Meet the Owner: Root Strategies

Wayne resident Lisa Packer recently celebrated the tenth year of her public relations, communications and marketing firm with a name change. , formerly Robinson Packer Company, is not just media relations, but aims to forward “the business goals of our clients,” said Packer.

The new name aptly reflects a principle she works by:  “Whatever public relations you do, it needs to be rooted to your business goals.”

The root of a tree shows its age, but also its depth of experience. Packer’s experience ranges from being a television reporter to a spokesperson at Three Mile Island, the central Pennsylvania nuclear power plant.

Amongst other positions, she headed communications for the US-based corporate arm of the pharmaceutical company Novartis, and served as director of corporate communications for McGraw-Hill, a global financial information and education company.

Packer also did a stint as spokesperson for Tribune Company in New York City during “violent” and “bitter” union negotiations.

Although the six-person Wayne firm recently acquired an events business called Weddings by Renee and represent a range of clients including an international citrus producer, Packer does not shy away from tough topics and crises.

In fact, she said, crisis management is a strong suit.

In one case, she had two clients experiencing crises on the same day. One had had a murder in the workplace, and another was dealing with an assault. When these things happen, packer said a lot of time is spent on how to engage “key crucial audiences” like employees and their families.

“Get the facts and get them out there,” she said. “When events happen at a time of crisis, it is very possible that someone is not hiding information… It just may be they don’t know it yet,” she said.

But someone to hide something?

“If that’s what you’re looking for I’m not your guy,” Packer said. “Spin is not a word in my lexicon.”

Before handling any crises Packer said she works with her clients to develop communication plans so people know what to do when something happens.

Packer does not name her clients, but they have included companies in the pharmaceutical, higher education and publishing industries, for example.

“What we do for our client is between us and the client,” she said.

Packer recently moved her firm to a cozy and quiet office above a Wayne art gallery.

“Wayne is a wonderful place to work and be,” said Packer, a native of Trooper who lives in Wayne with her husband and two children.

“It’s a real milestone to be here for ten years in this economy,” she said of her business.

So, what has helped her business’s longevity?

“I think it’s a service business,” she said. “There’s a deeper understanding that has to be brought to bear, or you won’t be successful.”