Listen to this articleHeaded by industry veteran, Valerie Allen, Valerie Allen Public Relations is a leading full-service entertainment PR firm with unparalleled experience, expertise and contacts that brings you the personalized service and creativity of a boutique firm and the resources of a large agency. Valerie Allen PR is known for representing the most trusted names in television. Below is our recent interview with Valerie Allen, CEO at Valerie Allen PR:
Q: Valerie, can you tell us something more about your team and your clients?
A: Our team of highly trained media strategists advise celebrity and high-profile clients, as well as individuals breaking into the industry looking to create, enhance or redefine their brands. The agency is known for developing highly unique PR and branding campaigns that leverage national and regional media in order to position clients as the leading experts in their respective fields.
The team utilizes the power of social media in order to amplify their clients’ key messages and increase overall brand exposure. Valerie Allen publicists develop social media campaigns that help bring their clients face to face with their target audience in order to heighten brand awareness and boost consumer interaction.
VAPR’s Crisis Communication team works mainly with high profile individuals or companies faced with sensitive situations. Our seasoned team has worked with Los Angeles’ top attorneys on a variety of matters ranging from criminal cases like the Bruce Beresford-Redmond “Survivor” Murder Trial, to the infamous Donald Sterling case. When celebrities or public figures are in trouble, our firm gets you in front of the story in order to manage the message and manage the media.
From the Oscars to Charity Galas for a cause, Valerie Allen Public Relations produces red carpet events you will never forget. Their team leverages their longstanding relationships with high-powered celebrities and the media in order to secure national media exposure and “Hollywood-buzz.”
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Q: Valerie, can you tell us something more about your background? How did you get to where you are today?
A: When I first moved to Los Angeles, I was working as a TV producer for a production company that created educational children’s television shows for PBS. The show was called “Futures with Jaime Escalante” and I won a Peabody Award for my work on the show. One day they needed help with marketing and PR and asked if anyone in production knew how to write a press release. Since my background was in communications, I volunteered to write the release. Turns out, there was more stability on the PR side than being a freelance producer and going from production to production.
When I was at Rogers & Cowan, I pitched and won the business for DrDrew.com and began my long association with Dr. Drew Pinsky. After DrDrew.com was sold to DrKoop.com, I continued to represent Dr. Drew while at Burson-Marsteller. After 9-11, I was looking for a change and Dr. Drew suggested I open her own shop and said he would be my first client! That was over 18 years ago and Dr. Drew is still my client today.
Since opening shop, I have recruited a team of talented publicists that include Dana Lewis, who has been in publicity for almost a decade and was recently named Agency Director, Harriet Duncan, who combines her love of music and media in order to head the VAPR Music Division, and most recently, Armine Galstian who was impressively recruited during her college internship. Our team boasts between 3-5 interns per semester and has become a hot ticket for Los Angeles students looking to gain hands-on experience with high-powered publicists, journalists and clients from all types of industries. Our interns have gone on to work for the likes of Disney, NBC Universal, WME, Scholastic, Stanwich Advisors and more.
Recommended: Q: What types of services do you provide to your clients?
A: Valerie Allen Public Relations offers their clients a wide variety of services including key message development, brand positioning, media relations and media training. We also provide red carpet event planning, social media management, crisis communications, beverage/product launches and book publicity.
Q: Who are your clients and what are some of the key challenges you’re helping them solve?
A: Our clientele is a mix of talent and experts including radio and TV personalities, actors, singers, managers, expert media personalities, authors, influencers and lifestyle and consumer brands. The bulk of our roster hopes to share their unique expertise with the masses through media. One of their biggest challenges include breaking into an industry heavily saturated with steep competition.
When asked how they manage to break their clients into mainstream television, Valerie says, “Relationships are key and ours our second to none. Producers trust our team to bring them the right expert for their stories. On top of maintaining solid relationships over the years, our firm has also successfully kept our finger on the pulse when it comes to breaking news. Whether a journalist comes to us with breaking headlines first, or our team receives notice from careful monitoring, we ensure we pitch our clients first. Timing is everything. Lastly, we create stories producers want to produce. We have managed to utilize our clients’ expertise and unique messages in order to create TV-ready [or any outlet, for that matter] pitches. We have an incredible track record when it comes to breaking new talent into television and also maintaining coverage to ensure the brand’s longevity.”
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: As one of the top entertainment PR firms in Los Angeles, our plans for the future are about growing our business and servicing select clients with the highest level of traditional and digital public relations and branding. We will continue to expand our services and keep a leg up on the competition by staying ahead of the changing media landscape so that we are always proactively transforming instead of reacting.
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