5

By now, everyone in the industry knows the name Kelly Brady. The hard-working founder of Brandsway Creative is a fixture in the Hamptons and has long been part of the fashion and lifestyle PR world in New York City, where she was part of a legendary PR era. The personable publicist tells The Daily how she got started, why she still loves her work and how she’s evolved her business over the years. Take notes…

You’ve had an incredible career in PR. What was your very first job or internship?
My first experience in the PR industry was as the Vice President of PR for my fraternity, Gamma Phi Beta, in college. I then interned at Lizzie Grubman PR and worked there for 8 years until I became the Vice President of the company.

We heard you used to be an actress! Who would have thought?! Tell us about it!
I was more of an aspiring actress and model. I designed a Stephen Dweck jewelry catalog, was on the cover of romance novels, and had a cameo in Sex and the City that was eventually scrapped. Although I was always drawn to the glamour of entertainment, I found my true calling in public relations. It just suited my personality! Let’s face it, the relentless rejections at auditions were a bit too much for me; I found myself wasting my chances of pitching my clients’ stories to savvy publications like The daily front rowinstead of facing unpredictable casting calls.

Who were your mentors at the beginning of your career?
At the beginning of my career, I had the privilege of learning directly from the original New York Magazine Cover of “Power Girl” Lizzie Grubman. Sabrina Levine of LGPR taught me valuable lessons. Collaborations were also crucial; I formed strategic alliances with other PR agencies and various agencies to increase our clients’ success. Personalities such as Liza Anderson, Shawn Sachs, Nicole Esposito, Brad Zeifman and Lissette Sand-Freedman played a crucial role. In addition, I cherish countless partnerships with my best friend and former MTV Power Girls Fellow actress and fellow LGPR member Rachel Krupa. We continue to work closely together and even have our offices in the same building. Her 6th floor window looks into mine on the 4th floor. I have also been inspired by high-profile, no-nonsense PR professionals like Leslie Sloane and Claire Mercuri. These relationships not only shaped my professional skills but also enriched my approach to public relations.

What is your PR philosophy?
My philosophy around public relations focuses on understanding your audience and developing stories that are both engaging and authentic, as well as positioning stories that resonate and inspire people to get involved. This approach is based on collaboration and creativity. I firmly believe in cultivating strong, two-way relationships with both the media and my colleagues. At Brandsway Creative, we have created a fun, supportive and relaxed environment where teamwork is paramount. We value the contributions of each team member, working together to tackle challenges and achieve exceptional results for our clients. Agility and information are critical as our industry is constantly evolving. Every campaign we run integrates both traditional and innovative PR methods, including leveraging social media influencers and affiliate marketing. This strategy ensures that we not only keep up with trends, but also create buzz and effectively expand our reach.

Kelly Brady and Tara Ciccone

At that time you made a television show called Power girls. How was that?
It was amazing and a little bit surreal! When I was asked to do the show, my only reference point was The real worldso I was initially worried that they might want to have cameras in my apartment and film me 24 hours a day. Luckily, that wasn’t their shooting style. MTV’s Power Girls was one of the first shows of the reality TV wave. As a reminder, it was broadcast during the first season of The Apprentice on NBC and followed Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey’s Newlyweds. Joining MTV so soon after moving to NYC and graduating college was truly a once in a lifetime experience. It accelerated the growth of my contact book at the young age of 22. This exposure broadened my horizons early in my PR career, allowed me to meet many different people and gain valuable experience that made me a better publicist.

How did you end up with your own company?
After 8 years at LGPR, I turned 30 and experienced hospitality professional Matt Levine approached me with the idea of ​​starting Brandsway Creative. We realized we had a shared vision and he gave me the courage and confidence to become an entrepreneur like the people I represented and build my own agency.

