CHICAGO- Feb. 7, 2024 – Chicago PR powerhouses Michelle Mekky and Mika Stambaugh are joining forces to lead a one-of-a-kind all-day training seminar that will give professionals of all backgrounds essential tools and knowledge for promoting their business or cause through strategic and effective public relations and media outreach. The industry veterans will offer Pitched Perfect PR in downtown Chicago twice a year, with the inaugural seminar taking place on Thursday, May 9, downtown Chicago.
Registration is now open at Pitched Perfect PR website and there is an introductory discount of $850 through March 1. The regular cost for the day of learning and development is $1,000 per person. In addition to the educational sessions, the seminar will include interaction with local media talent, as well as breakfast, lunch and a happy hour.
Pitched Perfect PR will teach participants how to achieve valuable coverage and buzz for their company, client or cause. They will learn how to effectively pitch media outlets, starting with the development of a pitch and message that gets the attention of producers, editors, writers and the news desk. Participants also will learn how to determine and find the appropriate outlets and contacts and how to give them what they want and need, so that the pitched news achieves the biggest exposure possible. There will be sessions on brand messaging and storytelling, PR writing, media training, social media and influencer outreach and crisis communications.
“Pitched Perfect PR is for anyone who works in communications, marketing, social media or on any team that is responsible for building a brand, spreading a message or promoting a business,” says Mekky, founder and president of Mekky Media Relations. “We will share our expertise and our years of experience in media and the PR industry through six ‘need-to-know’ segments that will provide essential tools and knowledge.”
“We have planned an exciting day of learning that will bolster individuals and teams and take their communications and PR efforts to the next level,” says Stambaugh, founder and president of The MAS Ink (TMI). Earned media isn’t easy, but Michelle and I are seasoned newsroom veterans, and we’re eager to share the perspective and knowledge we’ve gained over the years, to help others land great coverage.”
Mekky and Stambaugh are founders and president of their own successful PR firms, Mekky Media and TMI. They have also both worked in newsrooms, covered news in Chicago and around the state, held top leadership positions at PR agencies, acted as spokespeople for high-profile individuals and launched brands and businesses through PR campaigns and events. They share valuable insider knowledge on PR and media relations, crisis communications, broadcast journalism, personal branding, non-profit fundraising, media training and public speaking, and more.
More about Michelle Mekky and Mekky Media Relations
Michelle Mekky, a veteran, award-winning broadcast journalist and public relations executive, is founder and president of Mekky Media Relations, Inc., a boutique PR agency with clients in Chicago and coast to coast that range from startups to industry leaders. Michelle started her career as a senior producer for Fox-TV in Chicago, then transitioned to PR and marketing, working at top agencies before starting her own company in 2016. Michelle and her team of nearly 20 PR professionals help clients tell their stories to new audiences to fuel their growth, through services such as PR strategy, media relations, media training, content creation, influencer engagement and crisis communication.
Michelle and Mekky Media have been widely recognized, with national honors like several Gold and Silver Stevie Awards and Publicity Club of Chicago Gold/Silver Trumpet Awards. The agency also was named to Expertise PR’s list of Best Chicago PR Firms and received a PR News Top 100 Agency Elite Award, to name just a few of the many honors in the agency’s first seven years. Michelle was named PRSA Chicago Skyline Awards 2023 Professional of the Year, Niles West High School’s 2022 Distinguished Alum, 2021 Ragan and PR Daily Communicator of the Year, a 2020 PR News Top Women in PR Honoree and a 2019 Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Entrepreneur. Michelle is a Forbes blogger and part of the prestigious International Public Relations Network (IPRN), Forbes Agency Council and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). She graduated from Northwestern University, with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the renowned Medill School of Journalism.
More about Mika Stambaugh and TMI
Mika is an Emmy award winning journalist and dynamic entrepreneur known for her creative strategies in executing media and communication campaigns. Throughout her career, she’s been recognized for her creativity, hustle and leadership, including winning an Emmy in 2008 as a Field Producer at CBS 2 News Chicago. That same year she moonlighted to follow her dream at age 26 to open her own small business, deftly balancing her responsibilities in the newsroom and as an entrepreneur. Her business savvy and deep understanding of the news business landed her the role of spokesperson for the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection in 2014. At City Hall, Mika spearheaded the communication strategy for several high profile policies such as: house sharing ordinance (AirBnB); rideshare entering the Chicago marketplace (Uber and Lyft); Chicago’s minimum wage increase; amended tobacco and liquor laws; and more than 60 consumer protection campaigns. Her ability to secure media and saturate the market earned the department roughly $5M in media coverage. Mika combines her newsroom experience and execution of communication strategies for front line public policy issues to help our clients build winning earned media, marketing and advertising campaigns. Clients will benefit from her expertise in producing large scale events after leadership in driving the growth of Mayor Emanuel’s small business expos. She used her network to secure high-profile keynote speakers and brands to exponentially increase both attendance and revenue for these expos, including Israel Idonije, Bill Rancic, Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, Bill Kurtis and Laura Schwartz, among others. Her high energy, positive attitude and passion for this work have helped her lead winning teams, and she carries that passion into her civic engagement as well where she serves on the Board of Directors for the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago and Susan G. Komen to raise funds and awareness that benefit the sick and less fortunate in Chicago.
