Nata PR School (EN)

Since the NATA PR SCHOOL adventure began, I’ve been thinking about the public relations profession. I’ve already covered the relations part of “public relations,” because it's really the most important word in everything we do, even as the internet—in addition to the diversity of the markets we deal in—has expanded our horizons and multiplied the number of our contacts, which is constantly growing...

What is public relations for? You can set yourself plenty of targets, like raising your profile or getting known, but the ultimate goal – the most important and the one that every public relations campaign is about – is getting people to talk about you, to feature you. But how do you achieve that goal? What makes a journalist or influencer decide to give you an interview or agree to talk about you...

As many of you probably know, time is a strange concept that seems to pick up speed as the years go by. One day, I celebrated my fiftieth birthday and I asked myself, how is this possible? Yesterday I was 35, and now here I am 15 years later. I still remember it like it was yesterday – I was the youngest employee at the Opéra de Montréal. I was 24 years old and, after a bachelor’s in music, I’d ju...

A few weeks ago, we were presenting the results of an annual campaign for a client in the tea business. Before the pandemic, in 2018-2019, we’d also completed a one-year contract for the company's 20th anniversary. We got excellent feedback, because for any company, a 20th anniversary is a noteworthy achievement, and plenty of media outlets were sharing the story of this tea house. Once our 2021-2...

As you know, I enjoy talking to you about the challenges our agency NATA PR faces. Quite often, we’ll be asked if we can work on a project basis rather than full-year. Here are four reasons why investing in a very short-term contract with a public relations agency isn’t the best decision you can make: Unless you’re already well known, your PR agency will need time to get the attention of media and...

In this episode, we talk about brands and trademarks that use surnames and designer names. I’ll be speaking with Claude Laframboise , a content creator and events expert, stylist, columnist and expert in design and fashion. Claude started and directed magazines for many years and he now collaborates directly with brands to promote them. He’s also a long-time friend, and in this podcast we’ll be ta...

In this third of three episodes, I’ll be talking about the most recent years in my career, which led me to found the NATA PR agency in 2000. For the youngest of our listeners, who are wondering where to start looking for your first job, this is a good example. I believe that non-profits that are in the arts or serving a good cause offer young people exceptional jobs. Take the time to find out abou...

In this second of three episodes, I’ll be telling you about my early career at the Opéra de Montréal, an important and fundamental step that would eventually lead me to create the NATA PR agency in 2000. Episode 1 (102) ends with me accepting the paid internship at the Opéra de Montréal. For me, it was a dream job, where I learned the ins and outs of a non-profit like the Montreal opera. For the f...

NATA PR – Who is NATA of NATA PR? For the next three episodes, I thought I would tell you about my personal and career stories, to answer the questions of everyone who’s wondering how someone starts a public relations agency that’s now been in business for 20 years. In the first of these three episodes, I’m taking some time to tell you about my educational background and training. My name is Natal...

Bonjour, Hello! Welcome to this episode of the NATA PR SCHOOL podcast. Public relations: 6 keys to knowing when to use it As you know, I like talking to you about the challenges our agency NATA PR faces. Very often, we’re asked how to tell whether and when public relations is useful. Here are a few ways to be sure it’s time to talk to a public relations professional to get their advice: Your compe...

David Tremblay, my partner at NATA PR, is my guest for episode 100 of our podcast. We are discussing the relevance of public relations in a post-pandemic world. Hello, David, and welcome to this 100th episode of the NATA PR SCHOOL podcast. For those who would like to get to know David better, I invite you to listen to episodes 10 and 85. In episode 10, you’ll get to know David better; and in episo...

We often receive consultation requests from brands that had major success in the pre-Internet era but that communicate little and rarely tell their story. These are superb brands that have been in existence for 30 or 40 years or longer. Several of them have never leveraged the power of public relations. They come to us when: A new brand is starting to take over their shelf space The new brand is e...

