Today we’d like to introduce you to Kira Tirshfield.
Kira, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I never anticipated that I would end up working in PR. I graduated Pre-Law and had always thought that I’d be an attorney – chalk it up to the fact that I love research, writing, and may enjoy a good argument – but suffice to say, that’s not how my story ends. I’ve always had a strong work ethic and underlying passion for accomplishment, so I worked nearly full time in university while doubling down on my course load so I could graduate within three years rather than the traditional four years stint. Upon graduation, I moved to the UK for some time, and when it came time to come home and catch up with my family for the summer, I started to look for a job. Interestingly enough, I was at the airport about to catch my flight home from London, when I stumbled across Covet PR’s first ever job posting for an internship in my hometown of San Diego.
I remember this moment so vividly – I was sitting in the United lounge, scrolling through classifieds on my phone, and something about that posting compelled me to respond immediately; I cleaned up my resume, wrote a heartfelt cover letter from scratch in the notes section of my iPhone, copy/pasted, and submitted. Whew. I grabbed my bags and proceeded to my gate for my 11+ hour flight. Fast forward to the following morning and as we landed with the sunrise, I clicked open to my email, and they’re waiting was my offer to come in for an interview. I eagerly accepted and scheduled for that week. Truly, at that stage, I had no idea what PR even was, but I sold myself so hard, and it paid off. I got the job as Covet’s second employee, and my first day, I waltzed into the office in downtown San Diego in a pressed white shirt, nude pumps, and slacks. I’ll never forget that day because it was when I realized that I got to help build a company from the ground up – literally – starting with my desk. I was handed a hammer and an Ikea pamphlet and got to work. From that day on, I’ve never given up that scrappiness or can-do attitude, and I honestly believe that those two qualities are the reason I am where I am today.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Ah, has anyone’s? I need some of their tips if so! Candidly, of course not. I work in client services, which means that at the end of the day, I not only answer to my teammates and boss, but also to my clients, many of whom have become my friends. I’m lucky enough that I get to be pretty picky about the people and brands that I work with, so I inevitably end up working with those that I deeply admire, respect, and believe in – so if an angle isn’t landing well, or I’m not able to secure the coverage that I know they deserve, it really gets to me. That said, PR in and of itself is a really grueling industry! It looks so glamorous and sexy from the outside, but for those in it everyday it can feel like you’re running on a hamster wheel where every win just keeps you going and pushing for the next. You’re constantly dissatisfied and looking for the next thing, so it can be really hard to celebrate success and relish in your accomplishments.
Finally, PR is a 24 hour/day, 365 day/year career. I’m up most days at 6am responding to slacks, ensuring releases and exclusives hit as planned, circulating relevant articles and IG content to my team, etc., and then I’m consistently working until 8pm or 9pm and checking my email right before I fall asleep from bed at 11pm. It works if you love what you do (which luckily, I do!), but it’s still quite a commitment, and something to seriously consider if you’re looking into PR as a potential field.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Covet PR – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
So I work for Covet PR as the agency’s Special Projects Supervisor in Los Angeles. We specialize in better-for-you brands in the CPG (consumer packaged goods) space, specifically focused on wellness, beauty, and lifestyle clients like Kopari, frank body, Beyond Meat, and more. I head up our LA office in Beverly Hills, and oversee our Special Projects team which specializes in all things experiential and non-traditional media, from influencer relations (both paid and organic) to events and activations, brand partnerships, and more (we get to do all the fun stuff basically)! In addition, I support with sales and marketing strategy, pitching and signing new business, onboarding new clients, and building and maintaining industry relationships on behalf of the agency and our clients, as well as leading some of our marquee accounts.
Fundamentally, Covet’s strong suit is that we think about PR differently. We’re lightyears away from where the industry was a decade ago, and modern public relations strategy should incorporate marketing initiatives, guerrilla tactics, social, partnerships, analytics, affiliate marketing, SEO strategy, and the like. We’ve not only embraced that progression wholeheartedly but taken it as an opportunity to further differentiate ourselves in the (albeit crowded) space as a uniquely digitally and data-driven boutique agency.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
This is a bit more on the personal side, but I just got engaged (!!), so I’m planning for our wedding and a future with my fiancé, which is so exciting, but also insanely scary and nervewracking! Career-wise, he and I are actually working on a technology platform that will help bridge the gap between media and publicists and brands. We’re just wrapping up the UX/UI design stage and about to head into development so that’s definitely shaping up to be a big change come 2020.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9800 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90212
- Website: covetpr.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @kiramackenzie
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