It is an unequivocal fact: the most successful businesses are the ones that understand, articulate and operate against a strong sense of Purpose - the reason they exist beyond making money. A stakeholder-centric brand Purpose strategy drives business performance, audience attention and loyalty, and accelerated innovation.
For decades, we have collectively helped companies identify powerful brand differentiators, add dimension to communications initiatives and integrated campaign planning, and build deeper relationships with constituents around the world.
Join us to be pioneers in a new era of Purpose. One which infuses cultural relevancy with impact - with the goal of forming resilient brands for today and tomorrow.
A joint effort of sister agencies Allison+Partners and Headstand, our Purpose Center of Excellence was built by entrepreneurs with a disruptive mindset, helping clients of all sizes, wherever they are in their Purpose journey - those who are just getting started, and those who are leading the way. We help clients establish, communicate and measure sustainability goals and strategies. We drive breakthrough social impact program development and build thoughtful, strategic Purpose programs and initiatives from the ground up - and we help companies tell their stories about how they support and respect the values of their employees and consumers.
PURPOSE EXPERIENCE
WE PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
Expertise working at the forefront of Purpose, sustainability and social impact
Award-winning Purpose campaign development
Reputation as leaders in the marketplace
Integrated marketing communications strength on top of Purpose and sustainability subject matter expertise
Deep relationships in the sustainability and impact communications space
Members of the Purpose Collaborative, a group of agencies with both the history and vision clients need to break through
Our staff has years of experience in developing,executing and amplifying brand purpose and sustainabilitystrategy for global clients. Our global team of500+ operates on one P+L, so we seamlessly bring in ourindustry experts to collaborate with our Purpose teamleadership to develop strategies and programs that driveaction among key stakeholders. Withinthe Stagwell network and beyond, we collaborate withother external partners to provide added specializedexpertise as needed. We operate without borders orboundaries.
WHITNEY DAILEY
EVP + Co-Lead, Purpose Center of Excellence EMAILRead More
With 15+ years experience, Whitney Dailey is a thought leader at the intersection of purpose and communications. Whitney’s expertise has helped guide forward-looking thinking and communications strategies on behalf of brands including PepsiCo, Athleta, B. Lab and others. She has personally authored upwards of 400 articles and 30 research reports on sustainability, social justice, and ESG topics and shared her message from the digital wavelengths of myriad podcasts, the lectern at Harvard University, the stage of Sundance and Fordam’s Responsible Business and Future Fashion Coalitions. Formerly SVP of Purpose Marketing, Research & Insights at Porter Novelli, Whitney transformed the agency into a Purpose-driven organization through powerful thought leadership, communications and marketing. Whitney holds an MBA in Environmental Management from the UMass, Boston, a BA in Business Administration from the George Washington University and an MBA Certificate in Clean Energy & Sustainability from the UMass, Boston. Close
AARON PICKERING
EVP + Co-Lead, Purpose Center of Excellence EMAILRead More
Aaron has 15 years experience helping brands and nonprofits build emotional connections with consumers Has advised major consumer and B2B brands - from Mars and Target to New Balance, CVS Health, PwC and Aflac - on ESG strategy, reporting, and how to authentically establish and communicate brand purpose to underscore consumer loyalty and corporate reputation. Formerly headed up marketing and communications for, FIRST Robotics and was Senior Vice President at Cone, a Porter Novelli agency. Aaron instructs communications and CSR at Lasell University and the George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, where he earned a Master’s in Strategic Public Relations focused on driving behavior change and shaping public opinion.
Mark Allegrini has over 15 years of experience working in sustainability, CSR, purpose communications, and non-profit leadership.
Most recently, Mark served as the Senior Director of Marketing & Engagement for United Way of Greater New Haven. Previously Mark worked at Ceres, where he worked with F&B companies to improve their sustainability performance and communications.
He continued this work at Cone Communications, advising a broad set of companies on CSR strategy, stakeholder engagement, and creating communications campaigns.
Mark holds a BA in Political Science and Public Policy from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Close
With a background in public affairs, crisis communications and consumer brands, Emily has executed campaigns that shape the conversation and culture of her clients’ key markets. She has provided communications counsel to a number of purpose-driven consumer brands including Bowery Farms, Upward Farms, Impossible Foods, Endless West, The EVERY Company, Driscoll's berries, Danone North America, Safe Catch Tuna, Stasher, Rainier Beer, Olympia Beer, Samsung, Walmart and the Goldman Environmental Prize. Emily holds a BA in Strategic Communications from Seattle University in Seattle, Washington. She is located in Allison+Partners’ San Francisco office.Close
Megan is a strategic communications professional with a heavy focus on purpose work and corporate communications for consumer brands. Her experience includes work with purpose-driven brands (Seventh Generation, PepsiCo, Hasbro, Primark), nonprofits (PBS KIDS, Zero to Three) and more. Based in Washington, D.C., throughout her career, Megan’s account management expertise ranges, including everything from entertainment to hospitality, and government to retail clients. She has a successful track record with PR strategy, media relations, and executive and corporate thought leadership campaigns for clients, providing boosts in organic exposure for company leadership and brands. She is a member of Allison+Partners’ Purpose Center of Excellence, helps drive the company’s Learning Committee and offers trend perspectives weekly through the agency’s TapIN team. She is a journalism and psychology graduate from the University of Maryland and previously worked at Sage Communications in McLean, VA.
