For over 15 years, Jennifer Bett Meyer has been a success-driven professional working in public relations and marketing for today’s most dynamic global brands. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Meyer began her career as an editor at Harper's Bazaar where she worked under its Editor Glenda Bailey. After three years in publishing, Meyer transitioned into public relations at Harrison & Shriftman, eventually leaving to become PR Director at Club Monaco.
In 2007, Meyer was asked to launch the public relations division of the Starworks Group, an innovative agency created to manage and execute celebrity endorsements and product placement. Within one year, she built a 20-person team that serviced over 18 international fashion clients including ASOS, INTERMIX, Kate Spade, and phillip lim 3.1. As the Senior Vice President of Public Relations, she launched the lifestyle and beauty divisions and was instrumental in the creation of an events division that would oversee the production and execution of fashion shows, brand launches, and philanthropic galas. When Starworks expanded into digital, Meyer was a critical member of the team that helped fashion brands understand and integrate into the online medium.
Next, as the Vice President of Communications for Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet, Meyer grew a team of two into a department of 14 in just over a year. She was given responsibility for traditional marketing (including the brand's first global advertising campaign), digital marketing, global public relations, social media, events, and celebrity integration. Meyer also played a crucial role in the refinement of the designer’s profile and the building of strategic brand partnerships. During Meyer's tenure at Alice + Olivia, the brand grew into a dominant retail force known for its innovative marketing methods.
In January 2013, Meyer launched Jennifer Bett Communications to offer forward thinking brands a new, creative, and multi-dimensional approach to overall consumer awareness. Meyer has succeeded by uniquely employing a comprehensive package of global PR planning, guerilla marketing concepts, social media strategies, brand partnerships, and other state-of-the-art strategies to achieve her clients' varied objectives.
How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at JBC?
I started out in the magazine industry working at Marie Claire and, later, Harper’s Bazaar, both positions under Glenda Bailey. These editorial opportunities gave me incredible insight that truly helped shape my approach to PR. I would then go on to spend over 10 years working at various agencies and in-house but the most valuable experience was when I launched the PR division at Starworks Group. Having worked in editorial, agency, and in-house really helped give me a full understanding of PR - how to create the strongest, most effective strategies and press plans. In addition, this experience also showed me what I did not want to do with this business. No cookie-cutter press plans, no being passed off to junior staff, no formulaic responses. Our goal is to shake up the traditional PR agency model.
What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at JBC?
One of the biggest challenges in building JBC has been finding the right talent to help grow our team. We take a unique approach to media relations, putting emphasis on in-depth storytelling, not just quick hits, so it is essential we find the right team members that think creatively to enact these plans. Also as a boutique agency our team works together very closely, so finding the right personality fit is essential.
What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Don’t rely on emails - pick up the phone, meet face to face. Ultimately PR is about building lasting relationships and this is much easier to accomplish over a friendly coffee or after work drink. The more an editor can make a personal connection with you, the more they will trust your opinions. This kind of rapport is near impossible to create when you are simply sending email pitches without personally engaging.
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
One thing I’ve seen is that women’s voices and authority are often underestimated in the workplace. Women have to work harder for their insights to be taken seriously and their plans to be enacted. This sense of doubt can actually discourage women from speaking up even when they know their idea is worthwhile, which is a huge disservice both to women and ultimately the companies they work for who are losing out on valuable options.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
Mentors have been an integral part of my career. While at Starworks, I met five unbelievable leaders who have helped shape JBC and my personal endeavors. Each of these amazing entrepreneurs have gone on to create their own businesses that have served as strategic partners for JBC. Sharon Ainsberg and Allison Oleskey formed celebrity integration agency, Sho + Co, Jessica and Raman Kia developed RJK Consulting, and Tony King created King + Partners. Even though they specialize in different areas, they have been enormously influential to me in regards to building a business, interacting with clients, and how to continually push boundaries.
Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
There are many female entrepreneurs that inspire us, both in and outside our industry. In the media space, I specifically admire The Skimm co-founders Danielle Weisberg & Carly Zakin. They took advantage of a huge white space in the news market and their work with The Skimm the Vote campaign last fall to register and educate voters was particularly inspiring.
What do you want JBC to accomplish in the next year?
We have built JBC to be a true media relations agency and have carefully selected brands that do not fall neatly into one category such as fashion or tech. Those dynamic brands that touch many areas across the lifestyle space are the types of clients we want to continue to attract for the agency in 2017. A major goal for 2017 is to continue to grown JBC in a way that continues to offer our brands the senior level strategy and service that differentiates JBC as an agency.