Little Red Rooster celebrated 15 years of driving stellar campaigns for brands across audio, design, fashion, tech and music this year. We’ve since scooped B Corp status; have twice been named in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work Awards, bagged a spot in the coveted PR Week Top 150 for the very first time in 2025 – the most important compilation of UK PR agencies – and dear to our hearts, been named one of the UK’s most Transparent Agencies by PRWeek.
So, with that in mind we thought it about time we re-introduce our founder and CEO, Victoria Ruffy – music geek, culture and design obsessive and avid collector of horses (actually let’s be honest – it’s all animals – chickens, dogs, cats, the list goes on).
We caught up with Vic to look back on the agency’s incredible growth, chat through career highlights to date and what makes Little Red Rooster such an awesome place to work in a very special edition of our ‘Meet the Rooster’ series.
Hello Vic, let’s start with how you got into PR…
I studied art history at University, and originally wanted to work in A&R or restore frescoes in Italy but soon realised both paid me diddly squat. After selling ad space for Debretts magazine I started to apply for PR roles at agencies but was gutted to see the only way in was via unpaid internships.
That led me to take on a marketing assistant role at record company West One Music and another as a reporter at music/skate/surf magazine Sonik until I finally got a junior PR role at a very well-known PR agency. It was probably one of the worst years of my life but set me up to be the ball-busting girl I am today so, in a strange way, I’m glad it happened.
From there, I took on my most-loved PR role (apart from Little Red Rooster, of course!) at Cohn and Wolfe [later merged with Burson-Marsteller to form BCW, now known simply as Burson] and was there for five years. The company had an amazing culture, and I worked with some incredibly talented people. Lots of love for that place and in particular the MD at the time, Jonathan Shore – in particular the drinks trolley he’d wheel around each Friday.
What excites you most about your job?
I created Little Red Rooster from an absolute love of media relations and storytelling. I still get a buzz every time I see a client in print or digital and the excitement for that never fades.
I work with people I love – whether that’s my epic team, our super smart clients or with the plethora of media who I just love spending time with with. Journalists are naturally inquisitive and curious people – my kind of people, so spending time with them is never a chore.
The PR industry is changing all the time and keeps me forever on my toes – the learning is infinite. Over the years we’ve seen the digital and influencer model develop massively, and more recently we’ve seen the influx of affiliate marketing and advances in AI shape our clients’ PR strategies.
We’ve adapted our social media offering to cover content creation, paid social and digital strategy. We’ve had to be nimble and adapt to the changing landscape, learning as we go. I love change and boy, does this agency bring that!
What gets me up in the morning are the ace brands we work with. Our client roster is something I could only have dreamed of at the start of my career.
What is your most memorable career moment?
So many! I wouldn’t know where to begin. Obviously joining forces with Henry Griffiths was a major moment, I adored working with Henry. The day we won the Smeg account was just the biggest high and I remember us all leaving the office immediately to go to the pub. God knows what time I got home…maybe a few days later. Quickly following was the Bang and Olufsen win and it escalated from there.
Launching Smeg’s flagship store on Regent Street St James back in 2017; an incredible press trip to SXSW in Austin with Marshall; scooping some truly outstanding account wins such as Hush Puppies and Plaud and launching Fender’s Acoustasonic guitar in New York were definitely real ‘pinch me’ moments.
The biggest high this year must be the launch of Marshall’s Heston 120 soundbar with a riot of 5 star reviews on launch. We were all elated.
The top spot of all time though? In all honestly must be the much talked about press trip to Vegas and LA with Jeremy White from Wired, interiors maven Claudia Baillie and ex-Stuff editor James Day. Henry really did outshine us all on that one!
Describe your happy place?
Can I say being 27, it’s 3am and I am spinning around a dance floor at legendary indie music night Fools Gold at The After Dark? More frequently these days, drag hunting on my horse Delta. I am horse mad and a bit of an adrenaline junkie so it’s the perfect match.
Describe your work wardrobe?
Band t-shirts, A-line skirts, ankle boots, a leather jacket or my most wonderful Valentino leopard print coat. Working from home? Jodhpurs on the bottom and a nice fluffy bright jumper – thank God for Teams calls!
I have a bit of an issue with getting ‘dressed up’ and an outright aversion to ‘Ascot / wedding’ attire. I feel style is an important reflection of who you are and if that’s not aligned you won’t feel comfortable, and it will affect your performance.
So, that means my dress for a pitch or an event might be a bit close to the line. Hopefully with a big smile on my face and showing I can work my ass off, it no longer becomes an issue.
What makes Little Red Rooster different from other PR agencies?
PR has a somewhat unfair reputation of being all smoke and mirrors – this feeling that you can’t really prove its worth, reinforced by outdated rhetorics of ‘PR girls’ swanning round drinking champagne and not really doing a lot.
I’ve always wanted to challenge this notion and feel confident we’ve done that. We know who we are and what makes us different.
For one, we guarantee our results.
We’re the only PR agency we are aware of to offer this and to this day, we’ve never had to refund a client – ever! We’re so confident in the KPIs we set with clients and we’re always honest from the get-go if something feels unrealistic or just ‘off’. When your agency puts that much skin in the game everyone wins.
But most of all, we’ve worked tirelessly to establish a truly awesome culture. I’ve always believed being at a small agency opens doors to opportunities and bragging rights you simply wouldn’t get at a supersized corporate firm.
Our team work exceptionally hard, but every single person makes a meaningful difference, and we know how to celebrate the wins. I’ve always believed in rewarding loyalty and excellence and it’s a testament to our incredible culture that many Roosters have been with the agency for over a decade – something that’s a real rarity in PR nowadays.
Do you have any advice for someone wanting to work in PR?
Write the CV and covering letter of your life and send it to only the agencies you really want to work for. Spell out exactly why. And when you get there say “yes!” to everything and make as much tea as is humanly possible. Be smart, be curious, read, research and curate your mind. Nothing is cooler than knowing your sh*t and making said sh*t happen.
What’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever been given?
Probably the school PE teacher who said I’d never amount to anything and would end up working in Tesco. Whenever I’ve been told “no”, I love nothing more than proving everyone wrong. PR has never put up barriers for me and when it has, I just tore them down and still have a job – bonus!
