Headquarter In: Beverly Hills, CA
Founded in Year: 2014
Employees Headcount: 11-50
The field of public relations was, at one time, a pretty simple business. You would send out a press release to appropriate media, follow up once or twice, and – hopefully – get your message out to the public by way of the press.
While that is still true today for some (with many agencies merely posting a press release to a wire service and never even following up about it with media), the methods with which truly strategic PR professionals can connect with media have increased via social media, texting, and more. Relationship-building, intention, and mutual respect remain key when working with clients, staff, and media. And those who are able and eager to evolve with the times while maintaining their core values are the ones who will be the most successful at their work.
Nicole Rodrigues, CEO and founder of NRPR Group – an award-winning, exclusive public relations and corporate positioning agency based out of Beverly Hills – is leading the way forward by meaningfully disrupting the traditional PR industry and elevating how the art of public relations is executed, without forgetting the power of building relationships with clients and media along the way.
In this issue of “Top 10 Businesswomen Leading the Charge of Successful Businesses in 2022,” we take a closer look at Nicole and how she has made NRPR Group such a successful agency.
The Accomplished Public Relations Expert
As the self-funded female founder and CEO of NRPR Group, Nicole has been recognized as a public relations leader, a corporate positioning innovator, and a digital marketing expert with more than two decades of experience leading strategic campaigns for some of the biggest names in business, including: Yahoo!, Dolby, Sony Pictures, Sony PlayStation, Hulu, Demand Media, Heal, MOBITV, and the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders. Nicole has received several industry awards, including a recent Stevie Award win for “PR Executive of the Year 2021” and a PR Daily Award win for “Agency Leader 2022.”
“I am an active member of both the Forbes Business Council and Rolling Stone Culture Council, where I regularly contribute insights about how agencies can adapt their practices to excel with modern audiences.”
To Nicole, being a leader means empowering and helping others become leaders in their own right. In 2017, she created the Young Dreamers Foundation, NRPR’s non-profit organization, to provide students who strive for greatness with tangible, free tools, along with the tactics and mentors necessary to thrive in their future pursuits, both personally and professionally. Through Young Dreamers, aspiring future business leaders can connect with executives, athletes, celebrities and more to empower each child’s unique greatness — in life, in school and, eventually, at work.
“My goal is to help foster a community of emotionally intelligent young leaders who will spark a positive ripple effect as they enter the professional world.”
Nicole is also the published author of Beverly Hills Boss, a business and life skills book aimed at helping others who dream of leading despite humble beginnings or obstacles they have encountered in life. Through the book, readers gain inspiration and actionable insight for growing as a person and in their career. She also hosts the Beverly Hills Boss show on YouTube and the PRfect Pitch podcast. Nicole is also a former NFL cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders and translates that same energy into how she leads her team at NRPR.
NRPR Group’s Origin Story
With 14+ years of experience in strategic public relations, Nicole founded NRPR Group in 2014 to better serve visionary clients, to thoughtfully partner with and support members of the media, and to increase the standard of excellence in the industry she loves.
Prior to founding NRPR, she served as a Vice President at a major PR agency and had built a strong reputation through several other leadership roles in the industry. Still, she knew in her heart that she wanted to create an agency of her own that could serve the best interests of clients, the media, and her team – and where each of these groups would be satisfied with both the experience and the end results.
“I wanted to combine the traditional practice of PR with the emerging digital trends that were quickly reshaping the industry and the way that media was being consumed.”
Now, in 2022, Nicole has achieved that goal with an agency that is now a very successful enterprise. NRPR is an award-winning, trusted agency that has served 65 clients, completed 29 standalone projects,and won 60 awards. Among them are the 2015 Bulldog Reporter Gold Award for “New Agency of the Year;” a 2021 Hermes Creative Award for “Crisis Communication Plan,” a 2021 Stevie Award for “PR Executive of the Year” and a 2022 Ragan Top Agencies Award in the “Agency Leader” category.
