What does a PR firm do?
At Olive Public Relations, we are more than a public relations firm. We are an empowerment partner that supports our clients in aggressively achieving their business goals. We help our clients solve their biggest problems, and we guide them through transformative marketing and public relations solutions that drive success. We start by identifying each brand’s grandest vision and we work backwards from there. We create a list of their target audiences and then we identify how to reach them. Through a combination of media relations, messaging optimization to support AI discoverability, social media, community activations, content creation, advertising placement and creative cross promotions, we deliver campaigns that support our clients in increasing visibility and ultimately their bottom line. Sometimes it really is visibility and reputation building, but mostly it’s increased sales, sold out events, and huge audiences. We don’t stop until we know we are creating a massive return on investment. We want our clients to be excited about investing in our services and we want to feel great knowing we are achieving the results they deserve.
How can a PR agency help my brand stand out in San Diego’s competitive market?
Olive Public Relations is obsessed with shining the spotlight on our clients – we call it illuminating greatness. To be honest, there is one really important ingredient: you have to have a quality product or service for us to illuminate. If that is true, then we work with your brand on a campaign that shines a light on what makes you great. We see competition as an opportunity to stand out. At Olive Public Relations, we understand how much it takes to create a successful brand and we amplify all you are doing through a combination of creative strategies. It is different for each account, but when you combine a quality product or service with our access and connections, it’s a winning recipe. Whether you want strong headlines for credibility and conversion or powerful media links to support your AI discoverability, we will support you in identifying story angles that need to be heard and seen. We work closely with our media contacts to ensure our approach is also supporting their goals too because at Olive Public Relations, we believe everyone should win every time.
What industries or types of clients do you specialize in?
At Olive Public Relations, we work with a diverse portfolio of clients. We specialize in empowering our partners to achieve meaningful, measurable results. After 17 years in business, we’ve built deep expertise across a wide range of industries, including neighborhoods and cities, multi-family communities, real estate, experiential events, restaurants and hospitality, sports, entertainment, arts & culture, consumer lifestyle, non-profit organizations, corporate social responsibility, education and more.
Neighborhoods
We are known for our long-term partnerships with neighborhood organizations, including nearly 13 years with Little Italy and a decade with the Redwood City Improvement Association in Northern California’s Bay Area. Additionally, we have worked with many communities on the western seaboard, from San Diego all the way up to Bainbridge Island, Washington, including Downtown Chula Vista, the Ballpark District and East Village in Downtown San Diego, Downtown El Cajon, Glendale, San Leandro, Liberty Station, Arts District Liberty Station, the College Area by SDSU, Cardiff 101, Mainstreet Oceanside, and more. With neighborhoods, we understand how to celebrate the uniqueness of each neighborhood culture through a strategic approach that spans content creation, media relations, social media, social influencer marketing, creative activations, cross promotional marketing and so much more.
Multi-family Communities
We are also known for our strategic marketing and public relations campaigns within the multi-family real estate industry. Our founder has been working in real estate and multi-family communities since the beginning of her career (26 years!) and our strategy defies the basic pay-to-play model. We work with our clients to develop creative community activations that not only enhance the community experience but invite the community in. We identify each target audience and design events tailored to resonate with them. This not only creates a memorable experience, but also gives us compelling content that secures top tier media coverage, fuels stunning social media storytelling, and provides opportunities for us to invite social media influencers in. We can do all the basic news highlights from the ground breaking to the opening, but this allows us to carry forward a dialogue that not only supports our clients with rapid lease ups, but retains residents. Everyone wins and that is The Olive Way.
We are proud of the results we have achieved over the years working with some of the most reputable brands in the industry, including Greystar, Bosa Development, Holland Partner Group, CGI, RPM Management, and more.
Experiential Events
Ever dreamed of massive media coverage for your experiential event? We are talking about seeing it literally everywhere… on every TV station, in every print publication and online, on the radio, on podcasts, on social media and beyond. At Olive Public Relations, we specialize in elevating experiential events’ newsworthiness and bring longstanding media relationships and industry experience to ensure massive visibility. Over the years, we’ve partnered with a range of events, gaining deep insight into what truly makes them successful. In today’s evolving landscape, our support extends beyond traditional and social media to include direct outreach to key communities, organizations, and strategic partners. We also specialize in cultivating thoughtful cross-promotional collaborations that deliver meaningful results for all parties involved — because everyone should win! We have worked on some of the most exciting events throughout the nation from The Color Run in over 28 markets, Soul Pose, the Electric Run, Dinner with a View, La Jolla Concours d’ Elegance, P1440, La Jolla Art + Wine Festival, all of the ‘Taste of’ events across San Diego and so many more.