A London native in San Francisco, Katy has worked with startups and mid-sized brands to global Fortune 500 companies, approaching corporate storytelling with a socially orientated mindset.
She has built and led purpose-driven thought leadership and media relations campaigns to inspire movements and spark behavior change for clients past and present including Visa, Hasbro, Toyota, Athleta, Stasher, Smartwool and the Goldman Environmental Prize.
With a background in the non-profit world prior to agency life, and now a true industry generalist with 7+ years’ experience across multiple sectors, Katy has a passion for helping brands tell stories about their sustainability, social impact, and DE&I initiatives.
Katy also leads the agency's Content Review Board, which reviews communications through a lens of cultural sensitivity. Katy holds a BA with a major in psychology and minor in fine art from Newcastle University.
Jamie Berman is responsible for helping build integrated PR strategies and managing accounts’ day-to-day operations. She is passionate about telling stories that create meaningful impact for business and society and has worked on everything from corporate philanthropy and diversity & inclusion programs to travel and STEM education. Prior to Headstand, Jamie was the public relations manager at EF Education First, and also spent several years at agencies Cone and Porter Novelli, developing and executing media relations, thought leadership and executive visibility strategies within the Corporate Responsibility & Reputation practice. A native Bostonian, Jamie earned a B.S. in public relations from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, plus dual minors in Spanish and sport management. Close
KEVIN WALTHER
Vice President, Purpose + Director of Integrated Brand StrategyRead More
Kevin Walther is a corporate and brand strategy leader, passionate about uncovering insights to help brands discover their purpose, connect authentically with their audience and build impact. Throughout his career, Kevin has counseled Fortune 500 corporations and international NGOs on their brand strategy, impact initiatives and communications programs for clients like The Walt Disney Company, Colgate, Autism Speaks, The Elton John AIDS Foundation, Kimberly-Clark, VISA, Nestle Purina and others.
Kevin previously served as a brand marketing team leader at FIRST Robotics, the leading NGO for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Kevin began his career at Edelman, where he worked with corporate and nonprofit clients to create purpose-driven campaigns and programs. Kevin has helped organizations secure corporate partners, reimagine communications strategies and develop strategic plans for various brands, including the American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE, PNC Bank's Grow Up Great, Vaseline's The Healing Project, Bombardier and Western Union Social Ventures. Kevin held similar roles at BCW Global, Cone/Porter Novelli and Citizens Bank. For the last five years, Kevin has also co-instructed a purpose marketing graduate course at Harvard Extension School.
Norah Silverstone has years of experience in media relations, research, content development and communications strategy. She has provided communications counsel to a number of companies embarking on their Purpose journeys and is passionate about helping clients discover their unique opportunity to be corporate stewards. Norah’s experience spans across several industries and she has worked with myriad clients including King Arthur Baking Company, PepsiCo, Dexcom, Mastercard, Samsonite, and others.
Prior to joining Allison+Partners, Norah held several positions at Brodeur Partners, primarily working with the Purpose and Sustainability team. Norah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a Business focus from the University of New Hampshire and resides in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Sam Morales is a Senior Account Executive who has years of experience in media relations, research, event planning, and communications strategy. With a strong work ethic and acute attention to detail, Sam currently serves as a day-to-day contact on client teams and has worked on several accounts spanning the consumer, purpose-driven, and tech space. These include: OneD Battery Sciences, Ceres, Next Gen Foods, Aflac, NerdWallet, and more.
On top of possessing a tenacious drive to secure results for clients, Sam has a passion for bringing awareness to a variety of causes and telling stories of meaningful impact. She’s built influential relationships in the tech, automotive, and business space, landing clients media opportunities in outlets including Forbes, Barron’s, Insider, TechCrunch, and The Wall Street Journal.
Sam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.
Cassie is an account manager based in San Francisco with a passion for purpose-driven work. Through her time at A+P she has supported a variety of brands with their social impact storytelling, including Toyota, PepsiCo, Athleta, Brita, The Goldman Environmental Prize, Stasher and others.
Cassie has a strong background in consumer brand communications, supporting brands from start-ups to global Fortune 500 companies and in verticals ranging from consumer tech and healthcare to CPG and retail. She has impressive media chops and leverages her relationships with top-tier national media to lead media relations strategies that secure impactful stories in reputable publications including Fast Company, TODAY, CNN, CBS Mornings, Oprah Daily and others. She has vast experience in project management and events coordination, leading the development and execution of events ranging from intimate salon dinners and press conferences to large-scale award ceremonies and product launch events.
