Emily Blair Marcus has always had an eye for a story. Long before she founded one of the creator economy’s most talked-about PR firms, she was a teenager with a knack for curiosity … and timing. One tweet about spotting Cameron Diaz at the Chateau Marmont turned into a call from a Us Weekly reporter. 

By the time she reached Chapman University, she was writing full-time for Us Weekly, running from exams to the Oscars. It was an early education in how celebrity narratives are built and how quickly they can unravel. When the pandemic shut down Hollywood and a new generation of digital stars began to rise, Emily saw a gap no one else was filling.

In 2019, she launched Emily Blair Media (EBM), a communications agency built for the influencer era: part newsroom, part crisis command center, part brand lab. Today, her all-female team of 25 operates across Los Angeles, New York, and London, managing the public image of reality stars, athletes, podcasters, and direct-to-consumer founders.

“I knew what made editors say yes,” Emily says. “I just wanted to help digital talent earn that same credibility.”

The Business of Credibility

EBM was born from a single insight: creators might have millions of followers, but credibility still comes from storytelling. “People think PR is just events or sales,” Emily says. “We’re not selling a product. We’re selling a story.”

Her agency’s model is uncommonly transparent. Each client receives detailed trackers showing outreach, impressions, and audience reach. “PR can feel like the Wizard of Oz,” she notes. “We want clients to see behind the curtain, to know who we’re pitching, how we’re positioning them, and why.”

Emily’s journalistic instincts infuse everything EBM does. “We hardly ever write press releases,” she says. “We build relationships. We think like editors.”

That approach has earned recognition from Forbes for “best-in-class PR services,” a spot on Inc. Magazine’s “Best in Business” list, and The PR Net’s “Next Gen” honors. Business Insider has twice named Emily one of the top PR pros for creators and influencers.

Bridging Markets, Shaping Narratives

From Los Angeles to London, Emily is intent on rewriting how talent interacts with the media. New York brought EBM closer to the epicenter of editorial influence; London added a mission.

“In the UK, tabloid culture dominates,” she explains. “We saw incredible talent being misrepresented because no one was protecting them.”

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Her London team now helps clients understand those relationships, positioning them as global voices rather than tabloid fodder. The approach is rooted in empathy and strategy. “Some of these personalities are household names in the UK, but completely unknown in the U.S.,” Emily says. “We help bridge that divide.”

She first studied the British media ecosystem through a program at Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design. “Editors there think differently,” she says. “We can give clients access to both sides of the Atlantic and set them up for longevity.”

Next stop: Australia. Emily sees it as “a small, but incredibly dynamic” market where creators are poised to break globally. “There’s such strong talent there,” she says. “They just need the infrastructure to get noticed.”

Making Creators Media-Savvy

Even influencers with massive followings can falter when facing the press. That’s where EBM’s media training comes in. Emily insists that success depends on mastering tone, timing, and restraint.

“There should be two versions of you,” she says. “One for your community that’s fun, candid, conversational, and one for the press: polished, professional, strategic.”

She often finds herself coaching clients to slow down. “You can be authentic without being careless,” she adds. “A lot of them have been burned by false stories or clickbait and assume all press is bad. We help rebuild that trust.”

When Talent Becomes Brand

As the boundaries between influencer and entrepreneur blur, EBM’s structure mirrors the modern creator’s career path. The agency operates across four divisions: talent, brands, events, and social media. These are designed to progress with clients as their businesses expand.

“We have talent who live on our ‘brands’ roster,” Emily says. “They’re founders, podcasters, entrepreneurs. Their PR strategy needs to look more like a company’s.”

At the same time, she observes brands behaving more like creators: playful, reactive, fluent in cultural memes. “Look at how corporate accounts comment back on TikTok,” she says with a grin. “It’s not advertising anymore, but participation.”

One of EBM’s defining moments came through sports. After working with the wives and girlfriends of professional athletes (WAGs, as tabloids call them), Emily realized that the most compelling stories weren’t about the games. “Their husbands were covered for their stats, but no one was telling their stories,” she says. “Their philanthropy, their creativity, their sense of style.”

The experiment has become a full athlete division, now managing both sports stars and their partners. “It’s about expanding the definition of influence,” she says.

Redefining Success

Emily is candid about the industry’s obsession with metrics. “We’re a brand-awareness team, not a sales team,” she says. “Press doesn’t always make you sell out overnight, but it builds credibility that drives everything else.”

Every month, clients receive a wrap report outlining placements, competitive insights, and next steps. Before campaigns begin, they’re asked to define their version of success. “If someone tells me they want to go to the Met Gala, great,” Emily says. “Let’s build a roadmap to get there.”

She values transparency just as much as loyalty. “I’d rather have someone pause their retainer than feel unsure about what we’re doing,” she says. “We want to work with people who are collaborative and trust our vision for both short- and long-term success.”

Human Strategy in the Age of AI

Artificial intelligence might write a headline, but it can’t read a room. Emily touches on the use of AI in her practice. “You can always tell when an email was written by ChatGPT,” she says. “PR is creative and personal. A robot can’t walk a red carpet with you or call an editor to pitch a story.”

Still, she’s pragmatic. “If AI can help us build lists faster or flag opportunities we might miss, that’s a win,” she says. “But it shouldn’t replace the human strategy that makes this business work.”

Her broader perspective is one of constant adaptation. “Five years ago, no one had a ‘creator economy editor,’” she says. “Now every newsroom does. Our job is to stay ahead of what comes next.”

The Next Chapter

Looking forward, Emily is focused on scale, leadership, and the next wave of creator storytelling. With major sports events such as the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and the World Cup in Los Angeles, she sees opportunities for EBM’s clients to extend beyond their core audiences. “It’s a huge moment for athletes, executives, and lifestyle brands to intersect,” she says.

But, even as her company expands, Emily’s ambitions are grounded in mentorship. “I rely on my team a lot,” she says. “I just want to show up as the best version of myself; a leader they trust, someone steering the ship with purpose.”

Her advice for navigating the world of digital communications feels simple. “Stay curious,” she says. “Don’t have an ego. This industry moves fast, and it rewards the people who keep learning.”

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