Visibility and Credibility: PR Expert Brauch Owens Talks Up the Dangers of Attaining One Without the Other

There’s a famous saying, "A good name is better than riches." This statement is true both on an individual and organizational level. Humans gravitate towards people with commendable reputations because they feel secure; this also applies to businesses and organizations. Some claim this is the reason that the public relations industry exists. 

In business, perception is everything—well, almost everything. Brands worldwide are investing heavily in public relations campaigns to boost their audience base and, hence, their reputation. However, having a huge following doesn't directly translate to having a solid reputation. 

This is a reality Brauch Owens came to understand in his time helping brands amass massive followings on the internet. Owens grew up with the entrepreneurial bug and has been engaged in different ventures since adolescence. By his late teens, he understood his way around the internet more than most. He had his fingers on the pulse of PR and Social Media and the strategies that worked to grow a reputation. This inspired him to start his Social Media Marketing and PR agency, OSX Marketing. 

Owens refers to audience growth and reputation building as a double-edged sword. He says, "I learned early on in my journey about how human psychology works. People typically don't follow or patronize popular brands and individuals just for the sake of it. They do it because they believe those entities have something to offer, whatever that may be. So, in the eyes of the typical person, they click the follow button or purchase button because they believe they have something to gain from their content, services, or some other secondary means. This in itself presupposes some level of credibility for the account owner. But credibility and the reputation attached to it can be lost regardless of the size of your audience." 

Owens' nous in building clients' credibility through his agency was a big hit and soon made him famous in PR and marketing circles. He soon amassed an impressive clientele base, which included agencies, influencers, and big-name celebrities. Owens soon widened his portfolio to include smaller businesses as he noticed a massive opportunity with brands in lesser-known niches that couldn't break through the ceiling and build a dedicated following of their own, thereby streamlining his businesses to become strictly B2B. 

However, building credibility for any entity is an extremely sensitive endeavor, especially in today's prevalent cancel culture. Sometimes, it only takes one wrong business decision or one negative customer review to undo the good name and goodwill that an organization has built. 

In the last five years, the PR and marketing space has expanded rapidly as more businesses begin to realize the usefulness of a carefully built and managed reputation. Owens' ambition for the industry has always been to set himself apart with the quality of his work and the honesty of his delivery, and he soon realized that he needed to expand his reach and influence if he was going to stake a claim in the fast-growing industry. In 2021, he secured a strategic business relationship with the elite PR firm Ascend Agency, eventually merging his agency with Ascend and creating what is now considered one of the most innovative and rapidly growing brands in the American PR space.  

"It seemed the logical choice to head in that direction," says Owens. "PR practice has become the main vehicle for building a holistic brand image and perception for organizations across industries. The collective and symbiotic power of our two firms allowed us to operate on a higher playing field, stretching across all niches in media. Needless to say, together with the team at Ascend, we've been able to achieve great things." 

Since joining Ascend Agency as managing partner, Owens has run a well-oiled PR machine alongside Ascend’s founder, Jonathan Jadali, and the rest of the team. In a relatively short time, the agency has garnered a plethora of worthy recognition and secured impactful partnerships with multiple reputable publications and media outlets. They've been named the second fastest-growing PR Agency by Adweek and O'dwyer's and the second fastest-growing PR agency in the Pacific Region in the 2024 INC regionals Pacific, among other accolades. 

Owens' mission has stayed the same: to help brands and individuals develop a reputation and trust among their audience while growing their visibility across the web.  

"The principle behind what I am doing remains unchanged, but I have always believed in the power of synergy. Ascend presented a phenomenal opportunity to create a brand that achieved way more than we could achieve alone. My goal was to cast a wider net, and accessing a larger team enabled us to accelerate growth with our combined strengths." 

Through his work with Ascend Agency, Brauch Owens’ mission remains focused on helping entrepreneurs and organizations stay top-of-mind with their customers and create enviable reputations in their industries. His advice to organizations is to take the time to build a dedicated PR department or to hire a credible PR team to nurture a solid brand reputation. His final words of wisdom: "Building visibility without credibility is a recipe for failure and can dig your brand into a hole you may not be able to climb out of. A solid reputation may just be the last line of defense for any brand in times of crisis. They'll be able to tap into the goodwill they've built as it'll give them enough leash to navigate out of troubled waters."