Meet the Media: A “pre-cision” interview with Laurie Mahoney of Cision

As director of product marketing for Cision, Laurie Mahoney has the inside scoop on the service that PR professionals cannot live without.

What’s your role at Cision?
I’m director of product marketing focusing mostly on our Connect suite which includes our press release distribution and content marketing products. My top goal is to drive sales of this product line through product strategy, market research, competitive analysis, packaging/pricing and customer engagement. I’m also tasked with driving and developing marketing materials for several of our products including launch materials, branded content, press releases, customer presentations, webinars, conferences and sales training. I work closely with our product development team to help drive future product development. In addition, I regularly present on Cision’s customer-facing webinars focused on content marketing and SEO. I’m also a blogger for Cision Blog but I don’t write as many posts as I used to. It’s a goal of mine this year to contribute more frequently. 
Describe a typical day in the Cision office.
Ha! I think the thing I love most about my job is that no two days are alike. The only thing that’s consistent is meetings – lots of meetings.
What types of features or services does Cision offer that PR professionals might be missing?
I think most PR professionals might think content marketing should be owned by the marketing team, but I think PR pros are uniquely equipped to make a brand’s campaigns successful. Most PR pros are great writers and have already established relationships with key influencers in their industry. I’d encourage PR pros who are still using press releases as a way to build awareness for the brand to take a closer look at our Content Marketing Suite. It can help them better power their story by getting it in front of readers they might not be reaching with press releases.
Tell us about one of the wackiest press releases you’ve ever seen submitted for release through Cision.
So, this happened: http://news.cision.com/animal-protection-agency/r/vibrating-tortoise-is–cured–as-experts-warn-that-tortoises-are-not-easy-pets,c9348516. I won’t tell you what I typed in search to find it again…
What is your biggest PR pet peeve?
A common complaint from the media is that they get pitches completely unrelated to their beat or topic. Since I am listed as a blogger for Cision Blog, I have a unique perspective on this. For the most part, I get lots of useful and interesting pitches but I have definitely received pitches that are irrelevant to anything we cover on the blog which just get deleted.
What advice would you give to PR agencies about working with Cision?
Sign up for a training session with our training department! It’s amazing how many time-saving tips you can learn by getting a thorough tour of Cisionpoint.
Tell us a little about yourself.
Here’s a piece of irony – over a decade ago, I moved to San Francisco to work in sales for one of the major newswire services, and Landis PR was one of my very first clients! The agency was much smaller then, but I’m happy to see all the success that David and his team have had over the years.
Questions or comments? Please post in the comment section below or send an email to Laurie at [email protected].