For this assignment, graduate students at Western Carolina University in the Innovative Leadership and Entrepreneurship program were challenged to visit a PR firm, advertising agency, or other marketing services firms to create a publicly available audio or video presentation. Alternative options include writing an essay based on research or creating a digital tour for a professional marketing firm.
I decided to visit a local PR firm, Darby Communications, in Asheville, North Carolina, and make a video presentation. The firm is owned by another student in my cohort, Coral Darby. Coral was kind enough to grant me access to her business and her amazing staff. Everyone at Darby Communications was so kind and I appreciate the time everyone gave me. Thank you Coral, Mindy, Suzanne, Lysianne, Stacy, and Angie!
Coral, along with all the interviewees, have given their written consent to have their interviews publicly released. Consent forms have been uploaded online to the university portal in accordance with Western Carolina University policies and procedures.
Please take an opportunity to check out Darby Communications in the link provided below:
I hope you enjoy my video presentation, which you can access at the link below, and I look forward to reading your comments and feedback. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope everyone is enjoying The Professional Student!
Innovative Leadership and Entrepreneurship: A Graduate Student's Perspective 
4 replies on “The Professional Student: “Engaging Professional Marketing Services””
Shawn,
What an awesome job! Thank you for taking advantage of your locality and venturing to interview a fellow classmate and highlight her business (Darby Communications)! Not only was the presentation thorough, it was fun and interactive. For the sake of brevity, I will only touch on a few of my key takeaways, but I found the depth the employees used was fantastic. It is rare that folks get an opportunity to see behind the curtain in the marketing world and your interview took us on that journey.
Finally, the single greatest thing that jumped out at me was the passion. Passion from ownership, passion from employees, and passion for helping customers reach success. In terms of hiring a PR or marketing firm, that is the single greatest attribute I would be looking for and the energy at Darby Communications is a testament to Coral’s ownership/leadership.
Cheers,
Zane Breeding
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Dear Zane,
Coral and her staff were full of passion and energy. It felt so positive walking into her building. Everyone was warm and welcoming! I’m glad you enjoyed the interviews and thanks for your perspetive and feedback.
Kindly,
Shawn
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Shawn,
First, it was brilliant to jump on Coral as an interviewee selection? It seems as though she has a full-service marketing firm as per the assignment. I am glad that you were actually able to go in for a tour and big kudos to Coral for having her own productive business in the Asheville, NC area. I think her setup is very lending to creativity and teamwork within the office. Everyone seems so excited and immersed in their area of expertise, or job function. What an awesome interview and lens into the world of PR. Great job Shawn!
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Hi, Tonya!
I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit Darby Communications. Coral is fantastic, and I am grateful to have someone in the same city in this program. I’m glad you enjoyed the interview, and thank you for stopping by!
Kindly,
Shawn
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