MOMENTUM
GolinHarris is one of the smallest of the genuinely full-service multinationals: it has operations in all the major markets and some big, blue-chip global clients, but it lacks the critical mass to compete on an equal footing with giants such as sister agency Weber Shandwick. And despite outperforming its peers pretty consistently over the past few years, there seemed to be little chance that it would close the gap between itself and the market leaders—at least until it embarked a little more than a year or so ago on a radical transformation of its organization and its business model that chief executive Fred Cook and his leadership team believe has the potential to make GH a disruptive force in the global PR marketplace and to accelerate its growth. The changes come on the back of a year in which the firm grew by about 4 percent globally, with new business from clients including Sargento, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, French’s Mustard, Virginia Energy, Infosys, YMCA, Ceridian, BMS (Orencia), AT&T and MetLife, with organic growth from Dow Chemical, Unilever, PetSmart, Boehringer Ingelheim and General Mills.
REGIONAL REACH
GolinHarris is still a powerhouse in its Chicago headquarters market—one of the two top firms in the Second City, with strong capabilities in consumer, corporate and healthcare—and has strengthened the rest of its North American operations considerably over the past five years. Always among the strongest of the multinationals in LA, where the giant Nintendo account is based, its California presence also includes solid offices in Orange County and San Francisco. In New York, which has come into its own under the leadership of Jen Cohan, the firm now has the quality to compete with any of its peers. The same can be said for Washington, DC, where GH has invested considerable resources in recent years. The Atlanta operation is impressive too, and other offices include Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Richmond and Seattle in the US, plus a small Canadian operation in Toronto.
INTERNATIONAL REACH
GolinHarris has been generating what it calls “focused momentum” in the Asia-Pacific region. The firm doesn’t have as many dots on the map as most of its competitors, or as much critical mass, but it has demonstrated over the past two or three years the ability to grow in its target markets at a very healthy pace. There are about 200 people spread across the Asia-Pacific, slightly more than half of them in the Greater China operation. In South East Asia, a strong Singapore hub is supplemented by an Indonesian office and there are smaller, stand-alone offices in Japan and Australia, while other markets can be serviced through Weber Shandwick offices. What momentum GolinHarris has in the EMEA region continues to be provided by its flagship UK operation, which has been performing with zest and vigour for the past four years now and totals about 50 people. The firm’s continental presence is still puny in comparison to its multinational peers, despite investments in France and Romania.
EXPERTISE
A major element of Golin’s recent restructuring is the elimination of the traditional practice areas around which almost all other agencies organized. That doesn’t mean the firm will no longer offer clients the kind of expertise in consumer marketing (still the firm’s largest practice), healthcare and technology, corporate communications and public affairs, or that it will abandon specialist groups focused on high-growth segments such as employee communications, social responsibility or multicultural marketing. But it does mean that people are now organized into four key “communities”: strategists, a group that includes “big-picture thinkers” and practice leaders; Idea Creators, a group that includes writers, designers, producers, idea generators and content creators; engagement connectors, a group that includes traditional media and social media experts; and integration catalysts, who will serve as client relationship managers.
TALENT
The reorganization means new roles for several senior employees. Most notably, Ellen Ryan Mardiks was named vice-chairman, a new role, focusing on business development and creative product. Jeff Beringer was promoted to lead the firm’s digital capabilities, while Zandra Zuno has been named to lead the multicultural practice. New talent included James Kelly, formerly of Weber Shandwick, as the firm’s first creative director; former Unilever nutrition manager Pat Groziak as senior director, nutrition and wellness; digital experts Clinto Schaff, Robert Phillips and Amber Porter-Cox; and public affairs veteran Joe Clayton.
CULTURE
In the early days of his tenure as chief executive, Fred Cook added a new dimension to the warm, collaborative culture at GolinHarris: a focus on winning. And (surprise!) people like playing for a winning team, and the firm’s ability to outperform its peers over the past few years—without losing the almost family feel fostered by founder Al Golin—has led to a steady improvement in its score in our Best Agencies to Work For survey and this year to the number one spot among large agencies. Cook and his management team have invested in an expansion of the firm’s professional development program, internal communications and diversity. Survey respondents say things you don’t often hear about a firm of Golin’s size. “It feels like a family,” says one. “I love how important their employee’s opinions and feelings are the upper management,” says another.
INTELLECTUAL LEADERSHIP
The reorganization has its origins in an insight into the future of the public relations business that’s hardly unique to GolinHarris: one that involves increased competition from other disciplines and client demand for big, integrated ideas that can be implemented across earned, paid, owned and shared media. What differentiates GH is the way it has committed to the implications of that insight and invested in major change. In addition to its restructuring, the firm has developed a range of proprietary tools for each of its new internal communities: strategists can draw on the analysis tool Brandgauge; idea creators will be guided by Brand Story, which uses that analysis to craft compelling narrative; connectors will use Brand Channel, which determines the most effective media for sharing that narrative. The firm has also continued to produce thought leadership materials including the unusually in-depth Issue Waves, which looked at business and communications challenges in energy, food and healthcare.
PROGRAMS
GolinHarris continued its run of SABRE Awards successes in North America with some exceptional work for the Georgia Department of Economic Development (a major international investment push) and Nestle’s Butterfinger brand (enlisting superheroes to make sure that no-one lays a finger on your Butteringer). But there was a wide variety of good work beyond those two winners: a celebrity event for the US market launch of Unilever’s Magnum ice-cream; publicity for McDonald’s National Hiring Day, a big story at a time when good jobs are hard to come by; a 15-office strategic communications assignment for Dow’s Live Earth sustainability initiative; and ongoing communications support for Mead Johnson Nutrition as it transitions into a separate company following its break from Bristol-Myers Squibb.
BRAND
GolinHarris is not necessarily known as an agency that loves to take risks. For most of its 55-year existence, the Chicago-based firm has been managed with a conservatism that reflects its Midwestern roots, celebrated primarily for a collegial culture and client work that was consistently creative but rarely unconventional. But under the leadership of Cook, there has been a greater restlessness and an emphasis on “winning” that’s reflected in its bold decision to blow up an agency model that has served it well. It’s a move that has the potential to differentiate GH from its peers and open up opportunities for the firm to snatch business away from its larger rivals.
THE FUTURE
If GolinHarris can execute against the plan it has developed over the past 18 months, and if it results in substantive—rather than cosmetic—change, it has the potential to seriously disrupt the established order. Whether that happens will depend on execution. The early evidence is that Cook and his team at GolinHarris have made a major commitment to transforming their agency, their business practices and their entire model, but that commitment will require dedication and quite possibly sacrifice (a willingness to turn away clients and people who prefer a more traditional, familiar model) if it is to translate into meaningful differentiation.