We were lucky to catch up with Joice Truban Curry recently and have shared our conversation below.
Joice, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.
c3 Communications, Inc. has always carried a non-profit component. Yes, we have clients in that space, but we also donate pro-bono hours to charities. We select a few a year to donate hours and PR efforts. An example is St. Jude’s Research Hospital. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay. It has been our pleasure to donate our PR time to help such a wonderful non-profit. We donate time each year to their walk to raise money via the media. When you have access to media though relationships and can help elevate efforts for such a great cause, it makes the job even more gratifying. It all makes a difference!
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?
PERSONALLY This question gave me an opportunity to take a step back and remember how I personally got here.
My career really started in musical theater at 15-years-old and I got my professional actors stage Equity card at 17. As you will see, going to college wasn’t an option, so I opened a college catalog and saw that my skill set could translate into a career in commutations. And the rest is history. Though I took a break from the stage, I am back performing again today on the stage and am blessed to have founded c3 Communications, Inc. (c3) in 2000 when I was 27 today I am 51. There is a reason why we promote so many tours/shows.
We are celebrating the company’s 25th year in 2025 and, looking back, my passion for PR is stronger than ever. My parent’s recently passed which left a BIG hole in my heart but it also helped elevated my trajectory and brought me a laser focus fueling my passion even more than I would even know. Having reflected on them and what they instilled in me, it has enabled me to help others with that positive energy. Their advice, work ethic and values truly help and continues to shape the journey and my career as a PR executive today. They might not be here, but they are still around!
My grandparents immigrated into America at Ellis Island and my dad, Andy Truban, was the first person in the Truban family to go to college, San Diego State University (SDSU). He is my hero and I hold him with such high regard because of his hard work ethic, passion, and integrity. I hold those values true every day. He was a great engineer and businessman and wanted his three girls to be self-sufficient, independent and have careers, so we were self-supporting and not reliant on anyone. Going to college was not an option for any of us. He did well as both of my sisters had amazing careers. My middle sister was a nursing clinical director and my other, a software engineer executive. I too graduated from SDSU and of course later embarked on a blessed career in Public Relations. My dad set a high bar for us and all of us cleared it. You never know where you will draw inspiration. As mentioned, one must be open minded and listen. You never know what nugget you will get.
A final note, I kept my full name with “Truban” in my business name to honor my family. They had all girls and no grandchildren, and I was the last one born. So, though the lineage ends with me, as the youngest, it still honors my dad and mom to this day.
c3 Communications, Inc. (c3)
We are proud to share what sets c3 Communications, Inc. (c3) apart, which is a nationally award-winning public relations agency of 24 years. The firm is entrenched in the San Diego community and the Southern California region. We specialize in four distinct areas of practice, media relations, corporate positioning of brands, Social and digital media and the promotion of special events/tours. We are not like other PR agencies because we are uniquely structured having our principal agency owners hands on with direct strategic senior counsel on everything we execute. Couple that with a seasoned team of PR consultants around the nation who specialize in a variety of practice areas to bring together the highest talent for our clients under the c3 umbrella and it makes for a top-notch national powerhouse team. This allows us to be lean, efficient to get things done quickly, more affordable and giving the very high touch to all or our clients no matter the city they are in or what city their event is taking place.
We are a highly interactive agency and view ourselves as an extension of our partners’ teams. Candidly, we put our reputation on the line for every client and we prove ourselves with every project – that’s not rhetoric, but something we stand behind. Our mantra is “do our best work all the time and have fun doing it.” For almost a quarter a century, c3 has also become known as THE event agency for product brand growth and positioning as well as national touring shows, expos, conventions and trade shows, concerts, and other special events.
Our collective senior team brings experience on such national brands as Cirque du Soleil, Massage Envy, Disney on Ice, Meals-on-Wheels, University of San Diego, San Diego International Boat Show, Cavaila, Circus Vargas, the largest Fitness Show on the West Coast and largest Outdoor Show in SoCal, to name a few.
c3 executes everything from working with non-profits to national multi-unit franchises through startups and product launches, local events and national touring productions and everything in between being both scalable and affordable. We honestly believe scalability is a key component to what we do.
