Ada Slivinski never stops. Stepping into the office in jeans and a floral top that embodies every bit of her colourful personality, she greets and catches up with the team before getting right down to business. As founder and principal of Jam PR, part-time columnist and radio commentator, and mother of two beautiful children, Slivinski’s speedy multi-tasking abilities are the envy of any budding entrepreneur.
As PR firms come and go, what distinguishes Jam PR from the rest is their passion for helping small, local businesses get the media coverage they deserve. “The press releases I found interesting as a journalist were entrepreneurs who often had a really good story about why they started their business, as well as really good ideas, and those stories weren’t getting out because of the way that media is changing,” says Slivinski. “It is very much focused on those bigger companies.”
I’ve seen a huge difference amongst the few of us who are former journalists that have started agencies.
Having worked for many years as a journalist in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver, Slivinski has procured the perfect skills and connections for her business. “I’ve seen a huge difference amongst the few of us who are former journalists that have started agencies,” she explains. “I’ve had the opportunity to do some media training with them, and the level of training you get from a former journalist is vastly different from what you would get from someone with a degree in PR. We’ll drill people through the harder questions and tell them how to really present themselves in the best light.”
While preventing her clients from being shaken by the tougher questions, Slivinski must simultaneously keep up with media trends. Even with such a large and quick shift towards influencer marketing, Slivinski shows an unparalleled tenacity when approaching anything new. “We will always find authentic bloggers and influencers – I get the sense that a lot of people buy followers,” she says. “I find when we work with those authentic influencers – people who really put themselves out there – that’s when we see the best return, and it’s also the most fun; it’s all about finding those right influencers, as opposed to just looking at numbers.”
A difficulty that Jam PR runs into is working with smaller budgets, as start-ups typically don’t have big budgets, but the company will be launching the Jam Club, which targets people with smaller budgets, to remedy this. “The idea of the Jam Club,” Slivinski tells us, “is that you sign up for a 6-month contract or you can jump in on a one-off, and you can get (for a relatively small fee) a photoshoot and get to be part of an event.”
What helps make Jam PR successful in their work is their small, but curated and hardworking team. Juli Talerico’s role as the photographer and event strategist alongside Alex Estanislao’s social media prowess have truly helped Jam PR grow. “It’s been a process of learning to trust the team because they’re all there for a reason, and they actually sometimes deliver better work when I’m not there!” she laughs.
Finding those unique small businesses, being flexible and accommodating to the needs of their employees and clients is what Jam’s all about. Slivinski and her team have truly set the bar high for PR agencies and girlbosses everywhere.
