
Jerome Filip
Verified Expert in Marketing
PR and Communications Expert
Baltimore, MD, United States
Toptal member since April 15, 2024
Jerome is a strategic communications and PR leader with 10+ years of experience in crisis communications, media strategy, thought leadership, and brand messaging. He builds integrated communications programs for organizations operating in high-scrutiny environments, from public safety technology firms to federally funded research initiatives and Fortune 500 enterprises. His work spans messaging, crisis planning, and content strategy that strengthen stakeholder trust and elevate executive voices.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Content Marketing
- Crisis Communication
- Leadership
- Media Relations
- Public Relations (PR)
- Stakeholder Management
- Thought Leadership
- Writing & Editing
Work Experience
PR Manager
SoundThinking
- Led national media strategy for a publicly traded company in a highly scrutinized public safety and AI environment, exceeding proactive placement goals by 40% and reducing adverse coverage by 15% year over year.
- Served as a core partner to senior leadership on crisis communications, crafting rapid-response messaging and narrative strategy that secured balanced coverage in major outlets, including The New York Times.
- Directed executive communications and thought leadership strategy, securing nearly two dozen conference speaking placements over three years, including first-time appearances at major industry events, and reinforcing executive credibility.
- Produced and scripted 14–18 webinars annually, building narrative-to-conversion funnels that moved audiences from awareness to engagement and qualified pipeline—consistently attracting 100+ attendees per session and generating measurable lead flow.
- Executed integrated media campaigns across earned, owned, social, event, and executive channels, including end-to-end spokesperson preparation, briefing materials, and interview strategy for high-profile print, broadcast, and digital media.
- Led cross-functional communications for major company initiatives—from a flagship facility grand opening with municipal officials and press, to scripted video productions, rebranding rollouts, and annual all-hands content.
PR Strategist
TEKsystems
- Drove a 20% increase in enterprise media coverage year-over-year through strategic PR campaigns and thought leadership initiatives.
- Created thought leadership content, technical blogs, and social media posts to simplify complex topics like AI, hybrid cloud, and data governance for Fortune 500 audiences.
- Developed executive positioning strategies for major industry events, including AWS re:Invent, equipping leaders with tailored messaging, interview strategies, and talking points.
- Crafted strategic content such as press releases, technical narratives, and digital assets in collaboration with design and web teams.
- Established messaging frameworks for AI governance, ethics, and responsible automation, aligning with enterprise technology trends and regulatory considerations.
Senior Associate | Global Public and Media Relations
San Francisco Travel Association
- Spearheaded a data-driven PR strategy that achieved record-breaking ROI on campaigns across global markets.
- Developed an innovative analytics program to measure earned media coverage across five continents, enabling real-time strategy optimization.
- Managed influencer campaigns with luxury partners, generating millions of social media impressions.
- Supported the planning and execution of high-profile annual events showcasing San Francisco to global media and influencers, coordinating with key stakeholders to maximize visibility and engagement.
Operations Manager
Venn Strategies
- Directed firm communications, including newsletters, press releases, and social media content, contributing to the company's nearly doubling in size.
- Organized high-profile events, including Capitol Hill fly-ins, engaging stakeholders like US senators and CEOs.
- Supported public affairs and government relations campaigns at the federal level, aligning media outreach, stakeholder engagement, and legislative strategy.
- Created comprehensive employee guides and handbooks to streamline internal operations and clarify company policies.
Legislative Aide
Idaho Senate
- Authored white papers, policy briefs, and educational content that supported the successful passage of over a dozen bills in education, taxation, and healthcare.
- Collaborated with elected officials on media strategy and constituent communications during legislative debates, aligning policy goals with public messaging.
- Built effective relationships with media representatives and stakeholders to drive awareness of legislative initiatives.
- Created blogs, op-eds, and social media content to build public understanding of complex legislation.
- Coordinated town hall meetings for 100+ attendees, enabling elected officials to brief constituents on legislative issues and engage in live Q&A sessions.
Campaign Manager
Freelance Clients
- Developed data-driven strategies that achieved 8-38% victory margins across multiple campaigns.
- Managed six-figure campaign budgets and allocated resources across paid media, events, and digital outreach to maximize impact.
- Directed integrated media strategy across paid mail, digital ads, social media, earned media, events, and fundraising communications to drive voter engagement and turnout.
- Created and optimized campaign websites, blogs, and social media content to boost candidate visibility.
