Praytell’s Wellness Practice Talks PR Industry Burnout and Breathwork at the Office

From Tik Tok skincare trends to guided meditation apps, wellness and lifestyle brands are driving the conversation around self-care, work-life balance, and well-being in all its forms. As more consumers put their paychecks toward caring for their health, our Wellness PR and Creative Practice is helping wellness brands check in with customers who may need to check in with themselves.

Get to know the trio at the helm of our Wellness Practice: Kaitlin Fluhler, Becca LaMarca, and Suzi Wall.

Kaitlin is our OG Wellness Practice lead, and a pro at turning creative ideas into tangible results for brands across the wellness, consumer product, food & beverage, and hospitality industries. Becca and Suzi both bring over ten years of experience building unforgettable campaigns, with work spanning beauty, fitness, health, and more!

We chatted with Becca and Suzi to hear how Praytell is bringing its signature ambition to the wellness space, while helping employees and partners balance their work life and stave off burnout. Plus, their take on where the wellness industry is going after several tumultuous years.

You recently started these new roles heading up the Praytell Wellness Practice. What's cooking?

Our wellness colleagues are the heart and soul of the Wellness Practice, and a priority for us is helping the whole team stay genuinely connected to the industry in their everyday work. We launched our Is It #WorthIt initiative to get us all out there trying the latest trends on the wellness scene, from new fitness classes to unique facial treatments. We share our verdict with the rest of the team, as well as any takeaways or opportunities for our clients. We’re always excited to see what folks come back with!

Especially as in-person events and networking opportunities start to open up, we’re also excited to connect with brands we think we’d partner well with in the beauty, wellness, and fitness spaces. Each new collaboration helps us punch up our practice and bring smarter, more ambitious ideas to all our partners.

To help Sally Beauty encourage self expression through hair color, Praytell’s Wellness Practice partnered with HEB for a 360 campaign: “YOU by Sally,” inspired by her viral TikTok celebrating colored hair. The campaign snagged a 2022 Shorty Award. Nice!

What does wellness look like at Praytell day-to-day? Goat yoga in the office kitchen...?

Well actually, if you walked into our offices last Wednesday, you’d have found us all laid out on the floor enjoying a hypnobreathwork session! Our Wellness Wednesdays are an opportunity for everyone at Praytell to benefit from something new and different in the wellness world. Plus, they help us connect on a personal level with the wellness goals our clients are looking to inspire in their audiences.

We’re also lucky to have a leadership and POPs team that’s always looking for creative new ways to foster employee well-being. Last year, Praytell kicked off a four day work week to help folks achieve better work life balance. We’re learning as we go, and we hope to inspire others in the PR and Creative industry to try and make it work alongside us.

Brands, agencies and comms leaders need to be tuned in: if we’re going to address burnout, we have to work together.

What is currently lacking when it comes to PR and Creative in the wellness industry? What should brands and comms leaders be paying attention to?

It’s impossible to ignore ongoing conversations surrounding burnout. This has always been a huge factor within the PR industry, but it’s even more potent in the wake of the pandemic. Brands, agencies and comms leaders need to be tuned in: if we're going to address burnout, we have to work together.

These days, we’re often working with a turbulent news cycle and shifting timelines, so we need to build in flexibility when we scope work with our partners. PR teams must also be nimble enough to drive productivity and creativity, while retaining the talent that can deliver exceptional work.

In addition to internal efforts, we want to continually collaborate with our clients to increase efficiency. We partner closely with clients to build better briefs and budgets, allowing us to do our best work, while giving everyone a more sustainable balance between work and play.

What are some trends that you’ve seen emerge recently in wellness? How can brands respond?

Consumer appetite for novel wellness offerings is driving a constant influx of new wellness brands. But to be more than just a fad, you have to make your brand stand out from the crowd.

More and more, consumers gravitate toward brands who truly live wellness inside and out—whether giving employees access to meditation streaming services, or re-imagining their work hours, space, and in-person requirements. To convince consumers, brands need to consistently incorporate a meaningful wellness approach into their workspace and work culture.

Want to sip a ginger tea and chat about wellness? Say hi! hello@praytellagency.com.

This blog is part of our Q&A series with Praytell’s Practice leads. Check out our interview with the Travel Practice, where we gabbed about travel industry recovery, and voyages through the metaverse…