Anna Crowe, Crowe PR: The Bi-Coastal Founder Q&A

Originally published November 2020. Updated August 2, 2026.

Part of PR Agency Q&A Profiles · Anastasia Golovina, Ditto PR

Anna Crowe is the founder and CEO of Crowe PR, an integrated public relations, influencer marketing, and social media agency headquartered in San Diego, with a New York office and distributed teams across the country. Founded in 2015, the firm marked its tenth anniversary in January 2025. Crowe brings nearly two decades of work with consumer and lifestyle brands and pivoted into PR from an auditor role at a Big 4 accounting firm. She is a best-selling author, teaches marketing at the University of San Diego School of Business, and sits on the board of the San Diego chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization.

Crowe PR works across consumer goods, health tech, hospitality, and professional services, and has built a notable spirits and ready-to-drink practice. Its portfolio includes Skrewball — the flavored-whiskey brand in which Pernod Ricard acquired a majority stake in 2023 after a seven-year Crowe PR partnership — as well as Rabbit Hole, Mary Dowling, Mash & Mallow, and Fierce & Kind.

The Q&A below is from Everything-PR's 2020 conversation with Anna Crowe.

The Interview

Q: What are your core values, and how do those shape your business?

A: Our core values — authenticity, continuous improvement, relationships, results, and positivity — are engrained in our culture, celebrated daily, and emphasized in leadership training and strategic sessions. Authenticity means embracing who we are as individuals and understanding our unique strengths. Results-focused couples our commitment to excellence with measurable client KPIs. If we are servicing customers with the utmost professionalism and they're accomplishing their business goals as a result, we're fulfilling that core value.

Q: Advice for new PR leaders?

A: Manage authentically. Authenticity is one of the most important leadership skills in business and is often underestimated. Employees today are motivated by much more than financial gain — they want to be heard, enjoy their environment, partake in something bigger, and be recognized for their strengths. They need to trust their leadership team and know their manager has their back no matter what. By putting on a façade, a leader masks the strengths that make them powerful and authentic — empathy, transparency, and vulnerability.

Q: How have your work priorities changed since the pandemic?

A: Our work spans consumer goods, technology, hospitality, and professional services, so clients were impacted in different ways. Some industries temporarily shut down, while others flourished. We've helped many businesses navigate through PR, influencer marketing, social media, and crisis communications. We spent many hours solidifying and refining internal messaging for clients. While retailers are struggling and temporarily closing doors, we've adjusted strategies to promote consumer brands' e-commerce platforms and engage customers through multi-media content. Several tech and services clients are finding new opportunities as telemedicine becomes prominent. It's been rewarding to assist hotels to reopen and promote various restaurants' delivery options.

Q: How should brands prepare for future crises, especially on social media?

A: This year's pandemic and social issues prove the importance of a crisis social media plan and a sense of urgency. Many brands weren't equipped to mobilize their social media teams at the beginning of the pandemic, and customers took notice. Consumers expect brand actions to match brand values — any negatively perceived deviation could create a crisis. Social media content creation and engagement needs to be strategic and purposeful, with a time investment behind it. Implementing a crisis communications plan with prepared messaging and spokespeople brings reputation management into the online space.