Eric Pehle – nationally recognized for his work in strategic public relations and crisis communications – is our featured guest in this episode. He started his professional journey in broadcast journalism and transitioned to the PR agency world.
Pehle has been connected to Mall of America before the Mall even opened in 1992. Prior to grand opening he worked with media members from around the world to give them behind the scenes preview tours. At opening more than 2,000 media outlets were present and he was part of the team that needed to manage those hectic first days and weeks.
From stories about grand opening, to the local narrative of ‘doubt’ surrounding the Mall in the early days, to implementing a trend-setting Parental Escort Policy, Pehle shares some of the many lessons learned at Mall of America over the first thirty years.
In this conversation he also discusses the importance of being prepared for crisis, how to work with leadership and outside partners, and how to be authentic in communications efforts. Planning and practice are critical to the process.
When asked for the best advice to give anyone entering the world of public relations or business… learn to write well! It’s a lost artform and the most critical form of communication.
Guest: Eric Pehle, President and Owner, Epic Associates
Hosts: Daniel Jasper, Jill Renslow
Presented by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau the official destination marketing organization for the city of Bloomington, Minn.
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Mall of America for more than 30 years.
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It has been a retail leader in an international destination and it remains the largest mall in the US.
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Not to mention it welcomes millions of guests from around the world.
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It's huge,
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but it's also so much more in this podcast.
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You're going to hear the real stories of how it started and why it continues to thrive.
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You'll hear about challenges we faced along the way and what you can learn from them.
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We will feature guests and experts from all walks of life and business and along the way,
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you'll laugh,
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learn and maybe even change the way you look at things.
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So if you're a fan of the mall,
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a brand new visitor,
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an entrepreneur or a dreamer,
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prepare to dive deep into so much more.
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This podcast is presented by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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Welcome to so much more,
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a Mall of America podcast where we bring guests from all walks of life,
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uh thought leaders,
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industry leaders that come together to have interesting conversations.
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I am joined to my name,
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by the way is Dan Jasper.
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I am a senior vice president,
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Mo A Press here at Mall of America.
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I am joined by my co-host and color commentator Joe Renslow,
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who is our Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer.
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Welcome,
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Joe.
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Thank you,
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Dan.
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Looking forward to the conversation today.
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Yeah,
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me too.
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We have an amazing guest,
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somebody that you and I have worked with for a long time at Mall of America.
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Uh Eric Peel.
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Welcome,
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Eric.
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How are you?
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I'm doing well,
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great to see both of you here today.
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It's good to have you here.
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I'm actually going to read an intro and my apologies for those who are watching on camera because I'm actually reading off my phone.
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I shouldn't have said that in a really small font.
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Uh and I know all of this about Eric,
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but we love having him here.
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He is the president and owner of Epic Associates LLC.
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Uh Eric is a seasoned communications coach and reputation manager with more than 30 years of experience in corporate and crisis communications.
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He's worked across multiple industries,
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helping clients share their stories effectively and protect their reputations during times of trouble.
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Uh Eric launched Epic Associates in 2019 following a long career with a global public relations agency.
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He started his communications career as a television reporter and anchor after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a journalism degree and I happen to know that one of his first assignments was at Mall of America.
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Take us back 31 years,
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Eric Tell us who you were working with and what your role at the beginning of this epic industry was it all started here?
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It,
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it all started here for me.
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Uh So I was,
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I,
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I came out of,
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of the University of Minnesota with a degree in broadcast journalism and I worked as a reporter and I got out of that industry and got into public relations and I was working for a,
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a firm based here in Bloomington,
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Mona Mayer mcgrath and Gavin,
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a longtime pr agency here in town.
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And they had been a partner of,
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of Mall of America.
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And my very first assignment when I started at Mona Mayer mcgrath and Gavin was help open Mall of America.
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I'm like,
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OK,
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so we set the bar really high right away.
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It was like,
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this was my very first assignment and coming in and helping give media tours in those early days before the months before the,
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the mall opened,
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helping you really define what was inside the big box as we were,
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we were calling it and started my career.
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And as I say,
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it really set that,
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that high bar because I looked at at that event and everything we had accomplished in that in the grand opening of Mall of America.
