REYA CommunicationsTravel PR veterans Alexandra Avila and Julie Leventhal are behind REYA Communications, a boutique communications agency supporting luxury travel brands. Driven by the duo’s commitment to conservation and sustainability, REYA represents global travel clients that provide top guest experiences while serving their communities and environments. The young agency has already been recognized for excellence, with Avila named among the PR News’ Top Women in PR 2019. REYA recently expanded to serve the UK with PR services.
Notable long-term clients
Sheldon Chalet (Alaska), Casa di Langa (Italy), Volcanoes Safaris (Rwanda & Uganda), Sonnenalp Hotel (Colorado), Tordrillo Mountain Lodge (Alaska), Gangtey Lodge (Bhutan), Delfin Amazon Cruises (Peru), Inca Rail (Peru)
Recent client wins
Cashel Palace (Ireland), Knapp Ranch (Colorado), Go2Africa (Africa), Four Hundred x Design (New York), MET Hotel (Bolivia)
What are you most proud of as a leader?
When the going got tough, and it got tough, friends recommended we expand from our niche in PR, which is servicing travel brands committed to conservation, sustainability and social impact, and take on larger retainers with corporate accounts. Many of our boutique clients had to pause their retainers as borders remained closed and tourism stalled. I'm most proud that we kept to our niche market and stepped in to work pro bono. I'm proud that even when we worked for free, our passion for these projects were there to see our clients through those tough months. It meant that we truly made the right decision in servicing this niche underserved market, and that our team is aligned with that vision. You need that passion in your clients to have longevity in any client service field.
Is there a big industry trend you’re backing in terms of your agency offering, and why do you think this area will continue to grow and influence the PR practice?
I'm not sure it's "big" yet in our industry, but we're doubling down regardless in digitizing the way we work internally and with the media. I came into PR with a digital background, and saw so many inefficiencies when there are so many existing systems and digital tools that could greatly help agencies. I saw gaps in PR strategies that didn't integrate with digital marketing or understand that world. At REYA we see PR as the tide that raises all ships in digital. Good PR will boost your direct, organic, social and of course referral traffic. Good PR will improve your domain authority and Google search page position. Good PR will grow your social media following. But more importantly this approach allows small agencies to scale through efficiencies. By adopting the Inbound Marketing strategy, which essentially brings the media to you, rather than you to them, you're able to produce a lot more with less manpower. Let's face it, retainers are not going to magically increase. With more publicists than ever in the market, rates are getting competitive, and as media relations are nurtured virtually, your NYC or LA address is no longer a premium.
BerlinRosenBerlinRosen celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2020, marking the occasion with its first-ever rebrand including new brand identity and website. Both client and team growth have been on the rise, which leadership credits to their internal-facing team. BerlinRosen expanded their operations team adding a practice area fully dedicated to recruiting top talent in the industry. The agency also expanded its in-house digital advertising division to provide full capabilities including expanded media planning and buying across strategies, including awareness, persuasion, acquisition and turnout. The firm’s all-female ads team offers social media, programmatic, SEM, OTT and publisher-direct advertising solutions. Finally, they also launched an in-house video production division, and the team is now able to provide end-to-end video production services for clients across a broad range of industries.
Notable long-term clients
Audible, Bloomberg Media, Brookfield, Brooklyn Public Library, Color Of Change, Cornell Tech, Daniel Boulud, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Northwell Health, Samsung, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Sidewalk Labs, Singapore Airlines, Silverstein Properties, SL Green, The Nature Conservancy, UNICEF USA, Waldorf Astoria
Recent client wins
American Cancer Society, Mozilla, GLAAD, Lark Hotels, Meatpacking District (NYC), Oculus, Wikimedia
Is there a big industry trend you’re backing in terms of your agency offering, and why do you think this area will continue to grow and influence the PR practice?
Influencer marketing is no longer just a major trend, but a key component of major PR campaigns. The fact that the state and federal governments are getting in the game is a sign (if any were still necessary) that influencers are simply part of the mainstream conversation on how to reach key audiences.
Over the past years, we've solidified our Influencer Marketing practice and have been formulating and implementing influencer strategies for more and more clients across nearly all practice areas for the simple reason that it gets results. That has meant not only some of the world’s most famous faces sharing the spotlight with causes they believe in but meaningful co-signs from local tastemakers and community conveners to drive interest in brands, entertainment, events, retail, real estate, product launches and much more.
Indeed, where the influencer landscape of a few years ago was largely limited to high-profile actors, musicians, athletes, and other celebrities, today’s influencers span a far wider spectrum. With thousands of mid- and micro-tier influencers with followings that are no less passionate than the biggest stars’, across a dazzling array of niche communities and interests, influencer partnerships have correspondingly become important and accessible to a broader range of offerings and budgets, with new challenges of how to identify and work with the influencers who offer the greatest return on investment for a specific need.
