My name is Breanna Welke, and I serve as a vice president at Bellmont Partners. I have spent the past 20+ years developing and implementing successful communications strategies across a wide variety of industries in both agency and corporate settings.

With extensive experience in strategy, positioning, messaging and crisis communications, I’ve led the development and implementation of a wide variety of award-winning public relations programs for well-known brands such as SC Johnson, Unilever, General Mills, Midwest Dairy, Marvin Windows and Doors, Renewal by Andersen and many other leading companies.

In addition to consulting with all of Bellmont Partners clients on strategy and positioning, I’m a member of Bellmont Partners’ Technology and Manufacturing Practice Group, helping clients in these industries tell their stories in a way that resonates with audiences that matter most, delivering maximum results.

I serve as a vice president at Bellmont Partners where I help guide the agency’s strategy and growth, and am also our agency’s Change Management Lead. Change management takes a level of special expertise and attention, and is an area of communications and public relations I’m very passionate about.

Change is hard, yet inevitable. Over the past several years, many organizations have tapped Bellmont Partners for guidance on how to effectively communicate through change, and I love being a part of the team that helps support these transitions. Whether it is a shift in strategic direction, transition in leadership, or navigating larger scale crisis situations, identifying ways to communicate effectively is essential to success.

Bellmont Partners is a dynamic and results-focused Twin Cities public relations and communications agency. We take a straightforward, strategic approach to drive results with measurable impact. Ranked by O’Dwyer’s as one of the top 15 industrial PR firms in the United States, we deliver big ideas, creativity and senior-level strategic experience, combined with the proven ability to engage and spark action.

Over the years, we’ve served hundreds of organizations across dozens of industries, including a specialized practice group focusing on supporting technology and manufacturing companies of all sizes. Launched in 1996, Bellmont Partners is an established agency with a rich history of award-winning work, proven process and numerous clients who have been with us since the agency’s early days.

In the competitive manufacturing industry with ever-changing regulations, policies, technology and consumer needs, it’s challenging to find a way to differentiate your brand and effectively communicate your messages. The Bellmont Partners Technology & Manufacturing Practice Group helps clients tell stories of product innovation, job creation, customer support and beyond to help accomplish their goals, whether that's increased sales and revenue, recruiting, being prepared for a potential crisis or anything in between.

Our team has extensive experience working with manufacturing clients, and our expertise includes strategy development, media relations, writing and content development, thought leadership, social media, events, awards, internal communications, digital initiatives and more.

Working as an integral member of our clients’ teams, we develop a plan that addresses unique challenges in a way that ensures audiences take note and help organizations meet their business goals.

We are so proud to take home a gold in the TITAN Business Awards for our team’s work to support Malco Tools’ business growth over the years. Malco is an amazing Minnesota-based manufacturer that we’ve worked with for six years. They are a fantastic partner, and we are so proud to be a part of their journey to becoming a destination company in the area.

It’s great to earn this recognition, but the true pride comes from knowing we’ve done good work for a great client, supporting their marketing and communications efforts with everything from media relations and social media support, to internal communications and change management.

I think a successful team is one that is not only made up of people with different experiences and expertise who work together to accomplish a common goal, but also one that encourages innovative thinking and trying new things, even if that means that sometimes you will fail.

The best teams and businesses have created a culture of trust where everyone’s voice matters, and more importantly, one that is supportive and encourages thinking outside the box. The work is better and the results are better when everyone is motivated to do their best work and share their best ideas while working together towards a common goal.

We’ve made a major commitment to cultivating the right group of talented people – all of whom share the partners’ enthusiasm and commitment to building an agency that makes a difference. We have remained a senior-focused group, boasting significant experience in journalism, agencies and in-house communications. The firm’s 26 team members have cut their teeth at a veritable “who’s who” of Minnesota agencies, corporations and nonprofits.

The team is passionate about digging deep to understand our clients’ businesses and their unique marketplace challenges. Our group creatively develops and reinforces brand equity and key strategic messaging through all tactics to deliver results that drive action.

At Bellmont Partners, we have a number of employee-led agency initiatives in the areas of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Antiracism; Health & Wellness; Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence. It is interesting to keep up with how these topics impact the manufacturing space and general business community.

For example, many manufacturers are focused on reducing their environmental impact with minimizing their packaging or switching to more sustainable materials. Manufacturers, just like every other industry, also must grapple with widespread labor shortages, with many focusing efforts on supporting careers in manufacturing for underrepresented groups, re-shoring or nearshoring operations and/or exploring automated solutions that can help keep production lines running smoothly.

This is a hard question to answer, as there are so many people who have inspired me throughout different times and stages throughout my life. My boss at my first professional job out of college encouraged me to keep asking “why,” and to flip things on their head for new ways of thinking.

I also think of leaders like Simon Sinek whose advice on leadership guided and inspired me on harder days and my grandma whose work ethic and positive attitude motivate me to emulate her as one of the hardest-working women I’ve known. I’ve drawn inspiration from each of these people, all from different areas of my life, to take with me in my personal and professional life!

Stay curious! In business, and especially in marketing and PR, a lot of what we aim to do is find new and creative ways to connect the dots and make a product, brand or company relevant to the intended audiences. I’ve found that by staying curious, asking a lot of questions and thinking about all of the “what ifs” has allowed myself and my teams to come up with some extremely successful – and pretty fun – ideas for our clients.

I always encourage the team to stay curious about everything—not just what is happening within the industries and businesses we are focused on, but even about things that have absolutely nothing to do with day-to-day work. By staying curious, you never know how two unrelated facts, ideas, stories or trends could come together to make a powerful connection or form a successful idea for your organization down the road!