Inspiring Conversations with Erik Perez Marisa Jones Issa of Hello PR Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erik Perez Marisa Jones Issa.

Hi Erik Perez, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
“We’re Erik Perez and Marisa Jones Issa, partners at Hello PR Group. I (Erik Perez) founded Hello PR ten years ago with a simple idea: the people shaping how we live, including architects, interior designers, and design brands, deserve the same level of craft and strategy in their storytelling as they bring to their work. I began with a handful of visionary clients and a lot of hustle, leaning on deep relationships in the design community and the press. As momentum grew, Marisa joined me as partner two years later, and together we expanded from Los Angeles to New York, with projects that now take us regularly to San Francisco, Paris, and Milan.

From the start, I ran Hello like a boutique consultancy; when Marisa joined, we doubled down on that model. We are hands-on with our clients’ businesses, shaping narratives, preparing founders for interviews and panels, building partnerships, and aligning PR with marketing, social, and sales goals. Over time, we expanded from earned media into thought-leadership programming, event concepts, and a dedicated social media division so our clients’ stories land consistently across channels.

We’re proud that our reputation has been built on trust and results. Many clients have been with us for years; we’ve grown alongside them as their firms opened new studios, launched collections, or entered new markets. Community matters to us as well. You’ll find us moderating panels, convening conversations in the design world, and investing in the next generation of talent.

Today, Hello PR is a bi-coastal team known for strategic counsel and beautifully executed work. Our name says a lot about our approach: “Hello” is an invitation to a conversation, a relationship, and a long view. A decade in, we are still motivated by the same thing that inspired us at the beginning: amplifying the people and ideas that make design better.”

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
“It has not been a straight line. In the early years we had classic growing pains: moving from a one-person consultancy to a real team, learning how to hire and train, building process where there was only instinct, and getting comfortable saying no when a scope or budget did not fit. We tightened our contracts, created clear onboarding and editorial workflows, and learned to protect both creative quality and team well-being.

The pandemic was a turning point. Overnight, photo shoots paused, events vanished, and editorial calendars shifted from design reveals to public health and home life. We pivoted quickly to virtual storytelling with Zoom briefings, remote media training, and high quality digital press kits. We helped clients recalibrate tone, highlight service and community work, and keep momentum until projects could be photographed again. That period made us more resourceful and more empathetic leaders.

The media landscape keeps changing. Newsrooms are leaner, lead times are less predictable, and more coverage is driven by freelancers, newsletters, podcasts, and creators. Pay to play offers increased while true earned stories became more competitive. Visual assets, rights, credits, and SEO carry more weight. Journalists use new tools to work faster, which rewards pitches that are precise, timely, and fully packaged. Our response has been to diversify channels, pair press with owned content and events, and measure what actually moves the needle for a client’s business.

None of this has been easy, but it has been clarifying. The challenges pushed us to build better systems, invest in our team, expand our social and thought-leadership programs, and stay close to our clients’ goals. The road has had bumps, and it has also made us stronger and more effective partners.”

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Hello PR Group?
“Hello PR Group is a boutique communications agency for the luxury design world. We partner with architects, interior designers, and design brands to shape strategy, tell clear stories, and earn meaningful attention that supports business goals. I (Erik) founded the company ten years ago, and Marisa joined as partner two years later. We work bi-coastally with a footprint in Los Angeles and New York, and we regularly support projects tied to San Francisco, Paris, and Milan.

We lead with strategy, not just pitching. Our work spans project and product placements, launches and long-lead features, thought leadership and speaking, awards, and partnerships. We package editorial assets with care, from photography planning and credits to rights, captions, and technical notes that make editors’ jobs easier. We operate a dedicated social division, so earned coverage, owned content, and events reinforce one another.

What sets us apart is a combination of design-native expertise and editorial instincts, a selective client roster with founder involvement, and a transparent process. Clients see living editorial grids and calendars, along with clear priorities, progress, and next steps. Our relationship network is current and global, across editors, freelancers, podcasters, and partners. In fast-moving situations, we bring calm, clear counsel that protects both reputation and momentum.

We are most proud of the long relationships we have built with clients who trust us as true partners, the consistency and quality of placements that reflect our clients’ values, and the community we help foster through conversations, panels, and salons. We are equally proud of a team that leads with empathy, precision, and taste.

Hello is an invitation to a real partnership. If you are a design-led firm or brand that values craft, strategy, and measurable outcomes, we provide counsel and execution to match. Our offerings scale from targeted launch campaigns to ongoing retainer programs, always with founder attention, a clear plan, and beautiful work that earns its place in the world.”

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
“Over the next five to ten years, PR will feel even more connected to the marketing ecosystem, rather than a standalone service. The lines between earned media, owned channels, partnerships, and community programming are blurring. Smart campaigns will start with the audience and then pick the format. A story might launch via a podcast, a creator collab, a salon-style conversation, or a tight Reel, and then land as a feature. I always say if you are saying something about your brand, that is PR, no matter the medium. With audiences fragmenting, that only gets truer.

Relationships will still be the heartbeat, but how we build them is changing. More editors and writers are independent and living across newsletters, Substack, podcasts, and social. Relationship-building now looks like thoughtful DMs, being helpful in private communities, and showing up with fully packaged assets that make a journalist’s job easier. Precision and preparedness win.

PR and marketing will keep converging. We will measure success less by coverage counts and more by outcomes like qualified inquiries, stronger fees, recruiting, and partnerships. Rights, credits, and SEO matter because content travels farther and lives longer. Visual storytelling will move faster and feel more native to each platform. AI will speed up research, monitoring, pitch testing, and asset production, while raising the stakes on authenticity and brand safety. Our advice to designers stays the same: commit to the work, invest in great photography and assets, and give programs enough runway to compound.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.helloprgroup.com
• Instagram: helloprgroup
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/helloprgroup/

Image Credits
Kelly Taub