Article written by: Émilie Brunet and Perrine Dérès.
Edited by: Matthew Trottier, Judith Goudreau and Lawrence Esso, PRP, APR
Lawrence Esso is a certified public relations consultant, specializing in crisis management, and founder of boutique agency Kelart Communications, rooted in the world of new technologies, culture and entertainment.
She also hosts the podcast, Futuristik 3.0, where she brings together experts in the field of new technologies to demystify technologies for the general public and raise awareness of the ethical issues created by some of these innovations.
We invite you to discover a public relations professional who combines passion and expertise to shed light on fields little known to the general public.
Public relations for everyone’s benefit
According to CPRS (Canadian Public Relations Society), “Public relations is the strategic management, through communication, of the relationships between an organization and its various publics in order to foster mutual understanding, achieve organizational objectives and serve the public interest.” (Flynn, Gregory & Valin, 2008)
For Lawrence, the key to achieving these objectives lies in listening. It would be important for any organization to equip itself with the means to listen to the needs and expectations of its key publics, thereby avoiding putting the organization’s interests ahead of those of the public.
“We’re more ethical when we dialogue and listen”.
Kelart Communications, serving art and technology
Lawrence’s career began nearly 15 years ago in the aeronautics industry, a career she pursued in the interactive and multimedia entertainment industry. She then launched her boutique public relations agency, Kelart Communications.
Organizations in the manufacturing, entertainment, cultural and new technology sectors have specific requirements in terms of crisis management, visibility, press relations and reputation management.
Lawrence’s agency provides personalized support, sometimes with the help of various collaborators. The main goal will always be to raise the level of communications for both internal and external audiences.
Freedom and passion
With Kelart Communications, Lawrence achieves several professional goals. For Lawrence, it was above all a chance to take flight and develop her passions. She felt the need to grow and develop as a person, but also as a relationship builder. Entrepreneurship represents the ideal terrain for exploring, expanding one’s limits and working in the areas that Lawrence is truly passionate about.
From an early age, Lawrence has been fascinated by the powers of technology and how it is transforming our world. Driven by her great curiosity, she works in the service of the democratization of knowledge with various organizations, particularly in the technology sector, to help communicate new advances to a wider audience.
“I see myself as an agent translating their language, their world to reach their different audiences.”
Advice for the next generation
Rather than giving advice to the next generation of PR people, Lawrence preferred to talk to the humans behind the scenes. We’ve picked out four pieces of advice that stood out for us:
“Sometimes we’re very driven by the desire to succeed quickly and we may look to skip steps, but we always evolve better when we take the time to listen and observe.”
1. Listening: a recurring theme in our interview. Listening is at the heart of public relations. It’s necessary in order to develop and better serve others.
2. The last piece of advice: be yourself! It’s important to be authentic in order to “open doors for ourselves, keep those doors open and keep our feet on the ground”.
3. You also have to learn to observe well, to learn to recognize what others need. Observe whether they need to talk, be reassured or understood.
4. Humility helps us stay focused on others, so we can better contribute to the common good. It’s important to learn to serve others, rather than always working for our own personal interests.
“I firmly believe that humility and authenticity are essential values to cultivate in the business and professional world. They will help us keep a cool head, no matter what heights we reach.”
Our sincere thanks to Lawrence for this exchange.