Devon Blaine, founder and owner of The Blaine Group in Beverly Hills

Talks to OPM about her award for publicist of the year, The business of professional public relations, business, promotional and marketing strategy and the Blaine Groups specialty in crisis planning, control, intervention and management.

NOTE: There was one question, on the recording that was asked,but somehow did not get recorded. The question was about women having to work harder to build a business. Devon answered that she did not believe that to be true….. Listen to the audio to hear her full answer.

One of the things I like about what I do is meeting and working with public relations professionals. I have been blessed to work with some big names and many smaller companies.

The other side of that coin is that I have also worked with many companies that call themselves professionals, but only seem to be playing at it. Public relations, I have found, can rarely be faked. They say even a blind squirrel can occasionally find a nut or two, but I have rarely seen a bad PR firm pull off a successful event or project.

What I have seen is that promotion is a tricky game and that you can never be sure that any effort will deliver a result, but you can be assured that no action or a half hearted stab at it will result in failure .

So when I get to work with firms like The Blaine Group, it just makes my day and my life easier. They are professionals that do what they say and say what they do and they work at under-promising and over-delivering, not the other way around.

I believe I have been blessed to know and work with people like Devon and her amazing staff and believe that if you are serious about your product, project, service or business, that you should seriously consider The Blaine Group or a firm that can and will deliver. – JW

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Devon Blaine

A professional communicator, Devon Blaine is the founder, president, and CEO of The Blaine Group, Inc., a total communications agency established in 1975, which was recently named the 24th largest public relations firm in Los Angeles.

She has represented many diverse business, manufacturing, financial and healthcare clients  and several bestselling authors with their publicity needs, both promotional and as a crises intervention and management specialist.

Devon Blaine is experienced in all facets of the communications industry. She has written newspaper and magazine columns, scripted radio and television commercials, served as a production supervisor, strategized political issues and campaigns, developed and implemented investor relations plans, and created communications campaigns for a diverse range of clients.

Besides helping other businesses maximize their success, Blaine has long been active in numerous organizations that aid entrepreneurs, thus earning her reputation as “the entrepreneur’s entrepreneur.”

She is three times a past president of the Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA), a dynamic and diverse group composed of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other money providers, and service providers which exists for the sole purpose of creating win‑win‑win situations amongst its members.

Devon is past president of the California chapter of National Small Business United, a grassroots leadership organization for free enterprise with the mission of improving the climate for  small businesses in the United States.  An elected delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business, she was active in the California delegation since 1978 and served on the Board of Directors of the 1980, 1982, and 1984 California State Conferences on Small Business.  Blaine was appointed as a delegate to the 1986 White House Conference on Small Business by then U.S. Senator Pete Wilson, and elected by her peers to co‑chair the California delegation.

Additionally, she is a past president and a founding board member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and was honored as their Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in 1987.  She is also an active member of the Los Angeles Angeles Mid-Market Professionals, TEAM, PRO, Bruin Professionals, Association of Venture Founders, the Chief Executive Officers’ Clubs, and the Public Relations Society of America.

In 2012 Devon Blaine was named Book Publicist of the Year by Book Publicists of Southern California specifically for the international campaign The Blaine Group waged on behalf of Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust by Ken Scott and Bobby Owsinski, Alfred Music Publishing.

In nine months, Ken Scott has had more than 150 exposures:  interviews, reviews, book signings, speaking engagements, etc., including coverage in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, WGN, ABC, NBC, events at the GRAMMY Museum, The Beatle Fest and more… in short, a wildly intensive and effective campaign.

The Publicist of the Year Award also recognized  the body of work her agency The Blaine Group has implemented through the years including representing four best sellers:  Nice Girls  Do:  And You Can, Too, by Dr. Irene Kassorla; On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors, by J. Patrick Wright; Meg, by Steve Alten; and Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You To Know About, by Kevin Trudeau.

The Blaine Group

Formerly an actress and model, Devon Blaine established The Blaine Group, a Beverly Hills‑based full‑service communications agency specializing in public relations, book public relations, financial public relations, investor relations, crisis management, the development of collateral material, marketing, and advertising in 1975.  Since that time, the agency has expanded dramatically, creating successful communications campaigns for clients in diverse fields.

As a total communications agency, Blaine Group has implemented consumer, trade, and financial public relations; investor relations; and advertising efforts and have provided marketing strategy, based on conducting market research, for a diverse range of companies and organizations. They have also created and managed special events and fundraisers and have directed community relations projects.

In addition, The Blaine Group provides a variety of special communications services to its clients. These include managing crisis situations; conceiving and coordinating seminars and press conferences; event and party planning; developing master plans and collateral materials; proposal, article, letter, and speech writing; conducting surveys; and publishing newsletters and brochures. They both create and implement.

Today their client base encompasses a wide range of businesses and industries with particular emphasis on business-to-business communications, publicly-held companies, technology-based businesses, the medical and healthcare fields, environmental-related firms, consumer products, publishing, fashion and beauty, continuing education, non-profit organizations and trade associations, and the world of show business.

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The Blaine Group, Inc.

A Total Communications Agency
8665 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #301, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
O 310/360-1499 · F 310/360-1498
E-mail:  devon@blainegroupinc.com