Hunter, Barbara W.

Barbara Way Hunter, founder and former CEO of New York–based Hunter & Associates, Inc. (now Hunter Public Relations, LLC), was a trailblazer for women in public relations who aspire to own their own firm—to be the boss. In the late 1960s, when it was virtually unheard of for a woman to own and head a business, Hunter countered opposition and purchased her own public relations firm. Her actions encouraged other women to do the same in a field then dominated by men.

Hunter was born in 1927 in Westport, New York. After graduating from Cornell University's College of Arts & Sciences with a bachelor's degree in gov-ernment, she accepted a job as a trade magazine editor. Using her liberal arts background, Hunter quickly progressed to a publicist position for a major food company. In February 1956, she joined the public relations firm of Dudley Anderson Yutzy (D-A-Y) as an account executive. After two of the original D-A-Y partners died in 1969, Hunter and her sister, Jean Schoonover, bought out the remaining partner. Hunter became president of the new firm, which grew 500 percent in the next 12 years.

D-A-Y was sold to Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations in 1983, and Hunter became vice chairman of the subsidiary of the large advertising agency.

In 1989, Hunter founded Hunter & Associates, a firm specializing in marketing and public relations for food and beverage companies. The firm started with two clients: McIlhenny Company, maker of Tabasco sauce, and Kraft Foods. Eleven years later, when Hunter retired, the firm had added Campbell Soup Company, McCormick & Company, Morgan Stanley, Pepperidge Farm, Pernod Ricard USA, 3M, Sears, and others to its client roster. It also was the number two independent public relations agency in the nation, billing over $7.8 million in 2000.

Hunter led the firm as CEO until her retirement in December 2000. Senior managers then purchased the firm from Hunter, and—keeping her name and professional commitments and ideologies—renamed it Hunter Public Relations.

According to Hunter, honesty has been key to her success. During her 42 years of practicing public relations in an agency setting, she lived by one rule: “Do not overpromise results to your client and make certain you deliver the promises you do make” (B. W. Hunter, personal communication, November 14, 2002).

Honesty paid off. By not overpromising, she ensured that clients stayed loyal to her firm and referred her to other business associates. She explained, “When you promise an outcome and deliver on those promises, it builds confidence, and from confidence comes a loyal client” (B. W. Hunter, personal communication, November 14, 2002). She was not afraid to admit when she could not accomplish an organization's objective. Summarizing, she said, “Honesty is a large aspect of success.”

Going to great lengths for the client also helped build successful and beneficial relationships for her firm. Hunter elaborated, “If a clients know you will be responsive to their individual needs, they will stay with you. Everyone likes personal attention” (B. W. Hunter, personal communication, November 14, 2002).

Hunter also attributes her success to the creative and interesting approaches she has taken with her clients and their products. The bottom line, however, is that a public relations firm is only as good as the practitioners it employs. Practitioners must have good judgment and be creative, articulate, and skillful to get their message out to targeted publics.

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