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- Living The Dream - Lauren Kleinman, CEO of Dreamday ✨
Living The Dream - Lauren Kleinman, CEO of Dreamday ✨
Ash + Lizzy
June 21, 2025
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Some people in this industry just get it - and Lauren Kleinman is one of those people. As the founder of Dreamday and a behind-the-scenes force for brands like Ritual, Goop, Ilia, and Set, Lauren has a rare blend of strategic instinct and creative clarity. She’s also the one who coined the term Performance PR, recognizing early on that affiliate and editorial weren’t separate disciplines, but two sides of the same coin. She’s built a reputation for being both wildly effective and deeply trusted - a combo that’s harder to come by than you’d think. I loved getting the chance to learn more about how Dreamday is redefining modern brand building.
Credit: Lauren Kleinman
Give us your elevator intro! What gave you the idea to start Dreamday and Quality Media?
I’m the founder of Dreamday, a Performance PR agency, and the Co-founder of Quality Media and The Quality Edit. Both were started with the same goal: to build the PR agency and performance agency I wish had existed when I was on the brand side.
Before this, I was Founding Team and VP of Marketing at Ritual, which gave me a front-row seat to how challenging and fragmented the PR and affiliate world could be, with traditional agencies having very little understanding of how the publishing ecosystem was evolving. I was constantly helping manage multiple agencies, none of which were aligned on performance, and all of which felt disconnected from actual business goals. Dreamday was born to solve that—to merge affiliate and PR into one cohesive, measurable offering.
Quality Media and The Quality Edit came next, starting as a passion project with my Co-founder, then turning into a second full-service performance agency with time, as a way to own the distribution and help acquire customers for clients through trustworthy, compelling content that actually converts.
Talk to us about the beginning stages of building your companies. What were your biggest challenges?
We bootstrapped both companies, which means the early days were scrappy, personal, and very real. I wore every hat–founder/co-founder, sales lead, strategist, executor, therapist, HR. The biggest challenge was trusting that I could let go, hire well, and not lose the magic. It took me a while to realize that building something sustainable means building something bigger than yourself—and that comes down to people, culture, and clarity.
Another challenge was proving that this hybrid model–Performance PR–wasn’t just a buzzphrase. It was a new way of thinking. And getting clients (and some internal team members) to reframe their expectations around press and performance took time and education.
What was your most impactful yes? Was there a moment where you thought, “This is going to work, we’ve really made it now?”
The traction and reputation we’ve built over the years continues to compound as we bring on bigger and bigger brands. Signing Goop was an incredible win, where I had that feeling, as well as Ritual, which was incredibly personal and meaningful. I always thought to myself “When we sign Ritual, I’ll know we’ve made it.” It showed me we weren’t just a scrappy PR shop; we were onto something bigger, and our results speak for themselves.
Honestly, the most meaningful moments are often quieter—the Slack from a team member who feels seen, or the client who says, “You’ve made my job easier.” That’s when I know we’re doing something right.
What are the most interesting lessons you’ve learned since starting your organizations?
That momentum and burnout can look very similar if you’re not careful.
That building with integrity doesn’t always scale as fast, but it scales stronger.
And that the hardest clients often become the most rewarding ones. When you show up with clarity, consistency, and care–over and over again–things shift. And they remember that.
How does being the founder of Quality Media impact how you think about media relations?
It’s given me empathy for both sides. Running our own publication with The Quality Edit means we’re not just pitching–on the other side, I’m getting pitched. We understand what makes a story worth telling, what editors actually want, and how to package a narrative with performance in mind.
It also helps us bridge the gap between content and conversion. We don’t just land press–we think about what happens after someone reads it. That’s the mindset we bring to every Dreamday campaign: what’s the story, and how does it move the needle?
What is your personal leadership superpower? What’s one thing you want to improve on?
I lead with empathy and clarity. I care deeply about our people–how they’re doing, what they’re capable of, and where they want to grow. I also don’t sugarcoat things. I think people appreciate directness, especially when it’s paired with heart.
What I’m still improving on: not trying to carry it all. Delegating fully. Trusting that others can take the baton and run. It’s a practice.
Talk to us about Performance PR. What makes your approach different?
Traditional PR and affiliate marketing have lived in separate silos for too long. Performance PR bridges that gap. We combine the credibility of earned media with the conversion power of affiliate, so the same story that builds trust also drives results.
Most agencies still treat these functions as separate, which leads to fragmentation and internal competition. At Dreamday, our teams work side by side, aligned on one strategy, one message, one shared objective. That integration is our superpower—and it’s what today’s brands actually need.
What is your number one piece of advice for building/scaling an organization within the PR/media space?
Don’t chase the shiny stuff. Get really good at the unsexy fundamentals—client communication, team development, storytelling that converts, performance that speaks for itself. And stay human. This industry can be noisy, fast-moving, and algorithm-obsessed. The ones who win long-term are the ones who bring heart, not just hype.
What’s your PR hot take?
If your PR isn’t driving business results, it’s not working.
Earned media is only part of the equation—if you're not optimizing for visibility and conversion, you’re leaving opportunity on the table. Vanity metrics are out. Measurable impact is in.
How are you thinking about AI’s impact on PR?
I think it’s one of the biggest opportunities for our industry—if we embrace it smartly.
At Dreamday and Quality Media, we’re integrating AI into everything from research to reporting, but always with a human touch. AI won’t replace strategic thinking, relationship-building, or great storytelling, but it can help us move faster, ask better questions, and deliver smarter work. Not using it at this point feels more irresponsible than using it.
Find Lauren:
Websites: Dreamday, The Quality Edit and Quality Media
Substack: The Founder Flow
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