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NEW YORK, NY, June 12, 2023 – Edelman announced today the global launch of Edelman Business Marketing (EBM), a specialized unit focused on driving reputation, business demand and revenue growth for B2B clients worldwide. This move establishes a new offering combining existing B2B practices in North America, EMEA, and APAC, building on the success and strong growth within the regions in recent years.

Edelman Business Marketing creates integrated marketing programs aimed at reaching and earning the trust of B2B buyers, inclusive of audience research, thought leadership strategy, content marketing, account-based marketing, demand generation and earned communications. Current global clients include Microsoft, HSBC, Shell, DP World, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, TE Connectivity, MediaTek, Hologic, and Invest Alberta, among others.

“Edelman Business Marketing is redefining how we drive value for our B2B clients’ businesses, from reaching high-value stakeholders to taking on some of the world’s most important issues,” said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. “Our global B2B offering has become a key component of Edelman’s strategy to provide integrated marketing solutions to clients worldwide.”

Edelman Business Marketing will be led by Joe Kingsbury, Global Chair, who will oversee a network of nearly 100 B2B specialists across the globe and David Whiting, Global Head of Operations, who will drive client and sector growth, and operations. The B2B leadership team will also include regional leaders across the U.S., EMEA and Canada, with an executive search underway for a leader to oversee the Asia-Pacific region.

Additionally appointed leadership includes:

Ben Laws, Executive Vice President, Deputy U.S. Leader, Business Marketing
Andrew Mildren, Managing Director, Business Marketing, EMEA
Nick Turney, Senior Vice President, National Business Marketing Lead, Canada
Hannah Buzicky, Senior Vice President, Global Development Manager

"Clients are hungry for strategies that earn the trust of high-value decision-makers while driving reputation and business demand,” said Joe Kingsbury, Global Chair, Edelman Business Marketing. “We blend the art and science of creative communications and digital marketing to generate ROI through personalized content, targeted thought leadership strategies and marketing technology. This global launch accelerates our ability to deliver on this value proposition for B2B clients.”

"Through our collaboration with Edelman Business Marketing, they've played a key role in infusing MediaTek's brand narrative with creativity, issues expertise, and a global perspective," said Kent Davis, GM, Global Marketing & Communications, MediaTek. "Their unique approach to earned-centric creative combined with robust integrated marketing capabilities is uncommon in the B2B category and has helped propel our brand to new heights."

The global launch of Edelman Business Marketing builds on years of strong regional business performance, innovative client work, and industry recognition within the B2B space, including ANA B2B Large Agency of the Year, the number one agency in the UK & Ireland in the B2B Marketing agency benchmarking study and the annual B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study in partnership with LinkedIn.

The expression comes from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. An excerpt here, “Truth will come to light….at the length truth will out.” Today on the 31st anniversary of the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union, we have approached six months since the start of the war in Ukraine earlier this year. Ukrainian forces are locked in battle with the Russians, defending their homeland from aggressors who have violated international protocols by shooting prisoners and forcing adoption of Russian language on captive regions. Global corporations have reacted with stunning agility, with 1,300 departing from Russia, leaving a sizeable hole in that economy. The Russians are engaged in a massive campaign of deception and disinformation declaring Ukrainians as Nazis and Russians as liberators. Claiming that this is an act of liberation is reminiscent of Hitler’s claims in World War II as he rolled into Austria and Czechoslovakia—it is the height of arrogance and farce.

But there are true believers who still carry the torch for Russia. Among them is my Harvard classmate, Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, who has a long history of working with the Russian Federation, starting with failed efforts at privatization in the 90s. He has posted an unbelievable editorial this week titled “The West’s False Narrative About Russia and China.” The essence of his argument is that the U.S. and other Western nations are attempting to manipulate public opinion by creating “an overwrought fear of China and Russia….At the core of this is the U.S. attempt to remain the world’s hegemonic power, by augmenting military alliances around the world or defeat China and Russia….There is only one country whose self-declared fantasy is to be the world’s dominant power: the U.S.”

This is only part of the Russian disinformation campaign. According to a report from the Brookings Institution, the Russian narrative has taken hold in Africa through social media outlets such as Facebook, TikTok and Twitter. In the first two weeks of the war, the most tweeted Russian narrative was the fake news about the European Union “instructing” Ukraine not to let African students escape the war zone. There is a rising use of “Whataboutism,” which alleges that the world is overly concerned about the Ukraine when more attention should be paid to African food shortages or conflicts in Somalia and the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The Russians are also waging a “successful propaganda war in Latin America,” according to German media giant DW. “Half-truths, rumors, and fake news, mixed in with slimming tips, sports and showbiz, all presented by journalists….for Russian state media broadcasters Russia Today and Sputnik, there is purpose behind the mixture—targeted misinformation.” Russia Today (RT) employs 200 people in Latin America in Venezuela, Cuba, and Argentina. RT also has a YouTube channel “Ah les Va” featuring Inna Afinogenova, their most famous on-air personality, who justifies Russia’s invasion with a breathless style claiming she is telling the audience “things they don’t want you to know.”

