Susan Reilly, President & Founder, Reilly Connect
Susan is challenging the industry to rethink its approach to public relations to include a convergence of communications and marketing using data-driven insights, analytics and technology as a mandatory part of planning and execution. She is a visionary and ahead of the curve, building a firm with the hyper-specialized talent needed to be successful in today’s digital environment. Reilly is an entrepreneur who has evolved her traditional PR firm, established in 1997, into a firm of the future and is committed to providing agnostic counsel on how to integrate brands into life in a meaningful way across all touch points.
Three global giants dominate the $1.76 billion dollar hand and body lotion category. Susan was challenged with helping AmLactin, a little know moisturizer with a small marketing budget, to capture attention in the midst of huge brands with deep pockets. Susan researched multiple media partners in search of optimum impact and affordability across multiple platforms. She oversaw the conceptualization of a campaign with a national fitness chain, Life Time Fitness, whose demographics aligned well with AmLactin’s target audience. She then negotiated full brand integration with Life Time, which included tapping their creative talent for significant cost savings to the brand. With an integrated marketing approach, AmLactin enjoyed national buzz reaching over 100 million consumers via in-club exposure, emails, social media promotions, consumer print advertisements, broadcast media coverage and sponsored content. The campaign contributed to a sales boost in key target markets.