Brant Skogrand
Vice President - Risdall McKinney Public Relations
Hired: October 2008
Prior Account Experience:
Before joining RMPR, Brant worked at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, where he provided media relations expertise, public relations counseling, planning, implementation and evaluation and media training. Before Thrivent Financial, Brant edited employee publications, developed content for the employee intranet and promoted product launches while at Thomson Reuters; guided clients in public relations while at Tunheim Partners; and advised both executives and field personnel on public relations at The Musicland Group.
Notable Achievements at Risdall:
To assist Buyers Health Care Action Group (BHCAG) in updating and identifying appropriate positioning, brand differentiators, and the member benefit proposition, Brant conducted a series of member interviews. The resulting findings were used to create a positioning statement and message pyramid for BHCAG - which in turn provided the framework for consistently communicating the BHCAG brand across marketing efforts.
In 2009, iceboating came to town as an official St. Paul Winter Carnival event. Brant promoted the event to Minneapolis/St. Paul media, resulting in coverage from all Twin Cities TV stations and daily newspapers, as well as numerous blogs and other media outlets. The event had excellent attendance.
Brant promoted a free master class and concert by jazz great Wycliffe Gordon at Northwestern College in St. Paul by securing an hour-long Minnesota Public Radio "Midmorning" interview and performance as well as numerous mentions on jazz blogs and Twitter.
Additional Client Experience:
Vision-Ease Lens, Northwestern College, National Fraternal Congress of America, Metro Dentalcare, Archway, Calypso Systems, Professional Awnings Manufacturers Association.
A Passion For The Business:
Brant is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and serves on the board of directors of the Minnesota chapter. Brant also serves as a guest lecturer to college students and has served as the professional adviser to the Public Relations Student Society of America chapter at the University of St. Thomas.
Awards:
Brant has earned several awards for his work, including PRSA Silver Anvils, Minnesota PRSA Classics and Communicator Awards.
On a Personal Note:
"Even though I'm a terrible singer, I can do a mean karaoke version of Willie Nelson's On the Road Again."