Friend of a Friend is a boutique agency focusing on brand storytelling and brand and influencer partnerships. We partner with brands and agencies to figure out the best strategy to effectively tell a compelling story to build brand advocacy and affinity and our services range from program planning and execution, finding and vetting influencer partners, negotiating contracts, evaluating ROI, content creation and amplifying stories through media relations. Our goal? Curate creative and results-oriented PR campaigns for our clients!

Responsible for the communications strategy and program execution for B2C and B2B clients, working with teams to create effective and measurable PR programs through a mix of brand storytelling, content strategy, media relations, influencer marketing and digital. Clients include Foodsby, Jostens, Crystal Farms, Acme Made, Deterra, When I Work, Second Harvest Heartland and Handy Products.

Responsible for vision, strategy and execution of consumer-driven creative campaigns, in partnership with integrated agency teams. Focused on retail brand practice with responsibilities to grow key accounts, mentor, coach and guide teams, and contribute to business opportunities and drive organic growth. Key accomplishments include:Revived the agency’s strategic role on Sherwin-Williams, growing profitability and revenue as a result. Responsible for leading annual public relations programs, which resulted in more than 6B impressions in targeted retail and B2B outlets; managed an integrated team and agency partners to drive year over year growth in the competitive consumer paints segmentLed the U.S. introduction of Castello Cheese via an integrated campaign, incorporating a mix of shopper, PR, paid, digital, social activities to tell the brand story and showcase its breadth of products/differentiationOversaw Schwan’s Company’s largest corporate storytelling program and event, Feast on the Field, working closely with senior leadership to unveil a non-profit partnership and share its culinary story with national business leaders and media Reintroduced iconic Red Baron brand to media and influencers which drove more than 350MM impressions; helped lead category growth in the competitive pizza market Revamped the agency’s professional development program, resulting in the highest participation levels since program inceptionSpearheaded the agency’s influencer relations strategy and approach to ensure best-in-class practice, unveiled at 2018 Social Media WeekLed account teams for consumer, retail and corporate clients including: Schwan’s Company, Red Baron, Edwards Desserts, Mrs. Smith’s, Tony’s Pizza, Castello Cheese, Meet Minneapolis, Sherwin-Williams

Led marketing communications strategy and campaigns for established and emerging brands, responsible for driving communications and business results. Managed 10 direct reports, and responsible for $7MM in business.Key accomplishments include:Guided the U.S. introduction of Arla Foods, the world’s fifth-largest dairy, via an integrated campaign, paving the way for future product introductions and driving national retail distributionOversaw key market strategy, campaign development and broadcast production for Ooma’s new product launchSpearheaded branding strategy and execution for Meet Minneapolis’ 2030 master tourism plan, introduced to national, regional and local civic leaders during annual meetingLed account teams for consumer and retail clients including: Bath & Body Works, Sherwin-Williams, Arla Foods

Develop strategic, engaging and results-oriented multidisciplinary communication plans Manage media relations strategy and execution for consumer and trade focused campaigns, on behalf of variety of retail, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, nonprofit and pharmaceutical brands Create and implement social media and blogger relations strategies within integrated media relations, advertising and interactive campaigns to generate positive word-of-mouth engagement among targeted consumersPlan and execute national and international events initiatives to build consumer and media brand engagementProcure and manage multiple celebrity spokesperson relationships for campaign launches and media relations outreachManage multiple client accounts; responsible for overseeing client billing and budgets Serve as key client contact; responsible for internal and external team organization and communicationClients include: Duluth Trading Co., Starkey Hearing Technologies, Carlson Rezidor | Country Inns & Suites, Land O'Lakes | Kozy Shack

Clients include: Caribou Coffee, Share Our Strength, Propane Education & Research Council, Taubman, Novartis

Clients include: Manhattan Toy, Propane Education & Research Council, Minnesota Lottery, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care

Lifestyle blog with a focus on food, fashion and travel

Developed and executed marketing, advertising, public relations, sponsorships and promotional programs which helped increase mall traffic and revenue by 11 percent within a six month time frame during a down economy.