Who would have thunk it? Only a year ago, at the outset of the pandemic, that demand for public relations services would quickly V off the bottom and usher in a new era of unprecedented demand for the storytellers and media relations professionals who can craft and drive corporate messaging.
It’s the power of mediated communications, made even more important by the pandemic itself. In the absence of live events, conferences, trade shows, and in-person sales calls, companies are turning to PR to keep narratives fresh and front and center with constituents and customers, prospects and the people.
So now the focus turns to talent. Those firms that acquire and attract it will win. Those that can’t will stagnate.
This is why acquisition plays such a big role in our growth plans. This week, we announced the acquisition of Affect, the New York-based public relations firm long respected for its work in technology, healthcare, and professional services. Its focus fits well with Gregory FCA’s verticals. But more importantly, it opens a rich and deep talent pool we can now draw upon in our never-ending commitment to client services. Founder Sandra Fathi will now take on the role of Chief Strategy Officer at Gregory FCA, and Senior Vice Presidents Brittany Bevacqua and Jen Dobrzelecki will join the company’s leadership team.
The deal marks the second acquisition Gregory FCA has made since receiving a growth capital investment from Boston-based Copley Equity Partners just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our acquisition of KM Digital in January 2020 has already paid enormous dividends, with the firm tripling the size and reach of its digital services since the deal was consummated.
Both acquisitions demonstrate the irony of the pandemic, that a new normal won’t simply cull the herd but also will surface new winners. Just as COVID-19 has forever advanced e-commerce, skipping it forward like a needle on vinyl, so too has it advanced public relations, elevating it to heights never before experienced within the corporate marketing mix. We’re heeding that call and playing to win by acquiring the talent that allows us to live our promise in the marketplace, that “our clients are changing the world and we make sure the world knows it!”