Bruno Solari, the PR wiz, was first inspired to get into the industry by — who else? — Samantha Jones from Sex and the City, and spent a decade building up his career, skillset and network at a variety of big agencies and small startups before breaking out on his own with SolComms, a communications agency he founded last year.
Bruno has collected learnings from over the years about both how PR operates and also who gets to succeed in the industry that inform the outlook of his agency: He’s seen first-hand how predominantly white the PR world is; He’s worked on campaigns that prove the effectiveness of centering LGBTQ+ talent; and he’s seen legacy players try to adopt new school strategies when, in actuality, old school approaches still deliver results.
And those results have already been recognized in big ways. In the 18 months since launching SolComms, Bruno and his agency have received accolades like being named one of Business Insider’s top boutique PR firms of 2023, one of PRWeek’s 40 Under 40 for 2024 and one of Observer’s most powerful PR firms of 2024.
In an exclusive conversation with So.Gay, Bruno Solari shared some wisdom that he’s picked up during his decade working in PR. Read our conversation with Bruno before.
SO.GAY: You’ve had an incredible career in PR. Can you give us a little background on how you got to where you are now?
BRUNO SOLARI: I discovered public relations by way of Samantha Jones from Sex and the City. She made it seem fun, and I wanted to learn more about it. I did some internships and realized it brings together writing and strategy and creativity and psychology of swaying consumers a certain way. I fell in love with the fact that it’s not just one job — it’s so many jobs.
After college I moved to New York and worked at a massive firm called Havas. I was making no money — thank God the office was stocked with oatmeal and fruit, because that’s what I would eat! I f***ing loved it. It was incredible. It’s the media/PR capital of the world, so being here was a big deal. I was fortunate to rise quickly, and I was just living the gay boy’s dream.
I left that big, cushy firm to be employee No. 5 at a B2B tech PR startup, which is where I got my first taste of LGBTQ marketing on Everlast, the boxing brand. They wanted to wake Everlast up, so I thought long and hard about how we could make it culturally relevant. We discovered this trans Latino boxer Patricio Manuel. I’m Latino, so that spoke to me, too. I was a fierce advocate of the community, so I was like, “Let’s do a campaign for this guy and put him on the map.”
We made him the face of the brand — and sh*t went viral. It was in every publication, and it was just an incredible media blitz and Everlast proceeded to have one of its best years of sales. After that, I just got hooked. It was like, I love this community, I’m part of this community and how do I continue bridging the gap between a brand like Everlast that you would never previously attach to the gay or trans community?
SO.GAY: In April of 2023, you went out on your own to start SolComms. What went into that decision?
BS: PR is horribly white. It’s all white women who dominate this industry, and there was no one like me, a gay Latino guy. Typically gay people in PR do gay PR, but I was doing tons of tech and healthcare companies and bridging that gap. It was really about building that platform and showing that PR doesn’t have to be so white and so straight. I wanted to give people like me hope that they, too, could be an executive and entrepreneur.
It was also about bringing more empathy to this industry. It’s a cutthroat industry, and it doesn’t have to be. It was like, “How do we bring the warmth of my latino heritage and culture here and treat employees like family?”
SO.GAY: How do you inject your own identity into the work? Is it in the brands you take on? In the perspective you bring to brand strategy?
BS: It’s in the way that we manage our clients. I’m f***ing nuts, and I’m the first to say it! I have a lot of energy and passion, and I love what I do. I’m not in it for the money. This sh*t gets me high. Building brands, winning brands, getting press… that is what I love, and I try to teach my teams to also have that passion. I want every client we have to feel that touch and that’s how we inject [my point of view].
How are we going to continue to get more press and one-up our competitors and ourselves? By being relentless and not resting on our laurels.
SO.GAY: You’ve gotten incredible recognition since starting SolComms, and it also must feel validating that you’re on the right path and doing something that’s working after making such a major decision.
BS: When it comes to entrepreneurship and PR, it’s hard. There are people who are fantastic publicists but maybe they can’t win business or educate and mentor teams. It takes a very special skill set: Can you motivate and energize teams? Can you motivate and energize clients? Are you creative enough to land press? How can you maintain that?
It’s not for the faint of heart, and it’s really hard. It came with a lot of sacrifice and stress and late nights, but I’m grateful that it’s landed and translated into an instant industry success.
If I had stayed at another firm, would I have gotten the recognition that I’m getting now? Probably not. But while I’m the founder, I’m not the face. I want my teams to get rewarded.
SO.GAY: When you look at the broader landscape of PR in New York, what’s a trend or something you’re observing that you don’t love?
BS: I think a lot of the bigger PR agencies are stepping away from the bread and butter, which is media relations. I see a lot of agencies investing in creative and production and “selling strategy,” which — what the f*ck is that?
People want press, at the end of the day. I think that’s what sets us up for success. We’re really creative in our approach. We may be a new school, young agency, but we’re also old school in that we care about media relations and press. It baffles me that with some agencies that’s a dying breed. There’s a time and place for TikTok and influencer marketing, but I care more about hard-earned media placement.
SO.GAY: Do you have a dream client? Who’s your north star?
BS: Something in big tech that intersects with culture, like a Netflix. Netflix also does a great job with LGBTQ marketing and a lot of their content is for the community. Something that has that intersection is important.
I’ve already worked with some dream clients, too, like FOLX Health, which is a queer and trans healthcare company. I launched them and grew them from a company that didn’t exist through multiple pivots. Now we’re working with MISTR and Tristan Schukraft, who is becoming the CEO of all-things gay. Things that are in the realm of advocacy and innovation are important for us, too.
