Spry PR Founder Q&A: Stephanie Pryor on the Journey to a New Brand Identity
LANC Marketing, which officially became Spry PR last month, was founded in 2023 in Lancaster, PA. At the time, the name was quite literally where founder Stephanie Pryor came from. Today, the company has a new home in Richmond, VA, but the geographical location is not the only change the team made in the buildup to our new brand identity.
Stephanie shares about the growth, (sometimes hard) lessons learned, and wins as LANC Marketing and what it really took to launch Spry PR. She discusses what the rebrand means for the business and its clients, how the rebrand process is reflective of her evolution as a business leader, and what other small business owners can take away if they’re considering a rebrand.
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Q: What made you realize it was time to rebrand from LANC Marketing to Spry PR? Why now?
It was a combination of things that compounded over time. Moving from Lancaster, PA, to Richmond, VA, was already a signal—we're not even based there anymore! But I was struggling with the name for a while before that, because "marketing" just wasn't fully representative of what we actually do for our clients. There's obviously a crossover between PR, communications, and marketing, but we are a PR shop first. We think about reputation, visibility, and authority—not "how many leads did we generate this month?" but "where are we showing up? What conversations are we part of?" Once that realization really sank in for me, the name just didn't fit anymore.
One specific moment that sticks out to me is when I decided to sponsor part of the PRSA Richmond chapter’s Virginia PR Awards. I knew "LANC Marketing" was going to be up on that screen at the event, and I was already cringing when people said it out loud. Seeing my old name on stage was it. I had to change it. Now.
Q: What were the first steps you took in making that vision a reality?
The story of the rebrand is equally a story of my growth as a business owner. For a while, we were trying to fit the name to a niche—we were thinking we'd focus specifically on manufacturing brands, so we did some brand exercises around that. We landed on a name specific to manufacturing and even started talking to our creative agency. However, something about it just never felt quite right.
The whole time, there was this other name in the back of my head—Spry PR. At first, I ignored the idea. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized that I needed to get clear on where the business was actually going, how we were going to operate to get there, and what kind of environment I wanted to create for my team. It's as much a story about business strategy and vision as it is about a new name.
Once we landed on Spry PR, we engaged with the creative agency, filled out their questionnaire, and discussed the details—logos, aesthetics, colors. The concrete steps came pretty quickly once the foundation was set.
Q: How did you handle the actual transition — internally, with clients, etc.?
It was a lot of work. Since we don't have a ton of in-house support, I had to do a lot of the backend work myself. Having a real communications plan in place made it possible for me to move quickly on the IT aspects of the rebrand. I'd also already started fixing up the website before the launch—looking at what people were engaging with and what needed to change from a performance standpoint. So there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work that had to happen.
Internally, it was pretty straightforward since it's a small team. Because the brand is so intertwined with how the business operates, everything we do feels more aligned internally and externally as Spry PR. Our clients were receptive to and excited about the new brand when we gave them the heads-up ahead of launch day. It was great to get that real-time feedback from our partners and stakeholders.
Q: What would you do differently if you were starting the process over?
I was misguided for a while, thinking I needed to niche down to a specific industry before I could figure out the “right” name. It became this whole side quest of “we're going to be a manufacturing PR firm”—and, looking back, that just wasn't the right starting point. The real turning point was when I stepped back and focused on becoming a great PR firm, period. As a business, we didn’t need to attach our identity to a specific vertical; instead, we had to get clear on our actual differentiators and core competencies. If we’d gotten there sooner, it would have expedited the whole process.
Q: How do you know when you need a full rebrand versus just a website refresh?
You know it's time for a real rebrand when you're regularly feeling the disconnect between your brand identity and what you're actually doing. I mean, with LANC Marketing, I could physically feel it. I could feel the gap between what I was seeing on our LinkedIn and website and who we actually were.
A brand is the whole identity of the business. It encompasses so much. So if your website feels outdated or is not converting well, sure, refresh it. But if the brand is fundamentally disconnected from who you are as a business and how you want to be known, it’s time for a change. For us, it was obvious, since we weren't based in Lancaster anymore (though it still holds a special place in our hearts), and we don't do “marketing.” Our rebrand truly reflects how Spry PR has evolved as a business and how I have grown as a business owner.
Q: Now that Spry PR is officially launched, what's next?
Besides continued client wins and growing the team (which is always the goal), I have a couple of things I'm really excited about. First, I would love to get Spry PR into an actual office space. I really want us to have a physical footprint. Beyond that, you're going to start seeing the Spry PR name pop up in a lot more places—events, earned media, our newsletter. Hopefully you’ll see us in a Richmond neighborhood or at a conference near you soon!
Q: Any final advice for small business owners thinking about a rebrand?
Do the deep work first. Take a step back and actually look at your business—what's working, what's not. Do a real SWOT analysis. If you're just in survival mode trying to get by, you're not thinking about your vision, and you don't have that “north star” to guide you. I was trying to make something work that wasn't actually solving the real problem, which was that I'm a PR person and a communications person, and my old brand just wasn't aligned with that reality.
Once you have that clarity and direction, trust your gut on the details. I think about it like planning my wedding. I had a clear picture in my mind of how I wanted it to feel, but I didn't stress over every single detail—I trusted my gut and delegated. My wedding felt perfect. The rebrand was the same way. There are so many design options, so many directions you could go—colors, typography, etc. You have to be able to commit and go. If you worry too much about the details, you'll never get it done.
