Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork!
Our team
Public Relations / Marketing Communications
Tracy Larrua - President / Founder
With more than 30+ years of experience in public relations, marketing and advertising, and a passion for the arts, Tracy Larrua has been described as a communication jade-of-all-trades. A local girl from Hawaii, she spent 17 years honing her career in Los Angeles where she is regarded as a publicist and marcom specialist with a focus on integrated public relations. Since relocating back home to O’ahu in late 2009, Larrua now splits time between Hawai’i and L.A. where she also conducts pr workshops for large companies, small business owners, and non-profit organizations, as well as specializes in one-on-one client training and pr coaching.
Larrua consults for a variety of clients including BVO Enterprises, Ka’imi Music, Tin Haus, KFK Fine Art, I’m A Bright Kid Foundation, Peace Bridge LLC, and Aoki Group. Past clients have included LA INC (The Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau), Parents and Children Together, FX-Group, Tom Moffatt Productions, Hula Nation Filmworks, KoAloha Ukulele, Aloha Pet Care, Doraku Sushi, Bluetree Café, Hello Makana, Mele Mei/Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, Loading Zone Arts, and Hawaii Duck Tours.
Most known as a MarCom specialist for luxury hotel companies, Larrua has also worked for The Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts (Regional PR Director), Starwood Hotels (Director of MarCom), and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (PR Director). Prior to her move to LA, Larrua created and supervised public relations, promotions, and special event campaigns for a variety of advertising, retail, entertainment and travel industry clients including Peck Sims Mueller Advertising and the Kula Bay Tropical Clothing Company. In addition, she played a key roll in the development and promotion of special projects including the Hawaii Jazz Festival, Okinawan Music Festival and the Kalihi-Palama Summer Festival.
With a background in entertainment and the arts, and alumnae of James B. Castle High School and the Ronald E. Bright Theatre program, Larrua was the recipient of the very first dance scholarship. After a long career as a dancer and choreographer in Hawaii, she has been able to take her experiences in performing arts and continued to work with children in various promotional projects that included The Hawaii State Literacy Campaign “Read To Me,” Recycle Hawaii Project, The Oceanic Keiki Club, The University of Hawaii Rainbow Dancers and Catholic Charities’ Youth-At-Risk Program.
In both Hawai’i and Los Angeles, Larrua is very active in the culinary, visual and musical arts scene. She created numerous ground breaking gallery shows including Art & Soul at The Bel Age Hotel and Arts 4375 at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, showcasing established and emerging artists from the local community, as well as produced the annual May Day in L.A. event for 13 years, which perpetuated Hawaiian culture, music, and aloha spirit. When not working or volunteering, she can be found at her favorite beach in her O’ahu neighborhood or enjoying the art galleries in LA.
Brand Development and Management
Guy Hess - Vice President / Partner
brings order to the PR chaos, but more importantly, brings 25+ years of experience to the table in Business Development, Coaching, and Branding.
With this killer combination, Guy assists Poi Planet clients in brand development and management, PR workshops and classes, as well as with one-on-one personal development coaching. He helps clients to find their “why” and focuses on goal setting, which works in alignment with their PR and MarCom plans.
Originally from Connecticut, Guy has lived in California (San Francisco and Los Angeles), but it is Hawai’i that he calls home. He attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Entrepreneurial Studies. Years later and after lots of adventures on the road, he returned to O’ahu to make the move permanent. Guy is active in the community and involved in several clubs and non-profit organizations.
Production / Social Media
Jaslyn Loftin
always loved being in the creative field. She is both passionate about music and the industry that makes it. When she started to learn about the music business in 2015, she met Tracy and Guy from Poi Planet and wanted to learn more about PR and marketing in the Hawaii entertainment scene. Her first few years as a PR intern led her to work alongside Billy V, KoAloha Ukulele, Hawaii International Film Festival, and the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts.
Jaslyn graduated Honolulu Community College in 2017 with the Music and Entertainment Learning Experience Program, gaining an associate’s degree in music business. Wanting to challenge herself further, Jaslyn moved out to Los Angeles to learn more about music theory and production.
In Los Angeles, Jaslyn attended California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). In the fall of 2019, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in music. Never forgetting her island upbringing, she was chosen to showcase the history of Hawaiian music. Her audio/visual installation called “Mele O Hawai’i” premiered at the CalArts wavecave on November 17 to November 22, 2019. Her previous experience in PR and marketing led her to become the PR coordinator for the CalArts 2020 Soundstream concert at the Troubadour.
Jaslyn travelled back home to Hawaii in the summer of 2020 and put her newfound abilities to work. Her first songwriting cut “Make Me Forget” by EMC2 and Ann-E1 topped various charts in China, including NetEase’s Cloudmusic chart at #23. She was also the PR coordinator for this single release in the US. In fall of 2020, Jaslyn was chosen to be an official partner for TikTok’s creative learning fund, posting educational videos about songwriting and tips for people starting out in their music career.