Senior Vice President, Head of Integrated Earned Media

Bill Smith

New York, NY

Bill C. Smith is a Senior Vice President and Head of Integrated Earned Media at Bliss. He works with clients across industries to secure impactful media coverage in top-tier, trade, and regional media publications. His team uses an integrated approach to media that focuses on established and deep media relationships, analytics, and considerations for how earned media fits into paid, owned, and shared channels.   

Prior to Bliss, Bill was a Group Vice President in the Financial and Professional Services Practice at a midsize independent agency, leading strategy for some of the firm’s largest and longest-tenured clients, including Russell Reynolds Associates, Mercer, Kearney, and Debtwire. 

In 2015, Bill received the PR News’ Rising PR Stars 30 & Under Award. He is a regular contributor to Talking Biz News, an industry blog focused on business journalism news. Bill volunteers with Rising Leaders, a nonprofit mentorship organization co-founded by U.S. Representative Mondaire Jones.  

Bill graduated cum laude from Cornell University with a major in Communication and a minor in Africana Studies. He is a Mets fan, an Eagle Scout, and a resident of Brooklyn. 

Q & A

All of my clients are great.

Curiosity and asking questions that demonstrate that they’re thinking through different potential outcomes. Especially when it comes to media strategy.

Watching the NY Mets and listening to their broadcast booth (Gary, Keith & Ron), visiting my nephew and niece, and reading anything by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie or Junot Díaz.

A supervisor at my first gig in PR (who was also a former NYT reporter) was explaining what a successful pitch looks like. His feedback was along the lines of “Your pitch is too long and too boring. Keep it short.” I think this holds for most written material.