challenges and In today’s business environment, it is more important than ever for businesses to be aware of the challenges that they may face. By understanding the challenges that businesses face, owners and managers can be better prepared to deal with them.
“The approaching challenge for Light Years Ahead is that the media is starting to charge more now for coverage and in the past, it’s been completely free. We try to work our way around this by working with outlets that rely on free content and not paid ads.”
Currently, public relations is the best investment for an emerging brand or entrepreneur to garner brand exposure in an authentic way that helps to make more awareness. Consumer taste has evolved in that the interest went from reading print – magazines and newspapers – to now reading stories online on websites and digital magazines – to find out about current news and lifestyle trends. While I used to call the media via phone to pitch my clients, everything is now done via email. It’s a virtual world out there!
Motivated and Strategic Team
Conflict is not a strange thing for people. Humans encounter it in their daily lives – with their friends, families, and, more importantly, in their professional lives. Conflict in the workplace causes a great deal of frustration, pain, discomfort, sadness, and anger. It is a normal part of life. Organizations today hire people from all over the world, with varying cultural and intellectual backgrounds, as well as different points of view.
Disagreements are unavoidable in a workplace where people have different perspectives on the same issues which may cause the lack of motivation and it is widely accepted that motivated employees are more productive, efficient, and successful than those who are not motivated. A lack of motivation can lead to absenteeism, low morale, and high turnover rates. Thus, it is essential for employers to create a work environment that is conducive to employee motivation.
If there’s disagreement at Light Years Ahead, Megan is always very open to suggestions and weighs all options until all agree on a decision.
She says, “We are all motivated to work at Light Years Ahead because everyone who works here loves our job! That makes us productive because we want to succeed!”
Megan makes sure to have constant conversations with her client via text, whatsapp, email, etc. and keep them updated on how exciting things are in the work.”
She says, “We usually go with a strategy that we know works and rarely do clients ask us to change strategies. However, if we see something is not working, then we do try something else and are very open to change.”
If someone tells you no, try again. Never take no for an answer. One yes is all it takes!