Congratulations are in order for PuRe PR who are celebrating their 25th anniversary this month.
A quarter century of building considered, editorially-minded positioning campaigns for leading Interiors + Lifestyle and Beauty + Wellbeing brands, the first agency to combine the two.
Earlier this week Cara and Kelly celebrated this milestone with some industry friends who have played an integral part in the PuRe journey, including Newby Hands, Caroline Hirons, Jane Cunningham, Deborah Joseph, Lesley Thomas, Giles Kime, Ben Spriggs and Jackie Daly over breakfast at Claridges and will celebrate with the Purettes and alumni later this month.
Kelly Marks, Co-Founder & Director of PuRe’s Beauty + Wellbeing division commented “On 26th March, 1999, Cara and I stepped into our very first office with big dreams to build brands that we felt had important stories to tell and a valuable place in the market. We met in our early days at Halpern PR, and whilst different in almost every way, we got on like a house on fire. We had a shared passion, made each other laugh, and recognised that each other’s weaknesses were the other one’s strengths – making for a strong business partnership.”
The ambitious duo started with single roomed NoHo London office, a dial-up modem which they plugged in a few times a day to check email, two desks, a meeting table (which they borrowed from the office upstairs), and a determination to succeed. They signed their first client, the Curtain Exchange, the very next day, and their second one, Sean Hanna, the following.
Since then, Cara and Kelly have grown the business strategically and steadily, always maintaining a commitment to working with brands they love and people they wholeheartedly enjoy spending time with.
Kelly explains “We’re a different type of PR agency, one that thinks differently and works our brands into culture, it’s why our clients see themselves on television, at pop concerts, in theatres, thriving on all social channels and used by the greatest experts, and most famous faces the world over.
We pride ourselves on Connection, Creativity, Commitment and Collaboration, working across PR, influencer, social media, licensing and talent.”
(PuRe PR co-founders Cara Ward and Kelly Marks, photographed by Richard Young)
Having worked with some of the best known brands in the business Cara Ward explains “when we look over our client portfolio and see brands like Method, Molton Brown, Kenneth Turner, Nina Campbell, Philip Kingsley, Burt’s Bees Malin + Goetz, e.l.f., Moroccanoil, Andrew Martin Brintons Carpets, LSA, Tom Howley and more we really feel proud of what we’ve achieved for them and how we continue to propel our clients into new markets through collaborations and licensing too.”
25 years is a long while, and in this time, the PuRe team has seen publications come and go, and watched online media emerge, develop, and reign. They’ve witnessed advertising revenues die and then affiliates drive it back. They’ve seen a huge shift in editorial staff going freelance, editors writing their own books, the exponential rise of influencers – with many of them now launching their own brands.
Having always been at the front of industry developments, PuRe were the first agency to host a cross brand influencer event and the first to make a stand against waste packaging in PR mailers when they launched the Packaging Promise some years ago.
Through it all, PuRe has adapted and thrived, embracing change and driving consistently impactful results for their portfolio of premium brands and have built a talented and passionate all-female team of PuRettes who are a huge part of the success to date.
Congratulations to Kelly, Cara and Team – cheers to you all and here’s to the next 25!
