Image by Brandon Conboy
When BB Bickel was 8 years old, she established a neighborhood newspaper called The Daily Blab—and while it was an adorable examination of items like the neighbor’s newest garden addition, it was also a discovery of her love for communicating information.
Today, BB writes marketing content from her sunny Florida home as a storyteller for 2A. Her ability to write about anything for anyone stems from a longtime career as a PR professional, which began with her position at a leading global PR agency, where she became a senior vice president.
Eventually, she left agency life to practice as a communications solopreneur, serving clients like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Sun Microsystems.
“Every project I took on was brand new, and I’d have to learn about a lot of topics. Clients would ask, ‘Can you write about non-small cell lung carcinoma? Can you write about liquid regasification?’ Sure!” she said.
Not only does BB have a talent for learning about any topic enough to write about it, but she also helps clients consider a different approach when it makes sense. One client was interested in producing thought leadership content and had recruited BB to write whitepapers.
“But they weren’t whitepapers. So, I said, let’s publish a set of vision papers—a term I had coined—because that’s really what they were,” BB said. The client loved it, and so did the client’s audience.
BB relays her enthusiasm for storytelling to any tale, even if the topic is on the dry side. Once, she had to interview a librarian about the software that ensured a university library’s printers were full of paper.
“Boring, right?” BB said. “But this was a really exciting topic for the librarian, and for the people who were going to read it, and I was able to bring that through in my writing.”
As a discerning communications professional, BB knows a good thing when she sees it, which is why she came to 2A. While running a freelance practice was a great experience, she is happy to work with a team again and learn about the newest developments in technology.
Her personal interests are as varied as her industry knowledge. She’s a cook, an avid reader, and a coffee aficionado who drinks black coffee with every meal. And she puts as much effort into exercising as she does into her presentation.
“I have to admit, I own 76 makeup brushes,” she laughs. “In another life, I would have been a makeup artist.”