AvantGuild Member of the Week: Jeff Cannon
Age: 40
Location: New York, NY
What are you working on now?
On the business side, The Cannon Group has a number of projects that range from traditional advertising and public relations, to the creation of branded blogs and documentaries. On the public relations and advertising front we work with such diverse clients as The Renovated Home, Daniel Mink, Sterling National Bank, Energy Kitchen and ABC Carpet & Home to develop branded press releases that focus on the unique elements of their businesses. On the branded content front, we’re working with a number of brands to develop targeted, content-driven blogs to reach their customers.
We have also developed two documentary projects that are in the pitch process both to relevant brands and the networks.
What brings all of this together is the ability to create content – stories, documentaries, online entertainment and information – that supports both the brand of our clients and the niche interests of their customers.
What has been your most difficult project of late and how did you deal with its challenges?
We have had the fortune of working with great clients, so although we have faced the normal production challenges that occur with every agency, there have none that we haven’t been able to overcome. We have established a great process we call PASSION PR/PASSION ADVERTISING that enables us to define customer groups based on their interests, habits and of course passions. This process does more than just view consumers as potential customers and looks at them as people. It makes us work harder to define the goals of everything we do, from writing press releases, to developing ideas and concepts, to speaking with the press. It forces us to focus our efforts. The result is copy and content that is highly relevant to the customers our clients are trying to reach. And that means we have better results, happier clients and fewer issues.
What’s the most helpful thing you’ve learned about public relations and/or starting your own company?
Having run several companies in the past and having written Leadership Lessons of the Navy SEALs, it all comes down to the team you have around you. You can’t do anything alone. But with a team that supports each other, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can stand in the way of success. One plus one can truly equal 3 if those people are working together. My advice to anyone trying to achieve anything is to spend as much time finding and building a team to work with. Ideas and concepts come much easier, they can be flushed out quicker, and they can be developed faster.
What’s been the worst career advice you’ve ever received?
“Study accounting. No matter what, it’s something you can always fall back on.” It was given to me with the best of intentions, but was completely, 100% off base. Upon graduation with accounting and business law degrees, I did a 180 degree turn and joined Burson Marsteller – the largest PR firm at the time. Two years later, I left for Los Angeles and the film industry to produce commercials and documentaries. I can’t say the degrees didn’t come in handy – they still do, but it took a long time to overcome them and do what I truly wanted to do.
What advice do you have for young writers hoping to break into public relations?
My advice is to not worry about finding the perfect job or agency. Don’t worry about failing once or twice. Take the time to try different things. Explore different opportunities and options. Experience as much as you can. Find out what you are passionate about. Always keep your eyes open to what you are both good at, and have an interest in.
You may find writing scripts is something you love doing. You may find agency life isn’t for you. You’ve heard it before, but you will truly only succeed at something you actually have a passion for. So find out first what you are passionate about. Then find a way to fulfill it.
Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our 