- Produced comprehensive campaign materials, including mailers, donor communications, and educational content.
- Organized fundraising events that raised over $150,000 and managed a 50+ staff team.
- Used data analysis to refine messaging strategies and optimize resource allocation.
Project History
Content Strategy for AI-driven Public Safety Solutions
Headed an integrated content and PR strategy that positioned our organization as a leader in public safety. Crafted high-impact content and managed media initiatives, driving engagement, enhancing brand authority, and fostering stakeholder trust.
I developed and implemented an integrated content strategy to position our organization as a leader in public safety solutions. This program focused on creating technical content tailored for diverse stakeholders, including law enforcement leaders, community groups, and policymakers.
Collaborating with technical experts, I translated complex insights into engaging, actionable content. This included high-performing blogs that drove qualified leads, detailed Q&A documents that empowered stakeholders to navigate sensitive topics, and customer success story videos showcasing tangible impact.
I produced 18 webinars that distilled technical innovations into clear value propositions for law enforcement audiences, attracting 150+ participants per session and generating dozens of qualified leads. My thought leadership efforts secured speaking opportunities at major industry events, establishing our executives as authoritative voices in public safety technology.
In parallel, I integrated these efforts with a targeted media strategy, exceeding proactive media placement goals by 40% and reducing adverse coverage by 15%. These initiatives collectively enhanced our brand visibility and solidified our leadership in the public safety sector.
Corporate PR Revitalization to Amplify Brand Presence
Achieved a 20% increase in media mentions year-over-year, significantly enhancing brand visibility and positioning for a major technology services provider.
I led a strategic initiative to integrate PR into the marketing framework of a major IT services provider, transforming it from an underutilized function into a key driver of brand visibility. By aligning PR efforts with business objectives, I developed and executed targeted media strategies that significantly increased year-over-year media mentions and brand recognition.
I worked closely with leadership and technical teams to stay connected to business priorities like product launches and industry partnerships. Collaborating with our PR agency, I identified key media targets. I crafted compelling narratives that translated complex topics like AI, data analytics, and cloud transformation into engaging business and trade media content.
I managed all follow-up efforts, including drafting op-eds, sharing data insights, and coordinating executive interviews while leveraging analytics to measure PR effectiveness and demonstrate ROI. As a result, the company saw a 20% increase in year-over-year media mentions while strengthening its thought leadership, improving market positioning, and setting a new benchmark for PR integration.
Building a Comprehensive PR and Content Strategy for a Fintech Leader
Developed and executed the first integrated PR and content strategy for a fintech startup, establishing a foundation for long-term communications success and increasing brand visibility.
I laid the groundwork for the company’s PR and content efforts, creating a program from scratch. This included developing their 1st-ever brand messaging framework, press kit, and wire service integration to enable effective outreach.
To address customer pain points, I built a robust content strategy to produce SEO-optimized blogs and technical content. These materials translated complex payment processing solutions into clear, actionable value propositions. I ensured compliance with regulatory standards while maintaining engaging and customer-focused storytelling across press releases, blogs, and other materials.
This integrated approach ensured consistent messaging across PR and content channels. By leveraging earned media opportunities and driving organic search visibility, the strategy significantly increased brand awareness and set the foundation for future growth.
Crafting a Company Origin Story Through Strategic Video Content
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KNX3Cftg3kDeveloped and produced an inspiring company origin video that unified our brand narrative and strengthened employee engagement.
I led the end-to-end development of our company’s first origin story video, creating a compelling narrative that traced our journey from startup to industry leader. This involved in-depth interviews with founders and key leaders to uncover pivotal moments and core values that shaped our growth.
Working with our production team, I crafted a script that wove together multiple perspectives, from founding vision to current innovation. The narrative arc highlighted key milestones while maintaining focus on our mission of enhancing public safety through technology.
The resulting video resonated strongly with internal and external audiences, becoming a cornerstone for employee onboarding, investor presentations, and brand storytelling. It united our past achievements with our future vision, strengthening organizational culture and brand identity.
Record ROI Through Data-driven PR Strategy
Led the integration of data-driven insights into a global PR strategy, resulting in a record-breaking year for ROI on PR campaigns for a major US city.
At the Convention and Visitors Bureau for San Francisco, I led the integration of data-driven insights into our global PR strategy, achieving a record-breaking year for ROI on PR campaigns. By collaborating with analytics teams, I gathered data on the most effective campaign types across various countries, identifying where social media was most impactful and which platforms performed optimally. I also analyzed the experiences that produced the highest engagement and quantified those increases.
