Darby Communications Announces New Ownership Structure

January 10, 2023

Agency Adds Partners to Support Expansive Growth in 2023 and Beyond

Asheville, NC – January 10, 2023 /OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – After celebrating fifteen years in operation and following a record-breaking year in 2022, Darby Communications announces the expansion of agency ownership to include two new business partners. Effective January 1, 2023, agency ownership will be shared amongst three key shareholders, long-time employee and agency President, Angie Robinson, recently appointed Vice President of Operations, Cory Van Auken, and agency founder, Coral Darby.

Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of western NC, Darby Communications is the original PR and digital marketing firm of the area serving the outdoors, active lifestyle, fishing, and craft food/beverage industries. Incorporated in May of 2007, Darby Communications has experienced exponential growth every year since its inception. Today, the agency is in partnership with over two dozen clients ranging from locally based outdoor and craft food and beverage companies to national and international outdoor, active lifestyle, and fishing clients. The agency employs thirteen full-time staff members who facilitate a full spectrum of earned, owned, and paid communications services for its clientele.

“I am so honored to have Angie and Cory as agency partners,” states founder Coral Darby. “With their leadership and focus on the agency’s health, we can double down on our commitment to innovation within all aspects of business operations, client management, and best practices in PR and digital marketing. This change in our business structure will help us continue to scale the agency while simultaneously creating a positive environment to best serve our clients and our work family.”

In the past three months, Darby Communications has added NC-based Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Blue Ridge Chair Works, Farm to Feet, and Let Me Run to its client roster, with additional regional and national brand partners expecting to continue fueling record growth into 2023. By combining impactful brand storytelling, expanding searchable digital product coverage, and focusing on relationship-building media engagements, Darby Communications has built a reputation on its well-rounded strategic PR mastery. The agency complements its PR services with expertise in digital marketing, and owned and paid social and content management.

“It has been extremely inspiring to be a major part of building this agency since 2010 and I’m thrilled to be in partnership with Cory and Coral to lead this agency into its next growth phase,” shares Angie Robinson, President. “Throughout my time here, we’ve been committed to smart growth and have worked diligently to dial in our processes to be more efficient and provide some of the best client services in the industry with a strong focus on relationship building.”

“Working alongside my industry mentors is a dream come true. Over the past decade, Coral and Angie have built this agency on the tenants of people before profit, and hard work and transparency will always pay off,” says Cory Van Auken, Vice President of Operations. “Because of these values, our staff and client retention rates are phenomenal. I look forward to collaboratively expanding on our success one partner, employee, and client at a time.”

Learn more about Darby Communications at darbycommunications.com.

About Darby Communications

Darby Communications is a boutique PR & digital marketing agency serving the outdoor, active lifestyle, fishing, and craft food and beverage industries through impactful media placement, digital advertising, email marketing, social media management, and content writing. Headquartered in Asheville, NC with a coast-to-coast portfolio, Darby Communications takes a team approach to everything it does for clients and has worked with many respected companies. Their current client roster includes Appalachian Gear Company, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Around the Crown 10K, Astral, Blue Ridge Chair Works, BRANWYN, Devil’s Foot Beverage Company, Farm to Feet, Green River Preserve, Ignik, Johnson Outdoors, Knog, Let Me Run, LifeSaver, Nine Mile, Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn, PubCorps, The RailYard, Shimano North America Fishing, Sierra Designs, SylvanSport, Ultimate Direction, and Wildwater. Learn more at www.darbycommunications.com or follow on social @darbycomm.

###