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And I kind of measured everything else against that o over the years.
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And it was,
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it was such an amazing experience,
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such an amazing time,
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a lot of great memories as I think back on,
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on those early days before the doors opened and after they opened and what were some of those best memories from the,
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from the very opening of them?
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All of the chaos?
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I mean,
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I,
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I do,
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I absolutely remember that,
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that very first day and,
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and we had over 2000 journalists in here covering the grand opening of,
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of the mall and we had one of the,
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the national TV networks had their morning shows out here.
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We were stationed at different sections of,
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of the mall and we're running guests between the,
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the various,
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uh the places where all of the,
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the,
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the broadcasts were,
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were happening and it was just a place that was full of excitement,
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of,
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of energy that day.
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Um Just something like you could never,
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uh never imagine.
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Never see again.
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I love it.
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So,
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were you wearing your tux and Tenny or your sequence and sneakers?
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I believe that was the theme for our opening Tux Tuxes and Tenny sequence and s and I remember it well,
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yeah,
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it was,
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um,
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we had a,
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we had a media,
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I think the media party was like the night before the big grand opening party.
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And again,
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it was just,
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it was so cool to just watch people's faces when they walked in when they walked in the doors for the first time,
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whether it was a,
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a journalist,
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whether it was uh a VIP who was here to,
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to be a part of the,
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the party or whether it was just a shopper.
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I mean,
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I just remember seeing the faces and just the amazement on people's faces when they walked in the door and it was fun because,
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I mean,
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I had been in the mall for several weeks,
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months leading up to the opening and,
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and,
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and it was like,
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every time I walked in and every time I would turn a corner and walk down one of the avenues,
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it's that,
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that overwhelming kind of sensation you'd get the visual sensation you'd get.
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And you,
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when you watched people experience that for the first time,
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it was just really cool.
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One of our favorite clips that Dan and I use in some of our presentations visually is the clip from the starch.
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But after the opening day and there is a woman peering through those front windows and to your point,
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I mean,
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it,
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it tells you the whole story.
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It's just this look of awe and amazement of like this is actually happening and they get a chance to experience it.
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And so being able to have that experience that emotion,
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I mean,
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that's something that we talk about all the time that that's what motivates us to do more because it's something very special.
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But there were also a lot of naysayers when we were opening our doors.
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And so what was your position or how did you help us with that perspective?
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What was the whole reason that the mall hired Mona Mayer mcgrath and Gavin was to help tell people the story and to build that excitement for what was coming.
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Because your point,
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there were a ton of naysayers.
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The,
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the downtowns hated the fact that Mall of America was opening out state.
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Minnesota hated the fact that,
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that the mall was opening.
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Everyone said this thing will never succeed.
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It's too big that nobody will ever show up.
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And uh so we were worried about that and we would,
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we'd be reaching out over those,
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those weeks and months ahead of the,
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the opening,
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having those conversations,
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inviting people in and slowly but surely you'd start to see that change in perception when people understood what was being developed here when when people experienced it for the first time.
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And I think that word experience matters and it's,
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it's I think what has set this place apart from any other mall in this country.
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It's,
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it's that experience when you walk in the door,
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the visual experience,
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the,
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the emotional experience,
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the everything about what you experienced when you came in here was different.
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And it was fun to be a part of telling that story and introducing that to people and just seeing them change and,
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and watching them go from being a,
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a advocate,
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somebody who's out there smashing the idea,
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calling it a mega mall.
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Just saying this will never happen to being an advocate to say saying,
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wow,
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this,
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what a great asset for our community.
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And,
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and that was,
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it was a lot of fun to watch.
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You know,
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it's so fun too.
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Is you talk about when people walk in with their eyes wide and,
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and that was not just 30 years ago that happened to me this week.
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I was with a tour group,
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uh,
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a group of seniors from Wisconsin and we watched as a family came in and they were just astounded as they walked into Nickelodeon Universe.
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It's,
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it's brings joy.
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Right.
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And it's part of what makes it special.