Western governments need to recognize that the fight for Ukraine is in part a battle for hearts and minds. We need to recall the words of Hannah Arendt who wrote, “Factuality itself depends for its very existence on the existence of the non-totalitarian world.” Or Prof. Timothy Snyder of Yale, who wrote in his brilliant book Bloodlands, “The Soviet Union was a Marxist state whose leaders sought to master history itself….the crimes of Stalin were justified by the need to create a modern state….that Stalin saw history having only one course, which he understood and legitimizes his policies in retrospect.” Here is a fact to remember; Stalin’s Russia intentionally starved Ukraine, requisitioning grain from peasants, with 3.3 million Ukrainians dying of starvation and hunger-related diseases in 1932-1933. As we enter the fall with rising prices and risk of recession, it is essential to remind ourselves that we are indeed in a competition with autocracies that may require each of us to sacrifice for the common good.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

An earlier version of this column included reference to a WSJ article that has been misinterpreted. This column has thus been updated.

In six weeks, we will open the Edelman Museum in our new Chicago office in the West Loop, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the firm. The story begins with Dan Edelman in the U.S. Army psychological warfare unit, interpreting Nazi propaganda overnight and making recommendations for Allied response. The museum will have a timeline of our most famous work—from the Toni Twins, Concorde landing rights and the Westmoreland v. CBS trial to StarKist Dolphin Safe Tuna, Dove Real Beauty, the CVS tobacco-free stores and more. There will also be a section on our pro-bono work for important causes such as the 9/11 Museum, the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., Save the Children after the Indonesian Tsunami and the UN[ }SPOKEN mental health campaign for the City of Chicago.

We will dedicate the Edelman Hall of Fame that evening, recognizing 12 individuals who brought Edelman to its present industry-leading position. Their work propelled the PR industry into new lines of work and enabled us to compete as equals with ad agencies and digital firms. Here are the 12, with memories from my own experience working alongside most of them:

Betsy Plank—She served as my father’s right-hand person from 1961-73, when she went to Illinois Bell as CCO. She was an expert in corporate reputation, a strong advocate of corporate responsibility well before it was in vogue.
Michael Morley—Ran the international part of Edelman, starting up the UK operation in 1967, then taking us into France, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. He was a top-class advisor to CEOs such as British Airways’ Colin Marshall, helping to run the Go For It America and Go For It World promotions to restart trans-Atlantic travel post the Libyan bombing in 1986 and the Iraq War I in 1991. I worked closely with him on the landmark Ernst & Whinney merger with Arthur Young, then helped on the Entrepreneur of the Year awards programs for that firm.
David Davis—Ran the UK after Morley, then served as head of Edelman Europe. A former Times of London reporter, he was an expert in financial PR, helping us to enter that business. He was a powerful operator who understood the ratios, the personnel function and acquisitions. He was and continues to be a mentor to me.
Pam Talbot—Our most outstanding marketing person in the history of the firm, she was stunningly creative and persuasive. She led from the front on clients such as Heinz, Microsoft and Kraft. Her stewardship of our U.S. business was headlined by the development of the West Coast operations via acquisition in Seattle and Silicon Valley. She developed many of our top talents including Matt Harrington, Nancy Ruscheinski and Jay Porter.
Jody Rolfe—She brought Edelman into integrated marketing. Her most powerful campaign was Fuji Photo Film’s Shooting for the Gold, with Sports Illustrated photographer Walter looss Jr. who took photos of U.S. athletes training for, and competing in, the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She was also my right-hand person in the New York office as we grew from a dozen people to 100 in five years.
Leslie Dach—He joined from the political world in 1989 to become head of the DC office. He rose to vice chairman, in charge of our global public affairs and research operations. He was a critical partner in the early years of the Edelman Trust Barometer. He also brought us into corporate reputation assignments for GE and Heinz. He went on to Walmart where he led the evolution of the company into a sustainability champion.
John Scanlon—We acquired Scanlon’s boutique firm in the early 80s. Shortly thereafter he managed the communications for CBS News in the Westmoreland v. CBS trial, when a former U.S. General accused 60 Minutes of false and misleading coverage of the Vietnam War. He became our foremost practitioner of crisis PR. I learned from Scanlon how to build longterm relationships with the media.
Michael Deaver—We were his second act after a long career in politics. Michael was our top corporate consultant, working with the CEOs of AT&T, Microsoft and Samsung. He also consulted with several countries, including Panama on the expansion of the Panama Canal. He was an important mentor to me, always insisting on simple explanations and best visuals. At his memorial service, I told the story of Michael wearing shoes of different colors to work because he did not want to wake up his bride, Carolyn, in her own right a formidable communicator at the cosmetics and fragrance association. His assistant went to find the partner black shoe; the spare brown shoe stayed under his desk for months.
Mitch Markson—Our first global creative director, he specialized in big ideas. Among my favorites were the giant Hershey kiss lifted by crane into the event space in Times Square for an important anniversary of the brand, or the Snuggle the Bear tie-in with Reading is Fundamental and then First Lady Barbara Bush.
Charles Fremes—As our leader of Edelman Canada, Charles led the response to the SARS outbreak in 2003, rebuilding the tourism business by restoring confidence of travelers. He also established himself as our leading intermediary between our American and international colleagues who periodically quarreled about cost allocations. In his own words, he played the role of former Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson in peacekeeping.
Dominic DiFrisco—Dom came to Edelman after a long career at a competitor. My father, tired of losing pitches to Dom, asked him to join to develop our public affairs practice and to give us better connections in Chicago. A proud Italian-American, a life-long New York Yankees fan and frequent presence at his beloved Gene & Georgetti restaurant, Dom was a singular force in the Chicago office, mentoring dozens of executives, selflessly sharing his wisdom and contacts.
Jay Porter—He was a superb client leader who held some of the most important jobs at Edelman, from client manager of Starbucks to general manager of Edelman San Francisco then general manager of Edelman Chicago. His last position was director of our Revere technology boutique. An Oklahoma kid who made it to the big city, he was an intellectual who wanted to make change. His favorite program was the Starbucks Next Race Together, the commitment to hire 10,000 inner city youth who were out of school and out of work.

