The buzz on the buzz business

As Orange County becomes a hub for lifestyle and fashion companies, more businesses are learning the art of creative promotion, according to business experts. The trend is giving rise to smaller boutique-style public relations firms that are often highly specialized.

Stacy MacCallum of Irvine was working with a large public relations firm before she switched to TO Media Co., run by Allison Olmstead and Lauren Townsend in Costa Mesa.

“It was a really tough relationship,” MacCallum said of her former publicist. “I didn’t feel like they knew my product … I did get some placements, but it felt very ad hoc. With Lauren and Allison, it’s been a completely different experience.”

Townsend and Olmstead are not the only women blazing the Orange County boutique public relations trail. A handful of other companies with veteran publicists are working around town with local, regional and international companies.

Op president Dick Baker has been working with Erika Klein of Shout Public Relations in Costa Mesa for years. He credits the long-lasting relationship to Klein’s extensive knowledge of his brand, the surf and action sports industry and her extensive list of contacts that go beyond Orange County.

“Erika and the girls are really what I would call kind of their own modern version of a PR firm that specializes in a category, in this case surf fashion,” Baker said. “They’ve really done their homework and due diligence in the sector, they know all the magazines, all the fashion editors — they understand the project and totally get the brands.”

Baker said he’d advise small business owners to seek out a small public relations firm that can work closely with the product and the company.

“They can be drawn into the culture of a small brand and all those things are critical to being successful,” he said. “The larger firms, albeit successful, are much harder to work with for smaller brands.”

Klein decided to make the move from Los Angeles when she realized Orange County was becoming a hot spot.

“I liked the area and the whole lifestyle of Orange County,” she said in her loft-style Westside Costa Mesa office in a mecca of action sports and surf fashion companies. “The apparel industry, atmosphere — it was all great.”

Julie Leffler got her start working in-house as a publicist for one of the local big-time Costa Mesa-based surf brands, Hurley. As her contact roster grew, she decided to branch out on her own and has recently started her own firm called PRestige Public Relations. Based in Newport Beach, she has already attracted businesses including a local fertility clinic and a few fashion design companies.

Veteran publicist Amy Denoon also recently started a new venture called Beach House Public Relations. She’s worked with major celebrities and is an expert at getting products strategically placed in magazines, as well as on the red carpet.

The common thread, besides gender, is that each firm has carved out a specific niche they work best in, which they said provides their clients with the best service.

All of the women work in similar beats, making fashion and lifestyle their specialties. Despite the overlapping of industries, people at each company see that the need for their work is growing.

“Competition is healthy,” Denoon said. “Having more than one key player means they’re valuable and there’s room for everybody in the sandbox.”

Their advice to businesses seeking public relations assistance: make sure whatever firm the business chooses to go with can take the time to know the product and can spend the time that’s necessary on creating a successful campaign.

Denoon and Klein have both worked hard at putting their clients’ products in the limelight, but both stress that the product has to be quality and something the business is passionate about. And don’t be discouraged if your business doesn’t garner immediate editorial buzz. “It takes time, that’s one thing people need to remember,” Olmstead said.