This comprehensive analysis allowed me to craft targeted and impactful PR campaigns, including precise press releases, strategic influencer partnerships, and engaging multimedia content. My data-informed approach enabled real-time adjustments to strategies, ensuring that campaigns remained relevant and effective. These efforts led to investments in the most successful campaigns, resulting in a record-breaking year for tourism in the city in 2019. This strategic integration of data and PR maximized ROI on PR campaigns and positioned San Francisco as a premier travel destination, demonstrating the power of data-driven decision-making in public relations.
Crisis Communications & Messaging Strategy for a Federally-funded Firearm Safety Initiative
A federally funded university research program promoting voluntary, temporary firearm storage for suicide prevention needed a communications strategy capable of building trust across ideologically opposed audiences (firearm-owning communities and public health stakeholders). The program also lacked crisis preparedness for hostile media inquiries and legislative challenges.
I led a 9-week strategic communications engagement delivering three core workstreams. First, I developed a crisis communications framework with scenario-specific response protocols, pre-approved messaging, and FAQs addressing the program’s most sensitive objections. Second, I built a dual-identity messaging system enabling authentic communication with both firearms communities (personal responsibility and protection) and public health audiences (evidence-based harm reduction) without contradiction. Third, I created a stakeholder communications toolkit to support social media outreach.
The engagement delivered a crisis playbook, a messaging architecture that resolved audience tensions, and a scalable content system—enabling the program to reach firearm-owner communities while maintaining credibility with core stakeholders.
Enterprise Event Management for a Fortune 500 Company
A global Fortune 500 company was preparing a multi-site R&D showcase to highlight innovation across engineering teams. The event required coordinating logistics, content, and stakeholder alignment across three locations while managing vendors, dozens of technical presentations, and corporate approval processes under tight timelines.
Led operational planning and coordination for the multi-site event, developing the master project plan and overseeing preparation across three locations. Managed the external event vendor while coordinating logistics, including booth planning, signage, catering, audio-visual production, and dozens of technical talks. Worked closely with engineering, marketing, and communications teams to ensure presentations, executive materials, and event messaging aligned with corporate standards and the broader event narrative.
Delivered a successful enterprise event showcasing innovation across multiple locations and teams. Demonstrated the ability to manage complex events, coordinate vendors and stakeholders, and align technical content, logistics, and communications.
Education
Master's Degree in Public Administration
American University - Washington, DC, USA
Bachelor's Degree in Political Science
Boise State University - Boise, ID, USA
Skills
Core
Writing & Editing, Public Relations (PR), Content Marketing, Content, Copywriting, Content Creation, Digital Marketing, Narrative Writing, Social Media, Marketing, Campaign Management, PR Campaigns, Content Marketing Strategy, Content Strategy, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Digital Marketing Strategy, Brand Marketing, Link Building, Customer Engagement, Brand Strategy, Branding, Lead Generation, Paid Advertising, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), SEO Content, Scriptwriting, Instagram Marketing
Platforms & Tools
TVEyes, Asana, Meltwater, Google Analytics
Business Models
Business to Government (B2G)
Other
Press Releases, Content Writing, Storytelling, Event Coordination, Event Management, Project Coordination, Proofreading, Article Writing, Creative Writing, Tone of Voice, Earned Media, Corporate Communications, Email Outreach, Communication, Public Sector, Reputation Management, Project Management, Leadership, Public Policy, Crisis Management, Crisis Communication, Thought Leadership, Media Relations, Data Analytics, Political Campaigning, Government, Stakeholder Management, Events, Media, Digital PR, Editorials, Cision, Media Pitch, Analytics, Technical Writing, Brand Positioning, Client Presentations, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Technology, Social Media Content Writing, Brand Awareness, Community Outreach, Partnerships, Brand / Traditional Advertising, Multichannel Campaign Management, Integrated Campaigns, Customer Acquisition, Budgeting, Statistics, Media Training, Fundraising, Event Planning, Constituent Service, Finance, Research, Strategic Planning, Salesforce, Microsoft Office, Communication Strategy, Video Scripts, Brand Messaging Development, B2B Marketing, Brand Development, Fintech, Cross-functional Collaboration, Interviewing, Video Production, Audience Engagement Analysis, Employee Engagement, YouTube Marketing, Risk Management
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