Data Center POST interview with Ilissa Miller, founder and CEO of iMiller Public Relations (iMPR) and President of NEDAS
By Contributing Editor, Sarah Chamberlain
Ilissa Miller is founder and CEO of iMiller Public Relations, an award-winning global public relations and marketing company focused on the communications infrastructure sector. Since creating the firm in 2011, Ilissa and her team, with nearly 100 years of combined industry experience, has worked with nearly 300 global companies, helping them with messaging, brand awareness, media outreach, lead-generation programs, social media and more. Ilissa also serves as the president of NEDAS, a grassroots association focused on the convergence of the wireline and wireless industries. With NEDAS, Ilissa spearheads the association’s annual programs, including conferences, webinars, training sessions and networking events.
Data Center POST recently had a chance to sit down with Ilissa to discuss what 2019 holds for iMPR in terms of clients, conferences and strategies.
Data Center POST, Sarah Chamberlain (DCP-SC) Question: Tell our readers about iMiller Public Relations, what challenges are you attempting to solve right now?
iMiller Public Relations, Ilissa Miller (iMPR-IM) Answer: iMiller Public Relations, which goes by iMPR, works with companies in the global communications infrastructure space to help them find their messaging and associated identity to build strategic public relations and marketing programs. We help companies amplify their messages to market through a variety of channels. Public Relations is the relationship of a company and its public, which includes (but is not exclusive to) analysts, journalists, customers, prospects, event organizers, associations, investors and much more. Understanding this helps our clients ensure their messages are created and shared in a way that effectively and specifically resonates with the target audience they want to reach.
Today’s businesses are rattled with the challenge of implementing and managing secure communications solutions – often in a critical IT environment. The amount of companies and disparate messages being shared in the market, coupled with the array of solutions and various ways of implementing IT services, can create confusion for both the buyers and the observers covering the market. iMPR’s goal is to help the companies we work with find a clear, consistent voice that differentiates them and makes them compelling to customers.
DCP-SC Q: What are you most looking forward to accomplishing over the next year?
iMPR-IM A: 2019 is going to be a pivotal year for iMPR and our clients. We are focusing on implementing new routes to market such as video solutions that will be cost effective and interesting to deploy. With GDPR in effect, we have identified very robust lead-generation solutions that have proven to be extremely effective. Of course, continuing to create and nurture deeper relationships with industry influencers is top of mind; we will be working with more event organizers and associations that help shape the industry as a whole. For instance, Structure Research’s second INFRA \\ Structure event will take place in May 2019. BroadGroup will also be following up on their hugely successful Edge Congress event later in the year. More recently, FISPA has engaged us to help promote their event FISPA Live, set for February 20-22 in Nashville, TN. FISPA Live is an event focused on CLEC’s, emerging and regional network providers and middle-market operators. And finally, ITW 2019 is big too. With the move from Chicago to Atlanta and the event taking place in June, there’s a lot the industry has to look forward to already.
DCP-SC Q: What are you most looking forward to accomplishing at PTC’19?
iMPR-IM A:First, I simply love the opportunity to meet up with our clients in-person, see industry colleagues and friends whom I have known some for over 20-years and get up to speed on the latest and greatest trends as shared in the presentations, topical sessions and among discussions taking place at the evening networking events. PTC is the first major wholesale event of the year and has proven to be core to the ability to innovate and implement solutions that have enabled us to connect the world more efficiently and effectively. It’s a terrific opportunity to get aligned with the industry at the beginning of the year and synch goals with strategies and tactics that will deliver results – not just for the individual companies iMPR serves but for the greater industry as a whole.
