We all get our travel inspiration and news from different sources. I love to voraciously read magazines, listen to podcasts, check Facebook and, of course, I follow a few folks on Instagram. It is a way of feeling connected to the world around me and also allows a glimpse into a world that is beyond my day-to-day in New York City. From this, I have a long list of aspirational trips to take and places I want to explore. It is also a way that I can see and spot trends in travel, business, design, food, and beyond.
As a PR agency with luxury clients spanning the globe, we are in an exceptionally enviable situation to be international news curators. We get an indication ahead of most about what is going on in the world of hospitality and can analyze and compare it. We see what is happening in Europe and Africa, South America and Asia from boutique hotels to adventure travel. Call it trend-spotting or simply being curious and aware, we’ve always taken pride in our journalistic-type reporting and writing about what significant movements and cool moments are happening across the world. We take seriously our need to act as a brain trust and ultimately to share what we’ve learned with our clients and the media alike.
As you may have heard from us or in the trade press, Hawkins International is now officially bi-coastal. It’s been a long- time goal of mine to have an office in California. Hawkins International loves Cali—I went to high school in the Valley and attended UC Irvine (Go Anteaters) and we’ve always had amazing clients and some-time employees based there. But we’ve officially taken our relationship with the West to the next level by naming Lucy Zepp as Managing Director of our new Los Angeles-based office. This is a big forward push for us—Lucy is leading our team there (it’s the second-largest media market in the U.S.!) as well as expanding our reach in Asia-Pacific, Mexico and more. She’s a lawyer by training, a seasoned PR talent, and has worked with top agencies and clients; her strategic savvy and deep West Coast contacts are going to produce major results.
This pro-active move is what Hawkins International is all about. Today there’s a volatile market, with global uncertainty and financial instability (as well the ever-looming threat of natural disasters) threatening to disrupt (and sometimes, as in the Caribbean, sadly disabling) the luxury travel market. And the current business climate has responded by becoming more competitive and unpredictable. At Hawkins International we welcome this, since pressure gives us a chance to show how innovative (and sometimes downright scrappy) we can be in promoting our clients. This edition of Long Story Short—including stories on how to squeeze value from an influencer collaboration and how team members can create more content for less cost—is all about how we’ve responded. Read through to find out how smiles, best practices, and successful client strategies have met today’s business challenges. Hope to see you soon, or drop me a note at Jennifer@hawkpr.com.