Roxy Jacenko halves Sweaty Betty client base to focus on blogging
Roxy Jacenko has dropped half of her clients from her firm Sweaty Betty PR to focus on her blogger talent agency and her family.
Jacenko, who is eight months pregnant, said the 40 clients dropped from Sweaty Betty will be replaced by bloggers working with Ministry of Talent, which include her two-year-old daughter Pixie Curtis, whose Instagram feed carries a $200 pricetag for advertisers looking for product placement.
More high profile bloggers on her books include beauty blogger Max May, fashion blogger duo They All Hate Us and 2013 Big Brother housemate Tully Smyth, a former social media strategist at DDB Sydney.
Sweaty Betty represents brands including Puma, Coles, Big W, Lee Cooper and Levi’s according to its website. Jacenko declined to say which clients she had dropped, and which had been retained. Jacenko told Mumbrella she wanted to spread her time between Sweaty Betty, which she established ten years ago, and the new agency, which she said is “growing exponentially”.
“To do so professionally and successfully consolidation is vital to ensure our level of service to clients on the Sweaty Betty PR side is maintained whilst growth opportunities are maximised for my newest venture,” she said.
The rates of pay for advertising for her new agency were exposed by the Australian Women’s Weekly last month, as the magazine published a rate card showing brands paid $750 for an Instagram photo with high profile fashion bloggers.
The article highlighted new rules around the disclosure of online product reviews, and tax issues around the revenue bloggers receive from brands and Jacenko defended her bloggers stating many were ambassadors for brands.
Jacenko denied her decision to downsize Sweaty Betty was the result of a downturn in the business after she failed to sell it last year, as reported in The Telegraph.
She told Mumbrella: “If you are able to stop work on 40 brands and reduce your portfolio from 80 to 40 clearly there is no downturn – you’re going from strength to strength aren’t you? If there was a downturn you would be clinging to those for life wouldn’t you? Consolidation is because there is one of me, I want to manage two successful businesses.”
Jacenko said there would be no redundancies and she was currently recruiting for positions in both businesses.
Megan Reynolds
Roxy certainly makes the Australian PR environment more entertaining. Be interesting to hear what the dropped clients have to say.
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Perhaps the clients have finally worked out that they need a bit more from their agency than simply sending out free clothing to celebrities?
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Does this mean she’s turning the bloggers into mini celebs?
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