With a list resembling a Who’s Who in music and talent, as well as well-known events, charities, and family entertainment, Lobeline Communications stands atop a crowded field of entertainment-related PR firms in Hollywood.
Founded in 1986 by former concert promoter Phil Lobel initially to represent entertainment and clients in the music industry, the 34-year-old agency has expanded its range of services to include reputation management, corporate branding, media relations, and marketing communications to corporate and nonprofit clients.
How Lobeline Got There
Lobel was in his sophomore year at the University of Colorado at Boulder when he began writing press releases and then booked speakers as well as acting as press spokesperson for the acts being booked. In his junior year, Lobel oversaw the university’s concert program and sought out a meeting with promoter Barry Fey of Feyline Concerts for advice on how he might make the university’s program the best in the country.
What came out of the meeting was an agreement that Fey, who would later go on to become one of the top promoters in the U.S., would bring acts to the campus, and the university would provide the venues. With acts like Jefferson Starship, Elvis Costello, Boz Scaggs, B.B. King, Grover Washington, Jr., and The Grateful Dead, Lobel not only filled up every venue he could use but also gained the kind of experience working with the media and publicizing tickets to ensure his success in later years.
In 1978, Billboard Magazine even named Lobel “College Talent Buyer of the Year” and Fey “Concert Promoter of the Year.” More major shows featuring The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, and the Eagles followed, and Lobel’s career path was set. He left the university in 1979 and joined Feyline, first as a media buyer and then its talent buyer. He then spent a little time in 1985 with Walk Thru Entertainment in Denver before deciding to launch Lobeline with one client, Shadowfox. A year later, Lobel landed George Michael’s Faith tour. With Michael’s five hit singles reaching #1 on the charts, Lobel never looked back.
Clients
Since then, some of Lobeline’s clients have included Fey Concerts, Bob Marley, Blue Music Festival, B.B. King, Hollywood Bowl Pop Series, and Nickelodeon. Some current ones are the David Copperfield Tour, Bill Gaither, Anthony Robbins, Love, Peace & Hope Jewelry, Tito Puente, Jr., Timothy Goebel, Joel Bauer, and Chef Justin.
Strengths
Historically, Lobeline’s focus has been in public relations, which has since evolved and grown to include digital marketing. He credits his client success to aggressive public relations that ties in a client with news of the day, so it propels the story to the forefront in the media.
Lobel credits his background in promoting concerts as well as knowing how to read and understand daily ticket trends as a valuable tool that’s also helped him succeed. He also acknowledged Fey, Colorado promoter and producer Chuck Morris, and pianist/composer Jay Marciano as mentors who have always been there to support him.