One Week Later: Smitten Communications
This virtual, full-service PR company brings passion, meaning and a healthy dose of obsession to their clients.
Who is/are the brains behind your organization?
Smitten Communications is my brainchild. I’m Aimee Grove, founder and CEO. We’re a full-service but virtual PR firm.
Where are you located?
I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area.
What’s your mission?
Smitten partners with fast-growing, passionate entrepreneurs and innovative consumer and tech brands to grow their business through media-focused public relations.
Tell us your origin story.
After spending more than 10 years running the consumer practice of a global PR firm, I went out on my own in 2013 so that I could get back to what I truly love: working in the trenches to secure results that matter to brands I love. Much of my time at the end of my tenure as a senior exec at a big agency was spent on everything OTHER than doing the actual work — i.e., new business development, staff management and other agency business. I rarely got to get deep into a client’s business in a meaningful way. Instead, I got a few hours on each client, and most of that time was spent creating corporate reports and plans.
My husband always told me that I shone brightest when I was “smitten” with my clients. “You always fall in love with your clients and get tunnel vision,” he would say when I fell in love with a company or product and often over-serviced them until we achieved top-tier media placements instead of working on new business pitches. I thought, what if I could actually choose my own clients, my own team members and spend my days focused on what I enjoy about PR? And what if I could do that without having to commute, leaving me some time to see my kid off to school and go for a daily run or a ride? I finally got up the courage to leave, and that’s how Smitten was born.
Three words to describe your team?
Technically, this is five words but my Smitten associates are:
Diligent
Results-focused
Media mavens
Workplace/office essentials?
My office is a converted extra bedroom — but I love the freedom of working wherever and whenever I need to get the work done. That can been on the deck in Cabo while my family is taking a spring break surfing vacation, or in my car when I have to take a media or client call en route to another appointment.
For the most part, the essentials for me include my Macbook Air (and a huge oversize monitor), an iPhone and a comfortable office chair. My Nespresso machine for morning cappuccinos is key. In terms of software and apps, Zoom is critical. I also have subscriptions to just about every business and consumer publication you can think of from Fast Company, Inc. and Wired to People, New York Times and Wall Street Journal. I also can’t live without my subscriptions to Muckrack, Cision, Qwoted and Rocketreach.
Best source of creative inspiration?
I’m a voracious reader and media consumer. Every single morning, I scan dozens of newsletters from every news source, business and mainstream. CNN, New York Times, Fast Company, Inc., Forbes, Fortune, Wired, Refinery29 and USA Today Tech to name a few, in addition to any key industry trade for the clients I currently represent, for example, Retail Dive, HR Brew, etc. I do all of this while the “Today Show” plays in the background. I think being immersed in the media gives you the perspective on what and how shows and publications are truly covering issues and companies. Finally, I love pop culture and have always thought it’s critical to be able to tap into the zeitgeist of what people are watching, listening to and talking about to come up with creative ideas. That means bingeing Netflix shows, seeing blockbuster movies (“Elvis” … I’m obsessed!) and watching the big “event” TV shows like “The Bachelor” and sporting events like the NBA finals and NFL games.
What are your favorite features of your WOTW site?
I love everything about the site, but I think the fact that designer Shelly Morse chose the image of the red-headed little girl with glasses — out of all the photos I presented — to center the entire site’s tone, look and feel is what won me over right away. She “got” my brand immediately and even nudged me to embrace the branding in my copy. For example, she encouraged me to call testimonials “Love notes from clients and media” and helped to run the love and hearts theme throughout without being cheesy Overall, it just looks professional and amazing but authentic to me and my brand.
What was your favorite part of working with the WOTW team?
Everything was incredibly organized and structured, which I appreciated as a super-busy professional. That said, they pushed me to really dig in and find images I loved. I was a full partner, but they took my copy and photos and elevated everything to a branded site. Also, it must be said that Shelly and [project manager] Jeannine were incredibly easy to work with, professional, funny and great.
Aimee competing in a horse show.
Where can people find you? (website, social outlets, etc.)
You can find me at www.smittencomm.com and on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimeegrove/).
What are your hopes for the near future?
My goal is to continue working with great people and brands, achieve great results and have fun doing it. That, and win a blue ribbon in my next horse show and be a great mom.
