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.