Being Meyera Oberndorf’s “confidante,” as Kerry Dougherty over-described me in The Virginian-Pilot, did have its perks. It gave me access not just to what was happening in her unique life, and how she somehow managed to keep it altogether, but also what it took to be a political survivor in a city that was used to not having a mayor for four consecutive years, much less five consecutive terms.
Tag: marketing
Jessica Bensten, Creative Director
Tell us about your personal life.
I’ve been married almost ten years to my husband, Everett, who is a lawyer in the Hampton City Attorney’s office. We have two kids, Jackson (7) and Abby (3), who keep me very busy! Both sides of our family live on the Peninsula so we are blessed with an amazing support system. That’s actually how my husband and I met – our grandparents lived across the street from each other for 50 years!
Jessica’s staff photo from 2005.
How long have you been at RCG?
My ten-year anniversary is coming up in October. I came to RCG as a newlywed after my first post-college job and started as an account manager. I had also studied graphics as well as journalism and PR while at JMU, so I slowly started handling a few design projects here or there when I wasn’t doing media relations. My job eventually evolved into creative director.
What do you love about creative services?
I love the process. There’s something so fulfilling about taking a client’s communication need and coming up with a creative solution from concept to design and execution. We work with some pretty spectacular Hampton Roads businesses and nonprofits so it makes me proud to see our hard work turn into a successful website, ad, brochure, annual report or billboard.
What’s a memorable project that sticks out to you? And why does it stand out?
That’s a really hard question. How do you narrow down ten years of work? If I had to choose something a little more recent, I’d probably say the 20-page magazine insert I designed last year for the Virginia Dental Association Foundation’s MOM project. It was the organization’s 15th anniversary and we worked hard to come up with a way to highlight the past, present and future of the organization. Over the years, the foundation have donated millions of dollars of free dental care to Virginians and I wanted to do that gift justice. I really think we did — we got multiple compliments on the finished product!
How has creatives services changed since you began at RCG? What has stayed the same?
When I first began at RCG, I did mostly public and media relations, which means we outsourced the majority of our graphic design work. Digital printing was just gaining ground in our region, so we used mainly offset printers. If someone needed artwork that was too large to email, we burned a CD. Even our video equipment wasn’t digital! (This is starting to make me sound old)
What hasn’t changed? The quality of our work and the attention to detail. We work faster by having a designer right here in the office, plus turnaround times at the printer are quicker than they used to be.
What’s the best piece of advice you give people about design as it relates to marketing?
An open line of communication is key to good design. It is difficult to sit down with a client and gain an accurate assessment of their design needs if all they tell me is to “just make it pretty.” My best advice is to have samples of design work you like, have colors in mind and finish your copy writing before you start on a project. And, know who your audience is…we can take it from there.
What do you do outside of work?
I’m very active at CHKD because both of my kids were treated there. Jackson was diagnosed at one with a childhood cancer called Neuroblastoma, and will be in remission for five years at the end of this month! That is so hard to believe. Abby was born prematurely and spent four months in the NICU. Naturally, I want to give back. This is my third year serving on the NICU Family Advisory Council and I am also on the inaugural hospital-wide Advisory Council formed this year.
In addition to my volunteer work, I started a blog called “Mothering Miracles” last July to be a resource for other families going through health issues. I honestly thought it would just be my mom and dad reading it, but my articles have been published on the Huffington Post over a dozen times, as well as other major online news sites. Some of my favorites are 10 Reasons Preemies Are Rockstars, 20 Things a Cancer Mom Knows By Heart and Never Second Guess a Second Opinion.
What’s it been like to work with Joel for all these years? And you’re STILL sane?
I have no idea how I haven’t been institutionalized by now! All kidding aside, Joel and Sara Jo have been wonderful employers, and our team works really well together. The Rubins foster a creative, collaborative environment and these ten years have gone by in a flash.
As they say: time flies when you’re having fun.
In every room around our office, you’ll see the RCG logo.
It’s on our business cards, letterhead and envelopes. If you dig deep into our supply closet, you’d find the logo on notepads, folders, thank you cards, polo shirts and probably a magnetic nametag or two.
Today’s post is the first in our “Meet the Team” series. We’re shining the spotlight on our newest employee, Account Manager Jennifer Hill, who comes all the way from New York City!
Not every story has a deadline of today.
It’s often hard to tell clients that the media will (hopefully) get something on the air or in print eventually, particularly when bosses or board members breath down their necks. (more…)
Happy holidays from the RCG team!
All year, we wrote blog posts about our current projects and best practices for PR/marketing. We believe 100% in the power of content marketing and use our blog to spread our knowledge and services.
We looked back at our site traffic in 2014 to uncover our most popular blog posts. Here are the top five.
Bonus article: 50 Lunch and Learn Food Ideas from EZCater!
You lunched. You learned. And you know what? We did too.
RCG University’s fall semester will come to a close on Thursday, December 4. We decided to take a break during the winter months, but keep an eye out for spring courses.
Before we put the fall “semester” behind us, it’s important to assess our performance.
What did we do well? What needs improvement?
Here are four lessons we learned from our own “Lunch & Learn” series. Apply them at your own company!
1. Take a good idea and run with it. Our lunches weren’t meant to bring in immediate revenue. We offered them for free…remember? We created the “Lunch and Learn” series to make new contacts, reach out into the community and begin the conversation. Grade: A+
2. Choose interesting topics. When you put the RCG team in a brainstorming session, it doesn’t take long for the creative juices to flow. We chose to present on content marketing, LinkedIn, brevity, crisis communications and nonprofit marketing. We packed the room with every session so we know we chose the right themes.
Where do your customers struggle? What don’t they understand? Those are the topics you need to cover. Grade: A
3. AV equipment. Womp, Womp. It happens to the best of us. And there’s nothing quite like that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when technology doesn’t work. When our projector screen failed us at a particular “Lunch and Learn” session, we had a plan B and recovered. Still, right after the session ended we decided to upgrade our tools to be 100% ready the next time. Grade: B-
4. Leave time for questions. Sometimes an hour goes by way too fast. In a room of business professionals with varying stages of marketing knowledge, we found the hour would end before we could take real-world questions. Like any good professor, we’re more than happy to chat outside of class. Give us a call to set up a meeting to see how we can provide our services for your company. Grade: B
Thank you for all who participated in in our inaugural “Lunch and Learn” series!
by Rachael Keshishian
When we’re not “making things happen” for our clients with marketing and public relations campaigns, the RCG team likes to have fun in the community. We enjoy attending events, giving back to local non-profits and networking over a pumpkin beer or two (and a Shocktop for Joel). Here are our top picks this fall.
by Danny Rubin
E-newsletters are a marketing and public relations essential. In fact, I wrote a blog post in July called “7 Reasons Your Business Must Have an E-Newsletter.”
The seven reasons:
