An Insight into the World of Wellness PR

Hello Georgie! Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed by The Retreater, can you start by telling us a bit about yourself?

Thank you for your time! And yes of course, over the last part of a decade I’ve worked on both sides of media: as a PR specialist and journalist. I love stepping out of the box and spreading my wings in both fields; not only because it’s fun, challenging and rewarding… but it enables me to gain a 360 perspective of the past faced industry.

I began my career working for many years in luxury travel PR for a number of agencies across London. I was very fortunate to meet some amazing people (both PRs and journalists), who to this day I consider some of the closest people in my life. Working on a daily basis with journalists, whilst also being professionally trained by a number of prolific in-house journalists , it inspired me to want to have a go myself. From there I started writing regularly for an editor friend alongside my daily role as a PR Executive.

My love for personal autonomy and creativity led me to set up LUXE BB back in September 2019. At this time none of us saw what was coming, however with the experience under my belt having worked in and helping develop PR agencies, pivoting during this difficult time only challenged me further, ultimately getting me to where I am today.

Could you expand on what your agency LUXE BB offers?

Built upon my personal expertise as a PR and journalist, we work exclusively with fitness, wellbeing and active living brands.

Our USP is the combined skillset of executing strategies, paired with the creative writing skills and perspective from a journalist standpoint. Beyond the services of a traditional agency, we also offer SEO website copywriting which ties cohesively back into the messaging of the high-profile media campaigns we lead. Over the last three years, we’ve been fortunate to represent some of the most exciting brands in the world of wellness: from activewear, to fitness studios… and of course launching The Retreater!

The Retreater Launch Event

What are some of the top trends you’re seeing in wellness right now with the journalists/brands you’re working with?

This has been written before, but in the last year has only just started to gain traction (interestingly with both press and influencers). It’s the link specifically between fitness, nutrition and female health.

There has been a lot of noise on the ‘seasons’ of the female cycle, but now people are starting to dig deeper into the types of food, and workouts affect the overall cycle.

For example, one of my clients is an advocate for how low impact workouts not only protect joints as we age, but helps level out hormones to ensure we can thrive at our best. Whilst another fantastic influencer is developing ‘hormone happy’ recipes which she is creating whilst tracking her cycle. This is a story I am keen to work on with a number of my clients.

For a new business who’s just getting started, what would your advice be about how to get exposure in the press? What should they think about in terms of different types of features?

For PR to succeed for any new business, they need to ensure firstly that they understand their values – ie: who they are, what they stand for, and of course their USP. These elements are imperative in building a successful campaign that modern media can engage with. I say this time and time again, as fantastic as PR is about reaching new audiences, it’s also about managing your reputation and credibility with those who already have your eyes on you.

PR is an important element of any marketing strategy.

The print coverage results are satisfying, but it’s also about securing the highly engaged online pieces that are integral for SEO ranking.

The variety of features span from wider brand features, to product placement slots, expert commentary opportunities and found profiling pieces. This is why it’s important to have a story that you can tell to connect you with your desired audience.

In terms of our work with The Retreater, this mainly focused on the launch event in which we hosted an exclusive collection of high-profile press and influencers for a ‘mini-retreat’ in the grounds of Holland Park. For the event we also brought on board some valuable brand partners to ensure we capitalised as much as possible! Beyond this it also included securing a handful of pieces of coverage for The Retreater. This included a full page spread in Top Santé magazine, which we were thrilled to hear converted a number of sales!

You get to travel to some amazing places with your job, what’s some of your favourite places you’ve visited this year?

One of the main things I love about being my own boss is the freedom it brings, allowing me to develop my journalism alongside running a PR business. Unsurprisingly, the two tie together excellently. When I step into my travel journalism shoes, it gives me the opportunity to visit some incredible places (notably the Maldives, Italian Dolomites and Greece this year) but importantly also to network with others in the industry.

Relationships are key to being a successful PR, as you are your own brand.

Retreat at Fairoak

Any retreats that you’ve tried and loved?

Yes! Earlier this year I was fortunate to visit and review Fair Oak Retreat in Kent – you can read my feature here. I am so pleased that they are now also a partner of The Retreater. It’s set on a gorgeous farm in the depths of the English countryside with the most heavenly food. Whilst on the flipside, a few years ago I visited NO .1 Bootcamp which was a challenging and rewarding week long experience in a farmhouse in Norfolk – you can read my piece on that here.

Having grown up on the water and being a keen paddleboarder, the next retreat I’ve got my eyes on from The Retreater’s excellent portfolio is this Fitness Retreat in Ibiza!

You can follow Georgie on Instagram @georgielilybb and LUXE BB @luxebbpr. For more information on LUXE BB visit luxebb.co.uk