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I think it's always,
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you know,
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the little kids are running because they can't,
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they're fast enough and the parents are trying to grab their phones to,
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it's always the same experience but it's so much fun to watch.
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I love it.
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You know,
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uh,
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you've been helping us and been an advocate and a partner,
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a valued partner for,
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uh,
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more than 30 years now to Mall of America.
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I,
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I would love to,
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it's been a great relationship.
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Right.
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It's been really good.
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Um,
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we're gonna get to some of the tricky stuff we've dealt with in the past.
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But,
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but I think,
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uh,
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you know,
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in speaking,
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a lot of different people are following our podcast and listening and watching from different industries can both of you talk a little bit about the value of having a trusted outside partner,
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uh,
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who you can rely on and the value of having a client and what that communication works like.
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And,
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and maybe I'll start with you Eric and then Jill,
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if you chime in.
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Well,
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I,
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I think the,
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I,
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it's very easy when you're on the inside to lose perspective and to not see kind of the big picture.
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And,
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and I think the part of what I've tried to,
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to do over the 30 plus years that I've,
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I've worked with them all is to be able to bring in that outside perspective,
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to be able to say,
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look at things differently.
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Right?
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I mean,
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I,
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I know inside we may feel one way but you've gotta,
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you've gotta have that,
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that relationship with somebody on the outside who's willing to come in and say the tough things sometimes,
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right?
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And to be able to say,
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we have to look at it at it differently.
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And so,
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you know,
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that's true in,
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in any industry that I work in having those,
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those outside voices that help you think critically about the challenges that you're facing,
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the opportunities that are there.
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That's,
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that's been a role that I have.
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Uh I've enjoyed playing.
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It's not always,
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it's not always,
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but it's,
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but it's,
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it's absolutely necessary.
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And I,
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and I think it's critical to the success of,
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of the relationship that you build.
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You have to be able to,
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I have to be able to,
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to know that,
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uh you trust me.
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Right?
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That,
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that regardless of what I say,
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you know,
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you're going to get the,
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the kind of the,
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the advice for me that I think you need to hear.
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And the keyword you said was trust,
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you are a trusted partner that we know you have the history of our property,
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our brand.
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So when we come up against some sort of challenge,
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obstacle crisis,
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um that you are there that,
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you know,
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the history,
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we can inform you of the situation that we're in and know that we have that outside perspective.
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And someone that brings,
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brings best practices from working with other brands of what might be applicable to us in that point in time.
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Granted,
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you,
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you know,
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you have to twist it and make it customized based on the situation that we're in.
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But that trusted relationship that we have always gives me comfort knowing that you're one phone call away and you're,
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you're always willing to drop whatever you're doing.
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Um Even if you're thousands of miles away traveling or if you're in our backyard,
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that you literally will drop everything to come over and having a partner like that has been invaluable to our success,
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which you have done more than once.
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I might add on holidays sometimes on weekends and,
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and I will say any successful business and,
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and I look at Mall of America as,
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as a pinnacle,
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right?
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I think it's just been an amazing success,
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relies on a number of outside partners,
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right.
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So you're one of our key ones,
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but we have a lot of relationships and I think that's a really good lesson for other businesses,
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right?
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Is to build those relationships.
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And the one thing and he alluded to this,
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what Eric was saying is he tells us the truth and sometimes it's hard to hear that it is,
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but it's important to have that outside perspective,
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those partners that you can trust,
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that have been with you along the way and have a fresh perspective,
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know what you've been through,
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but can confront you and challenge you with thinking differently.
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Because sometimes when you're in the inside,
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you get caught in the weeds and sometimes you can't look at that bigger picture sometimes when you're in the moment.
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So having somebody to tell you to just take a step back,
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take a breath,
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let's figure this out together is an important step.
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And that's one of the key things on more than one occasion,
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Eric has told both you and I to do,
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especially during a time of crisis is stop,
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take a breath,
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right?
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Because it's hard you're emotionally involved in this stuff.
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I wanna talk about one of those early,
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early in our history.
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We,
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we were running into an issue that you and your,
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your team helped us navigate from a communications perspective was uh early on,
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we had problems with large groups of kids that were gathering in the mall and,
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and uh many of them were good kids,
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but it was intimidating.
