WhitPR
A common narrative is unfolding about why entrepreneurs choose to invest their talent, energy and money to locate their business in Rahway. They’ve recognized positive changes downtown and want to be a vital contributor to that change. That’s what attracted Dreena Whitfield-Brown to re-locate her public relations agency to Irving Street. During a conversation with her local hairdresser, she learned that the Old Wells Fargo bank, now The National, was looking for new tenants. Observing a shift in the atmosphere downtown, she saw an opportunity to expand her agency, with room to grow her current professional staff. The location was perfect, walking distance to the train station for clients, and closer to her home than her previous location in Union. With easy access to NYC, and the beautifully renovated office space, WhitPR found a new home.
Intending to go into journalism, Dreena is a natural storyteller, but the timing of her graduation, unfortunately coincided with the exodus of print toward online content and layoffs in the industry. Gaining experience through unpaid internships, she landed corporate work doing direct marketing and eventually become an assistant production manager. Throughout her time in the corporate world, she would pick up independent work on the side, improving her craft and providing clients with her unique interpretation on how to promote their accounts. Satisfied clients led to more independent work and positive word of mouth exposure gave her the confidence to strike out on her own. Thirteen years later, WhitPR has national exposure and provides the same personalized service to small businesses as her larger corporate clients. Dreena continues to hone her skills, currently studying with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program.
The PR world is ever changing, and social media influencers are becoming the gatekeepers. Her role as a PR strategist demands that she keep up with current trends and know who, and how to get her clients message out front for maximum exposure.
