VIP Publishing is delighted to announce the inaugural Power of Women Awards, celebrating the best and brightest female entrepreneurs in Ireland, across the worlds of fashion, technology, beauty, lifestyle, wellness and more!
The winners, decided by an expert panel and awarded at an exclusive lunch in Dublin’s Marker Hotel on November 19th, will be profiled in the December issue of VIP Magazine.
The Media and Communications Award, is celebrating the incredible women who spread the word for a living, and do it with aplomb! Here’s a bit more information about our inspiring nominees…
Lynn Hunter – Hunter Communications, The Collaborations Agency
With almost 20 years experience working with local and international brands, Lynn is the driving force behind PR company Hunter Communications. Established in 2010, it can name the likes of Tayto and Parfois as clients. Sustainability as a business is important to Lynn, who ensures that press drops have no unnecessary packaging and don’t include single use plastics.“
Recognising the power of online content creation is also something Lynn feels passionately about; she is also the founder and MD of the Collaborations Agency, Hunter’s sister agency, which specialises in syncing brands with influencers and well-known faces.
Sonia Harris Pope – Harris PR
Almost 12 years ago, Sonia set up her own company, Harris PR, which has grown from strength to strength since. The company has worked with brands like Dominos since its inception, as well as adding clients like AYA Supplements and Dingle Distillery along the way. It also has worked with numerous charities and non-profits such as Barretstown and Make a Wish Ireland on fundraising and awareness campaigns.
As someone with a journalistic background also – Sonia worked for several years with the Sunday Independent – she has a great understanding of the media landscape as a whole.
Hannah Saunders – Hannah Saunders PR
Launched in 2016, Hannah Saunders PR specialises in fashion, beauty, celebrity and lifestyle, working with clients like UP Cosmetics, Revive Active, Sarah Keary, Sinead Keary The Label and Freddy Jeans. Hannah cut her teeth in PR in Dublin and New York before moving to London to work for top PR agency Halpern.
It was here that she later set up her own company, and she has since taken it with her back to Ireland in a permanent move home. As someone with a huge social media following herself, Hannah has fantastic connections with famous faces, and has worked on campaigns with top social influencers, as well as the likes of Cheryl Cole, Margot Robbie and Joe Wicks.
Amy Buckeridge – The Publicity Loft
Carlow-born Amy created her business The Publicity Loft in 2010, which has since grown to become one of Ireland’s biggest PR agencys, handling content for clients across beauty, fashion, hotels and restaurants. From skincare giants like IMAGE Skincare and Yonka Paris, The Publicity Loft is known for its excellent launches and innovative press events, designed to get people talking.
Meanwhile, The Digital Loft, its sister agency, was established in 2018 to meet the growing demands of social media development, influencer strategies, design and content creation.
Valerie Roe – Valerie Roe PR
For years, Valerie Roe was known as ‘Queen of the Clubs’, having managed a number of nightlife spots across Dublin, the best know being celebrity hunt Lillie’s Bordello. A former Miss Ireland, Valerie handled all event and PR matters in house during her nightclub role, helping her to build long-lasting relationships with a number of industry insiders and the Irish and UK media.
When she left Lillies in 2004, she set up her own eponymous PR firm which has gone on to represent clients from Bellamianta to Polished London.
Lindsey Holmes – LHP
With over twenty years experience running campaigns as diverse as music festivals and presidential elections, Lindsey Holmes Publicity is a stalwart in the Irish public relations industry. Lindsey established her PR consultancy in 1994, and has represented some of the biggest international and home grown talent, including U2, The Cranberries, Don McClean and The Waterboys.
Lindsey established the agency as at the time, very few companies specialised specifically in the entertainment area. Since setting up LHP with roughly five clients, she has gone on to achieve incredible feats like helping to increase the attendance at Electric Picnic from 10,000 to 70,000.
Emma Kelly – Elevate PR
Emma founded consumer PR agency Elevate back in 2001, which specialises in lifestyle clients with a focus on design, arts, fashion, hospitality and health. Clients on Emma’s books range from Charlotte Tilbury and Kildare Village to JYSK and Lily O’Brien’s. This year it marked 20 years in business, and with its finger firmly on the pulse, it launched an IGTV series, The New PR Toolkit, which shared top tips from the agency’s expertise.
Emma has also run webinars on The Future of Media, imparting her wisdom on traversing the industry through the years, and overcoming challenges in PR such as maintaining success during the pandemic.
Joanne Byrne & Sinead Ryan – Presence PR
Founded in 2003, Presence PR manages campaigns from small independent companies to global brands, from Avène to Lindt. A number of famous faces are also on the agency’s books, such as Lucy Kennedy, Nicky Byrne and Mairead Ronan.
Joanne and Sinead established the business after meeting at another PR company, setting up from scratch without taking any clients with them from their previous roles. Their first client was Nestlé Cereals, and since then they have thrived in the media landscape, securing career highs like the Dublin Horse Show and working on the Lincoln premiere with Daniel Day Lewis.
