THE WORD IS OUT: As the way brands communicate their stories and products continue to evolve at a fast pace, a new boutique communications agency is entering the Paris and London PR scene.
After a decade at Karla Otto, Julien Dufour is striking out with his own agency, opening simultaneously in both cities.
Called Spread the Word, it will offer a range of advisory and public relations services for fashion and lifestyle brands, as well as showroom activities.
“We are in a dynamic where everything is large-scale and impersonal and even the ‘small cool agencies’ have become big, but a personalized approach is at the core of our profession,” Dufour told WWD. “More than an adviser or public relations specialist, I consider myself a community builder, which in my opinion is the modern expression of being a PR.”
Dufour will be collaborating with his former employer in a freelance capacity for the upcoming fashion month.
A graduate of French business school EM Lyon, where he acquired a master’s degree in marketing and management services, Dufour also holds a master’s degree in French and British law from the prominent Paris Nanterre University.
He spent most of his career at Karla Otto, where he was most recently vice president communications for two years. Accounts under his purview have included Rimowa, Calvin Klein, Swarovski and Loro Piana as well as emerging names like Egonlab, Alainpaul and Germanier.
With firsthand experience of the challenge of launching a fashion brand, having cofounded a short-lived menswear label in the early 2010s, Dufour is attuned to the emerging designer scene. In particular, he has been deeply involved in the ANDAM Fashion Award.
Spread the Word’s portfolio will give pride of place to high-end emerging labels based in Paris, as well as brands from South Korea, Australia and the U.K. who want to step into the European market.
The new agency’s first recruit is Paris-based Marie Montiglio, who cut her teeth at Lucien Pages before joining AMI where she was most recently global press relations manager.
In her new role, effective in late October, she will be heading the new agency’s press activities as well as overseeing influence and VIP activities while recruitments are ongoing.
Spread the Word’s London office is located in the Marylebone area, while the Paris outpost will be in the 10th arrondissement, a lively neighborhood rife with fashion labels and design studios.