The public relations industry has evolved to be the most reliable course of action to promote brands. Over the years, it has transformed, opening new aspects for various businesses with meticulous strategies to communicate and prevailing public opinions to create brand awareness.
Modern public relations are rooted in every industry utilizing innovative technologies to interact with large corporations and public figures through different media. Primarily focussing on celebrity integrated brands and representation, Robyn Bordes, the CEO of Illumination PR, implies her extensive expertise to deliver top-tier growth and success to an array of brands.
Robyn creatively develops new strategies with her team ensuring success for her clients. She is confident about business and enables her team to work to the best of their abilities, contributing to its overall growth. Based in New York, Illumination PR is a lifestyle public relations firm working diligently to position various brands to their target markets in the best way possible. Inspired by the book Four Agreements by Don Miguel, Robyn learned that everything a person does is based on agreements they have made, whether with themselves, others, or God. The book opened her eyes to new perspectives aligning with her goals through difficult times.
The Dusk before the Dawn
For years, Robyn’s biggest challenge has been finding and putting employees with a similar work ethic to her team.
After interviewing and hiring a few employees, she realized that hiring based on interviews wasn’t cutting it. Thus, she moved to hire people only after completing a six-month internship in exchange for school credits to acclimate them with the team to seek similar work ethics.
The challenges are constant in public relations, and the COVID-19 Pandemic added more into the mix, having a massive impact. Expressing her thoughts about the unprecedented times, Robyn says, “During the Pandemic, everything shifted virtually, and consumer behavior and trends changed rapidly. As a PR company, you take on the vital role of being the median between your clients and the public.” The Pandemic showed how crucial the public relations industry is in informing and updating the public. It became the helping hand to all of her clients, who shifted how they managed their businesses to conform to new guidelines. Robyn also took this time to utilize her medical clients where the public needed them the most by TT leveraging their expertise and offering commentary to the media.
A Together Culture
Robyn is always conscious of her employee’s needs on a personal and professional level. She acknowledges their struggles in the workplace and outside of it. It is essential for Robyn that her staff feels the most comfortable when confiding in her to provide the most efficient solutions. She always expresses gratitude and reassures her team that she recognizes their dedicated work and appreciates them for it.
Robyn notes, “I take pride in creating a work culture that is enjoyable and giving my team things to look forward to. Birthdays are a big thing in our office! It allows us to celebrate each person on our team individually, as a whole.” She believes that your team is your greatest resource, so having a positive work culture is crucial in maintaining a strong and dedicated staff. The key to running a successful company is to provide a safe and happy place for all of your employees. Not only does a positive work culture lead to an excellent job done, but it builds a sense of comfortability, making it easier for your team to support and rely on each other.
Helping Hand to Micro Enterprises
Robyn states that Illumination PR acknowledges the importance of supporting small businesses throughout the community. It utilizes any chances provided by any opportunity to give small businesses the recognition and exposure they deserve by providing the opportunity to shine. As a team, Illumination PR also donates its time to senior citizen facilities, contributes to various charitable, projects like Kulture City, and utilizes Kiva to give international individuals an opportunity to create their business.
Expected Changes
Robyn mentions, “Through the Pandemic, we noticed consumers were the most influenced by what they were exposed to through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. I believe influencer marketing will continue to grow expeditiously and be the next big change in the public relations industry.” Illumination PR has already started to transition its tactics to generate exposure for its clients by recognizing the importance of utilizing these platforms and their content creators.
Farsighted Goals
Robyn states that Illumination PR aims to grow nationally and internationally, expand into more celebrity management, and create and sell a show to networks currently in development. She expects the company to get back into celebrity gift lounges to further the placement of small businesses into the hands of top celebrities.
Valued Lessons
Robyn advises budding entrepreneurs aspiring to venture into the public relations industry to intern because it is the best way to gain experience in the industry that you want to thrive in and to understand the energy in the office and with the team, you will be working with. In her concluding thoughts, she says, “I always say that you spend more time with your co-workers than you do with family, and you should always make sure it is a perfect fit. I am thankful to have a team of women whom all get along, who inspire each other to work harder, and a team of people who create new ones to continue to evolve in this industry once they achieve their goals. An internship is my absolute best advice.”
