We recently connected with Anne Leedom and have shared our conversation below.
Anne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
I had been in corporate sales most of my life, Ironically, I have come full circle. I started my first business at 15, painting curbs to freshen up the neighborhoods. I began to see a need based on how products and services make people feel, which became the major factor in being successful for companies as well as individuals.
I started my first advertising agency at 20. Focusing on how the client companies made people feel also helped me become successful for that project. I didn’t realize I had that focus strategically until years later. I started my PR agency in 2001 out of the desire to help a friend just starting to move into writing parenting books and wanted to build a global media platform.
After 25+ years in working with thousands of authors, experts and life coaches I noticed something. Success, both for certain clients of mine, as well as others on a global stage, came down to 3 key elements. Credibility and consistent exposure on select media outlets was a standard for most, however the connection piece had not, and still has not been made readily available as a process based on authenticity. I developed Emotional Messaging Design™ to give my clients a strategic tool based on authentic emotions for their messaging.
My first client was a friend from the past. We reconnected and spent 2 years building messaging. Without the system I had not yet developed, it took time. It paid off for her in that she is now one of the most respected and sought after parenting experts in the world.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have always been considered a square peg in a round hole. My choices have been fluid rather than fixed to welcome the unknown… the magical. I am drawn to purpose and meaning over the status quo. Changemakers and heart-centered adventurers were always my universe. It was and is my natural state. I inherited a profound sense of wonder from both of my parents who were pioneers, visionaries, and torchbearers, inspiring me to inspire others.
Life happened to me, with each step becoming a new path stone in the foundation of innovation that is the core of my existence. Born around the beauty of Lake Tahoe, where my dad built a house and introduced his wife and children to a then unique vision of living under a snow covered mountain just because he wanted to do so, to then moving to the Monterey area of California, specifically Gilroy. This included watching the Garlic Festival sprout up from a very small event on a ranch to the global event it is today. Who could ever have guessed!
My heart-focused DNA was now firmly in place. I began attracting the people and miracles that have allowed me to experience the innovation, creativity, talent and the ground breaking genius that surrounded me constantly in the 80’s and 90’s. My childhood friend become the first American solo aerialist in the Ringling Brothers Circus, partly due to my intuitive support as the publicist I had no idea I would become one day, as I guided her to embrace her dream.
I stumbled onto movie sets and concerts in the area, meeting and hanging for days with John Ritter, Carrie Fisher, Michael Douglas, Mark Harmon, Christopher Reeve, Mark Hamill, Kirstie Alley, Donny Osmond, and multiple magical moments with Olivia Newton-John, including being with her backstage as she reached to hold my very young girls while we got a photo we all cherish. All because my dad set my compass in life for heart-based possibilities, followed by intention, inventive strategy and continuous implementation.
I earned a Journalism degree from San Jose State University and a minor in psychology, and began working for Fortune 500 companies in sales and account management. I broadened my sense of adventure as I traveled around the U.S. While this was an exciting career path, it was frankly living in Silicon Valley in the 80’s and 90’s that formed the core of my education. Surrounded with a bourgeoning shift in the universe with the introduction of Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM was electric. I began my quest to learn all I could about my new heroes like Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson and John Bradshaw and many more.
Mavericks and change makers captured my attention in all areas of self-help constantly as I focused on the people rather than just the business side of the energy that was taking place as we moved into the 90’s. I worked my way through school at KLOK radio in San Jose and as a travel agent, even though I had no experience. The owner just believed in me, thankfully. Going to Hawaii my first time for $75 proved to me I was on the right track to follow my heart.
Steve Jobs, Peter Theil, Joe Montana, Bill Walsh, Clint Eastwood, Bill Graham, Robin Williams…disruptors were flowing throughout the Valley, and I was drawn to the voltage, the momentum, the constant sense of purpose and genius they all encompassed. Living in the Bay Area my whole life, it felt ‘normal’ in some way. I was about to learn just how far from normal it really was as I later shifted to living in the Sacramento area and L.A.
Upon graduation I began working for companies like Art Carved Rings, where I could become part of the landscape of Stanford University, and other Universities throughout Northern California in a way that again, focused on people. This served my Journalistic instincts very well. I later moved onto General Mills and Purina Mills in sales. My path seemed set.
