By Caron Schwartz
One of the most difficult tasks for artists is promoting themselves. Their core competence is being creative, and tooting their own horn, whether it is visual, perfor-mance or even horn-tooting, doesn’t come naturally.
Filling that gap is Gulfport-based Carroway + Rose, a public relations agency with a twist, says Owner and Creative Director James Briggs. “We are a creative arts agency,” he says, “an agency that serves as co-creators of a new aesthetic that navigates the crossroads between business and art.” Essentially, Carroway + Rose promotes the arts in an aesthetically pleasing manner that, he says, most marketing and PR agencies lack.
Clients include local artists and performers Brenda McMahon Gallery, Laura Shepherd, and Misti Bernard’s Blue Muse Quartet and Sea Song Designs. Carroway + Rose also works with organizations including the Listen Up Film Series, ArtJones, Abstract Art for Autism, Gulfport Merchants Chamber, Operation PTSD, and the Enroy Foundation. Other clients here include Simpli Assist and Let it Be Ice Cream.
“Since our target client base was to be artists and artistic organizations, we thought we’d go directly to the source with the creators themselves,” Briggs says. “So, for the sign and logo and all of the promotional materials at Brenda’s [McMahon Gallery] for example, I sat down with her, tried to capture her artistic vision and took it to our designers from there. “The firm and its designers took great care in understanding my needs and reflecting my vision in a sophisticated and artful manner,” McMahon says. “Carroway + Rose is a class act firm with vision and integrity. I look forward to years of collaboration.” The Enroy Foundation’s Maureen Kilroy, who runs the organization with husband Larry Enlow, believes the collaboration with Carroway + Rose is a win-win. “As a small 501(c)3 organization committed to visual and performing arts in the Tampa Bay area, we know where we want to go, but lack some of the expertise to get us there,” Kilroy says. “We have full trust and confidence in James Briggs and Carroway + Rose’s ability to help us get there.”
Another difference between Carroway + Rose and most agencies is it not only has creatives as clients, it has a commitment to ἀnancially supporting the arts. “We decided as a firm to give 11 percent of all of our profits to our foundation, Noble Roses,” Briggs says. The company plans to raise money as well to distribute in the form of artists grants, partnerships with other organizations and educational opportunities, he says. Noble Roses partners include the Carter Woodson African American Museum and the Enroy Foundation. “Enroy gives them a place to perform. And Terri Lipsey Scott at the Carter Woodson Museum is a wonderful example of how the arts can be a proactive force for good in the community. That’s what inspires us.”
In addition to Gulfport, Carroway + Rose has offices in Santa Fe and Charleston.