10 Questions with Our Employee of the Year 2011: Nathalie Nourian

by Wonacott Communications

Anyone in the working world can tell you that receiving Employee of the Year (EOY) is not an easy feat, most especially in the field of public relations (*ahem* the second most stressful profession). It is a recognition that rewards only the most deserving of candidates, and for the year 2011, Wonacott Communications is proud to honor Nathalie Nourian, an account executive on our Interactive Entertainment and Technology practice.

Nathalie joined Wonacott in December 2010, bringing her sweet persona and sharp skills to our fun and fast-paced office. A quick learner, she soon familiarized herself with all of the “Jasonisms” implemented by our CEO: uber-specific “Wonacott style” formatting, a meticulous review process, and all of the clichés our seasoned PR leader loves to dish out on any given day – “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean,” “I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” and our personal favorite, “Just sayin’.”

Always PRoactive, Nathalie offers up some of the best creative ideas during brainstorms, and is adored by not only her clients, but also her peers here at Wonacott. When she’s not running around at the Game Developers Conference, launching a Dirty Dancing Facebook game or handling daily media relations for her clients, you can find her watching “Downtown Abbey,” playing with her dog and cat, or crooning that Adele-esque voice at karaoke joints or with the Burbank Chorale.

Want to know more? Here’s a little more insight into our Employee of the Year 2011:

Q: Tell us a little bit about what you do at Wonacott.
Nathalie: I manage day-to-day PR activities for interactive entertainment clients, including  Kill3rCombo and Fantage. This entails writing press materials, media outreach, corresponding with the client and occasionally recommending booth designs for a trade show.

Q: Why did you get into PR? What do you like about it?
Nathalie: I got into PR, because very early on I realized that math and science were not my forte! Kidding. But truly, I got into it because I like to write, I like working with journalists and I particularly like the interactive entertainment industry.

Q: What would Google Chrome prompt as your top eight most visited websites?
Nathalie: Facebook, Google, Kotaku ,Yahoo, YouTube, ElswordOnline, Dlisted, Tumblr

Q: iOS or Android?
Nathalie: iOS, always and forever.

Q: What are some of your favorite or most used apps?

Nathalie: I, like Alec Baldwin, love Words with Friends. The other apps I use are pretty standard utilities: Pandora, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter.

Q: If you were stranded on an island and could only have three things with you what would they be?
Nathalie: iPhone, charger, endless supply of bug spray

Q: Who are your role models?
Nathalie: Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Gandhi? Truthfully, I never really know how to answer this question, but I guess people who do good, even when it’s easier not to.

Q: What inspires you?
Nathalie: Lots of things! In an effort to be concise, I think that music inspires me the most. Just the way that a melody can set a certain mood or make a person feel a certain way is magic.

Q: When I am not at work I…
Nathalie: …am sleeping, shopping, singing, reading, knitting, baking, having tea, catching up on BBC costume dramas.

Q: Advice for anyone starting a career in PR?
Nathalie:

• Don’t be overly sensitive and have tough skin. There will inevitably be a journalist or supervisor that either makes you want to cry at your desk or question your life choices. Take in what they say and move on; don’t dwell.
• If you’ve made it through high school and university without knowing the basics of grammar, learn them very quickly. What you write will be read by journalists who write for a living, so proofread like crazy because your livelihood depends on it.  Learn the difference between:

                     o their, they’re and there
                     o its and it’s
                     o your and you’re