Julie Russo
Vice President
Julie leads strategic plan development and program management for technology and healthcare clients, including Emerson Network Power, its Liebert products and services business and OhioHealth. During the past five years, Julie has led programs that include the internal launch of OhioHealth’s new wireless hospital, Emerson Network Power’s Energy Logic campaign and Ohio State University Medical Center’s Silver Anvil-winning Conversation: Heart campaign. At PR 21 in Chicago, a division of Edelman Worldwide, Julie worked with Deloitte Consulting’s senior executives to strengthen the company’s local presence and worked with Mayor Richard Daley’s office to help position Chicago as a technology leader.

By Julie Russo, Vice President

Fahlgren Mortine earns top national PR awards.

On my “bucket list” rests one unrealistic to-do: attend a major, glamorous, Hollywood-style awards ceremony.  Unrealistic, because I’m not an actress, screenwriter or director, or even someone who gets coffee for actresses, writers or directors.  Nor do I aspire to be.

Yet it’s on the list. And that’s all about the fashion, I admit it. I want to wear a vintage Channel, or Valentino, or Armani Prive and see what everyone else is wearing up close. So glamorous.

So last night was especially thrilling—and much more meaningful and relevant.

Last night, my Emerson Network Power and Lifeline of Ohio clients, Neil and Christine Mortine and I trotted our black-tie attired selves to PRSA’s Silver Anvil Award Ceremony in New York City.

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By Julie Russo, Vice President

It’s been a banner month for animals making news. 

Just last week, Lily the Black Bear had a baby. Newsworthy? Doesn’t seem like it. But a webcam was there to bring the event to the masses. And therein lies the news. It turns out black bears don’t usually give birth in such close proximity to a webcam. (Reality TV humans, please take a cue from black bears’ privacy mores.) Great PR for bears, especially after the beating their public image takes at the hands of Stephen Colbert. With nearly 63,000 fans on Facebook, Lily is another example of great content being the best way to draw attention. 

Earlier this month, Yun Zi, a panda cub at the San Diego Zoo made his public debut. A webcam had been a part of that news also - Panda Cam, to be specific. Oh, how I love Panda Cam. There is even a time-lapse feature, which comes in handy, given pandas aren’t notoriously vivacious. (Not to say they couldn’t be, but according to the news, they mostly “eat, nap, forage, repeat“.) 

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By Julie Russo, Vice President

They call him the Lube Guy.

He even drives a black Mustang GT convertible, license plate: LUBE GUY. 

After 10 years of being the face and voice of Quaker Steak and Lube, Rich the Lube Guy has earned it. Ten years — plus convincing the BMV the plate wasn’t intended to be profane.

As I worked with Lifeline of Ohio over the summer on our “Live On. Ride On.” campaign reaching motorcyclists to recast the term “organ donor,” we sought insight from the usual suspects in the motorcycle community. One name is the norm: Frank at Iron Pony. Darris and Charissa at A.D. Farrow. They all said we needed to get to know Rich The Lube Guy.

So when I spotted him at Bike Night — I knew it was him by the crowd lining up to talk to him, hug him, even poke him — I had to introduce myself. Surrounded by adoring fans, he was Elvis-esque.

Turns out he’s famous (in motorcycle circles) and nice. So I asked if he’d talk to me about how he built his substantial “brand,” and he came to Fahlgren Mortine (home of what he calls “four walls” marketing) for an interview.

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By Julie Russo, Vice President

Geek Is Chic

Two weeks ago, my client, Emerson Network Power, previewed Emerson’s new global data center to the media and analyst community.

As I got ready to make the trip to St. Louis, telling my family and friends where I was going and why, I noticed a familiar refrain, whether verbalized or just manifested in glazed-over eyes: Oh, you’re going to a data center preview. That sounds thrilling.

I was thrilled.

I got to see data center power and cooling equipment UP CLOSE. Does anyone else think the switchgear that switches power between power busses or sends the IT load to generator looks like it could control a large seafaring vessel?

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By Julie Russo, Vice President

The most unexpected cause-related campaign I’ve ever worked on launches this week.

