Our Favorite DPR Moments of 2018

The new year is a great time to reset, reflect and set new goals — and that’s exactly what we’re going to do here.

From landing our clients in national media outlets and key industry publications to hiring six new full-time team members, Dittoe Public Relations has had an incredible 19th year driving results for our clients and growing our team. Relive our best moments of 2018 below.

Securing big media hits

At Dittoe PR, we don’t wait for news to happen. We make news happen. We’re all about securing consistent media coverage for clients in top-tier media – national, local, trade and influencer outlets – by proactively brainstorming new story ideas.

Here are some of the biggest headlines we secured for our clients this year:

• Aardvark, Only U.S. Producer of Paper Straws, Acquired to Meet Skyrocketing Demand
• 9 expenses to pack in your moving budget
• Your Next Job Interview May Start With a Text
• 3 Ways Technology and Innovation Can Drastically Transform Learning
• Market District Helps You Have a Stress-Free Thanksgiving
• Indiana Fiber Network Details Major Infrastructure Investment
• Condé Nast Traveler: Ironworks Hotel
• Winterizing Your Vehicle and Putting Together an Emergency Car Kit
• You Can Finally Get Your Hands on Chance the Rapper’s Sold-Out ‘3’ Hats Again
• The Power of Purpose: How HP and Lonely Whale Are Finding New Uses for Ocean-Bound Plastics
• Massage for your holiday stress can also help ward off other illnesses
• 4 Considerations When Designing Pediatric Healthcare Units
• PR Mortgage & Investments and RICHMAC Funding Rebrand as Merchants Capital
• On the Radar: PSI Bridge Provides Secure and Flexible Remote Proctoring Services
• Q&A: Kandice Porter Explains How Data Analytics Helped Failure Rates Plummet
• Best Friend Gifts for Every Type of Friend
• 4 Tips for Protecting Your Trip During Hurricane Season
• Turning the Tide: Retail Pharmacy Grapples with the Opioid Epidemic
• Verizon Retailer Scott Moorehead An EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist
• Upper Hand is a Software Suite of Business Tools for Coaches and Trainers
• How Caddying is Helping US Students Pay Their Way Through College
• Get Ready to Ditch Your Amplifier: New LG TVs Add Powerful Way to Go Wireless

Bringing on new accounts, upsells

We pride ourselves on expanding our client roster and client scope with a variety of projects in the media relations, social media, event planning, content marketing and thought leadership spaces.

In 2018, Dittoe PR brought on multiple client wins in a variety of industries including Lonely Whale, Hoffmaster, Merchants Capital, Scooch and Massage Heights. Additionally, the company earned increases in scope for Aardvark and Medxcel. PSI, also a new client in 2018, recently increased their desired scope of work with our team, as well.

Growing our team

Dittoe PR added six new full-time account coordinators and account executives to the team this year, each of whom is bringing exceptional results to clients day in and day out.

Shelby Kaiser joined the team in February and brought her experience of managing a sorority’s quarterly publication, assisting with email marketing and overseeing social media for individual chapters. Haley Williams brought her six years of industry experience in branding, storytelling and communication to the team in April.

Ashley Shuler (me!), a previous intern who started full-time in June as an account coordinator, was promoted to the account executive role in October. Ashlea Alley, another former intern, also joined the team as an account coordinator after graduating from the University of Indianapolis with a dual-focus degree on public relations and journalism.

Jillian Thomas brought her eight years of TV reporting and anchoring experience to the team when she joined Dittoe PR in September as an account executive.

Kaitlyn Beck, who graduated from the Indiana University Media School with a B.A. in journalism and specializations in public relations and advertising, and Natalie Weber, a previous intern who started full-time in October after graduating from Purdue University with a public relations and strategic communication degree, also joined as full-time account coordinators.

Developing our skills

Dittoe PR has always held personal and professional growth in high regard. We firmly believe that our premier PR agency can only grow if our people continue to grow, too.

This year, Dittoe PR introduced a professional development budget for all employees, and our team members took advantage of those dollars by attending conferences across the nation. Megan Custodio, Ashley Eggert and Greta Snell attended INBOUND 2018 in Boston; Kaiser, Vanessa Staublin and Sophie Maccagnone attended Digital Summit in Dallas; and Mallory Sturgeon and Kasie Pieri attended PR News’ Media Relations Conference in Washington, D.C.

Defining our values

This year, we embarked on a six-month journey toward building a stronger company culture through unified personal and professional development with the help of organizational coach, speaker and author, Katara McCarty.

After crowdsourcing responses to a select set of questions about Dittoe PR’s culture, the team collectively crafted four core values that we firmly believe in and practice daily to support each other, our clients and Dittoe PR as a system.

• Cultivate Happy: At Dittoe PR, we have fun, work with passion and purpose, and value work-life balance.
• We’ve Got Your Back: Because our team is always there for each other. Similarly, this value speaks volumes to how we treat our clients, because we’ve got their backs too.
• Here We Grow: Because we believe we can go farther, together, by investing in our employees through professional development opportunities, mentorship programs, new client opportunities and more.
• Exceed Expectations: Our team doesn’t just aim to meet client expectations. We strive to exceed them in any way possible.

From securing top-tier media hits to cultivating our values, we can’t wait to see where 2019 takes us! Want your business on our 2019 list? Contact Lauryn Gray at la****@di******.com to set up a consultation and learn more about our services.