Violette Browner, Anna Herzberg, Claire Robbins and Ellie Krewson created an event to promote Gatherwise Skincare and connect the brand with local influencers.
Four public relations students at the UO School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) turned a class project into a social media campaign for Gatherwise Skincare, a small Portland business built around sustainable cosmetics made from farm-grown ingredients.
The team created a campaign and a small “creators event” at the client’s bucolic Portland farm, where influencers showed up, tried the products and shared about the experience on social media.
SOJC Teaching Professor Kelli Matthews, who teaches the Public Relations Capstone class, assigned team members Violette Browner ’26, Anna Herzberg ’26, Claire Robbins ’26 and Ellie Krewson ’26 to work with Gatherwise because the students expressed interest in the beauty and wellness field.
Gatherwise Skincare, founded and owned by Melissa Fuller, offers multiple skincare products, including Calm & Clear Serum, Serious Eye Oil and Facial Balm.
Browner said she was intrigued by the Gatherwise model. “Everything is grown on her farm,” she said.
Herzberg saw the passion in the brand that Fuller created. “It’s so inspiring to work with someone who’s so passionate about her company and has a clear brand vision, which I loved,” she said.
Students are given latitude — but with a deadline
Matthews said she gives students leeway to figure out the campaign on their own, as long as they stick to a specific timeline. “I don’t want to be super prescriptive,” Matthews said. “But I don’t want it to be completely a free-for-all. We’re on a 10-week timeline, so they have to move pretty fast.”
Students must meet with their clients by the end of Week 2 of the term.
“By mid-term, they submit their campaign blueprint, which is then signed off by the clients before they move forward with the campaign,” Matthews said.
For the Gatherwise campaign, the students focused on social media outreach. “We created a small creator gathering where we reached out to 40-plus small creators in Portland and invited them to try out one of Melissa’s facials,” Browner said.
Herzberg said the team gave creators a chance to experience the brand rather than simply hear about it through a digital campaign. “We wanted people to actually go and experience it rather than us just telling them through a screen,” Herzberg said.
Four influencers attended the event, capturing photos and videos and sharing influencer experiences. “We did a farm tour, Forest Facial, and the founder did an introduction to the brand,” Robbins said.
The event overall was very successful, Browner said.
“We got four influencers to come, and they created 30- to 40-plus posts combined,” Browner said. Gatherwise earned 100-200 social media followers from the event.
Students created a social media campaign plan
In addition to planning the event, the team created brochures and a content calendar for Gatherwise’s Instagram.
Krewson said the event gave the team a chance to see how their work could introduce Gatherwise to a younger audience. “It was such a special experience to see our long-term vision come to life and go so well,” she said.
This event allowed the students to move beyond the classroom and work directly with a client, Herzberg said.
“It was so cool to do something physical instead of hypothetical, like many classes,” she said.
Browner agreed.
“It’s really cool watching projects come to life in real time versus in class when it’s a mockup campaign,” Browner said.
For Robbins, who worked on the project’s design, the hands-on experience made the project feel more like professional work than a traditional class assignment.
“I loved getting real work and hands-on experience, being able to communicate with a client about their wants and needs, and getting her critiques. It all was a really great experience,” Robbins said. “It felt like a real job.”
Matthews felt that teaching the course was connecting university practice to the real world. “By the end, I always think about this class as kind of a bridge between academia and the real world,” she said.
The project offered more than just professional experience to Robbins: She got a job. “I am continuing to work with Gatherwise Skincare doing social media,” she said.
Herzberg said that the best part of public relations is “just how many ideas come to mind, especially when you are collaborating with people.”
Browner agreed: “Having a really good team is what makes these projects happen.”
Helen Bouchard is a fourth-year journalism major, with a minor in global studies. She is passionate about editorial work, storytelling, disability awareness and working as a news productions assistant for KVAL/KMTR. You can find her work in the Daily Emerald and Align magazine.
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