Public Relations: You’ve Either Got It Or You Don’t

 

Good PR Makes Things Happen

I remember that one day I overheard a group of girls saying, “Jo (Ann’s) the nice one.” That’s how I got labeled early on. You’ve either got it, or you don’t. And, if you don’t, for pity sake, find someone who can help you to smooth out your sharp edges. This week, I came across someone so sharp it shook me to my roots, when the person said, “I’m here to tell you about me, not here to have you tell me about you.” Or some such thing…

I wanted to stop the interview, because I’m a firm believer of a back and forth to know who someone is, which allows me to better understand the person I’ll be writing about. To that retort, I asked one question, then excused myself as having all I needed.

One Amazing Example

This may seem off point. It isn’t. No one in my world should be so la-ti-da that manners don’t matter.

Take my grocery store, where I have some favorite people. Our Oliver’s Supermarket runs Senior Citizen Day on Wednesdays. At the bottom of the receipt, it reads “10% Senior Disco.”

In my past life in Maine, my husband Jose was in rock and roll radio at WBLM-fm, managing programming for twenty stations across the US. That’s actually how I got into PR too. They needed someone to document their public file, so I went out, joined civic groups, and documented what I did. Then came the rock and roll stars.

 

PR Development in The 1980

Because Jose, as program director, was always invited to dinner and backstage when acts performed at the Cumberland County Civic Center (I was invited too), I saw an opening for another kind of PR. Photography with the artists, submitted to music trade magazines, felt natural. On Thursday nights, Jose DJ’d at a dance club. So yes, you can say “disco,” boys and girls. Our lives were full of music and the people who made it, often the same acts, year after year.

So, Seeing Senior Disco

When Jose spotted “Senior Disco” on our receipt, he started telling everyone, “I’ll take the Senior Disco.” No shame in being old. In fact, we’re darned happy with it, given the life we’ve led.

It wasn’t long before it became the icing on the cake of checking out, especially with one checker named Lucas. I’d watched him at the store since it opened. At first he was shy. I enjoyed having him as our checker anyway. There was just something about him. That was years ago now.

PR Took Over

This turned our weekly Wednesday shopping trip into the best part of our week, because we found someone who also loves music and can sing every Bee Gees song. We’ve connected! Can you imagine? Much to the manager’s surprise: “Senior Disco, Aisle 5, they’re out of control.” I know as a manager, he wants to keep a tight ship, and I know I was probably a bit over the top so happy about it. But I also know Lucas has a heart of gold, and we’ve kept our little disco journey on the down low, as we love it once a week. Can you picture an entire grocery store turning into a disco line at checkout? Yeah, no…

Bee Gees: “Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk. Music loud and women warm, I’ve been kicked around since I was born. And now it’s all right, it’s okay, and you may look the other way, but we can try to understand, the New York Times effect on man.”

Doesn’t that just take the stress right out of your day? Compare that to, “I’m here to tell you about me, not here to have you tell me about you.”

Thank You Oliver’s Market!

Thank you for Senior Disco. Wednesdays are the best, and it’s your people who make it so. Jose and I work from home, running our own wine marketing company, and we don’t take days off. My last real vacation was in the early 1990s, in Maui. We haven’t had anything that free and easy since. No agenda, no schedule, just living. Wednesdays matter more than you know, and you have a fabulous crew. Liz in the cafe is lovely too, along with the female assistant manager. They represent you well. You’ve got a great crew.

 

© Jo Diaz, June 24, 2026, All rights reserved.

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Written by Jo Diaz, a partner of Diaz Communications, who is helping to make stars realize their dreams.
Edited by partner Jose Diaz.

To reprint, please contact Jo Diaz: jo@diaz-communications.com