We will welcome several of these Edelman stalwarts to the Chicago event in September, to listen to their stories, to thank them, and to be inspired by their belief in this family business. As we reach our 70th year, in addition to our distinguished honorees, we will honor all of our employees—together, they remind us of what is possible and that the best of Edelman is yet to come.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

Tim Weber is Executive Director, head of our editorial team in our London office. He shares the history behind his past life as a journalist, his love of storytelling and what’s kept him working at Edelman for the last 10 years.

How long have you been working at Edelman?

Exactly 10 years ago, I made the ultimate switch: I left journalism behind and moved to the world of PR here at Edelman and I’ve never looked back.

Do you ever miss journalism?

I've been asked that quite a lot. My answer has always been a rather emphatic "no". I had worked as a journalist for more than 25 years before making the switch, so I'd "done" my time. I certainly haven't missed some of the turf wars that happen within the field and I’m not sorry that I missed reporting on the political chaos of the past few years, especially regarding Brexit.

Do I sometimes miss the thrill of reporting breaking news stories? Sure. I would have loved to cover Marissa Mayer leaving Google to run Yahoo, since I had spoken to her several times prior. But otherwise, I’m incredibly happy I made the move to PR.

What’s the difference between working in journalism vs. working in PR?

This is another question I've been asked a lot during the past decade. I always respond with the same joke: As a journalist, I try to find a good story and then think: 'how can I tell it?', while as a PR professional, I try to find a good story and then think: 'how can I tell it?'.

The intent, of course, is different, but all my life, in all my jobs, I have been and continue to be a storyteller.

And that's exactly what we—the team at Edelman Editorial—are doing: we take the outside-in approach and use our journalistic mindsets (nearly all of us are ex-journalists) to find good stories, and then tell them in a way that resonates, creates empathy, is authentic and earns trust for our clients.

I had never planned it like that, but with hindsight, it was probably inevitable that I created and grew an editorial team in our London office. We started out as five people, soon we will be 18 or thereabouts, with most of the growth happening during the past two-and-a-half years, when demand for our work soared as the pandemic disrupted all the traditional ways of comms work.

Why did you choose Edelman and what’s kept you here so long?

There's a reason why I stayed for a whole decade with Edelman. This is a family firm, and it shows—in the passion, in the compassion, and in the agility of this business. I don't quite "bleed blue" (as some long-timers at Edelman joke), but from all my conversations I know: it's rare to find a company that is so packed with outstanding, clever and fun-to-work-with individuals as this company.

I'd like to thank all of the fantastic Edelman colleagues I’ve had the pleasure to work with along the way—from across the company and around the world (I reckon that I've worked with people in most of our 60+ offices), from the leadership team to every single Assistant Account Executive who made things happen. As the company's founder Dan Edelman used to say: "Everybody is an account executive at Edelman."

I would especially like to thank my team: what an outstanding collection of storytellers and creatives!

Inside Edelman is an ongoing series that spotlights our colleagues who are doing extraordinary work across our network.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT CAREERS AT EDELMAN? CLICK HERE.

Everyone enjoys a good win, but when it comes to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, winning comes with bigger implications. Winning builds your brand or agency’s reputation within the larger industry, positioning you as a leader. And as a result, new partnerships, collaborations, and talent will find you. I had the pleasure of serving as PR Jury President at this year’s festival and sat down with two of my fellow jurors from Edelman—Felicitas Olschewski, head of digital across EMEA, who served on the Entertainment for Sport Jury and Pully Chau, president of our Greater China operations, who served on the GLASS jury, which recognizes culture-shifting creativity. Together, we’re outlining the winning trends that creative teams should start implementing now in order to win at next year’s festival, here are our takeaways:

Stand for Something: There’s sometimes trepidation whenever a new issue arises, over how far to lean into it. How far to extend yourself and your brand. At Edelman, we counsel that it will always come down to your authenticity in the space—do you have the right to speak to this issue? Whether it’s that issue or another, what we saw in this year’s entries is the power that comes through when brands stand for something.