When I say that Fahlgren Mortine PR is working with Lifeline of Ohio to reach out to motorcycle enthusiasts about organ donation, people are surprised. Actually, I suspect they think I’m crazy.

But it’s that juxtaposition that’s appealing about the “Live On. Ride On.” campaign. “Organ donor” has long been a derogatory term thrown at motorcyclists, especially those who ride without helmets. It seems an unlikely audience/message combo, right?

Well, not when you dig in. Motorcyclists are known for being a tight-knit community, and for being there for each other when a brother or sister is in need. If you Google “motorcycle events” you’ll be amazed at all the charity runs that are hosted. That’s why when the agency’s resident motorcyclist/free spirit/social media buff suggested motorcyclists as an affinity audience to reach out to on behalf of Lifeline of Ohio, we instantly fell in love with the idea.

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By Julie Russo, Vice President

I’m not afraid of detailed discussions about the impact of IT or telecommunications technologies on today’s dynamic, connected and increasingly mobile culture - or, in reverse, the impact of those trends on the demand for technology infrastructure.

But that wasn’t always the case.

Once, while incorporating client feedback into a white paper, I was so frustrated I actually cried. I’m not an engineer, after all, or a math major.

I started my career at a technology public relations firm, but when I joined Fahlgren Mortine five years ago, I was awed by the level of detail my team members easily commanded.

Fast forward to today.

I’m still not an engineer or a math major and neither are my PR teammates, but I’ve leaned to blend in among them. After working with a highly technical client for five years, I’ve learned not only about their business, but what it takes to create effective public relations initiatives for a high-tech, business-to-business client.

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By Julie Russo, Vice President

Fahlgren Mortine is located at Easton Town Center, above West Elm and Baby Gap (so cute).

It feels like we work on a movie set. Two weeks ago: no trees on the sidewalk in front of our offices. Then, one day, big square holes in the sidewalk. Next day: trees. Next day: the holes were bricked in and I’m walking around a guy with a leaf blower on my way to Starbucks for a Salted Caramel Latte.

Did the trees come with dead leaves? Did they die in transit? Weird, but not the point. What I’m more interested in is, did Easton plan for the leaf blower guy before the leaves were on the ground? Probably so, because these aren’t the only trees at Easton. Admittedly, this would be more interesting if that weren’t the case.

We’re launching a thought leadership campaign for a client next week. It’s the second wave of what’s been a much talked about issue. We’ve been trying to anticipate and plan for any “dead leaves.” More importantly, we’ve tried to line up all the third-party supporters we could track down in case the best happens – reporters love the story and want to get opinions from others in the industry.

More to come on the campaign once it’s out of the staging area and on the stage.

Until then, anyone want to run with the Easton as a movie set theme?
 photo credit: Kamal H

By Julie Russo, Vice President

The hospital is almost becoming one big data center. That’s what someone said in a recent internal meeting where we were talking about a technology client’s new focus on the health care market. They’re right, I think, about everything but the “almost” part.

When you think about the fact that for years now, top-tier hospitals have had really futuristic-feeling capabilities - like enabling a surgeon to control a robotic assist device and perform heart surgery from thousands of miles away - I think hospitals have paralleled (and in some cases surpassed) data centers when it comes to the mission-criticality of technology systems.

Health care organizations are increasingly touting not only the technological innovations that help them save and improve lives, but also those that save and improve the time patients and families spend in their facilities. Want internet access at your bedside? It’s there. Tired of being asked to recite your medical history to seemingly every practitioner who enters the room? Health care facilities that enable nurses and doctors to access your records bedside on a laptop are addressing that concern.

And it’s not surprising that technology providers are working to cater to the health care market. The move to electronic medical records is just one example of a game-changing project that requires a strong technology backbone, infrastructure and training.

For communicators, our work with technology clients and our work with health care clients has already begun to overlap in subject matter, audience, media and tactics. And another thing both categories are now sharing in some cases: the battle against seeming cold or “too techy.”

But when you are working in two categories that have changed as many lives for the better as health care and technology, that’s a nice challenge to be faced with.