When Lori Harito started noticing the slow death of traditional media, she just knew she couldn't stay where she was. In the volatile world of Canadian content, where the ground shifts daily beneath the feet of creators, Harito’s transition from the newsroom to the boardroom of her own boutique PR agency, Boulevard of Dreams, feels less like a career pivot and more like a necessary evolution.
“Journalism is an unstable, unsteady career path, but it was something I truly, truly loved,” Harito reflects. That foundation, a deep-rooted respect for the trenches of storytelling, is exactly what is currently disrupting the often-sterile and overly corporate world of public relations. Along with her partner-in-strategy, Kelly McCabe, Harito is proving that in 2026, the most valuable currency isn't just reach, it’s keeping a finger on the pulse.
For decades, PR was a numbers game: simply blast a press release to a thousand uninterested inboxes and hope someone bites. Harito and McCabe have declared that era officially dead. Harito notes that the old "spray and pray" method doesn't work anymore because there are simply fewer publications and fewer journalists to field the noise.
Instead, the duo operates with intention and precision. They’ve replaced mass-mailers with a more human approach— a cocktail of traditional media, niche Substack engagement, and social-first narratives. They aren't looking a client; rather, they’re looking for a "vibe."
Their roster, heavy on high-end hospitality like Toronto’s Bisha Hotel, is built on years of trust rather than transactional flips.
If you want to see the Boulevard of Dreams philosophy in action, look no further than the Bisha Hotel during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. While other brands were slapping a friendship bracelet on their logo, McCabe, the agency’s resident strategist and Toronto’s self-proclaimed ‘Top Swifty’, was busy transforming every floor of the hotel into a physical manifestation of Swift’s discography.
“The feedback was absolutely crazy,” McCabe says, recalling the mood boards and lyrical deep-dives that turned what could have been a regular hotel stay into something of a pilgrimage. The agency saw direct metric proof: rooms booked up because fans saw the activation in the news, proving that the right story still drives tangible revenue.
The landscape isn’t all glitter and sold-out tours, however.
The industry is still reeling from the fracture of the COVID-19 era and the legislative blow of Bill C-18, which effectively vanished Canadian news from social platforms. Harito laments that the bill has eliminated many factual news sources for Canadians, forcing many outlets to pivot or close entirely. In this vacuum, the agency has had to adapt to get the story out in a world where chaotic information has become the norm.
To stay ahead, the team remains "chronically online," blending Harito’s Millennial perspective with McCabe’s Gen Z trend-spotting. While McCabe scours Pinterest for the next aesthetic shift, Harito leans into the analog, like magazines, books, and long-form journalism, to find the stories that the algorithms often miss.
As we move deeper into 2026, Boulevard of Dreams is betting on a return to the tangible. They see a world tired of digital isolation, moving away from solitary consumption and toward community-led, in-person experiences. For Harito and McCabe, success is no longer measured solely in impressions or headlines, but in its true impact. Did the story feel earned? Did it live beyond a single post or press hit? Did it create a moment people wanted to be part of, not just witness? By asking themselves those questions, the duo has found a way to position itself as a true collaborator, not an occasional hire.
“Brands and companies need PR now more than ever,” Harito insists, “because they need ways to get their message out in a really fractured world. PRs help make sense of it.” In a world where attention is the rarest of resources, Boulevard of Dreams fields out the noise between what people are scrolling past and what they’re willing to show up for.
