Lee Bennett is a Journalist and the Founder of Weird PR.
Weird PR are a leading talent management and public relations agency based in the heart of Manchester, specialising in talent management and brand publicity. Established in 2019 by founder Lee Bennett, the agency is the driving force behind some of the UKs leading talent ranging from actors, TV stars, doctors, surgeons, dancers, ice skaters and entrepreneurs. Weird PR also work with innovative brands and businesses such as Pulseroll, Hollywood Browzer Beauty, The CryoLab, Dr Matee Hair Restoration, Montann Wines and Bolton Food and Drink Festival, to name a few. As well as managing and developing the careers of high-profile public figures and delivering their public relations expertise to brands and business, the agency also offers social media management for both individuals and brands – and influencer marketing services.
- Tell us a little bit about your business…
Established in 2019, we are one of Manchester’s most in-demand talent management and public relations agencies. It’s our job to nurture the careers of our talent clients across various industries, as well as to develop the public profiles of our brand and business clients. From content creation to social media management, influencer marketing to full campaign strategies and implementation, it’s our job to get our clients at the forefront of people’s minds. We’ve took out-of-home campaigns from concept to completion, produced influencer marketing strategies with hundreds of millions in reach across multiple social platforms, placed our clients on some of the UKs leading TV shows, secured branding campaigns with industry giants, facilitated press and media opportunities, interviews and photoshoots with an array of all major mainstream publications, produced one-of-a-kind events that make a statement – and much more.
- How did you get into the industry?
I originally came from a journalism background. After graduating with an MA in multimedia journalism I worked across title including LADbible Group, I Love MCR and VIVA Magazine. Following 4 years writing for various titles and developing my contacts within both the journalism and public relations industries, I started taking on freelance work with other PR agencies and also worked within ITV’s Coronation Street press office. I quickly realised that public relations and talent management are what really set my soul on fire – so I made the decision to segue into the industry and Weird PR was born – with a little bit of freelance journalism still thrown in here and there. When I first started, I had just one talent client – and over the past four years I’ve developed a roster of both exclusive and non-exclusive clients, and brands/businesses that I’m extremely proud to work alongside of.
- What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
The biggest opportunities are being able to seek out the UKs most dynamic and versatile talent. Everyday we’re seeing new levels of talent from emerging and established performers and professionals, that finding and hopefully getting to work alongside them in achieving their career goals and aspirations, is by far the biggest opportunity within the industry. Amongst the biggest challenges is the extensive competition within the talent and entertainment industry, which includes competing for casting opportunities – while brand affiliations and partnerships, press and media opportunities etc are all in such high demand. It’s tough competition out there as the industry is churning out celebrities like never before.
- How would you describe your leadership style?
Firm but collaborative. All of our team work collaboratively and provide input from pitches and proposals to campaign conceptions and implementation. We all work as a collective to ensure we’re delivering nothing but the best for all of our clients – whether it be an individual talent client or a brand/business.
- How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
Our team are like a big family – we get on just as much as friends outside of work, as we do colleagues during working hours – and that includes a lot of our clients too. I find that working with a group of people that have great personal connection and synergy, who are also industry leaders in their respective fields, is by far the best way to get the most out of our team and the work we deliver.
- What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
Talent management and public relations is such a fluid industry, that there is constant change to keep up with. Producers move from show to show, production companies sign off new projects all the time, journalists work for different titles or move around quite a lot as freelancers – so it’s super important to keep on top of our most valuable relationships with TV channels, press offices, talent executives, producers and production companies, journalists etc. It’s an ever-changing landscape, so keeping up with industry news is paramount. it’s like a big jigsaw puzzle that you’re trying to fit together perfectly, while the interlocking pieces are consistently changing.
- How has the past 12 months been for you?
The past 12 months have been our biggest so far for both our talent and brand clients. We’ve had talent compete on shows such as BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing and ITVs All Star Musicals, with countless other TV appearances across various shows and formats, secured huge brand campaigns with top tier businesses, shared the wonderful news of pregnancies and baby exclusives – and the heart-breaking news of a breast cancer diagnosis, facilitated countless charitable campaigns, produced photography and videography content shoots and really flexed our creativity while delivering thought-provoking campaigns. Our talent clients are working on an array of exciting and innovative opportunities and projects, a lot of which we can’t speak about at the moment!
- What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
You’ll see some of our talent clients involved in very exciting TV opportunities, while our brand and business side continues to develop as we bring in bigger and more long-term clients. We’ll be bringing another talent manager onboard to manage our existing clients and to also sign new talent – and we’re aiming to double our talent roster within the next 12-month period.
- What are the highlights of your career so far?
There are too many to list, but I’m extremely proud of all the amazing work and opportunities we secure our talent clients all year round – and the success we’ve had in building and supporting our brand and business clients too. Some personal favourites include walking the red carpet at the NTA’s and being present to see my very first talent client take home an award – and also attending the Pride of Britain Awards and being surrounded by truly selfless people. But honestly, every day working on a business that I love is a true highlight in itself.
- What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
I’d be lying if I said I haven’t experienced hiccups along the way – but it’s hard to pinpoint one specific mistake. Talent management and public relations is such an everchanging industry that you have to constantly be on the ball and evolve with, keeping up to date with industry news – and what current news stories might link in with my brand and business clients and how we can we maximise on that. It’s the media landscape that’s always on the move, so you can never really be out of that – you always need to be one step ahead and know what’s happening next, because it really is a competitive industry unlike any other and dropping the ball just once could mean potentially losing out on a huge amount of work or coverage for your clients.
- What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. There’s no point dwelling on the opportunities that didn’t work out – you need to focus on the happy and the positive, the jobs well done that you’re proud of and that drive you to carry on. Don’t sit crying over what wasn’t meant to be when you could be learning from it and focusing on your next big win.
