When I got started in the agency business in early 2002, one of my first on-the-job learning opportunities came from the factory store for Tasty Baking Co., the manufacturer of one of Philadelphia’s most iconic foods and a former investor relations client of Gregory FCA. My job was to taste a few of the different flavors of Tastykakes and bring back several boxes to include in mailers to investor relations contacts in a grassroots effort to drum up interest in the company and its stock.
My supervisor at the time asked me who I thought would most likely be the ideal customer for Tastykakes. The questions kept coming. Why are these treats so irresistible for some people? Did I think the price was fair for the flavor and convenience they offered as snacks? In reality, none of these questions mattered to what we were doing in packaging up the giveaways to sell-side analysts, but it was a good lesson in how important it was to really understand my client, who their audience is and what value they are trying to bring to the customer.
For the last 20+ years, we have built our financial services public relations and marketing business on the principle that if we know – like, really know – our clients’ industry, their ecosystem, the people the are trying to engage and their story, we could deliver real impact for our clients and create a sustainable, vibrant business. We have dozens of people today committed to serving our financial industry clients. We have focused our talent development around the idea that if we help them specialize and learn the industry, they too can be successful in their careers here or wherever they may go beyond the halls of Gregory FCA.
We know that the right talent, aligned for success and invested in our clients’ businesses, makes all the difference. Which is why we are proud to welcome our new colleagues at BackBay Communications, a team of nearly 30 professionals with a similarly dedicated focus on the financial industry. When we were introduced to BackBay’s founder, Bill Haynes, we were immediately struck by how much he cares about the work he and his team do for their clients. Similarly, he was expressive about wanting to forge a bigger, brighter future for his team. These core values aligned with ours and it was humbling to hear that he wanted to move forward as part of the Gregory FCA team.
BackBay has a litany of talented media relations and content marketing professionals with compelling experience and expertise. Veterans of the New York Times, American Banker, S&P, Celent and other prestigious financial PR agencies join our existing stable of experienced, results-driven professionals.
If you take the time to speak with members of our combined team, you’ll find people well versed in media relations, marketing strategy, content writing and even more critically the ins-and-outs of our clients’ businesses. It’s a rare opportunity to bring aboard close to 30 professionals who share those qualities all at once and we’re excited to bring the combined strength of our team to all our clients.