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Some of them caused havoc.
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And so we created a new program and I know that you and your team helps us navigate those waters,
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talk us through that process a little bit.
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Imagine that kids coming to the mall.
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Exactly.
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In the nineties.
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That was,
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um that was AAA challenge that I don't think any of us really saw on the horizon.
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Right?
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And,
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but it was an issue that the mall became an incredibly popular place and almost um to the point where there were just almost too many kids in the mall,
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unsupervised.
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And you know,
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that was,
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that was a challenge in suburban malls all over the place.
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People saw it as a babysitting service.
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You just go,
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you drop your kids off,
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you know that they'll be safe,
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let them walk around for a few hours and you come back and you pick them up.
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Well,
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when you've got a place that is as big and as inviting as Mall of America and as family friendly as Mall of America,
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those two issues sort of clashed and you saw it happening here,
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but you also saw it happening other places across the country as the mall.
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And as the leadership looked at it,
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we started to say what are others doing?
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And we started to do some research into it and looked around and we said it was,
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I think it was in North Carolina.
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There was one mall that had started to look at this idea of putting some limitations on when kids could come in.
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And so we explored it a little bit further and we started reaching out to the community and creating some of those partnerships.
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But for a policy was developed and we said,
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you know,
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how do we think about this critically in a way that serves the community,
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helps the kids but also protects the business.
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And out of that,
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the parental escort policy was,
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was developed and again done in partnership with the community to say,
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how do we get this?
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Right?
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How do we do it in a way that is effective for everyone in involved?
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And it was a model and it became a,
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a huge model for success.
00:15:01
Again.
00:15:02
Uh You know,
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I I think about the grand opening and all the attention we received on grand opening,
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we got that same level of attention when we,
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when we launched criminal escort policy and it wasn't as positive obviously as the first go around,
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right?
00:15:16
I mean,
00:15:16
it was what the heck is the mall doing,
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but it was an important step.
00:15:20
And,
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and again,
00:15:21
I think being able to do that with the community by your side,
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building those relationships early.
00:15:27
And again,
00:15:27
one of the things that I've always been impressed about them all is your willingness to,
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to be early in that outreach to,
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to understand where those partnerships need to be where those relationships need to be to reach out before there's a problem to say,
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let's talk about this,
00:15:47
let's work on this together and then move forward.
00:15:50
And I think what's key is so many people think of technology leading innovation.
00:15:54
But this is a great example of innovation,
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of being a leader,
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taking a risk,
00:15:59
trying something new and really reshaping how people use the property and our parental escort policy still lives on today.
00:16:06
Um You know,
00:16:06
we've made adjustments to it based on different times of the year or whatever it needs to be,
00:16:11
but it's about making sure that there's a parental um a responsible adult that is with underage kids at a certain time of day.
00:16:19
And it's,
00:16:19
it's helped us a lot deliver a better guest experience for our overall guests.
00:16:24
Um but it is modeled now across the country and around the world.
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And we took that step early on and people as as many challenges we received with that people have now embraced it and recognized the benefits of it and now have rolled it out in other properties.
00:16:38
One thing I'm so proud of uh since my time here and I've been here 18 years,
00:16:42
is that any time another property reached out to us about our parental escort policy,
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we willingly shared every detail with them and we've helped coach many,
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many businesses on how you do this and how you get the community involved.
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And I and that makes me proud that Mall of America does that,
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that's the responsibility of being a leader,
00:17:02
right?
00:17:03
People look to you to figure out how to get things done and they have for more than 30 years again,
00:17:09
you think about uh retail entertainment and or just that destination attraction,
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the Mall of America was the model for all of that,
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right?
00:17:20
And,
00:17:20
and you have served in that leadership role from day one.
00:17:23
How do you deal with large crowds that are coming in?
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How do you create these kinds of inviting and uh atmospheres for,
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for families?
00:17:32
And,
00:17:32
and I think the Mall has never shied away from that leadership position to say sometimes again,
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we have to be make some tough decisions,
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right?
00:17:42
But we serve a purpose.
