Bella Watson
Opinion Editor
Kathleen Al-Marhoon is a Public Relations and Corporate Communications Director at Omaha Steaks, a nationally recognized business that offers prime grade steaks, meats and other products to consumers. Al-Marhoon’s career goes far beyond Omaha Steaks, however, as she has served as a Public Relations and Communications Specialist at multiple highly respected institutions in the Omaha area.
Al-Marhoon graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations and Advertising. While at UNO, Al-Marhoon participated in multiple extracurricular activities, including the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and the Golden Key International Honour Society.
After graduating from UNO, Al-Marhoon began working as the Director of Public Relations and Community Giving at Lutheran Family Services, where she worked for over six years. Using the skills that she gathered from PRSSA and her degree, Al-Marhoon began to quickly advance in her career and built an arsenal of experience, including working as a Marketing and Public Relations Manager at Nebraska Children’s Home Society and as the Director of Public Relations at EG Integrated.
In December of 2018, Al-Marhoon began serving as the Head of Public Relations for Bailey Laurerman, which is an independent full-service advertising and public relations agency that serves corporations across the country. Al-Marhoon was responsible for leading the company’s integrated public relations and social practices. She worked on multiple accounts across the company, ensuring clients’ expectations and needs were effectively met.
Omaha Steaks’ primary market has consistently been families and a more mature demographic, such as those over age 30. This is something that Al-Marhoon wanted to change once she entered her position with the company. She noted that the brand had the ability to maintain their current market and the potential to engage with a younger demographic. To do so, Al-Marhoon noted that the company would need to change their current tactics and expand their presence across social media platforms. The brand began to send packages and products to influencers who were popular on sites such as TikTok. These paid partnerships helped put Omaha Steaks on the timelines of younger people.
During the Holiday season of 2020, when the pandemic was still at its peak, many consumers were troubled by shortages, delays and the stress of the holiday season. Suppliers were unable to meet consumer demand in time for the holiday season. To combat this, Omaha Steaks began a PR campaign that promised buyers the timely delivery of their orders, with the promise that if they fed their families Omaha Steaks for the holidays, their meal would be satisfactory.
One of the biggest points stressed by Al-Marhoon during her presentation was the importance of networking and connections. She attributed many of her roles to her ability to connect with those around her, and repeatedly mentioned how networking gave her the ability to be better at her role.
