Agencies Of The Future

The best solutions require a balance of data married with brilliant creative, according to Dominic Leung, Group Strategy Officer at Cognito. Understanding the patterns (which are revealed by data) provides the platform for the experimentation and innovation that leads to great jazz music and great creativity that clients need and expect. This combination – and a deep sector focus – has given Cognito permission to work with clients across the value chain – from consulting to execution, all with an eye on unlocking business growth.

A ‘nothing is impossible’ mantra is the underpinning of our fun and collaborative culture,” according to Jim Brodsky, CEO and Founder of Sharp Think.  Brodsky took a north to south approach to building the agency instead of east to west and now has a growing team in West Palm Beach in addition to his 50-person HQ in New York. One perk is a Winter Term for NYC staff to warm up and work in the Florida sunshine. Learn more, including how Jim’s early years in large advertising agencies influenced his agency’s development.

With a strong legacy as a corporate advisory firm, APCO is seeing its traditionally public affairs approach to stakeholder engagement in demand for companies and their brands across all audiences. With consumers much more aware of all aspects of brands, products and services, a fully integrated, outside-in approach makes sense for a wide range of organizations.  Evan shares more about the talent and special offerings required to deliver on this in today’s environment.

In this episode, we sat down with Barri Rafferty, CEO of Ketchum, to discuss the firm’s strategic evolution from a traditional agency model. She shares how Ketchum is leveraging deep industry expertise and an overlay of broad skillsets to go places they’ve never been before. A World Economic Forum regular, Rafferty shares the topics from this year’s event that are relevant to our industry.

To kick off season 2 of Agencies of the Future, we sat down with Jim Joseph, Global President of BCW and the PR Council’s new Board Chair. Jim honors the huge legacy of Harold Burson and discusses how we can better attract young talent by focusing on what makes PR an exciting career choice. “As we’re transforming our industry, the less we think about the needs of PR agencies being so specialized and different, the more we will be able to find the talent we need to grow,” says Jim. He also shares his ideas to build the PR Council community.

In this week’s episode, we talk with Becky Honeyman and Greg Mondshein about their unlikely partnership -- which they say is like “chalk and cheese” -- and how despite this, they came to cofound SourceCode Communications. Referring to themselves as a true yin and yang, they explain how the key to their success is keeping everything in balance: their professional relationship, their complementary skillset, and their approach to serving clients, which strives to balance humanity, technology, and data.  

In this week’s episode, Lisa Hannum of Beehive Strategic Communications takes us inside the carefully constructed "Hive" (a nickname affectionately given by her clients) of the Beehive offices and shares how her unique approach to investing in employees has inspired well-being, creativity and growth. Hannum also delves into the future of purpose and transparency for agencies, and why being a Certified B Corporation has allowed her team to stay true to their mission of “building better businesses for a better world.”

In this episode, our guest is Julie Batliner, president and managing partner of Carmichael Lynch. Julie reflects on the role of PR in an advertising agency and shares how the blurring of market disciplines can accelerate growth for clients and agencies alike. Julie delves into learning to speak the language of creatives, the rapid evolution of the market, and her own efforts to achieve work/life balance.

In this week’s episode, our guest is Andy Pray, the founder of Praytell and a PRWeek 40 under 40 award winner. Learn how Andy and his team keep delivering what he calls “Praytell Bangers” – awesome, culturally relevant, brand-building ideas.  He also dives into the highs and lows of agency life, from managing the rapid growth of his company to the daily pressures of being a ‘best place to work.’  Curious what he look for in talent? You may be surprised.

An accidental landing in PR after earning her undergrad degree has turned into a 22-year career in the field for Anne Green, principal and managing director of G&S Business Communications.  When CooperKatz, the firm she helped build and ultimately was named CEO, was acquired by G&S Business Communications, Anne applied her strategic counseling skills to her own firm.  She shares how the leadership teams of both firms decided early on that they wanted the merger process to be seen as best-in-class and keep their human capital front and center every step of the way. Anne also discusses the value of a liberal arts education, how “the grass is both green and brown on every side of the fence,” and championing diversity of every viewpoint.

