PR South, an Atlanta-based public relations firm specializing in real estate, financial services and nonprofits, is celebrating ten years of serving clients throughout the Southeastern United States and beyond this month.
Former newspaper editor Thornton Kennedy launched the company as the world began to recover from the Great Recession. Their first client was the Historic Oakland Foundation. The nonprofit oversees the oldest public cemetery in Atlanta, which has become a major attraction with several events drawing thousands of visitors annually.
A partnership between Atlanta real estate developers Batson-Cook Development Company and Novare Group helped the firm take off when PR South earned the SkyHouse account. Beginning in 2011, the joint-venture has delivered 18 high-rise luxury apartment buildings branded SkyHouse in urban cores throughout the South, including in Dallas, Tampa and Nashville. The program has completed more than $500 million in new construction, resulting in thousands of jobs and thousands of luxury rental units aimed at young professionals.
“We have represented more than 40 clients as they made headlines, moved into new markets, made major acquisitions and started and completed cool new developments,” said Kennedy. “We are incredibly proud our core clients, who helped us launch ten years ago, are still with us. We are humbled to continue to represent so many awesome partners.”
The company’s impetus came from more than a decade in journalism when Kennedy spent a good deal of time working with public relations firms. He found many could not help their clients. Their sole objective was getting glowing coverage of their clients in the paper, which doesn’t hold much value to the readers. He found it was a waste of his time and theirs, and more importantly, a waste of the client’s money.
He knew there was a better way to build relationships, build trust and deliver value.
As the great recession started, a small firm offered him an opportunity to jump to the other side of the equation to learn the ropes. A year later, Kennedy planted his flag, starting PR South with a computer and a cell phone.
Since then, the company has represented clients in every major city across the South. Specializing in real estate, financial services and nonprofits, they have earned valuable, newsworthy media spots for their clients across the spectrum, from the Wall Street Journal to Forbes, to NPR to the broadcast networks, to name a few.
The company has also created countless content platforms, including newsletters, blogs and social media campaigns, and assisted with rebranding efforts, including creating content for and launching new websites.
For more information, please visit PRSouth.net.