Dorian Payne, Client Services Director at promotional staffing agency StreetPR, has been elevated to the role of Managing Director, as the company’s founder and longtime MD James Rix steps back to focus on the group’s burgeoning digital business, Crowdify Global, and new venue – Knowhere Special.
Payne is a dedicated and experienced events professional with over 20 years’ experience of hosting, managing and running large-scale events across a diverse range of venues. He began his career in nightlife as a dancer, before moving on to managing the entertainment and staffing for Manumission for eight years at the world’s largest nightclub, Privilege, in Ibiza. He joined StreetPR in 2005 as Operations Director and quickly became the agency’s go-to-guy for all large scale event staffing. His most recent post was Client Services Director for StreetPR and Director of Experiential for Crowdify.
In his new role as Managing Director, Payne takes over the day-to-management of all of StreetPR’s promotional activities for clients, which range from established global brands to new start-ups, covering everything from leafleting, flyering, sampling, in-store demos, targeted lead generation, event management and staffing, experiential, guerrilla marketing, ambient media, and more.
“Brands have suffered a huge blow over the last 12 months, lacking the ability to engage with their customers in the real world,” said Payne. “Face to face marketing is on the cusp of a huge comeback as the world starts to open up and more people are hitting the streets. People are craving social interaction like never before so brands need to start preparing now for the revival of face-to-face marketing, something that we, at StreetPR, are poised and ready to guide clients through.”
Rix, founder of StreetPR and Crowdify Global, commented: “Dorian has been a vital component to the StreetPR team, pretty much right from the beginning. He has such a strong connection with many of our clients and I can’t think of a better man for the job to lead StreetPR through its next exciting stage.”
A full-stack technical marketing agency, Crowdify’s team of marketeers cover all areas of Digital, Social Media, Design, Branding and Experiential Marketing. While many of the businesses within the Crowdify group operate in live events, experiential and street marketing, including StreetPR and Wicked Student Nights – both of which were impacted by social restrictions during the lockdown, at Crowdify’s core is digital website building, design, SEO, paid search/social, and community building; which it has managed to maintain for clients during the pandemic.
“The past year has been one of the toughest for many businesses; some have, unfortunately, struggled and had to close, while others have survived and, in some cases, even thrived,” said Rix. “Fortunately for us, all of our businesses sit within the Crowdify Group, which is digital at its core. What started out as a five year plan quickly had to adapt in just a few months, but having that digital side of the business ensured that we could retain the StreetPR team throughout the pandemic and we’re coming out of this in a strong position as the industry starts to bounce back.”
During the pandemic, Rix and his business partner Fergus Harrington also purchased a new pub venue, joining forces with operational partner Ash Clarke to bring a new lease of life to a tired venue. Knowhere Special, located on the doorstep of Crowdify HQ between Old Street and Angel, brings the Crowdify touch to build a modern day neighbourhood pub, serving cocktails, coffee and small plates. It also has a number of bookable private rooms for functions, meetings and events.