00:17:43
We,
00:17:43
you know,
00:17:44
we,
00:17:44
we are,
00:17:44
we are helping the industry,
00:17:46
we're moving the industry forward and you've always been willing to step up to the plate on that,
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which is I,
00:17:51
yeah,
00:17:52
I love that tradition and that,
00:17:53
that mentality that we have,
00:17:55
that's our personality.
00:17:56
Um You know,
00:17:58
it's,
00:17:58
it's no surprise to anyone that our country has had some real challenges the last few years with,
00:18:06
with crime and other issues,
00:18:07
right?
00:18:08
And Minnesota and Mall of America are not immune to that either,
00:18:12
right?
00:18:12
So can I'd love to hear from both of you both from the business perspective as well as the communications expert perspective?
00:18:20
What's the importance of having a plan in place having a strategy in place.
00:18:23
How do you navigate those waters?
00:18:26
Whether you operate a small business or you operate a,
00:18:29
a gigantic business.
00:18:31
How do you navigate these waters of some challenging issues?
00:18:37
Yeah,
00:18:37
Eric Joe,
00:18:40
you're real subtle.
00:18:41
Like you,
00:18:41
you take this one.
00:18:44
Well,
00:18:45
the,
00:18:45
the the part about having a plan in place is,
00:18:48
is absolutely critical,
00:18:50
right?
00:18:50
You can't walk into these types of situations.
00:18:54
You can't,
00:18:54
again,
00:18:55
you cannot be a leader without having a point of view.
00:18:58
And I think again,
00:18:59
what is,
00:19:00
is I think back over the 30 plus years of working with them all,
00:19:05
there's been guiding principles in place for how you operate as a business,
00:19:10
being a partner to the community,
00:19:13
putting the,
00:19:14
the,
00:19:14
the,
00:19:14
the safety of your,
00:19:16
your guests,
00:19:16
your tenants,
00:19:17
your your employees,
00:19:19
first and foremost,
00:19:20
things like that,
00:19:22
having those sorts of guiding principles that drive you as a business that help you make business decisions,
00:19:28
make it a lot easier when things are going south,
00:19:32
right?
00:19:32
So it's a road map,
00:19:33
it,
00:19:33
it's a road map for how you as a business need to need to operate.
00:19:37
And that's true again,
00:19:38
for,
00:19:38
for any sort of,
00:19:39
of,
00:19:40
of an organization.
00:19:41
And so,
00:19:42
and then,
00:19:43
but furthering that it's like you have those principles,
00:19:46
but then you have those relationships as well,
00:19:48
right?
00:19:48
So a as we think about again,
00:19:51
Mall of America is a microcosm of what happens in,
00:19:54
in this state,
00:19:56
in this country.
00:19:57
Um,
00:19:58
crime is a reality,
00:19:59
bad things happen and,
00:20:01
and bad things happen to good companies and bad things happen to good people.
00:20:04
It's how you,
00:20:05
how you respond.
00:20:06
But having those relationships that help you when that happens,
00:20:10
working as closely as the mall has over the years with,
00:20:13
with Bloomington police working with,
00:20:15
with other community organizations has allowed you,
00:20:19
I think to get out in front of those issues and address them from an authentic position.
00:20:25
And so you're not on your,
00:20:26
you're not on your back heels.
00:20:28
When something like that happens,
00:20:30
you're able to,
00:20:30
to lean in on those relationships and you have,
00:20:34
you've built that sort of that bank of,
00:20:37
of goodwill with those partners with the communities because of,
00:20:43
of those ongoing actions that,
00:20:45
that you've taken over the years.
00:20:47
And so that,
00:20:48
that's,
00:20:48
again,
00:20:48
that's,
00:20:49
that's,
00:20:49
that's part of a,
00:20:50
a purposeful approach to how you have to deal with,
00:20:54
with the realities that you're going to face as an organization.
00:20:57
I feel like we're always dealing with pieces.
00:20:59
And so a plan is absolutely critical because you need to get whatever you can control,
00:21:05
you plan that and have that set because there is always gonna be something that pops up that you can't control that,
00:21:10
then you have the bandwidth to address.
