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news
Alumna's drive
lands Lexus job
By Dianna Ramirez
Special to the On-line Forty-Niner
It wasn't long
ago that Holly Ferris was involved with the daily hustle --
running from class to class at the Cal State Long Beach campus.
It's no coincidence that shortly after earning a bachelor's
degree in journalism, her career in public relations flourished.
Currently, Ferris
is a senior public relations administrator for the Lexus division
of Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. She oversees the Lexus public
relations activities involving media relations, event planning
and marketing communications.
"I love what
I do," said Ferris. "I wanted to be in this
career since the age of 17. It's more than just cars. At Toyota
you'll find lots of variety ? community relations, internal
communications, media relations, issues and manufacturing."
Ferris graduated
from CSULB in May of 1993. She earned a bachelor's degree
in journalism with a major in public relations and a minor
in marketing. She was an active member of the CSULB
Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) for five
years. Ferris held numerous positions in PRSSA ranging
from south pacific district director to president.
Ferris recently
earned a master's degree in business administration from the
University of California, Irvine. She has 10 years of professional
experience in the public relations field and has been in her
current position for four years.
Her career began
at Toyota when she was hired as an intern. After she
completed her degree at CSULB, the company placed her in a
job. At Toyota, she said she found fascinating products
and areas and Lexus was definitely one of them.
"Lexus is
the luxury division of Toyota," Ferris explained.
In addition to
her current duties, she also provides her internal customers
with assistance.
"For example,
if another department needs assistance with developing a communication
piece or they need advice on a particular issue, we always
offer our assistance," Ferris said. "This
is in line with the Lexus philosophy of always aiming to exceed
customer expectations."
Ferris offers advice
to students pursuing a career in public relations at Toyota.
"Candidates
that we would consider should have very strong written communication
skills, know how to convey a story, and work independently,"
she said.
She added, "Make
sure that your resume has valid examples of your work that
you can include in your portfolio. Networking is very important
and maintaining good relationships with your professors. This
is general advice for any job."
As a public relations
agent, Ferris works in a busy environment.
"With three
corporate communicators, a database of 1,600 key reporters
and staging week-long events for product launches, we have
lots of work to do," she said.
Her team manages
to develop key messages for their products, create great angles
for press releases and plan events for the media to attend.
In addition, these reporters have the opportunity to test
drive all seven Lexus models.
"Corporate
communications is definitely fast paced and never dull,"
Ferris said.
Ferris' eyes sparkled
with enthusiasm as she shared her love for public relations
and the company. "Lexus is a great company," she
said. "The area in my job that I enjoy the most
is the events."
In addition to
mailing press kits to the media, another tool of publicity
that is used by automakers are long leads and short leads.
A long lead is a high profile event at first-class hotels
where national media are invited several months before a vehicle
goes on sale.
They participate in two three-day events that overlap with
activities including briefings and presentations about the
new vehicle or vehicles, social luncheons and dinners, photo
shoots and test-drives.
Reporters from
trade and consumer publications who have three to four-month
lead times are invited to a short lead. These events are planned
regionally and reporters from newspapers, Web sites and syndicates
are invited. The difference between a long lead and a short
lead is the production time of the magazine.
"It's rewarding
to feel your instincts kick-in," Ferris said. "I
have the knowledge to make the right decisions and give the
right responses. I can protect the company's image and brand
and have the trust of everyone in the building, especially
my executives ... that's rewarding."
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