People will reward you with advocacy and sales and activation. There’s a consumer expectation that you’re not just sitting on the sideline, that you’re leaning in and doing something. Often there’s a misconception that by standing for something or being purpose driven, you can’t also be creating commerce, but as you’ll see below that’s clearly not true.

Action in a Meaningful Way with Tangible Results/Impact: Five years ago at Cannes, we saw work win that was making commitments, and claims around sustainability goals. Today, that’s no longer enough – people want to see internal efforts, changes to the supply chain, ultimately creating action that is creating lasting impact and change. The work that won this year created action in a meaningful way.

To this point, Felicitas’ Entertainment for Sport jury was focused on the message their winning selection would send to the rest of the industry. It wasn’t enough for a campaign to point out a problem, brands needed to provide an action that created behavior change, marrying impact on people with impact on business. One such case (and the winner of the Grand Prix) was Nike Sync, a program that helps female athletes create 4-week training cycles that syncs with their menstrual cycle, the insight being that when you work with your cycle, instead of against it, you have an athletic advantage. Felicitas also commented that it was plain business sense, “When you consider that half the world’s population is female, and you’re creating a diversified training cycle, with yoga, running, HIIT, and strength training...that is a whole new wardrobe. It’s also relevant across an entire women’s lifecycle from age 12 through to menopause.”

“We wanted to send a forward-looking signal, that this is the new kind of way of thinking, and this is the power of sport, and this is how modern marketing should be done,” she said.
Be Modern in How you Solve, Express and Execute: Every winning program this year was complex and nuanced, but one simple story woven throughout every touchpoint. Many programs bridged off and on-lines worlds. Teams need to bring that experience and be surprising. A lot of the work elicits a ‘wow’ reaction.
PR is the Next Trend: You might roll your eyes at this one, but I’m not just saying this because I was the PR Jury President or because I work at Edelman. When you think about attracting attention in today’s landscape, earned is simply the most efficient way. There is so much content being put out into the world every day on so many platforms that it would take incredibly large budgets to buy your way into attracting attention. That’s why more brands and companies are investing in creativity to earn their way into people’s minds and hearts. That’s PR, and that’s why all the best work at Cannes has people talking about it—they earned the talk value.

One of Pully’s most beloved cases from the GLASS jury was Morning After Island, a wooden platform that was built outside of Honduras’ jurisdiction in international waters in order to safely and legally administer the morning after pill. The pill is legally banned in Honduras, the only Latin American country to do so, and women can face up to six years in prison for taking the pill. The campaign received wide-spread media attention, and the President of Honduras took notice, pledging to draft a new law that would legalize the pill.

This trend was particularly prevalent in the GLASS jury. Pully shared with us that “PR is in every single winning case; it’s all about earned. Some of the campaigns, including the Grand Prix, only have earned media, no paid media at all.”

Everyone left Cannes feeling charged up, full of bravery to take on the big challenge. So, now what do we do with all that bravery and turn it into action? I will leave you with these three suggestions:

Let’s create momentum within our organization. Pick one project, one brand with the opportunity and relevancy to solve a problem today and dive in. Once others see the start of something special, they’ll want to get involved and all of the sudden you have momentum.
Let’s have the conversation. The magic of jury room are those deep conversations, arguing and pushing, and ultimately it ends up being so good for the work. Let’s embrace the spirit of building. Let’s co-create instead of criticize. It’s easy to rattle off what about an idea doesn’t work, but what if we co-created together instead to make it better?
Let’s push each other for more. How do we commit to greater change? How do we collaborate and bring other partners in? There’s an opportunity to have more diversity at the table. Bring everyone in.

Judy John is Global Chief Creative Officer.

A decade ago, companies such as PepsiCo and Unilever took the decision to initiate Performance with Purpose or the Sustainable Living Plan. The pace of business involvement depended on the appetite of its CEO for public leadership. The issues to be addressed were in the core of business, from sustainability to ethical sourcing to diversity and inclusion. The framework was corporate social responsibility, the deliverables were the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations. Non-governmental organizations were the foil, seeking to involve consumers in boycotts and the press in crusading for good. But significant events have changed the tenor of business involvement in societal issues from voluntary to mandatory.

The pandemic proved that business was significantly more competent than government, able to deliver goods while protecting employees, as the public sector waffled on vaccine advice and wobbled on lockdowns. The murder of George Floyd put into stark relief the failure of government programs, from public safety to equal opportunity, thrusting business forward as the opportunity engine. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia saw a concurrent series of actions by public and private sector; the provision of arms by Western governments while 1,300 companies chose to leave Russia. These are just a few that show a new reality: Society has intruded on Business because employees and consumers see that their companies and brands have the power to make change. We’ve seen an evolution of Business in Society to Society in Business because Trust is local, in ‘My Employer’, ‘My CEO’ and ‘My Brands’ and a declining trust in Government has led to the expectation that Business will step into the void. But companies are no longer leading the dance; they are more often pushed by activist employees and belief driven buyers.

