Austin-based Red Fan Communications, a public relations and marketing consultancy serving business and technology clients, has opened a San Diego office headed by San Diego resident and PR industry veteran Glenn Mandel.
A Red Fan statement said the new San Diego office follows additional Red Fan recent office openings in Dallas and Asheville, North Carolina.
Founded in 2008 by CEO Kathleen Lucente, Red Fan said its annual billings ranges from $1.8 to $2.5 million. The 10-person staff focuses on a maximum of 12 clients per year with the clients remaining with the firm from three to seven years.
Red Fan said it has partnerships with data scientists, events firms, research professionals and other communications and marketing professionals.
“Our decision to establish a presence in San Diego is driven by a trio of compelling reasons,” Lucente told Times of San Diego. “San Diego is a dynamic hub of high-tech innovation driven by many of our industries of expertise. California, and San Diego in particular, is a hub for tech innovation and venture capital activity. The San Diego office is a natural progression of our growth. It’s not just about geographic expansion. It’s about being physically present in a state that is a focal point for many of our existing and potential clients.
“This move enhances our service offerings, expanding access to our services for our existing clients who have customers or operations on the West Coast and benefit from having boots on the ground in key markets. As a high-tech corporate communications agency, we understand the importance of being where innovation happens. Our clients, ranging from VC-funded startups to Fortune 500 companies, require round-the-clock, top-tier communication services.”
Lucente said she has known Mandel for more than 20 years.
“Most importantly, this strategic expansion is one built on trust,” she said. “Having known Glenn for over two decades, his unwavering dedication and insight into West Coast markets and technology trends and media have been integral to the work our team does on behalf of our clients. This step marks not just a geographical expansion, but a deepening of our commitment to fostering growth and seizing new business opportunities in San Diego and throughout Southern California.”
Mandel, with 30 years of national PR agency experience, has led award-winning communications campaigns across multiple industries, including lifestyle, business, gaming, wireless, apps, entertainment, sports, health and fitness, food and beverage, real estate, gadgets and gear, travel, consumer goods and products, restaurant, retail and marketing.
During his career, he has worked as such accounts as Google, Nintendo, Microsoft, Ally Bank, Lending Tree, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Bungie, JVC, Subway restaurants, Alltel Wireless and Nielsen. His gaming experience includes DOOM II, Quake, Command & Conquer, Sim Theme Park, Halo, Unreal, NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat, Monopoly Go!, Mario Kart and Pokemon.
A spokesperson said current Red Fan clients include CSI, Fluence, Candid, Green Rebates, Texas Original, Proximity Learning and ibelong. The spokesperson declined to disclose San Diego-area clients currently served by Red Fan.
J. Walcher Communications Announce Staff Changes
San Diego public relations and marketing agency J. Walcher Communications has announced the promotion of Olivia Stafford from senior account executive to account supervisor and the addition of Molly Pincherli as an account executive.
Stafford, who joined JWC nearly five years ago as an account executive, was previously with a PR and government relations firm where she was involved in media outreach for the San Diego Asian Film Festival, Japan Society and San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, as well as San Diego Gas & Electric.
In 2017, Stafford was named New PR Professional of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America San Diego and Imperial Counties chapter. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, and minors in public relations and writing.
Pincherli previously worked as a news producer at KION-TV in Monterey and KFMB-TV in San Diego. She also spent time as an associate producer of Nurse TV, a nationally-syndicated show about nursing. She graduated cum laude from Emerson College with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and minor in magazine publishing.
Founded in 2001, JWC is celebrating its 23rd year in business this year. JWC offers media and community relations, social and digital media, content creation, branding, messaging, crisis communications, media training and advertising. Clients represent such industries as hospitality, real estate development, nonprofit arts and culture and professional services.
Alternative Strategies Hires, Promotes
Alternative Strategies, a San Diego marketing and public relations agency specializing in restaurant and hospitality clients, has announced the hiring of Christian Spangler as media relations coordinator and the promotion of Alyssa Hiestand from media relations coordinator to media relations manager.
Spangler, a 2020 graduate of California Baptist University with a degree in public relations, was previously with a software marketing firm where he maintained the online reputation of such brands as Red Robin, Ace Hardware and various property management firms.
A native of Santa Clarita, Calif., Heistand first worked with the agency as an intern in 2022. She was hired in January 2023. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media studies and a minor in recreation and tourism management from San Diego State University.
Poll Reveals Americans Have Little Faith in Media Election News
Americans rely heavily on local and national news organizations as sources for news about elections, but a new poll says most adults have concerns about the reliability of information they will get this year.
According to a new poll from the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about half of Americans, or 53%, say they are extremely or very concerned that news outlets will report inaccuracies or misinformation.
The poll also found 47% of Americans expressing serious concerns that news outlets will report information that has not been confirmed or verified, while 44% worry that information will be presented in a way that favors one side or another and 48% say the news media will focus too much on divisions or controversies.
“The level of engagement is good,” Michael Bolden, CEO, American Press Institute, told AP. “The thing that’s most concerning is that they’re not sure they can actually trust the information.”
Your age determines your level of interest in election news, pollsters said. About two-thirds of Americans age 60 or older say they keep a close eye on presidential election news, compared with roughly one-third of those under age 30. In addition, the poll found that 46% of Americans age 60 or older say they follow news about local and state elections closely, while only 16% of people ages 18 to 29 said the same thing.
Who’s to blame for the distrust in the news media? Years of suspicion about journalists, much of it sown by politicians, is partly responsible, Bolden told the AP. Also, people today are less familiar with how journalism works.
Hot Air, a conservative news outlet, was critical that the AP failed to blame itself. Hot Air Managing Editor Ed Morrissey wrote, “Guess who the AP blames for this sad state of affairs? Child, please. The mainstream media still won’t do anything to address the problem, even when seven out of every eight American consumers doesn’t trust them. We all know how journalism should work. It’s the journalists that seem less familiar with the concepts, and especially their editors.”
The headline on Morrissey’s story stated, “Only 14% of Americans Trust the Media.” Morrissey wrote in his opening sentence: “I know what you’re thinking: That many?”
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.