00:21:12
But if you don't have that plan for those control elements,
00:21:16
um it's gonna put you in a tough situation and we do that every day with the hundreds of events that we have here,
00:21:20
you plan as much as you possibly can because different things are gonna happen that you have to adjust to.
00:21:24
So especially in a crisis situation,
00:21:27
we have various things that we can project or predict and you get as much as you.
00:21:31
But there's so many different elements that you can shift from one plan to the other.
00:21:35
But if you have some of that in place and we're always debriefing after situations or after events so that we learn from them and we plan to do things and we always learn something and we're stronger in the future.
00:21:45
And I think one thing that I wanted to bring up that we learned from Eric and from the communications um efforts is that,
00:21:51
you know,
00:21:52
especially in a time of crisis and with you're looking at communication and especially on social media channels,
00:21:58
a lot of times it's really hard to be quiet and to step back because you are passionate about your brand,
00:22:03
you wanna protect it.
00:22:04
You have a lot of,
00:22:05
you know,
00:22:05
equity built into what you've established.
00:22:08
But it's hard sometimes and you've told us this,
00:22:10
you have to just step back,
00:22:12
you have to let your brand ambassadors step in for you and let the conversation actually flow.
00:22:18
Um And let it be organic and it most of the time just flushes itself out.
00:22:22
Sometimes if you insert yourself at the wrong time,
00:22:24
the wrong place you actually make it worse.
00:22:26
And so learning that because it's really hard coming from the brand perspective to not step in,
00:22:31
to protect.
00:22:31
Um,
00:22:32
it's like your baby and you want your kids,
00:22:34
you wanna protect them.
00:22:35
Um,
00:22:35
so our team has learned that and that guidance has saved us,
00:22:39
I think many times of just stepping in the wrong space.
00:22:42
Yeah,
00:22:43
it's,
00:22:43
it's,
00:22:44
um,
00:22:44
it's the hardest thing to do I think to,
00:22:47
to,
00:22:47
to be able to step back and to put your trust in someone else that they will have that same level of care for the brand that you bring to the,
00:22:59
to the.
00:22:59
But again,
00:23:00
that's the relationship that you have spent years and years nurturing and being able to step back and put the trust in that.
00:23:09
So another piece of advice for,
00:23:12
for business owners,
00:23:13
entrepreneurs,
00:23:13
others who may be listening or watching too.
00:23:16
Something I remember we were in the midst of a,
00:23:18
of a challenging issue.
00:23:19
At one point,
00:23:20
this was probably 89,
00:23:21
10 years ago and I was deep into it and I remember we were on the phone,
00:23:26
Eric and at one point I had gone down this rabbit hole of reading everybody's comments on lines and you gave me the advice that stop reading the comments.
00:23:38
It's not helping.
00:23:40
It's hard because we own it right.
00:23:42
Um But it was good advice because I turned off my computer and went,
00:23:45
OK,
00:23:46
I'm gonna be,
00:23:47
I'm gonna take this easy now.
00:23:49
Um II,
00:23:50
I love that advice.
00:23:52
Um The other thing that you've helped us over the years do is you talked about us being prepared.
00:23:56
We practice lockdown,
00:23:58
we do a lot of things,
00:23:59
but you helped us prepare in other ways from a coms perspective.
00:24:03
Um Having,
00:24:04
um,
00:24:04
statements prepared,
00:24:06
having everyone's role ready to go,
00:24:09
right?
00:24:09
Who's gonna,
00:24:10
who's gonna answer to the reporters,
00:24:11
who's going to log the calls,
00:24:13
who's going to be the primary spokesperson,
00:24:15
which is often Jill in these cases.
00:24:17
Uh And you helped us put this ecosystem in place and now when we do have,
00:24:21
whether it's a positive crisis because there are very positive crisis or one that's a little more uh hitting at your heart.
00:24:28
Um We have a team in place and we actually,
00:24:31
we have a location in the mall where we gather the operations center where we handle all of this talk really briefly about that,
00:24:37
Jill about how we're prepared for that.
