Member PRofile: Erin Sullivan
Title and company? Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Orange County Library System
Give a brief explanation of your job. I manage the department responsible for external communications for the library system, which operates 15 locations in Orange County. Some of the things my department is responsible for include establishing the library’s marketing strategy, creating content for the library’s website and social media, producing a monthly library magazine, collateral design, advertising placement, community relations and fundraising.
How long have you been a member of FPRA and why did you join? I’m somewhat new to the organization. I joined FPRA in 2019. My membership lapsed during 2020, but I rejoined in fall 2021 because I’m interested in pursuing my APR. I just completed the fall APR workshops, which were incredibly insightful.
What has been your favorite FPRA event or experience so far? I attended an excellent session in 2019 called AdventHealth’s Rebrand Playbook — it was a detailed look at what it took to rebrand a huge hospital system. I loved hearing from the team about the thought and hard work that went into changing the way people referred to the hospital and how to get people to think differently about what healthcare means at all stages of life. The presentation was interesting enough that it’s stuck with me all this time.
Tell us about an exciting achievement (personal or professional). One of the things I took on in 2018 was beginning a rebrand of the library system. When I came on board in 2016, we didn’t have brand standards or a cohesive look or a unified message for everyone to share. Each of our locations was creating collateral for their own events, and messaging and quality were inconsistent. I led the effort to come up with a fresh look for the library that put customers at the center of our messaging, and we launched a new look, tagline and marketing approach. Three years after launch, I still get a thrill when I hear a public official talk about the library and use our tagline: Learn. Grow. Connect. I learned a lot from that experience – things I’d repeat, as well as things I would do differently – and I’m proud of the impact it has had on the library.
What was your first job? When I was 13, I rode my bike to a farm about a mile from my house on weekends and transplanted seedlings into larger pots so they could be sold at stores and farmers markets. I think I made about $3 an hour! It was hard work on a small family farm, but it taught me a lot about accountability and how much more goes on behind the scenes at a small business than you can see from the customer perspective.
What's one fun fact about you? I train dogs for sports and competition using force-free training methods.
