We recently connected with Aida Phillips and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Aida , thanks for joining us today. Is your team able to work remotely? If so, how have you made it work? What, if any, have been the pitfalls? What have been the non-obvious benefits?
PR is what I do for a living since 1999, I was lucky enough to work with many successful Hispanic Advertising agencies until 2008. I have been working from home since January 2009, so when the Pandemic hit, I was more than used to working remotely and I enjoyed it. I am a people person, so working alone is a bit of a challenge, however because I have the privilege of working with an amazing Multicultural PR agency -The Allen Lewis Agency based in Detroit, as a independent contractor, I get to travel for our clients and that makes it exciting. I am blessed to be a soloPReneur and have the flexibility to be able to take care of my family, attend my daughter’s school activities and be able to dedicate time to my Adoption organization “Born From Our Souls”. I don’t consider myself to be lucky, I am blessed. PR is such a demanding profession, but having been a publicist for over 23 years, I feel I have it down, not perfect, yet perfect for me.
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?
Aida Phillips, native of Mexico City and current Miami resident, has honed her craft as multicultural publicist over the last two decades. Her vast blue chip account experience gives her the leverage to deliver exceptional results for a variety of clients. Aida is a born communicator whose reputation for integrity and excellence has helped her develop lasting relationships with a wide network of media industry contacts. Her clients benefit not only from these liaisons but also from her dedication, strategic vision and boutique shop approach. Aida has worked with over 20 Fortune 500 companies and numerous Latin celebrities including General Motors, Ford Motor Company, BMW, Diamler Chrysler, Chivas Regal, Nestle, TJ Maxx, Payless Shoe Source, The US Navy, Farmers Insurance, Castrol Oil and many more and is currently an independent contractor with The Allen Lewis Agency as the Hispanic and Women’s markets for Nissan USA. Aida graduated from La Universidad de la Comunicación in Mexico City. She has served on the board of Institute of Child And Family Health Inc. 2008-2011; Femmfesionals 2009-2011; named Miami Publicist of the Year by Latino Leaders Magazine in 2011 and a proud member of PR, Marketing and Media Czars since 2014. Founder of Born From Our Souls 2011. Aida is married to Stanley Phillips and they have a daughter. I am Mexican living in the United States, being bilingual has opened so many doors for me. I am most proud of all of the relationships I have made along the way, and to have a stelar reputation for professionalism and dedication. I like to call myself a JewTina, being Jewish Latina makes me stand out among other publicists. I also love to collaborate with other agencies, and I am always looking to bring that Latin flair to any team. I am really fortunate to be able to do what I love and make sure my family is well taken care of as well. I use the hashtag #CaffeinatedPublicist, those who know me, know I LOVE Coffee, so it has been a branding strategy for me.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I had to pivot, reinvent myself and loose the fear of not making it back in 2008. I had worked at several of the top Hispanic Advertising agencies in the country, the last one was AccentMarketing (which no longer exists). The agency lost one of the biggest accounts we had, and in turn a lot of us were laid off. I was devastated, but I kept my cool and within a month I launched and created Aida Phillips PR – a multicultural PR firm. My first client was 4DiazVargas, who had Castrol Oil as a client and they brought me in to do all of the public relations for the 2010 World Cup. It gave me the confidence to pursue other clients and the rest as they say is history. I dabbled in being a publicist for Latin celebrities, that was fun while it lasted, but I really wanted to work with brands. So my wish came true in 2016 when The Allen Lewis Agency contracted me to do all of the Hispanic PR for Nissan, and I have given it my all for the past 7 years. I look forward to another 20 years of success in the PR world, I have the positivity, the work ethic and I consider myself to be an expert in this field. Of course without sounding pretentious or stuck up, I know what I am worth and I charge tax on it.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I truly believe that what has helped me build my reputation within the PR world is my transparency, work ethic, and professionalism. I love helping people create the best version of themselves, and I encourage everyone to be their most authentic self. That is what I have done all my life, and in my career my passion is to shine light of what the client is doing. Social media has helped tremendously in the past few years, and it is a tool I use on a daily basis not only to show the world my life, but to really emphasize what the brands I work with are doing to make a difference. I wouldn’t change the course of my career, I have really enjoyed every step of the way. And I am also staying true to my beliefs and ethics to be present in the moment and focus on the positive always. Tomorrow is not certain but today is a gift, so I feel blessed to work on my passion.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/AidaPhillipsPR
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidaphillips/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AidaPhillipsPR
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidaphillipspr/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aidaphillips
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aidaphillipspr
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=WmU3errcSwiFl8uwX4kIDw
- Other: Threads: https://www.threads.net/@aidaphillips TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aidaphillipspr
Image Credits
Photo credits: Mariel Siverio Photography – @marielsiveriophotos Broward Florida