Restaurants and Hospitality
We have had the honor of working with a portfolio of incredible restaurants, hotels, and spas over the years. We will say this over and over – We love illuminating greatness. With each business, we like to identify what makes them unique and then we celebrate it through meaningful activations, partnerships, or events amplifying their story through media relations, social media, influencer partnerships and more. Over the years, we have had the pleasure of working on many restaurant openings and while we can do that flawlessly, what excites us even more is helping established businesses develop creative promotions that really allow them to shine. Grand openings are inherently newsworthy. But when we really get to flex our skills is when there isn’t a built-in media milestone and we create one .
The bottom line is that we know how to support you in ensuring that what you are doing is interesting for media, we know how to position your brand in a way that resonates with media, then we get you in front of media, secure meaningful coverage, and help you to package that exposure to support you in lasting success. We’ve proudly partnered with so many amazing establishments including the Busalacchi Restaurant Group (Barbusa, Nonna, and Lala), Hilton Bayside Campus, Witherby at The Beau Hotel, W Hotel, Margaritaville San Diego Hotel, Pappelecco in San Diego, Texas, and Nevada, Aventine, Panera and so many others.
Non-Profit Organizations
At Olive Public Relations, we are a passionate group of people committed to making a difference in the world. We are honored to work with some of the most reputable and effective non-profit organizations today. Our portfolio spans many diverse missions that we deeply value and know make life-saving impacts. ROI is top of mind when we are working with organizations that live and breathe off of donations and funds raised through grants or government and private funding. We know that each dollar counts and we work diligently to ensure what we do enables our partners to focus on their mission and increase fundraising. We have been honored to align with impactful organizations like Susan G. Komen, American Diabetes Association, the Lung Cancer Foundation, Free to Breathe, McAlister Institute, Ilan-Lael Foundation, Emilio Nares Foundation, Alliance Healthcare Foundation, Workshops for Warriors, Oceanside Museum of Art, Little Italy Association, Downtown Chula Vista, Downtown El Cajon, East Village Association, and so many others.
Arts & Culture
From Olive Public Relation’s start, Arts & Culture has been a dominant industry in our portfolio. We have secured media coverage for arts organizations, institutions, fairs, festivals, individual artists, and more all over the world. We have successfully illuminated 100s of events, galleries, museums, art shows, and more.
Consumer Lifestyle Products
Olive Public Relations is a trusted partner for emerging beauty brands as they become household names. We have supported many consumer lifestyle brands in breaking into their market to become real contenders alongside longtime leading brands. We have decades of experience securing national media coverage, coordinating influencer partnerships, and developing impactful cross promotional partnerships and activations.
What’s the difference between working with an in-house PR person vs. hiring an agency?
At Olive Public Relations, we are often asked why an organization would hire an agency vs. build an in-house team. While there isn’t a simple answer to this question, there are a few things to consider. From a general standpoint, we are working in several different industries and have our eyes and minds on many different projects, so we can often see trends faster and make the necessary shifts to stay ahead of the curve strategically. This is especially essential with social media and now AI.
From a media relations perspective, the biggest benefit to working with us is that we are constantly in contact with the most trusted and reputable media contacts within the industry. We are working with them on behalf of many oour clients and often have an advantage of knowing what they are working on because of our continuous connection.
Additionally, we know that when you are in-house, you might wear a lot of hats. As an agency, we know how to stay in our lane and ensure your business is getting the visibility it deserves and needs to be successful.
How does public relations impact AI?
At Olive Public Relations, we are obsessed with results. Right now, we know that people are rapidly converting from Google searching to question-based AI searching, which means we also need to adjust our strategies. We know that AI is pulling from timely and reputable online resources, so at Olive Public Relations, we are focused on asking ourselves what prompts people might be using to discover our clients. We are supporting each of our clients with powerful recommendations to ensure their message is consistent and discoverable across all channels – their website, blogs, newsletters, social media and of course, media coverage. This means taking a step back and asking the right questions and working alongside our brilliant SEO partners to build content that results in discoverability on search and AI. Did you know that media links are one of the most powerful ways to build your AI presence? At Olive Public Relations, we are ecstatic because it means that the work we have been doing for years will pay off even more for our clients.
Does Olive Public Relations work with neighborhoods and communities?
Public Relations is essential for successfully marketing and promoting a neighborhood or community. Did you know that the definition of public relations is actually building mutually beneficial relationships between the public an organization serves? Public Relations often gets mistaken for media relations and while media relations is a part of it, a holistic PR practice is so much more. At Olive Public Relations, we are passionate about building relationships between our clients and the people they serve. For all of our accounts, we start with the most important questions. What are we trying to achieve? What does success look like? Who do we want to reach? Then, we identify the best ways to reach them. There are so many creative ways to reach people. Media relations is part of it, but it really starts with a powerful message that is consistent and then we determine the right tools to amplify it. Sometimes it’s through community events, newsletters, text campaigns, old school door hangs or mailers, creative activations, social media, powerful video content, and the list goes on. As an agency, we have been working with neighborhoods for 13 years and no two neighborhoods are the same. What remains consistent is that there are always a group of passionate business owners and residents who call it home and that hyper local vibe is what is most important in every campaign.
