Beauty P.R. Firms Merge Operations, Form MBA Partners

Beauty companies aren't the only things merging these days — their public relations executives are doing it too.Bryn Kenny, formerly with Dior, WWD, W Magazine and most recently Bryn Kenny Creative, and Matthew Snyder, who founded and grew Place PR, have merged their respective practices into a new agency — MBA Partners LLC, headquartered in New York.Kenny and Snyder dissolved their former businesses and cofounded MBA, bringing their client lists with them. So far, the agency represents businesses including 37 Actives, 8 Faces, Clarity Rx, Clark's Botanicals, Fun Factory, Juan Carlos Maciques, Phuong Dang Perfumes, Phylia Hair, Recipe for Men, Room & Board, Surratt Beauty and Zelens Skincare.MBA provides a full spectrum of services, not just traditional public relations. Kenny and Snyder are beauty industry experts, but they noted that the world of beauty is evolving to encompass wellness and lifestyle in addition to things like makeup and fragrance."Beauty has become synonymous with wellness," Kenny said. "Consumers aren't just looking these days for a cream that makes them feel good, they want to know what the ingredients are, and the practices behind the company — are they ethical, what is their sourcing? That's where things start to branch out into different categories that aren't traditionally what we would have thought of as beauty.""Beauty is the starting point for us — it's the genesis of where we came from, but as consumer culture has evolved, we're taking a more holistic approach to the beauty category…it's really expanded itself into health and well-being," Snyder said.In addition to traditional pr, MBA provides social media services (including influencer outreach), social media management, event planning, retailer relationship expertise, brand partnerships, branding advice and other services."The whole landscape of influencers and social media has become synonymous with what we do," Kenny said. "We work with editors, both print and digital, but our contact list and our focus has expanded to include influencers as well. They're just as important, if not more sometimes."For More From WWD:L’Oréal Names New VP of Communications and Public AffairsWinky Lux Tests RetailAerin Lauder Launches Tuberose Collection, Partners With Sotheby's