Who We Are
A long history of results-focused work for our clientsOur Story
“Pick your advisors as carefully as you would a wife …” – Benjamin Disraeli
St. Charles is a communications agency with roots going back to 1960s New York City.
Back then, Gerry Freeman made the transition from junior reporter to press agent and started working for Manhattan real estate developers. Soon he was known as the go-to publicist for the real estate industry in New York whose clients were luminaries such as Fred Trump (Donald’s father) Leona Helmsley and Julien J. Studley (known as the founder of the tenant rep brokerage business). Freeman’s agency also gained expertise in the toy industry and Freeman Public Relations in New Jersey is still regarded as the best toy industry PR firm in the country.
In the mid 1980s Freeman and his wife Sharon moved to a Colorado ranch in the foothills to the west of Denver. Soon they’d become involved in West Side politics and were hired by Coors Brewing Co. to handle the division of the company into brewing and ceramics. And for many years the largest real estate developers in Jefferson County, the Stevinson family, hired the Freeman firm to publicize every aspect of their real estate empire.
James Wall joined Freeman in 1996 and became his and Sharon’s business partner in 2001. When the Freemans retired and moved to Santa Fe, Wall took over the business, first calling the new agency Agency 33 then St. Charles Communications.
In 2018 Wall moved to Washington DC and opened an office there, while maintaining a presence in Colorado.
Our Philosophy
At St. Charles, we have always believed that the client’s goals and expectations are the top priority. We live and breathe their business by delivering strategic, high-impact campaigns that align with the client’s goals, whether they be growing the business, raising capital, creating awareness around a particular issue or dealing with a crisis.
With an emphasis on quality, we focus on delivering top-tier results through smart campaigns that reach our client’s target audience and go well beyond just media relations. We’re flexible, nimble and diligent in finding the best and most effective ways to help them reach their goals.
Our Values
“Integrity: when what I say and what I do are in alignment.” – From the New Warrior Training Adventure of the Mankind Project
Unfortunately, some in the PR world over-promise and under-deliver. At St. Charles, we have heard from clients over the years that some agencies are willing to charge fees in excess of $20,000 per month and yet deliver very little. That’s not the way we operate at St. Charles. We will not take your money unless we feel strongly that we’ll deliver results. That’s our promise and we take it very seriously.
– VP Communications, Fortune 100 Company
Our People
St. Charles is a virtual agency with talent dotted throughout North America. Like the top-tier communications agencies, we bring leading minds to bear on the project from throughout the country. However, unlike the top agencies, all our people are freelancers who work mainly from home or co-office space, meaning we can charge our clients very reasonable fees. The St. Charles team comprises:
- Copywriters
- Media relations specialists
- Graphic designers
- Marketing strategists
- Investor relations experts
- Former journalists
- Marketing analytics experts
- Digital advertising experts
Meet the Founder
James Wall founded St. Charles Communications in 2005.
British by upbringing and education, a lawyer by training, Mr. Wall has been working in the PR world since 1996 when he was picked up and trained by former New York real estate public relations czar Gerry Freeman, who had recently moved to Denver.
Since then, Mr. Wall has won two national awards (Gold Bulldog) several local ones and enjoys working with serious entrepreneurs, creative CEOs & professionals, and the occasional non-profit. Wall also helped turn around the fortunes of the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business as executive director of marketing and opened a Washington DC office for digital advertising agency, PIN Business Network.
Mr. Wall has served on the boards of Opera Colorado, St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, The Denver Children’s Home and St. Francis Center. He currently sits on the council for the mid-Atlantic area of the Mankind Project, a regional arm of the Mankind Project USA.
Mr. Wall attended Eton College, the University of East Anglia and London Metropolitan University. He is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales and an attorney at law, admitted to practice in the state of Colorado.