More and more marketers are spending after 2020’s pullback, and many PR firms are bouncing back in lock step.
The group of 20 PR firms on this year’s Business Journal ranking of the largest agencies here collectively reported 322 full-time employees in the county, which is up 14.2% from a year earlier. Ten have increased their workforce, two reported a decline, seven were flat and one declined to report.
Orange-based Westbound Communications Partner Linda Shipkey Martin noted more projects placed on hold in 2020 are now resuming, and the company is seeing more activity from government agencies with the work ranging from COVID outreach to digital and corporate communications.
“The first five months of 2021 have been incredibly busy,” Martin said. “Especially with requests for proposals for new projects.”
Pivoting With Clients
New approaches were born out of last year’s challenges.
“When the state first shut everything down last March, I’m not going to lie, it was near instant panic for everyone, especially in the food and hospitality sphere,” said Kat Nguyen-DeAngelis, the founder and head of Irvine independent agency FWD PR.
Nguyen, a former Orange County Register reporter who has served as PR manager at South Coast Plaza and managed press for the Irvine Co.’s retail portfolio, said many clients paused worked almost immediately at the start of the pandemic.
Nguyen-DeAngelis continued pitching client stories about business pivots or provided help with social media. Her husband, who had been assisting with administrative tasks, also began doing more with client relations and shooting content for clients.
Work began coming back about a month into the pandemic, along with new clients for FWD.
“Where we are now compared to last year, we have nearly doubled our client roster and it’s going to be a really busy year and I am going to need to hire help soon,” Nguyen-DeAngelis said. “But we’re so grateful for our clients and we feel hopeful about the future and that all of our clients can rebound and recover.
Other agencies also swiftly adapted to last year’s operating environment.
“A few months into the shutdown, we began to really counsel our clients on how to shift and pivot messaging and secure press in a crowded space,” noted Bastion Elevate CEO Shana Starr. “We are the type of agency that really drives the program and process. With COVID, we were able to see how communications leads all other marketing initiatives. And, to be a modern agency providing the most up-to-date service, we started adding in social listening, community management and SEO strategies for all of our content, and it made us a much better agency for our clients and future clients. This emphasis in looking at how PR impacts brands and bottom lines have been well received by clients.”
Now Hiring
When the pandemic hit, Starr said business was lost from restaurant industry franchisees, but the firm still retained all of its staff and picked up new accounts. The result is the company’s Newport Beach office since COVID has increased to 15 people, with another two in Los Angeles. September saw the opening of a Boston office to service the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Bastion, notably, reported the largest percentage increase in its OC headcount, up 62.5% to 13 in April, compared to the year-ago period. The newcomer to the list is now ranked No. 7 in Orange County.
Meanwhile, The Brand Amp of Costa Mesa added the most people over the past year with 18 new additions, up 43.9% to 59.
OC’s largest agency furloughed some staff at the start of the pandemic, but found existing client work and new accounts emerge in July. A Paycheck Protection Program loan helped bring back furloughed staff and hire new ones with the company positioned “for a significant bounce-back year in 2021,” noted The Brand Amp co-founder Todd Brooks.