Who are your customers today?
Cult brands such as Winky Lux, Alice & Olivia, Little Words Project, WYR and TV program. Hot spot hospitality spots like Paros, Maison Close and Bijoux. TV talents like Meredith Marks, Ubah Hassan, Jordan Emmauel and Gracie Cashman. Models and influencers like Sports illustrated Model Sharina Gutierrez, Jessica Hart, Emira D’Spain, Aditya Madiraju, Marianne Fonseca and Cory B, (and) wellness experts like Xtend Barre founder Andrea Rogers and Kevyn Zeller – to name a few.

Ubah Hassan

You work on a lot of properties in the Hamptons. What clients do you work with in the East and what do you like about PR work in the Hamptons?
On the East, we have Montauk Beach House, Sole East, Memory Motel, Sage & Madison, Montauk Project, Il Pellicano at Bijoux with Chef Rocco DiSpirito, Jill Zarin’s Luxury Luncheon from Ticket2Events, and Project Zero’s annual beach cleanup with Alexandra Richards and Georgia Cohen, an event the three of us co-organized. This summer, we expanded our operations to the North Fork, where we are handling public relations for the 9th Annual North Fork TV Festival. I love working on the East End because it has a wide reach, there are countless local publications that exclusively cover what’s happening in the Hamptons, and because it draws nationwide interest from national publications. Whatever happens on the East End, the whole world is interested and wants to know about it. The audience is exactly the audience my clients want to reach, and it’s a beautiful place to work in the summer. A PR professional’s dream – a win-win!

What would someone looking for a PR agent gain from working with you and your team?
A passionate team of young and experienced PR experts who are always on the cutting edge and offer the perfect combination of fresh perspectives and sound insights. A team that truly loves telling our clients’ stories, generating excitement and building lasting brands.

How has the world of PR changed since you started?
When I started in PR, my clients hated online media – they only wanted hits in books. Now they prefer online media that drives sales. Technology and communication methods have also evolved significantly. This will make me old, but when I started in PR, I was faxing media advisories to news channels to cover our events and faxing media clips to our clients after cutting, pasting and photocopying them on a copier! The biggest change has been the rise of social media. It is a wonderful and effective way to amplify earned media and increase the reach of a PR clip. Influencer placements have become crucial and this strategy needs to be part of every campaign.

What do you like most about your job?
It’s so much fun. I truly love my job because it’s so rewarding. I love helping people achieve their goals. I love working with innovative brands from the ground up, bringing fresh and unique concepts to market and developing the strategy to get from “A” to “B”. I love reading a story we’ve crafted, pitched and placed in a major media publication. I love brand building and having my finger on the pulse of what’s trending right now. I love my team, the people I work with every day – like my partner Tara Ciccone – and mentoring young publicists who also share a love of PR.

Why is working with a publicist valuable?
Because when you launch a new product (or project) or build a brand, you realize that you can’t do everything yourself. Leave public relations to the experts – we are an indispensable part of your path to success.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into PR?
Internships! Do an internship while you’re studying and expand your experience. Do an internship in the PR and marketing department, work in an agency with different types of clients, work at a magazine. The more real-life experience you get, the more your resume will stand out after you graduate. Start building and nurturing relationships once you’ve decided that PR is the field you want to get into, because PR is a business where who you know matters.

What else would you like to do?
I want to expand the beach cleanups that Alexandra Richards, Georgia Cohen, and I started last summer. Living in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, I’m constantly struck by how dirty the streets can get. I want to start a neighborhood garden club inspired by a concept popular in the South. A neighborhood garden club in the South typically brings community members together to beautify their streets and engage in community service activities. My vision is to combine this with the beach cleanups we started in the Hamptons and expand the initiative to the streets of Brooklyn. The goal is to clean the city block by block, foster a sense of community, and encourage residents to take pride in the neighborhood they return to each night because they helped keep the streets clean.

Where can we find you when you are not working?
At the beach with my kids. That’s my happy place.

Kelly Brady

Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with the latest fashion news and juicy industry rumors.