|
In the Beginning...
PR, et Cetera, Inc. is a full-service
Public Relations and Marketing Communications firm that Toni Beckham established in June 1999.
In the company's earliest days, Toni promoted events for friends and acquaintances without charge to familiarize the public with her work. One such promotion led to the acquisition of her first paying client, Tavis Smiley, author, civic activist, and then host of the widely popular one-hour nightly talk show on national cable station, Black Entertainment Television, "BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley." PR, et Cetera has represented him and The Smiley Group on several occasions since.
The credibility and notoriety she derived from representing Smiley enabled Toni to rapidly transform her entrepreneurial dream into a successful company whose services are highly sought-after by prominent and influential individuals and organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Included among the company's growing list of notable Bay Area clients are: 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc., 100 Black Men of Silicon Valley, Inc., AfroSolo Theatre Company, Bay Area Black United Fund, Beebe Memorial Cathedral CME Church, CityFlight Media Network, Dr. Julia Hare, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Youngblood Timepieces and Xcel Educational Services, Inc..
The credibility and notoriety she derived from representing Smiley enabled Toni to rapidly transform her entrepreneurial dream into a successful company whose services are highly sought-after by prominent and influential individuals and organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Included among the company's growing list of notable Bay Area clients are: 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc., 100 Black Men of Silicon Valley, Inc., AfroSolo Theatre Company, Bay Area Black United Fund, CityFlight Media Network, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Omega Boys Club, Unity Care Group, Inc., Urban Golf Gear, and West Contra Costa Unified School District.
Biography
For more than 20 years, Toni Beckham was employed with a major Bay Area electronics firm. She retired in 2002 after more than twelve years as the company's Investor Relations representative. In this position, she was company representative to industry press, retail shareholders, institutional investors, and the Wall Street Community to whom she communicated company position on a wide range of topics. Her management reporting structure was dotted line to the CEO, CFO and vice president of Corporate Communications.
Toni was a volunteer tutor with the Santa Clara County Library Reading Program for several years. During that time, she assisted adults to improve their remedial reading and writing aptitudes, as well as tutoring for GED exam preparation. She had always wanted to assist adults to learn to read, and to develop skills that would enable them to obtain employment, further themselves on their current jobs, or to simply help their children with homework.
Toni began her volunteerism more than seven years ago as a writer for the award-winning Bay Area African American media outlet, CityFlight Media Network. She contributed articles to its newsmagazine on such ominous topics as black adoption, adult literacy, and mental illness. Due to its frankness and accuracy, her article, Mental Illness: A First Hand Look, was reprinted and published in the Alliance Star, a periodic journal produced by the "Alliance for Community Care" - a community organization that provides treatment, rehabilitation and services to individuals recovering from emotional and mental illness.
The skills she developed, the contacts she made, and the excitement she experienced as Corporate Communications Director for CityFlight Media Network ultimately led to Toni establishing PR, et Cetera.
Toni is well recognized as one who contributes to and advocates for her community. She is a recipient of the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Community Service Award, presented to her by the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. in recognition and appreciation of her community volunteerism within the business environment; a certificate of recognition from California State Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg for outstanding contributions to business development and dedication to volunteerism; the KNTV NewsChannel 11 "Spirit of Excellence" Award in recognition of community service as a volunteer tutor; the Diversity Spirit Achievement Award presented by The Diversity Recruiters Network.org and City Career Fair Productions for leadership and active support of diversity in the community and workplace; and Ethnic Media Award presented by Bay Area Black United Fund, Inc. (BABUF) in recognition of excellence in Electronic Media promotion of its signature African American Health Summit and Expo, and educating the African American community about its health crisis and healthcare disparities.
.
Toni is Chief Information Officer for Tracy African American Association, Inc. (TAAA), and holds memberships in the Bay Area Black Journalist Association, National Council of Negro Women, Inc., San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP, and Silicon Valley Black Chamber of Commerce. Toni is also a contributing writer to the highly acclaimed and literary award winning anthology Gumbo for the Soul: The Recipe for Literacy in the Black Community. The Chicago native has resided in the San Francisco Bay Area for 32 years. "Toni" Giovanette Beckham has two adult daughters and one very lovely and bright 13-year-old granddaughter..
.
What is Public Relations?
Public Relations (PR) is the management of communications between an entity and its publics. As defined by Merriam Webster: the business of inducing the public to have understanding for and goodwill toward a person, firm or institution.
Why might I need PR to deliver my organization's message?
The PR, et Cetera staff are professional communicators, but more importantly, strategic thinkers who possess the skills, experience and academic training to define a strategy to deliver your message to your publics efficiently. PR, et Cetera effectively assists its clients to reach their respective goals - which may from event attendance to press coverage. Moreover, public relations is not simply a matter of delivering a message, but delivering the right message, in the right format, to the right publics, at the right time..
PR, et Cetera will help you to identify your publics, and tailor your message specifically for each:
- Stake holders (investors, suppliers, customers)
- Constituents (donors, ticket buyers, product/service purchasers)
- Print, broadcast, Internet media (topic-specific media targets)
PR, et Cetera will assist you with:
- Identifying goals and objectives, and the strategy to reach them
- Issues (proactively addressing matters of interest or concern to your publics)
PR, et Cetera will determine what kind of PR is required to reach your goals:
- Promotion (short, finite PR and marketing activity or event)
- Campaign (series of PR and marketing activities over a period of time)
- Program (ongoing PR and marketing processes and activities)
Public Relations, like marketing and advertising, is not a discipline that one can utilize a single time and expect overwhelming results. If that were so, KFC, intel and macy*s would have each issued only one press release, instituted only one marketing campaign, and produced only one advertising commercial to induce you to purchase their respective products. Public Relations is a process, and if properly practiced, will contribute to reaching clients' goals.
|
|
|
