To celebrate the 23rd birthday of Flipside PR, we sat down with our founder, Lynne Thomas for insight into her PR journey, the start of Flipside and her PR predictions.

What was the moment that made you think, “Yep, I’m starting Flipside PR”?
It wasn’t really a single lightbulb moment – it was more a right time, right place situation. I was working with a particular client who owned an aesthetic clinic, and this was over 23 years ago, when only a handful of doctors in the UK were even trained to do Botox. The client also had a distribution company called Cosmeceuticals, with the tagline professional skincare science, and it was one of the first brands to bring AHA and glycolic products into the UK.
It was such a niche area back then, but it was clearly growing and way ahead of its time. I became completely fascinated by aesthetics – it genuinely turned into a passion – and together we achieved some incredible results that literally transformed the business. I could see very clearly that this was the future of beauty, and I realised I’d found a very specific niche that I was really good at.
Rather than going in-house, it made far more sense to set up a specialist agency so I could work with other emerging brands in this space. Around the same time, I was introduced to something called mineral makeup – makeup so pure you could sleep in it. That brand was bareMinerals, and I launched it in the UK before anyone had even heard of the idea of makeup as skincare.
I was incredibly passionate about these innovations and totally convinced they were the future of skincare in the UK – and, thankfully, I was right. So Flipside PR was born as a specialist agency working with quasi-medical skincare brands, clinics, doctors and treatments. At the time, very few agencies specialised in this area, and I was both well-connected and genuinely excited about helping these brands grow.
PR back then involved a lot of air-kissing and prancing around with the right handbag – arguably not that much has changed! I called the agency Flipside because I wanted to offer an alternative to traditional PR. Less ego, more graft. My clients – not me, were always the centre of attention, and the brilliance of their brands was what mattered. That ethos still guides everything we do today.

If Flipside PR had a personality, how would you describe it in three words?
Fun, forward-thinking and flirty.

What’s one thing people always misunderstand about PR?
That it’s a tangible, instantly measurable thing. There’s this idea that if you spend X on a retainer, you should see X back in direct sales – and that’s just not how PR works.
PR is intangible. It’s about word of mouth, reputation and long-term brand building, and it can’t be measured in the same way as advertising or performance marketing. PR sits right at the very top of the marketing funnel – it drives awareness. It’s the first moment someone becomes aware of a brand or product.
The more credible mentions your brand gets across media platforms, the more trust you build, and the more likely that awareness is to turn into sales – both immediately and over time. The brands that really succeed are the ones that understand PR is a long game, not a quick fix.

Looking back, what’s a decision that felt risky at the time but totally paid off?
Specialising so early on. Putting all my energy into aesthetics, clinics and quasi-medical skincare definitely felt risky at the time because it was such a small, emerging sector. But it meant we became known for something very specific, and that focus is exactly what allowed Flipside to grow and stand out.

If you weren’t in PR, what do you think you’d be doing instead?
I honestly can’t imagine not being involved with Flipside – there really isn’t anything else I’d rather do. But I always wanted to train as a beauty therapist, so maybe that!
I’m also completely obsessed with my dog Mochi, who works alongside me at Flipside as Director of Cuteness, so a dog-walking company might be fun too.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever been given?
I’ve not really been given much career advice – I tend to forge my own path – but I truly believe “be yourself” is the best advice there is. If you’re authentic and stay true to who you are, everything else follows. Never compromise your values.

What trends in PR or communications are you most excited about right now?
AI is definitely the big one – exciting, fascinating, and slightly terrifying all at the same time. It’s already changing how we work, from research and data analysis to content creation and trend forecasting. Used properly, it can make PR teams faster, sharper and more strategic.
That said, AI can’t replace instinct, relationships, creativity or emotional intelligence – and that’s where great PR really lives. The danger is when people think AI can do PR. It can’t. It can support it, enhance it and streamline processes, but it can’t build trust, read a room, spot a cultural moment, or nurture a journalist relationship.
The future of PR isn’t AI instead of humans – it’s AI alongside humans who really understand storytelling, nuance and people.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in PR today?
Honestly? If you’re choosing a career purely for security, I might tell you not to go into the creative industries right now – given how quickly AI is evolving. Hairdressing, construction, plumbing, tech… all very safe bets! (LOL.)
But if you’re absolutely hell-bent on PR, my advice would be to think much more holistically. Don’t just be “PR-only”. Build a 360 skill set – marketing, SEO, social, digital strategy, analytics. Being a one-stop shop, or at least understanding how all those disciplines work together, is incredibly valuable now.
PR isn’t disappearing – it’s evolving. And the people who evolve with it will always have a place.