Jarrett Dunbar is the director of P&C, marketing and corporate development proactive PR at Nationwide. There, he develops strategy for public relations efforts supporting businesses within Nationwide.
He graduated from Ohio University in 1998 with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism. In addition to Nationwide, he has had experience as a sports anchor and photographer for WTVO Sports, and he spent seven years at the Ohio Department of Insurance as a PIO and legislative liaison.
In his visit today he gave five key tips for future public relations specialists:
- Bring your perspective. When people first join the workforce, they don’t know a lot of the technicalities of the job, but can provide a fresh viewpoint. Young people can talk more about their own generation.
- Push the envelope! Bring new ideas to the table. Dunbar encourages his team to take risks in order to foster innovation. He states that newsrooms are shrinking and that there are fewer reporters. In order to make a journalist’s job as easy as possible, they should make pitches comprehensive and think like a journalist.
- Embrace new technology. Dunbar discussed the power of generative AI. He said it’s a tool, not an end-all-be-all savior. Nationwide incorporates AI into its teams, but makes sure there’s enough human intervention to fact-check its writing and make it seem more natural. Dunbar puts an emphasis on prompt creation; the more concise a prompt is, the better the result will be.
- We still need to hustle. Corporations are good at making sure they provide the perks to make their workplaces great. PR is a 24/7 job, and new developments can happen at any moment. People should be ready to step up during those times.
- Don’t forget the “R” in “PR”. Relations, relationships. The virtual/hybrid world has its advantages and disadvantages. In many ways it’s more efficient, but we lose out on what Dunbar calls “productive collisions”. These are meetings with people in person that spark innovation and productivity, which is harder to replicate in a virtual setting. He also talks about the importance of building goodwill with clients. Sending pitches is more streamlined when someone already has a relationship with a prospect.
Connect with Jarrett Dunbar on LinkedIn here.
Henry Gorsuch is a Journalism Strategic Communications major with a minor in Marketing and can be found on LinkedIn @Henry-Gorsuch