Red carpets, celebrity clients and meetings in Hollywood. It’s all in a week’s work for one Cheshire-based PR agency making its mark internationally.
Ashley Rudd is co-founder of MODA PR, a strategic personal PR and consultancy agency she launched alongside Jennifer Delgado in 2020.
After spending much of her career in the corporate world building personal brands for C-suite leaders, she now specialises in shaping personal stories into high-profile media opportunities.
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Despite operating as a small, lean team based in Cheshire, MODA PR has built a transatlantic presence, with teams in New York and Los Angeles, and has recently expanded to Dubai. The agency’s work has included helping shape the national story of Love Island’s Georgia Harrison, from survivor and campaigner to MBE recipient.
Here, Rudd takes us behind the scenes of a whirlwind week spanning Cheshire, New York and Hollywood, offering a candid glimpse into what it takes for a Northern agency to compete on an international stage.
Monday
I won’t pretend I’m up at 5 am journaling and dipping my tootsies in an ice bath. Monday starts with a strong coffee and looking at the headlines: who’s trending, what everyone’s talking about, and where our clients could add value to the conversation.
First, a call with a household name who’s getting ready for a red carpet appearance, then a founder to prep for a big podcast interview. This is the work I love most. With talent, the job isn’t just “getting coverage”; you’re protecting the story as well: which questions they’ll be asked, which outlets get the first interview, and how every piece fits the bigger picture of where they want to be.
In the afternoon, we’re pitching to a creator who’s launching their new business. Taking internet-native talent into mainstream media is a growing part of what we do. Someone has built a loyal audience online, but the press still sees them as “an influencer”, our job is to reposition them as a founder, with a story the business pages will take seriously.
Tuesday
Jen and I fly to New York and I spend the flight working on new business pitches because apparently I can’t switch off at 35,000 feet either.
People are always surprised that a Cheshire-based agency has a transatlantic offer. Our clients’ audiences don’t stop at the UK border, so their PR can’t either. With our partner in New York and LA, a UK client can land a Sunday supplement interview and a US podcast in the same month, with one aligned strategy behind both.
We land, check in, and go straight out for dinner in the West Village. The jet lag can wait.
Wednesday
Jen and I start with a coffee intro at one of the biggest talent management agencies in the US.
Then we give our clients a sense-check. Today it’s the press campaign for a British producer’s new film, so we’re lining up interviews with the national entertainment desks ahead of release. These are the moments people see on screen, in print and in their feeds, but the work behind them starts months earlier.
Then there’s a personal highlight of the trip for me: watching The Lost Boys musical, based on one of my favourite films – I’m a sucker for 1980s vampire comedy horror, and I make no apologies for that pun.
Thursday
Jet lag has turned me into a morning person, which nobody who knows me would believe. I’m up early reading over a contract for one of our entrepreneur clients, negotiating the terms of a speaking appearance.
Our clients understand that their personal brand is an ecosystem made up of three parts: social media content, public relations and those “IRL moments”.
Social media builds the audience and keeps them engaged day-to-day. PR brings expert positioning and searchable proof. IRL moments, like keynotes, panels and events, are where trust is built.
When all three work together, that sweet spot in the middle is where a personal brand is built to scale. Nobody wants to be a one-hit wonder, which is why we build every client’s profile to keep the momentum going.
Friday
Jen and I head to Los Angeles, where we have drinks with our LA partners and a catch-up with a contact whose client is heading on a world tour.
I think it’s so important we spend time with our team on the ground and talk through which UK clients are ready for a US push, and vice versa.
Sitting together talking about our clients six years after we started MODA PR means a lot; being from the North West has given us both a directness that works in every one of those rooms. We’ll have the weekend in LA, then catch the flight home on Monday.
