NEW YORK: John Doe Communications cofounder Rana Reeves has founded Storey, a new PR division of production agency North Six.
Storey officially launched on September 1. It is focused on building brand narrative through content, events, influencers, and earned media, Reeves said. The agency is based in New York with plans to expand to Los Angeles by the end of the year. It is starting out with six full-time staff, along with a number of consultants.
"I’ve called it building brand narrative," Reeves said. "I find PR to be such a limiting term. I wanted to work in an environment where we say to brands, ‘This is one story, but how we choose to tell that is up for discussion.’"
Reeves had been working with North Six’s events division 6up before teaming up with the agency to start Storey. North Six works primarily in the fashion and luxury industry and has created print, film, and physical productions for Kate Spade, Nike, Prada, and Google.
"We have PR practitioners and access to all these different communication channels [through North Six]," Reeves said. "I couldn't do that in a traditional PR offering. North Six has it all under one roof, which makes it a lot easier to create projects."
Storey has already been chosen as PR AOR for The James Hotel Group, a part of Denihan Hospitality Group, for a one year contract. The agency is helping with the launch of its hotel in Los Angeles, The James Los Angeles, and with branding, Reeves said. It is also doing pro-bono work with The Center, a nonprofit LGBT community center in New York.
Reeves left John Doe Communications in June, seven years after launching the agency in the UK in 2009. The New York office was established in 2012, and Reeves moved full time to the U.S. in 2014. The New York office had 14 staffers as of the start of the year.
John Doe counts Adidas, Absolut, General Motors, and Beats by Dre as clients.
Prior to John Doe, Reeves was creative director at Shire Communications and director of brand and culture at Jackie Cooper PR. He began his career at FleishmanHillard.
