INDUSTRY PROFILE: KIMBERLEY HORNBY
BRINGING IDEAS TO LIFE: KIMBERLEY HORNBY
Kimberley Hornby is well known in the gardening industry having worked in PR for many years and recently set up her own press relations agency called Hornby George PR. We caught up with Kimberley to ask her a few questions about herself, the industry and her new business.
DIY Week: Please tell us a bit about your company? Kimberley Hornby: Launched in January 2024, Hornby George PR has been 20 years in the making. I’ve worked in various iterations of the agency since 2005, but 2024 was the year that I finally took the leap and created an agency that truly reflected what I wanted the business to look like and the services I wanted it to offer. We’re focused on a number of
core sectors, most notably garden retail and horticulture, where we are probably best known. However, outside of this, we also work heavily within the home, leisure and lifestyle markets, as well as specialisms within the commercial garden landscaping and specifier sectors, along with growers and nurseries.
The business operates a fully networked team, all located across the country, which means we can access a pool of talent without the restrictions of geography. And, what a team they are! I am so lucky to have such amazing colleagues, all of which have been so supportive of the transition to the new business. As for those of you wondering where the ‘George’ comes in – it’s my marital name!
DIYW: Can you tell us about your role? KH: Everything from general dogsbody to boss, chef, chief tea maker and party starter. I get involved in every single aspect of the business, mainly because I have no choice, but also because I love all the little cogs that have to turn to make this business work.
In most cases, I am the main point of contact for clients and new business opportunities, so I get involved in everything from the first phone call to the in-depth aspects of campaign planning and making our ideas become a reality.
DIYW: What is your main focus at the moment?
18 DIY WEEK MAY 2024
KH: Doing the absolute best job we can, and bringing even more value to our clients. I have big aspirations for Hornby George PR but it’s also incredibly important that our existing clients are still feeling the love. This also means bringing more services, tools and systems to the mix to ensure that we’re making the most of every single opportunity available to us, and them.
DIYW: And what do you see as your main challenges? KH: Budgets and misconceptions around PR. Far too often, marketing and PR budgets are the first to get cut when belts are tightened, so we work really hard to get our clients to understand the value of PR and how, when done right, it can be invaluable to the future development of their business. DIYW: Are you currently working on any new plans? KH: Always! We have launched our very own, in-house-designed online Press Office resource called PressDonkey, which we’re not just rolling out to our clients but also the wider marketplace. As great as existing systems are, they are very much focused on consumer-facing coverage and are often extremely costly. To counter this, we have created a system that offers benefits for both trade and consumer media opportunities, and is priced from just £15 per month, making it a hugely cost-effective and the perfect solution for everyone from grassroot entrepreneurs to established industry juggernauts. On top of this, we’re also busy working on developing our collaborative network, where we bring together complementary businesses and skills to offer more value for clients. We
are lucky
enough to know some incredibly talented individuals and amazing agencies, whose services may be of assistance to our clients, so we’re creating a way to join all of this up in one handy directory, whilst also directly managing our client’s
and that our plans for them are realised. Only once this is done, will we fully embark on growing and developing Hornby George PR into so much more.
And a bit about the person: Favourite film? Saving Private Ryan or About Time. Both make me ‘ugly’ cry but for very different reasons!
“I finally took the leap and created an agency that truly reflected what I wanted the business to look like and the services I wanted it to offer. ”
needs through a single point of contact. Think of it as a ‘service concierge’.
DIYW: What advice would you give to the industry? KH:Don’t make PR the last thing on your to-do list or fob it off to someone with no experience. PR needs to be strategically considered, making sure it aligns with your short-, mid- and long-term business development plans. It shouldn’t be out there operating on its own. When done right, both you and your agency will have absolute control, transparency and confidence in what is being actioned.
DIYW: Going forward, what’s keeping you busy? KH: Priority number one will always be making sure our existing client portfolio is fully managed
Favourite piece of music? If I could only have one album for the rest of time it would be the Destiny’s Child ‘Writings on the Wall’ album. I was obsessed with this in the 2000s and, if I’m being honest, I still am.
Do you have any pets? Yes! Three dogs: Sherlock Bones, Pugsley and Piglet. We
also
have ducks, sheep, and our own honeybee hives.
Who would you most like to come to dinner (alive or not)? If I could compile my dream dinner party, it would include me and my husband, Peter, then we’d have Elizabeth I, any kind of dinosaur expert, Brian Cox for space chat, Elton John, Dawn French, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Richard Jones, one of the UK’s foremost Ripperologists.
When are you at your happiest? When I am at home with my pets and my husband or when on holiday, stretched out on a sun lounger, mimosa in hand and safe in the knowledge that I am not back at the desk for at least a week!
Can you tell us one thing people may not know about you? I’m a true-crime addict, I’m learning Japanese, and I’m self- diagnosed with thalassophobia (you’ll have to Google it!).
Learn more about Hornby George PR online at
hornbygeorgepr.com
www.diyweek.net
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