AKR Public Relations Profile
AKR Public Relations was founded in 2010 by Amanda K. Ruisi, specializing in celebrity representation, entertainment, beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. Ruisi’s personal touch provides a direct benefit for the clients maximizing her decade-long time working at NBC.
The firm won multiple awards over the years, including the “Ace Award” for all public relations in media, which was awarded by PR Daily and Ragan Communications. Ruisi also enjoys a spot on Connecticut Magazine’s “40 under 40: Class of 2014”, as well as the Wall Street Journal’s “Women of Note”.
AKR provides brand building and media relations in their sectors of choice. While they do business in many different areas of PR including TV PR, Brand PR, Organic Placement, Personal PR, and work closely with different venues, they’ve also built a vast Twitter following for their firm and helped do the same for several clients. Celebrity clients are a big draw for AKR Public Relations, and two of AKR’s biggest clients in the music industry have been Steven Tyler and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Most of the branding that’s done by AKR is through the various Twitter accounts that showcase celebrity companies like 495 Productions, Lifetime, MTV Productions, and Leather and Laces. And celebrity clients often attract their fans when shares and retweets happen. AKR enjoys some reflected popularity on their social media site from this phenomenon.
AKR has a simple but effective strategy for PR – connect companies with celebrity branding. Know what names are most valuable to promote an event and then connect with the public through their social media account.”
Cross Marketing PR
Claudia Ross opened this boutique PR firm in San Francisco more than 10 years ago. Before starting the firm, she had 15 years’ experience working at Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire (magazines) as the sales director. She built her PR business slowly, but she started with great connections with celebrities and fashion, so much of her boutique business centers on those sectors.
When the recession hit, she ultimately had to cut back on staff, but the firm has been rebuilding and recently a new partner was added, Tiffany Cummins, another PR veteran with more than two decades of experience. Both women are working mothers, and though they put in more than 40 hours each week, they can do the work on a schedule of their choice.
Some notable clients represented by the firm over the years include The Viceroy Hotel Group, Restoration Hardware, Popchips, and Banana Republic. One of the first PR events handled by Ms. Ross was the highly successful San Francisco Ballet Gala reported in papers and periodicals all over the world.
Mannfolk PR
Mannfolk has offices both in Los Angeles and New York and was founded in 2000 by Dorothy Mannfolk. Most of their work happens on the West Coast where they are an integral part of many big fashion and award events, including the Golden Globes, Fashion Week El Paseo, and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Los Angeles.
They specialize in celebrity placement, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and social media. Their services include fashion shows, events, and product placement and endorsements with celebrities. Some of the celebrities they’ve matched with products include Katherine Heigl, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Zooey Deschanal, Cameron Diaz, and Amber Heard.
Commercial clients include designer Sue Wong, fitness guru Terri Walsh, designer Bianca Nero, Chaz Dean, and American Rag. Mannfolk is a small boutique firm, but they offer big results.