Originally from Michigan, Cassie graduated with a degree in public relations from The University of Alabama. She has been with Allison+Partners for 4 years.
Purpose Brand Strategy We help companies leverage purpose to differentiate from their competitors and build strong relationships with stakeholders while driving business results and positive impact
Authentic Impact Strategy + Positioning We know how to diagnose and counsel clients on setting, re-aligning and communicating realistic, meaningful sustainability goals and progress - wherever they are on their journeys to drive positive social and environmental impact
Breakthrough Purpose + Impact Amplification We help companies get credit for their Purpose initiatives with a 360° marketing communications approach to reach the full stakeholder
OUR PURPOSE OFFERING
DRIVING PURPOSE THROUGH POWERFUL STRATEGY
ARCHITECT
Diagnostic assessment or bootcamp
Brand Purpose Platform Development
Navigating and mapping
Research and competitive assessments
Positioning and messaging
GTM strategy development
ACTIVATE
Sustainability and social impact Strategy
Materiality
Sustainability and social impact gap analysis
Goal setting
Brand Purpose Activation
Campaign concepting and building
Stakeholder engagement
Partnership development and coalition building
Constituent and beneficiary engagement
Employee engagement
GTM planning and execution
Cause marketing
AMPLIFY
Integrated Purpose & Sustainability and Social Impact Marketing/Communications
Earned
Digital
Campaign development
Creative
Always-on reporting
Investor engagement
Measurement
BACKED BY OUR FULL SUITE OF SERVICES
MEDIA RELATIONS:
+ Comprehensive (360) Media Services + Media Relations, Strategy Development + Media Relations, Execution + Earned Media Audit + New Client Launchpad + Business Media Intensive + Media Mixer + Salon Dinners
MEDIA + SPEAKER TRAINING
+ 1-on-1 and group spokesperson media training + Executive presentation training + Speech writing and coaching + Crisis media response and interview training + Executive thought leadership development and delivery + IR and legal communication training
+ Strategic research + Audience, competitor and industry insights + Research for public release + Persona development + Brand health surveys + Creative and concept testing + Trendspotting + White space development + Competitive research + Data analysis, story mining and curation + Advanced analytics + custom reporting
CREATIVE SERVICES
+ Brand identity + Logo development + Website design + Print, OOH + digital advertising + Business collateral + sales materials + Data visualization + Custom presentations + Event materials + Podcasts + Still photography + Animation + motion graphics
INFLUENCER MARKETING
+ Ambassador programs: Long-term, paid or in-kind relationships with content creators + Layered campaigns: Multiple activations or influencer tiers laddering up to one goal + Pulse campaigns: Staggered messaging to reinforce a single message over time + Program strategy + Influencer partner identification + Contract negotiations + Creative direction + Asset management + Paid amplification + Measurement metrics
ANALYST RELATIONS
+ “Jump Start” programs to get started with AR + “Booster” programs to expand AR team’s bandwidth + Analyst firm vetting and subscription counsel + Analyst identification, prioritization and relationship building + Brand awareness and point of view assessments + Briefing and inquiry preparation, staffing and management + Deskside tours, webinars, message testing sessions and virtual roundtables + Analyst days and event programs + Analyst advisory councils' creation and management + Message amplification via media coverage featuring analyst references and quotes + Inbound analyst requests management / proactive outreach + Commissioned research and digital asset programs + Competitive research strategy and execution
ALLISON ADVISORY
+ Manage change and transformation + Globalize your enterprise + Negotiate the increasingly vexing crossroads of business, geopolitics and policy + Take your new company or new business from concept to take-off + Address the growing environmental sensitivity of your stakeholders + Guide you in expanding into new markets in a way that lays the groundwork for rapid success + When necessary, help you exit markets and sectors gracefully and efficiently
GLOBAL REPUTATION RISK
+ Reputational risk analysis and strategy + Issues management + Crisis management and response + Crisis preparation and simulations + Stakeholder mapping, outreach and engagement + Influencer and third-party ally engagement + Data security and privacy + Food recalls, food science + Online reputation management + Litigation support + Executive transitions + Stakeholder engagement programs + Crisis simulation and training
Built and launched Aflac’s new signature purpose program designed to help Americans at risk of medical debt, garnering nearly 800 million impressions
FIRST Robotics
Drove long-term awareness and brand-building for global youth robotics community FIRST, including the launch of a new Disney+ documentary that helped double the program’s reach since 2014
SAMSUNG
Promoted Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow annual STEM competition, which awards public school students $2 million in technology, and secured more than 400 pieces of coverage
TINDLE
Debuted TiNDLE, the next generation of plant-based foods, with in-person media engagements, influencer partners and SXSW activations to net 129 million impressions
INVITAE
Developed an aggressive data-based media and thought leadership program for genetic testing company Invitae, landing a TODAY segment and a Fortune panel
TOYOTA
Created a media education program for Toyota around hydrogen fuel cell engines and launched its first zero-emission, heavy duty truck via pilot program; media momentum helped Toyota commercialize the vehicle
