We were lucky to catch up with Tiffany Astle recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tiffany, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Naming penelopePR was honestly the hardest part of starting the business. I had so many names (of course, I can’t remember one of them now!!!) and every time I thought I had found “the one” I would Google and it would already be claimed by another business that couldn’t be more different from what I wanted to create.

Full of frustration I recognized that I was letting the fact that I didn’t have a name hold me back from launching so I sent an email to ten of my closest, most trusted friends and asked them this simple question — “What’s the first word or thing you think about when you think of me?”

Almost all of them came back with the same response — “Penny.”

Penny was the first dog that I had on my own and she came with me everywhere. She was undoubtedly my best friend and made sure that I got outside at least twice a day, which was especially helpful in those first few years of business when I could have sat at my desk for 24 hours straight. While she’s no longer with us I love that her name carries us through each and every day and it makes my heart so happy when someone calls me Penelope because I always think it’s her way of saying “Hi Mom, you’re doing a great job.”

I miss her every day and am thankful to have a reminder of the amazing years we got to spend together.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

penelopePR is a boutique PR agency with a lifestyle and entertainment focus. We work with some of the biggest names in entertainment and have the best time doing it!!

Our goal is to ensure that each of our clients gets a strategic PR plan created just for them, meaning that we don’t think inside the box. We like ideas that challenge the status quo and we aren’t afraid to dig deep. Most importantly, we pride ourselves on becoming an irreplaceable part of a team, helping our clients reach — and most times, exceed — the goals they set out for themselves.

We get excited about new opportunities and watching our clients grow beyond what they thought was possible. There is no better feeling than being part of a team from the ground up and watching that very team succeed.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My business partner, who is my complete and total right hand (I’d be lost without her!) was my first intern ever. Her name is Richelle Umali.

I met her on a day that I went into my former college to speak to a class about media relations and owning my own PR firm. I arrived early and she was in the earlier class, in the middle of her end-of-year presentation. She was the leader of her group and the moment I saw her I knew she had to work at penelopePR.

Richelle interned with penelopePR for three months and impressed me with her ability to function on her own and as a part of my incredibly small team in a way that was so beneficial for the growth of my brand-new business. While I couldn’t afford to keep her once her internship was over, we remained close and then, 8 years later, I convinced her to come back as a partner.

Life hasn’t been the same since and I couldn’t be more thankful for her incredible brain, her ability to make everything work and her outstanding PR skills that deliver undeniable coverage for our clients.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have always been transparent to a fault, even if it meant not signing a client that I wanted. There is a fine line to balance in the world of PR and it all comes down to not over-promising and under-delivering. No matter how hard you work, if a story or the content your client (or potential client) wants you to promote isn’t strong, you cannot make the media interested.

As a PR professional, you can also never guarantee coverage. It’s impossible to know if a news story will break when your client is scheduled to launch a new project or product. So at penelopePR one of our most important values is never promising something when you can’t guarantee it.

I think that is what has made our reputation a great one across North America. We are diligent workers who do everything we can to secure media coverage for our clients but only when we feel strongly that they are ready to share their story via a PR campaign. This ensures that potential clients don’t spend their hard-earned money on PR if they are not a point in their career that can support a successful campaign.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.penelopepr.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/penelopepublicrelations
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penelopepublicrelations
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-astle-79a0402/

Image Credits
Corey Kelly