00:24:39
Yeah,
00:24:39
I think again,
00:24:40
it's talking about putting that plan in place and making sure that individuals know where they can step in in the time of need because a lot of times it has to happen like clock work and you don't have that time to then assign everybody just knows where they need to go.
00:24:54
So our operations team knows their role and responsibility.
00:24:57
Our coms team knows where we need to go and if we need that external help we're reaching out to the resources needed.
00:25:02
But um you know,
00:25:03
one thing that going through media training with Eric and it was invaluable to be able to have the expertise of Eric to help guide us on how to handle those media conversations.
00:25:12
And one thing that always uh that I remember as we prepare for different interviews,
00:25:17
no matter what the topic is,
00:25:19
is,
00:25:19
I'd always get overwhelmed with trying to get everything in there.
00:25:21
You know,
00:25:21
you want to be able to answer,
00:25:22
get all your talking points.
00:25:24
But the key was just what are those top three things that you want to get across in your message and organizing it in that way?
00:25:29
So you weren't overwhelmed and being able to integrate those um those points that are important to you and through the questions that the reporters give you.
00:25:38
So it was always just simplifying because sometimes you just make things more complicated than they need to be.
00:25:43
And having that voice of reason is always very helpful.
00:25:46
Yes,
00:25:47
speed matters in,
00:25:48
in a crisis.
00:25:50
And,
00:25:50
and now more so than ever before when the mall first opened in those first few years.
00:25:55
If something out of the ordinary happened,
00:25:59
we had time,
00:26:00
we had what was called a news cycle.
00:26:02
Back in those days,
00:26:03
we had time to prepare,
00:26:04
think about what our response should be.
00:26:06
Get the right spokesperson out there craft message in such a way that was reassuring to all of the audiences we were trying to reach,
00:26:15
right.
00:26:15
You don't have that,
00:26:16
that luxury of time anymore.
00:26:19
The world operates so quickly and there's this in this need for instant gratification,
00:26:25
instant um you know,
00:26:28
access to information.
00:26:29
We all expect it if something bad happens.
00:26:33
What's the first thing we all do?
00:26:34
We go to our phone and we google it right.
00:26:37
And we try,
00:26:38
we expect to see something,
00:26:39
brands have to be prepared to respond in this new world of,
00:26:44
I've got to get something out there quickly.
00:26:45
I've got to get something out there immediately.
00:26:47
And that's the beauty of the plan you've put together is that it allows you to respond quickly on the values,
00:26:54
the values that matter to you as an organization.
00:26:56
That's what,
00:26:57
that's what you have built into the,
00:26:59
the plan and the response efforts and that instant need to respond is hard because you want to jump in and you,
00:27:08
but you do have to take that step back and make sure that you're being factual that you get all your pieces together.
00:27:13
Your point when we're working with the Bloomington Police Department or we're working with the city or we're working with other partners.
00:27:18
We need to make sure that we're all on the same page.
00:27:20
So we want to make sure that we're getting the right information out.
00:27:23
So we move as quickly as possible,
00:27:25
but responsibly and I think that that's important.
00:27:28
Yeah,
00:27:28
I,
00:27:28
I agree we're,
00:27:29
we're getting near the end of our time.
00:27:31
I can't believe how quickly this has gone Eric for,
00:27:34
for somebody who's coming out of college or somebody who is maybe transitioning into a communications field.
00:27:39
What word of advice would you give for them?
00:27:41
Be a better writer.
00:27:43
Yes.
00:27:44
Writing and editing.
00:27:45
So you can't use chat GP.
00:27:46
T,
00:27:47
are you saying?
00:27:48
Well,
00:27:48
and,
00:27:49
and I,
00:27:49
and I always tell this to people too is I think I'm a really strong writer and then I give something I've written to Eric Peel and he comes back with it,
00:27:56
edited and I go ding it.
00:27:59
I think that he's so good writing is a lost art and,
00:28:03
and it's,
00:28:03
it's the foundation for all of our communication,
00:28:06
right?
00:28:06
And so I,
00:28:07
I think again,
00:28:08
just the,
00:28:09
the casualization of our language that has happened through texting and emails and uh it just,
00:28:16
it drives me nuts,
00:28:17
right?
