PR Panelists and Audience Generate Buzz about Buzz

Generating Buzz Beyond Traditional PR

"We have quite a crew assembled here and I invite the audience to leverage this panel's expertise in any way they can,"  Tej Dhawan encouraged as he opened the October Business Innovation Zone luncheon.

Assembled Panelists

• Susan Ramsey, SVP of Communication for the Greater Des Moines Partnership
• Josh Fleming, President of the Iowa Chapter of the American Marketing Association and Digital Strategist at the Meyocks Group
• Todd Reding, Chief Marketing Officer at Spindustry
• Stephanie Filer, Manager of Special Gifts and Partnerships at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa
• Katie Miller-Smith, Director at Catchfire Media

The audience took Dhawan to heart and began to pose a series of questions specific to the startup concerns that they represented. The exercise became a valuable dialog, often expanding the panel to include other marketing and public relations professionals present in the audience.

At one point, brainstorming become so specific around an enviable challenge, presented by one local startup that Reding was forced to quip in jest, "Up until now it has all been free, but I think we have to start the billable hours clock at this point."