Working in agencies has both ups and downs, and Todd Hansen, Principal at O'Malley Hansen Communications, believes we need to reflect more on what we love about agency life. Building a successful, long-term agency career requires a specific skillset — some constant and some constantly evolving — and a particular mindset. Todd discusses the exciting challenges and changes our talent has seen in the last five years, some that are likely to come in the next five, and the responsibilities of leaders to guide talent through them.

Andy Last, co-founder of MullenLowe salt, can easily be called a purpose specialist. Since 2000, he has advised some of the world's biggest companies and most iconic brands on integrating purpose and sustainability into their business models. The geopolitical landscape, abundant climate change crises, citizen journalism, and employee activism are forcing corporations to take a stance on sustainability and transparency. “Businesses that understand their relationship with society and manage their external impact…will grow better as businesses,” Andy says. Hear his advice for avoiding the traps of “purpose and green-washing,” thoughts on attracting and keeping young talent, and conviction that purpose work is here to stay.

After successful careers in print and broadcast news and politics, Ron Sachs decided to open an agency – this despite his mother’s concerns that he “didn’t know anything about business.”  Twenty-three years later, Ron has proven himself a masterful businessman who often flouts conventional agency wisdom. Sachs Media Group manages to serve both Democratic and Republican interests, a balancing act that’s not achieved by many. For his team, the focus is on supporting good policies, brands and services. Lately, he has been putting capable young talent in leadership positions and backing them up with seasoned pros who are happy to play supporting, collaborative roles.  “If we don’t advance young stars quickly into meaningful leadership positions, we risk losing them to other opportunities.” Learn more about how Ron zigs while others zag in this week’s podcast…

Nineteen deals in, Peter Finn, founding managing partner of Finn Partners, has learned to quickly spot M&A opportunities that are going to work. Finn says, “Having the right culture – or ability to fit in -- is key to a deal’s success.” That’s critical for this fast-growing, nine-year-old agency that is committed to having a heart and a conscience. Evidence that he’s making the right decisions is the feedback from the agencies he’s acquired, which is typically, “Best decision I ever made.”

Heather Kernahan, President of Hotwire, North America and Australia, took a break from hands-on brand-building for Hotwire from her San Francisco base to take an epic trip over the summer.  From her first stop, first-time visit to Cannes, to office visits in the UK and Australia, an all employee meeting in Dublin and a final stop in New York, Heather shares the energy and learnings that come from stepping out of your norm.  According to Heather, the way those factors contribute to world-class work -- and intensive community building -- are why Hotwire continues to invest in bringing its worldwide employee base together once a year.

What’s the protocol for vetting whether or not a prospect is right for the firm?  According to Jon Silvan, founder and CEO of Global Strategy Group, the considerations should be whether the firm’s talent will be proud to say they work on that client, the relationship can be profitable, the agency can win the pitch, and the work will have a successful outcome. “We look for clients that our talent wants to work on because recruiting and retaining great people is too difficult to risk losing them.”

Agencies of the Future need to own earned media and earn owned media, according to James Wright, CEO of Red Havas. Hear more about how he is transforming the agency through a model he calls Merged Media, which starts with the story, not the channel.  This focus on what he calls "borderless stories" reflects how people consume media today and creates a great opportunity for PR.

According to Cheryl Overton, President of Egami Group, the firm has been undergoing an evolution and a revolution over the past year. Fueling Egami’s growth are new services, capabilities and client business. Overton explains that passion for the work and a strong sense of gratitude are what sets this multicultural agency apart, and she says it flows from the top: the founder and CEO brings these qualities every single day. Listen in as she shares more about what it means to believe in your passions and make work work for you. A veteran of general market and multicultural agencies, she also offers practical advice for every professional to contribute to making our industry more diverse and inclusive.

In this episode, Michelle Strier, Chief Strategy Officer of Spectrum, shares her fascination with the science of happiness. As a mother with a big job in a demanding area of business, she has unlocked the key to making it work and work well. She likes to help colleagues think about what would make them happier at work. Flexibility is one of the answers, and Michelle shares lots of different ways to apply it. 

In the category of agency leaders who do it all and manage to make it look easy Sandra Fathi, President & Founder of Affect, reveals her tricks for balancing a successful agency life alongside a fulfilling family life. She also shares some of her favorite mantras and bets on where the PR business is headed.