Catching up with Adam Novak

With this year’s Bell Ringer Awards quickly approaching (Monday, June 7), what better time to catch up with last year’s Young Professional award winner, Adam Novak of PAN Communications? Adam, who won the crowd over at last year’s dinner by thanking his mom, will be presenting the award to this year’s winner, passing the torch on to the next PR up-and-comer. I caught up with the PR star to discuss the field and his future (sans mom).  Here is what he had to say:

Any career highlights to share since winning the Bronze Bell last year?

It’s definitely been a better year than last across the board, that’s for sure. I was fortunate to get some high-level press for a few clients. For one in particular, the client told me the spokesperson had been showing it around the office; walking around like the “big man on campus” after it hit. That story made me feel pretty good.

It’s also been exciting to see the next crop of people come up and to share with them the little that I’ve learned over the past couple of years. We’ve got some really fun, talented people at the agency, so the opportunity do great work - and have fun doing it - has been a highlight for me as well.

Be honest, have you ever name dropped the award at a networking or PR industry event?

I’ve certainly never been one to shy away from seizing the glory (I guess the impromptu speech last year solidified that), but it’s a little embarrassing to say something like that about yourself. I shy away, but it definitely comes up. I had the award at home for a few days, until my colleagues made me put it at my desk. Usually someone else brings it up at a meeting or event. That’s probably a good thing, because by that point, the person on the other end of the conversation just sees a kid that cracks a bunch of jokes. It validates my existence as a PR practitioner.

Is there anything that you were most surprised about regarding the PR industry either during your first PR internship or at PAN?

If anyone coming out of school ISN’T surprised by the PR world – or the working world in general, for that matter – then either they’re lying, or that’s a heck of a school.  I’d say the versatility of PR, for one. It’s not just press releases and events. It’s content creation, social media, analyst programs, news aggregation, competitive analysis, messaging… on and on and on. PR makes you into a well-rounded communicator, which I didn’t realize coming from school.

The two-way communication PR requires is another thing. When I was in school, I thought it was just write a release, hand out a press kit and call it a day. PR gives you a sense of what’s relevant – it’s not just the news you put out; it’s how do you make yourself valuable amongst the news of the day.

Where do you hope to be professionally in the next 10 years?

I hope I’ll be wiser and more PR-savvy than I am right now, for one. I also hope I won’t be remembered as a ‘has-been’ who had a good first couple of years, then didn’t do anything for the next decade. I’d like to be in a position where I can make decisions on a strategic level, along with help on business development. As I mentioned earlier, I’m focused on the “big picture,” so in 10 years I hope I’ll have the skills and position to be able to do that full-time.

My ultimate goal is to teach PR in some capacity. Hopefully a decade of high-level, real-world experience should help validate my ability to help people learn the business. That would be a dream come true – and the hours wouldn’t be too bad either.

Do you have advice for students or graduates that are entering the PR world?

One thing that’s especially important is to try and understand the bigger picture and how you fit into it. It’s really easy to get siloed in some tasks, but ask yourself, “why am I doing this?” What is the value to the client? Once you recognize what your role is in the grand scheme of things, then try and add more value than what was expected of you. Then you’re making things better for everyone – and for yourself in the long run.

One more thing – don’t be afraid to offer up your ideas or opinions. If you think something can work, say so. If you think a reporter or consultant should talk to your client, call them up and tell them why. What’s the worst that can happen? If you don’t say what you think, you’ll never know.