It’s common for public relations and marketing firms to have a specialty, but new firm Scout 22 is taking things to an incredibly specific level: The firm bills itself as the first vegan public relations and marketing agency in Los Angeles.

Such a niche focus seems like it could limit the firm’s prospects for growth, but Lori Turner, Scout 22’s founder and president, said that’s not so.

“It’s something we thought of long and hard,” she said. “It’s estimated that 2 to 3 percent of the population eat a plant-based diet and that’s growing. There are companies whose CEOs are vegan, like Twitter. Bill Gates is getting involved and Beyonce and her husband, Jay Z, are getting involved. This is big business.”

Scout 22 was co-founded by Turner and her husband, Phil. The company has a staff of 11 and an office in New York. Its name is a combination of the protagonist from beloved novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” – a tale about standing up for what’s right – and the 22nd letter of the alphabet – V, for vegan.

So, what does it mean to be a vegan agency? Most of Scout 22’s employees are vegan and the firm will only work with clients that have some connection to veganism. That could include vegan restaurants and food companies as well as companies whose top executives are vegan. For example, the company this month plans to sign a New York performing arts college where one of the executives is vegan.

“Rather than spend time on going against our ethics, we decided to form a vegan agency,” Turner said.

If all this sounds like a gimmick, Turner said it’s not. She sees her firm’s commitment to the vegan lifestyle as a real selling point for a growing number of potential clients.

For instance, she recalled seeing a big disconnect between a vegetarian client’s mission and the behavior of her colleagues at a previous marketing agency.

“We had just landed a big vegetarian food company as a client and everyone was brainstorming about the target audience,” Turner said. “While doing it, they were eating ham sandwiches and burgers and it struck me that if the client walked in, they would be turned off. We could not have the client in that meeting.”

Affair to Remember

Mistress, a creative agency in Santa Monica, is growing its roster of employees, thanks to new business wins and a recent move into a larger office space.

The company last month named Steve Orenstein its first chief operating officer.

Orenstein was the chief financial officer and chief operating officer for Playa Vista ad agency 72andSunny, which grew from 30 employees to 500 during his six-year tenure.

In the last few months, Mistress has also added a chief financial officer and a head of talent.

Christian Jacobsen, partner at Mistress, said that the company was scaling quickly and it became clear that it needed to beef up the executive team with leaders who could provide a solid foundation.

“The reality is with growth and scale of anything comes complexity and turbulence,” Jacobsen said. “We went from 32 people in the beginning of last year to over 50 and continue to grow, and we quadrupled our office space last year. So, the partners who founded Mistress were getting pulled in different directions.”

Los Angeles has become known for being a hub of creative talent and agencies, and this has helped Mistress land new clients and work on bigger projects with companies such as PayPal and VH1, Jacobsen said.

Agencies & Accounts

Jonathan Fitzgarrald, former chief marketing officer at Century City law firm Greenberg Glusker, has launched Equinox Strategy Partners, a consulting firm in Beverly Hills focused on law firms and other professional service providers. … Public relations firm Blaze in Santa Monica has been tapped by Table Tops Unlimited, a housewares company in Carson, to launch its product line Rove. … Ad agency Pitch in Culver City announced last week that it has been named agency of record for Haggen Inc., a Pacific Northwest grocery chain that is acquiring dozens of California Albertsons and Vons stores. … Ad agency RPA in Santa Monica this month was named agency of record for Tempur Sealy of Lexington, Ky. … Public relations firm Bullfrog + Baum on Miracle Mile has been named agency of record for New York restaurant group LDV Hospitality. … Public relations firm Third Street Media Group in Mid-Wilshire has been named public relations agency of record for snack maker Popchips in Playa Vista.

Staff reporter Subrina Hudson can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 251.