PR Week | By Jess Ruderman | March 3, 2023

PASADENA, CA: Former Sitrick and Company executives have launched a PR firm called LAG Strategy, effective March 1.

Cofounders and managing partners Stuart Pfeifer and Matthew Fern will lead the firm, overseeing account executives Ryan Ortega and Lance Pugmire. Ortega brings his experience in financial comms while Pugmire will head the firm’s sports practice.

LAG plans to help companies, nonprofits, universities, business leaders and celebrities thrive in today’s fast-paced media landscape, the agency said in a statement. 

Pfeifer and Fern’s combined work history as a PR practitioner and digital communications and online reputation management expert, respectively, will bolster the range of focuses and clients the agency represents from entertainment to healthcare to litigation support. Both have a background in crisis communications.

The partners plan to provide reputational support through their contacts in traditional media, digital communications and online support, including utilizing emerging technologies in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The pillars of the agency will hone in on public relations, crisis management and digital communications, according to their website. 

LAG specializes in strategic communications, earned media, crisis communications, litigation support, reputation management, SEO, digital advertising, social media management and website design. The firm boasts that clients will receive personal attention from cofounders and executives from the initial call and will work with cases from start to finish.

One client the firm worked with before officially launching was YouTube livestream poker show, “Hustler Casino Live,” where the partners worked to repair the brand’s reputation following a cheating allegation. This led efforts into an investigation that has since repaired and enhanced the show’s reputation.

“Our goals for the next year are to increase awareness of the new firm and continue to build relationships with law firms and other potential sources for clients,” Pfeifer said. “Most importantly, we will continue to work carefully to represent clients well. We’re just getting started.”

Prior to transitioning to strategic comms as a member of Sitrick in 2016, Pfeifer spent 15 years as a legal and business reporter at the Los Angeles Times. In 2004, he was among a team of Times reporters who were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage.

Fern previously served as director of the digital practice at Sitrick. He is cofounder of boutique advertising agency Dunigan Fern Media Partners, where he will remain part-time.