In an ever-evolving industry, one of the most interesting shifts is the expansion of PR agencies into the creative process, within the scope of brand communications. We chatted with Caroline Kilgour of Lifelong Crush and Erin Richards of Hype PR on the agencies' successful, collaborative partnership and the work they do together.
How would you describe the functionality of the partnership between an agency and its PR counterpart?
In a world that moves at the speed of culture, the partnership between Lifelong Crush - Canada’s Cultural Beat Agency, and its PR partner, Hype PR has been highly successful for both agencies and their clients.
It all starts with the belief that compelling creative ideas come from anywhere and the best ideas can live on any platform – or across many. Then it takes a collaborative spirit to tackle client business challenges or unearth opportunities that capture the zeitgeist to drive awareness and action.
Back in the day, PR was about protecting a brand and its reputation largely through earned or free media: Press releases, statements, stories and crisis management. What has led to the PR function becoming more creatively oriented?
There was a time when the PR agency took its cues entirely from the creative shop – and in traditional models, no doubt it still does. In those instances, PR is essentially an afterthought “here is the idea, now, get us some press for this”. But in many cases, the idea may not translate from a paid environment to one where third parties (be they journalists, influencers or just WOM) are invested in promoting it, and so the results are not as effective. And sometimes, the ideas have no “PR legs” at all. Which can be frustrating for clients who desire a robust a mix of media or have an appetite for an unconventional approach.
How are you leveraging modern tech and/or social media in client work, and what value does it add to the creative process?
PRs move beyond media relations and into events, social media specialties and of course, influencer marketing, where content is created by a diverse and increasingly specialized groups of content creators. All the knowledge of who to collaborate with and how to navigate the complex world of content creators on various platforms from TikTok, to threads to Instagram, traditionally lives with the PR agency. But the collaborative interagency approach between Lifelong Crush and Hype has further opened the aperture for creative collaboration between the two disciplines, reimaging the world of ‘big ideas’, stunts, and desire for meaningful impact, to foster a new dynamic where holistic digital campaign integration authentically thrives.
What kind of projects does your agency call on a PR counterpart (in-house or external) to get involved in? In what ways have brand communications evolved in light of having a more integrated partnership?
For Lifelong Crush and Hype, the shared focus on leveraging opportune moments and tapping into cultural relevance to create long term consumer relationships with brands has been adopted by clients across industries. And the proof is in the pudding.
For example, when working collaboratively on Dairy Farmers of Ontario, we recognized that consumers responded positively to an owned channel social post referring to the OG milk as ‘milk milk’. We quickly spun this into an entirely reactive campaign, having content creators film themselves asking for ‘milk milk’ at their local drive throughs. The mini campaign over indexed on all collective reach goals and sentiment online was instantly positive, promoting many consumers to originally come out of the woodwork and admit that their coffee just tastes better with real dairy.
For a whole host of reasons – the only way to drive awareness for a nascent brand is to deftly combine PR, advertising and often, design. Of course, money is one reason – when the media mix isn’t all paid, it is much more cost effective. But more importantly it is because PR is an effective way to establish motive – to create the “why” of the brand. And to set the table pre-launch for the new entry. And now, with the power of content creators across multiple disciplines and platforms, to provide a powerful channel for the brand story that meets consumers intimately, wherever they are. So, we have combined forces to develop a product for start-up brands (primarily focused on female and minority led organizations) to provide fully integrated, cost capped, turn-key brand launch services. We call it Venture Creative (VC) with its obvious double entendre. We believe that we can build brands from zero to hero with the robust alchemy of PR, design, social and digital marketing. We launched the product into the Canadian market in early September.
In a powerful, but segmented, media landscape where the possibilities seem endless, we thrive on customizing strategic, innovative strategies that push boundaries for our clients. From innovative brand collabs to the perfect talent partnership, the lines across traditional sectors are blurred, which is why we play on the same team for our clients who are ready to take the reins and dream big.