All Posts By

Marijean

Marijean Oldham (Jaggers), a social media specialist and public relations professional, is president and CEO of Jaggers Communications LLC, a strategic communications firm based in Charlottesville, Va.

Mar 14
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Awkward Team Photos

By Communications

We’re getting ready to get some professional photos done of the Jaggers Communications team. Our friend, photographer Sarah Cramer Shields will be behind the camera, charged with making us look cool.

Poor Sarah.

Clients of ours recently had a team building exercise at a company retreat. They shared with one another, (and eventually, with us) some awkward photos of the executive team as gangly adolescents and nerdy middle-schoolers.

For some of them, those photos were from a year or so ago. (I kid!)

If you’re unfamiliar with the inspiration for this exercise, http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/ you really must go.  I think that this was a hilarious way to strip off the veneer and get to know other people on the team. We were all kids, right, and all had those awkward moments along the way of becoming the incredibly well-adjusted people we are today.

Ahem.

In the spirit of disclosure, I’m gifting you with an awkward photo of myself at 13. You’re welcome.

Mar 12
Love0

When Communications are Client Driven

By Communications

I’ve worked in communications for the better part of the last 16 years or so. My experience on the agency side has consistently pointed to the same truth. Communications that are driven wholly by the client are rarely strategic and often misguided. When an agency or other outsourced communication provider becomes the order taker, taking direction from the client without questioning whether what’s being directed is what’s best for the business.

In public relations, marketing and communications, I think it’s our job to always do what’s best for the client. Sometimes that means there’s less work available for the firm. Sometimes that feedback causes friction in a client relationship. But above all, I feel strongly that it is our role to be looking out for the client’s best interests.

We speak up, speak out and will speak on our clients’ behalf because we believe in the message they deliver.

We also won’t hesitate to disagree, redirect or be frank and honest in the face of your communications challenges.

We like to think we’re easy to work with (we get that feedback a lot) but we also have put our stake in the ground to be clear and open, to guard your business as if it were our own, and to be always thinking of you and ways we can help your communications improve.  While it may feel foreign to some organizations engaging with a strong communications partner for the first time, or for those used to directing and managing marketing and PR efforts to an order-taker, the outcome is so much greater for the whole, the adjustment to the collaborative nature of our work ultimately becomes what most think is a refreshing change.

We’re different. We’re a little loud; we’re not shy, and we’re as passionate about our own work as you are about yours.

 

Mar 08
Love0

Social Media and The Great Privacy Debate

By Social Media

There’s been a lot of discussion at Jaggers Communications’ world headquarters, about issues related to social media and privacy.

We don’t always agree about the ethics involved or the complex decisions businesses must make if they’re going to data mine to a level that might make consumers uncomfortable. We’re also on the fence about employers and the rights they have to monitor, hire or fire, request access to and/or otherwise control an employee’s interaction on social networks.

As consumers, we can decide to enjoy the small benefits of marketing targeted specifically to our desires. I’ll admit that it’s nice that special offers I receive are based on prior purchases and my consumer behavior overall, providing me a convenience and benefit of financial savings. My level of discomfort in sharing online is not as high as others’.

We’re curious about what you think: are the benefits you receive from data mining practices outweighing the discomfort in giving up some level of privacy? How do you feel about employers or potential employers monitoring your online behavior?

Mar 07
Love0

On the Blog Wagon — How to Fall Off and Get Back to It

By Communications, Social Media

It was pointed out to me today that I haven’t been blogging much at all. And a lack of blogging for me means a lack of Twitter or Facebook interaction and a general sense of missing-in-action for my followers and for me, personally as well. I miss it, and being busy with client work, while true, is not an acceptable excuse. Writers’ block doesn’t suffice as an excuse and isn’t the case, either. It just happens, once in awhile. My appetite wanes, I guess.

So how to re-energize the process?

I’m mixing up my content by adding a couple of contributors: Jaggers Communications team members Rusty Speidel and Erika Gennari have recently contributed blog posts. I’m also thinking philosophically about what content I want to post, categorically, and thinking about reorganizing categories to reflect the firm’s capabilities. I also know from a look at analytics that the more personal I am in my posts, the more reflective about my business or the more fired up I am about a particular communications issue, the larger the audience.

You guys sure like it when I get pissy.

So I’m considering all of that, and working on getting back to posting much more often.

Suggestions, demands and questions will be entertained by the management. Comment below.