Telum is looking to highlight the diverse and vibrant agencies in the Southeast Asian PR agency landscape in upcoming editions of our PR Alert. We want to encourage networking, business opportunities, and to celebrate the great initiatives being worked on around the region. If you'd like your agency to feature, get in touch.

Telum caught up with Lyla Lin and Lynn Yeow-De Vito, Co-Founders of LOOP to share more about the Singapore-headquartered boutique communications agency.

What services does the agency offer?
LOOP is a boutique hospitality communications agency specialised in tailored and results-driven PR and marketing solutions. For us, we succinctly close the loop between our clients and their target audience through our full suite of integrated knowledge, ranging from marketing, public and media relations, communications strategies, branding, online marketing, partnerships and promotions, copywriting, and events - all in the world of hospitality and F&B.

What size is the agency?
We’re a boutique agency. It’s no more than five of us - two account directors, two consultants, and a copywriter. We believe in a specialised approach, so everyone in the team has experience in the F&B and hospitality sector for at least 5 years. We also only service five to six clients each time. This is because LOOP has always been about giving bespoke solutions, and our mission is to give each client quality time and expert knowledge about the industry, ultimately delivering with personalised strategies that are on trend with today’s market.  

Today, we’re lucky to count brands and businesses like Sanpellegrino, Mandala Club, Ebb & Flow Group and Restaurant Zén amongst our long-standing clients.

Where is your office located?
We’re based in Singapore. 

Do you have a particular area of focus? 
We specialised in F&B and hospitality. 
 
Who is the founder and why did they start LOOP? 
LOOP was created in 2017 by Lynn Yeow-De Vito and Lyla Lin, two industry insiders and fellow fervent foodies. Individually we have been on both sides of the coin - working in PR agencies and for in-house marketing and PR teams for businesses. We saw a constant disconnect between agency and client, and we created LOOP to change that - we are an extension of our client’s management team who work together with them on achieving their business objectives. 

Tell us about the leadership team. 
Lynn is a PR and communications veteran with over 15 years of expertise in the lifestyle industry. Endowed with an entrepreneurial streak, she established her own PR agency after working in Marketing Communications for international hotel chains and PR agencies. She has personally managed the pre-openings of hotels such as Capella Singapore, St Regis Singapore, Alila Hotels and Resorts, Jia Boutique Hotel, and award-winning restaurants such as Odette and Joel Robuchon. Lynn is also the co-founder of Sassymama Singapore, the top premium online website for mothers and women on what’s hot in the world of parenting in Singapore.

Lyla is an all-rounded PR and marketing professional, armed with many skills of the trade amassed over the last decade: marketing, public relations, sales, events management, photography, branding and social media. Her passion in the F&B industry took her to spearhead the sales and marketing division of Singapore’s premier Italian restaurant group The ilLido Group, where she led the group’s expansion in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. 

What is next for LOOP? What is the five year goal?
We want to elevate PR within the F&B industry, by helping each brand build a more sustainable PR model - through building always-on PR programmes and cultivating long-standing relationships with the media - as they grow their business. 

In a sentence, describe your ideal relationship with a journalist. 
A friendly, transparent, trustworthy one with open communication. 

Tell us about a campaign you are currently working on or are particularly proud of.
Since Q2 of 2021, we have been working with Mandala Club on its rebranding efforts as it acquired and took over the iconic private members club Straits Clan in Chinatown. It has a strong commitment to the arts, with its artist-in-residence creative studio programme; a focus on the growth of its inclusive and engaged community through the regeneration of many of the Club’s interior spaces, experiences and programming; and a focus on excellence and innovation across culinary and beverage concepts across the Club. One key part of that have been two residencies by two of the world’s most famous chefs - Chef Mauro Colagreco, of three-MICHELIN-star and 2019’s World’s 50 Best Restaurant Mirazur in Menton, France, and Chef Gaggan Anand, of the eponymous Gaggan (which was the number one restaurant on Asia’s 50 Best list for four years in a row from 2014 to 2018, and ranked fourth in World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019) in Bangkok, Thailand.

These were bold partnerships initiated despite the COVID pandemic, but they’ve proved to be extremely successful with sell-out seasons each time. 
 
Any key PR trends your agency is keeping an eye on?
Data is an area that we’re setting our sights on - to use it to better understand our progress in moving the needle, and to make more informed decisions when it comes to creating PR campaigns and concepts. 

What skill sets do you look for in new hires?
A passion for the industry is a must - for one must have his or her senses honed to the needs of the industry and always work in the shoes of a business owner. We also look for people who are sincere, resourceful and proactive. In our space, we must always aim to be several steps ahead with coming up with new ideas and concepts to disrupt the scene.