CMA Member Spotlight: Shawna Seldon McGregor,
Founder & CEO, Maverick Public Relations
Member Shawna Seldon McGregor, Founder and CEO of Maverick Public Relations, provides insight into her role and her choice to become a member of Cannabis Marketing Association.
What is the nature of your day-to-day job?
Every day is different. The nature of this business can sometimes feel like sustained chaos but perfecting our workflow helps us plan ahead, organize tasks, and create some real magic for our clients. I start every morning by catching up on the news of the day to find interesting news hooks to leverage for our clients. My day-to-day activities usually include:
*Client management: I manage client needs, provide personalized support staffing everything from events to interviews, and ensure that they are satisfied with the services MPR provides.
*Team management: I manage my team of PR professionals, oversee initiatives, and ensure that deadlines are met.
*Media relations: I work every day to maintain relationships with journalists to offer our experts and secure coverage on key topics.
*Strategic planning: I develop strategies for each client initiative, outlining the goals, objectives, strategies and tactics needed to achieve success.
*Content creation: We’re also heavily involved in creating content for clients, such as press releases, social media posts, and bylined articles.
*Budgeting and finance: As the agency owner, I’m responsible for managing the finances of the agency, including projecting costs, budgeting, invoicing, and managing expenses. This is truly the activity I dread the most on a monthly basis. I have delegated as much as I can out of this bucket to amazing financial and management professionals. However, at the end of the day, I still spend at least 15 hours a month managing Accounts Payables and Accounts Receivables.
*Business development: I constantly look for new business opportunities that align with Maverick Public Relations’ offerings. Everyone I meet in this industry could potentially be a new client so sometimes, this means attending events to network with other professionals in our industry to stay informed about trends and build relationships.
What brought you to the cannabis industry?
I have been a fan of cannabis for more than two decades, but I never imagined that I would work in this incredible industry. I began my career in New York City in 1998. In June 2012, I moved with my now-husband to his hometown of Denver. We’re both political junkies, but when we went to register to vote and received ballot measures, I had no idea at the time how close Colorado was to passing Amendment 64. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Still, I was focused on my core industries at the time, agri-business, sustainable technologies, and representing media companies. When a business associate of mine asked if I could handle the public relations around an upcoming cannabis summit he was organizing, I didn’t hesitate and jumped at the opportunity. When that event was held in April 2014, every single major news outlet, from CNBC to The New York Times, attended. I have been representing cannabis clients ever since.
What do you bring to the cannabis marketing community?
As a PR professional, I bring my expertise in creating strong brand messaging and story development that wins new audiences and, subsequently, helps expand market share. I help cannabis brands develop long-lasting relationships with influencers and journalists. At Maverick PR, we often collaborate with full-service marketing agencies to maximize the impact of cannabis brand marketing campaigns through thought leadership and earned media.
What do you want your peers to know about you?
Tell us a bit about your personal relationship with cannabis. Do you use it? How?
Why did you join CMA?
CMA’s mission is to bring a positive perception to, and authentic understanding of, cannabis and its consumers around the world. How are you working to bring a positive perception to cannabis and its consumers?
At MPR, we strive to help our clients define cannabis culture through a professional business lens and subsequently change public perceptions of the industry, the type of consumer who uses cannabis, and the positive impact legislative reform will have on society.
What is a little-known fact about you or anything else you want readers to know?
Connect with Shawna and hundreds of other cannabis marketers by becoming a CMA member today!
To read more member content, view the CMA blog here.
