Blue Skies Marketing & Public Relations Staffing Solutions Rides the Outsourcing Trend to Success.

LAFAYETTE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 1999--

Blue Skies Marketing & Public Relations Staffing Solutions, the Bay Area's premier source for marketing and public relations consultants, celebrates two years of business with new project wins from clients such as Russell-Welsh Public Relations, Kaiser Permanente Information Technology Group, and Dreyer's and Edy's Grand Ice Cream.

"Blue Skies is filling a niche in the public relations marketplace like no one has before," said Paul Von Beroldingen, president-elect of the San Francisco Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and a Blue Skies consultant. "Many smart people have tried and failed, but the Blue Skies screening process is making this placement service a true success."

Blue Skies is the only firm that conducts a rigorous screening process designed to attract and hire the highest-caliber personnel, which includes recruiting, extensive reference checks, personal interviews and marketing communication examinations. All Blue Skies consultants, whether their experience spans five years or three decades, are required to successfully complete the screening process before being invited to join the network.

"There is no learning curve when a Blue Skies consultant begins a new client project," said Rhonda E. Silva, vice president of Blue Skies and a San Francisco PRSA board member. "I've been in the Bay Area marketing communications industry for 17 years, as both a consultant and a client. Because I've worn both pairs of shoes, I have a unique perspective that enables me to make the best possible match for our clients from our network of 60 consultants."

Blue Skies is also benefiting from national labor trends that point to explosive growth for public relations, self-employment and telecommuting. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the public relations industry will grow by 60 percent, or 1,400,000 new jobs, between 1996 and 2005.

Additionally, by 2005, more than 18 million U.S. workers will telecommute. Compare this figure to the current 8.2 million U.S. telecommuters, half of whom are self-employed, and the opportunities for temporary and permanent placement agencies appear to be unlimited.

"Clearly, we are in the right place at the right time," said Silva.

Barbara Hagin, executive vice president and general manager of the South San Francisco office of Technology Solutions Inc. (TSI), is a Blue Skies client who agrees with Silva. "When our growing agency couldn't find the right candidates to fill new positions, TSI turned to Blue Skies. We've since relied on Blue Skies to help us ramp up on new accounts as we seek permanent staffers. We continue to be impressed by the quality, skills and professionalism of Blue Skies' consultants," she said.

This year, Blue Skies completed projects for Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, EDS Systems Integration, J. Stokes & Associates Advertising and Healtheon Corp., as well as numerous high-tech public relations campaigns for agencies located throughout Northern California. The firm will be expanding to New York and Los Angeles this fall.

Blue Skies Marketing & Public Relations Staffing Solutions, with headquarters in Lafayette, provides staffing and consultation to corporations and public relations, advertising and marketing communications agencies. For more information, contact Rhonda E. Silva, vice president, or Sam Prosperi, account coordinator of Blue Skies, at 925/299-1175, or visit www.blueskiesmarcom.com.