Does Olive Public Relations work with restaurants?
Yes – and not only do we love it, but we have amazing relationships with food writers, influencers and community organizations that all support the most successful campaigns. Plus, we have been at it for so long that we can support with a lot of added value. Whether you are trying to develop your brand voice or decide on a series of opening activations, we are here to support you on your path. In addition to a powerful opening public relations campaign equipped with messaging, branding, media relations, social media, creative activations, and parties, we also have the best partners in the business and can support you with a winning team of professionals committed to the results.
Does Olive Public Relations work outside of San Diego?
Yes, at Olive Public Relations, we have a lot of amazing clients in San Diego, but we have worked in over 29 markets throughout the United States. We have had the pleasure of working all over and we have an amazing strategy with a proven track record. At the end of the day strategy, creativity, and professionalism win every time. Additionally, we have also worked with several national consumer lifestyle brands. We are especially proud at Olive Public Relations to have supported PMD (Personal Microderm) in its evolution from an emerging brand to a household name. PMD is now recognized by many national beauty publications as the best handheld device on the market and it is now distributed in every major beauty retailer.
How do you measure the success of a PR campaign?
At Olive Public Relations, we measure the success of a PR campaign by the success of our clients. We always track the usual metrics, VPM, circulation, impressions, new followers, engagement, click through, etc., but what truly measures our success is the result of our results. We see sold out events, increased guests, sales, reservations, etc. We treat our clients like they are our businesses and we know that business owners and leaders ultimately care about a few key performance indicators. We measure our success when our clients achieve theirs.
How do you handle events and experiential PR?
Every event and experience is different, so we begin by defining what is special and unique and we develop a strategy to illuminate that. Many agencies talk about quality over quantity and we totally get it, but at Olive we are all about quality and quantity There is a lot of noise in the world, and in order to break through the clutter, we often need to do a lot more than ever before. As always, we start with the grandest vision and then work our way backward. For events, it’s about sponsorship support and ticket sales. We identify who we need to reach and the strategy to reach them. For most events, there is a robust mix of services:
- Direct Outreach – At Olive Public Relations, we leverage our trusted network to support our clients with direct outreach to potential sponsors and partners.
- Brand/Event Story – While we secure calendar listings, we are after meaningful media coverage. To achieve that, we develop compelling stories that align with media goals and resonate with audiences.
- Media Relations Strategy – We develop a media relations strategy to ensure our media contacts receive unique story ideas. We are not a cookie-cutter agency. We develop a custom approach every time. Our team ensures we achieve our clients’ goals while respecting the goals of our media contacts, through curated outlet-specific pitches.
- Advertising Placement – We work closely with our clients to develop an advertising strategy that aligns with their audience and objectives, leveraging innovative opportunities for maximum impact.
- Social Media Marketing – Social Media is an ever-changing space and we are committed to staying on the cutting edge with creative strategies that drive results. At Olive, we believe that social media has evolved into an entertainment platform, so we work to create content that entertains and motivates action while supporting aggressive targeted advertising and continuous optimization. We want our clients to be the influencers in their space.
- Social Media Influencer Marketing – We have worked closely with social media influencers since the beginning of the space and understand how impactful these partnerships can be in driving success, especially for younger audiences. We ensure each collaboration is strategic and mutually beneficial.
Cross Promotional Partnerships – We have excellent relationships with many influential organizations and events and thrive when we bring them together for cross promotional opportunities. So often, our event clients have audiences that overlap and we build “everyone wins” strategies that maximize exposure and engagement.
Can PR help with crisis communications or reputation management?
Public Relations is the most important tool for crisis communications and reputation management. We live in the era of “cancel culture” and problems can spread quickly. At Olive Public Relations, we work closely with our clients to not only react to crises, but to proactively prepare for them. The first step to every crisis is to understand the situation thoroughly before taking action and ensure the right stakeholders are involved. These situations are typically a high stress and require very clear minds. We develop both short-term solutions and long-term strategies to ensure a positive outcome.
How soon can I expect results from a PR campaign?
Public Relations is typically an ultra-marathon, not a sprint. However, when you begin working with any public relations agency, you can expect to see a return on investment within 3-4 months for a regional campaign and 6-8 months for a national campaign.
What does the process look like when we start working with Olive Public Relations?
Every campaign starts with a Brand Discovery meeting, where we get crystal clear on client goals. From here, we develop our strategy and plan, which usually takes 1-2 weeks. For media relations, we aim to distribute the first announcement within the first two weeks. For social media campaigns, we begin implementation within the first week. For advertising campaigns, timelines may be slightly longer to allow for meetings with the media advertising teams, develop the campaign vision, and asset coordination.
We require weekly meetings via Zoom or a conference line and we provide every client with a live status report for full transparency into our work. We share what we are doing, so we keep it simple. Once a month, we hold a deeper strategy meeting, where we revisit our plans and ensure we are meeting the clients’ goals.
Our clients receive a monthly report and a clip log each month.