It is true that companies are now under attack from both the left and the right. Texas and West Virginia have threatened to pull their pension funds from financial institutions that have a strong position on climate change. Meanwhile, President Biden has accused energy companies of profiteering on oil prices at the pump. Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson’s article today in the Financial Times said, “Business leaders increasingly find themselves in unwinnable positions, caught between two sides on topics they never wanted to be debating, as culture war issues come to dominate U.S. political discourse.” He cites Disney as the obvious example of bending to employee pressure, leading it to be beaten up by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida after the company pushed against the state’s plan to restrict discussion of sexuality or gender identity in primary school. He goes on to say that employees are pressuring their companies to cease political donations to office holders who have restricted access to abortion or are against gun control.

But now is not the time to be timid, it is the moment for smart leadership. Here is a way to frame your thinking as a CCO advising the CEO:

Start from Inside Out—Which issues matter most to your employees? Speak to them, gain insight, debate options. Find an on-ramp to action. A good example is employer-sponsored insurance taking care of those needing to travel to receive abortions and gender-affirming care because they live in states that have outlawed these services. Make it clear through internal communications that you will take care of your people, from health care to public safety.
Continue to Participate in the Political Process—You cannot allow the company to become a single-issue voter. Engaging in the political process often means offering financial support – it’s unavoidable in the American legislative system. But you must make your views known to the candidate or elected official, whether privately or in public – and then be transparent with your employees on how the company influences policy conversations.
Be a Public Advocate on Issues Related to Your Business and Your Purpose—Every CEO can address sustainability, wage levels, diversity and inclusion. There are also sector specific issues which make sense where you are guided by your mission and values. Companies have the right to push for better schools and safer streets as a means of attracting the best talent to your company. Work together with other companies to present a united front.
Be Consistent—Actions need to be sustained to have impact and demonstrate commitment. A quick reaction to a crisis with no follow-through, or a one-time meeting with employees to hear their concerns without ongoing collaboration, puts the trust and performance of your brand at risk.

Edelman is committed to proving the case for societal engagement by companies and brands. We are speaking with Harvard Business School’s marketing department about proving the case for purpose led brands. We know already that the large global brands of Unilever that have purpose at the core are gaining market share; the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a great example. We will also continue to push CEOs to not back away from sustainability or diversity pledges as the global recession begins to bite. According to Alan Murray, CEO of Fortune magazine, the corporate commitment to ESG is real and long term. In his CEO Daily column of July 21, he reported that top ESG executives at America’s largest companies report a “fundamental shift in business strategy.” He goes on to quote Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, that the bank can deliver profits and purpose. “ESG isn’t woke capitalism, it is capitalism done right.”

Richard Edelman is CEO.

After two years away from its physical footprint in Anaheim, California, VidCon, a massive annual convention where the world’s leading digital creators and their fans come together to celebrate all things digital media, re-emerged in 2022 as real-life representation of an industry transformed. Tangibly, there was a new marquee sponsor—TikTok, ousting YouTube who has had an outsized presence since the conference’s inception in 2010. Culturally, there was a new, more mature creator mindset present—one focused on monetization and platforms.

With estimates of approximately 50,000 attendees across the event’s four days at the Anaheim Convention Center, this year’s VidCon was an explosive reminder of the passion and power of the creator economy. As the 2022 Industry Track, Edelman had both access and representation on site, bearing witness to some key emerging trends that will shape the creator economy in the year to come:

Deeper, More Immersive Experiences. VidCon has three primary audiences—industry, the creators themselves and the community that follows, engages and supports the creators they love. Acquired by Viacom in 2018, VidCon has evolved into a vehicle for promoting and highlighting content, trendy (or wannabe trendy) brands, as well as creators. This year, Viacom properties AwesomenessTV, Paramount and Nickelodeon created experiences to excite the community on the Expo floor while YouTube used the rockstar fame of Mr. Beast to generate excitement for a giant gumball machine that gave away everything from free Google Play passes to hoodies, Nintendo Switches and even a Tesla.

Smaller, direct to consumer brands like X-Shot (Nerf competitor) and skate brand, Bones Love Milk made a play for free content through elaborate give-a-ways and semi-immersive experiences, while more traditional brands like Vera Bradley showed up to reinvent themselves with a new audience. There was even a giant Squishmallow Claw machine that people waited hours to try out.

While the power of “influence” was everywhere, the world of “creators” had clearly replaced the dominion of influencers both in name and in spirit. The focus of these experiences to deliver content during the conference certainly played into this new focus on creators as a way to both empower and engage attendees. The experiences at VidCon were clearly built to help foster creation, not merely lend a hand in influencing.
Commerce Fuels Creator Independence. Most striking about VidCon this year, in a remarkable difference from years past, is how many companies were catering to creators’ need to sustain and maintain a stable income vs. pure-play hardware and software sales. In the past, hardware brands like Canon and Samsung dominated the expo floor and creator halls—exhibitors were oriented toward getting creators the hardware they need to make content.

