If you can make things work in high pressure situations at a young age, the more confident you become as you grow. Big i
Suzanne Rosnowski Expanding Her Luxury PR Agency, Relevance International, from New York to London Suzanne Rosnowski’s career has taken her from Hong Kong to Washington, D.C. to New York and now to London. With a passion for international business and a vision to build a global empire, it was only natural for this public relations powerhouse, wife and mom of three to expand her New York Cityheadquartered agency to London.
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You can’t have a conversation with Suzanne without being inspired to expand your own business. Her unique approach to cultivating client relationships, global sensibilities and out-ofthe-box strategies make Relevance International the PR firm to watch. CEOMOM Magazine was excited to chat with this globe-trotting mom to discuss the future of Relevance International and how she does it all. Tell us about Relevance International. What does your company do? Relevance International is a public relations and brand strategy firm. We work with clients to garner media exposure, give them a competitive advantage with brand positioning and harness their target audience to drive overall visibility. We find out what their business goals are and develop strategies in order to help achieve them. We promote clients primarily in the real estate, hospitality, luxury goods and corporate arena. We also do crisis communications. Relevance New York was founded five-and-a-half years ago in New York. We recently expanded to London, and rebranded as Relevance International. As a global firm, we find that our target audiences could be anywhere. For example, a project we promote could be in New York, but the customer could live anywhere in the world. What is important is that you have a PR partner who can reach anyone, anywhere.
offer and have so by bringing on a talented team of all stars. We have been fortunate enough to handpick the best talent in each of their respective sectors of PR. We have seasoned professionals drive innovative account strategy. What is your role with Relevance International? I am the CEO and founder. When we started my role was very different than it is now. We began with a small office where I was wearing every hat. As we’ve expanded, my role has shifted more toward elevating and executing the firm’s strategic vision. I work to ensure our brand delivers and exceeds expectations, and provides consistency in what we offer. I also support the team to do what they do best. I am here for big picture ideas, creative ideas and strategy. A recent example of a creative idea I infused into a campaign was when one of our real estate clients partnered with a private jet company to provide a first-of-its-kind jet share amenity. This helped garner substantial media coverage and drive sales for the project. We teach big picture thinking at Relevance, so all of our staff learn how to think this way to add value and ideas to our clients on a regular basis. How did your public relations career begin? I went to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and was a PR major. My minor was international business, which I have always been drawn to. I was part of an international program, which allowed me to take several international consulting trips abroad. I also was able to subsequently work in Hong Kong, where I was fortunate enough to get thrown into the deep end of the fastpaced world of bilingual and global PR. I learned so much, so quickly. That experience sticks with me today because everything also happens quickly in New York. If you can make things work in high pressure situations at a young age, the more confident you become as you grow. Big issues shrink with experience.
After my experience abroad, I went to Washington, D.C. where I worked at a healthcare PR firm. I then conducted PR for a program of the United States Agency for International Development, where I helped produce press results for government officials in the U.S. and In addition to traditional PR, we have hired social media specialists and are offering expanded social and digital services. Asia. After I left D.C., I was a partner and part owner of a New York lifestyle agency, where I spent 10 years, then started Relevance. We have really stretched the breadth and scope of what we
You have experienced rapid growth since your previous agency. To what do you attribute your success? I have been lucky and blessed to have an amazing family that has supported me and always encouraged me to follow big ideas and dreams. There are lots of times I need to travel for work, and my husband is there to be the backbone. I have also been fortunate to have an amazing team at Relevance who rally around the vision and brand. The team works extremely hard. I love Relevance because I love building something bigger than myself. I love that we are building something together as a team. It’s that feeling of ‘we’ not ‘me’ as a culture. I attribute my success to that. Everyone has to check their egos at the door. At Relevance, we genuinely work together and have fun. We work hard and keep an emphasis on great results. How do you stand out from other public relations firms who specialize in real estate public relations? First and foremost, we do not use a one-size-fits-all approach. Lots of firms, especially large ones, will tend to take a more routine approach to public relations because they are turning out a high volume of clients. We have done a good job of keeping that boutique sensibility. We think strategically for our clients and act as an extension of them. How are we creating that “aha” moment? How are we creating something truly original? Congratulations on your international expansion! How did you know when it was time to expand Relevance New York globally? What have been some of the biggest challenges opening your London office? We knew it was time to expand when the clients started asking, “Do you think you can get PR for my project but over here in this international market?” They started asking for a broader and broader reach. Growing offices around the world was always my vision for Relevance. It’s a combination of what I love and what the clients want and need. It was the right opportunity. It wasn’t easy forming an office in London, because I am not a UK citizen. It is quite the process to form an office internationally, but this was the next step toward going global and I am so glad we did it. It has been so rewarding. We have a fantastic team in London.
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Motherhood is a great teacher for entrepreneurship in terms of patience, multitasking and prioritization. These are skills moms use every day. Photo Credit: SNOWFLAKENYC
How has your role as a mom impacted your role as a PR powerhouse? I think it has made me better at time management. There are no better multitaskers than mothers. Motherhood is a great teacher for entrepreneurship in terms of patience, multitasking and prioritization. These are skills moms use every day. A lot of the great business women I know are moms. I feel like there is a lot of pressure for women to have to choose - do I want to be a mom, or a business person? I truly believe we need to stop having that conversation and let people do what feels right for them. If I have one piece of advice to give women who do want a career and to be a mom, it’s don’t wait for a perfect time to do what you want to do. I am where I am today because I didn’t hit the pause button when everything was moving around me. I was pregnant with my second child when I started Relevance. Where there's a will, there's a way. Based on your experiences as a CEO mom, what is one thing moms should give up when trying to manage a career and family? Let go of having to always do everything yourself. Realize you can prioritize and be hands-on with the things that
matter the most to you, and delegate things that are less important. There are always going to be times you feel torn. For me, it is not crucial that I am the one driving the kids to school, I can let go of the chauffeur time. But I can’t let go of my key quality moments. For example, I used to sing, so I bond with my kids whenever they do anything in the arts space – whether it is playing the piano, doing art or singing together. This is quality time to me. The same thing goes for the CEO side. There are certain clients where it’s important that I am in the room. There are others where we can’t scale if I am always in the room, and I am not needed. Things may not always be done exactly as you would like, and that’s okay, so long as the important results are there. Let go of the control a bit and focus on important key moments. Prioritize, trust those around you, and focus on what is most important. Learn more about Suzanne Rosnowski and Relevance International at https://relevanceinternational.com/.
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