A women-led tour de force is in full swing, as Marissa Puget and Olia Ougrik take the mantle of ownership of Raconteur, the Los Angeles and Paris-based consultancy known for their creative storytelling approach to publicity, marketing, and brand strategy.
Founded in 2011 by writer/entrepreneur Alison Williams, the consultancy serves as a leading resource for a range of forward-thinking clients on the cutting edge of culture and media creation. After working alongside Alison to build Raconteur into the committed partner that the industry has come to rely upon, the acquisition of the company by Marissa and Olia will take it into the next phase of its evolution. Alison will remain on board in a consulting role, continuing to build and guide projects as a constant in the Raconteur story.
Raconteur works with a variety of clients within the worlds of advertising, production, post production, music, art, and digital media – and in the interesting areas where industries overlap. Recognizing the need for flexibility in a changing market, the team works as independent PR representation as well as being able to offer support to existing PR departments to facilitate publicity on individual projects and the creatives driving the content.
From big-picture strategy, development, and messaging to getting right down to business promoting companies, people, and projects, Raconteur works in a bespoke fashion with each client. Having strategized full-scale campaigns to social good initiatives like The Big Hundred to launching the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media's first-ever global study, Raconteur’s expertise is recognized across industries as having a reputation for thoughtful integrity that translates into stellar work.
Marissa and Olia’s professional evolutions were synced from the start. They both joined Raconteur in 2012 – serendipitously during the same week. With individual skill sets that proved to be a potent and complementary combination, their years growing Raconteur side-by-side fostered a close friendship.
Virtually writing nonstop, as well as leading a team of freelance writers, Marissa Puget is responsible for all content that comes out of Raconteur. She entered the industry at the age of 20, working at post production houses including Company 3, Cut+Run and New Hat. Combining her experience with a degree in English Literature (and a love of all things involving the written word), Marissa has honed a narrative-focused approach to crafting the message for her clients as Raconteur’s Director of Content, making sure their work gets noticed within the ever-growing pool of content.
Before joining Raconteur, Olia Ougrik was a well-known music journalist and VJ in France. Her no-holds-barred enthusiasm and passion for strategy! strategy! strategy! keep her in step with the trends emerging across the ever-changing media landscape. As Director of Publicity in the US and Europe, Olia has cultivated a personalized, tactically-minded approach to public relations. Leading with the content, Olia tailors her approach for every story, facilitating the relationship between client and audience and circulating the refined message.
The team is bolstered by publicist Allison Wagner, a Raconteuse since 2014. Based in Chicago, Allison handles the company’s day-to-day public relations agenda, while earning her masters degree in Marketing at Northwestern University. Working seamlessly across time zones, the cross-continental arrangement gives Raconteur an added edge in the scope and service it provides its clients.
On taking the reins, Olia says,“Becoming a business owner is such a significant rite of passage, and I couldn’t be happier to be embarking on this adventure with Marissa. There’s a major shift occurring within the advertising industry and it’s thrilling to experience it from the front lines. I want to use my expertise to help our clients set goals that are in tune with today’s landscape and reach those targets. Their success is Raconteur’s success in the end.”
Marissa seconds the notion, saying, “Olia and I intersect at a curiously synergistic place. This creative and business-minded balance is a value we bring to every project. As a team we’ve helped launch dozens of companies, and announced countless partnerships. It’s incredibly exciting to be on the other side.”
