Main Responsibilities of a Public Relations Consultant at a Global Medical Transportation Company
Nicole's main responsibilities as a Public Relations Director at a large global medical transportation company encompassed "media relations," including "fielding inquiries from reporters," and proactive PR campaigns —"market softening campaigns"— to address competitive pressures or reputational challenges. A significant portion of the role also involved "crisis communications," given the company's scale and the inherent risks associated with its operations.
Media Relations, Crisis Communications, Public Relations Campaigns, Marketing Communications, Reputation Management
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Nicole Michel
Public Relations Consultant
A Global Medical Transportation Company
California State University Chico
N/A
Creative Writing, Journalism
Healthcare, Medical & Wellness
Communication and Marketing
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Media relations: handling reporter inquiries, coordinating interviews, writing press releases.
2. Proactive PR campaigns: developing strategies to improve public perception, using earned and paid media, and incorporating social media.
3. Crisis communications: managing various crisis situations, from localized incidents to large-scale events, given the scale of the company's operations and the number of employees.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
As a public relations director, I was responsible for all PR efforts for a global medical transportation company. They had operations in 49 states, including ground ambulance, air medical, and privatized fire services.
A primary focus of this role was media relations. This involved fielding reporter inquiries, coordinating interviews, and writing media statements and press releases.
Another area of focus was more proactive PR work, which were internally referred to as marketing or market softening campaigns. These campaigns primarily comprised earned media tactics, but also included some paid media and were combined with social and marketing elements.
The intent of these campaigns was to soften the market for an upcoming RFP, a competitor's entry into the market, or if a local brand had suffered a reputational issue. This was another significant piece of that position.
The third primary component was crisis communications. Within an organization with nearly 40,000 employees, we dealt with many crisis situations, almost weekly. These weren't all large crises, but included small localized ones and very large ones.
Given that hundreds of ambulances, medical aircraft, and engines are on the road daily with people in the community, things happen. Crisis communications was another big component of the role.