BudmanPR has become Matte PR after the death last December of the agency’s founder and president Nina Budman.
Heidi Ruggier, pictured left, who joined BudmanPR in 2012 and was previously a consultant, has become director of Matte PR.
Budman, who founded the firm more than 25 years ago, “was really a pioneer when it came to PR at that time,” says Ruggier. She also contributed to the business side of the fashion industry as a regional director for Fashion Group International, adviser and past-chair of the Ryerson School of Fashion and board member and adviser to the Design Exchange.
Budman was semi-retired when she died of cancer on Dec. 12. “She was planning to stay on in a consulting role as a mentor within PR,” Ruggier says. “She’d been working with us to transition the company and transfer ownership and then stay on in an advisory role with us.”
Ruggier says the name change evokes Budman’s philosophy that PR should play more of a behind-the-scenes role, unlike today when PR is much more visible to consumers and industry because of factors like social media.
“We wanted to speak to a time where PR really was in the background. It was inspired by the idea of a matte story which is a ready-made news piece that you would send out to newspapers – we wanted to pay homage to that idea.”
Matte PR has four employees, all of whom worked with Budman. Ruggier will concentrate on strategy and new business development, while consultant Jessica McAfee (pictured right) will lead client relations.
Matte PR’s clients include Hillcrest Mall, architecture, design and planning firm Brook McIlroy, Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario, Wines of Montefalco.
Sassoon Salon & Academy has been with the firm for more than 25 years while real estate firm Engel & Völkers North America is the newest client.
Matte PR will continue to specialize in media relations, corporate communications and crisis management but will put more focus on digital offerings, something it had started to do with Budman.
“The transition has been pretty seamless,” says Ruggier. Clients “have all been very supportive and happy with the direction that the company is going.”