While creator tech was still present at this year’s show (I’ll get into that next), there was an overwhelming focus on targeting creators with passive income opportunities or tools that make i-commerce (influencer commerce) easier. TikTok, in particular, focused on creator commerce autonomy through demonstrations of live shopping and in-app commerce features. “Live” commerce was a featured theme, with workshops presented by Amazon, Pinterest and companies like Orca offering new ways for creators to sell products in a “live” environment. Upstart platforms offered easier ways to connect brands to creators—putting the creator in control of the relationship and what they sell. In years past, platforms tried to focus on getting creators to sign up to make themselves available to brands at prices either the technology platform set or the brand set, but increasingly companies seem focused on putting more control in the hands of the creators or are providing ancillary services to help take them from amateur to professional, and ultimately more independent than ever before.

This shift very tangibly signifies the stabilization of the creator economy. No longer are companies merely looking to help creators color correct, they are offering products and services built for monetization that more directly support the “economy” aspect of the creator economy.
The Commoditization of High-Quality Content. At VidCon, it was clear that the bar for what’s deemed “quality” content keeps getting higher and higher. Companies offering cheaper, easier, more streamlined creator tools were prevalent and reflected the ease with which creators can now create professional-grade content.

Lightricks, for example, is a suite of creation apps, offering in-app editing software for creators, like FaceTune. At VidCon, they not only sponsored a panel with TikTok star Charlie D’Amelio, but they were there to promote their recent acquisition of micro-influencer network, Popular Pays. In a 2-for-1 style deal, they were recruiting creators to join the network, as well as promoting their editing, content creation, and postproduction resources those same creators might not otherwise have access to.

Perhaps the most striking example was BlackMagicDesign which came to VidCon to promote its professional grade color correction software priced at just $250.00 for an annual subscription.

The platforms were also heavily focused on demonstrating their content creation offerings. SnapChat’s exclusive creator lounge provided demonstrations on how easy it is to create innovative and quality content on the app. Meanwhile, YouTube, TikTok, and Meta’s demonstrations introduced creators to in-app content creation tools, NFT creation, and the metaverse. Roblox and newer players in the NFT space—Momento, Matter, and Rally—were demoing even more complex creation tools, like using the metaverse to create augmented reality experiences. Even considering the complex, yet nascent, potential of the Web3 creator ecosystem, it all felt so accessible.

There were lots of new players at VidCon this year, and together live video, live commerce, passive commerce, and resonant digital experiences that utilize Web3 represent the new frontier of influencer marketing. It’s no longer about just “posting” something to amplify a creative campaign. It’s about creating an experience (whether by content, app, or platform) that generates participation, attention, and if we’re lucky, cultural impact.

Therein lies the creator economy opportunity I’m most excited to see play out. As the creator economy reaches maturation and as the creator-made experiences become deeper and higher-grade, the trusted relationship between creator and follower becomes a powerful one. So, when the cultural impact of the creator economy collides with other societal and cultural forces—recession, climate change, human rights, disinformation—we can leverage our understanding of this trust equation to push brands forward in ways that make a difference, carrying consumers of today (and tomorrow) from awareness to consideration, from conversion into ongoing advocacy.

Corey Martin is Executive Vice President, Client Innovation and Business Development, Edelman Blue Room Studio

NEW YORK, NY, July 25, 2022 – Edelman today announced the global launch of Edelman Smithfield, a financial communications boutique that specializes in the financial markets and strategic situations, serving clients in the United States, EMEA, Asia and beyond. The global launch brings together under one brand Edelman’s Financial Communications and Financial Services teams, combining specialized industry knowledge with global scale and localized expertise, while remaining connected to and integrated with Edelman’s full capabilities. Lex Suvanto will serve as Edelman Smithfield Global CEO.

Edelman Smithfield is focused on advising senior leaders and management teams navigating complex matters that impact reputation and valuation. The firm has deep expertise serving and communicating to the financial markets and is comprised of two primary practice areas:

Partnering with companies in the financial markets to help them protect, promote and evolve their reputation. Edelman Smithfield is a leading communications advisor in the financial markets, working with investment firms, private equity and venture capital funds, hedge funds, banks, insurers, fintech, crypto and other financial markets participants to develop and execute tailored communications programs that build trust and strengthen reputations in the marketplace.
Partnering with companies navigating and communicating with the financial markets and during strategic situations. Edelman Smithfield advises boards of directors, management teams and communications professionals on high impact strategic situations, such as mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, bankruptcies and restructurings, shareholder activism, litigation, management changes and regulatory matters, as well as ongoing engagement with the investment community, including investor relations and critical ESG matters.

Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, said, “The financial communications team has built an incredible platform and has advised on some of the highest profile clients and situations over the past several years. We continue to see significant demand from both existing and new clients for the work that they are leading, especially given the volatility and complexity of the global financial markets. There’s tremendous opportunity ahead, and we will continue to invest in Edelman Smithfield to ensure the team is well placed to define the next generation of financial communications.”