No matter the size of your company or project, local or national exposure, we know we will be your public relations agency of choice as we have the best of the best in the PR industry, media contacts, are ethical and the track record to back it up.
We also believe in giving back, always, and have dedicated a quarter of a century of volunteer service and leadership to the public relations profession and the San Diego community by way of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, and many others. Helping others is what it is all about and we love to be able to bring our PR talents and time to give back to others and the community who are themselves dedicated to improving the community.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Surviving in tough times takes resilience, grit, a lot of work in the trenches and a tiny bit of luck. c3 Communications, Inc. (c3), started out in a recession in 2000 and has endured other global events such as the dot.com bomb and now in the last few years, the pandemic. At each time in history, we were all hit with a tough business environment. Sadly, during every one of those hard times, some businesses went under across many industries, including PR. In all of those scenarios, continuing business as usual does not work. At c3, we retrenched, pulled a part everything our PR firm was doing, dug deep, and asked ourselves tough questions. Questions we asked ourselves each time – How could we be better? What new opportunities can we tap? What have we overlooked? What could we be doing better to support our clients and working with media? What did we need to cut loose (that is always a hard one)? What are we doing wrong (also tough to ask oneself)? What extra value-added support can we bring to the table to take some of the weight off our clients and to help them success in these tough times too. Another one we asked ourselves, what existing business can we grow. This is an essential question to ask yourself because there are many opportunities within your organization and the clients you serve you can identify to enhance things.
Diversity is what saved us through each of those significant times. History has a funny way of repeating itself not just in business but in life too. You must take what is thrown at you and adjust to remain current. What worked 10 years ago, 5 years ago and in some cases even last year is probably not going to be relevant today. It might be but it certainly isn’t business as usual anymore.
That said you must know how to pivot. That word, “pivot,” was used nearly as much as the word “mask” in the last four years, but pivoting is a true word of action a business must take. We were doing that before it became a COVID “buzz” word and that is what has kept us here for almost a quarter century later.
All this said, you must always look at your business in a mirror and be willing to adapt and be honest with yourself. If you do not know how to adapt or what needs to be adapted, then ask others. They may know more than you do, especially since they are on the outside looking in and may see things more broadly! That is resilience and you must be honest with yourself and where you are right now. Though you may not like the answer, you have to sometimes, as my dad would say, “nut it up.” It isn’t always comfortable but, in the end, you get out the other side and the situation turned into a blessing – though when you are in the thick of it, you can’t see the forest for the trees. I promise you will get out the other side.
Most important on the resilience journey, one must have “fun.” It is infectious. Cream does rise to the top and it does not matter what industry you are in. Make a difference out there and have fun doing it. Words I personally live by and c3 operates under.
As successful as you will be, never forget where you came from. It keeps you grounded, humble and grateful for the success. And always ask yourself as we do here at c3 “What can I do today to move my business forward and help others.” Sounds like a cliché, but it is true.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Creating long-lasting relationships is a “key” component. In PR, that could be with your clients, especially the media but also colleagues. We are 100% referral. In every industry, you must have that as a base – whether it is financial or to network. I cannot underscore the value of networking. These relationships you forge will enable you to capitalize on business resources to share best practices and ask for help and bounce-ideas. One cannot work in a silo. Word-of-mouth is a beautiful thing. That is how c3 has grown and increased our client base over the last 24-years. Plus, these relationships give you a “life-line” if you need help. You have to prove yourself every day and each day.
In addition, c3 is very fortunate we were chosen to represent our market by the PR Consultants Group (PRCG). PRCG is a senior PR national network comprised of very talented and skilled communications and public relations professionals working in every major US market and Puerto Rico who understand best practices and who have media and community relationship expertise. This means though c3 is based in San Diego, CA and Palm Springs/Desert, CA we have the bandwidth to work PR in every market in the US and Puerto Rico. As a PRCG member, we collaborate on projects and share high profile business endeavors. This really gives our clients and potential clients National Strength. Local Power.™
In closing, enjoy the journey. Life is short. Live every day with gratitude!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.c3publicrelations.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c3communications/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/c3CommunicationsInc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joice-truban-curry/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/c3Communication
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUwd6iU9W_Qmnc8oK25lXFA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/c3-communications-san-diego-3