As I was working in the corporate world, I met my then husband, who owned a prominent family business, James Grain, in the Pet Food Distribution industry. The fact that he was a major fan of Apple was a plus, as we were kindred souls in our fascination with innovation and technology. The battle between Mac and PC was in full force throughout the world and we were on the same side. Working to help him develop products and grow the business was a magical way to implement my intuitive strategies to build business based on people.
I became a mother and happily changed gears, left the workplace, and began to raise our two amazing daughters and focus on our family. However, once again my world took a turn into serendipity, as my husband decided family life was not for him. I began to work on how I was going to build a life that now meant being a single mother virtually 100%.
I learned about computers from my husband and in searching for things that interested me one day, I came across Dr. Michele Borba, who was a friend from the past. Her husband was my high school counselor, and I was fortunate enough to be a volunteer in Michele’s special education class. I simply adored her. We were very similar in how we cared for kids and how we saw life in general.
She had just published her first parenting book. My dad urged me to reach out in spite of the 20 years that had passed, and by the end of the call we decided to work together to build her forthcoming career as a parenting expert on a global stage. My husband created her website and graphics, and I began to plan strategy to position her on new websites as an online contributor.
I leveraged these media placements to attract TV media, including over 100+ appearances for Michele on the Today Show. In 1999, this was very innovative. I was one of the first online publicists. A pioneer. I loved the research, networking, writing and ultimately, the creativity of building her brand and her media presence. Google hadn’t even been invented yet!
This began the next chapter in my heart-centered path. Working with Michele, who now is a global phenomenon, and eventually thousands of authors, life coaches and other clients has given me the blessing to meaningfully contribute to changing lives.
My girls and I began to see a much bigger world thanks to Michele, including New York, and eventually London, Dublin, Paris and countless parts of the U.S. my girls would not likely have seen, given I was now a single mom on my own.
As my business evolved, I was invited to be interviewed by Neil Cavuto regarding Princess Diana and her boys to discuss the pending release of the photos from the accident. I began to work with highly notable people like Dr. Laura Schlesinger, Matt Damon’s mom, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, and actress and author Diane Ladd, appeared on the John Walsh Show, and thousands of up and coming authors and media experts looking to me to help broaden their platform and to create impact.
We moved to L.A. and enjoyed special screenings and meeting actors and authors who embodied the authenticity that has become the hallmark of my work.
My girls now each have their own businesses, spinning off of mine. I am beyond proud of them both. My world is filled with awe, wonder, magic, creativity and a level of excitement I cannot describe when my clients reach that next level and experience authentic impact with their audiences as they grow.
My business is built on a solid foundation of heart-centered strategy communication. Emotional Branding Design™, and powerful, innovative media support to connect clients with audiences and instill momentum in hearts and lives wherever they may be. This sets my agency apart, as I provide a proven system for science-based emotional messaging that creates lasting impact with audiences. These are my tools to fortify my client’s business.
Motivate and inspire… humbly. That is what I have found to be most effective.
Clarify your intentions, connect emotionally with your audiences and you will become a highly sought after lifestyle brand, thought leader, media authority and global agent of change in your area of expertise. That is my intention and my strategy for my clients and has been since 1999.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I focus on word of mouth, referrals, SEO, Linkedin connections all built organically, and personal outreach to specific potential clients that fit with current media requests throughout the year. I built a platform of media outlets, primarily online, learned what the editors needed to make their job easier and more productive, and then reached out to people who would be a likely fit for the network I built.
As a result I rarely pitch, we gain priority positioning in many cases due to editor loyalty and appreciation for providing what they need in the format they need it, and securing the strategic positioning with media outlets that make an impact. Focusing on Feature Ongoing Contributors vs one-off quotes gives my clients crediblity and consistency, as well as the ability to lead media conversations with content base on what my clients choose to discuss.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Resilience is something I have developed from a young age. I came from a challenging childhood with very little support. As I moved into the world in my 20’s, I learned to build support in ways that felt were genuine and based on a profound desire to better myself. Once my husband left me and my children in my 40’s I knew I had to build what I had started in PR into a meaningful way to support my children, which I had to do virtually 100% in every way. Keeping my focus on my ‘why’, working from place of authenticity and devotion to my clients and my business all built a foundation of resilience that I am very proud of to this day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.emotepr.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emote.pr/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneleedom
- Twitter: https://x.com/anne_leedom
Image Credits
Anne Leedom