Meet Luxury PR Personality, Alison Seibert
Driven by passion, succeeding with diligence...
As the founder of a lifestyle PR firm with a heavy focus on travel and food, you would think this was always Alison Seibert’s end goal. The reality, in fact, is that Seibert studied communications and art history in college, “just landing in PR” along the way. “My first internships were in public affairs for CBS and at a PR agency. I loved the pace of the job, and the combination of strategic writing coupled with relationship building,” shares Seibert, founder and principal of The James Collective.
Though her first job out of college was at a wine and travel-focused PR agency in NYC (ultimately, two key beats she’d end up representing) Seibert turned that in to achieve her MBA. “I knew I would one day want to start my own business, and also to gain a deep understanding of the ‘back end’ of my clients’ businesses to better serve them,” she shares. But this wasn’t your classic MBA–Seibert studied around the world, living in Paris, Tokyo, China and Philadelphia before completing her degree.
Landing back in NYC–where Seibert still spends half her year, the other half in Sonoma–Seibert started representing a plethora of clients from tech and beauty to F&B and travel. The latter, she quickly realized, were “not only the clients that I excelled at working with, but that I also had the greatest passion, both personally and professionally, for those industries.” So Seibert pivoted, branching off on her own to create The James Collective–not only focusing on PR, but also integrated marketing and communications. Seibert shares that it’s the same passion that she first felt representing her F&B and travel clients that attracts The James Collective to their current clients.
“They’re all incredibly passionate about what they do and the product that they deliver, while also being serious about creating a more delicious, connected world through food, beverage, and travel. Three of the best things in life that also make breaking barriers pretty easy.”
Below, Seibert dives into the nuances of starting a company, how The James Collective is using pandemic strategy to shape the future and her favorite spots on both coasts.
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When did you realize you wanted to start your own company?
I had worked for other agencies for a while, and had a lot of respect for the women for whom I worked. However, I saw that the industry was changing; the way that we were all consuming information and media was different from when I started. I wanted to build an agency that was strategically PR-led, but also integrated other marketing tactics that small to medium-sized companies needed, including content development, events, strategic partnerships and overarching consulting.
I knew I wanted to do things my way; work with the clients that I enjoyed (and more importantly, believed in), and build a team who were excited about coming to work every day.
What was the biggest challenge of getting that off the ground?
No one realizes just how many systems need to be created when starting a business. It sounds like a silly thing, but you’re doing everything for the first time. It can be creating a media list, or developing a maternity policy, or figuring out your payroll. It all takes time and an immense amount of effort; and that doesn’t even account for the actual client work that you’re getting paid for. To this day, I always tell new entrepreneurs to allow themselves the first two years. After that, there are always challenges, but at least you have the groundwork laid.
What are you finding as the most challenging aspect of gaining clients coverage in a post-pandemic world?
I’m an “in person” kind of person, so certainly the shift from being able to meet with media or other business owners, understand what they’re working on, talk through challenges and opportunities over a coffee has been a challenge. Email and Zoom are great, but there’s no substituting real conversations to get the job done.
How have you adapted to those challenges and how has your strategy changed?
We pivoted pretty quickly when COVID hit from ‘IRL’ meetings and events to all things digital, as so many people did. We moved to digital coffee meetings, wine tastings, hotel previews and food brand cooking classes all online. We also shifted strategy since so many of our clients’ sales focus shifted to DTC: a lot of our strategy became about how to drive maximum visibility to brands’ owned channels and websites (whether that meant adding affiliate marketing, changing our pitching strategy, or integrating more email/social strategy into our day-to-day work).
I’m excited that we’re going back to more in person tactics, but also look forward to integrating the technologies that we all adopted during COVID into our ongoing strategies to reach a broader group of consumers, media and influencers.
What strategies are here to stay as we emerge back to "normalcy"?
It's very rare that we, as humans, adopt a technology and then immediately toss it to the side. The flexibility that we’ve all found as a result of being able to connect digitally—whether at a hybrid event, a digital meeting, or even buying some of your favorite grocery items on the web—isn’t going anywhere. I think we’ll just find more ways to balance.
Are there any trends in the travel, food, spirits industry that you're following for 2022?
I am so (beyond) excited about this concept of ‘slow’ travel. To be able to land in a place and spend your time there, truly be able to dive into the culture and not rush to all the tourist hot spots. It's how I was raised traveling with my family, so I’m thrilled that it is becoming an intention for many travelers—as well as for the environment and for cross-cultural connection.
In the food and beverage industry, I’m so passionate about supporting other small businesses and brands, and have seen a real shift in consumers’ understanding of the importance of that as well. We’ve seen consumers buying locally, directly from the producers, and discovering businesses who are trying to do things the right way while creating impact, jobs, and of course, delicious products.
What are some of your favorite destinations? What about these places make them so special?
I’m lucky enough to live between NYC and Sonoma, CA, which are both magical destinations in their own right, but also home. However, a few of my top travel spots have been Turkey (Istanbul is not only one of the most culturally rich cities, but also home to unbelievable food), Rome (I just love walking the ancient streets), and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for both Paris (after living there) and Mexico since I was raised exploring that country. Mexico City is one of the most exciting food cities in the world, in my opinion.
As for new places, I’m headed to Tanzania for my honeymoon—my sister and her husband own Hornbill Treks + Safaris and helped set up much of our adventure.
What are some of your favorite shops, restaurants, cafes, hang out spots at home?
When I’m in wine country, a have a short list of favorites:
Valley bar + bottle is my go-to restaurant, owned by dear friends who make the most incredible food paired and served with hard to find, interesting wines in a very chill California environment. It’s truly a dream.
While I live in Sonoma, I make a special trip at least once a week to Napa Valley Yoga. I’m partial to their strong vinyasa classes to continue my practice.
My dog and I do weekly hikes, often with friends, in Sonoma Valley Regional Park and then hit up the Friday morning farmers market. I cook much more at home in California than I ever did in NYC, the fresh produce, local breads and cheeses are just too good to not.
When back in NYC, so many of my favorite places closed during the pandemic, but I always grab a bite at Joseph Leonard —you can feel at home there and everyone is always having a good time.
I used to be a regular at Compagnie des Vins Surnaturales when I lived full time in the neighborhood, so usually try to pop in for a glass of wine.
For shopping, I also try to make it to Brooklyn Consignment. I promised myself that I would buy second hand as much as possible to not create additional clothing waste, and they always have something I want to wear from the stylish ladies who live in surrounding neighborhoods.
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Speaking of Wine Country...
In my next issue, I've compiled the best of the best from my two trips to Napa Valley this year, including off-the-beaten path vineyards, an unexpected 'touristy' winery that is actually worth visiting, and an unassuming tasting room that serves the best of small producers with an onsite meat aging room. Plus, amazing hotels, the burger I still dream of, and even... a local brewery?! Stay tuned!
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Some recent articles:
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Smart Stay: The Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos
Father's Day Gift Guide: The Best Ultra Premium Spirits
Xo,
J