For senior PR execs looking for opportunities to spread their wings in the industry, consulting firms that offer specialty communication programs are becoming exciting and lucrative options, says Larry Marshall of Marshall Consultants, located in New York and Malibu, Calif.
Joy +, a recently launched consulting firm in Los Angeles that develops cause marketing programs for children's hospitals and Fortune 500 companies, is a prime example.
After hitting the proverbial glass ceiling at the Children's Miracle Network (CMN) as director of annual giving, Joy Waronecki decided to launch her own consulting venture last year and landed a multi-million-dollar national account within 48 hours.
Having amassed 15-plus years in cause marketing, fundraising, event management and media relations experience for children's hospitals affiliated with CMN, Waronecki followed a gut instinct that she could be her own boss.
Now Waronecki consults with former employers in the hospital industry and Fortune 500 companies interested in supporting children's healthcare issues.
The leap has meant a compensation boost of 45-55 percent, says Waronecki.
She negotiated a 10-and-a-half-hour telethon that aired in May on ABC for the Los Angeles Children's Hospital -a major coup because the network had never pre-empted itsprogramming for a CMN telethon before. The program was broadcast live from Disneyland and generated $2 million in sponsorship packages from companies like Walmart, Marriott and Toys R' Us.
And she is in talks with Univision, the country's largest national Spanish station, to produce a network show that will create awareness for several children's health initiatives ranging from prenatal care to immunization and fundraising. (Marshall Consultants, Larry Marshall, 310/456-0666;Joy +, Joy Waronecki, 310/457-5860)