Telum is looking to highlight the diverse and vibrant agencies in the Australian and NZ PR and communications landscape in upcoming editions of our PR Alert. We want to encourage networking, business opportunities, and to celebrate the great initiatives being worked on. If you'd like your agency to feature, get in touch at alert@telummedia.com

In this edition, we look at ÉTOILE PR. Founded by Alana Chetner after several years leading PR and communications teams in the travel and tourism and entertainment sectors, ÉTOILE PR is a Sydney-based boutique agency with a particular focus.

What services does the agency offer?
We offer a full spectrum of services, including public relations, talent and influencer management, event management, content creation, graphic design, marketing and social media support. Over the last six years, our clients have gradually increased our scope across all of these key pillars, allowing us to truly own their marketing and communications strategies and ensure a consistent, seamless approach.

We also run workshops for internal marketing and communications teams who need to step outside their day-to-day and brainstorm fresh ideas with an external agency.

Always top of mind is the opportunity to partner brands in the ÉTOILE PR portfolio to really amplify brand impact through collaboration and cross-promotion.

What size is the agency?
We are a boutique agency with a focus on truly becoming an extension of every team we work with. That might sound cliché, but it’s very important to our team and core to our business success.

We are small, but mighty!

Where does your agency have an office?
Our office is based in the Workit Space in Alexandria, Sydney - conveniently across the road from the Grounds!

Do you have a particular area of focus?
Our key focus is on the entertainment sector, predominantly film, television and live events, as well as lifestyle brands in the luxury and travel space. Our social impact work has also grown over the last few years, providing support to the environment sector, including on bushfire recovery efforts post the Black Summer bushfires, as well as mental health, especially during the pandemic.

Who is the founder and why did they start the agency?
Alana Chetner is the founder of ETOILE PR and started the agency to combine her years of experience across entertainment, lifestyle and corporate PR. With a passion to make a difference, her ambition is to align with like-minded brands to help them raise their profile and establish a strong reputation and long-lasting legacy amongst their target audiences.

An overarching goal of the agency is to consistently strive to make a change in the world. Alana’s most prized work in her 15-year career has been seeing first-hand the emotional impact a strong campaign can make when its primary goal is to create an impact on the lives of people, places, wildlife and Australia’s future.

Alana has always been passionate about mentoring PR graduates and growing the careers of PR professionals, with a focus on doing things differently to what has been traditionally expected in an agency environment. Work / life balance is number one in the agency, along with open communication, a flat structure and always an opportunity to speak up, learn and grow.

What is next for your agency? What is the five-year goal?
Our priority is to grow with our existing portfolio of clients and help them with their long-term growth strategies.

We’re building on our Australian and international networks, with the five-year goal of being the leading boutique PR Agency in Australia, specialising in entertainment, lifestyle and social impact.

Currently, we are building out our Head Office in Sydney ready for ongoing expansion and are setting our sights on expanding the agency globally.

In a sentence, describe your ideal relationship with a journalist.
Highly professional and trustworthy, with the ability to be transparent and open with pitch angles (and even initial ideas!) to create impactful, news-worthy stories for audiences.

Tell us about a campaign you are currently working on or are particularly proud of.
We worked with the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (FNPW) to launch Bushfire Recovery Nurseries across Australia following the Black Summer bushfires, with the goal to plant one million trees by 2025. This campaign required us to launch each individual Nursery, which were all well-attended by news crews and journalists.

Seeing the real impact of this campaign and how it will help regenerate wilderness and wildlife is the reason we work in PR. Last year, FNPW was crowned Australian Charity of the Year as a result of this work.

Any key PR trends your agency is keeping an eye on?
It’s an ever-evolving landscape and we need to keep an eye on which platforms are making the most impact and reaching the right target audiences for each of our specific sectors.

Social, in particular, is a moving beast, so it’s important to keep an eye on what’s happening, evaluating success by the level of engagement over the number of followers.

What skillsets do you look for in new hires?
First and foremost, it’s the passion and motivation to grow and learn. No day is ever the same in PR, so the ability to multitask, with a high attention to detail, is a must.

The mindset to ask questions and learn from people around you is also a key driver to progress your career at ÉTOILE PR. Every person, no matter how experienced, has something different to offer, so we really nurture that and encourage open communication.

A genuine love for connecting with people and getting excited about securing media coverage or landing a new business win never gets old. So, being enthusiastic and truly enjoying your day-to-day work is something that we live by.