Erika Ulring

Experience

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  Lafayette College Landis Community Outreach Center

  Jan 2001 - Jan 2003

  Volunteer Coordinator
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  Alzheimer's Association of San Diego

  Jul 2003 - Nov 2003

  Public Relations and Event Planning

  Volunteer position supporting the San Diego chapter's public relations and event planning teams. Work was largely focused on event preparation and communications.

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  FleishmanHillard

  Jan 2004 - Apr 2007

  Account Executive

  • Media relations: Drafted press materials, including release, fact sheet and creative press kit materials supporting new product launches for consumer packaged goods (CPG) company. Managed client news bureau activities, identified and pitched target media, and helped secure editorial placements in a range of top-tier media outlets including Family Circle, Men’s Journal, Diabetic Cooking, Muscle & Fitness, Hungry-Girl.com, All You, and multiple top daily newspapers.• Speakers and awards outreach: Managed speaker and award bureaus highlighting opportunities for clients to elevate their product and/or brand positioning throughout the year.• Radio promotions: Negotiated giveaways resulting in on-air and online mentions across San Diego stations valued at over $100,000.• Product launches: Conducted media event planning and coordination, including direct media mass mailings and creative tactics. Also drafted launch press materials and oversaw team media outreach. All products launched with supporting PR experienced strong sales in their first year.• Issues management: Handle issues and draft statements in response to incoming, potentially harmful interview requests across a range of topics. Show less

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  California Center for the Arts, Escondido

  Apr 2007 - Nov 2008

  Assistant Director of Communications, Performing Arts

  Planned and implemented comprehensive communications, marketing, and advertising plans in support of the overall California Center for the Arts, Escondido performance season and each individual performance.• Media relations: Managed all outreach to press in support of the performing arts season and individual shows; wrote press releases and media alerts, and proactively pitched media. Acted as a media spokesperson as needed.• Media results: Coverage more than doubled previous results for performing arts. Highlights include eight North County Times Preview cover stories, one San Diego Union-Tribune Night & Day cover story, one Los Angeles Times feature, and other high-profile pieces. • Writing and marketing: Managed all performing arts written material, collateral pieces and messaging to establish consistency and tone, ensuring all content and images fit within performer contracts. Collateral pieces included the Center’s 2008-2009 new season brochure, flyers, direct mail and other collateral pieces, website content, and advertising. Wrote 2008-2009 new season performance brochure, performing arts website copy, select newsletter articles and all performance-related media materials.• Copy editing: Proofed all written performing arts collateral to maintain consistency. High-profile pieces included the Center’s annual report, new season performance brochure, house programs, and monthly email newsletter. • Crisis communication and media training: Messaged and prepared key personnel and Board of Trustees for potentially harmful media interviews and provide strategic council on media interview requests.• Social media: Created and managed the Center’s presence on social networking sites. Show less

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  FleishmanHillard

  Dec 2008 - Jan 2014

  Vice President

  VP at international public relations agency FleishmanHillard in San Diego specializing in project and team management, media and blogger relations, writing, editing, social media strategy, new product launches, and issues management. Client focus was in the areas of corporate reputation management, food/restaurants, and health/wellness.• Corporate communications messaging: Created strategic corporate messaging and oversaw its implementation across written PR materials and campaigns. Included messaging supporting proactive consumer-oriented programs, corporate and investor relations, and crisis communications.• Media relations: Planned and executed strategic editorial outreach for consumer product goods, technology, pharmaceutical, government and corporate clients. Media coverage secured included stories from Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and Every Day with Rachael Ray. Acted as media liaison and spokesperson for AT&T to Arizona and New Mexico media. Also conducted media training for client teams and internal staff.• Crisis management: Developed reactive messaging for traditional and social media, provided counsel to avoid brand inclusion in potentially harmful news cycles, and prepared client teams to positively engage with media.• Product launches: Created product communications plans for launch and beyond. Product launches supported included pharmaceutical drug trial results and product availability, new food products, and availability of services in new areas.• Event planning and support: Helped plan and execute corporate and media events including intimate branded events to reach target media and VIPs, a scientific research symposium, and a large corporate gathering. Also promoted and provided on-site support for events including Sustainable Brands and BlogHer. Show less

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  IBM

  Feb 2014 - Mar 2020

  Blog Manager and Social Content Writer

  Strategic communications pro helping IBM marketing teams drive thought leadership initiatives across internal and external blog and social media channels. Collaborating across IBM departments to deliver high-performing blog and social content, coordinating efforts with social teams to ensure social media promotion, and measuring content performance. • Blog management and content strategy: Served as the editor for the flagship IBM Cloud thought leadership blog, Thoughts on Cloud. Within the blog editor role, I managed the blog strategy; owned the blog publishing calendar; identified content opportunities; edited all blog posts; oversaw blog post graphics; managed posts within Kapost, Trello, and WordPress; and measured content success. • Messaging and compliance: Edited posts for IBM Style and guidelines, following process for review and approval. This includes confirming relevant teams and executives approve content and that latest messaging is reflected in published blog posts. • Editing: Maintained editorial standards regarding content types published, edited all incoming blog posts across eight IBM content teams, and established editing consistency across multiple team pipelines. Edits include substantive editorial guidance and smaller adjustments for IBM Style, grammar, SEO, and blogging best practices. • Internal and external blog writing: Proactively recommended thought leadership blog post topics based on marketing team priorities and key search terms. Interviewed subject matter experts and executives and drafted blog posts on their behalf, aligning to marketing needs. Also ghostwrote blog posts on behalf of clients and wrote client success content for internal promotion. • Social media management: Maintained and grew IBM social media channels during two separate four-month team coverage gaps. Developed and posted social media content, managing the overall day-to-day operations and fan engagement, and sharing content internally. Show less

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  The San Diego Museum of Art

  Mar 2020 - now

  Associate Director, Marketing and Communications

  Marketing, communications, and content leader responsible for creating and implementing the Museum's marketing, public relations, advertising, and digital content strategy. This includes working across multiple departments to share robust and complete Museum communications through the Museum website, e-newsletters, social media, and advertising, ensuring Museum content engages diverse external audiences and aligns internal team members, while supporting the Museum's mission to inspire, educate, and cultivate curiosity through great works of art.Museum liaison to the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership (BPCP), San Diego Museum Council, and San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA). Balboa Park IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) working group member. Manage one employee and report to the Museum's Chief Operating Officer. Show less