Q&A with SHIFT’s Latest SVP: Annie Perkins

We’re thrilled to announce Annie Perkins has been named SHIFT’s most recent Senior Vice President! Annie helped launch SHIFT’s consumer practice five years ago, and will continue to lead both the consumer lifestyle and healthcare lifestyle practices in her new role at SHIFT.

As our Managing Partner, Amy Lyons, will tell you: “For anyone who has had the pleasure of working with Annie or even observed her from afar, this will come as no surprise. Her energy is infectious, she is an inspirational leader and a true collaborator – from her ‘bright shine’ when pitching new business to her ‘calm, cool and collected’ demeanor managing challenging situations, Annie has built a reputation for excellence and SHIFT is all the better for it.”

To help commemorate today’s big news, Annie has shared some insight into her new role and career advice for PR pros at all levels:

How will your role and team change now that you’re a SVP?

Any promotion results in an opportunity for the rest of a team to try new things and be more expansive to get to that next level, which is what really excites me about my new position at SHIFT.

Personally, I’m lucky to have a beautiful roster of clients. In my new role, I’m excited to grow and expand services within that client base by introducing new, creative, data-driven approaches to achieving goals. I’m also excited to work more with our partners within the Res Publica family.

Tell us more about your data-driven PR goals.

Marketing technology isn’t a siloed activity. I’m learning more about marketing tech alongside my team, from SAMs to ACs and everyone in between. I’m most excited about the measurement aspect marketing tech brings to our programs and look forward to accelerating the adoption of quality data into our programs and reporting efforts.

Advice for someone starting their PR career?

Don’t put limits on yourself. Don’t say, “I’m only creative,” or, “I’m just a numbers person.” As marketing communications continues to evolve, you must be open to expanding beyond traditional career paths. Be willing to learn, work hard and diversify. I will never bash the Millennial mindset, so don’t let anyone put you in that box.

Advice for someone feeling stuck or stagnant in their career?

Plant your own garden and water it frequently. Don’t look at people around you to stay motivated. You have to wake up every day with a fire in your belly. If you’re in a rut, it’s because you haven’t set goals. My advice would be to do that, and look for inspiration all around you.

Any other advice for growing within an agency? 

We’re all going to have bad days at some point. But we won’t all have bad days at the same time (hopefully). It’s not about the hours you put in. Rather, it’s about the quality of work you share at the end of the day and mutual respect. If you live in a culture of respect and actual caring, you can’t help but succeed.

Become champions. Share leads and network. People have journeys; not everyone is going to start as an AC and retire at the same agency. And that’s okay! Just be sure you feel good while you’re in the role you are, doing the work you’re doing.

Congrats again, Annie!

Emily Mong

Senior Marketing Analyst

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