Laura O'Hear Church

I was raised in the South, educated in Virginia, worked on Capitol Hill and as a political journalist, then left to make money in PR and advertising, selling, designing, printing, mailing, then managing reps who sold mail, and i probably produced 40 million pieces of mail throughout my career. (Sorry, environment!) My clients were national restaurant, retail, grocery and convenience chains. I then became the National Sales Manager of a Kodak distributor, then after my husband who is a national commercial real estate lender moved us, I became a lobbyist, then decided to set up my own public affairs firm, with a very specific, defined agenda....

First, for years, I saw my national restaurant, retail, grocery and convenience chain clients call me 3-4 weeks prior to a grand opening, in a panic because they had too many other priorities to plan ahead, hoping that we could piece together materials. The only customers who showed up were bargain hunters, who traveled out of their normal path to purchase, and stopped coming when the discounts and prizes ended. If the location was good and the brand was strong, they would be OK, but not because they built a loyal following.

Then, I also witnessed franchise managers sell franchises to unsuspecting wealthy people, many recipients of "golden parachutes" of early retirement, who plunked down their entire life savings to be a "franchisee" of a new brand, trusting that the national office would train them and their staff, and drive droves of customer to their door. Most of them were in for a rude awakening.

You see, my clients in direc
When the traditional news & advertising model changed, I got certified as a computer-assisted investigative journalist, joined Hacks/Hackers.com, and am partnering with HubSpot, Inbound Marketing software for PR and Marketing and digital advertising. I embraced the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy Design) idea, as a way to pick products for construction, and to choose a planet-friendly way of living, and shout this from the rooftops!
My specialty is managing grand openings, from ground breaking through the actual event, (doing LEED tours & LEED Certification Ceremonies if the builder chose sustainable construction) inviting dignataries, getting "friends" on Facebook & Twitter, and introducing new store managers to dignataries at the events. I'm the Director of Social Media and Marketing for the Inbound Mar