Edelman Smithfield is already a leading player in the financial communications industry. The firm’s asset management clients professionally manage more than $20 trillion combined, which, when coupled with insights from the annual Investor Trust survey, translates into a unique understanding of the global institutional investor landscape; Edelman Smithfield has advised on hundreds of transactions in the last five years, including some of the most prominent mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and restructurings.

Lex Suvanto, Global CEO of Edelman Smithfield, said, “We have a singular goal of building a financial communications powerhouse globally, and Edelman is providing the investment and runway to make this a reality. We are the only firm that specializes in the financial markets and strategic situations while bringing the reach and resources of broader Edelman. Together as a global team and with a unified banner and strategy, we will unlock new opportunities, while always prioritizing excellent client work, conducting ourselves with integrity and attracting and empowering an incredible team of dedicated advisors.”

Edelman Smithfield brings a strong leadership team with an impeccable track record of helping clients navigate the complex and dynamic financial markets. Global and regional leadership appointments include:

Lex Suvanto, Global CEO
John Kiely, Chairman of EMEA
Andrew Wilde, Global Head of Financial Services
Josh Hochberg, Global Chief Operating Officer
Katie Spring, President, United States
Alex Simmons, Head of EMEA
Jason Leow, Head of APAC

Edelman Smithfield also includes leaders and teams in a total of 25 cities and 15 countries around the world.

In 2015, Edelman acquired Smithfield, a UK-based financial communications firm, as part of its ongoing investment and growth in financial communications. Since that time, the Edelman Smithfield brand has been rolled out in Germany, the Middle East and Canada. Edelman plans to commit significant resources to the continued expansion of the Edelman Smithfield platform in key markets around the world.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently held their annual Global Food Forum in Chicago. All conversations, in one way or another, touched on the critical need to build resiliency in our existing food system.

For those who follow supply chain or environmental and social sustainability issues, this isn’t surprising or a particularly new theme. We have been discussing the need for resiliency across the food value chain as a result of extreme weather events for a few years. Then, COVID-19 highlighted the systemic issues in our existing supply channels, as well as the social injustices faced by farmers and food workers. Now we are facing further disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine, which will also only worsen the current food insecurity crisis. A crisis that is getting the attention of one of the world’s preeminent investment firms.

We know we need food systems resiliency. But the conversation is shifting slightly related to 1) what “resiliency” looks like and 2) what needs to happen to get there.

Based on the perspectives of government, food industry executives (from multinational corporations and disrupter startups), scientists, and farmers at the WSJ Global Food Forum, here is what that looks like:

A resilient food system is flexible. Much of the conversation has focused on the need for our food system to bounce back. To “fix” itself, getting back to status quo. This is only half of what it means to be resilient. A resilient food system is also one that is flexible and can adapt or change quickly.
The “unprecedented events” of the past few years are now precedent. All companies in the food sector need to have a plan to address these events, but that plan must be nimble, and executives need to be comfortable changing that plan.
This could be related to how products get to consumers but also what is included in that product to begin with. For example, companies are investing in reformulation to ensure their products can adapt when facing a shortage of a particular ingredient. Cargill* discussed this approach for sunflower oil, a key ingredient in baby food facing supply issues due to the war in Ukraine

While we can’t predict what specific challenge our food system will face next, we know the general challenges we’re facing – from the impacts of climate change, supply chain disruptions due to geo-political conflict or health issues, to a growing food insecurity crisis. Continuing to study the effects of these challenges will help us create a resilient food system that can bounce back and adapt.
We should broaden our view of what innovation can look like, as well as where it can come from. The increased interest in the food sector is driving innovation and resulting in startups which leverage technology to improve how we currently produce food (for example, the use of AI to monitor the health of poultry) as well as innovation intended to disrupt the category entirely (see mention of Bowery Farms below).

This type of innovation is exciting. And it’s not going anywhere. But it’s not the only source of innovation. Companies should also look to supplier-enabled innovation to address challenges, and the importance of a mutually beneficial supplier-buyer relationship came up in many conversations. Jason Buechel, Whole Foods CEO-Designate discussed an instance when a snack supplier couldn’t meet demand. The retailer provided loans to the supplier to adjust, standing up a new sourcing line to increase supply where they would have otherwise been shorted.
Innovation can disrupt. It can also be simple. Every company has their own journey in innovation, ranging from incremental (low risk, gradual improvement to existing products or services) to disruptive (a new business model that changes the market but doesn’t come without risk).

Bowery Farming is an indoor, vertical farming and digital agriculture company with farms along the East Coast. Founder and CEO Irving Fain created a system where robots monitor crops, gathering data about how they grow. This data from each crop at each farm helps the entire system learn how to become more efficient, using less inputs to grow the same amount. Fain was clear he started the company to create an entirely new agriculture system as he believes controlled environment agriculture – referred to as CEA – is the latest wave of sustainable infrastructure and moving farms indoors is necessary to adapt to climate change.

