Building Relationships with Barrie Cohen
Published on March 26, 2025, at 4:47 p.m.
by Ava Stevens.
Barrie Cohen Public Relations is a boutique agency founded in 2017, located in Denver, Colorado. Through a variety of services, BCPR aims to make an impact and tell a story with a heavy influence of founder Barrie Cohen’s core values.
Before BCPR
Cohen described her journey to starting her own agency as “unconventional.” With a degree in creative writing and previous experience working in other industries, Cohen found her passion for public relations through an internship near Philadelphia. This opportunity converted into a job where Cohen created pitches, secured interviews and built media lists.
A few years later, Cohen transitioned to a small firm in the heart of Philadelphia. After three months, Cohen realized this new role was not going to be a sustainable fit for her due to an unhealthy work environment.
“I wanted to choose the clients I worked with and have autonomy in the way I did the work,” she stated. This realization was a turning point for Cohen; it led her to the beginning of a new chapter in her career.
“One day I woke up and said, ‘I’ll start a business,’” leading Cohen to her decision to build her own agency from the ground up. She gave herself a six-month timeline to get her footing — using her network and a cold outreach emailing technique to collect her first clients.
Building an agency
Gaining clients as a new business was a difficult obstacle for BCPR; however, Cohen’s consistency and motivation were the keys to her success. “If this person says, ‘No,’ the next will say, ‘Yes,’” she said. After bringing on the first few clients, BCPR started building a reputation for itself.
Cohen quickly realized the power of mutual trust and being involved with clients. “I want to know about their birthdays; I want to meet their spouses and kids; I want to go to dinner and hear about their wins because then I can do my job better. I want to be there. It matters,” she explained.
Having an open and close partnership with clients and a focus on genuine connection is one of the qualities that sets BCPR apart from competing agencies. Parul Yadav, Cohen’s assistant, said that a big takeaway from her experience at BCPR has been the importance of relationship building. “Strong media relationships are the foundation of a successful PR strategy, and I’ve learned how to nurture and leverage them effectively,” she noted.
Overcoming obstacles
In 2018, Cohen moved from Pennsylvania to Colorado — a hard shift for BCPR. Local clients in Pennsylvania struggled to transition from having a “hands-on” relationship with Cohen to a completely virtual one. This led to a decline in business, causing Cohen to have to rebuild BCPR from her new home base.
Cohen found the business landscape from the East Coast to the West Coast to be tremendously different. According to an article from Inc., the process of establishing credibility is a major variation among coasts. Taking note of cultural differences is crucial for thriving as a business.
Turning point
While the COVID-19 pandemic was a tough hit for many businesses, it allowed BCPR to take off. With an agency focus on health care and finance industries, Cohen found that there were “lots of stories to be told,” which helped BCPR gain new clients during the lockdown.
Due to this increase in clients, BCPR grew to a size that Cohen could no longer take on by herself. Within the last two years, Cohen has welcomed four members to her team, making her a boss as well as a business owner.
As part of an all-female team, Yadav feels a strong sense of sisterhood, support and encouragement from her co-workers. “Barrie always goes the extra mile to make sure we feel appreciated and celebrated,” she said. “It makes BCPR more than a workplace; it’s a genuinely fulfilling and supportive environment.”
Transitioning from a one-person business to a multi-person business has allowed BCPR to welcome a higher volume of clients. Although BCPR will continue to grow, maintaining a small size is important to Cohen, so she can remain personal and involved with clients. Cohen touched on how part of the beauty of being a boutique agency is the ability to have a concentrated focus on each and every client.
Finding business
When it comes to new clients, Cohen has found the most success through cold outreach and networking. In an article from MailShake, writer Sujan Patel discussed the importance of making emails “personalized and individual” as well as following up. According to the article, only 30% of people follow up on emails, and the more emails sent, the more likely the sender will receive a response.
While BCPR’s clients are mainly in the health care and finance industries, Yadav touched on the possibility of branching out. “Expanding our client portfolio to include more industries could open new doors for BCPR,” said Yadav. “Tech startups, sustainable brands and emerging high media industries are a few examples.”
Incorporating digital media
BCPR has had to adjust to the changing realm of the digital world. Yadav hopes to see a stronger integration of digital storytelling for clients due to the increased value of social media.
As far as strategies go, Cohen touched on the recent rise of podcasting resembling gold among digital media. According to an article by Playbook Public Relations, podcasts “offer a more intimate and personal experience” compared to other forms of media.
The article also explained how podcasting has allowed businesses to reach large audiences due to accessibility. Being such a powerful storytelling tool, podcasting will continue to be a beneficial channel for clients to build their brand.
With a successful business for eight years and no plans of hitting the brakes, Cohen provided her biggest piece of advice: “Say, ‘Yes.’ Figure it out. That will get you far — it will lead to opportunities that you might not have had.”
