This interview is with Haley Spracale, Community Manager at Featured.

Haley Spracale, Community Manager, Featured

Can you introduce yourself and share your background in public relations? What experiences have shaped your expertise in this field?
I'm Haley, a communications professional with a strong passion for public relations. I graduated from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where I earned both my bachelor's in sports journalism with a minor in digital audiences and my master's in mass communication in just four years.

My experience in PR spans agency, corporate, and event settings. While at ASU's PR Lab, I secured coverage for a client in Rolling Stone, which really sparked my excitement for seeing strategic storytelling come to life. I went on to work with the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee in 2023, where I gained firsthand experience managing communications for a large-scale, high-visibility event. More recently, I've had the opportunity to secure media placements for OXO in outlets like Real Simple, NBC's Today, and Gear Patrol.

Now, in my role as Community Manager at Featured, I combine creativity, digital audience expertise, and strategic thinking to help build meaningful connections between experts and media opportunities. Each of these experiences has shaped my PR approach, anchored in storytelling, adaptability, and a genuine drive to deliver impactful results.

How did you first become interested in PR, and what steps did you take to establish yourself in this industry?
I first became interested in PR while studying sports journalism at the Cronkite School. I loved the fast pace of reporting, but I realized what I really wanted was the chance to dig deeper into storytelling and build lasting connections with audiences, something PR allowed me to do more directly. To establish myself, I leaned into every opportunity to get hands-on experience. At ASU's PR Lab, I worked on real client campaigns and even secured a placement in Rolling Stone. From there, I took on roles that exposed me to various aspects of PR, including working with the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee and securing national media placements for brands such as OXO. Along the way, I also built up my expertise in digital audiences, which has helped me merge creativity with strategy in every project. Those steps gave me both the confidence and the foundation to grow in this industry, and now at Featured, I get to bring all of that together to help experts share their stories and connect with top media opportunities.

You've mentioned the misconception that PR wins should be fast and easy. Can you share a specific campaign or project that required significant time and effort but ultimately led to a major success?
One campaign that stands out was during my master's program, when I worked with a local agency representing a brand-new sports clothing line partnered with the MLBPA. Since the company was so new, building brand awareness was critical. We knew traditional media outreach wouldn't be enough, so my team and I decided to focus on the baseball community, where conversations were already happening, on what was then Twitter.

We realized that team bloggers and independent writers had incredibly engaged audiences, often centered around specific players. They weren't typical journalists you could find on MuckRack, so we had to think outside the box. We pitched them directly through Twitter DMs, tailoring each pitch to highlight their team's fan-favorite players.

That approach paid off. We connected with writers in Chicago and Seattle, sent them player-specific products, and even secured an on-air interview with the brand's CEO. For a company that had only launched a couple of months earlier, this was a huge step in planting seeds of brand awareness.

The experience reinforced for me that PR wins don't happen overnight. It took creative thinking, persistence, and a willingness to experiment with non-traditional outreach to see results, but in the end, those efforts made a lasting impact.

In your experience, how has the rise of digital media changed the landscape of public relations? Can you provide an example of how you've adapted your strategies to meet these changes?
Digital media has completely reshaped PR by shortening attention spans and creating an environment of constant information overload. With so much content competing for attention, I've learned that success doesn't come from volume. It comes from being intentional. Instead of pushing out endless pitches, I advocate for smart, limited campaigns that highlight stories that truly matter.

A great example of this is at Featured when we announced the acquisition of HARO. Rather than blanketing the media, we offered an exclusive to break the story, then followed up with highly targeted outreach to offer interviews with our CEO. This approach respected journalists' time, cut through the noise of the daily news cycle, and still generated strong coverage without overwhelming anyone's inbox.

For me, that's the biggest shift: digital media rewards relevance and clarity, not volume. The challenge now is to be selective and strategic, making every pitch count.

As someone who's interned at various organizations, including the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, what advice would you give to PR students looking to make the most of their internship experiences?
My internships were absolutely pivotal in shaping the professional I am today. While the Cronkite School provided me with the technical skills, such as how to conduct thorough research or craft a strong pitch, my internships gave me the opportunity to apply those skills in real-world settings. At KB Woods, I secured my first media wins and, equally important, experienced my first fails. Both taught me resilience and how to adapt quickly. Later, interning with OXO in New York gave me the chance to learn from incredible mentors, and my time with the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee allowed me to contribute to a massive, high-visibility event.

For students stepping into their first internships, my advice is this: treat every opportunity as a chance to learn, not just to impress. Be curious, ask questions, and don't shy away from mistakes; they're where growth happens. Each experience, big or small, builds the confidence and soft skills you'll rely on throughout your career. Looking back, I wouldn't be the professional I am today without those internships.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
The way PR looks today will not be the way PR looks in one year, five years, and so on. Our education as professionals doesn't stop! Don't be afraid to try new things and keep on innovating.