A Public Affair PR focuses on Greenville and the world
They’re in the business of helping clients rise above the fray, but PR firms also need to make a name for themselves in a competitive field. Olivia de Castro started A Public Affair PR four years ago and has made a name for her small company in Miami and then Greenville, including projects for Community Journals. The company also targets Asian and South American markets, and international communities inside the United States. De Castro recently took a moment to tell UBJ part of her own story amid the business of telling so many others.
How many employees do you have in Greenville and Miami?
In Greenville, in addition to myself, I have a killer team of five full-time interns who are studying public relations, business and event management at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In Miami, I had a full-time employee and a part-time employee and two interns.
As a graduate of Furman University, I’m a big believer in engaged learning and internships. They learn from me and I learn from them. I feel a huge sense of responsibility to give interns real experiences.
How is your time divided between offices?
In the beginning, it was a lot of back and forth, traveling every couple of weeks. Trying to be in two places at once was a challenge, but I managed to pull it off. With time, I’ve gotten into a rhythm with my clients in Miami. Most of them are international, usually traveling around the world, which has allowed me to concentrate a lot more on the Greenville market in the past year.
Now I go back to Miami every few months to check in. My husband and I call Greenville home and intend to continue living here full-time.
From the way you present yourself and your business, you obviously see multiculturalism as an asset to be touted.
Well, it’s who I am: Cuban, first-generation American. Everyone had a knack for something. For me, my talent has always been languages and understanding and uniting communities. Obviously, in a city like Miami, with such a prevalent mix of communities, it’s easier to connect with specific audiences due to the sheer strength in numbers.
Greenville is so hungry to get there, and I love it. I see companies that want to understand it. How do we reach audiences that are different than us? I’m blessed to have a real knack for helping companies answer those types of questions. It’s a process, establishing and maintaining real relationships with communities you’ve never interacted with before. It’s so exciting to see the results, the unity. That’s what it’s all about.
Do you find other Upstate companies embracing multiculturalism as a business advantage?
I really do. I see great efforts and, most importantly, successes from organizations like the International Center of the Upstate, the Chamber of Commerce and the corporate leaders like Greenville Health System, Furman University and of course BMW. I could go on and on. It’s growing stronger and stronger and I just want to continue to be a part of it all.
What are the biggest challenges in PR today?
PR continues to be confused with so many other areas of expertise in the marketing and advertising world. It’s not unusual for people to lump all of the skills together and even ask if we do graphic design work.
Social media obviously has given us the ability to easily reach markets that were so out of touch before. It’s a wonderful thing, really. However, it grows and transforms so fast that it’s difficult to keep up with, especially for clients that are focusing on other priorities. Confusion only leads to misuse. It can be so overwhelming for companies to figure out how to control it all. That’s when it’s best to call us in for support and strategy. We can slow it down and get the root of our goals and go from there.
What’s the next big goal on your company’s to-do list?
To continue to grow our business in Greenville. There are so many wonderful PR firms in Greenville and many of them led by capable and superb women. We all have our specialties, which is great because it keeps us from stepping on each other’s toes.
I focus on helping companies in the health, private and nonprofit sectors build and maintain community and client relationships. That’s usually through strategic planning, events and communication strategies. I want to help Greenville companies reach those audiences and help them fall in love with one another. My goal hasn’t changed because we aren’t there yet – we’re closer, but we can’t stop here.
