Annie’s take on:
Economic justice and listening well.
The best way to understand what people need is to ask them, Annie says. By talking with small-business owners throughout the U.S., she and her DH colleagues continue to gain insights that inform messaging and marketing programs for financial organizations and loan funds.
Business owners from communities with a historic distrust of banks and lenders have been hesitant to apply for loans from CDFIs that existed to serve them. Annie learned that they valued transparency (they wanted to know terms and fees upfront, for example) and long-term partnership. They wanted to hear from people they could relate to about their experiences.
“Borrowers don’t want to hear about loans from financial institutions or the government,” Annie says. “They want to hear from someone who looks like them and is a small-business owner. And they want to know lenders are invested in the success of their business — that they’ll provide support that goes beyond the money.”
Thanks in part to this work, programs like the Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund and others are making loans. And business owners are learning to use resources for growth — and for starting to build generational wealth.
The art of the integrated campaign.
Your message may be lovely. That doesn’t mean your audience will see it – even if it’s right in front of them. To comprehend and act on a message, a person has to encounter it multiple times and in varied ways.
That’s the beauty of the integrated campaign, Annie says. It’s like a puzzle that fits together just right, because you get to create the pieces. Owned and earned media tactics reach existing audiences and build credibility without huge investments. And research-based paid media tactics help you hone in on your intended audience where they’re already consuming information.
Annie has mastered this kind of puzzle, managing multi-year, statewide integrated campaigns for DH clients.
Annie says:
I really like solving problems, working with my clients to understand their needs and goals, and developing a strategy. With integrated campaigns, we can be flexible and turn different aspects on and off, depending on how they’re performing.
Moving among cultures.
In Ireland, Annie’s father worked as an accountant for a dairy business. There were perks, sure, like take-home yogurt at week’s end. But her parents wanted more opportunities for their family, so they immigrated to the U.S. after winning a green-card lottery. New to California, Annie’s family lived with relatives — eight people in a small apartment. Eventually, her father joined a tech startup. “They made a life for themselves,” Annie says.
Annie learned about Irish culture (warm, welcoming) from her family. While she says she’s grateful for her international perspective – she lived in London for four years – she feels most at home in the U.S., close to family and amid the cultural quirks she grew up with.
Education
Bachelor of arts, public relations, Gonzaga University