Overview:

Duffy and Shanley is a Rhode Island based company, started over 30

years ago in the heart of Providence. Priding themselves on locality and
creativity, Duffy and Shanley has grown to become one of Rhode Islands
leading PR agencies. As a small, driven company, they have categorized
themselves as a boutique PR agency, a business or agency that offers media
outreach, media planning, and marketing or special communications services
for all types of businesses (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/definitionboutique-pr-firm-19323.html). This agency established success by utilizing
ideas from all aspects of their company, incorporating ideas from all of the
departments; advertising and creative, public relations, and media buying.
They called this practice, Duffy United, an approach that encourages
teamwork and working as one whole unitcreating one complete, coherent,
consistent voice for the brand itself and a truly integrated total
communications solution
As one of New Englands largest locally owned agencies, Duffy and
Shanley has made quite a name for themselves in the field of advertising
and PR. In 1973, Jon Duffy founded this agency and thrived off local
businesses and PR opportunities in the area. After gaining nationwide
attention for major clients such as Staples, AT&T and Brahiem, this company
became an instant success with their unique ideas, and fun, creative
projects. In addition to promotion, Duffy and Shanley also does a lot of work

with media buying, direct marketing, advertising, event planning, and PR

promotion. One of the biggest challenges, as well as accomplishments, that
this company faces is gaining nationwide clientele. Being located in
Providence, RI, Duffy and Shanley often has difficulty getting clients to
commit due to the out of the way location, compared to LA and NY where
most other agencies are conveniently located. But because of the amount of
success and ideas that have been generated from this company, location is
no longer an issue because of their outstanding reputation. Duffy and
Shanley is able to create a passionate and mutually beneficial relationship
with their clients to ensure their happiness and success as a client,
regardless of how far away they are.
In addition to Jon Duffy, the founder of Duffy and Shanley, there are
numerous other employees that help make this business such a success.
Robert Newbart is chief executive, Maria Scurry- Vice President, Robert HartFinancial Executive, Carol Curria- manager, and finally the woman whom I
interviewed, Shawna Hasset, an account supervisor and loyal employee of
Duffy and Shanley for over 8 years. Upon interviewing Hasset, I was blown
away by her confidence and laidback personality in such a diverse and
fluctuating, yet competitive business. Hasset graduated from Providence
College in 2003 with a degree in Humanities, a branch of PR that preceded
the PR profession. Before finding her position at Duffy and Shanley, Hasset
experimented with various different careers within PR and journalism,
including, a reporter/producer for NBC 10 News, a television host, a talent

coordinator, and a junior publicist at NBC 10. After dabbling through these
jobs, not seeing herself being stationary at any, a family friend introduced
her to Duffy and Shanley where she applied and has now spent over 8 years
working to help make this company such a success.
Analysis:
Prior to interviewing Shawna Hasset, I performed extensive research on
Duffy and Shanley, their philosophy and their media presence. In addition to
their website, Duffy and Shanley also utilizes blogs, Twitter, and Facebook.
These media outlets were updated a few times a week and interesting
insider photos and comments from the company were posted. Slightly
surprised by their lack of media presence, I found a quote from their website
that seemed to explain exactly why. No precious tactics or technologies or
written-in-stone dogmas to be followed blindly. Just unexpected Ideas that
can go here and here, or maybe here, and even there, and what about that
other place that nobody's even thought of yet? Ideas that have a huge
impact regardless of budget. Ideas that help your brand find its unique voice
and maybe even improve sales, go figure. Ideas that get you talked about. A
whole lot. (www.duffyshanley.com/). This quote goes to say that there is
more to PR and marketing besides social media. When I addressed this
quote to Hasset, she explained how Duffy and Shanley likes to come up with
good, effective ideas, not just following the newest trend. She emphasized

reaching all of their audiences and think of new ways to reach them instead
of just through the internet.
Another factor that falls into play with social media is timing. When
Duffy and Shanley first started up, the ultimate goal was to have your ad or
service published in the NY Times, but now, the ultimate prize of PR would be
to have your client or product on the Today Show, says Hasset. With this
being said, Hasset does not underestimate the power and effect social media
has on our community, but instead strives to break through the media clutter
with new, effective ideas that will be timeless. Going along with the
philosophy of David Meerman Scott, who promoted the use of blogging and
social media, but also emphasized the importance of differentiating yourself
from the others and selling your personal brand or lifestyle.
As things change in our prosperous and growing society, Duffy and
Shanley seem to stay the same. Through the economic struggles and
political hardships, nothing has impacted the success of this business. One
of the only departments affected by the economy was advertising, in which
their marketing budget was drastically decreased. But with challenge comes
new ideas, and the importance of PR seemed to succeed advertising, as it is
a significantly cheaper way for advertising. As I learned about this company
and all if has to offer, I became more and more interested in the field.
Compared to the positions on South County Hospital and The Matty Fund, I
could see myself leaning more towards a future position in an agency like

this. Helping promote products, get people excited about the services and
being able to travel and be a part of that company would offer me a lifestyle
that I think I could get accustomed to, as well as succeed in. After talking to
Shawna Hasset, I asked further questioning about internships, how she had
come to find herself here, and what helped her find her way. I was excited
about how Hasset talked about her job, her passion doing it and the fun
loving people she was surrounded by. Although maybe a bit of a reach for
me, this would be an ideal future career.

Interview Questions:
Duffy and Shanley PR dept. overview:
1. What are some of the everyday priorities of the PR department? Products?
Services?
2. What is the structure of the PR department here at D+S? How big?
Divided tasks?

3. What is your ultimate goal and/or mission statement?

4. Tell me a little about this history of D+S? Have you always had the same
goals and priorities?
5. What has changed the most over the years? Future changes?
6. Today, you are the 2nd biggest PR agency in RI, what is the biggest factor
that contributed to this accomplishment?
7. What impact has D+S had on RI? What impact has RI had on D+S?
Trends? Changing industry?
8. What are the biggest challenges you face here in the PR department.
Biggest accomplishments?

PR department- Cait Arsenault, Shawna Hassett

1. What long have you worked at D+S? Always in the PR department?
2. What were some of the biggest surprises/disappointments when you first
joined this company?
3. Did you always see yourself working in a position like this or in PR?
4. How did you figure out you wanted to work in PR agency, rather than say
a social worker or in public affairs?
5. Any advice for graduating seniors or individuals (like me) trying to figure
out where they want to work in the future?
6. Could you give me a little overview of what it would be like to intern here?

Online presence
1. On your website, it downplays the role of social media and instead
focuses on coming up with creative ideas, not online presence. What are
your thoughts about social media and how much is it utilized here at D+S?
2. David Meerman Scott, an online marketing strategist, encourages
individuals to publish their way in through blogs, podcasts, and social
media. How do you feel about this? Do you think this is the direction our
future is heading in? If not, where do you see it heading?
3. What sort of impact has the shift in PR responsibility had on D+S?
Economic/political impact?