Female-founded creative marketing and communications agency Blended Strategy Group is a go-to firm for clients seeking experts in celebrity procurement, influencer marketing, PR and social media – and this year saw team growth to match their high demand. The LA-based agency recently bolstered its social media division with 40 percent growth in the team, including both digital brand agency and talent representation experience. Blended Strategy Group also nearly doubled the size of its PR division and expanded its senior leadership team with the hire of Ryan Clark as VP of Marketing Communications and PR. The team saw a longtime project come to life this year: the agency launched GXVE Beauty by Gwen Stefani in March 2022 after helping develop the brand over the past four years in collaboration with Gwen and New Theory Ventures. The team obviously puts the time in, and agency leadership takes note; Summer Fridays are offered year-round to afford the team an opportunity for work/life balance.
Leadership team:
Allison Statter, CEO
Sherry Jhawar, President
Notable long-term clients:
OLLY, NuFACE, Bliss
New client wins:
Shake Shack, Rael, GXVE Beauty by Gwen Stefani, Mane Addicts
How is the agency advancing DEI in the industry?
“Blended Strategy Group is dedicated to hiring and retaining diverse team members of all races, genders and sexual orientations. Over 40% of the senior leadership team, and over 30% of BSG staff, identify as people of color. The team honors and celebrates meaningful cultural moments to shine a light on the team’s unique backgrounds and to serve as moments of reflection (i.e. Diwali, Children’s Day, Juneteenth, etc.).”
Molly Schoneveld’s The Storied Group is a boutique public relations firm based in Los Angeles specializing in celebrity, design and lifestyle PR. One of the biggest changes Schoneveld has made over the past year is offering a new project placement service to interior designers, which gives them the opportunity to get a project published without being tied to a long term PR contract (a unique and affordable opportunity particularly for designers just starting out). With the emphasis on video content across Instagram Reels and TikTok, Schoneveld’s team has also learned how to effectively produce, direct and edit short form video for clients (finding creative solutions for those who prefer not to be on camera). A thought leader herself, Schoneveld recently spoke on a PR Net webinar alongside an attorney who is well versed in public relations, was chosen to be a speaker at Design Influencers Conference and also shares her industry insights via a monthly newsletter, blog posts and social media channels.
Leadership team:
Molly Schoneveld, Founder & CEO
Notable long-term clients:
Golden Door, Audrina Patridge, Toni Ko, A3 Artists Agency, Lisa Gilmore Design, Fangirl Sports Network, Milk Boutique, Jorja Fox, Virginia Williams
New client wins:
Drew Scott (Lone Fox), Laura Pankonien of The Pankonien Group design firm, Eurotrash (Design Firm), YMU, Zehana Interiors, Liz Lidgett Gallery, Burgess Loh Interiors
How are you innovating and moving the industry forward?
“We recognize the power of social media as part of a client's marketing strategy, and rather than pushing back and seeing it as competition to traditional media, we have developed relationships with social media editors to secure coverage for clients that has never existed before. For example, we secured Drew Scott a series of Instagram Reels for GMA, and also worked with the Condé Nast YouTube team on their new Architectural Digest series that stars Drew. We are partnering clients with other like-minded brands for Instagram Lives, and advising clients on how to make big life announcements (divorce, apologies, etc.) on social media. I have been asked by clients if we do brand deals, so that's likely next on the offerings list – for those that don't have managers or agents, but have a platform.”
