Kent’s first networking group specially for Kent’s PR and Marketing professionals has launched – headed up by two of the county’s industry women.
The PR Crowd was set up to serve PR professionals working across the county.
The brainchild of independent PR practitioners Sarah Hawes of Izzy PR and Jodi Eeles of Floresco Communications, the group aims to plug a gap in the industry, bringing together collaboration opportunities between freelancers, in-house professionals, PR and marketing agencies, who can swap skills and knowledge.
The launch, held in conjunction with Racing Events at Brands Hatch and Mivvy Creative on May 1st, attracted independent PR consultants, boutique agencies and some of Kent’s larger business PR and communication managers.
Sarah Hawes, founder Izzy PR said, “The PR Crowd was born after seeing an opportunity to collaborate with other independent PR and marketing professionals to deliver the best results to clients. There are a lot of skilled people in the county working silo with a variety of experience and specialisms, but there wasn’t one place where they could swap and share their ideas or needs together.
“The PR Crowd is not about competition, but collaboration. As solo consultants, you may have that client that’s just too big and can refer it to an agency colleague. Likewise, an agency may need a temporary extra pair of hands on a project or require specialist PR to take on a new client but not want to recruit a post.
“The PR Crowd will provide a pool of talent that’s open to working together to provide clients with the best PR skills in Kent.
“It could be described as a ‘virtual team’ of skilled professionals
who have the opportunity to swap skills, support and knowledge.”
The launch event included a great motivational talk from business coach Bella
O’Hara which covered some mindset switches to aid productivity and focus.
Sarah added: “There was a great energy at the launch and we are hoping that this will grow and attract more like-minded professionals for our future events.”
Jodi Eeles of Floresco Communications came on-board after Sarah shared the PR Crowd concept, she said: “As soon as I heard about the idea, I was excited. I’m a member of other PR bodies but they are London-based and there is nothing servicing Kent. I could see straight away that there was an opportunity within our industry.
“Coming from an agency background to becoming independent comes with challenges. There isn’t a team to brainstorm with and by our nature, PRs are communicators, so losing that chance to bounce off others in your field can be limiting. The PR Crowd is a great option for independents to go to.
“When Sarah approached me with the idea, I was at a stage where I needed to speak to another PR professional who understood the industry challenges and needs, so the timing was perfect.
“I’ve also seen the pressures of agencies and in-house departments when a new client or project overstretches an already hard-working team. They need experienced hands on deck and fast. By joining the PR Crowd Facebook group, our members can reach out when they need some specialist skills to boost their teams.”
The PR Crowd plans to hold a networking event twice a year, with the Facebook group providing the core channel of communications. Our next event will be on Monday 16th September from 6pm – 9pm at The Plough, Langley. We’ll be inviting Kent’s PRs and editors too.
Find the group on Facebook; search for ‘The PR Crowd’.
You can also email Sarah for more information or to join the mailing list:
sarah@izzypr.co.uk