Julia Kendrick, award-winning communications consultant and founder of Kendrick PR has over eighteen years of PR experience and now specialises in medical aesthetics and high-end skincare/beauty brands. A regular aesthetic industry author, speaker and expert in the field, she has worked with some of the UK’s leading clinics, brands and manufacturers in aesthetics. Julia places her values in passion, professionalism and authenticity and has used this to deliver a myriad of targeted, creative and impactful PR and marketing campaigns over the years. Here we catch up with Julia to find out more about how to utilise PR for your aesthetics career, how to differentiate yourself in a crowded market and what the future looks like for the aesthetics industry.
Can you tell us in 30 seconds your journey in the industry and key take-home messages from your experience?
I came from a healthcare PR background, working in top London PR agencies with pharma clients on a blend of campaigns across oncology, dermatology and many other focus areas. My agency at the time was appointed to manage the PR for Allergan’s facial portfolio which introduced me to the world of aesthetics – this blend of prescription medicines, medical devices and consumer comms – within a fast-paced, rapidly evolving and sometimes controversial industry and I was hooked! I later moved to an in-house role with Allergan – managing the facial portfolio (Botox® & Juvéderm) across the UK and EAME markets. It was here that I developed a much deeper understanding of the UK aesthetic industry and built a strong network of leading doctors and clinics, delivering innovative consumer-facing campaigns and trade launches.
After having my first child, I launched my own business as a freelance consultant – leveraging my experience and network to collaborate with brands, manufacturers, distributors and clinics on PR and marketing strategy, B2B launches, internal comms and profile-building. In 2018, my business evolved further with the acquisition of a consumer-focused aesthetics and beauty agency which I incorporated into my ‘full-service agency’ model. We are proud to be one of the leading specialist agencies covering aesthetics, beauty and wellness.
PR is a vital element to growing a business but can feel overwhelming if it’s all brand new. Where would you suggest is a good place to start?
The first things to nail down are your core values and your unique selling points – who are you and why are you different? Why do you do what you do and why should people care? These are the building blocks of all your communications – be that for your website, social media, PR – even how your team or receptionists talk about your business! By having a strong foundation of clear messages, you can articulate clearly no matter what the channel – and ensure that your positioning differentiates you from your competitors.
What would you say are three key elements to success in PR and why?
1. Consistency – PR and building your reputation is a marathon, not a sprint – so plan and resource for the long-term and don’t expect a ‘pick-up and drop’ approach to have lasting business benefits
2. Knowing your audience – PR is about increasing your visibility and credibility with key audiences, so the more you know about them, where they are, what they look for, what their needs are, the more effective your communications will be
3. Setting realistic goals and evaluating regularly – PR often gets a bad rap for being ‘intangible’ or fluffy. By setting realistic, measurable targets for campaigns and following through with proper evaluations, however, you can see the ROI of many elements and judge where the added value is coming from
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced career-wise and how did you overcome these?
My biggest challenge was probably scaling my business from a one-woman show to a thriving agency format with a bigger team. I have worked with many aesthetic practitioners who are just starting out and struggling to do it all themselves, so I can truly empathise with that situation! I think the key is very much to leverage your network to find good advice, support and collaboration opportunities and also assess and prioritise those elements of the business which are most appropriate and profitable for you to deliver, versus those that should be farmed out to suppliers, freelancers etc who have the expertise and bandwidth to take on those elements for you.
How do our delegates differentiate from one another when starting out in the aesthetics industry with their own work?
In aesthetics, everyone is playing with essentially the same toolkit of products, so the only way to truly differentiate is to focus on YOU – your values, your mission/vision – why you do what you do? What are you passionate about? What expertise or experiences do you bring to the table that makes you the best choice for them? Practitioners often forget that whilst they may be in a ‘sales’ environment in a cash-pay business, forging an emotional connection with their target customers is one of the most effective ways to cut through the news and progress to an enquiry or appointment.
What would you consider are the best modalities for PR?
I think it very much depends on where your target customer demographic is spending their time and where they are most likely to be influenced. Video content is certainly one of the most engaging modalities to use in your PR and marketing arsenal – it’s great for educational marketing and can be employed across websites, social channels and even in
waiting room TVs. However, the value of PR is more about a third-party endorsement – think about the last time a friend recommended something to you, and how this influenced your own choices. PR works across many modes – print, digital and in-person. How to inform and influence all of these channels and interactions is the business of PR – creating a blend of content about your brand or business which can feature across various platforms and modes – from news and features to educational videos and face-to-face events. A blended approach using a variety of content and platforms will give the best level of results.
A lot of our delegates are just starting out and it can feel like a daunting process. You started your own business, Kendrick PR, back in 2015. If you could go back and tell yourself something you know now but you didn’t then, what would it be?
To put the same level of planning, investment and development into my own business, as I did for my clients! Many businesses often find PR and marketing an added burden on top of the hands-on service delivery and business management side of things. However, your reputation is something that needs consistent nurturing, growth and attention – if you don’t invest time in profiling yourself or your business, or networking to make new connections, or carving out a marketing plan to ensure you’re reaching new clients – it will soon run out of oxygen. Start small, but consistent and things will soon build up!
The media landscape has changed a lot over the past decade, how do you think this has affected PR strategies?
I think the growth of online and social has been a big change in recent years – print media is still there and remains very relevant for brand profiling and reputation, but digital coverage also has a wealth of benefits in terms of website backlinks, google rankings and consumer traffic to purchasing which is highly valuable for clients. Overall, PR is much more integrated as a discipline now, which is brilliant – however, I still see an over-reliance on the perceived safety and reliability of paid ad spend, paid digital marketing and so on due to the trackability. Any successful campaign needs a blend of paid and earned outputs – consumers know when they are being sold to, and the credibility and trust associated with the third-party endorsements secured by a PR approach remain critical to brands’ successes, in my view.
What do you consider the future for the aesthetics industry and PR?
Consumers are now much more educated and discerning about aesthetics as it has passed much more into the mainstream. With the current governmental focus on patient safety and potential legislative change in the industry, I believe an ethical and educational approach to marketing will become much more widespread in aesthetics and there will be a continuing drive to de-stigmatise treatments as part of a more holistic approach to wellbeing.
At Acquisition Aesthetics, we strive to provide aspiring aestheticians with not only the clinical skills required to succeed in aesthetics but also the fundamentals when it comes to business and marketing. If you’re looking to start your career in aesthetics, join our courses here. Get in touch with us at contact@acquisitionaesthetics.co.uk if you have any questions, queries or just want some more information.
