Q. Tell us about Diboll & Associates - how it got started, how long you've been in business, and how big the agency is? Also about the kind of PR you do.

The agency started in April of 1997 following work I was doing for global agencies, such as Edelman Worldwide and Copithorne & Bellows. I really enjoyed the work with those agencies, and it was a fabulous training ground for the type of work I do now, but I wanted more decision making capacity. That’s why I started Diboll & Associates.

Our client list includes startups to $500 million publicly traded companies. We like to work with companies who have nascent communication efforts no matter the size, because that’s where we feel we can do the most good, add the most value and get the most gratification of work well done. Our real specialty is creating results-oriented campaigns that align with our clients’ business objectives.

Our agency is fairly small, only 10 persons, but everyone working here is at senior level and comes from a large agency, so the staff is well-seasoned. PR is really about communications and is greater than publicity. We create a number of ways to communicate – media relations, speaker engagements, social media – and look for the most beneficial for our clients, cherry picking the best of the best.

Q. You have both an impressive and broad ranged client list. Do communication strategies differ greatly for each client depending on their core business?

The strategies we use depend on the client company’s goals. Programs and strategies we use for various clients differ, based on what they wish to accomplish, such as, for instance, great sales or investor attention.

Q. So here my burning question is – Why did Amazon.com turn to Diboll & Associates to search for success? No false modesty.

When Amazon was preparing to launch A9, new e-commerce search technology that moved Amazon from being an online retailer to becoming a technology company, they selected us. We launched it in a planned rollout. As I mentioned early, we’re a really seasoned senior team, and all team members can work on all accounts all the time. Our model allows us to be nimble, dynamic and very responsive, and this works especially well with fast-moving companies such as Amazon.

Q. What do you like most about what you do?

I like a lot of what I do. I can think of three big items.

We can visibly add value. It’s so much fun to see our efforts turn into success. We bring strategy and goals, and we see how we’re helping.

Having varied clients – different in direction and with different needs.

And we bring imaginative elements into the programs and bring them to fruition – it’s the colorful, creative part of the job.

Q. There’s a lot of change taking place in the U.S. economy and in the world economy. What do you see on the PR front over the next few years because of those changes?

For PR practitioners, it’s time to jettison any ideas of surefire planning and to develop approaches that show adaptability, and to bring more awareness and marketability to efforts.

In communications, it will be important to address issues with an appropriate tone of gravitas. Companies or agencies that set themselves up as in control of a situation are setting themselves up for a bad fall. We can see this over the last years, even with the current recession as one example.

Q. The latest and last new thing has been Social Media. What do you think the next new thing will be?

Blogs and podcasts have gained ground at lightening speed. This consumes a large amount of time and sends time management out the window. Intel had done some work on using software techniques to manage digital media. There’s a rise in software and other tools to manage media – to funnel how we use social media at work. I think that’s going to be the next big thing we see.

Q. What advice do you have for fledgling PR professionals?

Join industry organizations in communications. It’s an opportunity for learning and for networking.

Get as well rounded an experience as possible - go and work at the very best brand name company as you can early in your career. They provide training and growth opportunities. They are not the easiest places to work, but they will provide a boot camp to prep you for a stellar career.

Also, think about possibilities of where to use skills outside your client base – not for profit – to make you feel good about yourself and to benefit someone else.