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When Sean Cassidy walked out of Tufts University in 1990, he graduated with a major in Cold War foreign policy — just as the Soviet Union was about to dissolve. He hadn’t aspired to a career in public relations, but it turned out he was a good writer and he caught the eye of a small agency owner.

Three decades later, Sean leads DKC, a prominent independent PR agency headquartered in New York. They recently rolled out a new tagline: “maximizing return on news.” In this episode, he explains why he believes PR agencies should be news-driven organizations and what skills that requires.

He and Chip also explore the role of analytics, the benefits of spending time working in politics, and more.

QUOTES

• Sean: “I’ve been at DKC for 27 years. And these days, it seems like 27 minutes is a long time for somebody to stay at one place, so 27 years is quite something.”
• Sean: “We believe in the value of news. We think that storytelling is all driven by news. News creates an acuteness. It creates a need for discussion or an impetus for discussion.”
• Sean: “As a PR executive, you’re 50% marketer, and 50% editor.”
• Sean: “I personally do not have a political background, but a few of the executives who have been with us for a long time do. And I find the political world is an extraordinary training ground for great public relations executives because in politics, you have to be able to think quickly, you have to be nimble. You have to be strategic, and every second counts.”

RESOURCES

• DKC website
• Is Outcome Relations the future of communications? (featuring Matt Rizzetta)

ABOUT SEAN CASSIDY

Sean F. Cassidy is President of DKC, one of the leading independently-owned public relations agencies in North America. Sean’s extensive experience includes media, corporate, music, major transportation, health and legal public relations as well as crisis management. Named a Partner in 1996, Sean built DKC’s health care practice into one of the largest and most reputable providers of public relations services to hospitals and health-related not-for-profit organizations.

[read the transcript]

About Chip Griffin

Chip Griffin is the Founder & CEO of the Small Agency Growth Alliance (SAGA) and a longtime agency owner and executive. He helps PR and marketing communications agencies build better businesses. Full bio