Former SHIFT, TEXT100 Executives Launch Escalate PR

BOSTON, Sept. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Escalate PR, the expert communications firm for modern organizations, has formally launched from its initial services development and early client onboarding phase. Escalate PR was founded by former SHIFT Communications Vice President Joel Richman as a small consultancy in early 2019. Jason Ouellette, a former colleague from earlier in their careers at PAN Communications, and recent Managing Consultant of Text100/Archetype's Boston office, joined in 2020 as a Partner to help grow Escalate's business and manage client programs. Escalate now has more than 20 clients and has doubled its revenues year over year.

To streamline operations, ensure healthy growth, and build the firm's infrastructure Escalate recently named veteran agency operations expert Paula Finestone as Chief Operating Officer. Paula previously served as COO of SHIFT Communications from its earliest days up until, and then after SHIFT's wildly successful acquisition by AVENIR GLOBAL. While at SHIFT, Paula guided the firm's growth from its original Boston & San Francisco locations into the National brand credited with re-defining technology PR. She was responsible for setting up SHIFT's offices across the U.S., including New York and Austin; oversaw hiring, managed financial growth, and maintained SHIFT's overall profitability.

Escalate PR's rapid growth is a result of a unique model that pairs clients with senior-level communications practitioners who provide expert counsel and immediate, impactful, and goal-oriented campaign execution. Escalate's people all have a minimum of 15 years' experience, and have worked at a variety of firms throughout their careers including SHIFT, the former Text100 (now Archetype), PAN Communications, HighwirePR, and a mix of other firms and client-side positions. They enjoy a unique work-life balance achieved by combining their particular expertise sets with client needs on a monthly basis, and the flexible delivery of a virtual firm.  

"I am absolutely thrilled to be back working in PR after more than a two-year hiatus. I really think that what Joel has started with Escalate is the wave of the future. No more team churn and junior level ramp up; only seasoned executives running the client programs with precision," said Paula Finestone, COO, Escalate PR. "Escalate has grown its revenues substantially over the past two years and I'm excited to be joining at this pivotal moment in their history. I think my experience will be an asset to the future framework of the organization. I'm so excited to be working alongside some of my favorite former colleagues, as well as some familiar faces from years past."  

"Escalate couldn't have been more fortunate to bring an agency expert like Paula into its ranks at this stage of our group's development. I worked alongside her during my tenure at SHIFT and saw first-hand how integral to the agency's success she was day in and day out," said Joel Richman, Escalate founder and Partner. "To bring a new communications consultancy model to market with veterans like Paula and Jason really is an opportunity to demonstrate how technology, paired with decades of experience and a focused, creative approach can make a huge difference in the trajectory of our clients' businesses, and in the lives of the experts working with them here at Escalate."  

"The world of marketing communications has grown in importance for B2B organizations and with that so has the expectation of their agency partners," said Jason Ouellette. "I've worked with some of the most talented strategists and tacticians over the past 20 years, only to see them spend a small portion of their time working on client business. We believe that marketing teams deserve a partner that brings industry expertise, a proven track record of results, and senior counsel each and every day."

Escalate has chucked the high overhead and junior-level experience to build a consultancy of proven senior strategists and integrated communications pros with all the capabilities of big-name firms, just without the designer-label retainers. Escalate adapts to workloads with a fixed, everyday team, and flexes with on-demand talent to take on heavier campaigns while maintaining consistent monthly costs. The result is straight-up great communications with a laser focus on goals—no fluff, no wasted cycles.

"We consider our relationship with Escalate to be like business peers, rather than vendor-client. Escalate complements our in-house team with their expertise in bringing new perspectives, managing risks and testing new ideas; they continually push us to move our business communications forward," said Amy Finn, Director of Marketing at Hi Marley. "We really value Escalate's boutique approach and their involvement with our executive team. And they have strong relationships that benefit Hi Marley in getting the exposure we want and need. Added bonus? They're great people who are fun to work with!"

About Escalate PR
An agile group of skilled pros working virtually with a desire to do right by the clients with which we choose to work. We are not the PR firm for everyone because no matter how many groups, divisions, specialties, or focus big firms try to carve themselves into, there is no one size fits all solution to effective communications. To build impactful programs, we put our own skin in the game. Escalate works with boot-strapped startups, to publicly-traded companies and everything in between. Modern brands such as Hi Marley, Egress Software, Simon Data, LucidWorks, Bear Flag Robotics (a subsidiary of John Deere), strongDM, Cognitive Scale, The Commercial Drone Alliance, and others trust Escalate PR to provide expert counsel and program execution. 

Contact:
Joel Richman / Jason Ouellette
Escalate PR 
[email protected]

SOURCE Escalate PR

Related Links

http://www.escalatepr.com

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