Name:  Annie Zanin Title:  Senior Account Executive Joined Curator:  January 2, 2012 Go-to Happy Hour Drink: Depending on my mood it’s either a margarita on the rocks with salt or some type of coffee porter. Love Rogue’s Mocha Porter!

What's your favorite thing about working at Curator? By far it’s the people that make up our company. They are the ones that get me excited to come to work every morning. Very rarely do you have the opportunity to work with such creative and talented colleagues. I often find myself sitting in awe of all of them and how truly smart they all are. I’ve already learned so much from them in my two years at Curator and I look forward to seeing what other ways they will help me grow and encourage me to push myself in my career. On top of that, they are pretty fun to hang out with and talk to over a beer during our Friday office happy hours. You can’t beat that!

What’s the biggest change that’s happened in the industry since you’ve started? It might be obvious, but by far the biggest shift I’ve seen is the transition of the media landscape. Consumers are no longer turning to traditional news sources for information. Instead, they’re looking to their peers – bloggers, social media influencers, etc. – to gather information on the latest news and trends. From the perspective of a PR professional, this shift drastically changes our role in the industry. The way we approach media has taken on a new form and it creates a much broader network of influencers for our clients to target.

What's the best vacation you’ve ever taken? My husband and I took a trip to Napa this past Spring and visited the winery where we got engaged almost exactly two years prior. If you’ve never been to Obrien Estates, I would definitely recommend checking out the spot. It’s a smaller, quieter vineyard that can be a welcomed break from all of the big tourist attractions in the area. Enjoying a glass of wine at one of the picnic tables in the middle of the vineyard is a must! I’ve had the opportunity to travel to a number of other countries, but nothing could beat this vacation that was just a two-hour flight away. It was the perfect calming escape from our busy and stressful lives – good food, good wine and amazing views! Napa is definitely my happy place.

How did you get into this field? For years growing up and even into college, I wanted to be a news anchor. I think part of it was because I loved Katie Couric’s haircut at the time and figured I could have access to her hairdresser if I just got behind that desk! Ironically, now I’m the one working behind the camera most of the time instead of in front of it. But, it was my love of the communications field as a whole that still led me to my role in PR today. I found myself more intrigued by observing behaviors and how brand messaging could have such a strong impact on someone’s perception towards a company, person or idea. To me, PR was the perfect intersection of marketing and sociology that helps get me excited about the work I do every day.

What’s your trick to promoting a brand without being overly aggressive? It can be easy to forget when you’re interacting with what seems like hundreds of different people in one day; but it’s so vital to think of every interaction as a chance to build a meaningful relationship. That means the dialogue needs to be both genuine and beneficial to all parties involved. Think of it almost like how you would approach a friendship – You don’t want to be that needy friend who is texting others 24/7 about every little thing you did today. But, you also want to make sure you’re putting in the needed effort to maintain the friendships that are important to you. That means sharing crucial moments with them, communicating with them regularly and making them feel important. A lot of the same ideas hold true when communicating about your brand to media, consumers and stakeholders.