With PR stints at InStyle and Purple behind him, Reid Myers is going out on his own with the launch of his own company, The Cadre. He tells The Daily why he took the leap this year and what he’ll be bringing to the table.
Why did you decide to launch your own company?
2020 threw us all some interesting curve balls – starting my own agency was always in the back of my mind, but I never imagined it would happen so fast. I started amassing clients and work, and all of a sudden, incorporating an agency to house it all made a lot of sense. When you’ve worked in this industry in New York for over 10 years, people you enjoy collaborating with always come back into your orbit. While it can be difficult to build relationships during a time of social distancing and working from home, I was able to bring in trusted people I’ve worked with in the past to create a strong and capable team. It all happened surprisingly seamlessly.
Why now?
Brands are looking for new ways to reach people, and I wanted to fill a gap in the market by providing a (*platitude alert*) 360-degree communications solution. Earned media still has a great amount of clout and is incredibly important, but it’s one slice of an ever-expanding communications pie. We can work with clients not only on rich earned storytelling, but social and digital strategy, content production, and paid media advisement. Now more than ever, small and medium-sized businesses are under pressure to consolidate and get results, and they’re increasingly finding that the bloated and antiquated agency model isn’t serving their needs. We are able to provide the same expertise and results without the overhead of a large agency.
What types of clients do you work with?
All of my clients have come to me by word of mouth, and the strongest through-line is that they’re all creative entrepreneurial types doing something new and different—and they’re people I genuinely enjoy. I love what I do, and at the end of the day, I want my colleagues and clients to enjoy what they do and work towards the best results. It’s PR, not the ER.
Our current roster includes includes Room57 Gallery, a new concept for showcasing art and design while giving back to the community through Free Arts NYC; Prospect, which collaborates with top-tier names to make high art and design accessible with beautiful objects for the home; and artist Kristin Simmons, whose unique and playful pop art speaks on a subliminal level to our culture of consumption. I’m also thrilled to announce in The Daily that we’ve signed Culprit Underwear, the first and only direct-to-consumer underwear brand made in Los Angeles. They’re a fun brand with a sense of humor and a message of sustainability, and they legitimately make some of the best underwear for men and women—you’re going to see them everywhere come 2021. We’ve got a lot in the pipeline, so stay tuned for additional client news.
How did you come up with the name of the company?
“Cadre” means “a small group of people trained for a particular purpose or profession” (thanks, Oxford Dictionary). I wanted it to reflect that we’re an intimate team with specific expertise in various areas of communications. My cheeky side likes that people aren’t sure how to pronounce it, because I still don’t really know, either.
You’ve vacillated between agency roles and in-house roles. How has that helped you?
There’s no better way to learn how to handle juggling multiple tasks than agency experience; conversely, in-house roles helped me step back and view things strategically and manage from a brand perspective. I’ve worked for organizations as large as Mercedes-Benz and Meredith, and as small as a three-person agency and a 50-person tech startup. They’ve all helped me develop in one way or another. Operating an agency is putting that disparate experience to use: being involved in the day-to-day needs of clients while strategizing about expansion and The Cadre’s role in the competitive landscape.
Who are your mentors in the industry?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have some wonderful mentors in my career, all of them women. Beth Mitchell, who ran the Lifestyle Communications team at Time Inc.; Noora Raj, whom I worked closely with at InStyle and who went on to run communications for Goop and Gwyneth Paltrow; Emilie Furda, who hired me at PURPLE PR and whose strategic guidance made me unquestionably better at my job. And, of course, my mom.
What’s your long-term goal?
I want The Cadre to become synonymous with meaningful communications. I’d like to continue bringing on clients who have a vision and are giving back in some way. I’m also in the process of expanding my team, but right now, we’re in a great place.
How can people find out more about The Cadre?
They can email me—I’d love to hear from them! Reid@the-cadre.co.
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