Meet Janice Huang

Janice Huang

Company: IW Group, Inc.

Hometown: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

College: University of California, Irvine

What is your role at IW Group? What clients do you work for?

I work with directors and senior level management in strategic planning, coordination, execution and account management on campaigns and programs for agency clients, including Fortune 500 corporations, government entities and non-profit organizations. Specifically, the accounts that I manage are: Nissan North America, Wal-Mart, First 5 California and The California Wellness Foundation.

What has been your favorite PR moment?
There are two moments that jump to mind as my favorites. In October 2006, IW Group was awarded three PRism awards and an Award of Excellence from PRSA-LA. It was a clean sweep in all the categories the team entered. I am proud to be a member of the IW Group team that produced such great campaign results for clients and that the successes were recognized within the industry.

In 2007, IW Group counseled First 5 California and implemented the first-ever childhood obesity prevention campaign for the Asian Pacific Islander American community. The initial campaign included a media roundtable in Los Angeles and a community-based organization symposium in the Bay Area. While people know that obesity is a problem in the U.S., they often overlook the growing problem in the APIA community. The team and I worked very hard to make the campaign a success. At both of the events, it was very rewarding to receive positive feedback from both members of the media as well as the community, praising First 5 California and IW Group for taking the initiative to address the growing problem in our community. Moments like these make all the late nights worthwhile. I am proud to say that the success of the campaign has opened discussions to expand the campaign with a second media event in the Bay Area and additional CBO symposiums in Southern California.

What do you think your next career move will be?

I plan on growing with IW Group to reach management level positions, but am also interested in gaining experience in mainstream general market agencies.

What advice can you give to current students? recent graduates?

I’d encourage current students to take on as much internship experience as they could. Internships not only teach valuable skills that students may transfer to their schoolwork and later in their careers, it also helps them get a head start in figuring out their career directions.

For recent graduates, I’d advise them to keep in mind their interests and long-term goals when searching for jobs. Many recent graduates search for high paying positions instead of keeping in mind the skills and experiences they could gain from the position. Although entry level pay in our industry isn’t high, the knowledge and experience one could build up are worth the investment.