00:28:17
So the,
00:28:18
the,
00:28:18
the biggest piece of advice work on your communication skills be a better writer.
00:28:22
I agree.
00:28:23
Uh Let's just end with a couple of really fun questions.
00:28:26
You don't know these are coming.
00:28:27
So,
00:28:28
and do you want to answer them too or should we just have?
00:28:31
Yes.
00:28:31
OK.
00:28:31
So they're all gonna be mall related.
00:28:33
Your favorite mall?
00:28:34
Memory quick chasing Michael Jackson through the mall with Maureen Bausch.
00:28:38
Oh,
00:28:38
I wanna hear that one some more.
00:28:41
That will be another episode.
00:28:42
I'm gonna give my couple of seconds to finish that story,
00:28:44
you gotta tell us about.
00:28:48
So did you catch him?
00:28:51
No,
00:28:51
he got out of the mall before we,
00:28:54
we,
00:28:54
we had,
00:28:55
we had a,
00:28:55
a report that Michael Jackson was in the mall.
00:28:57
He was here in the town for a,
00:28:58
for a concert.
00:28:59
We found him on one of the security cameras.
00:29:02
We located him and he was up in the park on one of the amusement park rides and,
00:29:06
and we ran up to the mall trying to,
00:29:08
trying to find him.
00:29:09
He had a mask on his face.
00:29:11
And back in those in those days,
00:29:13
masks on your face were in public were,
00:29:16
were not common.
00:29:17
And uh so we were,
00:29:19
we were trying to,
00:29:20
trying to track him down,
00:29:21
but we uh we were unsuccessful in getting there before he,
00:29:24
his people hurried him out of.
00:29:26
Oh my gosh.
00:29:26
I love that.
00:29:27
That's a fun story.
00:29:28
I love that.
00:29:29
What,
00:29:30
what,
00:29:30
what's one of your favorite quotes?
00:29:31
I've had so many.
00:29:32
Um One of my favorites is the opening of Nickelodeon Universe.
00:29:35
And you helped us with that transition from Camp Snoopy,
00:29:38
which was a beloved brand here in,
00:29:40
you know,
00:29:41
Saint Paul in Minnesota in transition to Nickelodeon.
00:29:43
But understand the,
00:29:44
the embrace that we received from our fans and a new brand for 15 years now with Nickelodeon,
00:29:50
which is crazy.
00:29:50
But the opening of that brought us a lot of joy and excitement.
00:29:54
Another great example of just how the mall continually reinvents itself.
00:29:58
And that's just again,
00:29:59
what keeps this place fresh and exciting?
00:30:02
And that's a good,
00:30:03
good lesson for other businesses as well.
00:30:05
Stay fresh,
00:30:06
re invent yourself.
00:30:06
Think outside the box,
00:30:07
afraid to change,
00:30:09
don't be afraid.
00:30:09
I love it.
00:30:10
Uh,
00:30:11
and we're gonna stop the quizzes with that if that's all right,
00:30:14
Eric.
00:30:14
Uh,
00:30:14
Jill,
00:30:15
first of all,
00:30:15
thank you.
00:30:15
This has been a great conversation but to our special guest and a good friend of them all,
00:30:19
Eric Peel.
00:30:20
Thank you so much for joining us.
00:30:21
We appreciate it so much pleasure and thanks for the partnership over the years.
00:30:25
It's been a blast.
00:30:26
Thank you for tuning into today's episode of so much more.
00:30:30
If you want to hear more,
00:30:31
be sure to subscribe to our podcast wherever you find your favorites,
00:30:34
including Spotify Apple or Google podcast.
00:30:38
And you can also watch a video cast youtube,
00:30:40
go to podcast dot mall of America dot com to leave a review,
00:30:44
ask a question or give us an idea for the show until next time.
00:30:48
Thanks for listening.
00:30:50
So much more is presented by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau,
00:30:54
the official Destination Marketing Organization for the City of Bloomington,
00:30:57
Minnesota.
00:30:58
Before your next trip to Mall of America,
00:31:01
visit Bloomington MN dot org for answers to all your travel questions,
00:31:05
deals and packages for hotel stays and so much more
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