I like to talk with young digital marketing professionals under thirty who are discovering public relations and see their faces light up when they figure out that public relations is the best part of any organic digital marketing plan. “What, you mean public relations isn’t some dusty old industry on the verge of extinction, cranking out newspaper articles that our generation doesn't even read?” N...

“When should we use PR?” This is such a fundamental and important question – which our clients ask us regularly – that I wanted to talk to you about it in this podcast. First, your business is ready to use PR when: You have a story to tell. Your plan is ready. Your products or services will be available whenever an influencer or journalist chooses to talk about you. So, it's essential that you und...

I like to address some of the questions that clients ask us, because I’m sure that many of you have the same questions about public relations. Some clients, who aren’t familiar with public relations, ask us if the fees they pay us every month are worth it. Underneath this old favourite lies the next question: “Should I be using this money in another way – like an advertising campaign?” I often ans...

For this 95thepisode, I am delighted to welcome Janylène Turcotte, founder of Hypno Coach and a new entrepreneur who participated in my very first NATA PR SCHOOL training program in 2020. A clinical hypnotherapist licensed in (RTT) Rapid Transformational Therapy®, Janylène masters a technique that allows you to quickly make the changes you want in your life. She is also an ICF Certified Coach. An...

We know the web has enormous impact, and there are very few industries that haven’t been affected by the digital revolution. If you think about music – which you can play nonstop and purchase in digital format on every Netflix-type platform that offers you content on demand, whenever you want it – you realize how detached and digital it all is. For the media, the impact has been enormous, and some...

What goes through your mind when an advertising campaign grabs your attention? If you're like me, you probably wonder if they're trying to sandbag you with their slogans: • Buy now and save! • We'll pay the tax for you! • Buy our product now and get this for free I ask you: How does spending money help us save money? If an advertised product calls to me and I'm not familiar with it, I wonder why I...

What makes a literary success? Advertising or public relations? You’re also thinking that word of mouth can go a long way toward making a book successful, which is true. But here, public relations plays a key role. Never advertising. Sure, ads can be an important reminder to potential buyers (showing that a book is available at a certain place or is on sale). But advertising isn’t the secret of it...

In this episode I’ll be sharing one of our simplest and most-used tactics for getting our clients to talk about us to media and influencers: novelty. Big corporations are frequently really good at novelty. But what is novelty? What does the word “novel” even mean? Under “novel” in Webster’s Dictionary it says: new and not resembling something formerly known or used original or striking especially...

For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome back Andy Thê-Anh , an immensely talented stylist and fashion designer whom I interviewed in episode 70, when we analyzed Lululemon’s successes. We also spoke with Andy in episode 80, when we discussed the Netflix documentary Wonder Boy, which presents the creative director of Balmain, Olivier Rousteing. In this episode, we continue our discussion and exp...

Most of what we know comes from what we read online or in the media. Think about it – a large part of what you know comes from what you read and news bulletins, which are available online or in hard copy. We often let the media guide us when deciding what car to buy, where to go on vacation, or what toothpaste to use. This observation undoubtedly illustrates the harmful effect of fake news. The mo...

We often hear new customers tell us: why waste our time with a PR campaign when I can use that money to do Facebook / Instagram advertising where I can target my potential customers more precisely? The answer is very simple, to develop a brand, to build a brand image that will last over time, advertising will not do this work for you. Advertising is important to help generate revenue, but it is no...

For this 87thepisode, I am delighted to welcome one of our students from NATA PR SCHOOL, Marie-Pier St-Laurent. Marie-Pier launched her own company Marine Marketing recently and decided to enroll in one of our training to create a public relations campaign for one of her clients: LE BON PANIER. Digital marketing specialist, after 6 years in the service of various enterprises, Marie-Pier decided to...

For this 86th episode, I am delighted to welcome one of our students from NATA PR SCHOOL, Antoine Bolduc, a new entrepreneur who participated in one of our training programs and had great success. Antoine is a trained accountant and an outdoor lover, which led him to create his vegan clothing and accessories company to enjoy outings in nature in complete harmony. Atypic was founded in 2019 and lau...