But not all innovation needs to disrupt the current market. Rob Hargrove, Chief Research and Development Officer at Mondelēz, discussed the importance of engaging a company’s supplier network to “simplify everything,” in particular how we source ingredients and working closely with suppliers to localize distribution channels where possible.
The mutually beneficial aspect of the supplier-buyer relationship is crucial to addressing food system challenges. Specifically, speakers focused on benefits to the farmers, ranchers, growers putting in the work each day and the importance of monetizing the benefits farmers create. This monetization is currently seen in the emerging carbon credit market, but work is underway to measure and monetize additional sustainable outcomes of in-field practices, including water use and quality as well as biodiversity outcomes.

John Boyd Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farms Association, put it simply when asked how farmers in America were feeling. “It’s heart wrenching,” he said. “Farmers do not need crop insurance when they can’t pay for diesel fuel or seeds. Farmers need fair access to credit.” He went on to issue a CTA to the executives in the room, “It’s time to give back. We need help and we need it now. It’s time to give back to the Black and American farmer.”
As are solutions to ensure a strong labor force. Food industry employers are making inward commitments to their talent in hopes it pays in longevity for the future. Whole Foods is reigniting their founding purpose to be more than a grocery store, but rather a mission-driven company created to drive positive change in the food system. Chefs and restauranteurs, including Stephanie Izard and Tom Colicchio, are building trust amongst their staff with open and honest dialogue on societal issues, from women’s rights, gun laws and overall staff safety. Colicchio went as far to say the priority for him is the happiness and experience of his staff. If he has that, guests will have a good experience, as well.

From disruptions, stressors and shocks, challenges to our food system are here to stay. We are in a moment of transformation. As food and agricultural companies race to embed resiliency into their supply chains, it will not only be crucial to be open to all forms of innovation—from supplier- to technology-enabled—but to also look to all members of the system—from farmers on the ground to corporate c-suite—on what is needed to make this transformation possible.

Paige Graham is Vice President, Social Impact & Sustainability, Edelman
Carrie Becker is Senior Vice President, Edible, Inc
Christine Zinker is Senior Vice President, Edible, Inc

*Edelman client

I remembered this story when I had dinner with Garry Kasparov before his stirring speech at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last month. Given the continued devastation of Ukraine, it is important to retell it.

I visited Russia with my parents in 1974. It was the détente period initiated by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, using triangular diplomacy for the U.S. with China and Russia. My father, entrepreneur at heart, thought that Russia might be a great new market for Edelman. As a college student, I went along for the ride before school started.

On our last day in Moscow, we visited longtime family friend Murray Fromson, who had been with CBS in Chicago, then was transferred to Europe. As we entered his apartment, he produced a tablet that erased when you lifted the plastic sheet. He talked about the Chicago Cubs and the weather, while scribbling us a note. He let us know that the apartment was bugged and that we should write anything substantive on the tablet while continuing our banter.

He proposed that we go to a dissident Russian art exhibit in the suburbs. My father opted out, my mother and I went for the adventure. All we knew was that there would be paintings on easels in a clearing near a housing development; we also knew that the Soviet Union was very specific about art that met the test of Socialist realism, with other forms of art forced underground.

We were there for less than five minutes looking at the paintings when we heard the rumble of bulldozers and tank trucks in the distance, closing in quickly. There were a dozen reporters who took out cameras and note pads to capture the news.

The trucks had water cannons which sprayed the crowd and defaced the art. The bulldozers ran over the paintings. As artists fled with their works, they were corralled and pummeled by thugs. The reporters were attacked as well; one had his camera smashed into his face, breaking his nose.

Fromson had anticipated the possibility of police intervention. My mother and I were pushed into the back seat of a waiting car, with Fromson in front with his precious film. We went on a high-speed chase through the suburbs of Moscow, with a KGB car trailing. Finally, we were on our own, going back to our hotel.

As we were leaving that evening for Helsinki, I volunteered to take the tape and photo evidence of the attack. I was met at the Helsinki airport by a CBS representative who took me to their local office. I was interviewed by the local correspondent for CBS Radio and for AP. One of my own photos made it into the Economist; a bearded artist slumping away from his smashed works.

The Wikipedia entry on the Bulldozer Exhibition, so named because it was “forcefully broken up by a large police force that included bulldozers and water cannons,” has a touching remembrance from event organizer Oscar Rabin from 2010. Rabin went through the exhibition hanging onto a bulldozer as it destroyed the artworks. “The exhibition was prepared as a political act against the oppressive regime, rather than an artistic event. I knew that we’d be in trouble, that we could be arrested or beaten. Knowing that virtually anything can happen to you is frightening.” Indeed, he was arrested, expelled from Russia, but allowed to move to Paris with his family.

We are distracted by the testimony on the events of January 6, the ever-escalating food prices, and the nearly $100 cost of filling up the car. We underestimate the importance of freedom and the necessity of fighting for it. As the Western nations weigh the cost of the continuing struggle in Ukraine, it is essential that we remember the very real human cost of repression.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

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