Since Nicole opened NRPR’s Beverly Hills office eight years ago, the agency has launched offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas and New York with other team members working remotely across the country. Together, they have served disruptive clients across industries and modalities, including Heal, InfiniteWorld, Los Angeles Comic Con, MOBITV, Liquid Avatar, RSIP Vision, and SteadyMD, each of which is a recognized leader in its respective market and innovator in its field.
The “NRPR Way” Makes A Difference
NRPR is unlike many other agencies in that it is committed to reimagining, reshaping, and elevating the public relations industry as a whole. The company serves marquee businesses from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies in the consumer tech, FinTech, HealthTech, telehealth, sports and entertainment, enterprise and mobile software industries. Its end-to-end services include strategic messaging development, brand positioning, marketing communications, digital/social media marketing, executive thought leadership building, influencer/media relations, multimedia training, content creation, and pre-launch business development strategy and support.
“I consider myself and my team extensions of our clients’ internal marketing and sales teams.”
The NRPR team works closely with executive spokespeople and client stakeholders to better understand their business, to discover how they’re disrupting their industries, and to adopt both their voice and energy in order to best communicate that story to targeted media. NRPR strives to position its clients as champions in their respective fields.
“At NRPR, we also view the media as our partners, rather than as third parties on the opposite side of the fence. We are committed to listening closely to the media and meeting their needs because we truly understand and empathize with their evolving work paradigms.”
NRPR is also the only PR agency that offers multimedia content creation services through NRPR Productions and pre-launch business development support through its newest division, NRPR Business Pro (Biz Pro™), a first-of-its-kind offering within the PR field that guides start-ups and aspiring founders through setting up a business, incorporating it, and preparing to launch.
“Committed To Publicity, Powered by Purpose”
NRPR’s tagline is “Committed to publicity, powered by purpose.” Its primary purpose is to develop media strategies and public-facing brand messaging that can accurately convey a client’s story while resonating with influencers to garner positive publicity. The agency never takes shortcuts and has high standards for everything it does, which is evident in the output and the results it delivers to clients and the media.
“We strive to build our clients’ trust by listening closely to their needs and keeping those needs in mind while interacting with media to garner valuable coverage — often exceeding agreed-upon business goals.”
Nicole knows it is important for PR pros to work with clients to build an integrated PR and marketing plan that raises credibility and trust in their brand. This strategy includes ensuring all brand messaging is cohesive across their website, product, and social media, while building their online presence through blogs, podcast appearances, press releases, bylined articles, thought leadership development and public speaking opportunities, all of which can result in extensive print, digital, and broadcast coverage.
The PR industry is constantly evolving due to emerging technologies and new channels for communication. As new blogs, social influencer accounts, and podcasts pop up daily, so do new opportunities for PR pros to pitch, build relationships, and secure coverage for clients in those spaces.
Internally, Nicole’s vision has always been able to create a corporate culture in which her team can feel empowered to be their most authentic, creative, powerful selves while helping them each grow and enhance their skills along the way.
“I am committed to mentoring and showing appreciation to the top-tier talent who infuse their own passion and creative vision into the work they do here.
As a team, NRPR believes in holding everyone accountable for their work, responsible for their results and supportive of their peers while also serving clients whose core values and visions align with those same high standards.
Nicole’s Advice to Budding Entrepreneurs
She offers several pieces of advice to offer those entering the public relations field or embarking on any business journey with an eye toward leadership:
- Your success will directly correlate to the hard work and sacrifice you dedicate to the business. You must focus, remain fierce in your pursuit and stay close to those who support your mission.
- Never stop learning, growing or improving. You will need to take time outside the office to read and research your industry, clients and competitors
- Educate yourself on every task and role of the company you are building (or the one you want to build or climb up the ladder within your existing one). You can then more meaningfully train and empower those who will take on these roles at your organization or as your career progresses.
Find yourself a mentor and trusted advisors. They can share tips, help you bring out your best attributes and support you along your path toward success.