Sometime in the mid-1990s, while working as a senior VP and account director at Golin/Harris Communications in Chicago, responsible for the McDonald’s account, I walked into a conference room at the company’s Oak Brook, Ill., headquarters campus.
McDonald’s was notoriously polygamous in its PR firm relationships, employing multiple firms to tackle a variety of issues and sometimes pitting one against another in meetings to see which could come up with the best ideas.
It was there, probably in the Tokyo Room, that I first recall meeting Dawn Doty, at the time employed by a Golin/Harris rival, Burson-Marsteller, and responsible for a terrific cause-related marketing program involving a dinosaur named Sue. Dawn struck me as smart and a little intense, and with all due respect to my GH colleagues, I wished she was on our McDonald’s team and not the competition’s.
Fast forward approximately 15 years: Dawn has gone from competitor to colleague and now, to vice president and partner – the fifth partner in Linhart Public Relations, along with Sharon Linhart, founder and managing partner; Carri Clemens, partner and CFO; Kelly Janhunen, partner and account supervisor; and me.
Besides working at Burson, Dawn also worked at Ketchum PR, where she helped launch Motorola’s StarTAC line of mobile phones; at online travel agency Orbitz, where she helped lead an award-winning, PR-driven launch of the company; and for Vail Resorts, where she advised the COO and handled crises at one of the nation’s premiere ski destinations.
Dawn brings intelligence, energy and passion to our work at Linhart PR. Clients including Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Southwest Airlines and the Boulder International Film Festival rely on her strategic thinking, attention to detail and get-it-done attitude – as does our team.
We’re very fortunate to have Dawn in this role at Linhart PR. And there must be good karma hovering above McDonald’s headquarters back in suburban Chicago, because that’s also where all-star Linhart PR VP Kelly Womer and I first met – but we’ll save that story for another day.
The Linhart PR team is fun and easy to work with, respectful, accessible and responsive! We also know that our clients feel comfortable sharing confidential information and having us interact with senior management. We have learned that we have great opportunities to demonstrate the value of our services through measurement and sharing results in meaningful ways so our clients can “sell” their achievements to their stakeholders.
