Antenna Group Reviews

Pros

PR wasn’t even on my career radar until I came across Antenna. I liked the emphasis on the mission: promoting green, clean, sustainable technology. That turned out to be authentic.

Also, Melody was willing to take a chance on someone without a PR degree. I was able to gain great experience in technology-based buiness

The pace was fast and the work was stimulating. The culture was friendly.

 The client companies (some of them new-ish tech innovators) could be pretty
unpredictable . (Except they always wanted more than they were paying for: that part was predictable). My managers did try to shield me from the craziness. Melody actually dropped a client (you could say, "fired'"them) when a key manger there was mean to me. He apologized.
We went on to do award-winning work for that client. The person even showed up again later at another company , and hired us again. Looks like toughness won respect.

I occasionally worked late but it wasn’t an expectation, just a matter of
pride in doing a good job.

On the whole, my time at Antenna was a rich phase of my life and a great
foundation for my career, which is thriving. I'm grateful for the
opportunity. I consider the partners to be my friends
for life.

Cons

Now that I’m no longer at an agency I can see how much calmer life is on
this side. Some clients don't treat agencies as well as they deserve. It’s a
tough way to make a living unless you crave the variety and intellectual
stimulation. But it’s an incredible education and, unlike grad school, they
pay you.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep being quirky and creative; keep hiring people with an unorthodox range of background. Don't get conventional and start insisting on PR degrees

Also, stick with the green, values-based approach. It might be tough in the recession, but it will be a winner.

Pros

Cleantech is awesome. All our clients are trying to make the world a better place (while making money, of course).

Cons

Be prepared to be fired rather than trained to do a better job.

Advice to Senior Management

No words!

The legend of Melody Haller is just hearsay now. Most of us here started after Beckerman PR took over. Now the legend is notorious Beckerman CEO Keith Zakheim who is infamous for his email rant to his own New Jersey office -- and even us on the West Coast -- that he wanted to fire the person who left only a drop of milk left in the shared carton. All we know is they fire anyone and everyone at will. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Pros

Clean tech is a solid industry with the financial, political and regulatory backing to make it a stable career sector; learn what you can at Antenna via diverse client work and move on.

Cons

The new owners, Beckerman, are New Jersey at its worst. "Leadership" is focused solely on new business. Internal communications are poor to non-existent, and the younger staff are burnt out. The only way to get a promotion or pay increase is to threaten to quit. Overall lack of professional maturity and interest in personnel management.

Advice to Senior Management

Grow up. Be mindful of your human assets. Stop throwing spaghetti at the wall when it come to new business development. Talk to the staff. Don't swear at them. Don't criticize them in front of others. Work intelligently with clients but stop kissing their asses. Better manage their expectations.

Pros

Working at Antenna gave me the opportunity to learn more about my
communications craft and apply it to work that I truly care about. The
company¹s dedication to evangelizing clean technologies brings a sense of
purpose that makes you want to do your best work. The education gained at
Antenna is a great foundation for the rest of my career. I was sad to leave
but my personal life required it. I¹d probably be working there today if I
still lived in the SF Bay Area.

Cons

Part of why everyone there is so smart, hard working and friendly is that
the culture has a low tolerance for people who aren¹t. If you can¹t take
initiative, carry your own weight on teams and speak up with questions, you
won¹t last long at Antenna.
--

Advice to Senior Management

Hold on to your people, you train them well but end up losing them to larger companies that pay them more to think less.

Pros

You work with smart, talented, and motivated people. You work for interesting up and coming businesses making the world a better place. You learn every day.

Cons

Staff rarely has relevant training, so people are learning as they go and therefore make a lot of mistakes. Management is overworked and often neglects current clients.

Advice to Senior Management

Spend more time devoted to current clients and training employees - not just about PR (though thats important), but teaching people how to lead other people and how to follow adeptly. Maintain a more rigid boundary between personal and professional life.

Pros

If you're looking for a corporate PR experience, we probably won't get along with you too well at Antenna Group, but that's one of the aspects I like most. There's not a lot of hand holding; instead there's a great deal of trust in the employees' intelligence and capabilities. You often get the feeling that management is a collaborative experience, and while that is not the best environment for all, it is compelling for those who are motivated and engaged.

We're also pretty picky about what companies and technologies we work with. For the most part, employees are excited and motivated to support the companies we represent and are proud of their accomplishments. I am very pleased that we work with brilliant technologists that are making significant changes to our environment, no greenwashing business here.

Cons

The turnover at Antenna has been a hard thing to deal with. I suppose its common both for PR and a symptom of the recession, but the firm should definitely work more strongly on employee retention measures.

Advice to Senior Management

Some employees benefit from transparency of practices, but not all. Management should be more weary of when and how is a suitable time to involve teams.

Pros

Antenna is the leader in renewable energy PR, which is an industry that is fast-paced and never boring. The very flexible and low-key atmosphere as well as an extremely competent and intelligent staff make Antenna ideal for someone who does not fit the boring mold of many other jobs. You will be given a lot of responsibility early-on if people trust you, but you can always ask for help from Sr. management, which they give freely if not swamped themselves.

Cons

Unpredictable activities (meetings that you find out about the day before and last minute things to prepare for etc.)

Advice to Senior Management

A little more organized structure to how things are done, but overall great leadership.

Pros

There is limitless room for growth within Antenna. Management is responsive and willing to guide new, young (often fresh out of college) employees. The office is relaxed but professional with free yoga and pilates classes in the building three days a week. Also, the focus on cleantech is great, the client list is phenomenal. Great dental and health benefits and 401k matching plan.

Cons

There is no vision insurance offered through the company which is a bummer for those of us who don't have perfect 20/20 vision.

Advice to Senior Management

It would be helpful if the management team would reinforce internal company procedures, even if it does seem to be tedious.

Pros

Really Smart people with souls and consciences. Compelling clientele and practice. Genuine effort to inform and share knowledge by principals. Relaxed office. Open door policy. Familial spirit. Non profit like atmosphere.

Cons

High turnover - which while good for those willing to stick it out, could be key for advancement - speaks more to the downsides and results in gaps in how Antenna does business. Not a ton of senior folks around. The turnover kills consistency and momentum. Unfortunate favoritism in the office - some folks are definitely valued/favored over others. Melody is brilliant, but can be frustrating to work with.

Advice to Senior Management

Work at keeping your employees.

Pros

Lots of opportunities for growth and personal development. Easy, informal company structure with under 20 employees in the only SF office. Ease of communicating with management about a variety of issues. Great place to start your PR career, as you'll get many more opportunities than you would have gotten at other PR agencies and will be able to quickly climb up the ranks.

Cons

Lower salaries, smaller office environment leads to more intense personality juxtapositions. Management takes it very personally when employees leave, making the last weeks very unpleasant/unprofessional. In 2006-2007 one particularly bad manager was the cause of numerous people leaving - this has since been rectified, so no need to worry.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to employees' complaints about bad managers to avoid mass exodus. Don't take people leaving so personally - these are often professional or monetary decisions.