We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexis Kouser a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alexis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

I want to start with what the general public gets wrong about the public relations (PR) industry – only famous people or big corporations need publicists. It is a common misconception that simply isn’t true. At the public relations firm I work for, we have many small business clients, and we actually prefer it that way. We love being able to help new businesses to establish their identity, tell their story, celebrate their milestones, and earn their space in their respective industries. It is truly a rewarding experience!

As far as Corporate America goes, the biggest thing I believe is misunderstood about the public relations industry is that good PR doesn’t always equal increased sales. It’s pretty difficult to measure the value of PR, and before media monitoring software, it was nearly impossible. Building a good reputation and establishing authority in a specific sphere takes time, dedication, and consistency and doesn’t mean increased sales. Some corporations are too focused on their bottom line to see the value in PR until they have some sort of public disaster on their hands.

Alexis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I graduated from Drexel University in 2019, majoring in Communications with a concentration in public and corporate relations. I then began working in the nonprofit sector, doing both creative and PR work. I helped the organization undergo a slight rebrand during the pandemic, establishing a consistent brand identity and a unique voice. Many of my projects allowed me to express both my creative and strategic sides. I believe that the two years I spent with that organization truly helped me move on to the next phase of my journey with a better understanding of all the moving parts that need to come together to establish a brand identity and authority in an organization’s industry.

I am now a PR Coordinator with BrandBomb PR, a boutique PR agency in Las Vegas. We help clients to ignite their identity by helping share their brand story, establish their authority, celebrate their milestones, and earn their space in their respective industries. We put passion into our work and are dedicated to helping our clients succeed.

I love the fast-paced, ever-changing workload that comes with working in PR and the relationships we build with our clients.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had to make an unexpected pivot at the very start of my career. I graduated towards the end of 2019 and started my job search after the holidays in 2020. I was so excited to find the perfect job in my field of study. I got an opportunity to interview for what I thought would be the perfect job for me, the interview went great, and I was fairly optimistic about it. Not long after, to my utter shock, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and closures began. I received an email from the company I interviewed with saying that they were not proceeding with hiring anyone due to these uncertain times. I was completely unsure of what to do next – I knew that with these closures, it would be impossible to find a job in my industry.

So, though I was thoroughly disappointed, I had to get creative – I had to pivot. I started doing some copywriting remotely, and then that led to me working remotely with a nonprofit where I got to do PR and creative work. Though I didn’t expect to begin my career working remotely, I thought of it as an amazing opportunity to put everything I learned into practice and to learn more about establishing a brand. I ended up working with that nonprofit organization for two years, and I am very grateful for my time with them.

All the skills I learned along the way helped me secure the position I have today. So, though this pivot wasn’t expected, it did truly work out for the best.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest things I struggle to unlearn is that everything has to be perfect. Believing that everything has to be perfect on the first take leads to unproductiveness.

Not only is perfection subject to interpretation, but sometimes it is better to have things done rather than done perfectly. That doesn’t mean proofreading or attention to detail goes out the window. For me, it just means that I can take the pressure for something perfect off of my shoulders, leaving room to learn from my mistakes and grow.

Looking at things this way also leaves room for collaboration, as sometimes I find that two different perspectives come together to create exactly what I was looking for all along.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandbombpr.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lex_kouser/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandbombpr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-kouser-5288531b7/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexiskouser
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE_Fj6d525Jm5Wobo1aDYNg
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/brandbombpr/

Image Credits
– Jesse Arroyo – Anneli Adolfsson