Bianca Freedman is the CEO of Edelman Canada, one of the nation’s top communications firms. She sat down with The Peak to talk about trends and changes in the industry.
Are there any misconceptions about your industry that you’d be eager to correct?
I think the biggest one is that we are a vendor who executes programs. When agencies and clients are true partners, moving like one team and each playing to their strengths, true value is unlocked.
There are also a lot of misconceptions about what it is like to work at an agency. Edelman Canada has an incredibly vibrant, diverse, and engaged employee base who works hard but also loves life outside of work. Clients today want this and really feed off the energy of our teams to deliver excellence. Gone are the days of sleep-deprived, badly burned out agency colleagues — it simply doesn’t make sense to get to the best work.
How has the role of a communications consultancy changed in the last few years?
Our world, similar to our clients’ world, used to be much more siloed. A PR shop would do PR; a creative agency would do advertising. Today, we need to earn attention in an impossibly fragmented media environment, and our clients need to be channel agnostic in their strategy: aligning on great ideas with smart, clear communication on whatever channels serve the audience best. We’ve been at this for about a decade now and can confirm it is a must.
With a rising number of smaller agencies with nimble, specialized teams, how do large agencies like Edelman stay competitive?
We recognize where our size is good, and do not shy away from that. Our size, combined with our independence, allows us to be an incredibly connected global network, which is a true differentiator and can often actually be faster. An idea for Dove in Thailand inspires us in Canada, and vice versa, continuously learning and optimizing work, ultimately to help clients win in a global economy.
Looking forward, what is a trend that you expect to shape your industry?
AI is obviously already impacting the industry. In the near future we will all be supercharged by AI — from senior advisory services to community management, becoming smarter and faster in counsel and execution.
I also believe it is outdated to have seven to eight agencies working on one brand with competing interests. One or two closely aligned agencies, who are also partners to each other, can collaborate more effectively to build trust and drive results.
What are you paying the most attention to these days?
I am obsessed with commercializing great creative work, for us and for clients. Brilliant work should deliver business results for all, period. I am also spending as much time as possible with our younger workforce. They bring a simplicity and humanity to all communications that our industry — especially traditional PR — desperately needed. I am working toward identifying as a Zillennial.
Is there a book you’ve read recently that you’d recommend?
American Icon [by Bryce G. Hoffman]. Dubbed a business book that “reads more like a thriller” — not sure about that, ha! — about legendary CEO Alan Mulally and the fight to save Ford Motor Company in the early 2000s.