Otter PR is excited to announce that it was recognized as part of the 2024 Gator100 list, a recognition given by the University of Florida (UF) Alumni Association to acknowledge the top 100 businesses run by UF graduates. It marks a chance for some of the most successful alums in the school’s history to come together and celebrate their achievements.
Otter PR’s media relations services
Otter PR is one of the nation’s best public relations firms, offering guaranteed results and media coverage. They hope to shake up the public relations industry with a transparent pricing model and an innovative approach to the media landscape.
As a full-service PR firm, Otter PR offers a wide array of services across the media relations industry, including:
- Media relations: The primary offering of Otter PR is media relations services, which it offers at packages of varying levels and prices to meet the needs of companies of different sizes. Otter PR’s media relations services focus on getting their clients media coverage that can create increased brand awareness and organic traffic.
- Reputation management: Otter PR’s reputation management services can help businesses whose online reputations have been unfairly tarnished. To do so, they use a combination of online reviews, negative article removal, positive backlink creation, and other tools that can help businesses get their reputation back on track.
- Crisis communications: Otter PR also has a team of crisis management professionals who can help businesses and their leaders navigate the complexity of a media crisis. Through expert planning and strategy, media intervention, and reputation management, Otter PR can help enterprises plagued with a crisis reduce the length and severity of their situation and its consequences.
- Media training: Finally, Otter PR’s Media Director Ryan Bass — an experienced news anchor, podcast host, and TV personality — offers media training through Otter PR that can help clients prepare for their media interview. With one-on-one guidance, Bass helps clients understand what they need to do to increase their likability and get asked back to future interviews.
What the Gator100 award means for Otter PR
Otter PR founders Scott Bartnick and Jay Feldman both attended UF where they quickly became friends. After graduating, the duo became successful serial entrepreneurs and took their acumen as business leaders and thought leaders to form a PR firm. People are often surprised to learn that Bartnick and Feldman’s formal education is not in public relations, but their experience on the frontlines of the business world has left them uniquely prepared to help other business leaders successfully tell their stories in the media.
To earn a spot on the Gator100 list, businesses must have verifiable revenue exceeding $250,000 for every year from 2020-2022, be “Gator-owned” or led by a UF alum or former student in an executive capacity (such as CEO, President, or Managing Partner), and be operated in a manner consistent with the values and image of the University of Florida. This ensures that the companies on the Gator100 list represent the best of the best that the Gator community has to offer.
“Being honored as part of the Gator100 validates the hard work and dedication we’ve put into building our public relations firm,” says Bartnick. “We are proud to be recognized among so many successful Gator-owned businesses.”
The honorees of the 2024 Gator100 will be honored in the 10th Anniversary Gator100 Weekend Celebration on April 19 and 20 at UF’s campus in Gainesville, Florida. For many honorees, this event will be one of the first opportunities they have to return to the beautiful campus since graduation. This event allows honorees to connect and network with current and past honorees, inspire fellow Gators to pursue “Going Greater,” and get coverage for this recognition in national, local, and industry publications.
“This award is a testament to the support and education we received at UF, which laid the foundation for us to achieve success in the business world,” Bartnick adds. “We are grateful for this recognition and look forward to continuing to make our alma mater proud!”
In being recognized in the Gator100 for 2024, Otter PR joins a long list of Gator-owned businesses that have received this tremendous honor. Encompassing businesses across various sectors — from construction to nonprofits and B2B service providers, with everything in between, the Gator100 list truly epitomizes what it means to be a successful UF alum. Past honorees even include Otter PR’s own client, Bearbottom Clothing, making for an exciting full-circle moment for the Otter PR team.
Otter PR has served clients both big and small — from startups to multinational corporations — customizing their services to each business’s unique needs and goals. The firm’s approach also allows its team to work with clients in various industries, including but not limited to finance, healthcare, technology, entertainment, lifestyle, consumer brands, and more. The team at Otter PR strives to create a one-stop shop for all of their clients’ PR needs, regardless of their size or industry.
What makes Otter PR stand out against other public relations agencies
While business leaders have plenty of public relations firms to choose from, few are as effective as Otter PR. A few of Otter PR’s characteristics that make them particularly successful in the public relations space include:
- Extensive media contacts: The Otter PR team has an extensive network of media contacts they can leverage to get their clients placements, from trade publications and podcasts to television stations and top-tier outlets with millions of readers. This has given Otter PR a great track record of success in helping clients get their stories told.
- Customized service: From the moment a client starts with Otter PR, they get customized service from their team of expert account strategists, publicists, and writers. The Otter PR team works with clients to identify their goals with public relations and devise a strategy to maximize success, targeting ideal publications and crafting specific messages to support that goal.
- A unique and diverse team: Otter PR also boasts a unique and diverse team of publicists. Unlike many PR agencies, the team at Otter PR does not exclusively come from a PR background. Many of Otter PR’s publicists have backgrounds as journalists or business leaders themselves, giving them a distinct perspective on how PR works. Having seen the other side, Otter PR’s team knows what it takes to get their clients’ stories featured in the media.
Otter PR started in its founders’ apartment. In just a few years, the company has become one of the nation’s best public relations firms. Otter PR has the same resources and network as the major PR firms while still offering the personalized attention clients expect from a startup agency.
“At our PR firm, we believe in the power of personalized service and relationship building,” says Bartnick. “As a smaller agency, we understand that we can provide our clients with attentive and customized strategies that truly align with their goals. We take the time to understand our clients’ unique needs and challenges, and leverage our industry knowledge, networks, and cutting-edge tools to deliver impactful results for our clients. We believe that the combination of personalized service and valuable resources sets us apart and allows us to deliver exceptional outcomes. We are proud to offer the best of both worlds in the realm of PR.”
Otter PR is the best media relations agency to tell your story
Recognition on the Gator100 list is only one of the many recognitions Otter PR has received for its incredible growth and performance as a disruptor in the public relations industry. These awards include the UpCity Best of Florida Award, an honorable mention for the PR Daily Award in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion category, and the People’s Choice Steve Award for Advertising, Marketing, or Public Relations Company — all in 2023 alone. The firm also maintains a five-star rating on platforms like UpCity, Clutch, and G2.
Otter PR is growing quickly thanks to its team’s ability to consistently attract amazing clients. As word gets out through recognitions like placement on the Gator100 list, along with positive testimonials and word-of-mouth from their clients, it’s clear that Otter PR’s clients are consistently impressed with the level of service they receive. This is encouraging for anyone who may be thinking about working with the firm.
If you need proof of how quickly Otter PR is growing, you can tell from the fact that the company just bought a new permanent office in Orlando, Florida, in addition to the $3 million headquarters it purchased at the end of 2022 in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Purchasing these offices is a testament to Otter PR’s commitment to empowering its team and becoming the best PR firm, not just in Florida but in the entire world.
Otter PR’s co-founders Scott Bartnick and Jay Feldman, along with the entire Otter PR team, are elated that the University of Florida Alumni Association has recognized the company as part of the Gator100. This is just one of many great things to come for the bustling PR firm, as the company’s continued growth and innovation in the field of media relations will allow the “Raft” — as its team is endearingly called — to serve even more clients in the best way possible.
Tags: business success, media relations, PR, Public relations
